News

$20b WB lending may be insufficient

The World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser, emphasised on Tuesday that the $20 billion lending will be insufficient to achieve the 10 years' development goals, and Pakistan will have to mobilise more resources to overcome its challenges. In a statement issued after the week-long visit by Raiser to Pakistan, the regional vice president appeared to strike a balance between the op

PSX remains under pressure as shares lose nearly 1,500 points

Bears maintained their hold on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as shares lost nearly 1,500 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 1,489.96 points, or 1.31 per cent, to close at 112,030.36 points from the previous close of 113,520.32. Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, said, “The market opened under pressure today following a news report yesterday i

Senate body orders fresh audit of solar imports since 2018

A Senate subcommittee on Monday ordered a complete audit of all solar panel imports since 2018 after showing dissatisfaction with a probe into Rs70 billion worth of under- and over-invoicing by two importers through the involvement of commercial banks. After a meeting of its subcommittee, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, led by Senator Mohsin Aziz, announced that fresh reve

Chinese DeepSeek sparks global AI sell-off, Nvidia loses about $593bn of value

Investors sold technology stocks across the globe on Monday as they worried that the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model would threaten the dominance of current AI leaders like Nvidia, shaving $592.7 billion off the chipmaker’s market value. Last week, Chinese startup DeepSeek launched a free AI assistant that it says uses less data at a fraction of the cost of in

Easypaisa Bank gets digital bank licence

The SBP awarded the first digital retail bank licence to Easypaisa Bank on Tuesday. In a ceremony held at the central bank, Governor Jameel Ahmad awarded the licence to Easypaisa Bank Ltd, formerly Telenor Microfinance Bank Ltd, authorising it to commence commercial operations. The SBP chief expects the bank to promote innovation, enhance financial inclusion, and ensure the availability of acce