The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday approved exemptions from procurement rules for the execution of a framework agreement with China for the realignment of the $2billion Karakoram Highway (KKH) and the Chakdara-Timergara Highway with South Korea, due to their tied credit. The committee, however, decided to bar foreign-funded projects that lack self-sufficient re
The nexus between power and plots in Pakistan has seriously affected the economy, says Princeton economist Atif Mian, while urging the government to shift its focus from non-reproducible to reproducible factors. In a Thursday commentary on the current economic situation in Pakistan, the Pakistani-American economist warned that the power-plot nexus has led to a high-consumption, low-productivit
The dimmed chances for releasing the first tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board even early next month kept market sentiments depressed, pushing the benchmark index below 78,000 despite a rating upgrade in a volatile session on Wednesday. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the stock market closed lower on a weak economic outlook amid reports of uncertainty o
Traders across major cities of Pakistan observed a shutter-down strike on Wednesday against the government’s much-touted tax reforms, including the Tajir Dost Scheme. In March, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) introduced the ‘Tajir Dost Scheme’ to bring traders and wholesalers into the formal tax structure as required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The move had led to concerns and
Global rating agency Moody’s on Wednesday upgraded Pakistan’s local and foreign currency issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa2 from Caa3. The international rating agency — one of the top three global rating firms — said its decision to upgrade was due to “Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic conditions and moderately better government liquidity and external positions, from very weak le