News

Challenging circular debt monster

Moving with ‘Shehbaz Speed’, the government approved a Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP) finalised in consultation with multilateral lenders hours after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released an end-of-mission statement. At the outset, it took care of the backlog of pending tariff increases on the monthly, quarterly and permanent national average rate of electricity along with a futu

A ‘project’ economy

Economists ascribe Sri Lanka’s recent financial problems to a severe decline in tourism and remittances, as well as a substantial tax cut, but poor governance is atop the list of the factors that played havoc with the island nation’s economy, which relied heavily on tourism and remittances. Both these sources were hit badly by the Covid pandemic as the workers were laid off on a mass scale. Pak

PM orders speedy completion of energy projects

Prime Minis­ter Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday issued directives for speedy completion of solar and wind energy projects. While chairing a meeting on renewable energy, he said it was the government’s main priority to encourage the production of electricity through solar and wind energy sources. The renewable sources would produce low-cost and environment-friendly electricity, he added. PM Shari

Stocks rally 743 points on dollar depreciation

The upswing in the stock market continued on Thursday as stocks closed higher on the rupee’s recovery against the dollar. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation Ltd said the local currency gained strength on the expected conclusion of the International Monetary Fund deal. In addition, press reports suggesting Qatar may consider buying shares in Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd and Pakist

Independent central bank

READERS may remember there was much hue and cry over the amendments to the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956, that were legislated in January 2022. The present government, then in the opposition, had resisted it tooth and nail but let the law pass — thanks to establishment pressure — not necessarily as a reform measure but an obligatory IMF condition. The government’s concept of the central bank