Ever since venture capital (VC) started flowing into Pakistan, the local ecosystem has seen polarising debates on whether the companies being built are sustainable, given their generally questionable unit economics. From unbelievably high losses to calls for investigating lax corporate governance mechanisms, the space receives a high dose of flak, both fair and unfair, that may be disproportion
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday maintained the status quo and decided to keep the key policy rate unchanged at 22 per cent. The announcement was made by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed after a meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The State Bank said that the moderate growth outlook for the current fiscal year, addressing short-term external sector vulnerabilities in th
China and Pakistan decided to accelerate the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, hailing the progress on development initiatives in the decade since the project’s launch in 2013. In a special ceremony held to commemorate 10 years of CPEC on Monday, six new documents were signed for joint cooperation. The celebrations, however, were kept simple out of respect for the victims of
Pakistan is unlikely to meet a target for Russian crude to make up two-thirds of its oil imports, despite attractive prices, hampered by a shortage of foreign currency and limitations at its refineries and ports, officials and analysts say. The cash-strapped South Asian nation became Russia’s latest customer snapping up discounted crude that has been banned from European markets due to Russia’s
Pakistan is under an obligation to pay $25 billion in debt servicing during the current fiscal year. It was disclosed in a briefing to analysts by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday after unveiling the monetary policy stance for the next two months. The country’s total repayment obligation amounts to slightly below $25bn in FY24, comprising $3.3bn in interest payments and slightly ab