July, 12(Agencies) — Majority shareholders of an offshore holding company that owns most K-Electric said on Wednesday of initiating legal proceedings to seek direct ownership of a stake in the utility.The power utility’s holding structure has widely been considered an impediment to its acquisition by China’s state-owned Shanghai Electric, a deal that has lingered for years due to regulatory and legal hurdles in Pakistan.Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund SPV21 (IGCF), which has a 53.8% shareholding in Cayman Island-registered KES Power Limited (KESP), which in turn owns 66.4% of K-Electric, told Reuters it had filed for a Just & Equitable Winding Up of KESP in the Grand Court of Cayman Islands on Tuesday.“By this action, SP...
July 12, 2023 at 5:06 pm | Economic Affairs
July, 11(E. A Report) —— Saudi Arabia deposited an amount of USD 2 Billion with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) says Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.“This amount will be reflected in SBP’s reserves for this week” he added.These flows help Pakistan to get the nod of the IMF board for the disbursement of USD 3 billion on policies to be supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).The IMF Executive Board meeting to consider a $3 billion loan program for Pakistan will be held on July 12, the fund said.On June 29, 2023, the IMF team reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities on a nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) in the amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion or 111 percent of Pakistan’s IMF quota). The new SBA...
July 11, 2023 at 3:16 pm | Economic Affairs
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has guts and attitude to engage with establishment, leaders and heads of international lenders to create a win-win situation By Qamar BashirPrime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, is affectionately called as Shahbaz Speed, a title bestowed upon him by Vice-Minister Zheng Xiaosong of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2018, and Shahbaz has proven himself worthy of this title time and again since then.He is not only known to deliver, his ability to resolve complex issues, and his loyalty to his brother, which has been put to the test time and again, but he has always emerged victorious. Unlike his elder brother Nawaz, Shahbaz has the guts and attitude to engage wi...
June 27, 2023 at 5:08 pm | Economic Affairs
Islamabad, 20 June 2023: President Dr. Arif Alvi has underscored the need to focus on economic and trade diplomacy to enhance the country’s exports. He added that increasing exports and foreign investment could help Pakistan overcome its economic challenges. The President expressed these views while talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Denmark and High-Commissioner-designate to Rwanda, who separately called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today. Talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador-designate to Denmark, Mr. Shoaib Sarwar, the President urged him to especially focus on economic diplomacy initiatives to boost the country’s exports. He highlighted that the dairy and agriculture sector were important areas where Danish companies co...
June 20, 2023 at 3:25 pm | Economic Affairs
The book launch event of “Extremism and Counter-Extremism Narratives in Pakistan: An Analysis of Narrative Building” by Dr Sadia Nasir, was held by the Department of Humanities and Social Science department of Bahria University, Islamabad on Monday. Dr. Sadia Nasir, is an independent researcher and Adjunct Faculty Member at Bahria University. She holds PhD from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. She is a UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi research fellow and an RCSS Alumni. Hamid Ali Khan, Former Federal Secretary and National Coordinator of NACTA, Dr Shabana Feyyaz, Chairperson DSS department, Quaid-e-Azam University and Hamza Ijaz, Program Manager at USIP graced the occasion to evaluate and comment on the book as discussants. The event w...
June 13, 2023 at 1:34 pm | Economic Affairs
June-12. (Agencies) — Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment has signed a $5.6 billion deal with Chinese electric car maker Human Horizons to collaborate on the development, manufacture and sale of vehicles, the Saudi state news agency said in a statement.The agreement accounts for more than half of the more than $10 billion in investments signed on the first day of an Arab-China business conference in Riyadh on Sunday, in sectors spanning technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, metals, tourism and healthcare among others.While the relationship between Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and China remains anchored by energy ties, there has been a push to boost investments in non-oil sectors as part of the kingd...
June 13, 2023 at 1:30 pm | Economic Affairs
June-12.(E.A Report) — Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has kept the key policy rate unchanged at 21%, it was announced through a statement on Monday.“At its meeting today, the MPC decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 21 percent. The MPC noted that higher inflation outturns for April and May were broadly as anticipated. The Committee also noted a sequential ease in inflation expectations of both consumers and businesses from their recent peaks,” it said in a statement. “Further, the committee expects domestic demand to remain subdued amid tight monetary stance, domestic uncertainty and continuing stress on external account. In this backdrop, and given the declining m/m trend, the MP...
June 13, 2023 at 1:26 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 06(E. A. Report) — Pakistan has proposed a GDP (gross domestic product) growth target of 3.5% and an inflation projection of 21% in estimates for its upcoming fiscal year 2023/24 budget, a top official source told.The government’s budget estimates suggest authorities are expecting inflation to ease out in the subsequent months after the headline figure hit a record high of 38% in May 2023. The monthly inflation number took 11MFY23 average inflation to 29.2% compared to 11.3% in 11MFY22.The inflation number for May was also higher than the prediction of Ministry of Finance that said it would be in the range of 34-36%.In its Monthly Economic Outlook for May, the Ministry of Finance had stated that “the inflation for the month of ...
June 6, 2023 at 6:24 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 06(Agencies) — Oil prices slipped early on Tuesday, coming off gains made the previous day as concerns of global economic backdrop outweighed supply worries raised when Saudi Arabia announced its biggest output cut in years.Brent crude futures slipped 27 cents to $76.44 a barrel by 0411 GMT.US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents to $71.82 a barrel.Brent had gained as much as $2.60 on Monday and US crude as much as $3.30 after Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, said at the weekend its output would drop by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9 million bpd in July.The benchmarks pulled back, though, to more modest gains by the end of the day. “Supply side issues took center stage following OPEC’s production cuts. How...
June 6, 2023 at 2:49 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 05 (Agencies) — Oil prices got up by more than $1 a barrel on Monday after top crude exporter Saudi Arabia pledged to cut production by a further 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from July to counter macroeconomic headwinds that have depressed markets.Brent crude futures were up $1.72, or 2.3%, at $77.85 a barrel by 0900 GMT after touching a session high of $78.73.US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.72, or 2.4%, to $73.46 after hitting an intraday high of $75.06.Both contracts extended gains of more than 2% on Friday after the Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom’s output would drop to 9 million bpd in July from about 10 million bpd in May.The cut is Saudi Arabia’s biggest in years.The voluntary cut is on top of a broa...
June 5, 2023 at 9:03 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 05 (Agencies) — US dollar stayed firmed against major peers in Asian trading after a robust US jobs report spurred traders to price in higher interest rates for longer.Australian dollar erased early losses after a report showed a pick-up in services activity in key trading partner China.The yuan also got a boost. The Canadian dollar proved resilient, buoyed by a spike in crude oil prices.US dollar garnered support from higher Treasury yields after data on Friday showed payrolls in the public and private sector increased by 339,000 in May, far outstripping the 190,000 forecast on average by economists polled by Reuters.US currency gained 0.11% to 140.135 yen, as 10-year US Treasury yields climbed more than 3 basis points to 3.727% i...
June 5, 2023 at 9:01 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 05 (Agencies) — Chinese yuan eased by reflecting broad dollar strength in global markets on Monday as a robust US jobs report spurred bets of further rate hikes in the world’s largest economy.Prior to the market opening, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 7.0904 per dollar, 35 pips firmer than the previous fix of 7.0939.Official guidance fixing has been in line with market projections over the past few weeks. And Monday’s fixing was 14 pips firmer than Reuters’ estimate of 7.0918. “The absence of any explicit push back from policymakers is fuelling confidence in driving the pair (dollar/yuan) higher,” said Christopher Wong, FX strategist at OCBC Bank.“Daily RMB fix continues to come in consiste...
June 5, 2023 at 8:58 pm | Economic Affairs
June. 05 (Agencies) — Mostly Asian currencies weakened against a strong dollar on Monday instead of indications of an easing US labour market reaffirmed expectations of a pause in rate hikes by Federal Reserve.South Korean won weakened as much as 0.41%, set for its worst day in nearly two weeks while Indian rupee depreciated by 0.22% to its lowest level in over a week.In United States, the Fed is expected to pause in interest rate hikes at its June 13-14 meeting after last week’s data highlighted wage pressures had started to ease and the unemployment rate climbed off a 53-year low.However, Moh Siong Sim, a foreign exchange strategist at the Bank of Singapore suggested that the Fed might reengage in further policy tightening after the ...
June 5, 2023 at 8:56 pm | Economic Affairs
China's relations with Pakistan have been characterized by sincerity, mutual trust, and a shared commitment to promoting regional peace and stability Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan It is true that Pakistan's economy was among the fastest-growing in the region during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The country was seen as a model of development for many countries in the region, and its economic gains were admired and inspired other countries to learn from its success. It is also true that the focus on the Afghan war in the 1980s and beyond, as well as poor governance, lack of vision, planning, and sincerity, have contributed to the economic decay that has led to the current state of Pakistan's economy. The Afghanistan crisis has had...
May 29, 2023 at 10:55 am | Economic Affairs
There are broadly six sectors in Blue Economy valued at $24 trillion while it is credited for generating one out of ten jobs in the world. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not been truly focusing on its maritime possessions Reema Shaukat The government of Pakistan has been striving to strike a deal with the IMF, seek loan from friends and put economy on the track. As yet, all the paths seem to be embedded with hurdles but the government is hedging its bet against default. It seems we have missed many boats and one of them is taking advantage of our marine resource abundantly available in our south. Pakistan is blessed with an over 1000 km long coastline, 240,000 sqkm Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 50,000 sqkm Continental Shelf (CS)...
May 29, 2023 at 10:45 am | Economic Affairs
Seaports are crucial in providing opportunities for economic growth, enhancing regional development and contributing to Pakistan's GDP. Dr. Anjum Sarfraz Seaports are a vital component of a country's economy as they serve as gateways for international trade and commerce. They play a critical role in facilitating the movement of goods and commodities across borders and connecting countries to the global market. Seaports provide an essential infrastructure for the transportation and handling of raw materials, finished goods, and other products. Countries that have developed seaports equipped with advanced equipment and technology can efficiently handle cargo, thereby providing a competitive edge in global trade. These ports also act...
May 29, 2023 at 10:39 am | Economic Affairs
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate