Despite an improved global outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday lowered Pakistan’s economic growth forecast to two per cent for the current fiscal year, down 0.5 percentage points from its October estimate of 2.5pc. In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released on Tuesday, the Washington-based global lender also slightly revised downward (by 0.1pc) the ne
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the week with a decline of more than 1,000 points, the biggest single-day fall in over a month. According to the Karachi-based brokerage firm Topline Securities, it was the highest day-on-day decline since Dec 26. According to the stock exchange data, the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 1,039.34 points, or 1.63pc, to close at 62,773.72 on Monday. Monday’s n
The first formal company for online and physical trading of gold will start operation in Pakistan on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, which is expected to eliminate speculation in gold trading and price manoeuvring in the market. Approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange, Zakaria Gold Commodities (Pvt) Limited will be engaged in online and phy
The federal government’s budget deficit widened by more than 50%, primarily due to a steep increase in interest payments that reached Rs4.2 trillion during the first half of this fiscal year, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The Rs4.22 trillion interest payments exceeded the net income of the federal government by Rs207 billion during the Ju
Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Dr Umar Saif announced on Monday that 5G services would be launched in Pakistan by July-August 2024 where the government would auction 300MHz of spectrum. Before the launch of 5G, Pakistan’s optic fibre network will have to be extended. Currently, only 6,000 mobile towers are connected to optic fibre cables out of aroun