Moody’s Investors Service has given a “credit negative” signal to Pakistan in the face of prolonged political ambiguity and social tensions over election results, which will make it tough to approach the IMF for a new programme, weaken external economy and make liquidity management more challenging. In its report titled “Political uncertainty persists in Pakistan following inconclusive election
With over 50% of firms in the textiles and apparel sector at high risk of shutting down over the coming weeks, All Pakistan Textiles Mills Association (APTMA) has called upon the federal government to review the energy rates to make textile exports competitive in the international market. The international competitiveness of Pakistan’s textiles and apparel exports is being continuously eroded b
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Wednesday approved an increase in gas prices for residential and industrial consumers to recover an additional Rs242 billion but could not finalise rates due to the competing interests of cabinet members. The ECC also approved the imposition of 25% sales tax on all categories of SUVs and CUVs having value of over Rs4 million, excluding
THE first thing that incoming prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has to realise is that no matter what happens, no matter how much pressure comes his way from his own party, including from Nawaz Sharif, he must not, under any circumstances, make Ishaq Dar finance minister again. Bringing Dar in as finance minister one more time will be the worst mistake Shehbaz Sharif can make at this point. The
While approving an already allocated Rs7.5 billion subsidy package for the upcoming Ramazan, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet could not decide how to recover Rs100bn in additional money from gas consumers in the remaining four and a half months of the current fiscal year as the commerce minister pressed for reducing cross-subsidisation burden on industry. The meeting of