News

Falling cotton production sparks concerns over GSP+ status

The European Union (EU) has decided to re-review Pakistan's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status in June 2025, despite initially granting the preferential trade status until 2027. Cotton Ginners Forum Chairman Ehsanul Haq told The Express Tribune that a team from the EU recently visited Pakistan to assess compliance with 27 conventions. EU officials have warned that failure to meet

Govt to borrow Rs6.8tr by April\'25

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has announced its auction calendar for Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and Market Treasury Bills (MTBs), targeting a total of Rs6.8 trillion in upcoming auctions. The calendar, issued by the Domestic Markets & Monetary Management Department, outlines the schedule and target amounts for both fixed-rate and floating-rate PIBs, as well as short-term MTBs. The SBP

Inflation drops to near decade low

Pakistan's inflation rate fell to a nearly decade-low level of 2.4% in January, bringing the central bank under pressure to further reduce interest rates to single digits by abandoning its extra-cautious monetary policy. Although the pace of increase in prices was at one of the lowest levels since November 2015, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday "expressed conce

Pakistan signs agreement to defer $1.2bn payment for Saudi oil

The federal government on Monday signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to defer by one year a $1.2 billion payment on oil imports. State broadcaster PTV showed the signing ceremony between a delegation of the fund led by its CEO Sultan Bin Abdul Rehman Al Marshad and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The premier welcomed the signing of the oil import financing facility,

Aurangzeb thanks provinces for passing agri tax law

Finance Mini­ster Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday thanked the provincial governments for imposing the agriculture income tax (AIT), in line with the commitment made to the IMF. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Mr Aurangzeb praised the passage of the AIT law, a key milestone in efforts to broaden the tax base. The statement followed the Sindh Assembly’s passage of the