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Making money virtually

It’s extremely hard to scale a business by selling anything online in Pakistan, something that tech startups grapple with every single day. Even more so for digital products through mobile apps where, despite the hundreds of millions of smartphone users, the number of users for platforms is usually scant. But there are two categories that defy this trend. First, you have these financial apps th

Grey market, IMF blamed as rupee goes into free fall

As the rupee’s alarming descent against the US dollar continues unabated, experts and stakeholders point fingers at the powerful grip of the grey market and the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) “significant interference” in the country’s banking and currency sectors. Some said it was unprecedented that the IMF had allegedly got deeply involved in the country’s financial framework, interactin

Businesses criticise ‘unaffordable’ tariff hike

As caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar meets power sector stakeholders in Quetta today (Sunday), businessmen have asked the PM to announce the withdrawal of what they term an unbearable rise in power tariff, to provide relief to the public at large, as well as the business community. In a joint statement, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwala, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and

Another increase in sugar, flour prices shocks consumers

Already struggling to find ways to pay inflated electricity bills, consumers suffered another shock due to a further hike in the prices of sugar and different varieties of flour. Just two days after the takeover of the new caretaker government, consumers had seen a Rs8 per kg rise in wholesale prices of sugar to Rs153 per kg, thus pushing up the retail rates up to Rs160 per kg and up to Rs170 p

Fund to review FBR’s performance under SBA

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will resume virtual talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday to review revenue collection performance in the first two months of the current fiscal year, as well as projections for the coming months, a senior government official told Dawn on Saturday. The IMF team will discuss the performance of the FBR and revenue measures taken in March, fo