The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the import of 200,000 tonnes of sugar and 400,000 tonnes of wheat to build the strategic reserves in order to stabilize the price of these commodities in the market. A subcommittee was constituted to work out modalities for placing tenders in the international market in a timely manner.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) largest-ever allocation of $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) came into effect on 23rd August and can bring about $2.7 billion of additional funding for Pakistan as well. This will take SBP's and overall country's reserves to a historic high.

A year-old B2B marketplace startup from Pakistan, Bazaar, has raised $30 million in Series A financing co-led by Silicon Valley-based Defy Partner and Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners. It is the biggest series A funding to be received by any startup in Pakistan.

As lockdown lifts and Pakistan's manufacturing industries resume operations, investors express confidence and optimism regarding the country's business environment. Due to this, the OICCI upgraded Pakistan by 59pc in its survey.

The Central Bank of UAE has issued a new guideline to registered hawala providers and licensed financial institutions providing services to registered hawala providers. The registered Hawala Providers are required to establish and maintain an effective AML/CFT compliance program to prevent money-laundering or terrorist financing.

The Cabinet Division of the government released a statement on Sunday saying that the government is absorbing much of the food inflation internationally to protect Pakistani consumers. The statement said that except for wheat, the state has prevented the prices of basic food in the international market from impacting local consumers.

Shahzeb Khanzada on his show on 20th has revealed that the government of Pakistan is on its way to buy two of the priciest LNG deliveries for September 2021. The prices are set at 34.67pc of Brent for delivery on 16th September, and 24.5pc of Brent for 26th of the same month. He said that even if this tender is not accepted by PSO, Pakistan would be at loss as alternatives are expensive.

Pakistan's current account deficit widens to $773 million in July 2021, compared to a surplus of $583 million posted one year ago. While the likely determinants of this fall are an increase in imports and increasing global commodity prices, the State Bank believes it is still in line with its projections.

The Finance Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Tarin addressed the business community of Karachi tackling different suggestions made by them to increase the ease of doing business in Pakistan. He said that it will take 5-7 years to solve the power sector problems caused by previous governments.

Pakistan's treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds have made a recovery in the fiscal year 2022, meaning once again the inflows are greater than the outflows. T-bills and PIBs did really well during the FY20, till March 2020, when the pandemic began economic disruptions. However, even today, the investors are only eyeing the short-term T-bills.

The Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Andreas Ferrarese on Wednesday said that Italy wanted to start a new era of economic and trade cooperation with Pakistan through the transfer of technology. He said Pakistan was working to expand technical assistance in Agricultural items including dairy and livestock, olives, and the construction sector to the Italian market.

The upwards rally of international steel prices continues to impact the steel manufacturing in Pakistan, as Amreli Steel announces a further increase in prices of steel rebars in Pakistan. This continuous increase in prices may deter PM Imran Khan's plans for the provision of low-cost housing to the poor of Pakistan.