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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

State Bank sets up division to innovate data collection

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has begun an exercise to strengthen its statistics department by making it “go beyond traditional economic data”. Speaking at conference organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) on Wednesday, SBP Deputy Governor Sima Kamil said the central bank has set up a new division by the name of Avant-Garde Digit, which will bring innovation t