The banks made record investments of Rs7.6 trillion during the year, mostly in risk-free and lucrative government papers, while advances during the same period declined instead of increasing. The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday shows that the total investment of scheduled banks till April 2024 reached Rs27.281tr, compared to Rs19.694tr in April 2023. The jump
Pakistan and Turkiye on Monday set their sights on enhancing annual bilateral trade to $5 billion, besides intensifying their defense collaboration as the two countries prepared for their upcoming high-level bilateral summit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, while speaking at the Foreign Office after a meeting with visiting Turkish FM Hakan Fidan, said the two sides agreed
The government has sought the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval for an additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs3.5 per unit to extract over Rs29 billion from consumers for electricity they consumed in April. Surprisingly, this demand comes despite the fact that 75 per cent of the overall power supply during the month was generated from cheaper local fuels. Th
The Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) made a significant decision on Monday, approving the Power Division’s proposal for the nomination of independent directors for specific electricity distribution companies. This decision, which is now set for onward submission to the cabinet, is very important for the future of these companies. The committee meeting, chaired by Fi
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed another milestone of 75,000 as jubilant investors continued value-hunting in the outgoing week amid an improved economic outlook. Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) said the market performed robustly in all five sessions of the week, closing at an all-time high of 75,342 points. The bullish market sentiment was fuelled by optimism surrounding the potential negotiatio