News

54 countries, including Pakistan, urgently need debt relief: UN

Cascading global crises have left 54 countries — home to more than half of the world’s poorest people — in dire need of debt relief, the Unied Nations said on Tuesday. In a new report, the United Nations Development Programme warned that dozens of developing nations were facing a rapidly deepening debt crisis and that “the risks of inaction are dire.” UNDP said without immediate relief, at l

Dar moves to secure rescheduling of $27bn in bilateral debt

To secure greater breathing space in foreign loan repayments amid tight external account conditions, Pakistan is seeking rescheduling of bilateral debt, which now stands at around $27 billion. “Rescheduling of bilateral debt is fine,” said Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while ruling out rescheduling of international debt from wealthy western nations under Paris Club, multilaterals and international

Stocks climb up on China loan rollover

Bulls dominated trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) during the outgoing week with four sessions closing in the green. Investors’ buying interest revived as soon as China agreed to refinance a $2.24 billion loan. Investors took fresh positions as the week began with positive news that the government was engaged in talks on rolling over Chinese SAFE deposits of $2 billion. The week saw l

Stocks snap bullish streak over Moody’s

A four-day winning streak ended at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday as a Moody’s report sparked concerns among investors, who remained cautions while trading stocks. The rating agency downgraded Pakistan’s credit rating to Caa1 from B3. The stock market expected further deterioration in the economic outlook of the country. Despite pessimism, the benchmark KSE100 index registered a steady b

Dollar to fall below Rs200, says Dar

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that the rupee had been regaining strength against the dollar and the dollar would fall below Rs200, because it had gone beyond its real value. Talking to a private TV channel, the finance minister said the country’s macroeconomic indicators had surely lots of problems but the economic mess was inherited from the previous government that “left us on t