News

Import of used cars surges to 28,000 units

Local automakers are struggling to attract buyers with price cuts, registration discounts and auto financing, while the imported used car market has shown strong performance. All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) Chairman H.M. Shahzad claimed that 28,000 used cars were imported during the July-May period of FY24, compared to 14,000-15,000 units in the entire FY23. “Total imports wil

Govt mulls incentives to boost industrial power demand

Amid the request for a 25 per cent increase in annual tariff rebasing, the government on Thursday hinted at offering an incentive package to the industrial sector as part of other power sector reform interventions to revive electricity demand and support economic growth. This emerged at a public hearing, presided over by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Chairman Waseem Mukht

IMF, Pakistan make significant progress on new loan, lender’s mission says

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission and Pakistan have made significant progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement for an extended fund facility (EFF), the global lender said on Friday. Shortly after the statement’s release, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) gained 556.5 points, to stand at 75,670.97 points at 9:41am from the previous close of 75,114.47. The IMF has opened dis

Stocks fall below 75,000 on profit-taking

After posting modest gains overnight, Pakistani shares on Wednesday faltered below the 75,000 level on late selling as investors reacted to a downturn in dollar inflows, which depicted a weak economic outlook. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the National Accounts Comm­ittee’s projection of a subdued economic growth of 2.38pc amid average 26pc inflation for outgoing FY24, a 6pc decl

State Bank’s blind spot

IN its latest State of the Economy report, the State Bank has an interesting chapter on inflation dynamics in Pakistan that is worth a close read. It is an ambitious effort, probably the most ambitious that I have seen so far, to study the determinants of inflation in Pakistan and try to discern the relative weight that each of the factors studied has in driving inflation. But not all ambitions