News

IMF demands ‘swift action’ to recapitalise four banks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said delays in structural reforms — such as “resolving” the four undercapitalised banks — can hamper stability in the country’s financial sector. The resolution of a bank means restructuring a failing lender in a situation where regulators believe there’s no prospect of its recovery. In a detailed Staff Report prepared by an IMF team for the July 12

Stocks rebound after four sessions

Bulls defended the psychological level of 45,000 points for the second consecutive session on Wed­nesday as the benchmark index settled slightly above the preceding day’s close. Topline Securities said investors remained cautious throughout trading hours as the KSE-100 index floated within a narrow band of 300 points following the release of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Staff Report a

IMF report

THE IMF’s staff report on its new, short-term bailout loan of $3bn for Pakistan is a damning indictment of the Shehbaz Sharif government’s economic and financial policies that deepened the trust gap between Islamabad and the lender, and pushed the country towards the precipice in the last nine months. Policy missteps and breach of the previous Extended Fund Facility programme had compelled the

Exploration, production firms threaten to suspend activities

Petroleum exploration and production companies operating in Pakistan threatened on Tuesday to suspend activities over non-payment of their dues worth over Rs1.3 trillion (about $4.65 billion) by the Sui gas companies. In a letter to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik and the relevant agencies and companies, the Pakistan Petroleum Exploration & Productio

Pakistan’s FY23 growth weighed down by tighter monetary, fiscal policies: ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said Pakistan’s economic growth in the previous fiscal year was weighed down by tighter monetary and fiscal policies pursued by the government to safeguard macroeconomic stability, pervasive inflation and significant damage from flooding. In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) July 2023 published on Wednesday, the ADB said the GDP projections for Nepal and P