THERE was one line in Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s remarks last Sunday that caught my eye. In his press conference on that day, he announced that Islamabad is seeking the re-profiling of $27 billion worth of debt owed to China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as per a news report. He did not bring up the subject of debt re-profiling himself, preferring to focus his remarks on less sensitive
I COMPLETELY empathise and sympathise [with the people],” remarked Pakistan’s finance minister as the tax-loaded Finance Bill 2024 was passed by the National Assembly. In a country where more than 10 million children are suffering from undernutrition, the finance minister was keen to observe that Pakistan is “making positive progress” before imposing a ‘milk tax’ on infant formula. Such remarks
During the last fiscal year that ended on June 30, Pakistan’s exports (fob value) increased to $31.1 billion whereas imports consumed $53.2bn, leaving a trade deficit of $22.1bn, according to the latest balance of payments statement. Although this volume of deficit is lower compared to the deficit of $24.8bn recorded a year earlier, the country’s precarious external finance situation requires f
Indus Motor Company (IMC) announced the milestone achievement of exporting vehicles manufactured in Pakistan during a ceremony held at the company’s manufacturing facility at Port Qasim Authority on Wednesday. The company revealed plans to export the Toyota Fortuner, Hilux and Corolla Cross models to Oceanian countries. In a notice to the stock exchange, IMC tempered expectations by noting t
The United Kingdom, not China, received the highest amount of profits and dividends on foreign investments in FY24, showed the State Bank of Pakistan’s data on Wednesday. China has been in the media regarding profits of independent power producers (IPPs) as solid resistance from all sections of Pakistani society has emerged against the staggering capacity payments to all IPPs. The SBP data s