Imran Khan congratulates Airlift for securing $85mn funding
The Lahore-based online shopping delivery firm Airlift Technologies Pvt. has secured the largest-ever round for a Pakistani startup in a Series B investment. Starting as a transit startup that was gaining fast traction in the country with 35 thousand rides a day, the company shifted to a shopping delivery service as the pandemic struck.
Governor Afghan central bank predicts economic turmoil
Acting Governor Central Bank of Afghanistan Ajmal Ahmady took to Twitter to talk about the situation of asset reserves of DAB. He revealed that the majority of Afghanistan's asset reserves are frozen by the US and the Taliban has access to only 0.1 to 0,2 per cent of the country's total international asset reserves. He said that this is "not much".
ECC green-signals a $400mn exploration attempt in Abu Dhabi
A consortium of four Pakistani state-owned companies namely MPCL, OGDCL PPL, and GHPL, will invest $400 million in exploration attempts in Abu Dhabi. The decision would allow these four companies to issue guarantees to the SPV in favor of Adnoc and SCFEA to qualify.
Pakistani bonds take a hit as Afghan refugee crisis looms
The fall of the Ashraf Ghani regime and the ascension of the Taliban has instilled fear of consequences among investors for the bordering Pakistan, as the country's dollar-based sovereign bonds became "biggest losers in Asia" on Monday.
Razaq Dawood hopeful that Pakistan’s exports will reach $50bn
Adviser for Commerce and Investment Razak Dawood is hopeful that Pakistan's exports will reach $50 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2023. He recognized export diversification, focus on non-traditional sectors, and increasing exports to new markets as major goals in the coming period.
Alien Registration Card introduced to include refugees, unregistered
A much needed positive step from Pakistani Govt of PM Imran Khan making it possible for Afghan refugees and other unregistered communities to open bank accounts and do all sorts of businesses inside a documented economy.
ECC approves Rs14bn National Remittance Loyalty Programme
The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved a National Remittance Loyalty Programme to incentivize the Pakistanis abroad to use formal channels to send their money to Pakistan. This will aid the government in maintaining the increasing current account deficit.
Engro Polymer declares earning-per-share of Rs7.99
Pakistan's leading company in the chemical sector Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited has shown significant Year-on-Year growth in net profit reaching Rs7.26 billion for the first half of the current calendar year 2021. However, it is down 25 percent Quarter-on-Quarter contrary to the experts' expectations.
Govt allocates Rs10 billion fund to the IT companies
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has announced the establishment of an Rs10 billion fund to give cash rewards to the IT companies based on their exports. A 5 per cent rebate on exports has been announced for the companies. The government has also decided to use 1 per cent of the annual remittances by the IT sector for further development of the sector.
PTA green-signals the manufacturing of Samsung mobile phones
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority took to Twitter to announce that Lucky Motor Cooperation has been given the authorization to manufacture South Korean tech giant Samsung's mobile phones in Pakistan. The regulator termed it "a great achievement" for the country.
Trade deficit soars by 86%: Is the economy doing any better?
As the trade deficit for July 2021 clocked in at US$3.1bn as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, it is an alarming indicator for our economy which struggles under the brunt of the IMF bail-out package, Covid-19 restricted economic activity measures and shutting down of borders for trade.
Boost in Pak-Holland trade as it records 107.62% surplus in FY21
On a month-on-month basis, Pakistan's to Holland rose by 23.74 percent during June 2021 as compared to the exports of $87.273 million in May 2021, the SBP data revealed.