The rate of return on the 12-month T-bill in the secondary market slumped to a 14-month low, falling below 20% on Thursday in anticipation of a deeper cut in the central bank’s key policy rate (interest rate) in early June 2024. The yield on the one-year T-bill reduced by up to 90 basis points or more in the secondary market following a similar situation seen in the paper auction held at the pr
The power sector has continued to bleed as the circular debt pile swells without any check. Though successive governments have attempted to find workable solutions, yet success has eluded them for years. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, which remained in power from August 2018 to April 2022, left unsettled Rs1.6 trillion in circular debt. The debt accumulated to Rs3.3 trillion dur
Poland’s Ambassador Maciej Pisarkski on Thursday urged Pakistan to take immediate steps for making the life of foreign investors easier, who are badly suffering because of delay in payment of their dues and difficulties in keeping their machinery functioning. The ambassador made the remarks at a time when Pakistani authorities were trying to bring foreign investment amid external sector and bud
Days before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing, Pakistan has prepared a new proposal to seek $15.4 billion in Chinese energy debt restructuring aimed at lowering energy prices for end consumers. The proposal involves spreading debt repayments over a longer period. This would, on one hand, reduce the outflow of foreign currency by about $550 million to $750 million per annum and, o
Textile and clothing exports experienced slower growth for the second month in April, reversing the previous month’s double-digit increase. Exports inched up 0.37 per cent to $1.24 billion in April, compared to $1.23 billion in the same month last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday. This indicates stagnant orders from international buyers.