Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the long-term deposit ratings of five Pakistani commercial banks — Allied Bank Limited (ABL), Habib Bank Ltd, (HBL), MCB Bank Limited (MCB), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and United Bank Ltd (UBL) — to Caa1 from B3. The rating agency has also downgraded the five banks' long-term foreign currency Counterparty Risk Ratings (CRRs) to Caa1 from B3, accordi
In the backdrop of the US sanctions against Tehran, Pakistan has renewed its commitment to execute the much-awaited Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reinforced his commitment to execute the IP gas pipeline project during his meeting with the Iranian head-of-state on the side lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Samarkand. This was
The National Tax Council (NTC) could not meet this week in the absence of full quorum, despite formally convening a meeting, an affair which may appear to be small, but highlights the challenges posed by increasing political polarisation amid an unfavourable global environment for raising debt. The council was scheduled to meet on Monday to make a decision on complying with a critical condition
The sugar industry stakeholders have called on the government to allow the export of surplus sugar and promote the free market economy. “Last year, Pakistan produced 7.9 million tonnes of sugar, which is 40% (2.247 million tonnes) more as compared to that in FY2020-21,” noted Miran Mohammed Shah, President of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture. “If the decision-makers had considered this aspec
Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis slowed down to a four-month low at $2.44 billion in September 2022. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Tuesday that the receipts contracted 10.5% in September 2022 compared to inflows of $2.72 billion in the prior month. The remittances were 12.3% lower compared to the same month of previous year when they stood at $2.78 billion. Experts