KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has invited the general public to submit designs for new currency notes as it initiates the process of replacing the existing banknotes. The announcement came a day after the SBP governor told a meeting of analysts about the decision to introduce new currency notes with advanced security features and to address the issue …
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released the much awaited $700 million tranche, shoring up the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign reserves. The SBP confirmed the development in a statement, adding that the tranche equivalent to $705.6 million was released on January 16 (Tuesday) “following the successful completion of the first review by the Executive Board of IMF …
DAVOS: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Tuesday held several meetings on the sidelines of the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The prime minister met US Presidential Special Envoy on Climate John Kerry. Both discussed the local and global impact of climate change during the meeting. The two leaders discussed the climate …
ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government on Monday decreased the price of petrol by Rs8 per litre for the next fortnight. In a notification issued today, the Finance Division said the government decided to reduce the price of petrol for the fortnight starting from January 16 as recommended by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. According to the announcement, the ex-depot price …
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday disclosed that Pakistan is providing IT (information technology) services to over 190 countries. “We are exporting IT and IT-enabled services to more than 190 countries. Our IT industry is an integral part of the knowledge economy thereby earning repute as a leading offshore outsourcing destination through innovation, availability of talent, government …
ISLAMABAD: In a significant development, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Thursday that it had successfully concluded the first review of Pakistan’s economic reform programme, backed by the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), paving the way for an immediate disbursement of SDR 528 million, equivalent to approximately $700m. This latest disbursement brings the cumulative total under the arrangement to …
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves fell below $7 billion for the first time in the current fiscal year, posing challenges for the government to stabilise the exchange rate and meet debt servicing obligations. The SBP on Thursday reported a $136 million decline in reserves to $6.904bn due to debt repayments. This outflow of dollars brought …
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank on Wednesday announced that its board of directors had approved the long-awaited $350 million loan ‘2nd Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) Operation’ to Pakistan to support key macroeconomic reforms in energy, taxation and business environment. The financing “aims to strengthen fiscal management and promote competitiveness for sustained and inclusive economic growth”, the Washington-based multilateral lender …
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday approved an additional across-the-board charge of Rs1.15 per unit for electricity consumers throughout the country, including K-Electric, and also concluded the process of imposing another Rs1.72 per unit on K-E consumers for the next three months — January to March 2024. Effectively, K-Electric consumers would have to pay a cumulative …
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) wrapped up the trading week on a historic note as the benchmark KSE-100 index soared to an unprecedented all-time high above 66,000 points. This record-setting close was fueled by the visit of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, who marked the launch of a Rs30 billion Ijara Sukuk. The index witnessed an impressive increase …