Despite mounting pressure on banks to go digital, the number of e-commerce transactions declined in the first half of the current fiscal year while the total e-banking value in the first quarter also dipped. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday issued both the first and second quarterly reports on the Payment System for 2022-23. The reports reflect that despite all efforts electronic pay
The overall sales of cars, LCVs, jeeps and pickups plunged 47 per cent to 109,466 units during the first nine months of the current fiscal year from 205,452 units in the same period last year. Despite a month-on-month jump of 61pc in March to 9,351 units, the auto sales dropped amid rising prices, expensive financing and plant shutdowns during 9MFY23. The March sales were 66pc lower when compar
Hinting at entrenched high inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered its forecast for Pakistan’s economic growth rate for the current fiscal year to just 0.5 per cent, with inflation going beyond 27pc and the unemployment rate increasing to 7pc. This showed an unambiguous deterioration of economic fundamentals over the last six months since October when the Fund forec
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour on Wednesday expressed his confidence that the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the international money lender would be signed "soon" following the board's approval. The remarks came during the IMF’s spring meeting held in Washington, which Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attended via Zoom from Islamabad, a
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia Director Jihad Azour on Wednesday expressed his confidence that the staff-level agreement between Pakistan and the international money lender would be signed "soon" following the board's approval. The remarks came during the IMF’s spring meeting held in Washington, which Finance Minister Ishaq Dar attended via Zoom from Islamabad, a