Fintech has been one of Pakistan’s brightest spots of late, with not only triple-digit growth but progressive regulatory initiatives such as Raast. Another example is the five upcoming digital retail banks, which recently got their in-principle approvals and have the entire community pretty optimistic. But before we get there, shouldn’t we ask how digital the existing banks are? If the criteria
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Pakistan to revive its five-year development planning, get climate-sensitive public investment management plans working and publish criteria for project appraisals for transparency to attract global climate financing. The IMF’s guidance comes immediately after the two sides reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of a $3 billion bail
Brent and US crude futures climbed more than 2.5 per cent on Monday as further supply cuts in Opec+ production are expected to be announced following a meeting of member countries early next week. Brent crude futures were up $2.19 to $82.80 a barrel by 12:15pm CST (1815 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.13, or 2.81pc, at $78.02. The front-month December WTI contract expires late
The poor health of foreign direct investment (FDI) could not improve in October but a meagre year-on-year growth of seven per cent was noted in the July-October period of FY24. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued the latest data on foreign inflows showing no encouraging signs for the country. The total foreign investment dipped by over 12pc to $122.5 million in October against
The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed year-on-year by 91 per cent in October but it widened on a month-on-month basis. The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday shows the deficit remained within the estimate of the bank. Last week, the SBP governor said that CAD would remain well below $100m in October and expected that it would be well-contained in 2023-24. T