The Track and Trace System (TTS) implemented by the FBR was failing, with a rising incidence of fake stamps being affixed to counterfeit packs of prominent cigarette brands. Senior officials of the tobacco industry on Monday decried a lack of enforcement measures in the sector, expressing concerns about the sustainability of this business as Pakistani markets were flooded with smuggled and coun
Oil prices rose about two per cent on Monday as traders weighed the impact of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and extreme cold weather across North America on oil supply against a bullish US stock market signalled demand growth. Brent March crude futures rose $1.17, or 1.5pc, to $79.73 a barrel by 10:41 a.m. CST (1641 GMT). The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude futures contrac
Borrowing by the private sector has gone down by 86.3 per cent to Rs57.4 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year, from Rs419bn during the same period of last year. Only the Islamic banks were able to extend loans to the private sector during the first half of the current fiscal year, reflecting an extremely poor performance by both the private sector and lenders. Since the e
The World Bank has started marketing more loans to Pakistan with a formal $425 million upfront offer to finance microfinance banks and social sector projects including the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). This was disclosed by the Ministry of Finance after Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar had a meeting with a World Bank team led by its Country Director Najy Binhassine on Mo
Pakistan’s exports of non-textile value products saw a contraction in the first half of 2023-24 from a year ago. The negative growth was observed despite an increase in the country’s main exports of textiles and clothing in the same period, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In the July-December period, the exports of leather garments fell by 9.71 per cent year-