The interim government has made major revisions to this fiscal year’s budget, significantly increasing the federal budget deficit to a new record high of Rs8.54 trillion but cutting the external loans estimates by over $6 billion due to the non-materialisation of Eurobonds and foreign commercial loans. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance released its new Annual Borrowing Plan, detailing the rev
THERE is no doubt that the first few years of this third decade of the 21st century have been filled by unexpected calamities across the continents. Covid-19 dealt such a blow to the world’s economy that even some wealthy countries faced recessionary conditions. The less wealthy, naturally, were beset by even more troubled times when the pandemic knocked on their door. Many had to close down fa
A high-level delegation of 25 top Pakistani business houses left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to participate in a conference to explore opportunities for boosting bilateral trade. The delegation, headed by Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz, is scheduled to meet the Saudi counterpart at the sidelines of the conference on Wednesday. This marks the first business delegation trip to Saudi Arabia follo
The political uncertainty slightly impacted the inflows through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) dipping to $142 million in January versus $160m in December 2023. However, foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a six-year high net outflow of $173m in January, indicating a deterioration of foreign investors’ confidence in the economy. The State Bank of Pakistan’s data on Tuesday showed tha
The Bank of Punjab (BoP) on Tuesday announced a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs11.3bn with earnings per share (EPS) at Rs3.47 in 2023, up from Rs10.8bn and EPS Rs3.31 in 2022. The board of directors reviewed and approved the bank’s annual audited financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2023. The board announced a cash dividend of Re1 per share. Interloop profit doubles Interloop Ltd