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Pakistan 9 Month Trade Deficit Increases
Pakistan’s trade deficit for the July – March period increased 20.1% to touch $20.8 billion (last: $17.3 billion). Imports increased 13.6% to touch $39.5 billion (last: $34.8 billion). Exports increased 7.1% to touch $18.7 billion (last: $17.4 billion). Pakistan’s trade deficit as on March 2021 increased 118.4% to $3.3 billion in (last: $1.5 billion).…
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Pakistan Govt Planning 70% COVID Vaccination: IMF Report
The IMF said in its report, “Policy Actions Taken by Countries”, that Pakistan is targeting vaccinating 70 million people against COVID, by the end of calendar year 2021 under the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP). As of 22nd March 2021, Pakistan had vaccinated 501,023 people. The IMF said that Pakistan is implementing an…
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Petroleum & Oil Products Sales In Pakistan Rises
Petroleum and oil products sales in Pakistan, in March 2021, increased 44% to touch 1.5 million tons. This growth in POL sales is attributed primarily to the restart of economic activity. Corporate Advisory VIDEO.
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WTO Raises FY21 Growth Forecast
The World Trade Organization gave out its fresh merchandise growth forecast for FY21, and raised it to 8.0%, after a fall of 5.3% in 2020. WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said, ” … that this rise is due to the roll-out of COVID vaccines. But this opportunity could be squandered if large numbers of countries…
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Restart of Trade With India Postponed
The Cabinet of Pakistan decided against the restart of trade with India as India had not given way to any positive aspect regarding Indian Occupied Kashmir. Earlier, the ECC which is a committee of the Federal Cabinet, had decided to restart trade with India, with the import of sugar and cotton, to benefit of…
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IMF Raises Global Outlook
The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, while speaking to the Council of Foreign Relations, that the IMF had raised its forecast for global economic growth to 5.5% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022, after last year’s 3.5% contraction, but financial conditions remain highly uncertain. She continued, “the global economy was on…
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ADB Approves $300 million for Hydro Power Plant
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $300 million loan facility for Pakistan to finance the construction of a 300-megawatt hydropower plant. This plant will be built on the Kunhar River near Balakot City, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and it will be commissioned by 2027. The interest on the loan is LIBOR (London Interbank Offered…
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Pakistan GDP Growth will be 1.3%: WB
The World Bank said that Pakistan’s GDP growth is expected to be 1.3%for the Fiscal Year ’21. This is slightly higher than WB’s forecast of January. This was reported in its South Asia Economic Focus Spring 2021 South Asia Vaccinates, stating that major risks to the outlook include the possibility of new waves of…
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Pakistan Receives $500 From IMF
Pakistan received $500 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a loan tranche under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for budgetary support. Corporate Advisory VIDEO.
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Moody’s Considers Positive, Islamic Banking Growth
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), released its quarterly Islamic Banking Bulletin for December 2020, which indicated a 30% growth in Shariah-compliant banking assets for CY 2020. Moody’s said that “The growth is credit positive for Pakistani banks because it attracts customers from the previously unbanked population, which creates new business opportunities and boosts…
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Islamic Banking Non Performing Loans Fall
Pakistan’s Islamic Banking Industry’s Non-Performing Finances (NPFs) i.e. loans, for the CY20 (January – December 2020) decreased to 3.2% (4.3%), compared to the overall banking industry’s 9.2%. Financing to Deposits (FDR) of IBBs stood at 63.2 percent whereas for IBs it was reported to be 50.4 percent in December 2020.’ The financing to…
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WB Loan Finalized for 7 Projects
Pakistan and the World Bank signed loan agreements of 7 projects worth around $1.4 billion, focusing on social protection, disaster and climate risk management, improving infrastructure for resilience, agriculture and food security, human capital development and governance sectors. Najy Benhassine, Country Director, World Bank signed the agreements on behalf of the World Bank and…
