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Stocks lose 466 points on budget uncertainty

Pakistani shares experienced selling pressure on Monday as uncertainty surrounding the upcoming budgetary meas­ures caused the benchmark KSE 100 index to turn red despite an initially positive start amid low volume. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market turned bearish on reports that the huge Rs12.5 trillion proposed tax collection target for FY25 would impact industrial earni

CORPORATE WINDOW: Pakistan’s fiscal policy odyssey

As Pakistan faces mounting economic challenges, the government’s ambitious proposal to raise Rs1.2 trillion to Rs1.3tr in the upcoming budget through new taxation measures signals a bold attempt to stabilise the nation’s fiscal health. However, the effectiveness of these measures is tempered by the inherent weaknesses in Pakistan’s tax system, which is fragmented and unfair and leaves entire se

A new squabble but a smart KP budget

The new Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget for the next financial year seems to be a smartly crafted document that commits to producing a significant surplus of Rs100 billion while proposing a slew of populist and expansionary measures in line with the ruling PTI’s election manifesto. The estimate of the budgeted provincial receipts of Rs1.75 trillion appears a bit on the ‘higher side’ as some of the re

The blazing glory of Pakistan’s basmati exports

Although Pakistan is globally ranked ninth in rice production, it claims fourth position as a rice exporter after India, Vietnam, and Thailand. This financial year ending on June 30, rice exports from Pakistan may touch the 5.8 million tonnes mark, a fraction short of the magical 6m tonnes figure, mainly because of favourable weather, availability of farm inputs, and the Indian ban on non-Basma

Dollar outflow surges 251pc in July-April

The repatriation of profits and dividends on foreign investments surged year-on-year by 251 per cent during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, reflecting the State Bank of Pakistan’s relaxed policy towards dollar outflows. According to data released by the central bank on Monday, the country witnessed a profit outflow of $887 million during July-April FY24 compared to $253m in 10MF