Bank financing to businesses in the private sector surged nine percentage points in one month to 44% of deposits by October 25, 2024, as the government approached the Supreme Court to vacate a stay order granted by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against a 15% additional tax on financial institutions in case they fail to meet the financing target of 50% on December 31, 2024. Citing the State Ban
The government has shot down a proposal to reduce electricity prices by about Rs4 per unit by retiring Rs1.8 trillion worth of circular debt through raising public debt – in a move that underscores limited options for providing any substantial relief to consumers. The only success that the government has so far achieved is the reduction of 60 paisa per unit by terminating the contracts of five
Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw profit-taking around mid-day on political noise after climbing more than 800 points in early morning trade on Wednesday in its historic bull run. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 847.17 points, or 0.88 per cent, to stand at 96,703.83 from the previous close of 95,856.66 points at 10:57am. However, the index closed in the red, decreasing by 310.
IT has now become a routine question. Every TV anchor and people I meet in any gathering all want to know: is it true that the economy is ‘improving’? The short, and best, answer here is ‘yes and no’. Yes, because the deficits that plagued it have been plugged. No, because growth remains a far-off dream. The proper term to use is ‘the economy is stabilising’, but it is not yet, and will not be
“Don’t marry off your girls till they are financially independent,” says screenwriter Zanjabeel Asim Shah — a fairly revolutionary statement in a society where sons have careers and daughters are mostly to be married off. Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, the State Bank of Pakistan invited women leaders, who narrated their success stories, along with a healthy dose of pragmatism. The