The spread of information technology and telecom footprint across the country, along with a competitive environment in the digital lending sector, can help millions achieve financial independence in the country, according to the chief executive of a microfinance company. Habibur Rehman, the CEO of Sarmaya Microfinance, said, however, the biggest challenge to digital financing was the widespre
As a direct outcome of the State Bank of Pakistan restrictions to cool down the demand for automobiles, the import of auto parts plunged by 36.6 per cent to $258 million in the July-September quarter from $407m in the same period last year. However, the central bank has been releasing foreign exchange between 50-70pc from July onwards to help clear imported consignments of auto parts but import
The World Bank has estimated that the total investment needs for a comprehensive response to Pakistan’s climate and development challenges between 2023 and 2030 amount to around $348 billion which is equal to 10.7 per cent of cumulative GDP for the same period. This consists of $152bn for adaptation and resilience and $196bn for deep de-carbonisation, reveals the Country Climate and Developmen
After challenging the Federal Shariat Court’s (FSC) decision on the interest-free banking system some four months ago, the government had a major change of heart on Wednesday, saying that it now wants to rid the country of Riba as soon as possible. In a pre-recorded video message, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)
The stock market opened the week in green owing to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s statement last week that Pakistan had secured about $13 billion in additional financial support from China and Saudi Arabia, analysts said. The benchmark KSE-100 index started gaining immediately after trading opened, rising to an intraday high of 351.11 points, or 0.84 per cent, around 10am. However, the market