Pakistan’s average productivity growth remained just 1.5 per cent from 2010 to 2020, significantly low to achieve the required GDP growth rate of around 7-8pc on a sustainable basis, a new study shows. The study — titled Sectoral Total Factor Productivity in Pakistan and conducted by the planning ministry and the think tank Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) — says that the grow
Stocks traded in a narrow range on Wednesday before slipping below the preceding day’s close after investors chose to book profits. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark index stayed in the positive zone for the most part of the trading session. Renewed interest was witnessed in the last trading hour following a press conference by the prime minister and his cabinet members. The finance minister hi
Artificial intelligence-driven marketplace for engineers Gaper.IO said on Thursday it’s launching a technology fund of Rs500 million to help IT companies navigate the recession and scale their operations. A press release said Fund-1 of Gaper Technology Fund will be deployed in 2023. “In the past, funding and business ecosystem growth have typically focused on startups and businesses in thei
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,374 new companies in December 2022. The total number of registered companies now stands at 183,744. The total capital of these companies stands at Rs4.1 billion. Foreign investment has been reported in 85 new companies. The major chunk of investment was received from China with 48 companies, Germany with 5, Afghanistan
Banks seem to have hit the brakes on deposit mobilisation in December, a rare development that analysts attribute to the lenders’ attempt at reducing their tax bills. In a break from the past when bankers would hustle for deposits at the end of the calendar year to meet performance targets, the annual pace of deposit mobilisation slowed down to 7.1 per cent for 2022, down from 17pc for 2021.