News

Business confidence up, but stays in negative zone

Business confidence in Pakistan has gone up by four percentage points, though it still remains negative, as reflected in the 25th Wave of the Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey conducted across the country during March-April 2024 by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). “The OICCI Business Confidence Index has shown some positive signs of economic recovery, rising

Six consortiums pre-qualify for PIA bid

The privatisation process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has taken another turn with the government pre-qualifying six consortiums for bidding, while disqualifying two others due to concerns about their financial standing. This marks the second extension to the original deadline, with the bidding process now expected to take place in August. The decision comes amidst a continued ban i

OPEC+ extends deep oil cuts into 2025

OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to extend most of its deep oil output cuts well into 2025 as the group seeks to shore up the market amid tepid demand growth, high interest rates and rising rival US production. Brent crude oil prices have been trading near $80 per barrel in recent days, below what many OPEC+ members need to balance their budgets. Worries over slow demand growth in top oil importer China

CAP calls for urgent retail tax reforms

The Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP) has called for urgent reforms in the taxation of the retail sector to stimulate economic growth and ensure sustainable tax compliance. Chairman CAP Tariq Mehboob Rana and Senior Vice-Chairman Asfand Yar Faruukh highlighted that CAP represents over 200 tax-compliant Tier-1 retailers integrated with the FBR-POS (Federal Board of Revenue-Point of Sale) sys

Rupee slips amid dollar supply downturn

The Pakistani currency dipped by Rs0.03, closing at Rs278.36 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market due to a decrease in the supply of foreign currency in the domestic economy. Overall, the currency remained stable, fluctuating in the range of Rs278-278.50/$ for several weeks. The recent nominal depreciation occurred after Tresmark, the treasury firm, reported that exporters had slow