The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has released its Quarterly Report on Payment Systems, highlighting growth in digital transactions and continued expansion of the country's payment ecosystem during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025-26. According to an official statement issued on Tuesday, total payment volumes increased to 2.8 billion transactions in the quarter, reflecting a 10% rise over t
Pakistan on Tuesday launched its first private-capital-funded Pakistan Skills Impact Bond (PSIB), backed by a guarantee from the Ministry of Finance, to operationalise a Rs1 billion pilot tranche under a three-year instrument aimed at financing a scalable technical skills development programme. According to an official statement, the PSIB has been designed to deliver measurable outcomes, includ
The year 2025 finally delivered a long-awaited wave of locally assembled vehicles in Pakistan, spanning hybrids, SUVs, pickups, and electric models, following a series of government policy interventions aimed at revitalising the auto sector. While the expanded lineup has brought greater choice, improved technology, and renewed competition, the benefits have so far remained concentrated in the h
The government on Tuesday approved a 3.7% economic growth rate for the first quarter of the current fiscal year on the back of growth across all major sectors of the economy, beating its own official reports of severe damage to agriculture caused by the "devastating floods". The National Accounts Committee (NAC), the government body mandated to approve economic growth numbers, approved the over
Asian stocks drifted on the last trading day of a year that has seen investors brush off much of the tariff-related uncertainty and embrace AI chip stocks, while the dollar’s dismal year has left the euro and sterling standing tall. Precious metals have grabbed much of the spotlight toward the end of the year, with silver’s astonishing rally taking its yearly gains to more than 160% although th