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Stocks add 218 points to overnight gains

Stocks exte­n­ded their overnight gains on Wednesday as the benc­hmark index of representative shares traded on the higher side throughout the session. Arif Habib Ltd said the upswing was because of the expected signing of a staff-level agreement bet­w­een the government and the International Mon­etary Fund (IMF) for the ninth tranche of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility. Volumes increas

China okays $700m for Pakistan, says Dar

Soon after the completion of all prior conditions set by the International Monetary Fund for the revival of the $7bn bailout programme, Finance Minister announced that the Board of China Development Bank (CDB) on Wednesday approved a $700 million credit facility for Pakistan hoping inflows from other multilateral lenders and friendly countries. Mr Dar said the amount expected to be received thi

UBL profit jumps 52pc

United Bank Ltd said on Wedn­esday its consolidated profit for October-Dece­mber remained Rs13.3 billion, up 52 per cent from a year ago. The bank also anno­unced a cash dividend of Rs9 per share, taking the full-year dividend to Rs22 per share. Its annual income incr­eased 5pc in 2022 to Rs32bn. The bank’s net interest income for 2022 clocked in at Rs257.8bn, up 69pc year-on-year. “The i

‘Thar coal can meet energy needs’

Speakers at a stakeholder consultation session on utilising indigenous coal resources on Wednesday underlined the need for converting Thar coal into petrochemical products as well as natural gas. The session was organised to discuss the avenues to utilise Thar coal reserves to not only solve energy problems for Pakistan but also drive industrial growth by the Thar Coal Energy Board (TCEB). T

Belt-tightening ordered to avert economic storm

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked his ministers and advisers to forego their salaries, benefits and luxury cars and fly economy class as part of an austerity drive aimed at saving the government Rs200 billion a year. The belt-tightening comes as the government is trying to resume a stalled loan programme of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure funds worth $1 billion. The premie