The downward trend in the interest rates has pushed up auto financing to Rs241.6 billion in January from Rs235.45bn in December 2024, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan showed. In the last seven months, cutting interest rates to 12pc from 22pc has lured cash-rich customers towards auto financing of new and used vehicles. In June 2022, auto financing was at its peak of Rs368bn. An an
Pakistan’s raw food exports rose 8.17 per cent to $4.62 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to $4.26bn in the corresponding period last year, mainly driven by a significant rise in rice shipments. The exports have risen for 18 consecutive months despite unprecedented food inflation in the country’s history. As a result, consumers nationwide are paying hi
The foreign direct investment (FDI) surged 56 per cent in the first seven months of FY25. The State Bank reported on Tuesday that the FDI increased by $548 million, or 56pc, to $1.523 billion during July-January FY25 compared to $975m a year ago. The growth is impressive, but the size of the FDI was the poorest in the region. The government has been trying to attract foreign investments but
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday directed the government to cease using funds from the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) to cover arbitration costs. The directive came after PAC discovered that funds meant for key gas infrastructure projects — including the Iran-Pakistan (IP) Pipeline, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline and LNG-related initiative
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