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India’s Trade Minister Piyush Goyal started on a trip to the United States on Monday to pursue trade talks, two government officials said, with weeks to go for President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs. Goyal’s visit was sudden, as he departed after cancelling previously scheduled meetings until March 8, the officials said. He is also the minister for industry. India’s trade ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month, both nations agreed to work on the first segment of a trade deal by the fall of…

Chinese tourists are increasingly turning away from traditional destinations such as the United States and Europe in favour of hotspots in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America, according to foreign exchange firm Travelex.The company has seen a marked shift in the currency exchanges requested by its Chinese customers since 2019, with US dollars, euros and British pounds becoming less popular, an executive at the company told the Post.“The US overall probably was about 27 per cent of our volume in 2019,” said Cameron Hume, global wholesale director at Travelex in Shanghai. “It’s now about 17 per cent.”The trend…

A US arbitrator has denied Zia Chishti, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of TRG Pakistan, a motion to block Greentree Holdings Limited (GHL) from proceeding with a tender offer and to accelerate TRG Pakistan’s board elections. The development was disclosed by TRG Pakistan in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. “TRG Pakistan Limited had previously disclosed on February 17, 2025, that on January 28, 2025, the company’s former CEO, Zia Chishti, filed a motion for preliminary injunction in a US arbitration involving the company, seeking to stop GHL from proceeding with its tender offer, while…

Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 1,300 points to settle below 112,000 level on Monday. At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 111,986.88, a decrease of 1,264.78 points or 1.12%. Selling was witnessed across key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Key stocks contributing to the downturn included ENGROH, UBL, MCB, MTL, and PPL, which together accounted for a drop of 731 points in the index, brokerage house Topline Securities said. “The negative sentiment was driven by the lack of a positive…

ISLAMABAD: The Government’s economic management team has taken a curious stand on the very damaging issue of inflation that the people of Pakistan have had to endure during the last two years. The high inflation has pushed a large segment of the population close to the poverty line. This was stated by Founder Citizens for Reforms, Aamir Mumtaz who is also former Chairman PSMA Board. Pakistan’s inflation projected to reach 2.3% in February He said that household finances have been worsened and personal savings obliterated with more and more people having to borrow to make both ends meet, adding that…

FAISALABAD: New SME policy is at the anvil which would further accelerate the process of industrialization at the grass root level, said Qazi Saddam Naseer, Regional Business Coordinator SMEDA. Addressing a Budget Consultative Session organized by SMEDA in collaboration with the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), he underlined the importance of the SME sector and said that women should also be motivated to contribute their productive role in the development of this fundamental sector. He said that Faisalabad has a business and industrial eco-friendly system and hence we must prepare comprehensive recommendations to fully exploit this available potential…

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s economy grew 3.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, bringing full-year growth to 3.2%, official data showed on Friday, exceeding forecasts despite the weight of high interest rates. The government, which had initially projected 3.5% growth for 2024, had trimmed its expectations to reflect ongoing adjustments in domestic demand and efforts to slow down annual inflation, which exceeded 75% in May and is now just over 40%. Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said balanced growth was achieved in 2024 with the contribution of 2.1 points from domestic demand and 1.1 points from net foreign demand. “More favourable financial…

KARACHI: Despite tall claims by the price regulator to deal with overcharging retailers with an iron fist, consumers faced the same challenging situation, like previous years, on the first day of Ramazan when they went to market to purchase food items for Iftar and Sehri. Even though rates of almost all food essentials have been fixed by the commissioner of Karachi, shopkeepers in the metropolis were selling all the items on exorbitant prices spoiling consumers’ appetite. Fruit vendors were charging Rs250-300 per dozen for bananas. The official rate was Rs148 a dozen. Melons and guavas (Larkana) were selling at Rs150-200…

Pakistan has pledged to become fully Shariah-compliant in its banking services by December 2027 under a Federal Shariat Court order. The court had given the government five years to adopt a Shariah-compliant mode of the financial system, both domestically and internationally, to convert the country into an “equitable, asset-based, risk-sharing and interest-free economy”. Given the challenges and the limited timeframe allowed by the court for conversion, the ambitious task appears to be quite daunting, even if not outrightly impossible to pull off. Although the banks have already submitted their conversion plans with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), providing timelines…

The surge in activity isn’t limited to roads, where unusually long traffic jams in Pakistan signal pre-Ramazan preparations. Shoppers crowd neighbourhood stores and departmental outlets while online platforms struggle to keep up with soaring orders. After all, Ramazan is the busiest month for markets, with household spending rising over 40 per cent above routine levels across all social classes. Ramazan’s impact extends beyond individuals and their personal lives. In Pakistan, as in other Muslim-majority countries, markets — and arguably the entire economy — undergo adjustments during the holy month. Changes in working hours, government policies tailored for Ramazan, and, most…