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UAE has deposited $1bn in Pakistan’s central bank: Ishaq Dar

July, 12(E. A Report) — Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deposited $1 billion in Pakistan’s central bank, another boost for the country’s depleting foreign exchange reserves.“We have gotten the confirmation that the UAE has deposited the amount into the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP),” said Dar in a video message. “Pakistan’s reserves have now increased by $3 billion after the $2 billion from Saudi Arabia.”“The improved position will be reflected in the reserves on July 14.”The inflows were committed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia earlier this year, and formed part of the financing assurances needed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to complete Pakistan’s ninth rev...

July 12, 2023 at 8:34 pm | Economic Affairs

Budget Analysis

An economic growth-enhancing fiscal budget is a budgetary framework that prioritizes policies and allocations to stimulate and sustain economic growth. Dr Abid Rashid Gil The PDM government presented Budget 2022-2-23 of 14.641 trillion on 14 June with the elections looming and the country was facing the most challenging internal and external circumstances. Geo-political and economic conditions are not favorable. The economy has not stabilized the internal shocks: the 2022 floods and political uncertainty, and external shocks: Russia and Ukraine war, yet. The import restrictions have disrupted the whole supply chain for the industrial sector, already paying two third of taxes, while the exchange rate pattern is highly uncertain. ...

July 12, 2023 at 8:31 pm | Economic Affairs

Green Transition

The efforts toward green energy transition have been underway for some time in Pakistan. Dr. Hassan Daud Butt The global financial downturn induced by COVID-19 has hampered the effectiveness of renewable energy developments, impeding the accomplishment of the United Nations' sustainable development targets. In the past three years, the pandemic has significantly delayed renewable energy progress mainly due to the investor's capacity to travel across countries and create suitable arrangements for joint ventures. This widespread dilemma also jeopardized the supply networks of renewable, impeding the transition to renewable energy. As a response, the world further electrifies energy use in the transportation, building, and industr...

July 12, 2023 at 8:17 pm | Economic Affairs

Shahbaz’s Charms Offensive

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has guts and attitude to engage with establishment, leaders and heads of international lenders to create a win-win situation Qamar Bashir Prime 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 enga...

July 12, 2023 at 7:40 pm | Economic Affairs

Life Without IMF

Pakistan needs for serious introspection and change in course. The sophistication of hybrid war against Pakistan calls for an equally sophisticated counter strategy. Syed Hasan Javed For 34 years, Pakistanis believed that their country cannot survive without the IMF programmeme. The narrative for this state of mind has been cultivated carefully by the International Financial Institutions(IFIs) Eco system in Pakistan, comprising its former employees, experts, consultants, retired bureaucrats', scholars, businessmen, dual nationals, think tanks, etc. carefully.  Recent debate in the Pakistani media has focused on economic meltdown. Like in the years following the May 1998 nuclear tests, the narrative of 'debt default' of Pakist...

July 12, 2023 at 7:21 pm | Economic Affairs

The majority owners of offshore holding seek direct stakes in K-Electric

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

Saudi output cuts help drive up one corner of the global oil market

July, 12(Agencies) ——Prices for sour crude oil have climbed globally this month after top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked prices and expanded production cuts of higher-sulfur oil in the first sign its efforts to prop up global prices is having an impact.The de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this month deepened its production cuts to 1 million barrels per day in response to benchmark prices that fell to below $72 a barrel this summer.“The kingdom’s curbs have had an outsized impact on the supply of medium-and heavy-sour barrels,” Mark Rossano, a partner at energy data provider Primary Vision Network, said.The increases - seen among North Sea, US and Canadian sour crude grades - have jumped...

July 12, 2023 at 2:56 pm | Economic Affairs

USD sinks two-month ahead of US inflation data, sterling hits 15-month peak

July, 12(Agencies) ——US dollar sank to a two-month low against its major peers on Wednesday in the lead-up to a key US inflation reading, while sterling scaled a 15-month top on expectations the Bank of England (BoE) has further to go in raising rates.US inflation data is due later on Wednesday, with expectations core consumer prices rose 5% on an annual basis in June.The figures should also provide further clarity on the Federal Reserve’s progress in its fight against inflation.Ahead of the release, the US dollar fell to a two-month low of 101.45 against a basket of currencies, extending its losses from the start of the week after Fed officials said the central bank was nearing the end of its current monetary policy tightening cycle...

July 12, 2023 at 2:49 pm | Economic Affairs

Asian FX up on easing rate rise bets, China stimulus hope

July, 11(Agencies) ——China’s yuan inched up against the dollar on Tuesday after the central bank continued to set a firmer-than-expected midpoint fixing, while extended financial policy support for the troubled property sector also underpinned sentiment.China’s central bank on Monday extended a rescue package to shore up the real estate sector, which is struggling to gain traction despite a range of measures aimed at easing a liquidity crunch that has plagued it since mid-2020.The move “could be a signal that more property easing is coming,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie.“Looking ahead, we expect to see more easing on the demand side, such as lowering the down-payment ratio and easing purchase restrictions...

July 11, 2023 at 3:36 pm | Economic Affairs

China’s yuan inches up on firmer fix, property support steps

July, 11(Agencies) ——China’s yuan inched up against the dollar on Tuesday after the central bank continued to set a firmer-than-expected midpoint fixing, while extended financial policy support for the troubled property sector also underpinned sentiment.China’s central bank on Monday extended a rescue package to shore up the real estate sector, which is struggling to gain traction despite a range of measures aimed at easing a liquidity crunch that has plagued it since mid-2020.The move “could be a signal that more property easing is coming,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie.“Looking ahead, we expect to see more easing on the demand side, such as lowering the down-payment ratio and easing purchase restrictions...

July 11, 2023 at 3:32 pm | Economic Affairs