Foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank fell drastically by $397 million during the week that ended on July 19, making it difficult for the government to keep the reserves around $9 billion before another loan agreement with the IMF. According to the State Bank, the decline was due to external debt repayments which brought the reserves down to $9.027.2bn. The country is struggling amid huge
Unrestricted imports from February onwards increased the arrival of completely knocked down (CKD) kits to $779 million in FY24 from $750m in FY23 amid sales fluctuations and plant shutdowns. CKD imports fell drastically to $37m in January from $104m in December 2023 after the State Bank of Pakistan imposed curbs on opening fresh letters of credit (LCs) to discourage auto demand and control the
Pakistan’s trade imbalance with the Middle East has significantly improved, narrowing by 20.47 per cent to $13.014 billion in 2023-24 from $16.365bn the preceding year, owing primarily to lower petroleum imports from the region. The trade imbalance with the region has seen a decrease since the beginning of the current fiscal year. This can be attributed to a decline in the consumption of petro
The government has directed Karachi Port Trust (KPT) to streamline its affairs to improve performance and enhance operational capabilities. The decision was taken on Thursday at a high-level meeting held in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to address the challenges the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) faced. The primary objective of the meeting was to align all stakeholders in resolving the challeng
The Gallup Pakistan latest survey reveals a stark decline in business confidence among the country’s business owners, who now view Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government as an even worse economic manager than its predecessor. The continued political turmoil and the introduction of a tax-heavy budget have further exacerbated their pessimism about the future. The Gallup Business Confidence