Author: admin

• Says foreign remittances may rise up to $36bn this year• NA extends two ordinances for 120 days ISLAMABAD: Amidst alarm over the hiring of a US-based company for digitalisation of tax system in the country, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday told the National Assembly that McKinsey and company was selected after a “transparent competitive” process. MQM-P lawmaker Syed Hafezuddin while speaking on a calling attention notice had pointed out that the New York-based company had subsidiaries for artificial intelligence (AI) services and solutions operating in Israel and India. The finance minister said as many as seven parties, including…

LAHORE: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s Businessmen Panel (BMP) on Monday observed that the high borrowing costs are indeed choking the industries at a time when they are in desperate need of breathing space as interest rate status quo displeased businesses across the country. FPCCI former president and BMP Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar, while addressing a ceremony of business community of various sectors held here in their honour at Iftar reception, stated that country’s economic house is not exactly in order. Inflation may be at record lows, but global risks are rising. The rupee is always…

PESHAWAR: Advisor to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muzzammil Aslam has rejected the federal government’s claims of economic improvement. In a statement issued here on Monday, Aslam stated that Pakistan has recorded its lowest electricity production in February 2025 since February 2020, post-COVID-19. Moreover, the country’s large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector has seen a decline of 1.8% in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. Aslam further emphasized that the LSM sector experienced a negative growth of 1.2% in January alone. Aslam warned that the newly introduced gas tariff for captive power units may lead to a further decline…

Dubai topped the luxury real estate market index with property prices soaring by 147% between 2019-2024, according to Knight Frank’s recent Wealth Report 2025. The city’s prime residential sector recorded a 16.9% increase in prices by Q3 2024, on track to hit 20% by the year’s end. This surge has placed Dubai among the top performers in the Prime International Residential Index (PIRI), trailing only Seoul and Manila, added the report. The population of individuals worth at least $10 million in the Middle East rose 2.7% last year, placing the region in fifth place in terms of global wealth. Dubai’s…

PARIS: Trade tensions and geopolitical uncertainties are weighing on economic perspectives, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday as it lowered its projections for global growth in 2025. “We are navigating troubled waters,” said the OECD’s chief economist Alvaro Santos Pereira as he summed up the world’s economic situation in the coming months, with inflation set to rise. US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House is in part responsible for the coming turbulence, the OECD said in its report, with his protectionist policies sparking trade wars and driving up inflation. While global economic activity remained…

ISLAMABAD: Directorate General of Customs Valuation Karachi has fixed new Customs values on the import of 104 types of branded chocolates imported from all origins. The directorate has issued a new valuation ruling (1980 of 2025) on Monday to upward revise values of branded chocolates for assessment of duties and taxes at the import stage. The Customs values have been revised on the import of a wide verity of chocolate brands including Kit Kat Bars/wafers, Mars, Bounty, Snickers, Alprose Swiss Butter, Cadbury (Various Flavors/Blends), Galaxy (Various Flavors/Blends), Galaxy Jewels Chocolates, After Eight, Lindt, Belgian Chocolate, M&M Chocolate Beans (Various Packings),…

ISLAMABAD: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan’s largest exploration and production company, has announced a significant gas and condensate discovery at its Soghri North-1 well in the Soghri Block, located in the Attock district of Punjab. According to a news release, OGDCL is the sole of the Soghri Exploration License, with a 100% working interest. The Soghri North-1 well was spudded on May 21, 2024, as part of OGDCL’s ongoing commitment to exploring Pakistan’s hydrocarbon potential. Drilled to a total depth of 4,942 meters in the Patala Formation, the well underwent extensive testing. Based on wireline log interpretation,…

KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account showed significant improvement, recording a $0.7 billion surplus in the first eight months of FY25, driven by a rise in home remittance inflows. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), despite a monthly deficit in February 2025, the cumulative current account balance for July to February remains in surplus. Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of $691 million in July-Feb of FY25 as against $1.73 billion deficit in same period of last fiscal year (FY24). Pressures on the external account have emerged due to rising imports amid weak financial inflows, resulting in a monthly current…

China’s state statistics agency has introduced a new data series on “service robots” in its monthly industrial output report, in addition to the existing “industrial robots” category, offering a clearer view of the country’s growing robotics industry.While China is already the world’s leading industrial robot market, accounting for over half of global installations, the country’s service robot sector – including professional, consumer, and medical robots – is also rapidly expanding, fuelled by the rise of start-ups such as Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics and Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics.According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, the output of…

As a growing trade surplus highlights the need for China to boost its domestic demand, scholars at a Peking University seminar suggested enhancing the country’s social safety net and increasing investment in public service to build a foundation for higher consumption.Beijing has unveiled several initiatives to encourage demand, including a 30-point plan published on Sunday, to counteract tariffs and export restrictions levied by the US to correct the surplus its president and other officials have labelled as unfair.To address the imbalance in trade, “the ultimate solution is to boost domestic demand and consumption,” said Lu Feng, a professor of economics…