In a rare move, the government on Monday opted for a buyback of costly treasury bills worth Rs351 billion at a much lower rate, saving over Rs11.5bn in profit. Bankers described it as a smart move by the government to save money. Through the buyback, the government repurchased six- and 12-month papers. These papers were originally sold at rates between 20 and 21 per cent; the government bought
Pakistan’s economic growth of 2.52 per cent for 2023–24 missed the projected target of 3.5pc, primarily due to a slump in industrial production, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. The moderate growth was achieved thanks to higher agricultural incomes and worker remittances. The National Accounts Committee (NAC) convened its 110th meeting on Mon
In a late-night decision, the government has extended until Oct 14 the deadline for filing income tax returns for the tax year 2024. The move will provide an opportunity to people, who had not filed their tax returns by the Sept 30 deadline, to fulfil the requirement. Although the income tax ordinance specifies Sept 30 as the deadline for submitting returns, the government has regularly extend
Despite receipt of the much-awaited first tranche of $1.03 billion following approval of the new 37-month $7 billion Extended Fund Facility by International Monetary Fund’s executive board on Sept 25, the benchmark KSE 100 index closed the outgoing week on a bearish note. The market turned depressed primarily due to investors’ worries about the potential impact of stringent IMF conditions, whi
Is Pakistan the new kid on the global energy map? If recent reports are to be believed, this could be the case. Over the last few weeks, local and international media have reported a “massive” oil and gas find in the offshore territory of Pakistan. According to some estimates, the find could be the “fourth largest” oil and gas reserve in the world. That would be a game-changer in more than one