News

Foreign debt inflows plunge 38pc in July-Jan

Amid a 66 per cent plunge in foreign inflows in the first half of FY25, the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) blocked the release of monthly data on external assistance for more than a month until a partial improvement to 38pc decline in seven months. The EAD released two separate sets of debt data on Tuesday. In the first six months of the current year, foreign debt inflows amounted to $3.6bn, a

Keen to work with Trump admin, PM Shehbaz tells US envoy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a meeting with US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Tuesday, reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to work with the Trump administration to strengthen bilateral ties. PM Shehbaz highlighted Pakistan’s interest in expanding cooperation in trade, information technology, agriculture, health, education, and energy. He also stressed the importance of counterterrorism col

Bearish conditions persist on stock market

Amid a dearth of positive triggers, the stock market continued its downturn for the fourth straight session on Monday mainly due to a weakening of the rupee on falling foreign exchange reserves ahead of the first review of the International Monetary Fund next month, crucial for the release of next tranche. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market stayed bearish amid consolidation

Buckling under the tax weight

Following the imposition of higher tax rates on Pakistan’s captive taxpayers (the salaried class), citizens now contribute Rs1.3 billion daily to the national exchequer. Totalling Rs41bn each month, annual tax collection is expected to exceed the Rs500bn mark by the end of FY25 against Rs368bn collected in FY24. While this boosts the Federal Board of Revenue’s performance and eases Internationa

Housing shortfall hits 12m units

More than 12 million houses are required across the country and the demand is rising due to negative growth in this sector. Some banking experts said the liquidity coming out from banks due to falling interest rate is expected to enter the property market and this could stimulate growth in the housing and construction sector. Builders and developers are, however, hopeful the housing sector w