The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government appeared to be in a fix over energy sector issues amid rising fears of a potential default-like situation in some blue-chip public sector entities, raising question marks over the quality and design of the $7 billion loan programme signed only two months ago. The visiting IMF team, led by mission chief Nathan Porter, also reportedly expr
As an unplanned economic assessment by the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) team entered its second day, the stock market on Tuesday snapped its record-breaking streak amid aggressive profit-taking, forcing the benchmark KSE 100 index to close in the red. Initially, the benchmark KSE-100 index added 223.29 points to 93,871.62. However, it could not hold on to the early gains as some i
THERE are two critical dialogues taking place between the governments of China and Pakistan. One of them concerns the rescheduling of payables owed to Chinese project sponsors by the government of Pakistan. The second revolves around protection of Chinese investments and nationals in Pakistan in the wake of deadly attacks. There is now a string of statements from Chinese officials, going back a
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sought a detailed, output-based update on Pakistan’s digitalisation plans for its revenue system, including the use of artificial intelligence to expand the tax base and increase collections. On the energy side, the country has pledged to halt gas supply to captive power plants (CPPs) by January 2025, redirecting them to the national grid despite a stro
In order to reduce a startling tax gap of more than Rs6 trillion, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday approved five proposals to transform the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) at an estimated cost of Rs25 billion. The ECC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also approved a technical supplementary grant for the Pakistan Post Office Department an