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Pakistan was “well positioned” for the first review of its $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout programme as talks with the global lender began on Tuesday, the country’s finance minister told Reuters. Islamabad secured the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility last summer to help claw its way out of an economic crisis. The programme has played a key role in stabilising Pakistan’s economy and the government has said the country is on course for a long-term recovery. “They are here. We will have two rounds of talks, first technical and then policy level,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. “I think…

China responded immediately, announcing additional tariffs of 10-15 percent on certain U.S. imports from March 10U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20 percent, signaling the beginning of a trade war with America’s top three trading partners.The new tariffs came into effect at 5:01 GMT following Trump’s statement that all three countries had failed to do enough to limit the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. These tariffs are expected to cut around $2.2 trillion in bilateral trade with the…

Saudi oil giant Aramco said on Tuesday that it expects to declare total dividends of $85.4 billion in 2025, a near 30 per cent drop from payouts in 2024 as it faced lower sales and higher costs. Aramco paid about $124.25bn in dividends in 2024 and had $97.78bn in payouts in 2023. Aramco is the chief source of revenue for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to remodel the Gulf kingdom’s crude-reliant economy. Soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine allowed Aramco to post record profits in 2022, before they dipped by 25pc in…

The country further sought approval for the EUR4 billion package and emphasized SCZONE as key investment destination.Egypt is set to receive a EUR90 million ($94.3 million) loan from the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank as part of the Egypt Food Resilience Project, according to an official statement from the European External Action Service (EEAS). The funding aims to enhance Egypt’s food security through wheat purchases, reinforcing the ongoing cooperation between Egypt and the EU in addressing economic and social challenges.The announcement was made during the visit of Dubravka Šuica, EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, who met with…

Lebanon hopes that Saudi Arabia will lift the travel ban on the cash-strapped countryLebanon’s President Joseph Aoun became the country’s first head of state to visit Riyadh in six years, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.The visit, which will help thaw relations between the two countries, also looks at restoring trade ties and reconstruction efforts in the country.This will also reactivate a $3 billion package for the Lebanese army, Aoun said last week.Read | Joseph Aoun: Regional, global support for Lebanon’s newly elected presidentThe visit is an “opportunity to emphasize the depth of Lebanese-Saudi relations…

The participation highlights digital investment opportunities, enhances Qatar’s tech hub statusQatar is participating in the Mobile World Congress (MWC Barcelona 2025) in Barcelona, Spain. The Qatari delegation attending the conference comprises representatives from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Qatar Tourism, and the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar). This participation, QNA reported, aims to highlight investment opportunities in the digital sector, boost Qatar’s status as a hub for modern technology, and forge strategic partnerships with international companies.The MWC stands as one of the largest global events in the communications and information technology sector, uniting a diverse group of…

Positive momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling with a gain of over 750 points. The market remained range-bound in the initial hours of trading but gained momentum in the final session, reaching an intra-day high of 112,877.01. At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 112,743.79, an increase of 756.91 points or 0.68%. Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertilizer, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, NRL, PRL, OGDC, PPL, MCB and MEBL traded in the green. In a key development, the International Monetary…

US President Donald Trump’s new 25 per cent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20pc, launching new trade conflicts with the top three US trading partners. The tariff actions, which could upend nearly $2.2 trillion in two-way annual US trade went live at 12:01am EST (10am Pakistan time), hours after Trump declared that all three countries had failed to do enough to stem the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the US. Canada and Mexico, which have enjoyed a virtually…

China has revealed the details of its response to new tariffs from the United States on its exports, adding a group of US firms to its export control list, slapping additional tariffs of 10-15 per cent on selected American goods and announcing plans to bring a case to the World Trade Organization over the matter.A 15 per cent duty will be applied to imports of US poultry and agricultural products including wheat, corn and cotton, according to a government statement. Tariffs of 10 per cent will be applied to imports of soybeans, pork, beef, fruit, vegetables and dairy products.The 15…

Rupee’s Performance Against US Dollar Since 15 Jan 2025 The Pakistani rupee recorded marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the rupee settled at 279.77, a loss of Re0.10 against the greenback. During the previous week, the rupee depreciated further against the US dollar as it lost Re0.10 or 0.4% in the inter-bank market. The local unit closed at 279.67, against 279.57 it had closed the week earlier against the greenback, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The currency market was closed on Monday on account of a bank…