Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries swelled by 36.09 per cent to $7.36 billion during the first eight months of FY25 from $5.41bn in the corresponding period last year. Recent regional political shifts have spurred exports to Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. However, Pakistan’s trade with these nations has faced significant setbacks in recent years, attributed to
The Ministry of Finance is inducting six professionals from the market to operationalise the Tax Policy Office (TPO), which will directly report to the finance minister in line with commitments made with the IMF under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The ministry on Monday sought applications for the positions — one for the director general of TPO and five directors having different
A positive review of the economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and progress on the resolution of energy sector circular debt kept equity investors bullish, driving the benchmark KSE 100 index to scale an all-time high near 119,000 in the outgoing week. The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its northward journey for the sixth week. The index, which reached an intra-week all-time
The surge in generation of electricity through a distributed network has been driven by a significant reduction in solar panel prices globally, largely due to a supply glut in China, which is the largest manufacturer of solar panels. A drop in prices led to a surge in demand, and a solar revolution started to take shape, against the backdrop of high electricity prices that were being offered by th
The real value of charitable giving this Ramazan in Pakistan appears to be on par with or marginally less than last year, as prolonged economic stagnation has strained household finances, limiting how much people can afford to donate. The financial strain appears to have hit the more popular consumptive giving (food supplies providing immediate relief) harder than transformative causes (healthc