The Securities (Leveraged and Pledging) Rules have significantly impacted the Pakistani capital markets, albeit not in a positive way. These rules allow stock exchanges, central depositary companies and clearing companies to act as authorised intermediaries for leverage products, such as margin trading and margin financing system. This article recommends removing these frontline regulators from
A day after Pakistan reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with the International Monetary Fund, the local currency staged a sharp recovery to Rs280-Rs283 against the US dollar in the open market on Saturday, significantly lower than the official price. Currency exchange companies kept their airport branches open for travellers where hoarders rushed to get their dollars exchanged for rupees fea
Pakistan’s exports to nine neighbouring countries recorded a significant decline of 19.68 per cent during the first 11 months of the outgoing FY23, according to data gathered by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This drop is largely attributed to a decrease in shipments to China. Notably, the decline in trade is not limited to exports alone, as imports, particularly from China, have also witnes
Welcoming the signing of the $3 billion nine-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF, the business community hopes the deal would end uncertainty and restore the confidence of local and foreign investors direly needed to revive the economy. Talking to Dawn, Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman Zubair Motiwalla said this Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) would bring economic stability besides restor
With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now on board, the government considers meeting most of its external financing needs in the medium term through 10- to 15-year international bonds and concessional multilateral loans. It also plans to diversify local debt instruments to inflation-based bonds, list government papers on the stock exchange, and issue short-term Islamic and conventional flo