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Progress made on financing pledges from friendly countries, Senate panel told

The government on Wednesday said to have achieved ‘progress’ in external financing from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates direly needed to reach a staff-level agreement (SLA) with International Monetary Fund (IMF) that has been in limbo since Feb 9. The statement came from Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha before a parliamentary panel on a day UAE’s ambassad

Stocks add 82 points to overnight gains

Stocks stayed bullish on Tuesday as investors reacted positively to the surging global crude oil prices as well as the rupee’s stability against the dollar. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said speculations about the early revival of the International Monetary Fund’s loan programme and easing political noise also played the role of a catalyst in the bullish close. However, ma

World Bank warns of ‘lost decade’ in global growth

The World Bank on Monday warned that the global economy’s “speed limit” — the maximum long-term rate at which it can grow without sparking inflation — is set to slump to a three-decade low by 2030 and advocated an ambitious policy push by national economies to boost productivity and the labour supply, ramp up investment and trade, and harness the potential of the services sector. The report, “F

Fund okayed for Reko Diq dispute settlement

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday approved about Rs72 billion financing facility for payment of the Balochistan government’s obligations in the Reko Diq Project dispute settlement. The meeting presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, however, deferred proposals for increasing the minimum prices of about 177 medicines because of poor defence by the Drug Regul

China spent $240bn bailing out ‘Belt & Road’ countries: study

China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building “Belt & Road” infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. Almost 80 per cent of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, mainly to middle-income countries including Argentina, Mongolia and Pakistan,