News

Textile millers advocate export-centric policies

As the country heads towards negotiating another International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, textile millers have called on the government to formulate export-oriented policies by reducing energy tariffs and tax rates to make the industry competitive in the global market. In a letter to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) stressed that a

Car sales decline by 36.9% in FY2024

Passenger car sales plummeted to 54,089 units, marking a significant 36.9% decline during the initial nine months of fiscal year 2024 (July to March). This downturn can be attributed to various factors, including soaring inflation, diminished purchasing power, high interest rates, expensive auto financing, and rising car prices, as per data provided by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Associa

SBP penalises 7 more banks for forex violations

Pakistan’s central bank has once again found at least seven commercial banks, including leading ones, to have violated instructions on transactions in foreign currencies, imposing financial penalties totalling Rs775.54 million on as many as nine banks in the quarter ending March 31, 2024. The central bank has tightened its oversight of foreign exchange dealings by commercial banks and exchange

Pakistan to miss budget deficit goal

A new International Monetary Fund report showed that Pakistan is set to miss this fiscal year’s budget deficit target by approximately Rs1 trillion, as the global lender anticipates the country’s increased reliance on loans in the coming years. The IMF released the report from Washington on the same day Pakistan’s finance minister sought assistance from the United States for “debt financing”.

Stocks snap five-session record-breaking spree

Bulls tossed the benchmark index above the 71,000 barrier for the first time in the history of the Pakistan Stock Exch­ange (PSX) on Tue­sday, but the market came under selling pressure, snapping the five-day record-breaking spree amid uncertainty about the outcome of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the preceding session, the index scaled an all-time high on prevailing opti