Author: Ibraheem Sheikh
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Experts predict two per cent rate cut as inflation plummets to 44-month low
Business owners look towards the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to cut interest rates yet again as the inflation rate reached a low of 6.9 per cent in September 2024. The interest rate is expected to fall around two per cent to 15.5 per cent – the lowest in around four years. The SBP, like…
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Power play: Hope for businesses with 8.55 billion rupee reduction in bills
Businesses and consumers prepare to celebrate as they may soon see a reduction in their utility bills of up to PKR 8.55 billion. This is because the Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G) has proposed for Discos (electricity distribution companies) to decrease the per unit price of electricity by PKR 0.7. The lower cost of electricity…
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Cotton’s potential revival: Strong harvest drives 52 per cent increase in ginning factories
Cotton farmers breathed a sigh of relief as the final bale of their successful harvest was loaded onto trucks en route to the ginning factories. After a 48 per cent decline in cotton output from last year, the first fortnight of October recorded an 8.87 per cent increase compared to the same period last year,…
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Reko Diq to possibly secure $4.5 billion in loans and investments
Bilateral sources line up to extend loans totalling USD 4.5 billion to Pakistan for the Reko Diq mining operation. Business owners surrounding the mining facility prepare to celebrate as the influx of funds will serve to promote business activity in the region. The greatest potential lender is the EXIM (Export-Import) Bank of the United States,…
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Iran-Pakistan trade talks could yield sugar exporters a 500 million dollar sweet deal
Businessmen across Pakistan watched the developments of the meeting between Iran’s Minister of Trade, Mohammad Atabak, and Pakistan’s Commerce Minister, Jam Kamal Khan. The meeting ended with an agreement to remove the existing barriers to trade that could greatly increase trade and business activities on both sides of the border. The meeting in Islamabad sparked…
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Taxed for holding back: Banks face 197 billion rupee bill for avoiding private sector loans
Bankers across Pakistan grow uneasy as their pleas to get tax exemptions fall on deaf ears. The government, as per the conditions attached to the IMF loan, can not exempt banks from the “additional” tax of PKR 197 billion. The reason why banks find themselves in this situation is because of their excessive lending to…
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Blackboards to profit boards: Defunding public universities can save 61 billion rupees
International lenders have informed lawmakers in Islamabad to defund public universities as part of the austerity measures of the new loan agreements. Businesses engaged in the provision of higher education are likely to eye these negotiations with great interest as they stand to benefit enormously if these measures are to be implemented by the government.…
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The cost of unrest: PTI protests could deter foreign investments at SCO summit
As Islamabad ramps up security efforts for eight high profile delegations attending the SCO summit 2024, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has thrown a spanner in the works. While whispers of multibillion dollar international investments deals can be heard amongst lawmakers in Islamabad, murmurs about a potential PTI march on the SCO summit are also raising concerns.…
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Tax evaders beware: Finance minister cracks down to boost tax revenues by $21 billion
Pakistan is losing out on approximately $21 billion annually to tax evasion. As Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb tightens the metaphorical noose around tax evaders with his crusade, law-abiding citizens could expect better times. This is because, as per the latest federal budget, the interest payments of the debt incurred to finance the fiscal deficit of…
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CPEC energy debt reprofiling: Economic relief at a billion-dollar price tag
Pakistanis look on with weary eyes as lawmakers in Islamabad plan to celebrate a possible extension of a $15.4 billion loan. The debt reprofiling for energy-based projects attached to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will increase the debt amount by approximately eight per cent, which is huge given that it amounts to $1.22 billion. What…