As Pakistan begins seeking commercial loans from Middle Eastern banks to bridge a $2 billion external financing gap, the government informed a Senate panel on Thursday that the cost of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has exceeded 5%, making it an expensive option. On Thursday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reached out to Dubai Islamic Bank, requesting a commercial loa
RARELY have I seen things as scattered and messy as they are today, in the realm of economic management in any case. At the epicentre of the mess is the IMF programme, all dressed up with nowhere to go. A staff-level agreement (SLA) was announced by the Fund on July 12, more than five weeks ago. Then on July 23, on the eve of his departure for China, the finance minister assured the country during
Pakistan has attracted $8.416 billion in gross inflows through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) since its launch four years ago. According to SBP data, out of the total received amount, $1.624bn has been repatriated, while $5.334bn has been utilised locally, and with this, net repatriable liability remained at $1.458bn till the end of July. Former prime minister Imran Khan launched the RDA o
Millat Tractors Ltd (MTL) has stopped tractor production till further notice due to the government’s failure to issue a mechanism for payment of refund claims. In a stock filing on Thursday, MTL informed all the stakeholders that the general sales tax (GST) on tractors is 10 per cent and the GST on all input raw materials is 18 per cent, resulting in a continuous stream of refunds. The farm
India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data showed. Russian crude made up a record 44 per cent of India’s overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (mbpd), 4.2pc higher than in June and 12pc more than a year ago, data