Topic
economy
Every story Skardu Times has filed on economy, newest first.
FBR falls Rs156 billion short of October tax target
The board collected Rs975 billion against a target of Rs1,131 billion and expects late filings on the month's last day to recover about Rs40 billion.
Maryam Nawaz launches Rs1.99 trillion Punjab economic plan
The PIVOT plan for 2026-29 pairs Rs1,089 billion of public money with a Rs906 billion private investment target and offers Rs300 billion in cheap loans to industry.
Sazgar opens three-wheeler assembly plant in the Philippines
The Laguna facility is built to assemble about 12,000 electric and petrol rickshaws a year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said at its inauguration.
Weekly inflation slips 0.35pc as tomatoes, diesel climb
PBS puts the SPI at 373.51 points from 374.84 a week earlier, with tomatoes up 34.91 percent and year-on-year inflation at 11.32 percent.
Pakistan drafts mobile policy targeting 50pc local value addition
Domestic content in handset manufacturing is currently estimated at 10 to 20 percent, and the ministry wants assemblers to move beyond basic assembly.
Finance Division projects October inflation at 9.5 to 10.5 percent
Monthly outlook flags Gulf conflict, oil prices and trade disruption as downside risks after September inflation eased to 10.3 percent from 11.1 percent in August.
Pakistan climbs four places to 95th in global innovation index
WIPO's Global Innovation Index 2026 restores Pakistan's "overperformer" label for a fourth time, after the country placed 99th in 2025.
FBR sets new payment rules for steel mills' own-power sales tax
Manufacturers running captive power plants must deposit additional sales tax on self-generated electricity through a special challan by the fifth of each month and report it in STR-7 return fields.
SBP governor expects current account deficit below 1% of GDP
Jameel Ahmad told ICMA Pakistan's annual convocation that growth recovered to 3.7% in FY26 and inflation should ease back toward target.
Ahsan Iqbal reports encouraging export, remittance growth in first quarter
The planning minister says exports and remittances held up despite global supply-chain disruption, but the statement carried no figures and named no comparison period.
Aurangzeb presses banks to speed SME and farm loan disbursements
A finance ministry review shows Rs8.674bn approved under the Zarkhez-e farm loan scheme but only about Rs2.34bn actually disbursed to small farmers.
SBP governor says fundamentals improved despite global shocks
Speaking at ICMAP's convocation in Karachi, Jameel Ahmad said inflation is near target and growth recovering, and warned against short-term fixes.
SBP governor credits disciplined policy for economic recovery
Jameel Ahmad cites a positive real policy rate and risk-based supervision, while the maritime minister says secure sea routes remain vital to stability.
SBP doubles minimum capital requirement for banks to Rs20bn
Existing banks and development finance institutions have until December 31, 2030 to meet the new threshold, with separate assigned-capital rules for foreign bank branches.
KSE-100 extends rally, gains 363 points in early trade
The benchmark index touched 164,830.55 minutes after Wednesday's opening, building on Tuesday's 1,428-point close as banks, cement and energy stocks drew buying.
Pakistan plans second $500m Panda bond without ADB, AIIB cover
Finance Division officials say Chinese credit enhancement firms may back the January-June 2027 sale, as $1.3bn of repaid Chinese commercial loans awaits full refinancing.
Tax exemptions topped Rs11,000bn over five years, National Assembly told
Ministry of Finance figures show concessions climbing from Rs1,482bn in 2020-21 to Rs2,540bn in 2022-23, as a JUI lawmaker asked what ordinary taxpayers gained.
SBP chief says Pakistan paid $16bn loan interest in four years
Jameel Ahmed told a post-monetary policy briefing that external debt now stands near $107 billion and reserves have risen to about $21.5 billion.
Government moves to merge Privatisation Commission with P3A
Profit reported the merger as a proposal, while a Dawn headline said a bill to combine the two institutions had been introduced; neither carried the bill's text.
Pakistan's first-quarter remittances reported at $10.9 billion
A second report puts one period's inflow at $2.85 billion, up 38 per cent, and the two published figures cannot both describe the same three months.
State Bank raises policy rate to 12pc on Middle East oil shock
Governor Jameel Ahmed says crude above $100 a barrel pushed the Monetary Policy Committee to lift the rate by 50 basis points, with nine of ten members in favour.
Remittances of $41.6bn dwarf exports as fiscal deficit narrows
Dawn, citing the Finance Division's August outlook, says FY26 remittances exceeded merchandise exports by about $10.8bn, leaving the economy reliant on overseas workers.
China may pull back from Gwadar port over security risks, report says
A Lowy Institute analysis says the port has not paid off, while FM Bharat reports China is likely to scale back amid security and economic pressures.
Nearly 9,800 returns prepared, only three filed under fixed tax scheme
The government has set a Rs50 billion collection target for the current fiscal year, but only Rs3.25 crore has been received so far.
State Bank launches Rs16bn remittance reward scheme for overseas Pakistanis
Quarterly draws begin January 15, 2027, with a Rs10 crore first prize and Rs4 billion distributed each quarter.
Asan Tax Scheme registers 9,806 shopkeepers in first month
A Friday review meeting was told the figure, while Profit reported 1,929 new traders brought into the tax net without reconciling the two counts.
Short-term inflation hits 11.92% on food, energy costs
The Sensitive Price Index rose 0.99 percent week-on-week for the week ending September 24, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
FBR opens faceless tax centre to end direct contact
The National Faceless Centre in Islamabad will assign audit cases electronically and keep officers' identities hidden from taxpayers.
OICCI urges IMF to widen tax base, ease business burden
The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made the appeal, according to a Pakistan Today report that carried no further details.
Weekly inflation rises 0.99 percent, annual rate hits 11.92 percent
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data shows electricity prices climbed 18.76 percent while tomatoes fell 13.45 percent during the third week of September.
Turkey says Saudi-Pakistan pact could expand to Iran
Turkish parliamentary speaker says pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could broaden to wider Muslim world, according to Reuters.
PM Shehbaz courts US investors in New York talks
The prime minister told American business councils that Pakistan's economy has stabilised and invited investment in agriculture, IT, mining and ports.
SECP reports insurers settled over 1m claims in 2025
Life insurers paid Rs410 billion and non-life insurers about Rs138 billion, as total industry assets crossed Rs4.1 trillion.
Hunan Resources reopens Dhabeji factory after SIFC intervention
Company says plant in Thatta district, Sindh, had been shut since February, causing losses before council helped it restart.
PM Shehbaz says civil, military leadership working jointly on economy
Speaking at the UN General Assembly alongside Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam, he also backed regional peace and accused Afghanistan-based militants of attacks in Pakistan.
IMF seeks 174 legislative amendments from Pakistan
The amendments are tied to Pakistan's $7 billion Extended Fund Facility with the IMF, Business Recorder and The News reported.
Private sector debt retirement rises to Rs364.5bn in early fiscal year
State Bank data shows Rs364.5bn retired between July 1 and September 11 against Rs170bn last year, according to Dawn.
SBP reserves climb $11 million to $21.4 billion
The rise took the country's total liquid foreign reserves to $26.81 billion including commercial bank holdings, according to central bank data.
Pakistan receives $4.1bn under IMF programme, misses key targets
Mettis Global reports the disbursement but says Pakistan fell short on some programme conditions, without naming the facility or the missed targets.
PM invites US-based Pakistani business leaders to invest in Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made the appeal during meetings in New York with delegations from IT, artificial intelligence, automobiles, energy and construction, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
