Miscellaneous - BR Research - Business Recorder

Miscellaneous

Foreign grants: taken for granted?

The term “development partners” has been in vogue for quite some time in the donor circles of Islamabad. It’s a euphemis

Updated 05 Dec, 2019 11:29am

Miscellaneous

Stewardship through refuge-in-a-bag

Central to the criticism of genetically modified crops is the fear that weeds and pests may develop resistance against b

Updated 05 Dec, 2019 08:19am

Miscellaneous

All roads lead to tariffs, none to growth

No dull day in international politics where U.S. President Donald Trump is involved. The President lives in a steady sta

Published 05 Dec, 2019 05:44am

Miscellaneous

Peaking food inflation

The headline inflation stood at 12.7 percent in Nov-19, in line with the expectations. On monthly basis, the toll is up

Published 05 Dec, 2019 05:32am

Miscellaneous

Bt. Cotton: global experience

The standard complain of Pakistan's textile industry is that cotton production is witnessing a freefall, led by a secula

Published 04 Dec, 2019 07:38am

Miscellaneous

The clock is ticking for FBR

What should have been announced through a formal detailed data release by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) came in fac

Published 04 Dec, 2019 07:28am

Miscellaneous

Macro obsessions

Despite the increasingly powerful reign of chicken in Pakistan, the country is unable to competitively export chicken to

Updated 03 Dec, 2019 11:10am

Miscellaneous

Rise of multilateral financing

Amid improving macroeconomic stability and fiscal prudence, another green shoot is the healthy inflows from official, mu

Updated 03 Dec, 2019 11:24am

Miscellaneous

How not to write FBR’s revenue yearbook?

The FBR released its FY19 revenue yearbook a few days ago. As is the case each year, the revenue yearbook is a motely mi

Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:22am

Miscellaneous

Need for higher development spending

With the fiscal and current account deficits under control, probably earlier than some observers had thought, there is a

Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:36am

Miscellaneous

Support prices: where is the change?

In the past week alone, the economic wizards of federal government have twice sat together to deliberate commodity suppo

Updated 02 Dec, 2019 11:39am

Miscellaneous

Price control in Riyasat-e-Madina

Milton Friedman is quoted to have said that "if the federal government were put in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 12:59pm

Miscellaneous

The future of work

Businesses in Pakistan may be put into three kind of boxes: the aging legacy types, corporates or family-owned SMEs, th

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:01pm

Miscellaneous

Exports: High volumes alone won’t cut it

The current account deficit for September 2019 at $259 million would have sounded extremely outlandish a year ago. But i

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:06pm

Miscellaneous

Pakistan needs PPP

Governments in Pakistan, including provincial ones, do not have money to spend on development. Private sector is cash ri

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:43pm

Miscellaneous

Rising onion prices bring tears

Back in January, while commenting on the rabi crop projections for FY19, SBP’s State of the Economy report had noted tha

Updated 23 Oct, 2019 01:10pm

Miscellaneous

On cellphone imports

It’s probably a false alarm. As per central bank data, mobile phone imports came in at roughly $74 million for July 2019

Updated 20 Sep, 2019 05:57am

Miscellaneous

Much ado about 5G

The quest to bring 5G to Pakistan is off to a controversial start. Last month, Zong marketed itself as “the first and on

Updated 19 Sep, 2019 06:01am

Miscellaneous

Inflation holds the key

Central banks are like ocean liners they take time to change directions. Something on those lines was the SBP Governor i

Updated 18 Sep, 2019 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Textbooks economics and support prices

It has been repeatedly highlighted that support price mechanism create distortions in commodity markets by de-coupling p

Updated 18 Sep, 2019 08:53am

Miscellaneous

Is there room for movement on support price?

Support prices are a tricky business. Ostensibly set to improve farm economics, support price mechanism is often upwards

Updated 17 Sep, 2019 06:50am

Miscellaneous

Remittances on seasonal slump

As expected, the home remittances in August 2019 witnessed a dip. The decline of 17 percent month-on-month was seen as a

Updated 17 Sep, 2019 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Good vibes from DC

If the world is looking to wait out Trump, perhaps it should pay attention to the Democratic presidential race. This goe

Updated 16 Sep, 2019 07:01am

Miscellaneous

D-Day for Sugar in December

For several years now, commentators and experts alike have insisted that Pakistan produces white sugar in surplus, often

Updated 16 Sep, 2019 07:01am

Miscellaneous

Monetary policy: status quo for now likely

The monetary policy is to be announced on Monday- two months after the previous policy, and a day before a high level IM

Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:20am

Miscellaneous

FATF: grace period?

The clock is ticking. Pakistan has now presented its last stand before FATF’s regional body. The finance ministry sounds

Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:20am

Miscellaneous

Going under: prognosis negative

Limited liability companies, by definition, enjoy the freedom of declaring bankruptcy if and when fundamentals of busine

Updated 13 Sep, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Readying for hot money

The recipe sought to jack up reserves in coming quarters is to attract foreign portfolio investment in government de

Updated 12 Sep, 2019 08:11am

Miscellaneous

On chambers’ solutions for economic problems

Last week, the All Pakistan Chambers Convention (APCC) released their White Paper on challenges and the way forward for

Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:51am

Miscellaneous

Save the deal

The abrupt suspension of Afghan peace talks has surprised many. Folks are wondering whether the “deal in principle” can

Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:52am

Miscellaneous

Tourism – still a long way to go

Be it the local or international tourists, solo travelers, families, backpackers, or travel bloggers – Pakistan has not

Updated 12 Sep, 2019 05:53am

Miscellaneous

Does it nudge you?

Macro problems are symptoms of numerous micro frictions which are termed as transaction costs and regulatory hurdles. Wh

Updated 06 Sep, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

Rebased CPI treats energy the right way!

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has earned applause. The long awaited rebased CPI is here and the initial impres

Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:35am

Miscellaneous

A bird in hand

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Especially when the avian is a golden goose that is unwilling to yield. The

Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Looming debt crisis of non-diversified mills

Monetary tightening has never been a friend to industries in private sector. But it appears that the latest round of dou

Updated 06 Sep, 2019 05:36am

Miscellaneous

New CPI – new realities

The wait is over. The rebased CPI came with a good news of almost one percentage point reduction in CPI for August, as

Updated 05 Sep, 2019 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s basmati challenge

During the last decade, Pakistan’s premium rice has lost ground in the international market much like a shoreline to an

Updated 05 Sep, 2019 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Is unemployment really Pakistan’s big issue?

In recent news, Peshawar Electric Supply Company informed the Senate that 750,000 applicants applied for just 3,200

Updated 05 Sep, 2019 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Can Pakistan attract debt market flows?

Foreign flows to Pakistan’s government debt market – Treasury Bills to be specific – have resumed after a hiatus of abou

Updated 04 Sep, 2019 05:10am

Miscellaneous

Changing sugarcane crushing cycle

Appeals for timely start of sugarcane crushing have become the clarion call of grower associations for the past several

Updated 04 Sep, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Eyes on fiscal now

There are talks of interest rates cut in the second half of this fiscal (some even are eying for doves to dominate in No

Updated 04 Sep, 2019 06:44am

Miscellaneous

FBR’s 2MFY20 report card

This is probably the first time ever, when monthly tax collection data is scrutinised and debated within and outside eco

Updated 03 Sep, 2019 05:22am

Miscellaneous

Punjab urban property tax

Cities develop and sustain based on financing and its service delivery. Within urban taxation domain, tax on immovable p

Updated 03 Sep, 2019 06:01am

Miscellaneous

First promise to the IMF broken

Two months into the IMF programme and the first promise to the IMF goes for a walk. This has largely gone unnoticed in t

Updated 03 Sep, 2019 07:24am

Miscellaneous

HASCOL’s miserable 1HCY19

Imports-led businesses have had a bad start to 2019 (or a bad end to FY19 in cases where they follow the fiscal year). E

Updated 03 Sep, 2019 05:20am

Miscellaneous

Is PTI able to manage its shop?

In October 2018 PM Imran Khan said he “was surprised” over the absence of macroeconomic experts and other subject matter

Updated 02 Sep, 2019 05:50am

Miscellaneous

All eyes on Shabbar

Shabbar Zaidi, the FBR Chairman, is the man to anchor the second year of a five-year match. The first was not good for t

Updated 02 Sep, 2019 05:17am

Miscellaneous

Regional cooperation

Commonwealth, OIC, SCO, ECO, and SAARC. The list of alphabet soup of intergovernmental organizations that Pakistan is an

Updated 02 Sep, 2019 06:10am

Miscellaneous

EPQL in good shape

2018 and 2019 have seen a spike in currency deprecation, which has been one key factor in determining the profitability

Updated 30 Aug, 2019 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Karachi, Karachi!

It used to be called the City of Lights. Anyone living in Karachi over the last few decades might as well des

Updated 29 Aug, 2019 05:09am

Miscellaneous

Frictions in real estate

There are micro frictions that are hindering major economic sectors to attain their true potential. Real estate is a maj

Updated 29 Aug, 2019 04:54am

Miscellaneous

Capital structure of listed sugar mills

The policy rate is at an eight-year high of 13.25 percent, and prominent economists are declaring it ‘default’ seaso

Updated 28 Aug, 2019 10:04am

Miscellaneous

Privatisation: how green are the green signals

According to media reports, the Privatisation Commission has identified ten public sector entities (PSEs) for privat

Updated 28 Aug, 2019 07:23am

Miscellaneous

EFUG bogged down by costs

General Insurance Limited (PSX: EFUG) has recently announced its financial performance for the first six months of 2019

Updated 28 Aug, 2019 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Clipped wings of Pakistan’s aviation

The Competition Commission of Pakistan’s (CCP) recent report on the market and regulatory assessment of the country’s ai

Updated 27 Aug, 2019 07:15am

Miscellaneous

Loyalty won’t save the day

Gone are the days when sticking to one product or name was the thought process of consumers. With changing preferences,

Updated 27 Aug, 2019 07:00am

Miscellaneous

Sindh sugarcane crop in three maps

Is there a method to the madness of sugarcane landscape in Sindh? Despite its disproportionate share in newspaper headli

Published 26 Aug, 2019 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Rice bowls of Sindh and Punjab

The illustrations of district-wise yields in Sindh and Punjab look like a patchwork. Only one district in each region ha

Published 23 Aug, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Sindh’s yield masks Pakistan cotton potential

What is an anomaly? In 2012, Pakistan’s cotton recorded its highest-ever yield at 815 kg per hectare. According to Annua

Published 22 Aug, 2019 06:45am

Miscellaneous

CPEC Authority

PM Khan’s decision to set up CPEC Authority for quick and judicious completion of CPEC projects is a tacit acceptance th

Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Micro silver linings in macro abyss

The macro numbers are getting worse as the tightening measures are not reaping results – the impact is likely to come wi

Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Kharif crops: who’s the thirstiest of all?

Bore a well in any part of Sindh, and eight out of ten times the aquifer will spurt out saline water unusable for irriga

Published 21 Aug, 2019 06:04am

Miscellaneous

Sindh’s water volatility

During 1980-2000, the rural landscape of Punjab saw a revolution that led to over 25 percent increase in area under cult

Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Chasing English

Next to 5 million children out of primary school in Pakistan— a number large enough itself to sound off some alarming be

Published 19 Aug, 2019 06:04am

Miscellaneous

Reversing trends: cane-substitution in South Sindh

Unlike most of northern Indus basin where shortage of water in the canal system can be easily substituted by groundwater

Published 16 Aug, 2019 06:28am

Miscellaneous

Will sacked doctors in Saudi dent remittance flows?

In latest dent to Pakistan’s image and possibly to remittance inflows, Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistani doctors and othe

Published 16 Aug, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

Changing landscape of Sindh’s sugarcane

Between 2006-16, 10 sugar mills came online in Sindh. During this period, sugarcane crushing by mills in the province in

Published 09 Aug, 2019 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Punjab Spatial Strategy

Cities are engine of growth; and to attain the potential of resources, proper planning is at the core, and to plan, the

Published 09 Aug, 2019 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Sindh’s governance at greater risk

A few weeks ago, the Supreme Court’s judge Justice Gulzar Ahmed said Sindh is the most corrupt province in Pakistan, sin

Published 08 Aug, 2019 08:06am

Miscellaneous

Too soon to cheer for tax filer growth

According to media reports the number of tax filers for FY18 is 2.34 million – the highest figure ever. But that number

Published 07 Aug, 2019 06:52am

Miscellaneous

Falling economic transactions

The fall in economic activities, including basic transactions, is yet to touch rock bottom. There are two reasons to sup

Published 07 Aug, 2019 06:48am

Miscellaneous

CPI – will the PBS get it right (ever)?

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) seems to have no response on being pointed out at the faulty calculations of gas

Updated 07 Aug, 2019 07:21am

Miscellaneous

What is the wheat consumption?

Pakistan’s wheat demand, in the words of Winston Churchill, “is a riddle wrapped in a mystery”. But equally difficult is

Updated 07 Aug, 2019 12:41pm

Miscellaneous

Clean Karachi – and then?

Pakistanis are charitable people. Once again, and not for the last time, they have now been lured to ‘donate’ for a nobl

Published 06 Aug, 2019 05:36am

Miscellaneous

CPI – correction time for PBS, again!

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is the most important data collection and dissemination authority in Pakistan. I

Published 05 Aug, 2019 07:15am

Miscellaneous

FBR’s July 2019 report card

FBR has missed its tax collection target for July 2019 by Rs14 billion. So went the headlines last week. Is that a huge

Published 05 Aug, 2019 06:48am

Miscellaneous

Inflation in double digits

The last time monthly double digits CPI was in Nov 13 (10.9%) – 5 months into the PMLN tenure. In July 19, the headline

Published 05 Aug, 2019 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Of wheat flour consumption

In ‘Is Pakistan wheat insecure?’ , it was established that per capita wheat availability in the country stands at an av

Updated 05 Aug, 2019 07:14am

Miscellaneous

Resetting the economy

Are we subject to decimating the aggregate demand to reset the economy? The pricing adjustments are taking place more th

Published 02 Aug, 2019 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Is corruption Pakistan’s biggest problem?

PM Khan’s container-like speeches and the ensuing actions by NAB against politicians and politically connected persons h

Published 02 Aug, 2019 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Indo-Pak: what next?

Under PM Khan, Pakistan’s eagerness to restore normal relations with India is out in the open. But so far the overtures

Updated 01 Aug, 2019 07:09am

Miscellaneous

Corruption: thinking beyond NAB & politicians

NAB has done this and NAB has done that. So goes the headlines these days. Or that a politically connected person has be

Published 01 Aug, 2019 06:10am

Miscellaneous

Sucrose ratio driving mill utilization

In ‘ Set the cane market free’ , published in this space on July 29, 2019, it was surmised that installation of addition

Published 31 Jul, 2019 06:26am

Miscellaneous

CPI rebasing : eagerly awaited

The IMF expects FY20 average inflation at 13 percent and period end at 11.8 percent, while the market is expecting lower

Published 30 Jul, 2019 08:20am

Miscellaneous

Friends and foes

When the Khan government started its term a year ago, a number of foreign policy challenges confronted Pakistan. Erstwhi

Published 30 Jul, 2019 08:16am

Miscellaneous

Set the cane market free*!

Some images become etched in memory. One such memory for many Pakistanis growing up in the cable TV era may be an image

Updated 30 Jul, 2019 10:15am

Miscellaneous

Regulating tea prices

Recently there has been some noise over tea importers and suppliers planning to increase tea prices from next month espe

Updated 30 Jul, 2019 09:58am

Miscellaneous

Sugar export: winners & losers

Sugar subsidy is a funny thing. Last year, when Sindh government announced a cumulative subsidy of Rs 20 per kg on expor

Updated 26 Jul, 2019 08:52am

Miscellaneous

In pursuit of exports

Resolution of Pakistan’s perennial macroeconomic woes depends on growing exports and sustaining them on a high level. Al

Published 26 Jul, 2019 07:10am

Miscellaneous

On the basis of tax distribution

That Pakistan should give lesser importance to population when it comes to the basis of distribution of taxes among the

Published 26 Jul, 2019 06:57am

Miscellaneous

Fertiliser off-take flattens, spending soars

Farmer spent the highest ever on fertilizers in FY19. The total urea and DAP combined application in FY19 was down by 2

Published 26 Jul, 2019 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s economy: 50 years ago

Who knew a trip to library could be a depressing affair? Yesterday morning, BR Research stumbled upon a dusty old copy o

Published 25 Jul, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Khan’s diplomatic coup

It was a high-risk, low-return scenario. But from Pakistan’s perspective, PM Khan’s White House visit could not have gon

Published 24 Jul, 2019 07:10am

Miscellaneous

The rusty cogs of policymaking process

Pakistan’s Fisheries Exporters Association is unhappy with the “sudden implementation of fisheries policy without consul

Published 24 Jul, 2019 07:07am

Miscellaneous

Using food security paradigm to forecast wheat demand

In a series of columns published in this space, several key conclusions about Pakistan’s current food security paradigm

Published 24 Jul, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Imports and the bogeyman

Boo! Parents (often cruelly) use the bogeyman to scare their errant children and condition better behaviour and obedienc

Published 23 Jul, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Khan at Capital One: a lost opportunity

That PM Khan managed to attract such a big audience in Washington deserves commendation. It has probably left his rivals

Updated 23 Jul, 2019 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Is Pakistan wheat-insecure?

Consider following three facts. First, as per annual crop statistics, Pakistan is among world’s top 25 regions with annu

Published 23 Jul, 2019 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Export silver linings

Many hopes were pinned on exports to help improve Pakistan’s trade deficit, especially in view of massive currency depre

Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:43am

Miscellaneous

Mad about Cad?

Kudos to the government for chopping the current account deficit (Cad) significantly in FY19! At $13.6 billion, Cad came

Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Cereals for our future

Outside of developed world and Middle East, Pakistan has one of the highest per capita consumption of wheat in the world

Published 22 Jul, 2019 06:28am

Miscellaneous

Correct diagnosis; incorrect prescription

“Malnutrition costs Pakistan three percent ($7.6 billion) in GDP”, SBP quotes UN-FAO, in its quarterly report on the Sta

Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:36am

Miscellaneous

WPI heating up

While the CPI inflation gets noticed more for obvious reasons, the oft-ignored Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is foretellin

Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Tanking think-tanks

Congratulations! The federal government has reportedly approved project to establish a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Published 18 Jul, 2019 06:08am

Miscellaneous

Mantras are nice, but common sense is nicer

At a press talk two weeks ago, the federal minister for Ministry of National Food Security & Research - flanked by t

Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:33am

Miscellaneous

The future of Make in Pakistan

The Make in Pakistan thesis has been sold well. And following the currency depreciation along with changes in import tar

Published 17 Jul, 2019 07:10am

Miscellaneous

Reko Diq: time to negotiate

If Reko Diq indeed stands on the remains of a volcano, then it is perhaps apt that the controversial mining project in t

Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Of strikes and lockdowns

According to a latest poll by Gallup Pakistan, public opinion on the opposition’s plans to protest against the governmen

Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:16am

Miscellaneous

Explaining falling farming growth

The sectoral share of agriculture sector in GDP has consistently been falling since independence. From over half of GDP

Published 16 Jul, 2019 07:00am

Miscellaneous

Reviewing climate change

Pakistan stands fairly low on the carbon footprint scale relative to its peers in the region. However, as the monsoon ar

Published 16 Jul, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Will the exports rise? (ever?)

If you are one for reading the “bigger picture”, Pakistan seems to be doing just fine in terms of trade balance. It is n

Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Anatomy of cotton belt

Pakistan’s largest cash crop is grown in over half of the districts of the country, from Awaran in hinterlands of Baloch

Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Lure of the long-shot

A few days ago, the Washington Post ran a feature cleverly titled “Random Man Runs for President” quite literally descri

Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Fruits of fiscal Consolidation

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Reading the perennial multilateral lender’s latest country report on Pakistan,

Published 15 Jul, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

SOEs & IMF’s conditionalities

When Leonard Cohen sang Everybody Knows, he probably didn’t have Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in mind. But

Published 11 Jul, 2019 06:13am

Miscellaneous

PBC’s ‘Make in Pakistan’ report card

It’s difficult to say whether or not Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has given a clean chit to PTI government. PBC’s len

Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Cropping patterns in Punjab

It is difficult to separate noise from hard facts without data, except the tradition refuses to take root in Pakistan. J

Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:07am

Miscellaneous

Economic assistance: China leads, US recedes

The recently-released yearbook on economic assistance serves yet another reminder that it is China – not the US – whose

Published 10 Jul, 2019 06:03am

Miscellaneous

Reform needs strat.comm. managers

It’s the season of strikes. Traders in Karachi; APTMA; Faisalabad textile mill owners; Karachi transporters; and a few o

Published 09 Jul, 2019 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Can Khan court Donald?

Is the US-Pakistan bilateral finally getting a break? Maybe yes, maybe not – just as Donald Trump likes to say. The prem

Published 09 Jul, 2019 05:29am

Miscellaneous

The usual suspects

Kudos to the Planning Commission for standing up for development! Well, for standing up somewhat, as far as numbers are

Published 08 Jul, 2019 06:34am

Miscellaneous

Zamindar’s fixation with cane

Averages are the most brilliant invention in statistics, yet they can be used to manipulate facts in the most devious wa

Updated 05 Jul, 2019 11:53am

Miscellaneous

Tyranny of optimism

Politicians, when in power, share a unique trait with tech entrepreneurs. It’s the trait of optimism on the basis of whi

Published 05 Jul, 2019 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Roti, kapra, (and then maybe) makaan

As far as political promises go, surely Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan Housing Plan is neither original nor entirely fancifu

Updated 04 Jul, 2019 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Bring land reforms to counter radicalism

Southern Punjab’s socio-economic makeup piqued public interest earlier this year, when news of counter-terrorism operati

Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:06am

Miscellaneous

SOEs – clueless again

Yesterday’s piece on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) ended on the note that the fixing of SOEs doesn’t appear on the hori

Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:04am

Miscellaneous

The ‘white’ elephants and the rope

There is simply no analogy between the actual elephant and the rope mindset, and the state owned enterprises (SOEs) in P

Published 04 Jul, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

CPI: time to welcome double digits

Expect the PTI to boast of inflation figures, first year in office. The CPI clocked in at 7.3 percent year-on-year for F

Published 03 Jul, 2019 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Sick enterprises

The finance ministry’s latest report on the federal footprint on economy courtesy the state-owned enterprises (SOE) has

Published 03 Jul, 2019 06:19am

Miscellaneous

An ode to shadows

Politics’ love affair with the shadows is a longstanding tradition. In the past, these behind-the-scene operatives have

Updated 03 Jul, 2019 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Attn businesses: society is your biggest consumer

In late 2016, the British Council (Pakistan) partnered with Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) to launch a

Published 02 Jul, 2019 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Dazed and confused

Readers know this column has an interest in following the US presidential campaigns, for what happens in DC still has an

Published 02 Jul, 2019 06:20am

Miscellaneous

End of OTC?

As Pakistan struggles to meet FATF requirements, there is speculation that the branchless banking sector may be affected

Published 01 Jul, 2019 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Asset declaration: ambiguities, lacunae, solutions

The deadline of the ongoing asset declaration scheme is nearly upon us. With three days left, a few ambiguities and lacu

Published 28 Jun, 2019 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Naya Pakistan Housing: out of reach, out of touch?

Every promise that this government has made has been overly ambitious. Even a little venerable in its sheer ambition, th

Updated 28 Jun, 2019 01:44pm

Miscellaneous

Crop-based exports: adapt or die?

Pakistan’s status as a low-value commodity exporter is at best a misnomer. Over the past decade, consolidated share of c

Published 28 Jun, 2019 05:44am

Miscellaneous

Agri-exports: let’s not lose perspective!

What will take for Pakistani exports to pick up steam? Certainly not currency devaluation. Prima facie, that’s the verdi

Published 27 Jun, 2019 07:11am

Miscellaneous

Farming our future

Who will be the farmer of the future? The globally renowned agricultural and food expert Prof. Louise Fresco raised this

Updated 01 Jul, 2019 09:17am

Miscellaneous

Exports constant, but quality improves

Exports did not vote for change it appears. Eleven months into FY19, and they continue to be stubborn, refusing to move

Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:49am

Miscellaneous

Whither cotton emergency?

For months, PTI’s economy team hinted at revolutionary steps for cotton revival on national forums including ECC and fed

Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Want entrepreneurship? Change mindset!

Thanks to hyper changes in technology, it is one of the first times in human history when we don’t know what jobs will l

Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Gold gets going

The global geo-political atmosphere is heating up. Just a few days back, a US surveillance drone was downed near the Ira

Published 26 Jun, 2019 05:31am

Miscellaneous

How should employees Tweet?

Morality is an acquired taste. Little else can be said about it with certainty. Earlier this month, a bank employee twee

Published 25 Jun, 2019 05:43am

Miscellaneous

The fog of FATF

On an issue that may potentially leave Pakistani citizens and businesses poorer in years to come, the federal government

Published 25 Jun, 2019 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Contrasting provincial development budgets

All four provincial budgets are in. Now it’s time to examine how they fare against each other on development. It’s a que

Published 24 Jun, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

Tuition time in the parliament

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lower House proposed a Charter of Economy (CoE) to the government. In the next breat

Published 21 Jun, 2019 05:38am

Miscellaneous

Budget FY20 for real estate sector

Among other taxation measures, Budget FY20 proposals for the property sector have been aimed at expanding the tax base a

Published 21 Jun, 2019 05:32am

Miscellaneous

KP: high on development

After Fata’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), an already under-developed province’s development needs have increased

Published 20 Jun, 2019 06:59am

Miscellaneous

Hafeez fights back!

At a post-budget conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan last Saturday, Dr Abdul Hafe

Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Sindh struggles for development

For development, the budget is tight across the federating units. Just as Punjab, the province of Sindh has is also faci

Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Imports pay a surprise visit

Having hit a 30-month low of $4.1 billion, imports are back with a bang. Imports for May 2019 have been recorded at a li

Published 19 Jun, 2019 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Beyond Econ 101

Professor Baqer delivered an Econ 101 lecture to journalists is his maiden moot where he explained the role of exchange

Published 18 Jun, 2019 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Punjab: Development has to wait

As opposed to the spending spree of PML-N in its later years ruling Punjab, the PTI government has been holding its fire

Published 18 Jun, 2019 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Falling livestock GDP

Last week BR Research flagged how livestock sector, which has 60 percent share in agriculture GDP has been growing at a

Published 17 Jun, 2019 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Corporate sector in Budget 2019-20

Budget FY20 is almost a 180-degree flip to what Budget FY19 looked like. Where FY19 Budget was marked largely by broad-b

Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:30am

Miscellaneous

Budget FY20: discouraging packaged meat

The central theme of proposed federal budget for FY20 is documentation; and that’s not merely lip service. Actual change

Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:30am

Miscellaneous

The revenge of agri-free market?

“Rice leads cotton in major kharif crops”, reads the headlines from 2009, when acreage under white gold trailed paddy by

Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:22am

Miscellaneous

GMO: separating fiction from fact

“GMO is no silver bullet”, agreed representatives of CropLife Pakistan’s Seed Committee, in an interview with Business R

Published 14 Jun, 2019 06:06am

Miscellaneous

A much realistic budget

The overall budget direction is right. There is a sense of paradigm shift with focus on enhancing direct taxation, penal

Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Has Islamabad really ignored health & education?

‘Federal budget ignores education and health’, wrote the Islamabad-based Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (C

Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Budget: paying to and for the unseen

The opposition has often blamed the PTI for using the backdoor to come to power, blaming an “unseen” or “third” force. T

Published 13 Jun, 2019 06:10am

Miscellaneous

Does Shabbar have a magic spell?

Until yesterday afternoon, magic and shamanism had no role to play in public finances. After the announcement of Pakista

Updated 13 Jun, 2020 01:42pm

Miscellaneous

Development: it's not enough

Never mind the tall official figures as far as next development budget is concerned. After accounting for federal and pr

Published 12 Jun, 2019 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Explainer: salary income tax

Miftah Ismail would surely have a wry smile on his face. What should actually be looked as a relief to salaried class un

Published 12 Jun, 2019 05:59am

Miscellaneous

Housing under duress

The ambitious pet project of PM Imran Khan, Naya Pakistan Housing Program (NPHP), seems diametrically opposed to the bud

Published 12 Jun, 2019 05:47am

Miscellaneous

Facts, fiction & poor press engagement

If the purpose of a press conference is to share relevant and material information with the press and answer their quest

Published 11 Jun, 2019 05:39am

Miscellaneous

The trillion rupee concessions

Two mini-budgets, industrialists and corporate bigwigs running the government affairs – exemptions and concessions were

Updated 11 Jun, 2019 05:47am

Miscellaneous

Combating climate change

If there is one sector where the current government has shown more fervour than its counterparts, it’s the focus on envi

Published 11 Jun, 2019 05:18am

Miscellaneous

CPI: All eyes on budget and energy pricing

The CPI clocked in at 9.1 percent in May, slightly lower than market expectations. The 11 month average stood at 7.2 per

Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:45am

Miscellaneous

Academics are “tweeple” too!

The phrase “I know that I know nothing” is attributed to Socrates, who when presented with the compliment of being the w

Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:37am

Miscellaneous

PSDP blues

PSDP blues As expected, “development” is the major fiscal casualty in the “austerity” budget. Reportedly, the federal go

Published 10 Jun, 2019 07:31am

Miscellaneous

Discrepancy in regional sucrose yield & recovery

A baffling level of discrepancy exists in yield and recovery levels within and between various sugarcane growing and mil

Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Some breathers

Some pressure on the exchange rate and interest rate pricing is eased, a week before the budget. Crude oil coming down i

Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:22am

Miscellaneous

GMO redux

After a two-month hiatus, reports on GMO seed technology have once again begun to do rounds in print media. Last week, a

Published 03 Jun, 2019 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Improving tourism marketing

The PTI is betting big on tourism and has identified zones in each province for development of facilities and infrastruc

Published 30 May, 2019 05:03am

Miscellaneous

Dairy trade-offs: price vs. milk quality

In a recent interview with BR Research, Sulaiman Monnoo, Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Dairy Association demanded tha

Published 29 May, 2019 04:55am

Miscellaneous

The climate-migration nexus

An oft ignored side of climate change is its impact on local migration. The regular environmental degradation facilitate

Published 29 May, 2019 04:44am

Miscellaneous

Urban forests: changing cities

Sometimes all it takes to solve complex problems is simple solutions. The same can be said of tackling the rising pollut

Published 29 May, 2019 04:33am

Miscellaneous

Fixing Gwadar’s governance

Soon after three gunmen attacked Gwadar PC earlier this month, some sections of foreign press started raising question m

Published 28 May, 2019 06:08am

Miscellaneous

Uncle Biden and Pakistan

Elections in India are over and Pakistanis aren’t exactly thrilled with the outcome. Onto the next election of interest.

Updated 28 May, 2019 09:39am

Miscellaneous

The taxation challenge

This is the third week after finalization of IMF programme. The first week was depressing as the as the PTI economic tea

Published 27 May, 2019 05:38am

Miscellaneous

Orange is the new black

India’s saffron revolution is nearing completion. The orange hues of BJP have managed to avoid a hung parliament, relega

Published 27 May, 2019 05:19am

Miscellaneous

Board of Investment: the missing discourse

Haroon Shariff’s decision to resign from the Board of Investment (BoI) is not good news; nor is the news of Younus Dagha

Published 24 May, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

313 Grains of salt: Pak-China FTA

The Pakistan-China FTA has had its fair share of criticism. The business community has complained that many of the count

Updated 24 May, 2019 07:01am

Miscellaneous

Sizing Pakistan’s ethanol market

Numbers always manage to tell a story, even if those with a proprietary right may wish to withhold them. Pakistan’s etha

Updated 24 May, 2019 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Think import substitution

After three months of under $1 billion monthly deficit (Jan-Mar monthly CAD avg: $674 mn), the current account deficit s

Published 23 May, 2019 06:16am

Miscellaneous

Bahawalpur province: start with lands reforms!

The legendary South Punjab province! It’s a tale from Neverland – loosely based on the mythical oppression of people fro

Published 23 May, 2019 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Huawei: gloves are off

There may be a method to this madness. But Donald J. Trump is taking Richard Nixon’s Madman Theory to a whole new level,

Published 23 May, 2019 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Getting inflation right

An opposition that was supposed to be hiding in the slumbers or just fighting court cases for their respective leaders u

Published 22 May, 2019 03:44am

Miscellaneous

Demystifying food exports inertia

PBS monthly trade numbers are out, and exports don’t seem to have bought into the rupee devaluation bonhomie. While 10MF

Updated 22 May, 2019 10:04am

Miscellaneous

Exports – zero sum game

April was tipped as the starting point of export revival by a few circles. April came and went. The exports refused to h

Published 21 May, 2019 07:34am

Miscellaneous

Costly detours

The country’s airspace closure has entered a third month amid the ongoing hostility between Pakistan and India post Pulw

Updated 20 May, 2019 06:45am

Miscellaneous

A Teflon prime minister?

Nothing wastes political capital like an economic downturn. It’s not just in the West where consultants warn political i

Updated 20 May, 2019 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Tale of two amnesties

Embarrassments aside, the Assets Declaration Ordinance 2019, commonly referred to as Amnesty Scheme , is one of the bett

Published 17 May, 2019 05:10am

Miscellaneous

Reinventing office space

In an age of disruption, almost all conventional sectors have undergone a complete transformation in business model. Rid

Published 17 May, 2019 04:53am

Miscellaneous

Wheat prices: is it time to panic?

News in the media suggests that the double whammy delivered by oil prices coupled with devastating rain fall in Punjab d

Published 15 May, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Too big to break?

A social media giant finds itself under the spotlight again. Critics have previously charged that fake news, fake person

Published 15 May, 2019 06:17am

Miscellaneous

When the sky falls

A year after unilaterally pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration has Iran right where it wanted

Published 10 May, 2019 04:43am

Miscellaneous

People are never happy

Criticism on everything seems to be the favorite time pass; not just coming from opposition benches, but intellectuals o

Published 09 May, 2019 03:49am

Miscellaneous

From Shabbar’s lens

Shabbar Zaidi is no stranger to tax policy and administration affairs in Pakistan. The official notification of his appo

Published 08 May, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Egypt, Pakistan and the IMF

The central bank governor coming right from the IMF - managing Egypt, is fueling skepticism that the Fund has brought hi

Published 07 May, 2019 05:36am

Miscellaneous

PSDP’s April surprise

Contrary to suspicions of a slowdown in development spending, the federal government’s development ledger seems is still

Published 07 May, 2019 05:24am

Miscellaneous

Press freedom!

The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated last week (May 3). This year’s theme of Unesco’s annual conference marking th

Published 06 May, 2019 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Inflation challenges ahead

The headline inflation came down from 9.4 percent in Mar19 to 8.8 percent in Apr19; the decline was expected as the high

Published 03 May, 2019 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Thanos: the last laugh

Tickets for ‘Avengers: Endgame’ are reportedly in black trade in Karachi these days. As superhero movies go, the plot re

Updated 03 May, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Free the statistics (division)

Andrew Marshall, arguably the most respected Pentagon strategist, died a few weeks ago. One of his many feats was to fla

Published 02 May, 2019 06:46am

Miscellaneous

SYS has a good start

It’s been a good start to the year for a prominent local software house. As per a company notice sent to the stock excha

Published 30 Apr, 2019 05:22am

Miscellaneous

IMF programme: Could be very tough

The IMF team is in Islamabad to finalize the conditions for the upcoming programme. Apart from an agreement on having a

Published 29 Apr, 2019 06:50am

Miscellaneous

Top-up to lose

A judicial ruling on money matters is bound to draw mixed response, depending on how favourable the precedent is to one’

Published 29 Apr, 2019 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Agri-Plotistan

Populist notions peddled by the media often insinuate that most of Pakistan’s rural economy is landless, with land owner

Published 24 Apr, 2019 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s finmin curse

Asad Umar’s removal from the Q-Block is a story bigger than Asad himself; it is also bigger than the PTI and its real or

Published 24 Apr, 2019 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Selling a purge

Communist regimes in the middle-half of the twentieth century were notorious for what Western historians would later lab

Published 23 Apr, 2019 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Groundwater law: bring it in 21st century

Pakistan’s water sector legislative landscape suffers from the disease of extremes: there are either too many competing

Published 23 Apr, 2019 05:56am

Miscellaneous

Exports — betting on quantity

Exports at $17 billion in 9MFY19 – are virtually at the same level where they were in 9MFY18. For a few, it may be worri

Published 23 Apr, 2019 05:52am

Miscellaneous

Exploring NFC to boost exports

It’s not funny when a former minister expresses his helplessness, his “wounds”, over the weaknesses of institutional, or

Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Ehsaas: the good, the bad, the strange

If there is one feeling, screaming out from the government’s Ehsaas document, it is this: PM Khan’s heart may be in the

Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Hindsight is always 20-20

“Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what

Published 22 Apr, 2019 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Going, going, gone!

With weather around, good cloud cover, and a fast and bouncy pitch – it will always be tough batting first. Tougher, if

Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:20am

Miscellaneous

The FM sent packing

The Finance Minister Asad Umar has quit. Is it a good decision? That will depend on who replaces him. There is little

Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:19am

Miscellaneous

Fauji earnings: sunshine in a downpour

In 1HFY19, cement production and dispatches for Fauji Cement (PSX: FCCL) were down while clinker production and revenues

Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Dolmen City REIT in 9MFY19

Drawing close to its four years in operations, Dolmen City REIT (PSX: DCR) announced its financial performance for 9MFY1

Published 19 Apr, 2019 06:01am

Miscellaneous

Gold succumbs to bears

The global economy seems to have steadied ship and the jitters have given way to optimism by market participants. This s

Published 18 Apr, 2019 06:20am

Miscellaneous

Tax reforms: PTI’s plan of action

What’s PTI’s plan of action for tax reforms, and will it really work? These are some of the most asked questions by busi

Published 17 Apr, 2019 07:00am

Miscellaneous

A crowded bench

Political observers in Pakistan are concerned about the outcome of elections in India and consequences of a potential NA

Published 17 Apr, 2019 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Reading PTI’s economic roadmap

A roadmap that does not mention the distance between two points, or, as is in today’s digital world, does not tell you t

Published 16 Apr, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Trends in agricultural employment

Finally! Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has released its annual compendium (for FY18) on trends in labour market, a

Published 16 Apr, 2019 06:48am

Miscellaneous

Startups: long-term bet

The PTI gave an ambitious plan of creating 10 million jobs in the next five years. However, the economic slowdown has gi

Published 15 Apr, 2019 06:41am

Miscellaneous

(Not) dealing with zombies

If Pakistan’s social and economic problems were to be given the face of a relatable movie character, it would probably b

Published 12 Apr, 2019 07:03am

Miscellaneous

Exports refuse to rise

Imports continue the journey south – hitting a 30-month low of $4.1 billion in March 2019, registering a 21 percent year

Published 12 Apr, 2019 06:33am

Miscellaneous

CPI rebasing: no more simple averages please!

The much awaited rebasing and reassigning of weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has reportedly been approved by

Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Agri-nomics needs stakeholders not consumers

Official estimates put the contribution of agriculture sector at no more than one-fifth of Pakistan’s GDP. Yet, commenta

Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:27am

Miscellaneous

“Ehsas” for the poor

After the launch if Insaaf heath cards, the government has recently taken another step in the human capital domain. Unde

Published 11 Apr, 2019 06:10am

Miscellaneous

Tax amnesty 2019: no place to hide?

Never mind PTI’s U-turn on tax amnesties; much has been written about it in this space. (See Tax amnesty: putting the c

Updated 10 Apr, 2019 06:58am

Miscellaneous

Processed milk – embrace not divorce

Pakistan’s economic potential is hidden in agriculture and its value addition. Within it, the dairy sector has significa

Published 10 Apr, 2019 05:53am

Miscellaneous

Polls apart

Observers of Indo-Pak bilateral are eagerly awaiting the make-up of next government in New Delhi. Two days from now, Ind

Published 09 Apr, 2019 04:50am

Miscellaneous

Correcting inflation computation

Inflation expectations are being mismanaged. There are not much demand side inflationary pressures. Inflation is low wor

Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Khan’s dream team

When Imran Khan was rallying for general elections 2018, he promised he has a dream team of 200 people who can fix Pakis

Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:17am

Miscellaneous

Children and air pollution

Look no further than South Asia for a region that will have its children’s’ life shortened the most due to air pollution

Published 08 Apr, 2019 07:13am

Miscellaneous

Rice: time to adopt SRI

Pakistan’s rice is a highly export centric commodity, with an average 60 percent of total domestic production going towa

Published 05 Apr, 2019 06:39am

Miscellaneous

PTV’s losses: the devil is in the details

The good old PTV was under fire this week when the Senate was recently informed that the state-owned national television

Published 04 Apr, 2019 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Unlocking the farming land potential

It is said that real estate development in urban areas has converted the cities into “Plot-istan”, as property has becom

Published 04 Apr, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Eating words, learning lessons

“We will double the FBR tax from Rs4000 billion to Rs8000 billion in one year.” “Tax amnesty schemes penalise the honest

Updated 04 Apr, 2019 07:38am

Miscellaneous

Inflation high but don’t panic

March 2019 recorded highest CPI since Dec 2013, but that does not mean that inflation will hit double digit in April. Ma

Published 03 Apr, 2019 06:45am

Miscellaneous

PSDP: foreign aid dries up

The Rs675 billion federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is under the weather. As per Planning Commission (P

Published 03 Apr, 2019 06:36am

Miscellaneous

SYS had a blockbuster year

So the bourse was saving the best for last. At the tail-end of the result season for CY18, a prominent local software ho

Published 02 Apr, 2019 06:53am

Miscellaneous

Time to talk population

In an interview published yesterday, Dr Mehtab Karim, one of Pakistan’s handful of demographers said something rather al

Published 02 Apr, 2019 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Demystifying GM food crop

“Man fears what he does not understand”. Yeats immortal words are an apt description of commonly held attitude towards g

Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:15am

Miscellaneous

Make in Pakistan and job creation dilemma

Domestic businesses create jobs, imports don’t. This is the go-to argument of businesses across the board (not just big

Published 01 Apr, 2019 05:04am

Miscellaneous

Reading PTI’s economic management

When the PTI came into power last year, both the business community and the citizens at large could be categorised in tw

Published 29 Mar, 2019 06:01am

Miscellaneous

No free water please!

Good news first. There is only one. There are serious talks going on in Punjab to bring legislation in the form of a com

Updated 29 Mar, 2019 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Tax filers: zero return filers driving growth

It’s difficult to glean a lot of meaningful information from unsorted data dumps that the FBR does every year in the nam

Published 28 Mar, 2019 06:58am

Miscellaneous

What’s going on in Punjab’s fertile crescent?

Shrinking area under cotton cultivation has everyone worried, except like all things Pakistani, the concern seems to be

Published 28 Mar, 2019 06:33am

Miscellaneous

CPEC and manpower

lot has been said about CPEC’s ability in generating new employment avenues in the country. No doubt; as China Pakistan

Published 27 Mar, 2019 05:32am

Miscellaneous

Another term for Trump?

Too much smoke, yet no fire. After nearly two years of frenzy surrounding investigations by Special Counsel Robert Muell

Published 27 Mar, 2019 05:28am

Miscellaneous

Mediocrity Inc.

As if news on the fiscal front wasn’t dismal enough in FY19, the country is set for an all-around disappointing farming

Published 27 Mar, 2019 05:21am

Miscellaneous

Loan from China – welcome change

Yesterday was a dull day at stock market - shares traded were at multi month low, the only good news come in after hours

Published 26 Mar, 2019 06:43am

Miscellaneous

Export prices take a dent

Pakistan’s exports at $15 billion, growing at 1.86 percent year-on-year in 8MFY19 must be a worry. Only that the massive

Published 26 Mar, 2019 06:30am

Miscellaneous

Uber: all about the IPO?

If Uber wed Careem, who is going to look after the dependents? Dependents, in this case, being ride users and drivers. B

Published 26 Mar, 2019 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Promoting regional tourism

After visa-on-arrival (VOA) granted to 5 countries, the government has launched e-visa facility for 175 countries in a b

Published 26 Mar, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

Women in the workplace: it is not CSR!

Interloop Limited, the sock maker to giants like Nike, Puma and Adidas, and the latest to enter the stock market with a

Published 25 Mar, 2019 06:23am

Miscellaneous

A good year – but what’s next?

It is often said that there are no bad ideas in brainstorming. And if the idea comes from the man-in-charge, even if lud

Published 22 Mar, 2019 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Human capital 2.0

Back in 2017, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told the world why Apple makes its iPhones in China, his raved review widely negating

Published 22 Mar, 2019 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Is the future colonised?

Now that the heading has got your attention, let’s begin by saying that this note has got nothing to do with the archety

Published 21 Mar, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Embracing the global value chain

Two third global of trade is in engineering goods while less than ten percent in textiles. It is the other way round in

Published 20 Mar, 2019 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Two big think questions about productivity

Interloop’s hottest IPO has become the talk of the town. Anyone who knows even a tiny bit about stocks wants to take a b

Published 19 Mar, 2019 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Economic direction: unclear and slow

The market is not clear on the direction of the government’s economic team. It is tough to make business decisions in su

Published 19 Mar, 2019 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Rent seekers in farmers’ disguise

As sowing period for kharif crops draw closer, lobbying for institution of support price for cotton seems to be gaining

Published 19 Mar, 2019 06:02am

Miscellaneous

Livestock lives matter!

Dairy and packaged meat industries have been getting some attention of late. Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Razak

Published 18 Mar, 2019 05:40am

Miscellaneous

Nothing wrong with a new tax agency

Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement to create a new tax collecting agency if need be, and the ensuing commentary (

Published 15 Mar, 2019 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Sarmaye-e-Pakistan: in no hurry

Sarmaya-e-Pakistan’s (SLP) first board meeting had Ehsan Malik unanimously elected as its chairman. The idea of a holdin

Published 15 Mar, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Rice: the dark horse

The more any sector operates in the documented sector, the more public scrutiny it attracts. Or at least that’s the less

Published 15 Mar, 2019 06:22am

Miscellaneous

A tale of self harm

Political observers had warned of buyer’s remorse soon after the shocking Brexit vote in June 2016. (Read BR Research co

Published 14 Mar, 2019 05:22am

Miscellaneous

Trade deficit down

Imports in February 2019 touched a 29-month low at $4.1 billion - down 12 percent year-on-year, and 7 percent month-on-m

Published 14 Mar, 2019 04:53am

Miscellaneous

Two Punjabs

As debate on increasing area under sugarcane cultivation rages, BR Research analysed micro-level district wise figures f

Updated 14 Mar, 2019 05:32am

Miscellaneous

Gold in 2019

When it comes to the price performance of the precious metal, 2018 was a roller coaster ride; prices moved from the high

Published 13 Mar, 2019 06:01am

Miscellaneous

New FBR — yes please!

Last week, at the closing ceremony of All Pakistan Chamber President Conference, PM Imran Khan assured the business comm

Published 12 Mar, 2019 05:21am

Miscellaneous

Where is the wave?

The six-week long Indian general elections start April 11. Skeptics darkly paint Pulwama and its aftermath as a godsend

Published 12 Mar, 2019 05:08am

Miscellaneous

Lessons from Jodia Bazar

The first lesson in most elementary business law or accounting classes is that the principles of “offer and acceptance”

Published 12 Mar, 2019 04:59am

Miscellaneous

Laws of absurdity: crop zoning

As the shift in area under cultivation from cotton to other cash crops with better returns per hectare continues to grow

Published 11 Mar, 2019 07:02am

Miscellaneous

PMPK: mixed signals?

PMI global should pay heed – 2018 was a breakthrough year for its Pakistani subsidiary, which recently announced a facto

Published 11 Mar, 2019 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Opening up real estate

The amended finance bill presented on Jan 23, 2019 has finally been passed after six weeks of deliberation. The bill was

Published 08 Mar, 2019 05:45am

Miscellaneous

Support price: More lessons from sugarcane

In yesterday’s column on MNFS&R’s proposal to introduce indicative pricing mechanism for cotton, it was noted that t

Updated 08 Mar, 2019 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Punjab growth ambitions

Punjab, if it were a country, would be the 12th most populous in the world - larger than Germany and Turkey. But in term

Published 07 Mar, 2019 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Tax amnesty: putting the cart before the horse

‘Tax amnesty scheme is for looters’; ‘it is an economic bloodshed’; it’s a ‘slap on tax payers’ face’; ‘it’s a joke’. Th

Published 07 Mar, 2019 05:26am

Miscellaneous

Cotton indicative price: exercise caution!

In public policy, unlike religion, there are no marks for trying. A policy is as good as the outcome it achieves, becaus

Published 07 Mar, 2019 05:22am

Miscellaneous

Opening up trade

Pakistan needs to do regional trade agreements and FTAs with the western world and other global markets. That is one ste

Published 06 Mar, 2019 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Mutual fund platform

Anyone buying, selling or converting an open mutual fund from an asset management company (AMC) in Pakistan knows just h

Published 06 Mar, 2019 06:30am

Miscellaneous

FATF: get smart

There is no way around complying with FATF directives. After the latest plenary held in Paris last month, the pressure i

Published 06 Mar, 2019 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Pak-India hostilities: some introspection

Hostility between India and Pakistan is a high stakes gamble with lose-lose payoffs regardless of whoever wins a full-sc

Published 05 Mar, 2019 06:48am

Telecommunication

Beware of cyberspace

With the Indo-Pak bilateral getting physical lately, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that Pakistan’s cyber defenses

Published 05 Mar, 2019 06:37am

Miscellaneous

FBR’s tax directory: the story of association of persons

The story of tax collected from associations of persons (AoPs) is little different from the story of tax collected from

Updated 14 Mar, 2019 10:36am

Miscellaneous

FBR FY17 directory: ‘zero’ sum game

The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) recently released tax directory, it’s fifth since it began, shows that the filer-no

Updated 14 Mar, 2019 10:34am

Miscellaneous

Tomato-flation, not stagflation

Don't panic to see CPI at 8.2 percent in Feb19 - last time 8 percent plus inflation was recorded in Jun14. The market wa

Updated 04 Mar, 2019 06:19am

Miscellaneous

Cost of war

War can be a profitable business – if it is happening in a country you are doing business with. Otherwise, it is a waste

Published 04 Mar, 2019 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Lose the win-lose mentality

For past two days, all eyeballs have been set on the constant breaking news cycle, given fears of conflict on the easter

Published 01 Mar, 2019 06:58am

Miscellaneous

PBC’s take on garment sector

The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) recently released its report on Pakistan’s garment sector which is part of PBC’s “Ma

Published 01 Mar, 2019 06:11am

Miscellaneous

1HFY19: PSDP feels the cut

Amid the need for fiscal adjustment, the current government’s development spending has stalled but its current expenditu

Published 01 Mar, 2019 06:07am

Miscellaneous

Wanted: trade liberalization

PM Imran wants to eradicate poverty from Pakistan; and there is no sustainable way to do so without economically uplifti

Published 28 Feb, 2019 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Curious case of sugar mill registrations

Navigating facts in the post-truth world is becoming increasingly challenging; and more so in areas where data can be ta

Published 28 Feb, 2019 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Regional trade: harnessing self-interest

That Pakistan, and her south Asian neighbours, will benefit immensely from regional trade has almost become like a maxim

Published 28 Feb, 2019 05:39am

Miscellaneous

Lacklustre Rabi season

The urea off-take continues to be lackluster, with January numbers showing a 5 percent year-on-year increase. The Rabi s

Published 28 Feb, 2019 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Incentivizing provinces

Having been caught in the vicious boom-bust cycle, Pakistan’s economic managers have long been focusing on matters that

Published 27 Feb, 2019 07:06am

Miscellaneous

Bring in specialists

Have a heart problem, consult a cardiologist. Don’t go the generally physician. The analogy can be drawn for Pakistan ec

Published 27 Feb, 2019 07:02am

Miscellaneous

A billion dollar introspection

Days into the Pulwama Attack and India withdrawing the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status from Pakistan whilst slapping 20

Published 27 Feb, 2019 06:57am

Miscellaneous

Driving with brakes on!

Cheers for the $21 billion investment promise from Saudi Arabia! If luck would have it, this flow of capital will add to

Published 20 Feb, 2019 06:19am

Miscellaneous

Trade numbers: textile silver linings

Pakistan’s trade deficit is down 10 percent year-on-year. That is as good as it gets on this front. Imports are down by

Published 20 Feb, 2019 06:10am

Miscellaneous

‘You can’t always get what you want’

In a moment of light heartedness, the finance minister was recently heard commenting that he draws inspiration by listen

Published 20 Feb, 2019 06:04am

Miscellaneous

Boosting Sindh economy!

How can Sindh grow its economy, create jobs and increase the flow of taxes to its kitty? That was one of the subjects of

Published 18 Feb, 2019 06:16am

Miscellaneous

Cotton vision redux?

Back in the heady days of mid 2000s when GDP growth rate surged close to eight percent, Pakistan set itself a “Cotton Vi

Published 18 Feb, 2019 06:13am

Miscellaneous

HTL 1HFY19

Growth in profitability for Hi-Tech Lubricant Limited (PSX: HTL) took a breather in FY18, as the firm’s earnings slipped

Published 14 Feb, 2019 05:04am

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Oil relying on China-US trade talks

Oil prices are back to being highly volatile again – after a brief period of relative stability. The latest production n

Published 13 Feb, 2019 04:02am

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A ruling to remember

Residents of the twin cities won’t forget the horrors of the TLP’s occupation of the Faizabad interchange back in Novemb

Published 12 Feb, 2019 07:39am

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Trading through peace

Over the last five years Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have gone down from $2 billion to $1.3 billion in FY18, as pe

Updated 12 Feb, 2019 08:00am

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SEZ need special attention

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have some role to play in recent industrialization and economic development of Far Eastern

Published 11 Feb, 2019 07:10am

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NFC: toying with tax rearrangements

At the first round of NFC negotiations last week, Sindh’s Chief Minister reportedly reiterated Sindh’s earlier position

Published 11 Feb, 2019 07:05am

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Trends in kharif yields

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome. Yet that is exactly what the snapsh

Published 11 Feb, 2019 06:59am

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Kharif freezes cotton out

What do floods and droughts have in common? Both muck up agricultural output equally. Estimates on Pakistan’s kharif sea

Published 08 Feb, 2019 06:27am

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Hold on: The IMF can wait

The burning question discussed in the last EAC meeting was the IMF. The case of Egypt was showcased by the Finance Minst

Published 07 Feb, 2019 06:59am

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PSDP: on track

Contrary to austere expectations, it appears that the development budget will stay the course this fiscal, albeit in its

Published 07 Feb, 2019 06:55am

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NFC negotiations: round one

The National Finance Commission (NFC) is meeting today. Sources in the Q-Block say Mr. Asad Umar and his team were strug

Published 06 Feb, 2019 06:20am

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Battling for blue skies

Amid the many emergencies being declared in the country, this one has to be a serious one. Health is no joke, and pollut

Published 04 Feb, 2019 05:41am

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PIDE: economics without a sense of purpose

Pushing the frontiers of research by challenging accepted truths is a noble cause. But should it be done at the cost of

Published 04 Feb, 2019 05:35am

Miscellaneous

LSM down – seen down

The triple hit combo of high base-effect (in some sectors), monetary tightening, and reduced development spending by the

Published 31 Jan, 2019 06:13am

Miscellaneous

Correcting the picture

Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have fallen by 30 percent YoY in the first half of the current fiscal year, as per SBP

Published 31 Jan, 2019 06:05am

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Laying groundwork for bioethanol (I)

Pakistan’s agri-oriented export economy is often criticised for low inefficiency and resource hungriness per dollar earn

Published 30 Jan, 2019 05:53am

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The vocational challenge

A largely ignored way to address the needs of rising youth bulge and youth unemployment in the country is through TVET.

Published 30 Jan, 2019 05:50am

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Policymaking: Innovation calling

It is policymaking season in Pakistan. The MoF is working on macroeconomic stability framework which is to create conduc

Published 29 Jan, 2019 06:21am

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300

KSE-100 bulls have survived their battle against the bears so far. Inflows from Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have provided

Published 29 Jan, 2019 06:21am

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Tourism needs a plan

Kudos to the government for opening up Pakistan’s visa regime! News reports indicate that nationals of 50 countries will

Published 29 Jan, 2019 06:05am

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Sugar millers outsmart the government

The annual statistics from Pakistan Sugar Mills Association for 2017-18 are out and make for a frank commentary. While t

Updated 28 Jan, 2019 07:18am

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Rice exports to China: pipedream or reality?

Rice occupies a prominent position in Pakistan's export market. While the cereal has found a market in far flung destina

Updated 28 Jan, 2019 07:14am

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Wanted: growth strategy

The political debate over what exactly it was that the finance minister presented in the National Assembly two days ago

Published 25 Jan, 2019 06:43am

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NFC award: delivering on social outcomes

A fortnight after President Arif Alvi reconstituted the National Finance Commission (NFC) for the purpose of negotiating

Updated 25 Jan, 2019 07:02am

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Friends again?

The US-Pak bilateral may be turning the corner. Much of 2018 was marked by Twitter warfare. But 2019 started on a good n

Published 24 Jan, 2019 07:12am

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The war of the deal

President Donald Trump has long asserted that he is the master of negotiation. In his 30- year old memoir, “Trump: The A

Published 24 Jan, 2019 06:52am

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Asad’s sentiment booster

Criticism takes the better out of Asad Umar. He sounded confident in his speech and clear on the offerings. It was by no

Published 24 Jan, 2019 06:26am

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Punjab speed 2.0

First time in the history of Pakistan, a province plans to come up with an in-house growth strategy. The dividend of bet

Published 23 Jan, 2019 06:50am

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Exports that cost billions

How much is a dollar worth? The response may vary depending upon who is answering. An importer for example, may price in

Updated 22 Jan, 2019 07:58am

Miscellaneous

Trade deficit: some respite

The first half of FY19 is over with some respite on the external trade front, as per latest data from the Pakistan Burea

Updated 22 Jan, 2019 08:31am

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Gulf in Gwadar

Friends from the Gulf suddenly want a piece of Gwadar. Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to invest $10 billion in an o

Published 18 Jan, 2019 05:47am

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Is corruption Pakistan’s biggest problem?

For many bureaucrats, politicians and businesses, a cloud of fear hangs over Pakistan. The ongoing crackdown against cor

Published 17 Jan, 2019 06:46am

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Governing Indus in silos

Is the period of hyperactive public interest in water shortage going to come to an end today? Cynics point to news repor

Published 17 Jan, 2019 06:44am

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Plugging the perennial oil seed deficit

With ghee a staple of Pakistani diet, its main ingredient palm oil is a staple of the import bill. While the country nei

Published 17 Jan, 2019 06:34am

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Import compression and taxation

The one big challenge faced by the finance ministry is how to keep tax revenues pace intact while reducing the imports.

Published 16 Jan, 2019 06:01am

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Priority areas of reforms

Anyone mandated to reform Pakistan and put her on the path of growth and development faces a great social choice problem

Published 16 Jan, 2019 06:00am

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Encore for Modi sarkar?

Watchers of Indian politics seem to agree that Narendra Modi’s political capital is on a steady decline. The next Lok Sa

Published 16 Jan, 2019 05:52am

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The less the merrier

Consider these two charts. The first shows population growth and the other income per capita over the past six decad

Published 16 Jan, 2019 05:50am

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Fungi, toxins, and basmati exports

Continuing on the thread of basmati exports, presence of chemicals and toxins can be a boon. As long as they are present

Published 15 Jan, 2019 06:40am

Miscellaneous

FATF: do more?

Call it an Indo-US stranglehold on Pakistan or a failure to put own house in order, it doesn’t change the fact that a mu

Published 14 Jan, 2019 06:23am

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Imported cotton: remove duties

Cotton is the lifeline of Pakistan’s textile industry. Following the end of the Multi-Fiber Agreement FA quota which ush

Published 11 Jan, 2019 06:39am

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GI law and basmati

Basmati rice is considered inherently superior due to its aroma and long grain characteristics. Native only to the sub-c

Published 11 Jan, 2019 06:31am

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Living with others

If human resources are the real wealth of a country, then that lost art of living with others is the real essence of pro

Published 10 Jan, 2019 06:26am

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Intentions aplenty – capacity missing

The economic team seems to lacks implementable ideas and more importantly, the capacity to maximize benefits accruing fr

Published 10 Jan, 2019 06:22am

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GDP growth: grounded

Albeit required, demand compression measures – e.g. PSDP cut, interest rate hike, and currency adjustment – are taking t

Published 09 Jan, 2019 05:56am

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Crude palm oil – make hay

Lower global Crude Palm Oil (CPO) prices have yielded a short term advantage to local edible oil refineries. To better u

Published 09 Jan, 2019 05:46am

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Imran delivering; others found wanting

Imran delivering; others found wanting The PTI government performance so far is better at managing external economic an

Published 08 Jan, 2019 06:59am

Miscellaneous

PSDP goes steady

Those looking for austerity measures should look no further than the development spend. Stubbornly high current expendit

Published 08 Jan, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Understanding global palm oil prices

Palm oil is a staple of Pakistan’s import bill but its price remains at the mercy of several different trends. To unders

Updated 08 Jan, 2019 07:52am

Miscellaneous

Everybody knows!

The British Council’s recent report on ‘The university research system in Pakistan’ presents a disappointing state of kn

Published 07 Jan, 2019 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Construction (in) activity

The fact that construction activity would not be keeping up with the expectations set forth only a couple of months befo

Published 07 Jan, 2019 06:17am

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Transparency wanting in INGO policy

For past seven years, the INGO and developmental assistance sector has become a casualty of state’s frustration over the

Published 07 Jan, 2019 06:16am

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Smog, pollution and breakdowns

Power breakdowns are back in the northern parts of the country for the past two days. Most of Punjab and Islamabad are e

Published 04 Jan, 2019 06:39am

Miscellaneous

Petroleum sales in 2018

The petroleum product sales by the oil marketing segment, which are also widely referred to as oil sales, lost their vig

Published 04 Jan, 2019 06:30am

Miscellaneous

Wanted: sunflower cultivation

Sunflower acreage has declined steadily over the last decade and has become stagnant in recent years. The main reason fo

Published 04 Jan, 2019 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Tobaccos: the year ahead

The year 2018 was a turnaround year for the two major tobacco multinationals operating in the formal fold. That’s the ye

Published 04 Jan, 2019 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Dealing with taxation ills

The biggest economic problem in Pakistan is persistently high fiscal deficit and within it the narrow tax base and low t

Published 03 Jan, 2019 06:50am

Miscellaneous

The second ship-breaking yard

The establishment of a ship breaking yard at Gwadar has been approved by the government. Balochistan already has one of

Published 03 Jan, 2019 06:32am

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Inflation waiting for electricity shock

Consumer inflation measured by CPI for December 2018 clocked in at 6.17 percent. This is lower than market expectations

Published 03 Jan, 2019 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Can trade diplomacy really deliver?

Pakistani governments have been trying to boost exports for a long time. Various ‘export packages’ have been experimente

Published 02 Jan, 2019 05:19am

Miscellaneous

EU’s palm oil ban in Pakistan’s favour

In December 2015, Denmark, France, UK, Germany, Netherlands, and Norway signed the Amsterdam Declaration declaring thems

Published 02 Jan, 2019 05:09am

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Envoys conference: trade mission reforms

Yesterday’s piece on envoy conference concluded by flagging that no formal mechanism of coordination currently exists be

Published 01 Jan, 2019 06:59am

Miscellaneous

Learning the ropes

The year 2018 started with concerns for Pakistan’s political stability. After much ado, the New Year dawns with an eerie

Published 01 Jan, 2019 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Envoys conference: a lost opportunity?

Islamabad held a two-day envoys’ conference late last week. The agenda was to deliberate ways and means to grow foreign

Published 31 Dec, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Taxes: third time may not be a charm

With yet another mini budget expected next month amid steeply falling short of revenue collection target - and before th

Published 31 Dec, 2018 06:13am

Miscellaneous

Muscle or machine

After experiencing nearly 30 percent growth in sales in FY18, the tractor industry is now invariably prepared for a slow

Updated 28 Dec, 2018 10:48am

Miscellaneous

Wooing Chinese private sector

The PTI is in an unenviable position. Of the many things the ruling party has to do to fix the country’s external imbala

Published 27 Dec, 2018 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Gender balancing

If global rankings are taken as a gauge, gender inequality can’t get worse than where the latest World Economic Forum’s

Published 27 Dec, 2018 06:33am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: 8th JCC

The 8th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting was held late last week, but sentiments among business and policy comm

Published 26 Dec, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Moving towards soda tax

It has been over three weeks since the federal government announced its intent to impose a ‘sin tax’ on cigarettes and b

Published 26 Dec, 2018 06:36am

Miscellaneous

US pullout: more uncertainty

The US President started 2018 with a biting tweet lashing out at Pakistan and is ending the year with a fine New-year pr

Published 26 Dec, 2018 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Oilseed cultivation – a win on all sides

China plans to remove import and export tariffs on a range of goods at the start of January next year. For most part, Pa

Published 26 Dec, 2018 06:29am

Miscellaneous

5MFY19 – Exports round up

Exports and imports both have stagnated at around 1 percent growth YoY. Though the cooling down of imports has decreased

Published 24 Dec, 2018 05:39am

Miscellaneous

The Afghan question

Peace in Afghanistan remains hostage to an on-again, off-again dialogue among more than half a dozen stakeholders. Almos

Published 20 Dec, 2018 05:50am

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Balochistan issues: accept and address

Every time Balochistan expresses concerns over zero or weak progress on the development of CPEC’s western corridor, ther

Published 19 Dec, 2018 06:31am

Miscellaneous

A boost for REITs?

The real estate sector has come under the government’s scrutiny, which is trying to formalise the sector with ongoing mo

Published 19 Dec, 2018 06:25am

Miscellaneous

PBC & Pakistan

For those who are still unsure, the battle of Islamabad has been won by big corporates. That was the single biggest take

Published 18 Dec, 2018 06:20am

Miscellaneous

The non-NFC agenda!

A host of recent media reports say that Balochistan is deeply concerned about its share of CPEC projects. Given the clou

Published 13 Dec, 2018 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Trade data: no reason to rejoice

Imports in November 2018 stood at $4.6 billion – fifth consecutive month for imports under $5 billion. That is about the

Published 13 Dec, 2018 06:16am

Miscellaneous

Economics of sports

Given the current economic crisis at hand, some out-of-the-box theories have been presented to address the situation. Fr

Published 13 Dec, 2018 06:13am

Miscellaneous

Fighting climate risks

Coal power generation is one ‘dirty’ business in this age of rising environmental concerns, and Pakistan is going to get

Published 13 Dec, 2018 06:10am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan-Iran trade discrepancies

Trade with Iran is at record low levels. Import data from SBP indicates Pakistan imported just $59,000 worth of goods fr

Published 12 Dec, 2018 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Lessons in cinema and groundwater

Sinkholes make for good drama in post-apocalyptic movies. And humanity’s fascination with sudden rupture of ground that

Published 11 Dec, 2018 05:34am

Miscellaneous

Dark night

What are the origins of societal change? In a world of over 7 billion people, a billion theories abound. It is, however,

Published 10 Dec, 2018 05:40am

Miscellaneous

Any love for environment?

A key factor oft ignored these days while discussing smog is Pakistan’s increasing reliance on coal-powered generation.

Published 10 Dec, 2018 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Sugar year roundup

Sugarcane crushing season is upon us; and if interim financials of millers are any guide, the coming year does not look

Published 07 Dec, 2018 06:01am

Miscellaneous

Maize in a post-sugarcane Pakistan

Sugarcane harvest season is upon us. That time of the year when most newspaper readers idly lament growers’ and millers’

Published 07 Dec, 2018 05:57am

Miscellaneous

Palm oil and ghee

The key ingredient in making vegetable ghee is palm oil. Palm oil is also the preferred choice in the confectionary, bak

Published 07 Dec, 2018 05:54am

Miscellaneous

Failed governance mindset

Pharmaceutical, dairy, beef, stock market, housing industry, cabs, logistics, sugar, and so many other industries have s

Published 05 Dec, 2018 05:47am

Miscellaneous

Chicken and eggs go dearer

The CPI for November clocked in at 6.5 percent. Quite expectedly too, as the last month’s gas price revision of 85 perce

Updated 05 Dec, 2018 07:06am

Miscellaneous

Kartarpur religious tourism potential

While the visa-free Kartarpur corridor for Sikhs has stirred up some controversy, it is on the whole hailed as a positiv

Published 05 Dec, 2018 05:43am

Miscellaneous

Facilitating imported cotton

Despite being the fourth largest cotton producing country in the world, Pakistan’s cotton crop has continued to show dis

Published 05 Dec, 2018 05:42am

Miscellaneous

A win for both sides

Pakistan and India relations have always blown more hot than cold. While regional prosperity has often been linked to hi

Published 04 Dec, 2018 05:09am

Miscellaneous

Averting ‘Airpocalyse’

Crispy clear blue skies are a hallmark of winters; unfortunately, some major urban centres in Pakistan particularly Laho

Published 04 Dec, 2018 04:59am

Miscellaneous

Life-support to SOEs

That a majority of state-owned-enterprises (SOEs) have been on life-support, or clutches in the best-case scenario, is n

Updated 03 Dec, 2018 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Furnace oil: Embrace it, don’t destroy it

The furnace oil uplifting issue is finally getting attention from the ECC, as news reports suggest CCoE ordered immediat

Published 30 Nov, 2018 06:04am

Miscellaneous

Karachi Circular Railway and (un)housing

The Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) is going to be revived. Back in the 80s, KCR was a choice mode of transportation for

Published 30 Nov, 2018 05:56am

Miscellaneous

100 days for course correction

Seen by many as a sign of commitment to good governance, the self-imposed 100-day deadline offered up by the PTI-led gov

Published 30 Nov, 2018 05:54am

Miscellaneous

Managing SOEs

Pakistan has about 197 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), reporting to 18 ministries and two divisions, according to the la

Published 29 Nov, 2018 05:36am

Miscellaneous

The spaces between us

Space is a scarce resource, and Pakistani cities have learned that the hard way, now grappling with ill-designed densifi

Published 29 Nov, 2018 05:23am

Miscellaneous

Thailand – the next FTA

Past governments have gone on a trade agreement signing frenzy resulting in numerous FTAs and PTAs, not to mention dorma

Published 29 Nov, 2018 05:21am

Miscellaneous

Ushering a corn(y) revolution

Corn (maize) has long been the stepchild amongst Pakistan’s preferred choice of cereals. Despite highest yield per hecta

Published 28 Nov, 2018 04:45am

Miscellaneous

Media swings

The media crunch is real but a bit hyped by the media houses themselves. Ever since, the deregulation of the (electronic

Published 27 Nov, 2018 05:48am

Miscellaneous

SOEs: elephants on the table

That it takes two years after the end of financial years to compile basic financial and operational metrics of state-own

Updated 27 Nov, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Slowdown in PSDP

“Development” spending has remained a fiscal orphan for long. Facing fiscal and external adjustments, the newly-minted P

Published 27 Nov, 2018 05:45am

Miscellaneous

Looking westward for water (2)

In the first part of this column, need for a treaty over shared river waters between Pakistan and Afghanistan was stress

Published 27 Nov, 2018 05:42am

Miscellaneous

The odyssey of Naya-Karachi

Karachi thrives in a kind of controlled chaos which separates it from most cities in the world, though some parallels ca

Updated 26 Nov, 2018 06:54am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan-IMF: Be right back!

The IMF mission left Pakistan on a neutral note. The negotiations were not conclusive, but they did not fail either. The

Published 23 Nov, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Don’t poke the bear

The US President is still smarting from the Republicans’ losses in the recent midterms. The Democrats’ taking back contr

Published 23 Nov, 2018 06:07am

Miscellaneous

PSE reforms: how about a U-turn?

If Finance Minister Asad Umar would have his way, Pakistan would soon stand shoulder to shoulder with Malaysia, Qatar an

Updated 23 Nov, 2018 08:31am

Miscellaneous

Looking westwards for water

Discourse in Pakistan’s mainstream media is dominated by Lahore-Karachi urban intelligentsia. One casualty of this bias

Published 20 Nov, 2018 06:11am

Miscellaneous

Can Pakistan still catch the boat to Qatar?

Qatar looks confident roughly a year and a half after the sudden economic and diplomatic blockade imposed on the tiny St

Published 20 Nov, 2018 06:05am

Miscellaneous

The poverty tap

After announcing the ambitious housing plan, PM Khan now plans to introduce a mega poverty alleviation program, and for

Published 19 Nov, 2018 08:17am

Miscellaneous

FBR sunset

Yesterday’s piece ended with reports that PM Imran Khan is very unhappy with the FBR’s performance, where sources from P

Published 16 Nov, 2018 06:58am

Miscellaneous

CPI rationalized — now methodology’s turn

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), in a rare move, adjusted the monthly consumer price inflation for October 2018.

Published 16 Nov, 2018 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Doing business: bridging province gap

Pakistan’s ease of doing business ranking took a turn a for the better by jumping up 11 places and the country is now ra

Published 16 Nov, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Reforming FBR: don’t wing it

Everyone is going gaga over the in-principle cabinet decision to separate tax policy from tax administration at the Fede

Published 15 Nov, 2018 06:47am

Miscellaneous

Leveraging purchasing power

A monopsony is a simple economic theory that dictates that a large buyer controls a big chunk of the market and thus has

Published 15 Nov, 2018 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Achieving $1 billion potential

The challenges in increasing Pakistan’s exports to China by $1 billion this year were discussed earlier in this space. W

Published 14 Nov, 2018 06:36am

Miscellaneous

Thinking beyond the FBR

First time in a long time, a democratic elected government is seemingly seriously thinking about the separation of tax e

Published 13 Nov, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Of exports to China

Post PM’s trip to China, China has agreed to increase its imports from Pakistan this year. While reports differ whether

Published 13 Nov, 2018 06:13am

Miscellaneous

In search of real investments

“Nothing sells like a real (investment) transaction,” the new BOI chief told BR Research in an interview last week (to b

Published 13 Nov, 2018 06:11am

Miscellaneous

Not far from the madding crowd

Karachi will become the third most populous city in the world by 2030 as predicted by a latest Euromonitor report, growi

Published 12 Nov, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Leveraging inefficiencies in water consumption

Water security has thankfully, taken center stage in our public and academic discourse. Yet, like all things Pakistani,

Published 09 Nov, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Behind the scenes of CPI blooper

The recent CPI blooper leading to a much-more-than-expected inflation number for October 2018 has caught the attention

Published 09 Nov, 2018 06:01am

Miscellaneous

Textile, gas and comedy of errors

The government is making a mockery of itself in an effort to subsidize energy needs for textile exporting sector in Punj

Updated 08 Nov, 2018 06:52am

Miscellaneous

Retail fuels losing steam

Driving the growth momentum in petroleum product sales, the retail fuels volumes are plateauing now. There is a visible

Updated 08 Nov, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

No blue wave in America

The Democrats pitched the November 6 mid-term elections a referendum on the idea of Trump. Unsurprisingly, Trump’s fear-

Published 08 Nov, 2018 06:26am

Miscellaneous

The face of the state

Amid all the talk of anti-corruption, and dismissal-no-dismissal of top bureaucrats as well as actual purges, inquires a

Published 07 Nov, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

PTI team: first China trip

The PTI team first China trip is in continuity of firm long term bilateral relationship. There is no ambiguity that join

Published 07 Nov, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Disrupting the insurance landscape

Just like fintech start-ups are disrupting the traditional brick and mortar business models, insurance too is becoming a

Published 07 Nov, 2018 06:36am

Miscellaneous

High inflation; low common sense

Pakistan is not exactly known for sophisticated data availability. The recently released monthly inflation numbers for O

Published 06 Nov, 2018 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Wanted: rule of law

A pall of gloom descends on this land every now and then. No, this isn't about the winter smog or summer haze. Rather, t

Published 06 Nov, 2018 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Not so tough?

While Iran has had a history of facing sanctions, the latest round courtesy Trump has been hyped up to be harshest of th

Updated 06 Nov, 2018 12:14pm

Miscellaneous

Inflation: The PBS owes a correction

The CPI unexpectedly and mysteriously clocked in at 7 percent in October 2018. The consensus estimate was 5.6 percent. I

Published 05 Nov, 2018 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Doing Business: chasing a moving target

Every year, the World Bank makes corrections in the data that feeds it’s doing business rankings, some more noticeable t

Updated 05 Nov, 2018 08:02am

Miscellaneous

Smitten by smog

Spooky and dreary October 31st - smog in Lahore is scarier than Halloween. Calling it another season in Punjab won’t be

Published 05 Nov, 2018 07:36am

Miscellaneous

Water symposium: take it to parliament

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored”, said Aldous Huxley. That seemed to be the motivation of the two-

Published 02 Nov, 2018 07:17am

Miscellaneous

Doing business: a long road ahead

Pakistan improved 11 ranks in Word Bank’s Doing Business indicators in 2018. Congratulations! India’s rank moved 23 spac

Updated 02 Nov, 2018 08:10am

Miscellaneous

Rethinking tube-well subsidy

Pakistan has a power sector circular debt problem. It also has an imminent water crisis looming on the horizon. The two

Published 02 Nov, 2018 07:15am

Miscellaneous

Balochistan overlooked water potential

Recall from grade school years the map of Pakistan. Through hazy memory of geography lessons one can visualize the rough

Published 02 Nov, 2018 07:13am

Miscellaneous

Corporate environment governance

Environmental disasters are not new to Pakistan. The Clifton beach in Karachi still reminds beach goers of the Tasman Sp

Updated 31 Oct, 2018 09:02am

Miscellaneous

Trade numbers round up

The first quarter of the fiscal year continues its promising trend of slowed imports and rising exports, resulting in tr

Updated 31 Oct, 2018 06:43am

Miscellaneous

NFC: roller coaster ride ahead

In recent news the federal cabinet decided that FATA will get three percent share under the National Finance Commission

Published 30 Oct, 2018 05:59am

Miscellaneous

Global politics of palm oil

Prior to 2002, Pakistan was importing palm oil from Malaysia alone. Over the years, Indonesia’s share of palm oil has cr

Published 30 Oct, 2018 05:57am

Miscellaneous

Karachi, Karachi

What should be Karachi’s economic vision statement? That is the question the Islamabad-based think tank Prime Institute

Published 26 Oct, 2018 06:20am

Miscellaneous

On Saudi’s rescue and beyond

Something Imran is good at - apart from cricket, is in raising money. He demonstrated it as a social worker, and now he

Published 25 Oct, 2018 06:34am

Miscellaneous

Fixing the civil service

Now that PM Khan is coming to grips with the harsh realities of the nuts and bolts of government, he has finally realise

Published 24 Oct, 2018 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Of Basmati exports

The global basmati rice market stood at $10.5 billion in 2017 and is growing at a CAGR of 11 percent. By 2022, the marke

Published 22 Oct, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Trade deficit breathe

Imports in September 2018 were recorded at $4.4 billion – third month in a row for sub $5 billion monthly imports. Septe

Updated 18 Oct, 2018 02:03pm

Miscellaneous

Inflation to stay in single digit

A few days ago a news report quoted IMF’s average inflation projection to hit 14 percent in FY19 which was vetted by an

Published 18 Oct, 2018 06:00am

Miscellaneous

PTI must communicate better

Reportedly, PM Khan is unhappy with the results of recent by-elections. Political commentators offer two broad reasons b

Published 17 Oct, 2018 05:56am

Miscellaneous

Ethanol potential as bio-fuel

A suggestion was floated in the Indonesian palm oil conference last month. Given Pakistan’s $2 billion palm oil imports,

Published 16 Oct, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Say yes to housing!

The hot topics last week was going to the IMF and currency depreciation; when it instead should have been the ‘Naya Paki

Updated 15 Oct, 2018 02:09pm

Miscellaneous

Are we prepared to rethink the basics?

Consensus on wasteful irrigation practices that has long prevailed in academia is finally trickling into the mainstream

Published 12 Oct, 2018 07:24am

Miscellaneous

A model of haats

In 2010, Bangladesh and India signed a comprehensive agreement covering a range of issues, one of which was the promotio

Published 12 Oct, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Of friends and financing

Though it is no excuse for their clumsy economic management thus far, the new government inherited a sobering economic s

Published 11 Oct, 2018 07:00am

Miscellaneous

Finding stability under the IMF

The inevitable has happened. Soon after, the currency dipped by 8 percent in a day, as the Finance Minster flew to atten

Published 10 Oct, 2018 07:14am

Miscellaneous

The 19th century approach to a 21st century problem

“[T]he existence, origin, movement and course of [underground] waters, and the causes which govern and direct their move

Published 10 Oct, 2018 07:11am

Miscellaneous

Can Pakistan get tough on trade?

Although trade diplomacy has been in vogue for a while, it has gained greater significance since Donald Trump got electe

Published 09 Oct, 2018 07:05am

Miscellaneous

The Rickshaw math

“This is not the change I voted for”. This is the politest and most publishable comment one may have heard from the tran

Published 09 Oct, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Enough of talking – action time!

The mantra of ‘do more’ echoed in IMF post evaluation statement in response to the austerity measures taken so far in th

Published 08 Oct, 2018 07:21am

Miscellaneous

PM’s 100-days progress tracker

Ideas are contagious. In 2013, the Islamabad-based think tank PRIME decided to track the election promises of the then r

Published 08 Oct, 2018 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Bottled water: misplaced outrage?

The coming of autumn seems to have dissipated the anger over water shortage that accompanied the summer heat and erratic

Published 08 Oct, 2018 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Saudis: something like CPEC?

Anticipation was running high when Pakistan’s new premier went to Saudi Arabia for his first official visit (Sep. 18-19)

Published 05 Oct, 2018 06:53am

Miscellaneous

Mining in the past

“The future belongs to cobalt” says Elon Musk, whose brainchild Tesla Inc, is valued at USD 50 billion, rivaling that of

Published 04 Oct, 2018 06:44am

Miscellaneous

KP local law: one to emulate?

A flurry of activity is taking between Islamabad and Lahore as the federal government pushes its handpicked provincial c

Published 04 Oct, 2018 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Building capacity and grit

The dilemma Asad faces today is to bring the change through the conventional bureaucrats. The problem was faced by the p

Published 04 Oct, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Chinese grow, listings slow

Growth in SECP-registered companies had peaked in FY17, having seen a multi-year high growth of 10.2 percent. In FY18, t

Published 03 Oct, 2018 07:00am

Miscellaneous

The real losers in Pak-Afghan trade

There is loud and frequent brouhaha on falling exports to Afghanistan with India and Iran poaching Pakistan’s share. The

Published 03 Oct, 2018 06:58am

Miscellaneous

NCL’s impressive bottom line

Nishat Chunian Limited (PSX: NCL) announced its FY18 result yesterday which saw the company post solid growth of almost

Published 03 Oct, 2018 06:50am

Miscellaneous

PSDP reform

An economic slowdown looms large. Monetary tightening has been dialed up a notch. The new finance team has little choice

Published 02 Oct, 2018 06:55am

Miscellaneous

CPI: just heating up

The inflation story has continued to build. The number for September 2018 clocked in at 5.12 percent. This may look like

Published 02 Oct, 2018 06:53am

Miscellaneous

WB Report – postulating the impossible

Ever since World Bank has released its report “A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia”, every jo

Published 02 Oct, 2018 06:49am

Miscellaneous

New rice battleground

Being elbowed out of traditional markets by India is not a new circumstance for Pakistan. The latest red flag is raised

Published 01 Oct, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Role of media in curbing corruption

Earlier this week the national chapter of Transparency International organised a youth convention on governance, where o

Published 28 Sep, 2018 08:49am

Miscellaneous

Going to the IMF: when and not if

The most critical ministry today is the finance; there are number of politically difficult decisions in offing, a few ha

Published 26 Sep, 2018 05:49am

Miscellaneous

Berger – profits continue to slide down

It has not been a good year for Berger Paints. The top-line showed sluggish growth while the bottom-line halved. Lacklus

Published 26 Sep, 2018 05:35am

Miscellaneous

Local government: the Punjab angle

Noting the universal features of successful local government’s model, this column has previously argued that if the new

Published 25 Sep, 2018 06:52am

Miscellaneous

Cigarettes: the middle ground

It’s too early, but the PTI government is getting a bit of reputation for “compromise”. The mini-budget, released last w

Published 25 Sep, 2018 06:50am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s indirect tax burden

Each year, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) successfully raises the age-old questions about its existence, and more no

Published 25 Sep, 2018 06:48am

Miscellaneous

Non-filers: mini-budget, mini-solutions

Car and property buying hopefuls can rejoice, filers or non- filers. The contentious restriction of barring non- filers

Published 24 Sep, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

New entrant Unity Food posts strong results

The newest entrant to the edible oil sector has posted strong results for the few months it has been in business. Unity

Published 24 Sep, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

The NFC Award!

In an unexpected and a largely uncelebrated move, finance minister Asad Umar has already invited provinces to re-nominat

Published 19 Sep, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Mini-budget: PTI takes the middle ground

The mini budget is finally announced. At first, Asad set the record straight to show the fiscal situation PTI inherited

Published 19 Sep, 2018 06:10am

Miscellaneous

Smarter imports in edible oil

While Pakistan does not have indigenous sources of edible oil, it does have ample capacity to convert crude palm oil (CP

Published 19 Sep, 2018 06:07am

Miscellaneous

Tax direction: what’s in the bag?

As the PTI prepares to outline its maiden mini-budget for the fiscal year 2019, two opposing set of proposals have emerg

Published 18 Sep, 2018 06:29am

Miscellaneous

Economic challenges: make the tough calls

The immediate economic challenge is to bring macroeconomic stability by filling the huge gross external funding requirem

Published 18 Sep, 2018 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Economic direction: patience please

We are an impatient nation. Many expect a messiah to swing the magic wand to bring the economy out of the mess in no tim

Published 17 Sep, 2018 09:28am

Miscellaneous

Houseful

If subsequent governments in Pakistan have displayed an overwhelming obsession with building roads and bridges, Imran Kh

Updated 18 Sep, 2018 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s HDI horror show

Pakistan got to 150, in the Human Development Index (HDI) rankings. That is a leap of all of one place in the rankings f

Published 17 Sep, 2018 09:24am

Miscellaneous

Managing ‘change’!

It is easy to promise change; very difficult to deliver it. Even more difficult, however, is to manage it in a manner th

Updated 17 Sep, 2018 09:58am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: is it complicated?

China has been an indisputable unifier in Pakistan’s politics. The two countries have built great goodwill over many dec

Published 13 Sep, 2018 07:38am

Miscellaneous

Export more but export what?

The Pak-US relations rhetoric currently is based on calls for greater market access to the United States rather than mor

Updated 13 Sep, 2018 08:46am

Miscellaneous

CPEC in silos

The private sector seems to have a consensus on the assertion that the Chinese are handed CPEC projects with tax breaks,

Published 12 Sep, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

A story of rice and tea

While Pakistan may have had limited success in developing strong bilateral trade ties with neighbouring countries, it ha

Published 12 Sep, 2018 06:45am

Miscellaneous

Export of transport services

CPEC has drawn a lot of attention, a lot of it good, some of it bad. But given that CPEC’s end game is all about enhanci

Published 11 Sep, 2018 07:26am

Miscellaneous

‘PhD scholars’ and a ‘talented’ nation

This will rub some people the wrong way; especially the optimistic, patriotic kind. But this has been a long time coming

Published 11 Sep, 2018 07:24am

Miscellaneous

Ties that don’t bind

Poles apart – that’s where US-Pak relations have been for quite some time now. A brief stopover by Secretary Pompeo coul

Published 10 Sep, 2018 07:35am

Miscellaneous

Economic direction: keep calm

Last week a few economic observers and other stakeholders from the country’s economic and business community demanded th

Published 10 Sep, 2018 07:34am

Miscellaneous

Making a Medina: local welfare delivery

Much has been made of Imran Khan’s vision to transform Pakistan into a welfare state modeled along the city state of Med

Published 10 Sep, 2018 07:31am

Miscellaneous

Making a case for strong local governments

Of the several factors to which PTI’s electoral success could be attributed to, the party’s commitment to reforming loca

Published 07 Sep, 2018 09:17am

Miscellaneous

SEZs: China speed

Touted to be the surefire pathway toward industrial development in Pakistan—having skipped much of the exercise first ti

Published 07 Sep, 2018 09:12am

Miscellaneous

Startups and job-creation

The PTI promised ten million jobs in its election campaign; but details have been scant and the clock is ticking. Now th

Published 07 Sep, 2018 09:11am

Miscellaneous

Stability is the mantra at Bata!

Summer is leather’s season, and the footwear leader has sure basked in sun’s full glory! As per half yearly financials a

Published 06 Sep, 2018 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Playing for houses

Following up on one of his promises to construct five million houses during his tenure, PM Imran has now constituted a c

Published 05 Sep, 2018 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Tomatoes – buy or not to buy

Price of tomatoes has fallen as low as INR 2.5 (roughly Rs4) per kg in India currently. In Pakistan, vendors sell betwee

Published 05 Sep, 2018 06:47am

Miscellaneous

UPFL: double-digit growth

Half year financial results of the Dutch food giant were announced last week too little reason of jubilation for its sha

Updated 04 Sep, 2018 09:42am

Miscellaneous

Inflation takes the journey up north

The inflationary pressures are building up; the numbers are showing an expected but unwanted story. The CPI clocked at 5

Published 04 Sep, 2018 07:49am

Miscellaneous

Can the new Economic Advisory Council deliver?

The Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) is not new to Pakistan; nor are some of the names appointed to the

Updated 04 Sep, 2018 08:12am

Miscellaneous

Indo-Pak trade: what next?

Yesterday, Business Recorder published an overview of how little Pakistan and India trade with each other. The question

Published 04 Sep, 2018 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Shoddy state of Indo-Pak trade

With a new government taking charge in Islamabad, chances of a thaw in Indo-Pak relations look less gloomy than they hav

Published 03 Sep, 2018 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Economics of poor water-sense

Looming water shortage in the country has led to calls for conservation from all quarters. Agriculture with its 90 perce

Updated 03 Sep, 2018 09:36am

Miscellaneous

Decline in machinery imports

Till the end of the last fiscal year, the balance of trade deficit was careening out of control. Though the situation is

Published 03 Sep, 2018 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Cancer in Punjab’s heartland

Pakistan’s water challenges are not just restricted to demand side shortages. Equally threatening is the menace of fresh

Published 31 Aug, 2018 09:12am

Miscellaneous

Efficient irrigation: a win-win for agriculture?

Any discussion of demand-driven water pricing is fraught with political sensibilities. Complain to farmers about ineffic

Published 30 Aug, 2018 07:09am

Miscellaneous

FY18 LSM: slower than last year

FY18 was begun as a promising year for the Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector. With 2M growth at about 10 percent, t

Published 29 Aug, 2018 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Trade: the good and the bad

The PBS has released trade figures for the first month of the new fiscal year and there is some good news and some bad n

Published 29 Aug, 2018 07:35am

Miscellaneous

Needed: spirit of 1992

His first address to nation as PM is critically evaluated on the lack of substance on the constitutional scope of federa

Published 28 Aug, 2018 07:06am

Miscellaneous

Packages – improved operational performance

Operationally, Packages Limited continues on a strong growth path. Similar to last quarter, top-line grew because of 18

Published 28 Aug, 2018 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Compassion deficit

Islamabad, 30 June 2023: Pakistan is in the final stage of laying down door-to-door pipeline for the distribution of pur

Published 27 Aug, 2018 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Seafood economy: can PTI bell the cat?

That Pakistan has been fishing peanuts was highlighted earlier. The question is why hasn’t the country focused on fish

Published 27 Aug, 2018 06:19am

Miscellaneous

Water conservation: a win-win for agriculture?

Any discussion of demand-driven water pricing is fraught with political sensibilities. Complain to farmers about ineffic

Published 20 Aug, 2018 07:36am

Miscellaneous

Going high!

The PTI promised construction of 5 million houses over five years across the country, but the new government is set to f

Updated 17 Aug, 2018 10:57am

Miscellaneous

PSL- the winning combo

Since the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket in 2009, cricket was at a standstill in Pakistan. Meanwhile India jumped into

Published 17 Aug, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Lacklustre investment

Pakistan’s edible oil import bill is about $2 billion a year. Though Pakistan does have a small crop of oil seeds, the b

Published 17 Aug, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Fishing peanuts!

Earlier this week, Business Recorder reported that Pakistan managed to increase its fish production only by 60,000 ton

Published 16 Aug, 2018 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Agri-lending: prioritizing small farmers

The state of agriculture is far from ideal. But some progress is being made when it comes to agricultural credit disburs

Published 15 Aug, 2018 07:00am

Miscellaneous

Need for economic diplomacy

Pakistan’s next government would soon resume the delicate dance that is diplomacy. But circumstances are more challengin

Published 15 Aug, 2018 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Public schools: are numbers being glossed over?

The condition of public school systems is often lamented in the media; however, a cursory analysis of officially reporte

Published 13 Aug, 2018 06:30am

Miscellaneous

Exploring the water footprint of meat exports

An unintended consequence of poor performance of Pakistan’s traditional exporting sectors has led to a push for forex ea

Published 10 Aug, 2018 06:30am

Miscellaneous

Trade agreement talk – again

Till the start of this year, there was a lot of buzz and hope associated with the repeated rounds of China FTA negotiati

Published 10 Aug, 2018 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Taking stock of PTI’s political capital

Everyone is busy talking about the currency crisis facing Pakistan. But few have pointed out towards an ‘invisible curre

Published 09 Aug, 2018 06:20am

Miscellaneous

Sustainability ranking: what’s holding Pakistan?

Pakistan’s inability to maintain a successful growth trajectory is often attributed to a wide variety of causes: from fa

Published 09 Aug, 2018 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Why US investors are shy of Pakistan?

In October last year the American Business Council – the representative body of US investors in Pakistan - released its

Published 08 Aug, 2018 05:31am

Miscellaneous

The slum factor

With urban population growing by 3 percent, it has been projected that more than half of the Pakistan’s population (2017

Published 07 Aug, 2018 05:18am

Miscellaneous

PTI’s tasks on hand

By the start of next week, PTI would be in power, and the immediate challenge is to take the economy out of woods. It is

Published 07 Aug, 2018 05:10am

Miscellaneous

Efoods: showing profit on livestock gain

Engro Foods entered the market back in 2007, set to topple Nestle as the leader in dairy industry. The company didn't di

Published 06 Aug, 2018 05:47am

Miscellaneous

CPI spike signals rate hike ahead

The consumer price inflation (CPI) has kept moving up; and it is likely to go further up in months to come, especially c

Published 03 Aug, 2018 06:40am

Miscellaneous

How might PTI’s tax reform look like?

With the party seen to be forming a cabinet soon, many readers are inquiring about the expected revenue-side changes in

Published 02 Aug, 2018 07:39am

Miscellaneous

Iran: under the gun

After ratcheting up pressure on Iran, the Trump administration has offered Iran to talk things out. But this diplomatic

Published 02 Aug, 2018 07:35am

Miscellaneous

Can US browbeat IMF on Pakistan?

Talk about starting things off on a bad note. Pakistan is about to form a new federal government but Uncle Sam is in no

Published 01 Aug, 2018 06:48am

Miscellaneous

Battle for Punjab

Ruling the Punjab is the real deal. But Punjab has delivered a split mandate. Much in demand, the so-called ‘independent

Published 01 Aug, 2018 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Growth vs well-being

In 2012, the public-sector division of Boston Consulting Group launched a tool to measure quality of growth around the g

Published 30 Jul, 2018 07:07am

Miscellaneous

Is strengthening of federation on PTI’s agenda?

Going by what’s written in PTI’s manifesto, the answer to that question is a ‘yes’. But that which is not written sugges

Published 30 Jul, 2018 07:06am

Miscellaneous

Exploiting loopholes

In August last year, Trump singed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). As per this act,

Published 30 Jul, 2018 07:00am

Miscellaneous

PTI’s Council of Business Leaders

In 100-day plan announced in the run up to general election 2018, PTI promised to make a “Council of Business Leaders” c

Published 27 Jul, 2018 07:16am

Miscellaneous

The backward slide

Pakistan’s basket of goods in terms of exports and imports has not changed significantly. (Read “Nothing much has change

Published 26 Jul, 2018 07:03am

Miscellaneous

PAKT: flying high

A tobacco giant is now fully awake. The Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PSX: PAKT) is now back to its winning ways. As

Published 26 Jul, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Not much has changed

The FY18 figures are in and the tale of ballooning imports and trickling exports has clocked in at a trade deficit of $3

Published 24 Jul, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Bhasha Dam: financing challenges

The announcement by Chairman Wapda that a surcharge on electricity bills is being considered to mobilize for Bhasha dam

Published 24 Jul, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

An election of transitions

Elections are all about transitions; well mostly, and as such there is no rocket science behind the reasons why. But the

Published 24 Jul, 2018 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Curb your enthusiasm

Needless to point out that the election-related frenzy has been missing this time around, though this cycle is messier t

Published 23 Jul, 2018 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Manifestos: financing social services

Those political manifestos are not a priority this time round is abundantly obvious by how close to elections these have

Published 20 Jul, 2018 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Contamination: solving the groundwater puzzle

Raging public debate on Pakistan’s water shortage is a welcome change. Even as the torrent of corruption & rigging a

Updated 20 Jul, 2018 12:14pm

Miscellaneous

Will South Punjab choose the winner again?

While the battlefield for Election 2018 is undoubtedly the Central and Northern Punjab, taking eyes off of the contest t

Published 19 Jul, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

King of chaos

They let Trump be Trump and now Trump is getting out of control. By the end of Trump’s weeklong European tour that concl

Published 19 Jul, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

Exports and inequality

In some circles, the recent increase in exports may be a cause for celebration—exports rose to $23 billion in FY18 again

Published 18 Jul, 2018 07:19am

Miscellaneous

Leave imported cotton alone

It is no secret that the textile industry in Pakistan has already got its plate full of challenges when it comes to prod

Published 18 Jul, 2018 07:17am

Miscellaneous

India - caught between a rock and a hard place

Trump’s sanctions on Iran may be a boon for Afghanistan’s transit trade through Pakistan, now and in the future. While m

Published 18 Jul, 2018 07:14am

Miscellaneous

Pricing canal water

In an article published last year, World’s Bank’s Lead Water Resource Management Specialist opined that Pakistan’s water

Published 17 Jul, 2018 06:46am

Miscellaneous

New voters are real deal

Second best does not count for anything in the Pakistani election system. The PTI learnt it the hard way in 2013 – secur

Updated 16 Jul, 2018 07:30am

Miscellaneous

Water pricing (I)

The issue of water shortage has picked up steam, enough to become a regular feature in primetime TV news cycle every nig

Published 16 Jul, 2018 06:43am

Miscellaneous

Promoting oil seed production

Last week, this column discussed the need for promoting oil seed production in Pakistan as a form of import substitution

Published 16 Jul, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Overlooking the obvious – oilseeds

Rice, wheat, and sugar are prominent in Pakistan’s food export basket and domestic consumption; therefore they receive a

Published 13 Jul, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Manifestos: planning for water security

For starters, felicitations to the drafters of the manifestos! After all, the sections covering water availability in th

Published 12 Jul, 2018 06:57am

Miscellaneous

Karachi up for grabs?

Whether it is the strict enforcement of election laws by the ECP or something else – roaming around in Karachi does not

Published 12 Jul, 2018 06:54am

Miscellaneous

Making trade war work

WWII is not remembered fondly, yet it helped pull the United States out of the Great Depression. Million may have died b

Published 12 Jul, 2018 06:48am

Miscellaneous

PBC’s Agenda: sound and doable

There are no quick fixes. The message was loud and clear from the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) which presented its 10

Published 11 Jul, 2018 06:39am

Miscellaneous

Fighting for Punjab but not in agriculture

Looking closely on PML-N and PTI manifestos announced this week, once is forced to ask whether is it better to make some

Published 11 Jul, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Vote for economy

The election heat is on; political parties are finally coming up with their respective economic pitch. The manifestos or

Updated 10 Jul, 2018 07:11am

Miscellaneous

Making every drop count

No, Pakistan is not really facing a drought – at least not yet. However, as per news reports, water level in Tarbela and

Published 10 Jul, 2018 06:47am

Miscellaneous

PTI housing policy

There is no dispute on the housing shortage and on the pressing need to fill in the gap. The agenda of building housing

Updated 09 Jul, 2018 07:34am

Miscellaneous

The playing field

Political pundits are seldom right, but they are right about a lack of excitement this election season. Several factors

Published 09 Jul, 2018 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Economics of FIFA and Pakistan

Across the world people are glued at screens cheering at 22 men kicking a ball around. The ball in question is Telstar 1

Published 09 Jul, 2018 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Water: capacity building

This column has recently argued that the state needs to embark on a cohesive strategy of incremental steps to improve st

Published 06 Jul, 2018 06:34am

Miscellaneous

For the love of tea

Given that mornings across the country and across social cadres start with a cup of tea, it is not surprising that Pakis

Published 06 Jul, 2018 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Inflation inching up

For the first time in FY18 and only the second time in last four years, year-on-year inflation crossed 5 percent. June 2

Published 05 Jul, 2018 07:52am

Miscellaneous

It’s a Beijing state of mind

Chinese investment in Pakistan has undoubtedly earned its stripes as the biggest FDI into the country yet. Even as non-S

Published 05 Jul, 2018 07:48am

Miscellaneous

Dip in pulses

While imports continue to rise to new heights, the nearly half a billion dip in pulses’ imports provided some slight rel

Published 05 Jul, 2018 07:46am

Miscellaneous

The ‘P’ in PPP stands for price support!

That PPP has historically upheld agriculture friendly politics is no secret. But this election year, not only has the pa

Published 04 Jul, 2018 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Let’s not give a ‘dam’

Facts can be taken to mean anything when read in isolation. Take for example Pakistan’s ranking in the comity of nations

Published 04 Jul, 2018 07:03am

Miscellaneous

A regional reset

Boosting regional connectivity and trade depends a great deal on healthy Indo-Pak relations. Yet, the likelihood of an I

Published 03 Jul, 2018 07:08am

Miscellaneous

Leveraging Pakistan’s rice production

Pakistan’s export basket comprises mostly of resource-based products where food takes the lion’s share. While there are

Published 03 Jul, 2018 07:07am

Miscellaneous

Pak-China FTA making the rounds again

After near-radio silence, Pak-China FTA is making media rounds again. Chinese Deputy Head of Mission Lijian Zhao while v

Published 02 Jul, 2018 06:26am

Miscellaneous

FATF: some reprieves

No matter which way one looks at it, the clock is ticking for Pakistan. Three years after coming clean, the country is n

Published 02 Jul, 2018 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Wars that can’t be won

Trump’s economic mission has been clear long before stepping into office—create American jobs, boost local manufacturing

Updated 10 Jul, 2018 01:02pm

Miscellaneous

Extracting maximum from amnesty

The amnesty scheme seems to be the first ever scheme out of dozen or so offered in the country which is making headwinds

Published 29 Jun, 2018 07:10am

Miscellaneous

The empty water bucket challenge

As Rawal and Keenjhar lakes dry up, Pakistani across the nation have begun to witness what experts have argued for a lon

Published 29 Jun, 2018 07:09am

Miscellaneous

Steady urea off-take

Kharif season continued its journey on the good note that it started with, as the latest statistics released by the Nati

Published 29 Jun, 2018 07:08am

Miscellaneous

Neelum-Jhelum’s tariff assessment

Three years after its initially planned completion date, Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company has finally filed a tariff pet

Published 28 Jun, 2018 07:41am

Miscellaneous

Leather exports need attention

The leather sector has been under pressure for several years now with manufacturers unable to compete in international m

Published 28 Jun, 2018 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Wanted: job-creation

Elections are round the corner. And as usual, political parties are seen making tall promises. One such vow is the numbe

Published 28 Jun, 2018 07:27am

Miscellaneous

Trade war to benefit Pakistan’s cotton

“The Force is on Pakistan’s side”, we often hear in politics. There finally seems to be some grain of truth in it, at le

Published 28 Jun, 2018 07:17am

Miscellaneous

Unsung heroes of exports

In the food and textile led growth of exports, other manufactures’ group gets overlooked. Increasing by nearly half a bi

Updated 27 Jun, 2018 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Another corridor

As China builds economic corridors under Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), development multilaterals have bec

Published 26 Jun, 2018 07:15am

Miscellaneous

Where are the manifestos?

The election campaign has barely started. The fever has not really caught up this time around, less than a month away fr

Published 26 Jun, 2018 07:10am

Miscellaneous

Is Basmati the way forward?

The 13 percent YoY increase in exports for 10MFY18 was led in part by food exports, of which rice accounted for 40 perce

Published 26 Jun, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

The FATF question

Pakistan has made some efforts lately to avoid a harsh review at the plenary of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) b

Published 25 Jun, 2018 06:55am

Miscellaneous

BoT: wrong kind of record

A record was set last month when the trade deficit touched a new all-time high at $3.67 billion, breaking January 2018’s

Published 25 Jun, 2018 06:53am

Miscellaneous

More crop per drop!

‘Pakistan is expected to run dry by 2025!’, warned Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) last year. Si

Published 22 Jun, 2018 07:32am

Miscellaneous

Housing finance: Learning from neighbours

Filling in the housing gap has been in the agenda of past two governments; and is also part of things to do list of PTI,

Published 21 Jun, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

Need for olives

It has been recently reported that the government is trying to convert Chakwal valley into an olive valley. For this pur

Published 21 Jun, 2018 06:48am

Miscellaneous

No half-measures for tax reforms

“If the government has no plans to reform the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), then it might as well privatise it.” So be

Published 20 Jun, 2018 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Amnesty — domestic assets to benefit

The amnesty scheme announced in April has gained creditability after nine weeks as finally the fear of apex court null

Published 19 Jun, 2018 06:29am

Miscellaneous

Water scarcity and agri-export woes

Pakistan’s looming water shortage is set to give rice farmers a reality-check this season as sowing is expected to be de

Published 19 Jun, 2018 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Exports: try being complex

That exports have come to matter less and less to Pakistan’s GDP growth is indisputable. What ails those exports, howeve

Published 14 Jun, 2018 06:11am

Miscellaneous

The right pricing steps

It appears that the caretaker team has recognition and realization of gravity of issues and has not triggered the panic

Published 14 Jun, 2018 06:10am

Miscellaneous

On sugarcane support price

Last month, the Competition Commission of Pakistan finally released the findings of its open hearing on anticompetitive

Published 14 Jun, 2018 06:05am

Miscellaneous

Transport & logistics in limbo

Imagine having to go into unarguably the biggest infrastructure and transport corridor project in the history of the cou

Published 13 Jun, 2018 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Bring down the wall

Seventeen years ago, Pakistan had 23 percent share in the total stock of inward FDI in South Asia. Today, that number st

Published 13 Jun, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

West at war?

No one should be surprised at Transactional Trump’s attempts at tearing down the postwar, multilateral world order. But

Published 12 Jun, 2018 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Gold prices dicey

Gold prices in the recent couple of months show a downward trend, which is surprising as increased geopolitical turmoil

Published 12 Jun, 2018 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Sugary output – add some sweets

Raw sugar production has had a rocky ride this season, as millers delayed sugarcane purchase complaining of excessively

Published 11 Jun, 2018 05:56am

Miscellaneous

G7: making skeptics and spectacles

Before going in to the G7 summit, the 40- year old French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “G7 is going to be demandin

Published 11 Jun, 2018 05:54am

Miscellaneous

Readying for the IMF

Islamabad economic machinery has seriously started working on structure of a possible IMF programme. The modus operand o

Updated 09 Jun, 2018 07:14am

Miscellaneous

India’s loss – Pakistan’s gain

A rare, brain-damaging virus that could possibly become an epidemic threat has broken out in Kerala, India. As per WHO,

Published 06 Jun, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Low-cost housing

Last week housing supply and employment generation was covered with a perspective of market oriented solutions for A a

Published 06 Jun, 2018 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Water for agriculture

Amid water shortages this summer, social media is awash with water-conservation messages for households. Indeed, using a

Published 06 Jun, 2018 05:59am

Miscellaneous

Tons of sugar, but no love

Sugar millers are celebrating record high exports – and what is not to like? Their greatest performance has come at a ti

Published 06 Jun, 2018 05:57am

Miscellaneous

Strengthening fiscal federalism

The unfortunate part of fiscal federalism in Pakistan is the treatment of local government”. So reads the latest paper o

Published 05 Jun, 2018 05:17am

Miscellaneous

Inflation in control; gathering pace

Fresh from the unprecedented hike in house rent index last month, the headline inflation continued to surge north – reco

Published 04 Jun, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Debt infused growth – PML-N scorecard

The PML-N’s term is done. The newspapers carried advertisements on the last day showcasing the strong economic growth, l

Updated 04 Jun, 2018 07:11am

Miscellaneous

Beyond number fudging

With advertisements showing PML-N's economic performance at the completion of its 5-year term, critics are having a fiel

Updated 04 Jun, 2018 06:28am

Miscellaneous

A package to part with

The last few days of the PML-N government were a flurry of activity. This included the Economic Co-ordination Committee

Published 04 Jun, 2018 05:59am

Miscellaneous

Good tidings at the bourse

Pakistan Stock Exchange is undergoing a major transition. Following its demutualisation and strategic stake sale to the

Published 01 Jun, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Port challenges of edible oil and oil seeds

Pakistan’s palm oil import increased by 11 percent for 10MFY18, crossing $1.7 billion and will most likely exceeds $2 bi

Updated 01 Jun, 2018 06:34am

Miscellaneous

GDPR: template for Pakistan

Amid online privacy concerns, Europeans can breathe easy. A citadel of pro-consumer regulations, the European Union (EU)

Published 31 May, 2018 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Housing supply and employment generation

Housing is one of the basic need missing in the country, and providing it can help resolve a number of social economic w

Updated 31 May, 2018 07:59am

Miscellaneous

Youth – the agenda for general elections?

Election campaigns are heating up. Around 46 million young voters who mostly use social media are expected to take part

Published 30 May, 2018 06:13am

Miscellaneous

NFC Award demands – not so reasonable

Addressing the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development earlier this week, senators from Balochistan and Kh

Published 30 May, 2018 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Skirting FATF

The multilateral squeeze is on. Earlier in February, the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) had asked Pakistan to prepar

Published 29 May, 2018 06:52am

Miscellaneous

Souring sugar exports

Sugar has played a vital role in boosting Pakistan’s exports this year. With an increase of over 300 percent YoY for 10M

Published 29 May, 2018 06:45am

Miscellaneous

Targeting tourism

The PTI’s 100-day plan has received its fair bit of criticism. To boost GDP growth, though, the two sectors the insurgen

Published 28 May, 2018 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Caretaking PSX equities

Hang on a minute! Why is it so the benchmark index Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has lost 10 percent in the fiscal year

Published 28 May, 2018 07:03am

Miscellaneous

America: post-strategy

While some of President Trumps loyalists and supporters (himself included) consider him a tough negotiator, it often see

Updated 28 May, 2018 07:41am

Miscellaneous

Business confidence wanes

Businesses do not appear too chuffed about the prospects – as the confidence has taken a dip. In the post-dharna scenari

Published 25 May, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: carrying on

Three years since it formally began, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) remains front and center of economic di

Published 25 May, 2018 05:53am

Miscellaneous

Sugar – India’s new battle cry

India is up in arms against Pakistan with protests sparking and the warehouses being burnt. This time, it is not because

Published 25 May, 2018 05:49am

Miscellaneous

Heatwave: another reminder of climate change

Summer season is peaking, and so are the heatwaves. Once again Karachi is experiencing sweltering temperatures, hitting

Updated 24 May, 2018 07:27am

Miscellaneous

Pepsi’s bottling reorganisation plans

Pepsi-Cola International (incorp: Pakistan) (PCIP) is in the process of converting Pakistan’s bottling operations from a

Published 23 May, 2018 06:11am

Miscellaneous

A case of twin deficit

The fiscal numbers are getting out of the bound. The consolidated deficit stood at 4.3 percent of GDP in three quarters

Published 23 May, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

Export’s declining trend

As worrisome as the current account deficit situation is, it is about to get worst. Not only because the import bill is

Published 23 May, 2018 06:05am

Miscellaneous

Soya bean oil duty hike

There has been a certain news report floating around pertaining to the increase in customs duty of imported edible oil t

Published 22 May, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

PTI’s 100-day wish list

Campaigns are heating up; the PMLN is desperately cutting ribbons of unfinished projects to tick mark their performance.

Published 22 May, 2018 07:16am

Miscellaneous

70 percent wrong?

Fall of a great leader often leaves its followers wondering what to do with the leader’s legacy. It’s a task politically

Published 21 May, 2018 07:06am

Miscellaneous

LSM grows sans export produce

The latest numbers for Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) index are in; according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS

Published 21 May, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

BISP graduation programme

The economically vulnerable and socially deprived population is considerably large in Pakistan; BISP was launched in 200

Updated 18 May, 2018 07:33am

Miscellaneous

Urban autonomy

Should there be competition among Pakistani cities? Should cities, being biggest clusters of population, have autonomy w

Published 18 May, 2018 06:51am

Miscellaneous

Uncle Sam has a wrecking ball

A third into his presidency, Donald J. Trump may be on his way to becoming the most consequential US president in modern

Published 17 May, 2018 07:14am

Miscellaneous

Employers’ economic vision

For an organisation that has been out of the scene for a long many years, the Employers’ Federation Pakistan (EFP) has l

Updated 16 May, 2018 09:33am

Miscellaneous

Can Pakistan join GVCs?

Picking up from the export-competitiveness thread published yesterday, the second theme that repeatedly comes up – besid

Published 16 May, 2018 07:49am

Miscellaneous

Export promotion confusion

The incumbent government may toot its horn all it wants for arresting the downward slide in exports but they are as well

Published 16 May, 2018 07:44am

Miscellaneous

Health sector - routine allocations

As important as it is, health sector has never received the priority it deserved in a country with deteriorating health

Published 15 May, 2018 06:01am

Miscellaneous

On raising export competitiveness

Kudos to domestic demand that is cheerleading GDP growth! But delight turns to dismay when it comes to exports, the lead

Published 15 May, 2018 05:58am

Miscellaneous

Good news for rice exports – Philippines

Recently, Pakistan got an opportunity to boost exports to Iran (Read “ Good news for rice exports – Iran ” published on

Published 15 May, 2018 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Talking stocks

With about 3000 points lopped from the benchmark index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), red screens been dominating the

Published 14 May, 2018 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Imports marching towards $60 billion

There is still life in imports. There is little of it in exports. The monthly trade data summary for April 2018 by the P

Published 14 May, 2018 06:43am

Miscellaneous

Good news for rice exports – Iran

It appears that the efforts of the REAP delegation that visited Iran to enhance rice export opportunities may have borne

Published 14 May, 2018 06:39am

Miscellaneous

Gender equality as portrayed by the corporate sector

Amidst the many issues that are used for CSR and PR activities by the corporate sector, those relating to women empowerm

Published 11 May, 2018 06:08am

Miscellaneous

On data privacy

In the online space, consumers may not be the king, but their data surely is, both for legitimate and illegitimate data

Published 10 May, 2018 06:20am

Miscellaneous

NAB’s remittance faux pas: history and lessons

How does one even begin to respond to sheer absurdities emerging out of myths that were thought dead and buried a long t

Published 10 May, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Rethinking human development

In 2010, the UNDP celebrated twenty years of the Human Development Index (HDI) report. That year, the UNDP said that hum

Published 09 May, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Alibaba unlocks Daraz

Tech analysts are calling it Alibaba’s “one-two punch”. First, Ant Financial Services – which is an Alibaba affiliate th

Published 09 May, 2018 06:34am

Miscellaneous

The data mismatch

Pakistan’s biggest problem is institutional derailment; and that gives more weight to individual opinions who are expert

Published 09 May, 2018 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Trade with India

There has been some thawing of relations with Pakistan’s big bad neighbour. News of joint military drills, and the India

Published 08 May, 2018 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Does budget fuel anti-export bias?

One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb on the PML-N economic scorecard is falling export competitiveness. Although

Published 07 May, 2018 06:04am

Miscellaneous

The anatomy of HDI in Pakistan

The state of human development in Pakistan, measured by the famous Human Development Index, has improved marginally betw

Published 07 May, 2018 06:03am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s leadership outlook

New leadership, it is said, emerges from five breeding grounds: military, corporate, sports, civic (including NGOs), and

Updated 07 May, 2018 07:01am

Miscellaneous

CPI - unfolding house rent index mystery

The inflation dragon has resurfaced; a month right after the second round of currency depreciation. Core inflation in Ap

Published 03 May, 2018 07:30am

Miscellaneous

Has PML-N delivered its investments promise?

“One of the most important pre-requisite for higher GDP growth will be to raise the investment to GDP ratio to at least

Published 02 May, 2018 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Tax reforms take a back seat — again

The budget is being touted as pro-business and pro-consumer on account of reduced rates on income tax for corporate and

Published 02 May, 2018 07:19am

Miscellaneous

Trade: more of the same

With three quarters of the year gone, the balance of trade remains more of the same: up tick in exports that do not comp

Published 02 May, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

PSDP loses steam

That the pro-business PML-N government couldn’t fetch the targeted 6 percent real GDP growth at the end of its term is a

Published 30 Apr, 2018 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Budget FY19 and the corporate sector

Amid the hue and cry over whether it has the mandate to do so, the Federal Government announced its sixth Budget last we

Published 30 Apr, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

SROs: embracing, not phasing out

“The mission and the authorities agreed on the need for … a phase-out of all existing statutory regulatory orders (SROs)

Published 27 Apr, 2018 08:54am

Miscellaneous

The deceit of the survey

It’s one thing to commit the sin of omission; it’s another to commit that of commission. This year’s annual Economic Sur

Published 27 Apr, 2018 08:52am

Miscellaneous

PML-N: mission accomplished?

Latest Economic Survey of Pakistan (ESOP) is replete with self congratulations. “The economy is presently on a high grow

Published 27 Apr, 2018 08:49am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s merry-go-round with economic packages

Participants at a seminar jointly organized by Pakistan and Karachi Tax Bar Associations labeled the recently announced

Published 26 Apr, 2018 06:08am

Miscellaneous

Unintended consequences of amnesty

The success of the latest amnesty scheme hinges upon the surety that no criminal proceedings will be initiated against t

Published 25 Apr, 2018 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Findex finds Pakistan lagging

The recently-released, third edition of global “Findex” database offers a hopeful reading. This influential World Bank d

Published 24 Apr, 2018 05:41am

Miscellaneous

National tariff policy

The Vision 2025 prepared by PMLN in its early days of the tenure had set a target of exports of $150 billion by 2025. Ho

Published 24 Apr, 2018 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Hidden contracts

The KE-SSGC row has now escalated to become an inter-governmental affair, with the CM Sindh writing a letter to the PM d

Published 23 Apr, 2018 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Before and beyond budget

The budget season is in full swing. High level seminars, conferences, behind the scenes lobbying, and advocacy efforts a

Published 20 Apr, 2018 06:02am

Miscellaneous

The development cut

The development budget continues to remain an obedient sacrificial lamb for fiscal planners. Already, PSDP spending has

Updated 20 Apr, 2018 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Tractors: pulling their weight

The government is contemplating bring the sales tax on locally manufactured tractors down from 5% to zero which has been

Published 20 Apr, 2018 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Dolmen City REIT 9MFY18

Dolmen City REIT (PSX: DCR) - the only Real Estate Investment Trust in the country announced its financial performance f

Published 20 Apr, 2018 05:58am

Miscellaneous

On budget strategy

The budget making exercise in its full swing, with two and half months remaining in the fiscal year. The thought process

Published 19 Apr, 2018 05:42am

Miscellaneous

Summer of uncertainty

Uncertainty has typically been associated with election years in Pakistan’s past. But this time, things look especially

Published 18 Apr, 2018 06:28am

Miscellaneous

Understated GDP

The economic growth is not losing steam despite increasing external and fiscal vulnerabilities. The economy is thriving

Published 17 Apr, 2018 06:30am

Miscellaneous

When the sky falls, give a populist budget

Soon after the recently announced economic reform package, where the government presented amnesty plans and tax cuts, PM

Published 16 Apr, 2018 07:27am

Miscellaneous

Tax amnesty and the real estate

From being a comprehensive yet bold to discriminatory and discouraging, a lot has been said about the tax-reform package

Published 13 Apr, 2018 06:14am

Miscellaneous

Leaving agriculture behind

Unless you belong to Pakistan’s 0.1 percent, it is quite likely the food you ate, the shirt you put on and the shoes you

Published 12 Apr, 2018 05:48am

Miscellaneous

Rice exports to Iran - idle hope or possibility?

Currently, a 16-member delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) is visiting Iran to enhance rice expo

Published 12 Apr, 2018 05:45am

Miscellaneous

The other side of amnesty

A country like Pakistan has weak institutional mechanisms to unearth its citizens’ undeclared assets and funds at home a

Published 11 Apr, 2018 06:19am

Miscellaneous

Pak-Thai FTA - opportunity or threat?

Though the Pak China FTA hype may have come to a pause with the cessation of negotiations, Pakistan’s trade agreement ob

Published 10 Apr, 2018 05:37am

Miscellaneous

Fortification: a solution to ‘hidden hunger’

One of the major types of malnutrition in countries like Pakistan is characterised by micronutrient deficiencies. Accord

Published 09 Apr, 2018 05:38am

Miscellaneous

The income tax relief

The opposition is busy criticizing the government for the fresh tax amnesty scheme, but that is what opposition does. Th

Published 09 Apr, 2018 05:37am

Miscellaneous

Amnesty: good scheme, bad timing

Arguably, it is the simplest and most-comprehensive amnesty scheme offered in the country’s history. A thoughtful proces

Published 09 Apr, 2018 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Dealing with circular debt

The circular debt is back with full swing. There is no single number to count on; but signs are there to demonstrate tha

Published 06 Apr, 2018 05:57am

Miscellaneous

How to harmonise provincial taxation?

The demand for harmonisation of GST on services (GST-S) collected by the provinces is growing. But are all those demands

Published 06 Apr, 2018 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Pak-China FTA – the swinging pendulum

Since the signing of the Pak China FTA in 2006, trade relations and negotiations have gone through many stages. But it i

Published 06 Apr, 2018 05:52am

Miscellaneous

Diamer-Bhasha’s sluggish pace

Another year, another approval for the stuck in limbo Diamer-Bhasha Dam. But this time around Pakistan’s rapidly deterio

Published 06 Apr, 2018 05:51am

Miscellaneous

How to broaden provincial tax base?

The lack of harmony between Pakistan’s provincial and federal tax authorities brought the stakeholders together at a sem

Published 05 Apr, 2018 05:37am

Miscellaneous

Undernourishment in Pakistan – daunting realities

Unfortunately, malnutrition is a public health challenge that the country is facing. Stunting, wasting and malnutrition

Published 05 Apr, 2018 05:33am

Miscellaneous

Punjab eyes new cities

Politics aside, there is little doubt that those in Punjab’s government, academia and think tank circles are moving fast

Published 04 Apr, 2018 05:55am

Miscellaneous

The real cost of crops

The clock is ticking. Pakistan is heading towards water scarcity at an alarming pace while solutions and discourse on th

Published 04 Apr, 2018 05:54am

Miscellaneous

Target PSDP?

The federal spending on “development” is apparently going downhill this year. For the Public Sector Development Programm

Published 03 Apr, 2018 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Inflation – resting for now

The CPI numbers for March 2018 reiterate the view that inflation is not an issue in Islamabad’s ongoing quest for macroe

Published 03 Apr, 2018 05:28am

Miscellaneous

Pak-Afghan trade and India

A lot has been said by Indian media as well as Pakistan’s media about India poaching Pakistan’s share in Afghanistan’s m

Published 03 Apr, 2018 05:25am

Miscellaneous

Let the trade debate begin

Pakistan missed the industrial revolution. A decade after that mantra made rounds a consensus seems to be emerging: that

Published 02 Apr, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Pak Afghan Trade – rising not declining

Despite the concerns which have reached a pitch of hysteria regarding Pakistan Afghanistan trade, the latest numbers pos

Published 02 Apr, 2018 06:07am

Miscellaneous

A plan for Karachi

The one-week deadline to clean Karachi given by the Chief Justice of Pakistan ended last week; and the city remains the

Published 30 Mar, 2018 05:49am

Miscellaneous

Saudi Arabia’s newfound love

Saudi Arabia and renewable energy. A decade ago, this duo would have been unthinkable. But times have changed for the Ki

Published 30 Mar, 2018 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Jump in edible oil imports

Short of asking the food loving nation to stop consuming food, Pakistan’s edible oil imports are not going to stop incre

Published 30 Mar, 2018 05:45am

Miscellaneous

National Water Policy

To qualify for a policy, according to Pakistan’s former chief economist Arshad Zaman, a document should be more than a w

Published 27 Mar, 2018 05:50am

Miscellaneous

Image building and PSL

It was fitting that the PSL final in Karachi was held on March 25 – at the 26th anniversary of Pakistan’s biggest cricke

Published 27 Mar, 2018 05:38am

Miscellaneous

Fed’s hike doesn’t inspire

Being predictable can help, especially if it concerns a central bank! The US Federal Reserve (Fed) last week raised its

Updated 27 Mar, 2018 05:57am

Miscellaneous

Gang of cheerleaders!

Last week, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) organised an event to celebrate Pakistan

Published 26 Mar, 2018 07:56am

Miscellaneous

Pak China FTA – the disappointing next chapter

The second phase of Pak China FTA, overdue by about 5 years, is to be completed and implemented soon and it bears little

Published 26 Mar, 2018 07:54am

Miscellaneous

Lahore’s air quality dilemma

Smog might have disappeared, but the air quality of Lahore, and Punjab, continues to be unhealthy at the very least. Acc

Published 26 Mar, 2018 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Dividing the water cake

If luck would have it, Pakistan's much delayed national water policy may finally be passed soon, though given the slack

Published 21 Mar, 2018 05:46am

Miscellaneous

Political hunger games

The goose is cooked - that's what political parlor-games these days suggest of Nawaz Sharif's fate in Pakistani politics

Published 21 Mar, 2018 05:45am

Miscellaneous

Cheaper with deeper evils

The largest city of Pakistan has been put among the list of cities that are cheapest in terms of cost of living by the E

Published 20 Mar, 2018 06:27am

Miscellaneous

US vs. China: Clash of the Titans

Long before President Trump was sworn into office, China was being viewed in Washington circles as a threat to America’s

Published 19 Mar, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Alipay in Pakistan?

Does Pakistan’s digital payments’ landscape finally have the breakthrough it was looking for? China’s Alipay, which has

Published 15 Mar, 2018 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Pak-Iran ties: mired in politics

The construction of the Chabahar port and the recent Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s visit may have brought Iran

Published 15 Mar, 2018 06:36am

Miscellaneous

Two rainmakers

Two strongmen, operating in two different parts of the globe and rising through two remarkably different governance syst

Published 13 Mar, 2018 05:35am

Miscellaneous

Pak China under-invoicing

About a decade ago, it was proposed that Pakistan Customs be linked with China Custom to curb or at least minimize under

Published 12 Mar, 2018 07:07am

Miscellaneous

Women at war

Women across the world today are at war—with patriarchal traditions and values, with sexism, with across the board inequ

Published 09 Mar, 2018 06:50am

Miscellaneous

PSDP: still pumping

After a promising start in January, development spending slowed down in February. The federal government had released, f

Published 07 Mar, 2018 06:27am

Miscellaneous

The Senate circus

Senate results are in, but the action is far from over. In fact, it may have just begun, as the race for Chairman Senate

Published 06 Mar, 2018 06:39am

Miscellaneous

Global economic wars

President Trump is notorious for taking decisions that ruffle more than a few feathers. He is often at odds with his own

Updated 07 Mar, 2018 07:26am

Miscellaneous

Cigarettes: on a roll

Smoking is not injurious to corporate health. Official data show that cigarette producers are having a ball. Some 29 bil

Published 05 Mar, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

The bleak picture of domestic violence

Though it is universally acknowledged that patience is a virtue, in Pakistan it is a virtue particularly associated with

Published 05 Mar, 2018 06:34am

Miscellaneous

Women’s health crisis

The recent headlines on Pakistan’s abysmal record in infant and neo-natal mortality should be giving policymakers a paus

Updated 02 Mar, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Inflation in control, again

Inflation continues to be tame despite currency depreciation, increase in fuel prices and a growing twin deficit. Inflat

Updated 02 Mar, 2018 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Citizen time index

A recent study by Syed Hasan at LUMS along with Hassan Khawaja and Arsalan Malik conservatively estimates the economic c

Updated 02 Mar, 2018 07:42am

Miscellaneous

Is it too late for Shahbaz?

Finally, it is the younger Sharif’s day in the sun. The reluctant sibling’s turn has come after the PML-N has been dealt

Published 01 Mar, 2018 06:55am

Miscellaneous

FATF: what next?

Is the noose really tightening around Pakistan? At the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary last week, the country

Published 28 Feb, 2018 06:17am

Miscellaneous

Export woes

Similar to 6MFY18 figures, exports continued to rise by 11 percent over 7MFY18. Textile rose by 7 percent, led by knitwe

Published 27 Feb, 2018 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Economic manifestos

It is an unfortunate reality that economic manifestos declared by political parties in Pakistan are neither prepared thr

Published 27 Feb, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s agenda for economic reforms

That Pakistan’s economy suffers from poor governance is not really breaking news. Scores of books, journal articles, and

Published 26 Feb, 2018 06:56am

Miscellaneous

FATF: us against the world?

Is Pakistan facing a moment of reckoning? The country has reportedly managed to secure three months to beef up its AML/C

Published 26 Feb, 2018 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Child mortality: racing to the bottom

Pakistan is the worst place in the world for new born babies—that is the frightful finding of the latest UNICEF survey l

Updated 22 Feb, 2018 06:42am

Miscellaneous

The problem with gauging under-invoicing

Pakistan Business Council’s Make-in-Pakistan thrust highlights the extent of under-invoicing and its adverse effects on

Published 22 Feb, 2018 05:49am

Miscellaneous

LSM growth: slowing speedily

How quickly times change. By the end of 4MFY18, LSM growth was storming with data showing an average growth of 9.6 perce

Published 21 Feb, 2018 06:06am

Miscellaneous

Trade policy and beyond

The Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2015-2018 has successfully achieved failure (to meet $35 billion exports by

Published 16 Feb, 2018 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Talent lacking competitiveness and growth

This should sound too harsh for a country that often quotes human capital abundance as its greatest advantage to the wor

Updated 16 Feb, 2018 07:32am

Miscellaneous

Waste of space

Fast becoming an urban nightmare, Karachi’s dire governance failures are finally becoming a topic of conversation, even

Published 15 Feb, 2018 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Lost in words

After over half a decade of negotiations, China appears to have agreed to revise the bilateral trade agreement that alre

Published 15 Feb, 2018 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Nawaz selling it well

NA 154 was for PTI (almost), what NA 207 is for PPP or NA 120 for PML-N. Not anymore. The by-election results from NA 15

Published 14 Feb, 2018 06:20am

Miscellaneous

When the tough gets going

The balance of payment situation is getting precarious day by day. The SBP reserves were at $13 billion at the end of Ja

Published 13 Feb, 2018 07:26am

Miscellaneous

PTV’s egregious management

The performance of state-owned entities during the current regime has been lacklustre at best. Poor governance has led t

Published 12 Feb, 2018 08:19am

Miscellaneous

In imports, we trust

Vision 2025 had set a target of $150 billion by 2025. A slight edit though, would make it look more realistic – if only,

Published 12 Feb, 2018 08:18am

Miscellaneous

Pak-US trade - Business as usual

Though Pak-US relations have been icy, the bilateral trade has increased. However, the increase in trade is more symptom

Published 12 Feb, 2018 08:16am

Miscellaneous

NFC: Federalism over macros

The passing of a new NFC Award – that decides the distribution of tax revenues between the centre and the provinces, and

Published 09 Feb, 2018 08:12am

Miscellaneous

PSDP: on a roll

The clock is ticking towards election time. If the government’s five-year tenure is scaled down to 24 hours, the PML-N h

Published 09 Feb, 2018 08:10am

Miscellaneous

Inordinate delay in water policy

Hopes lifted as the draft National Water Policy moved to the Council of Common Interest for approval in 2017– that’s the

Published 08 Feb, 2018 07:16am

Miscellaneous

Learning from Egypt

Pakistan depreciated its currency against the USD by 5 percent in December. With a weakening dollar, the adjustment agai

Updated 07 Mar, 2018 07:32am

Miscellaneous

Gwadar: look and feel

The first expo in Gwadar may have missed the point. But make no mistake; Gwadar is happening. The timely construction of

Updated 06 Feb, 2018 08:37am

Miscellaneous

Beijing’s soft touch

Apparently sensitive to criticism over CPEC, China is now highlighting its cooperation with Pakistan in the social secto

Published 06 Feb, 2018 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Fast food and palm oil

The Pakistan Edible Oil Conference (PEOC) held last month emphasized on the growth of palm oil consumption in Pakistan.

Published 02 Feb, 2018 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Perishable food keeps inflation in check

The fears of inflation dragon bouncing back soon after the first round of currency depreciation have not materialized. A

Updated 02 Feb, 2018 08:11am

Miscellaneous

Gwadar expo misses the point

Gwadar looks safe. With the Prime Minister around, it feels too safe. The historic Gwadar Expo 2018 earlier this week wa

Published 01 Feb, 2018 05:52am

Miscellaneous

On polls’ prospects

Pakistan’s feeble democracy may get another chance at revival this summer. Recent attempts at electoral sabotage seem to

Published 31 Jan, 2018 07:15am

Miscellaneous

Sugar exports – not really sweet

Sugar exports have increased by nearly 6 times for the period July to November FY18 when compared to the same period las

Published 30 Jan, 2018 06:44am

Miscellaneous

The age of turbulence

Tired of being fed “nothing but lies and deceit”, does Uncle Sam really want to break-up with Pakistan? Well, with the s

Updated 30 Jan, 2018 07:07am

Miscellaneous

New corporate code

January 2018 has brought about a host changes in how corporations are governed in Pakistan, courtesy the SECP’s newest C

Published 29 Jan, 2018 07:05am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s edible oil and oil seeds trends

Palm oil is a significant import of Pakistan’s and has crossed the $1 billion in the first half of the fiscal year. The

Updated 29 Jan, 2018 07:26am

Miscellaneous

Is the PBC demanding protectionism?

After the PBC raised the banner of ‘Make in Pakistan’ in its Pakistan Economic Forum summit held last week, a few leadin

Published 26 Jan, 2018 05:49am

Miscellaneous

Tourism: open the door

Foreign tourism could arguably be Pakistan’s best bet to counter a harsh narrative overseas. This column has previously

Published 26 Jan, 2018 05:48am

Miscellaneous

On COD’s prevalence

The market size for business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in Pakistan finally has a credible estimate. The State Bank of

Published 26 Jan, 2018 05:47am

Miscellaneous

The bitter good news

Last month members of the Italian Senate criticized Pakistan’s persecution against Christians arguing that the GSP Plus

Updated 25 Jan, 2018 06:45am

Miscellaneous

State Bank for behavioural tools to encourage tax paying

In what seems to be a eureka moment for the State Bank of Pakistan, they have finally decided to weigh on behavioural ec

Published 23 Jan, 2018 05:48am

Miscellaneous

True scale of inequality

In a perfectly-timed tirade, Oxfam, a leading British charity, is coming down hard again this year on the business and p

Published 23 Jan, 2018 05:32am

Miscellaneous

Wither consumer confidence?

Pakistan’s economy is overwhelmingly dependent on domestic demand. But, after a couple of strong years for retail, is th

Published 22 Jan, 2018 05:16am

Miscellaneous

Finding the constituency for Make in Pakistan

The Make-in-Pakistan slogan raised by Pakistan Business Council (PBC) in its moot earlier this week is hard to argue wit

Published 19 Jan, 2018 10:55am

Miscellaneous

How realistic is ‘Make in Pakistan’?

Despite improving energy supplies and better law and order situation in the country, the big business looks worried. The

Published 18 Jan, 2018 09:54am

Miscellaneous

Gold’s charm continues

Gold market bulls have been running and are likely to continue running. The yellow metal has been making news for higher

Published 18 Jan, 2018 09:53am

Miscellaneous

Knocking the IMF again?

The most burning issue the economy faces today is whether Pakistan is going back to the IMF and when if it is. The quest

Published 17 Jan, 2018 06:09am

Miscellaneous

The culture of smuggling

Smuggling has seeped into Pakistan and has become a form of culture. This month the President of Lahore Chamber of Comme

Updated 17 Jan, 2018 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Sky-high imports

Brent hit $70/bbl last week and it must have sent some shivers down the spine somewhere in Islamabad. Pakistan’s trade d

Published 16 Jan, 2018 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Saudi trade deal – all about oil

There is a Saudi trade deal on the cards. Generally, a trade agreement requires an analysis of potential of imports, exp

Published 16 Jan, 2018 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Property valuation – two steps back

The recent decision on property valuation depicts just that. The policy reversal came with the federal government slashi

Published 15 Jan, 2018 06:39am

Miscellaneous

World Bank report: the good and the bad

World Bank’s latest report spelled out a bunch of good news for Pakistan. It indicated that Pakistan’s real GDP growth r

Published 15 Jan, 2018 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Weighing foreign funding options

Pakistan economy is growing at 5 percent plus growth, which comes at the cost of rising current account deficit. The dil

Published 12 Jan, 2018 06:33am

Miscellaneous

The spaghetti bowl of finance ministry

Five months may be a long time in politics, but a short time in economics. Especially when the general elections are aro

Published 11 Jan, 2018 07:28am

Miscellaneous

Sugar thrives, cotton dives

For a country that relies on textile exports to make up the majority of its export revenues, it is disturbing to see cot

Published 11 Jan, 2018 07:27am

Miscellaneous

AKU: the billion-dollar impact

Quality health and education in Pakistan is a rarity, and at times even a luxury. For the past three decades, it has als

Updated 12 Jan, 2018 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Ironies of PML-N economic management

Policy inconsistency has had a bigger dent on economic progression and investment climate in Pakistan than any other var

Published 10 Jan, 2018 07:55am

Miscellaneous

Punjab’s economy

Competition where art thou! Following the devolution Punjab seems to be racing ahead in so far as discussions of and pla

Published 09 Jan, 2018 06:45am

Miscellaneous

Lahore speed

Lahore is probably the most vibrant city of Pakistan, with both its economy and population growth rates outpacing the re

Published 08 Jan, 2018 08:00am

Miscellaneous

Making tourism sustainable

Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder. Which is why Pakistani tourists to Gilgit-Baltistan and the KPK never send home pic

Updated 05 Jan, 2018 10:55am

Miscellaneous

Re-thinking the tariff structure

In a recent letter to Miftah Ismail, the Pakistan Business Council emphasised its “Make in Pakistan” agenda to promote t

Published 05 Jan, 2018 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Karachi’s planning woes

People come to cities hoping to transform their living conditions, but in Pakistan they are met with the same miseries,

Published 03 Jan, 2018 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Inflation dragon continues to sleep

The currency depreciated by 5 percent petroleum prices were up by a similar percentage. The question is how would it imp

Published 03 Jan, 2018 07:15am

Miscellaneous

The CPEC effect on Afghanistan

Before CPEC became the buzzword it is today, the Afghan Ambassador in a meeting with The Pakistan Business Council said

Updated 03 Jan, 2018 07:45am

Miscellaneous

Let provinces tax on their own

Should provinces lower the rates of GST on services? That’s a question mostly answered with a resounding ‘no’ by a few l

Updated 02 Jan, 2018 09:40am

Miscellaneous

Scepticism and misty air quality

If there is one point that not all are agreeing to these days is the weather conditions in Lahore, the second largest ci

Updated 03 Jan, 2018 08:34am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan-China FTA - ‘do more’

The lack of coordination amongst policymakers' and poor negotiation skills on international trade front could not be bet

Published 01 Jan, 2018 08:19am

Miscellaneous

Urea off-take slows down

The best ever Kharif season in terms of urea application has not transpired exactly into great farm economy, or so it se

Published 28 Dec, 2017 08:02am

Miscellaneous

Reading SECP’s firm data

One can tell a lot about the future of economy by looking at its new firm incorporation data, and the scope of their int

Published 28 Dec, 2017 08:00am

Miscellaneous

Miftah - to set the tone

It took PML-N a little over three months to formally give Miftah the portfolio equivalent of a federal minister as the a

Published 28 Dec, 2017 07:59am

Miscellaneous

US GSP scheme: a case of lost opportunities

GSP is most commonly associated with the EU countries that have given Pakistan GSP Plus status. Less part of the trade m

Updated 28 Dec, 2017 08:25am

Miscellaneous

Beauty parlours – an undocumented industry

Globally, the spa and wellness industry was estimated to be at $3.4 trillion as per a report compiled by SRI Internation

Updated 27 Dec, 2017 08:09am

Miscellaneous

Importance of a naphtha cracker

In a recent interview with the chairman of FPCCI, as well as Pakistan Chemical Manufacturers Association (PCMA), Zubair

Updated 27 Dec, 2017 08:16am

Miscellaneous

Imports continue to bite

Fast growing imports are the bane of policymakers in Islamabad right now. Exports have grown by 10 percent in 5MFY18, bu

Published 26 Dec, 2017 07:07am

Miscellaneous

How regional is the CPEC long-term plan?

The first round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan (CAP) trilateral dialogue between the foreign ministers of the three count

Published 26 Dec, 2017 07:03am

Miscellaneous

Malnutrition: when will we act?

It’s a national emergency, but it’s not a priority. Increasing hunger levels is plain shameful and the latest Global Nut

Published 26 Dec, 2017 07:02am

Miscellaneous

CPEC’s long-term plan: initial reflections

For the government, the sharing of CPEC’s long term plan (LTP) this week may be a giant leap towards transparency, but i

Published 22 Dec, 2017 08:03am

Miscellaneous

Climate change: policies yearning implementation

Pakistan has had its fair share of climate change in the recent past. The recent smog in Punjab was just a reminder for

Published 21 Dec, 2017 08:04am

Miscellaneous

The trade noise

Yesterday, the Ukrainian ambassador said that his country plans to enhance its bilateral trade with Pakistan to $1 billi

Updated 21 Dec, 2017 10:31am

Miscellaneous

Economic corridors development

Pakistan needs to grow at least at 7 percent per annum continuously for the absorption of 3 million youth coming to work

Published 20 Dec, 2017 08:59am

Miscellaneous

Skill development: plugging gaps

There are a number of bodies when it comes to skills development in the country. At the federal level is the National Vo

Published 20 Dec, 2017 08:56am

Miscellaneous

Untapped potential

Recently, during construction work along the Indus Highway, an archeological site was discovered that was part of the ma

Published 19 Dec, 2017 07:30am

Miscellaneous

THE RUPEE RIDE

Updated 18 Dec, 2017 08:44am

Miscellaneous

Imran vs Shahbaz gets underway

Naeem Bokhari may well prove to be a game changer in Pakistan’s upcoming political realities. He, on his credit, now has

Updated 19 Dec, 2017 03:23am

Miscellaneous

More coordination, please!

A few years back BR Research wrote that short term approach is a bigger enemy to the economy than terrorism. And the wor

Published 18 Dec, 2017 07:24am

Miscellaneous

All that political noise

Following the apex court judgments given last Friday, political pundits are pitching Shahbaz vs. Imran as the real compe

Published 18 Dec, 2017 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Economics: short of ideas?

Islamabad’s policy discourse comes alive in December. One notices the annual moots of organizers like the SDPI and PIDE

Published 15 Dec, 2017 08:23am

Miscellaneous

C.A.P.I: ‘Heping yu fazhan’

A plethora of news and views at home and abroad pitch Chabahar against Gwadar. An oft quoted expression goes:” India inv

Updated 15 Dec, 2017 12:56pm

Miscellaneous

Fixing INGOs regulations

The Ministry of Interior’s recent letter to some 23 international NGOs (INGOs) to shut down their operations in humanita

Published 13 Dec, 2017 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Costs of wheat support price

In FY17, for the fourth consecutive year, wheat harvest crossed the 25 million tonne mark. As harvest exceeded domestic

Updated 19 Dec, 2017 07:17am

Miscellaneous

PSDP spending on track

Islamabad was severely paralyzed in November. And yet the government still found a way to boost development spending. La

Published 12 Dec, 2017 07:42am

Miscellaneous

Fiscal deficit slippage in sight

Fiscal accounts are expanding; the growth in expenditure, especially development was expected as election approaches. Th

Published 12 Dec, 2017 07:41am

Miscellaneous

Trade drivers caught in mire

Pop quiz! Name the industry without which Pakistan’s falling trade will fall further. Hint: it contributes about 5-8 per

Published 11 Dec, 2017 07:53am

Miscellaneous

Export opportunity in Qatar

Instead of the feared diplomatic fallout, the Saudi led blockage has created new export opportunities for Pakistan. Whil

Published 11 Dec, 2017 07:52am

Miscellaneous

Self-interest or national interest

Pakistan Business Council’s recently published Agenda for the Economy is strangely silent on regional trade. The brief a

Updated 07 Dec, 2017 10:32am

Miscellaneous

Energy ministry seeks harmony

It did not last long. Furnace oil based power generation is back in business. The Prime Minister has reportedly ordered

Published 07 Dec, 2017 08:47am

Miscellaneous

Putting the cart before the horse

Among neighbours, China is the all-weather friend, India is the all-weather enemy, Afghanistan is the frenemy and Iran i

Published 07 Dec, 2017 08:43am

Miscellaneous

Can CAREC fly?

A fresh push is in the works to enhance regional connectivity in Central Asia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has rece

Updated 07 Dec, 2017 10:10am

Miscellaneous

Inflation well in control

The much delayed CPI numbers are finally out and at 3.97 percent, it touched the highest level in FY18 thus far. That sa

Published 06 Dec, 2017 08:30am

Miscellaneous

Is Chabahar a threat?

Chabahar has been making a lot of headlines with India's route to Afghanistan via Iran set up to replace trade with Paki

Updated 07 Dec, 2017 10:50am

Miscellaneous

Lessons from Singapore Fintech (ii)

The start-up scene in Pakistan is growing at a rapid pace. However, when it comes to Fintech start-ups, there is still a

Updated 05 Dec, 2017 10:10am

Miscellaneous

The FTA mania

In the last six months, there have been talks to revise the Pak-China FTA. A Pak-Iran FTA is on the cards with the lates

Published 04 Dec, 2017 10:31am

Miscellaneous

Breaking the glass ceiling at corporate level

Fixing the regulated and documented level might be one way to help build up CIPE-Pakistan’s Women National Business Agen

Updated 30 Nov, 2017 09:01am

Miscellaneous

A Faustian bargain

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

Updated 29 Nov, 2017 09:19am

Miscellaneous

National Women’s Business Agenda

A consultative workshop to develop a women-focused business agenda aimed at helping women entrepreneurs was scheduled

Updated 28 Nov, 2017 09:42am

Miscellaneous

Problem with palm oil?

Earlier in October, Punjab Food Authority announced that it would ban the production and sales of banaspati ghee by FY

Updated 28 Nov, 2017 11:27am

Miscellaneous

Lessons from Singapore Fintech (i)

Finance is being transformed at a rapid pace with the use of technology to come up with innovative solutions to financia

Updated 29 Nov, 2017 07:30am

Miscellaneous

Lahore calls for metropolitan policing

Urbanization and crime goes hand in hand; and Lahore is no exception. The cities around the world are dealing with the i

Updated 27 Nov, 2017 12:01pm

Miscellaneous

Power affordability missing

Another LNG terminal is operational in Pakistan. Expect these winters to be largely load shedding free, even in Punjab.

Updated 27 Nov, 2017 10:27am

Miscellaneous

Did Dar deliver?

With Ishaq Dar out of the picture, and with a little more than 200 days left before the current regime ends, the answer

Published 27 Nov, 2017 08:29am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s ‘silent majority’

The week-long sit-in in the capital is now fast becoming a national crisis. But the way things are in Pakistan, such cri

Updated 27 Nov, 2017 08:51am

Miscellaneous

‘China will take away the big logistics business under CPEC’ Abid Butt, CEO, e2e Supply Chain Management

Abid Butt is the founder and CEO of e2e Supply Chain Management - a logistic company operating in Pakistan, Singapore, M

Published 27 Nov, 2017 08:26am

Miscellaneous

Wanted: finance minister

So the PML-N chose a middle path and didn’t fire Ishaq Dar. A man on the run, though on paper he is still a minister, Da

Updated 24 Nov, 2017 11:25am

Miscellaneous

Ideas for truck art

On the highway, a Pakistani truck shines bright from half a mile. The theme and motifs are too familiar. Little wonder t

Updated 25 Nov, 2017 01:43pm

Miscellaneous

Modi all the way?

Despite a slowing economy and rising communal tensions, Narendra Modi still remains wildly popular in India more than th

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 01:51pm

Miscellaneous

Water inflation

Going by what Pakistan Bureau of Statistics measures, water inflation in Pakistan isn’t an item on the worry list. But d

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 01:40pm

Miscellaneous

One nation one food standard(s)

Part of the population is malnourished while a fraction is obese; leaving a very few healthy within an agrarian economy.

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 12:03pm

Miscellaneous

Trade deficit: the cost of growth

Exports increased by 10 percent in 4MFY18, but this recovery pales in comparison to the larger picture, one of trade def

Updated 23 Nov, 2017 06:24am

Miscellaneous

LSM on the rise

Granted that Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector posted its highest first-quarter growth in recent memory. But m

Updated 22 Nov, 2017 05:52am

Miscellaneous

The CSF carrot

Did Uncle Sam just have a change of heart? Since late August when Donald Trump announced his South Asia strategy , the

Updated 21 Nov, 2017 12:08pm

Miscellaneous

Of egos and Dar

Panama Papers, no worries. Indicted by NAB, bring it on. Non-bailable arrest warrants, I don’t care. Properties freeze,

Updated 20 Nov, 2017 11:17am

Miscellaneous

Chaos in capital

Pakistan is a nuclear power that often finds its capital under siege. Whether the protest is by disaffected politicians

Updated 20 Nov, 2017 09:04am

Miscellaneous

Securing peace for Pakistan

Pakistan’s major cities returning to a relative state of normalcy in recent years following years of terrorist violence

Updated 17 Nov, 2017 07:24am

Miscellaneous

It’s the splurge season

One wonders whether Chairman Mao would approve of a materialism that is thriving alright in China. Last week, our friend

Updated 16 Nov, 2017 01:37pm

Miscellaneous

Blind men and the elephant

Few years ago, when the CPEC was starting out, the stakeholders’ and observers’ understanding of it was akin to the all

Updated 16 Nov, 2017 02:24pm

Miscellaneous

Building economic corridor

The conference and consultations season has begun. While the World Bank is on a consultative spree to explore ideas for

Updated 16 Nov, 2017 08:26am

Miscellaneous

Scary rise in imports

Last fiscal year saw the trade deficit cross exports for the first time. It is early days yet, but this fiscal year coul

Updated 16 Jan, 2018 07:04am

Miscellaneous

Exporting essentials at a cost

Zainab market in Karachi is a fairly big and renowned market for reasonably priced apparel. Previously stocked with expo

Updated 16 Nov, 2017 08:23am

Miscellaneous

Entrepreneurship, World Bank and Pakistan

“Ali Baba one day sales crossed $25 billion! The entire annual exports of Pakistan are only $20 billion. Still don’t bel

Updated 14 Nov, 2017 02:16pm

Miscellaneous

On PSDP disbursements

The spending pace of the trillion-rupee Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for fiscal year 2017-18 has visibly s

Updated 14 Nov, 2017 08:12am

Miscellaneous

Judicial commercial handling capacity

Quite a few unfortunate incidences have happened in the recent past that call for judiciary capacity building in handlin

Updated 14 Nov, 2017 09:04am

Miscellaneous

TPP: Trade in the age of Trump

The United States under its new Chief Donald Trump is a different America and indeed, as he embarks upon making his “Ame

Updated 14 Nov, 2017 12:31pm

Miscellaneous

Twitter: lost for words

Change is a hard thing to cope with. And apparently more so on social media these days! Last week, Twitter doubled its t

Updated 13 Nov, 2017 09:02am

Miscellaneous

Strategic Trade Policy Framework

Last year it was the US-funded PREIA that took the initiative to engage Pakistan’s private and public stakeholders for r

Updated 13 Nov, 2017 09:14am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan trade

There have been several recent developments regarding transit trade to and trade with Afghanistan. Firstly, and most sig

Updated 13 Nov, 2017 09:18am

Miscellaneous

Promoting rice and surgical goods exports to EU

While Pakistan benefits from high utilisation rates of textiles, exporters have not utilised GSP+ preferences for produc

Updated 10 Nov, 2017 07:29am

Miscellaneous

Widening gender gap

One would think that with the economic development and social progress over the years, issues like gender inequality wou

Updated 10 Nov, 2017 09:18am

Miscellaneous

More companies

First the LSM, and now the firm-level data; FY17 has proven to be a good year on both accounts. Just as the LSM growth w

Updated 09 Nov, 2017 08:31am

Miscellaneous

Documentation at Torkham

New rules for clearing agents have been imposed at Torkham to govern cross-border trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan

Published 09 Nov, 2017 05:22am

Miscellaneous

Trump: one year on

Exactly a year ago, the election of Donald J. Trump as US President shook the world. Trump’s divisive campaign relegated

Updated 08 Nov, 2017 08:37am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s slow advance in Doing Business

The press is having a field day with Pakistan’s fall in World Bank’s Doing Business rankings. They have read it all wron

Published 07 Nov, 2017 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Building transit trade’s coffin

For much too long we have believed Kabul to be dependent on Islamabad for trade. Even as transit trade tickled away from

Updated 06 Nov, 2017 08:24am

Miscellaneous

The Ides of March

The anxious waiting game is on, for the Senate elections in March. The PML-N has been reduced to a glimmer of its once f

Published 06 Nov, 2017 07:29am

Miscellaneous

KSE100: Drama on two-way street

At the stock market these days, a drama unfolds. The story is quite familiar: a love affair has gone sour and the distra

Updated 03 Nov, 2017 01:13pm

Miscellaneous

Moderate inflation

The CPI clocked at 3.8 percent in October 2017. The monthly increase stood at 0.7 percent. The Jul-Oct headline inflatio

Published 03 Nov, 2017 07:15am

Miscellaneous

Comeback for tobacco titans

Has the tide finally turned for Pakistan’s tobacco majors? The illicit tobacco trade had become so pervasive in recent q

Published 03 Nov, 2017 07:14am

Miscellaneous

An escalating winter threat

It got spookier on the eve of October 31st in Lahore and adjoining areas - not because it was Halloween; but because the

Published 03 Nov, 2017 07:12am

Miscellaneous

SBP highlights ill effects of protectionism

Since inception, the Pakistan economy has been gung ho about protectionism. Conventional wisdom suggests protectionism e

Updated 02 Nov, 2017 07:58am

Miscellaneous

Kicking-off CPEC

In the good news segment, the 7th Joint Cooperation Committee of China Pakistan Economic Corridor is scheduled to be hel

Updated 01 Nov, 2017 09:12am

Miscellaneous

PMPK bounces back

The times they are a changin’ for Marlboro Man in Pakistan! Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (PSX: PMPK) has broken the

Updated 31 Oct, 2017 09:03am

Miscellaneous

Growth in food exports

Though exports declined from August this year, the first quarter of the fiscal year brings a case of cautious optimism.

Updated 31 Oct, 2017 09:48am

Miscellaneous

LSM’s sharp take-off

It may be too early to make a bet, but the recently released LSM numbers hold a lot of promise for the ongoing fiscal ye

Updated 30 Oct, 2017 10:52am

Miscellaneous

Non-machinery imports are rising

As per the PBS data, imports are up by 22 percent to $14.3 billion in 1QFY18; within it the machinery imports growth rem

Updated 25 Oct, 2017 07:25am

Miscellaneous

The battle of trade-off

“Give me a one-handed economist”, an American president demanded many decades ago, expressing his frustration over how e

Updated 25 Oct, 2017 07:21am

Miscellaneous

On boosting services exports

Pakistan’s services sector, which dominates the GDP, doesn’t do so well when it comes to exports. The SBP, in its latest

Published 24 Oct, 2017 05:29am

Miscellaneous

Misguided duties

Finally there is some life in the finance department. Don’t mind if it is same old stuff. The press conference in the FB

Published 19 Oct, 2017 05:52am

Miscellaneous

Make water a top priority

A so called resourceful country of Pakistan keeps facing natural resource depletion. The country seems to be coming out

Updated 19 Oct, 2017 08:10am

Miscellaneous

Analysing the middle-class

The latest SBP annual report put FY17 GDP growth rate at 5.3 percent. Referring to this decade-high growth as "consumpti

Published 18 Oct, 2017 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Dar is back

Dar's face seems to have shrunk in direct proportion to the fiscal deficit. Dar made a comeback after a long hiatus from

Updated 18 Oct, 2017 05:16pm

Miscellaneous

The food security blight

It should take us more than the “World Food Day”, or some report by a donor agency to start wondering about food securit

Updated 18 Oct, 2017 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Seeding the startups

These days one finds plenty of local startups hoping to make it big. But many run into issues early on, thus failing to

Published 17 Oct, 2017 07:20am

Miscellaneous

The many facets of Pak-China trade

Pakistan's current and potential trade agreements have been severely criticized time and again by this column. Ranging f

Updated 17 Oct, 2017 10:02am

Miscellaneous

Higher education needs attention

The state of the education system in Pakistan continues to raise alarm bells. While there has been much discourse on pri

Published 16 Oct, 2017 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Fixing Gwadar’s governance structure

Islamabad may be under a political storm, but things look quite serene down south in Gwadar. The progress in Gwadar, as

Updated 13 Oct, 2017 10:48am

Miscellaneous

Deteriorating water quality: questions we must ask

Twenty years ago, kids on the streets of Pakistan used to drink tap water while playing on the streets. They were mental

Published 12 Oct, 2017 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Give ‘nudge’ a chance

The judges for Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences have a special affinity for economists teaching at the Universi

Published 12 Oct, 2017 07:33am

Miscellaneous

Gwadar: look and feel

Seeing is believing! As a follow up to our field trip in January this year, BR Research made a short rendezvous with Gwa

Updated 11 Oct, 2017 11:21am

Miscellaneous

Water demanding attention

Nestlé Pakistan is the first company in Pakistan to have partnered with WWF-Pakistan to implement the Alliance for Water

Published 11 Oct, 2017 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s failure in trade with China

Since the Pakistan-China FTA was penned in 2006; Chinese imports have been accused of hurting local industries. However,

Published 11 Oct, 2017 06:30am

Miscellaneous

On imports: policies that won’t work

On Friday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) proposed to levy regulatory duties on over 250 items in order to cu

Updated 10 Oct, 2017 09:28am

Miscellaneous

Conduits of smuggling – is CPEC next?

Afghanistan Transit Trade has become to a large extent associated with, if not actually synonymous to, smuggling. Other

Updated 10 Oct, 2017 09:18am

Miscellaneous

RTI Bill 2017: a wrong step forward

When the PML-N and the PPP signed the charter of democracy in May 2006, they agreed to draft a law to give citizens thei

Published 09 Oct, 2017 07:08am

Miscellaneous

Another misguided trade agreement

An addition to the list of trade agreements that Pakistan is in the process of negotiating is Pakistan Vietnam PTA which

Published 09 Oct, 2017 07:08am

Miscellaneous

Uncle Sam: talking tough

Pakistan’s foreign minister finally made the trek to Washington DC earlier this week. But as luck would have it, the tri

Published 06 Oct, 2017 08:15am

Miscellaneous

The left out themes from export discourse

What are some of the most frequently heard words in export growth strategic exercises taken up by Pakistan’s commerce, f

Updated 06 Oct, 2017 08:49am

Miscellaneous

Punjab needs to find more tax coffers

When it comes to provincial growth targets, the Punjab government has certainly got ambitious ones. Under its Economic G

Published 05 Oct, 2017 07:12am

Miscellaneous

Innovation must for value-addition

Disruption is the new norm. Innovation and creativity are necessary ingredients when it comes to creating brands that hi

Updated 05 Oct, 2017 12:14pm

Miscellaneous

Child labour and GSP Plus

Take your car to the mechanic and you will probably see a boy working in the background with the hood propped open. Exam

Updated 05 Oct, 2017 07:33am

Miscellaneous

PSDP: slowing down?

After a good first two months this fiscal, the federal government seems to have gotten stuck in a low gear vis-à-vis dev

Published 04 Oct, 2017 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s backward march

Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair recently told local media that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had misguided former PM Nawaz S

Published 04 Oct, 2017 05:53am

Miscellaneous

Missing out on religious tourism

With the arrival of the head of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Dr Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, Karachi hosted the Ashara aft

Updated 04 Oct, 2017 06:37am

Miscellaneous

Ensuring taxpayer compliance

So the FBR has continued its tradition to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns. All those tax consultants s

Updated 04 Oct, 2017 05:49am

Miscellaneous

CPI inches up, but in control

CPI inched up to 3.86 percent year-on-year, highest in FY18 so far. But these are early days. The average inflation in F

Published 03 Oct, 2017 06:20am

Miscellaneous

Dar versus Tarin

Two powerful finance ministers Pakistan has seen in a decade of continues democratic set up are Shaukat Tarin and Ishaq

Updated 04 Oct, 2017 05:44am

Miscellaneous

Improving corporate governance rules

A little more than a month ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued the draft code of corporate go

Updated 03 Oct, 2017 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Fixing economic corruption

The naked eye cannot observe termites eating away a wooden frame. But sooner or later we all find out what’s left of the

Updated 29 Sep, 2017 11:27am

Miscellaneous

Flogging a dead horse

Despite Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif asserting that Pakistan is in close contact with SAARC members to host the summit,

Updated 28 Sep, 2017 06:13am

Miscellaneous

‘Long live our own ruin’

One of the key goals under the Vision 2025 is to reduce corruption in the country. Yet if the just-released Global Comp

Updated 28 Sep, 2017 01:27pm

Miscellaneous

Al-Shaheer’s not-so meaty affairs

For a company in the business of slaughtering animals and selling their meat, it’s quite ironic that its own bottom-line

Updated 12 Nov, 2020 03:26pm

Miscellaneous

The UFG rise

Vanishing into thin air can literally be seen in the gas sector; the country has seen a steep increase in unaccounted fo

Published 27 Sep, 2017 05:38am

Miscellaneous

The inessential nature of GSP Plus

Pakistan was jubilant when it received GSP Plus status, and it is happy now to be reassured that UK will continue extend

Updated 26 Sep, 2017 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Walking a tightrope

Without the necktie, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan’s new prime minister sported a rebellious look during his interactio

Updated 25 Sep, 2017 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Loving and living on debt

Earlier in the PML-N tenure the external debt was building to enhance reserves; now it’s moving up at a faster pace but

Updated 25 Sep, 2017 09:11am

Miscellaneous

Palm oil import substitution

A lot has been said regarding promoting exports and decreasing imports, be they imports of petroleum products or imports

Updated 25 Sep, 2017 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan-China FTA farce

One must wonder what dictionaries policymakers are using since clearly their understanding of basic terms is so differen

Updated 22 Sep, 2017 10:58am

Miscellaneous

Massive misreporting

Under invoicing is a major source of customs duty leakage but mis-reporting cannot be gauged only in terms of loss reven

Updated 22 Sep, 2017 10:15am

Miscellaneous

Gwadar utilities need a push

The two most serious issues that need to be addressed before Gwadar gets off to a proper start are water and power. When

Published 21 Sep, 2017 05:59am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: back into spotlight

Just as economic observers were beginning to wonder about the future of CPEC in the wake of growing domestic political i

Updated 21 Sep, 2017 01:06pm

Miscellaneous

On Miftah replacing Dar

During premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s recent visit to the PMLN boss in London, perhaps the decision to replace Finance M

Updated 21 Sep, 2017 12:09pm

Miscellaneous

PML-N hangs on, just

PML-N seems to have saved the ultimate embarrassment for some other day, having won the NA-120 by-polls, quite convincin

Published 20 Sep, 2017 06:44am

Miscellaneous

Optimism for sale

In latest news, Tariq Bajwa, the central bank governor, has expressed optimism over major external indicators, saying th

Published 19 Sep, 2017 06:20am

Miscellaneous

Economy: weighing options

The government finally, at least on paper, started talking on the increasing balance of payment concerns. This column ha

Published 19 Sep, 2017 06:18am

Miscellaneous

On putting the house in order

With international powers increasingly suffering from a Pakistan-fatigue, all this local talk of publicizing the ‘narrat

Published 18 Sep, 2017 07:03am

Miscellaneous

Missing innovation

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” Naseem Talib aptly said. It appears

Updated 15 Sep, 2017 08:32am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan’s ‘intellectual’ crisis

An interesting discussion over Pakistan’s intellectual crisis has recently surfaced in local print. The protagonists in

Published 15 Sep, 2017 06:05am

Miscellaneous

Sugar supply glut persists

The sugar industry which had been sending out SOS signals of late finally got a breakthrough recently with an inter-mini

Published 14 Sep, 2017 06:26am

Miscellaneous

Commodities up or down?

After a long time, commodity prices are on the rise. Analysts around the globe are scrambling to upgrade their forecasts

Published 14 Sep, 2017 06:24am

Miscellaneous

For PML-N, winter is coming

The wait isn’t over yet for the loyal brother. So close yet so far is the top job for Shahbaz Sharif. First he was publi

Published 13 Sep, 2017 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Growth momentum to be slowed down

Economic activity moved up the trajectory in the second half of the last fiscal year – while its good news, it is bad fo

Published 12 Sep, 2017 06:54am

Miscellaneous

Playing the blame game

“Everything the government cannot do and too many demands from the government are also unjustified”, said the Federal co

Published 11 Sep, 2017 07:24am

Miscellaneous

Labour export losing steam

Pakistan has had a phenomenal growth in officially recorded labour exports. The ongoing decade alone has seen average an

Published 11 Sep, 2017 07:21am

Miscellaneous

Karachi: becoming a garbage city

The sprawling city of Karachi , home to at least 14.9 million people according to the Census 2017—once used to be the c

Updated 11 Sep, 2017 11:49am

Miscellaneous

PSDP’s billions keep flowing

No matter if Nawaz is not around. Spend it like it’s an election year. Two months into the new fiscal, the federal gover

Published 08 Sep, 2017 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Pariah state?

Pakistan seems to be carrying no sound foreign policy and feigned policy reactions appear half hearted with lack of coor

Updated 08 Sep, 2017 09:06am

Miscellaneous

Inflation still in control

There were three CPI groups that witnessed double digit change over last year in the August 2017 inflation numbers, Toba

Published 06 Sep, 2017 05:51am

Miscellaneous

Provinces driving fiscal deficit

The twin deficit problem is ringing alarm bells yet again. Current account deficit soared to 4 percent of GDP while fisc

Published 06 Sep, 2017 05:48am

Miscellaneous

Another mistake in the making?

Among the plethora of FTAs being negotiated or re-negotiated is the Pakistan Gulf Cooperation Council FTA. Comprising of

Published 06 Sep, 2017 05:47am

Miscellaneous

Fixing tax for more than tax’s sake

The latest release of FBR’s tax directory didn’t get many headlines; nor prime time moments; sans a few economic observe

Published 05 Sep, 2017 06:11am

Miscellaneous

Think controlling population

Ever since the census preliminary results are out; every stakeholder is lobbing for higher share of population in their

Published 05 Sep, 2017 06:04am

Miscellaneous

edotco PK: more towers

After years of contemplation, telco’s towers are selling like hot cakes these days. Last month, edotco PK, a subsidiary

Published 05 Sep, 2017 06:03am

Miscellaneous

Media audit

More than a decade ago, a local cigarette manufacturer shot an advert in Spain costing Rs26 million. The cost of airing

Published 05 Sep, 2017 05:58am

Miscellaneous

Options for Dar and Abbasi

The visible difference between Nawaz and Abbasi is that the latter is easily accessible while it was really hard to meet

Published 30 Aug, 2017 05:20am

Miscellaneous

Karachi count concerns

Wikipedia had Karachi population estimated at 27.5 million till last week. That was bordering on ridiculous. The Pakista

Published 30 Aug, 2017 05:18am

Miscellaneous

Profits grow for SYS

Pakistan’s oldest software house is apparently catching its breath. After recording double-digit to-line growth in recen

Published 29 Aug, 2017 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Return to protectionism?

“Make America Great Again!” is the slogan that got Trump voted in. His view of a great America involved deporting illega

Updated 07 Sep, 2017 02:21pm

Miscellaneous

Negotiating trade agreements

Ministry of Commerce officials and the general public may have a different definition of the words “major success”. Paki

Published 28 Aug, 2017 07:32am

Miscellaneous

Losses deepen for PMPK

Marlboro Man is having a rough ride in Pakistan. As per a PSX notice released last Friday, Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limi

Published 28 Aug, 2017 07:23am

Miscellaneous

Does Pakistan have a rising urban population?

If the latest census figures are any guide, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘no’, because a big majority of

Published 28 Aug, 2017 07:19am

Miscellaneous

BATA keeps on marching

One of the country’s leading shoemakers continues its steady rhythm forward. The Lahore-based Bata Pakistan Limited (PSX

Published 25 Aug, 2017 06:37am

Miscellaneous

GLAXO: more profits

GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited (PSX: GLAXO) has just had an impressive close to the half-year ended June 30, 2017. A l

Published 25 Aug, 2017 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Nestlé Pakistan’s profits up in 1HCY17

The first half of CY17 has been good for Nestlé Pakistan. The MNC announced its financial performance on the stock excha

Published 25 Aug, 2017 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Time for statues at the PSX

Stock market punters never pay attention to the sound of bears; do they? Perhaps the fault is in their stars. After all

Updated 25 Aug, 2017 01:47pm

Miscellaneous

Sugary priorities

Historically, one of the biggest strengths of Pakistan has been the textile sector which has surely seen better days. Th

Updated 25 Aug, 2017 09:51am

Miscellaneous

To Uncle Sam: stop digging!

“You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have tried everything else.” The quote’s origin

Published 24 Aug, 2017 05:21am

Miscellaneous

OBOR: is the belt tightening?

Fearful of capital flight and mindful of debt-fueled acquisitions overseas, the Chinese government has been tightening i

Updated 23 Aug, 2017 03:37pm

Miscellaneous

Policy tightening is unavoidable

The current account deficit crossed $2 billion in July, while the financial and capital accounts could only fetch $0.5 b

Published 23 Aug, 2017 05:44am

Miscellaneous

How Pakistan has thwarted industrialization

The new PM apparently has a different idea about managing the economy than Dar; as he sidelined the Finance Minister wit

Updated 22 Aug, 2017 06:12am

Miscellaneous

Findings from FBR’s AOP tax directory

In Pakistan there is no reliable data for the number of Association of Persons across the country; the main reason being

Updated 21 Aug, 2017 07:20am

Miscellaneous

FDI: Malaysian (and) trade surprise

Most headlines had it that FDI to Pakistan in July 2017 went up by a staggering 162.8 percent, year-on-year. Fact. Only

Published 21 Aug, 2017 06:13am

Miscellaneous

Too little too late

Pakistan and China have signed 38 agreements/MoUs, worth $325 million, to enhance sale of Pakistan’s exports to China. T

Published 21 Aug, 2017 06:12am

Miscellaneous

The show will go on

Nawaz Sharif right after his ouster, tried to sabotage the economic progression by portraying that all the macroeconomic

Published 18 Aug, 2017 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Streamlining processes – a step in the right direction

Increasing international trade is not only about enhancing value additions of our exports and bargaining for better tari

Published 18 Aug, 2017 06:13am

Miscellaneous

The uncomfortable silence

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar used to be a proactive manager until a couple of months back but lately, has been completely

Updated 17 Aug, 2017 01:09pm

Miscellaneous

GSKCH: on the rise

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Pakistan Limited (PSX: GSKCH) has closed the half-year ended June 30, 2017 with net

Updated 16 Aug, 2017 07:33am

Miscellaneous

Tax directory found wanting

The Federal Board of Revenue recently released the fourth wave of tax directory earlier this month. But as far its compa

Updated 16 Aug, 2017 09:13am

Miscellaneous

Yellow light is on

There seems to be an increasing sense of inevitability on Pakistan going back to the IMF. With every passing week, forei

Published 15 Aug, 2017 06:49am

Miscellaneous

PAEL powers ahead

One of Pakistan’s leading appliance-makers is having yet another good year. Pak Electron Limited (PSX: PAEL) is continui

Published 11 Aug, 2017 06:14am

Miscellaneous

The rise and fall of exports

Exports in Pakistan are abysmally low, down by 18 percent from peak in last three years. In terms of GDP, exports are do

Updated 12 Aug, 2017 08:25am

Miscellaneous

Remember census?

Until a few weeks ago, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was all set to release the preliminary results of the much-aw

Published 10 Aug, 2017 07:52am

Miscellaneous

Gold glitter lost

Pakistan’s gold imports have declined by 32 percent since the last fiscal year, to $16.67 million in FY17. Gold imports

Published 10 Aug, 2017 07:47am

Miscellaneous

On the road again

The Sharif clan has a special affinity for roads and highways. Both in good times and bad! The deposed premier is expect

Published 09 Aug, 2017 06:13am

Miscellaneous

ASER on rural literacy

As expected, the launch of Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2016 has generated discourse in the academic and pol

Published 09 Aug, 2017 06:03am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: risks ahead

The verdict on the extent to which CPEC will be affected by the growing political crisis is still out there. The CPEC wa

Updated 08 Aug, 2017 11:47am

Miscellaneous

Selective amnesia

Does an idea work because it is good? Or is an idea good because it works? Talking to BBC Urdu last week, Pakistan’s ex-

Published 08 Aug, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Nawaz way or highway

Nawaz is neither dumb nor he lacks courage. He is still calling the shots both within the family and party. The plan of

Updated 07 Aug, 2017 10:14am

Miscellaneous

Dolmen City REIT FY17

The only REIT in the country recently announced its second full year financial performance for FY17 on the stock exchang

Updated 07 Aug, 2017 07:03am

Miscellaneous

Dearth of talent?

No major reshuffling in cabinet is in offing. Shahbaz might not leave Punjab while Ishaq Dar is likely to stick to the F

Updated 04 Aug, 2017 09:51am

Miscellaneous

Another FTA in the works

Several times since last year the Pak-Thailand FTA was in the news for being nearly finalized. However, round after roun

Updated 04 Aug, 2017 10:08am

Miscellaneous

Electronics: powered on

The retail sector seems to be priming the economic pump. As per latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic

Updated 03 Aug, 2017 10:38am

Miscellaneous

CPI: well in control

Smoke up; decline in tobacco prices has kept headline inflation subdued which is complemented by high base of perishable

Updated 03 Aug, 2017 06:36am

Miscellaneous

PSDP’s remarkable run

It is one thing to budget big billions for development, but quite another to spend most of that. The just-concluded fisc

Published 02 Aug, 2017 06:05am

Miscellaneous

L-S-M!

Meanwhile, a bit of good news on the macroeconomic front! Recall how at the time of last released Economic Survey, the N

Updated 02 Aug, 2017 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Arif Habib Limited: an amazing year

Arif Habib Limited (PSX: AHL) posted a stellar result for FY17, which saw the company’s bottom-line increase by an impre

Published 02 Aug, 2017 06:01am

Miscellaneous

Tough times ahead

Uncertainty is not over yet. Nawaz is no more the PM; but he is still calling shots at PMLN and is driving the governmen

Published 01 Aug, 2017 06:25am

Miscellaneous

Time for dates

Recognizing Pakistan’s potential for date production and exports, TDAP organized its first ever Dates Show and Seminar i

Published 31 Jul, 2017 05:28am

Miscellaneous

On Nawaz ousting

In an English court a man named Home was tried for slander in having accused a neighbour of murder. Home’s exact words w

Published 31 Jul, 2017 05:25am

Miscellaneous

PAKT: it’s getting worse

The tobacco giant’s rock-star year that was 2016 now seems a distant memory. Into the tailspin has gone the top line at

Published 28 Jul, 2017 05:40am

Miscellaneous

Any port in the storm

Earlier this column has been a proponent of regional connectivity and trade agreement (read “Trading with neighbour

Updated 28 Jul, 2017 10:41am

Miscellaneous

Colgate Palmolive on steady growth

Colgate Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (PSX: COLG) – a multinational company operating in consumer goods segments: Oral ca

Published 28 Jul, 2017 05:11am

Miscellaneous

Trump’s first semester

Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump continues to receive bad rap in the mainstream media. So intense is the

Published 27 Jul, 2017 05:12am

Miscellaneous

Standstill ministries

Uncertainty has its repercussions. Stock market reacts immediately to hazy situation and usually recovers with a lag

Updated 27 Jul, 2017 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Trading with neighbours

Currently, a high level delegation of the private sector is visiting Bhutan, representing Pakistan in the forth comi

Updated 26 Jul, 2017 11:38am

Miscellaneous

REITs – as slow as it gets

The activity in the real estate sector recently might have been slow-paced of late, but the sector has seen some key

Published 25 Jul, 2017 05:00am

Miscellaneous

Exercises in futility

TDAP’s website lists more than 50 trade missions sent abroad to countries that range from all of Pakistan’s neighbou

Published 25 Jul, 2017 04:57am

Miscellaneous

Trade: Where do we go now?

The trade deficit has widened by 36 percent in FY17 as exports remained stagnant and imports for oil and machinery b

Updated 25 Jul, 2017 07:10am

Miscellaneous

Trade deficit: Not a failure of FTAs

News headlines are blaring about the alarming increase in trade deficit, caused as much by Pakistan’s increase in import

Updated 24 Jul, 2017 09:50am

Miscellaneous

Usurping regulator independence

When it comes to promoting the independence of regulatory bodies, the PML-N certainly won’t’ be winning any laurels.

Updated 24 Jul, 2017 09:56am

Miscellaneous

National Water Policy

Amid the new ambitious plans and schemes, approval of the National Water Policy is also on the table. It sure sounds

Updated 24 Jul, 2017 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Financial development and ‘inclusion’

Oftentimes, parting lament in Pakistani drawing-room conversations is that things will never change. On at least one

Published 19 Jul, 2017 04:55am

Miscellaneous

Trade with CARs

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left on a two-day visit to Tajikistan to discuss trade cooperation a

Published 19 Jul, 2017 04:40am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan comes knocking to IMF

The IMF is expecting the external financing needs of Pakistan around 7.5 percent of GDP in the medium terms. The que

Updated 19 Jul, 2017 09:41am

Miscellaneous

CPEC, energy and external stability

The good is that investment in $55 billion CPEC and energy sector if implemented on schedule can help close the coun

Updated 18 Jul, 2017 07:33am

Miscellaneous

External sector: More China

Even the IMF is conceding that the fruits of its last bailout “have begun to erode” and that “macroeconomic vulnerabilit

Published 18 Jul, 2017 06:31am

Miscellaneous

Pak-Iran FTA – an optimistic exercise

Pakistan is fond of its Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) all in the quest of the as y

Published 18 Jul, 2017 06:29am

Miscellaneous

The myth of PSE reforms in Pakistan

The government would like the citizens to believe that plans to reform public sector enterprises (PSE) are in full sway.

Updated 17 Jul, 2017 10:18am

Miscellaneous

Of external vulnerabilities and fiscal consolidation

The fund’s language is getting tight along with building up of external pressures - reminding days of 2008. Although not

Updated 17 Jul, 2017 11:07am

Miscellaneous

SEZs – A word of caution

Pakistan has recently jumped on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bandwagon. Board of Investment Chairman Dr Miftah Ismail

Updated 17 Jul, 2017 10:08am

Miscellaneous

Water under the bridge

About Rs25 billion worth of water is wasted every year. That’s what the Wapda chairman reportedly told the Public Ac

Published 14 Jul, 2017 03:48am

Miscellaneous

Famous for whitening real estate frauds

Besides whitening the black money, real estate sector in the country is also infamous for frauds and scams as the in

Published 14 Jul, 2017 03:46am

Miscellaneous

Come on, it’s time to go

It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up. Indeed. The House of Sharif should have known better. The Panama JIT – or “

Updated 13 Jul, 2017 11:18am

Miscellaneous

More protection

Some things in Pakistan will never change. Despite making promises in 2013 that SROs will be “phased out”, and follo

Updated 25 Jul, 2017 07:27am

Miscellaneous

Tourism needs urgent coordination

Choked roads and packed hotels greet one upon venturing into the northern areas of Pakistan. The tourist season is i

Published 05 Jul, 2017 05:03am

Miscellaneous

India’s tax reforms

Just when things were starting to get normal in India post the banning of higher-denominated notes, the situation is see

Published 03 Jul, 2017 04:41am

Miscellaneous

Modi in the court of Trump

What happens when two bullies meet? Do they fight? Or do they prefer to talk instead? When Trump and Modi met at the

Published 30 Jun, 2017 06:11am

Miscellaneous

EDB gone?

Days after the shocking move by the government of Pakistan to dissolve the Engineering Development Board (EDB)—a wing of

Updated 29 Jun, 2017 10:49am

Miscellaneous

Diamer-Bhasha: sliver of hope

It seems the Diamer-Bhasha project dam has caught a lucky break recently with the Chinese deciding to include it in

Published 29 Jun, 2017 06:13am

Miscellaneous

Real estate roundup

Last time, the column talked about the real estate sector was when it discussed the second phase of property valuation c

Published 29 Jun, 2017 06:11am

Miscellaneous

A tough month for rice exports

Rice exports continue their decline vis-à-vis the mounting trade deficit. For the eleven months ended FY17, Pakistan

Published 23 Jun, 2017 04:38am

Miscellaneous

Trade and poor economics

The trade deficit continues to soar as the toll reached a whopping $30 billion in 11MFY17, as per latest PBS data. T

Updated 22 Jun, 2017 06:04pm

Miscellaneous

SRB: rare jewel in Sindh’s crown

Sindh is not well known for quality institutions or governance. However, there are some islands of excellence in the

Published 20 Jun, 2017 06:29am

Miscellaneous

Government dominated investment

No doubt that the economy is back on growth momentum as the country goes through an expansionary phase. But the ques

Published 20 Jun, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

IMF review - between the lines

The underline tone of the IMF in the latest IMF article 1V consultation sounds softer as the Fund seems satisfied wi

Published 19 Jun, 2017 05:27am

Miscellaneous

A case for services exports

The trade deficit has ballooned to $30 billion for Jul-May 2017. And economic observers are ringing alarm. But are t

Published 16 Jun, 2017 05:05am

Miscellaneous

Is it time to repair Pakistan’s social safety net?

Before Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in 2008, Pakistan’s main safety net programs were Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal

Published 16 Jun, 2017 05:02am

Miscellaneous

PSE reforms: a non-starter

One would imagine eighteen months is long enough to prepare summary tables showing the performance of Pakistan’s sta

Updated 16 Jun, 2017 08:32am

Miscellaneous

The Fed raises rates

The Federal Reserve yesterday in-line with market expectations increased interest rates by 25bps to 1-1.25 percent r

Published 16 Jun, 2017 04:57am

Miscellaneous

Populism adjusted

Beyond the flattery, Trump’s first full cabinet meeting earlier this week was also high on reassurances to Trump’s p

Published 15 Jun, 2017 04:57am

Miscellaneous

Property valuation: Round 2 – Start!

Almost the same time last year, the real estate market was jolted for regulation and oversight for what could be the fir

Updated 13 Jun, 2017 11:48am

Miscellaneous

Save for a better future

Pakistan has always been a consumption based economy and it continues to be one; FY17 was no different as consumptio

Published 13 Jun, 2017 05:42am

Miscellaneous

Of Saaf Pani and ambitious promises

One of the most basic rights a citizen should have is that of access to pure and clean drinking water. However, while br

Published 13 Jun, 2017 05:40am

Miscellaneous

Development: KP leads among laggards

Data show Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has been leading other provinces on development spending. As per federal finance m

Updated 12 Jun, 2017 06:15am

Miscellaneous

Non-profits in Budget FY18 – (II)

Following up on last week’s discussion, today’s article looks at the second of the major announcements made in the b

Published 12 Jun, 2017 05:29am

Miscellaneous

Sindh: big on infrastructure

Sindh has not been a leader when it comes to development spending. In the eight years between FY09 and FY16, the Sin

Updated 10 Jun, 2017 01:32pm

Miscellaneous

SBP: Governor with a spine

The State Bank of Pakistan is one and perhaps the only institution which economists and analysts used to mark as a s

Updated 09 Jun, 2017 04:39am

Miscellaneous

Reading dividend taxation

Tax rates on corporate payouts are set to head higher; increase in the dividend tax has been one of the many tax pro

Updated 08 Jun, 2017 11:56am

Miscellaneous

Non-profits in Budget FY18 – (I)

Two big measures were announced in the federal budget regarding non-profits (NPOs) in Pakistan. Today’s article look

Published 08 Jun, 2017 03:21am

Miscellaneous

Unemployment declining. Or is it?

A few days ago, this column wrote on certain inexplicable numbers in the economic survey, so here are some more nugg

Published 08 Jun, 2017 03:20am

Miscellaneous

Punjab: low on social development

The Shahbaz Sharif government presented its tenth-consecutive provincial budget last Saturday. While the outlays are

Published 07 Jun, 2017 02:44am

Miscellaneous

Here’s to the inexplicable ones

The misfits; the round pegs in square holes; the ones not fond of rules; the ones who have no respect for common sen

Updated 06 Jun, 2017 10:39am

Miscellaneous

Will the fruit ban bear fruits?

The Facebook brigade and Whatsapp evangelists are at it again. This time they are proposing a ban on purchasing frui

Published 05 Jun, 2017 04:42am

Miscellaneous

Punjab budget

Punjab government announced a budget close to Rs2 trillion for inhabitants of over hundred million last week. It’s a

Updated 05 Jun, 2017 05:10am

Miscellaneous

Inflation at 32-month high

The CPI has surely started to grow more muscle - having recorded a 32-month high of 5.02 percent in May 2017. There

Published 02 Jun, 2017 02:04am

Miscellaneous

Inevitable circular debt?

The circular debt menace is back. Dar took the step of clearing the debt right at the onset of joining government an

Updated 02 Jun, 2017 09:26am

Miscellaneous

Charter of Economy: follow up on the 14 Points

The Fourteen Points of Charter of Economy, published earlier this week in these columns, invited a host of individu

Updated 01 Jun, 2017 09:09am

Miscellaneous

ICT in the budget

So far as optics is concerned, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry figured prominently in the f

Updated 31 May, 2017 10:24am

Miscellaneous

Making corporate income tax effective

The first positive step Dar took in his maiden budget speech (FY14) was to reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 per

Updated 31 May, 2017 10:46am

Miscellaneous

In charter(ed) waters again

The Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has repeated his call for consensus on economic priorities and agenda, asking for what he

Updated 30 May, 2017 11:36am

Miscellaneous

Fiscal optimism

The number-fudging (or at least overstating) game continues in fiscal accounts. The fiscal deficit target for FY17 i

Published 30 May, 2017 06:30am

Miscellaneous

The Fourteen Points of Charter of Economy

Call it the “Charter of Economy” or “national consensus on core economic agenda”; the idea to lay down a broad framework

Published 30 May, 2017 06:27am

Miscellaneous

Agri financing FY18: Shoot for the moon

Rs1001 billion is the hot number in this budget; it is the surprisingly high PSDP allocation for FY18 and incidental

Published 30 May, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Agriculture (2016-17): the year of sugarcane

While the Finance Ministry is patting itself on the back for the decade-high GDP growth, the ‘up-to-the-mark’ perfor

Published 29 May, 2017 05:13am

Miscellaneous

PSDP: big on the highway

Striking is a trillion rupees earmarked for PSDP projects next fiscal. Perhaps more arresting is the fact that highw

Published 29 May, 2017 04:49am

Miscellaneous

On divisible pool deductions

It is quintessential of critics to question the credibility of every statistic released by incumbent Pakistani gover

Updated 07 Jun, 2017 02:34am

Miscellaneous

Demographics look challenging

Economic survey is here and it is statistics galore. What usually get lost in the ‘economic’ discourse are the demog

Published 26 May, 2017 04:25am

Budgets

Economic Survey: Fix it

In June 2015, this column opined that the sin of Economic Survey is not as much a sin of commission but a sin of omi

Updated 26 May, 2017 11:09am

Miscellaneous

Trade policy: remove the blinders!

In the last budget, Dar and company announced a number of measures for “export promotion” which among some vague mea

Published 26 May, 2017 04:23am

Miscellaneous

Numbers must not lie

The trade deficit as per the SBP is not widening as fast as it is in reality. We spoke about this issue in an earlier: S

Published 25 May, 2017 04:20am

Miscellaneous

Trade: no change, no gain

It really depends on your state of mind. Most stakeholders today are cautiously optimistic about the Pakistani econo

Updated 24 May, 2017 02:37pm

Miscellaneous

PSDP is now a trillion-rupee prophecy

The federal development muscle is about to get stronger. If news reports are any guide, the federal public sector de

Published 24 May, 2017 03:31am

Miscellaneous

What’s in GDP rebasing?

There is an ongoing debate that the economic size of the country is not fully reflected in nominal GDP. There are tw

Updated 24 May, 2017 02:50pm

Miscellaneous

CPEC: Informed skeptics MIA

There is no dearth of sceptics in this country. Neither is there any shortage of conspiracy theories and propaganda

Published 23 May, 2017 04:51am

Miscellaneous

Growth on rise; quality not so

Last week this column termed 10-year high growth of 5.28 percent as fair and square; implying that the growth is rea

Updated 23 May, 2017 10:47am

Miscellaneous

OBOR around India

The Chinese President has called it ‘project of the century’. But India apparently wants no part of it. At the Beiji

Published 22 May, 2017 02:48am

Miscellaneous

Time to get it ‘cracking’

Pakistan imports roughly $6 billion worth of chemicals and related raw material every year. This makes a sizeable chunk

Published 22 May, 2017 02:45am

Miscellaneous

We are all East India Company

Some perceptions are sticky. That the CPEC is a reincarnation of East India Company (EIC) is one such perception, of

Updated 22 May, 2017 05:32am

Miscellaneous

Is CPEC a modern East India Co?

Earlier this week the Financial Times’ Big Read on CPEC carried the following quote. “The head of a large investment com

Updated 19 May, 2017 11:49am

Miscellaneous

Fair and square growth

Finally, the GDP growth crossed 5 percent for the first time in ten years. Isn’t it time to sacrifice a black goat?

Updated 20 May, 2017 11:00am

Miscellaneous

Has populism really peaked?

The year 2016 was marked by high-intensity political earthquakes in the West. First there was the Brexit referendum

Published 19 May, 2017 03:03am

Miscellaneous

Expanding, not levelling the playing field

When it comes to competition, businesses in Pakistan have often taken the road of seeking protection from the govern

Published 17 May, 2017 04:31am

Miscellaneous

Be hard on soft drinks

It’s difficult to control kids with a sweet tooth. Take soft drinks, for instance – all that fizz, (artificial) flavours

Updated 16 May, 2017 09:54am

Budgets

ICMA Pakistan’s pre-budget proposals

The federal budget 2017-18 is just a few days away, and proposals from all and sundry are flowing around. The Instit

Updated 25 May, 2017 10:21am

Miscellaneous

CPEC’s master plan

Yesterday, just hours after local news media revealed what it termed an exclusive coverage of the ‘CPEC master plan,

Published 16 May, 2017 04:38am

Miscellaneous

'Cautiously delusional’

Fixing the energy crisis was the single-biggest promise the PML-N made before the 2013 elections. Four years down th

Published 15 May, 2017 05:06am

Miscellaneous

Pour some sugar on exports!

Once again, the sugar mills are making hue and cry over an alarming situation. Friday’s Business Recorder saw the en

Published 15 May, 2017 04:58am

Miscellaneous

Why we should embrace competition? — I

We are a nation of rentiers, this column said last time, but why is that? Why are businesses so averse to competitio

Updated 12 May, 2017 11:33am

Miscellaneous

PIA gains ‘losses’

The ‘green’ of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has merely been confined to its logo. It rarely finds its way t

Updated 12 May, 2017 11:53am

Miscellaneous

Building discourse on NFC

Intergovernmental revenue transfers may not be the most exciting topic for drawing room discussions; nor the easiest to

Published 11 May, 2017 04:01am

Miscellaneous

Keeping tabs on provincial promises

The election season will soon be upon us. But how are the political parties keeping their promises? Prime, the Islam

Updated 11 May, 2017 04:41am

Miscellaneous

PML(N) Economic Report Card

Dar will soon be presenting his fifth budget running. He started the first by passing the buck of circular debt on t

Updated 11 May, 2017 12:05pm

Miscellaneous

Here comes the purge

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Tuesday took much awaited action against fake investment gu

Published 10 May, 2017 03:05am

Miscellaneous

Soybean: a transition in process

Pakistan is currently in the process of going from an importer of soybean meal and soybean oil to becoming an import

Published 10 May, 2017 02:59am

Miscellaneous

Does GDP justify corruption?

Freedom of expression is valuable. But not every expression is worth in gold or even a broken dime. Last week Prime Mini

Published 09 May, 2017 04:08am

Miscellaneous

Fiscal report card

The consolidated deficit stood at 3.7 percent of GDP in 9MFY17 versus 3.8 percent target for the full year. The MoF

Updated 09 May, 2017 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Governance reforms: waiting for messiah

The latest Unescap Survey for Asia and the Pacific, which focuses on the subject of governance this year, brings hom

Published 08 May, 2017 04:52am

Miscellaneous

Rabi season sees high urea off-take

Near six-year low urea prices finally seem to have started doing the trick. Urea off-take for the Rabi season concluded

Published 05 May, 2017 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Can we run with the bulls?

The past year has been full of news in the auto sector, and not just in the passenger car segment which really gets

Updated 05 May, 2017 06:24pm

Miscellaneous

Pak-Iran trade

Talk about a hefty target! In his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif earlier this week, PM Nawaz Sharif u

Published 05 May, 2017 05:22am

Miscellaneous

Poverty of what?

Truth is told that a large number of socio-economic policies that benefit the rich are made by the rich in the name of t

Published 04 May, 2017 05:13am

Miscellaneous

Mutual funds performance review: April 2017

The month of April was a story of two halves for the stock market. The first half was full of jitters, low volume an

Published 04 May, 2017 05:11am

Miscellaneous

CPEC drives PSDP spending

Hounded left and right, the premier has been in a campaign mode for much of the fiscal thus far. And the numbers reflect

Published 04 May, 2017 05:04am

Miscellaneous

Basmati exports up with Iran

Falling rice exports continue to further widen the current account deficit; for the nine months ended of the ongoing

Published 04 May, 2017 05:02am

Miscellaneous

Trade: Lose-lose scenario

A lot is going well for the economy right now, but as this column has said earlier—and at expense of being repetitive—th

Published 03 May, 2017 04:39am

Miscellaneous

Inflation gathers momentum

The inflation dragon has started showing teeth, as it exhibited highest monthly jump since April 2016. Apparently, April

Published 03 May, 2017 04:34am

Miscellaneous

Restricting foreign tourists

Are all foreign tourists spies in disguise? Last week, the federal government reportedly asked the Gilgit-Baltistan

Published 02 May, 2017 04:36am

Miscellaneous

‘Anti-targeting’

At a conference organized by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) last week, Geof Woods, professor emeritus at Unive

Published 02 May, 2017 04:31am

Miscellaneous

Rethinking renewable resistance

There is a major shift in paradigm taking place in the global energy landscape with renewables gaining popularity. T

Updated 28 Apr, 2017 11:13am

Miscellaneous

Empowering the poor

In Islamabad yesterday, the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) wrapped up its two-day moot on research and learnin

Updated 27 Apr, 2017 06:59am

Miscellaneous

Reluctant savers

Standard Chartered conducted a saving pattern survey of emerging affluent consumers in eight markets of Asia and Africa

Published 26 Apr, 2017 06:02am

Miscellaneous

9MFY17: a mixed bag for PSEL

Pakistanâ€™s leading hotelier looks set to close another fiscal on a profitable note. Pakistan Services Limited (PSX: PS

Published 26 Apr, 2017 05:59am

Miscellaneous

Climate Change Act: Cautious optimism

Climate change is no longer a myth but a gradually sinking reality with increasingly clear indications of its arrival. F

Published 25 Apr, 2017 06:27am

Miscellaneous

USAID & USDA: promoting horticulture

Earlier this month, BR Research attended the graduation ceremony of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) six-year p

Published 24 Apr, 2017 06:56am

Miscellaneous

Political stability on the line once again

The Panama judgement has created a storm of fiery statements from opposing corners of the political spectrum. Beneath th

Updated 24 Apr, 2017 12:27pm

Miscellaneous

Fixing Pakistanâ€™s democracy

Overshadowed by the hype of Panama Leaks judgment due today is a rather disturbing development that happened earlier thi

Updated 20 Apr, 2017 09:08am

Miscellaneous

Packages Limitedâ€™s slower quarter

CY16 was a pleasant year for PKGPâ€™s as its earnings were up by 70 percent, year-on-year. The company showed a decent i

Updated 20 Apr, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Unilever Foodsâ€™ strong 1Q

The FMCG multinational, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited (PSX: UPFL) has reported outstanding first-quarter results for 2

Published 20 Apr, 2017 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Attock and Fauji: Contrasting growth

This was going to be a difficult fiscal year for Fauji Cement (PSX: FCCL) long before the fiscal year even kicked off. I

Published 18 Apr, 2017 03:50am

Miscellaneous

KP Industrial Zones: Galloping ahead

If one thing has become clear enough, it is that the success of the CPEC ultimately hinges upon Pakistanâ€™s ability to

Published 17 Apr, 2017 04:27am

Miscellaneous

EFOODS feeling the competition

Engro Foods Limited (PSX: EFOODS) announced its 1QCY17 financial performance yesterday, and it hardly had any surpri

Published 14 Apr, 2017 05:47am

Miscellaneous

Back to rising oil imports!

Earlier this week, the column talked about the petroleum sales (primarily furnace oil, diesel and petrol). A good ch

Published 13 Apr, 2017 03:55am

Miscellaneous

Pakistanâ€™s tourism competitiveness

It is becoming clear that Pakistanâ€™s tourism industry, though surging on account of local tourism in recent years,

Updated 13 Apr, 2017 04:42am

Miscellaneous

EMs back in favour

After the surprising outcome of the US last year, global markets started adjusting according to the rhetoric coming out

Published 12 Apr, 2017 04:50am

Miscellaneous

Amnesty: will it be fourth time lucky?

Amnesty scheme is a fad nowadays. Tax and other amnesty schemes had been in offing for decades across the globe but with

Updated 12 Apr, 2017 05:58am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan needs a humanities revolution

In Pakistan a new economic discourse seems to be emerging, though it is too early to say whether these voices will s

Updated 12 Apr, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Limited Liability Partnership: Finally here

Traditionally, there have been three widely used corporate structures for incorporating a company in Pakistan which incl

Published 11 Apr, 2017 04:14am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Tethered to local demand

Last month this column predicted that cement exports were soon entering a danger zone. It seems we have reached that sta

Updated 11 Apr, 2017 06:21am

Miscellaneous

Pak Elektron off to a flying start

Pak Elektron (PSX: PAEL), one of the biggest manufacturer of white goods and power products in Pakistan, announced i

Published 11 Apr, 2017 04:10am

Miscellaneous

Cement: anybody's game

In a latest announcement, Bestway Cement (PSX: BWCL) has pulled out of buying the Dewan (PSX: DCL) cement's Hattar plant

Updated 24 Jul, 2017 10:47am

Miscellaneous

Turning on tobacco

Are Pakistanis smoking less of tobacco these days? The countryâ€™s leading tobacco player, Pakistan Tobacco Company

Published 10 Apr, 2017 06:05am

Miscellaneous

Back to the future: a story of Pakistan's turnaround

Tomorrow in Islamabad, Nadeem Ul-Haq is giving back-to-back lectures on his recently-published book called: "Looking Bac

Updated 24 Jul, 2017 11:15am

Miscellaneous

'Our focus is the end user', Country Manager, and GM Dawlance

With over 32 years of rich professional experience, Salih ArslantaÅŸ currently serves as General Manager of Dawlance. He

Published 10 Apr, 2017 05:55am

Miscellaneous

Indiaâ€™s unintended digital boost

Contrary to some punditsâ€™ projections, Indiaâ€™s cash crunch ensuing the November 8 â€˜demonetizationâ€™ didnâ€™t quit

Published 07 Apr, 2017 06:44am

Miscellaneous

IMFâ€™s cautions

â€œAfter three years of reforms, Pakistan has strengthened its macroeconomic resilience and economic outlook, providing

Published 07 Apr, 2017 06:32am

Miscellaneous

Rent seeking needs to go

Rent seeking in Pakistan has its roots to pre-partition. In 1930s when congress decided to undertake land reforms in Ind

Published 07 Apr, 2017 06:31am

Miscellaneous

The father is always right

Ten years ago Mr. M – a young entrepreneur from Karachi - joined his decades-old family business after passing his CFA e

Updated 13 May, 2020 04:55pm

Miscellaneous

Pakistanâ€™s alarming cost of food exports

A ground-breaking study published recently in the Nature journal has some alarming revelations for Pakistanâ€™s already

Published 06 Apr, 2017 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Underreporting of CPEC-related imports

The current account deficit has been widening, with the dual effect of rising capital imports and a long running dec

Updated 07 Apr, 2017 07:22am

Miscellaneous

Horticulture exports

Another of our exports that has been taking a beating lately is in horticulture; for the eight months ended FY17, fruit

Published 06 Apr, 2017 05:27am

Miscellaneous

Fixing the NFC award

Building up on our yesterdayâ€™s discussion on how to fix the NFC award, the first consultative meeting by PRIME Ins

Published 05 Apr, 2017 05:50am

Miscellaneous

SPS & exports: USDAâ€™s training

Last week, the USDA, in partnership with CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International) and Texas A&M Un

Published 05 Apr, 2017 05:47am

Miscellaneous

CPI at a 30-month high

The CPI is slowly but surely creeping up â€“ having recorded a 30-month high of 4.94 percent in March 2017. It was a

Published 04 Apr, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

NFC Negotiations

By now it is clear that the upcoming budget will be formed on the basis of the 2010 NFC Award. There is also little

Updated 04 Apr, 2017 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Women on the board

The number of women on the corporate boards in Pakistan is still negligible; the recent news reports of 21 out of 559 (o

Published 04 Apr, 2017 05:27am

Miscellaneous

Dassu: moving ahead

The much needed and long awaited work on Dassu Hydropower Project (DHP) has started with the Chinese Gezhouba Group

Published 03 Apr, 2017 05:13am

Miscellaneous

Economy is heating up

Vibes are good and storytelling is positive. SBP's second quarterly report tends to highlight silver linings in the econ

Published 03 Apr, 2017 05:09am

Miscellaneous

On crowd-funding in Pakistan

Last Monday, SECP, Pakistanâ€™s corporate regulator, warned public about a crowd-funding website raising funds from the

Published 03 Apr, 2017 05:07am

Miscellaneous

Depoliticising census

The census remains a sensitive subject since population is linked to political and economic distribution in various

Published 31 Mar, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

What is driving economy?

Numbers don't lie. Look at the GDP graph; in nominal terms, it changed gears in FY02 and the turbo is on since then - It

Published 30 Mar, 2017 05:43am

Miscellaneous

What next for Reko Diq?

This year, the mighty and much-desired Reko Diq copper-gold deposits celebrate the silver jubilee of their 1992 discover

Published 30 Mar, 2017 05:39am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: Framing the right policy issues

Now that the majority of CPEC early harvest energy and infrastructure projects are well underway, Pakistan needs to thin

Updated 29 Mar, 2017 08:27am

Miscellaneous

Tourism: Need for central coordination

Well, cherries have now started to blossom in the picturesque Hunza valley. That will commence domestic tourism season i

Published 29 Mar, 2017 06:16am

Miscellaneous

Can Pakistan grow muscle on meat exports?

In recent news, the Brazilian meat industry received a bad cut. A host of Brazilian meat buyers across the world had

Updated 30 Mar, 2017 11:35am

Miscellaneous

Rice export blues

Rice exporters seem to be in deep trouble, as the latest PBS numbers spell out disaster; for the eight months ended FY17

Published 29 Mar, 2017 05:43am

Miscellaneous

Between the heaven and a tax cut

This year, the industry of philanthropy in Pakistan joins the ranks of those that ask for special concessions in federal

Published 27 Mar, 2017 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Cute ideas!

Some ideas are cute, “only to be appreciated from a distance”, as one grey haired bureaucrat smilingly quipped last week

Updated 22 Jul, 2019 07:18am

Miscellaneous

Trade troubles continue

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported shows that trade deficit has dangerously widened by 34 percent in

Updated 30 Mar, 2017 12:07pm

Miscellaneous

Weak prep work for regional integration

In yesterdayâ€™s op-ed section of this newspaper, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, the former SBP governor and current executive

Updated 22 Mar, 2017 09:17am

Miscellaneous

The black box of provincial economies

By next summer Pakistanis will hopefully be heading to the polls to choose their national and provincial political leaders for the ensuing five years.

Updated 26 May, 2017 11:06am

Miscellaneous

Finders keepers, losers weepers, just rightly describes lawn buyers every summers; the airy, and untextured fabric is a plain weave textile, chiefly cotton, and perfect for the harsh summer weather of the country.

Published 21 Mar, 2017 06:53am

Miscellaneous

Current account report

The current account continues its slippery path; some grace is saved upon receiving CSF money in the last week of February; the deficit stands at $744 million in February, while it was $1.

Published 21 Mar, 2017 06:53am

Miscellaneous

Is CPEC a threat to the external account?

Recently the debate in media has caught fire on external outflows, including debt repayment, on CPEC-related projects over the next 30 years.

Published 17 Mar, 2017 06:01am

Miscellaneous

On Fed rate hike

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates to 0.

Published 17 Mar, 2017 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Sindh's RTI law: initial impressions

Congratulations! Sindh has finally joined Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in making governments and their institutions open, transparent and accountable.

Published 16 Mar, 2017 06:39am

Miscellaneous

The great count

The population census beginning today comes at least nine years too late.

Published 15 Mar, 2017 05:42am

Miscellaneous

Privatization of DISCOs:

It has been one of the most significant yet contentious issues in the problem-riddled power sector of Pakistan-privatisation of DISCOs.

Updated 09 Nov, 2017 02:00pm

Miscellaneous

Building a culture of savings

Government's recent step of introducing registered premium prize bonds is a move towards enhancing documented saving culture.

Published 14 Mar, 2017 05:04am

Miscellaneous

Youth development found wanting

It is Pakistans unique demographics and the youth bulge that give the country an edge over various others, or so we are told.

Published 14 Mar, 2017 05:03am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Slippery slope

The cement sector is not in trouble yet but there are misgivings about certain trends that are emerging now, that warrant a deeper look.

Published 13 Mar, 2017 05:38am

Miscellaneous

Karigar's bit in vocational training

With industrial activities picking up and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) knocking our doors, there has been a lot of debate around the availability of skilled human resource availability in Pakistan.

Published 13 Mar, 2017 05:37am

Miscellaneous

"Cost of performing digital transactions must come down," Ali Sarfraz, CEO, Karandaaz

Ali Sarfraz is the CEO at Karandaaz, an Islamabad-based not-for-profit organization.

Published 13 Mar, 2017 05:37am

Miscellaneous

AfPak's faux free trade

Only a few days ago, when Pakistani government and leaders of other ECO members (including Central Asian countries) made rosy promises between themselves on doubling regional trade; higher level representation from one member was missing- Afghanistan.

Published 10 Mar, 2017 06:33am

Miscellaneous

"Today, it is not the number of outlets but the total retail area that is relevant", CEO Breakout Pakistan

Breakout Pakistan is a renowned western wear brand operating in Pakistan since 2010.

Published 10 Mar, 2017 06:31am

Miscellaneous

How to save the market from poor disclosures

Earlier this week, Sazgar Engineering sent out a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Published 09 Mar, 2017 06:24am

Miscellaneous

Macroeconomic (in)stability

The macroeconomic stability achieved in the last two years or so has been challenged lately.

Published 09 Mar, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Accounting for water

Water is not only for life water is life.

Published 09 Mar, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

Making regional trade work again

Free trade, most economists agree, is a fine idea.

Published 08 Mar, 2017 06:18am

Miscellaneous

Punjab's GIS initiative: IRIS

The Punjab government through its Urban Unit has made healthy progress towards implementing a Geographical Information System (GIS) for dynamic analysis of various sectors and government programs.

Published 08 Mar, 2017 06:18am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Clash of the titans

There we have it folks.

Published 07 Mar, 2017 06:00am

Miscellaneous

FDI: Wooing Canadians may be a hard sell

In a rare display of foresight, Pakistan's High Commissioner to Canada Tariq Azim Khan has invited Canadian companies to benefit from the investment opportunities in Pakistan emerging from economic boom and the demographic dividend, this newspaper rep

Published 07 Mar, 2017 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Uncle Sam: Checking out?

America under Trump doesnt seem interested in maintaining its soft power abroad.

Published 07 Mar, 2017 06:00am

Miscellaneous

Mutual funds gearing for MSCI upgrade

Last month was a volatile one for Pakistans equity market, as an array of negative news emerged from all sides which influenced investor sentiments and led to a choppy performance.

Published 06 Mar, 2017 05:51am

Miscellaneous

Are the children are "worth" saving?

There is a clear dichotomy between rising malnutrition in Pakistan despite falling poverty levels over the years.

Published 06 Mar, 2017 05:50am

Miscellaneous

ECO's energy vision: limitless potential

Last week saw the Economic Cooperation Organisations (ECO) ten member countries approving the Islamabad Declaration and ECO Vision 2025 in its 13th Summit held in the federal capital.

Published 06 Mar, 2017 05:50am

Miscellaneous

"Business in Gwadar has doubled in the last one year"

Ghulam Hussain Dashti is the President of Anjuman Tajran Gwadar, a body that represents small traders in the Gwadar city.

Published 06 Mar, 2017 05:45am

Miscellaneous

Dynamics of m-wallets

Slow and steady, the mobile wallets are catching on.

Published 03 Mar, 2017 05:01am

Miscellaneous

CPI advancing slowly and stealthily

The CPI is crawling up at a snails pace.

Published 03 Mar, 2017 05:01am

Miscellaneous

Freedom under siege

The past year saw wide swept advances by populist and nationalist political forces across the globe with staggering events such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump marking a shift in the existing global political and economic landscape that has bee

Published 03 Mar, 2017 05:01am

Miscellaneous

Karachi will soon be a 'Child Safe' city - Dr. Ahson Rabbani, CEO ChildLife Foundation

The ChildLife story is one of philanthropy, dedication, and simply caring.

Published 03 Mar, 2017 05:01am

Miscellaneous

Packages Limited: Spectacular FY16

Packages Limited (PSX: PKGS) posted its FY16 yesterday which saw a splendid increase in the company's bottomline on the back of decent growth in revenue.

Published 02 Mar, 2017 05:54am

Miscellaneous

One Belt, One Road, One Research

The wheels of CPEC are spinning.

Published 01 Mar, 2017 06:38am

Miscellaneous

Of HBL PSL final and egos

PML-N is in election mode, and understandably so.

Published 28 Feb, 2017 05:53am

Miscellaneous

US protectionism: Pakistan's window of opportunity?

The worlds largest economy is isolating itself as Donald Trump scrapped the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) what was to be Obamas pivot to Asia to keep China in check.

Published 28 Feb, 2017 05:53am

Miscellaneous

Philanthropy and tax evasion

Nobody sleeps hungry in Pakistan; so goes an urban legend based on assumptions of heavy amounts of charity doled out at shrines and other such places.

Published 28 Feb, 2017 05:51am

Miscellaneous

Desperate times

Call for desperate measures.

Published 27 Feb, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Nishat Chunian Power

Nishat Chunian Power Limited (PSX: NCPL) posted its result on Friday for 1HFY17 which showed a decline in the bottomline on the back of low revenues.

Published 27 Feb, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

"Pakistan has become the hub of denim," Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, former advisor to PM on textile

In Pakistan, perhaps few industrialists are more accomplished than Dr.

Published 27 Feb, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

Trade: Reading between the lines

Trade deficit has widened by 29 percent in July to January 2017 compared to this period last year, mainly because exports have not recovered at all, despite some breathing space provided by value-added textile.

Published 24 Feb, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

NPL's weak performance .

Nishat Grouprs IPP, Nishat Power Limited (PSX: NPL) has seen its revenues come down in the last couple of years - from Rs27.

Published 24 Feb, 2017 06:23am

Miscellaneous

NBP: Fantastic profits

In the season of middling banking profits, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) once again stood out, with a healthy 18 percent year-on-year increase in after-tax profits.

Published 24 Feb, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Samba Bank - profits soar

It may well be small, but Samba Bank still managed to post decent profit growth in 2016.

Published 24 Feb, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

'Need more transparency in enforcing regulations' GM Operations, Hashoo Group

Jan Verduyn is the General Manager, Operations, at the Hashoo Group.

Published 24 Feb, 2017 06:22am

Miscellaneous

Nestle Pakistan amidst consumerism

More than a week ago, the worlds largest food and drinks company, Nestle globally announced an organic growth of just 3.

Published 23 Feb, 2017 06:50am

Miscellaneous

SNGPL: Looking up

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (PSX: SNGP) announced its half-yearly result yesterday which showed considerable improvement on the firms bottomline on a year-on-year basis.

Published 23 Feb, 2017 06:47am

Miscellaneous

Regulating on-demand economy

On-demand services such as online retail, cab/ride sharing, short-term lodging, and handyman services can help bring in productivity, innovation, quality, and in the process, new jobs and a degree of allocative efficiency to the economy.

Published 23 Feb, 2017 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Kohat: Becoming a game player

Kohat is one of those mid-tier cement companies that have been slowly moving toward joining the big boys league; and its impressively growing margins speaks volumes.

Published 23 Feb, 2017 06:42am

Miscellaneous

Powering Pioneer

Despite being a small player in the cement industry, Pioneer is not lacking in ambition.

Published 23 Feb, 2017 06:40am

Miscellaneous

The ideological wall

Thinking about moving to the land of opportunities? Sorry, the doors are closing in on that dream.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 04:20am

Miscellaneous

Pakistan Tobacco: On a roll

Hats off to Pakistan Tobacco (PSX: PAKT).

Published 22 Feb, 2017 04:20am

Miscellaneous

Reading the pulse of Chinese FDI in Pakistan

In latest news, the Chinese are looking for nuts in Pakistan; coconuts to be precise.

Updated 22 Dec, 2018 10:36am

Miscellaneous

KAPCO - earnings slip

The financial performance of the countrys largest IPP, Kot Addu Power Company Limited (PSX: KAPCO) took a beating in the second quarter of FY17, which resulted in overall sluggish bottomline for 1HFY17 vis--vis 1HFY16.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 04:19am

Miscellaneous

Bestway: Could be the best way

The cement industry has interesting dynamics.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 04:19am

Miscellaneous

Thinking in DC

Nawaz Sharif hasnt received a telephone call from President Donald Trump yet.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 03:49am

Miscellaneous

HUBC 1HFY17: Lackluster performance

Hub Power Company Limited (PSX: HUBC) announced its 1HFY17 results yesterday which showed lackluster performance for the period.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 03:48am

Miscellaneous

Gnawing circular debt

Even after the controversial repayment back in 2013 when the government took office, circular debt has remained an unbridled threat; and the threat has now blown into a full-fledged debacle as it is back to high levels.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 03:46am

Miscellaneous

NML's 1HFY17

After a promising first quarter, Nishat Mill Limited (PSX: NML) has slightly underwhelmed investors in the second quarter.

Published 22 Feb, 2017 03:44am

Miscellaneous

Steel: Wrongful protection needs correction

After nearly a year of delay, and now that the National Tariff Commission (NTC) is functioning again and has come through for local steel industry by slapping anti-dumping duties on select steel imports, the government should start thinking about letting

Published 19 Feb, 2017 12:59pm

Miscellaneous

ENGRO in CY16

From divestment in in the fertiliser business to Engro Foods acquisition, Engro Corporation Limiteds (PSX: ENGRO) 2016 revolved around significant strategic restructuring in its fertiliser and foods business.

Published 19 Feb, 2017 12:58pm

Miscellaneous

Current account on a slippery path

The current account deficit for January 2017, in dollar terms, is the worst since October 2008.

Published 19 Feb, 2017 12:57pm

Miscellaneous

UBL: Growth story continues

UBL must be doing a few things right.

Published 19 Feb, 2017 12:54pm

Miscellaneous

Changing lives of special need children - Interview with CEO, WonderTree

BR Research recently met Muhammad Waqas, co-founder of technology start-up Wonder Tree.

Published 19 Feb, 2017 12:53pm

Miscellaneous

DGKC: Healthy margins, strong future

DG Khan Cement (PSX: DGKC) showed an 8 percent year-on-year growth in revenues in its half year financial results for FY17.

Published 17 Feb, 2017 05:43am

Miscellaneous

Millat Tractors Limited 1HFY17: Splendid bottomline

And Millat Tractors Limited (PSX: MTL) is back with a bang.

Published 17 Feb, 2017 05:41am

Miscellaneous

Private sector credit booming

Viola! Loans to private sector businesses are growing.

Published 17 Feb, 2017 05:39am

Miscellaneous

Mapleleaf: Meeting expectations

Mapleleaf cement announced its half yearly accounts for FY17 with a 10 percent bump to its net revenues clocking at Rs11.

Published 17 Feb, 2017 05:38am

Miscellaneous

'There is enough liquidity in the market to withstand any negative event' - CEO MCB - Arif Habib Savings & Investments Ltd

BR Research recently met with Muhammad Saqib Saleem who is the Chief Executive Officer of MCB-Arif Habib Savings and Investments Limited.

Published 17 Feb, 2017 05:35am

Miscellaneous

How do business chambers view CPEC?

The stock of research on CPEC is finally growing, but is also stoking the stock of fear.

Published 16 Feb, 2017 05:37am

Miscellaneous

Fauji's fortune, down

Expectedly, Fauji Cements s bottomline dropped by 53 percent in 1HFY17 clocking at Rs1.

Published 16 Feb, 2017 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Slipping fiscal deficit

Slowdown in non-tax revenues coupled with high development expenditure seem to have put a strain on the fiscal accounts.

Published 16 Feb, 2017 05:35am

Miscellaneous

Century Paper and Board Mills Limited

Century Paper and Board Mills Limited (PSX: CEPB ) announced its result yesterday which showed impressive topline growth amounting to an increase in revenue by 11 percent year-on-year.

Published 16 Feb, 2017 05:30am

Miscellaneous

HBL: Balance sheet grows in right direction

Pakistans largest commercial bank, HBL, announced its CY16 financial results yesterday, posting a minor year-on-year dip of 3 percent in after-tax profits.

Published 15 Feb, 2017 05:38am

Miscellaneous

Remittance woes

While CPEC and development under it is largely taken as good news for the country, dipping remittances and receding exports present the not-so-pleasant external account situation.

Published 15 Feb, 2017 05:37am

Miscellaneous

NetSol gathers pace

The Lahore-based software major is back on its feet.

Published 15 Feb, 2017 05:36am

Miscellaneous

Al-Ghazi's outstanding year

The second-largest tractor manufacturer in Pakistan, Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited (PSX: AGTL) has reported stellar annual results.

Published 15 Feb, 2017 05:35am

Miscellaneous

Dj vu for big finance

The Wall Street is back in play.

Published 14 Feb, 2017 10:20am

Miscellaneous

On foreign shareholders' disclosure requirements

The government has gotten the Companies Bill 2016 passed by the National Assembly after its earlier failure of getting it promulgated through a presidential ordinance.

Published 14 Feb, 2017 06:45am

Miscellaneous

The mystery of falling poverty; rising malnutrition

The economy is growing back to its historic path of 5 percent amid low inflation after a tough period.

Published 14 Feb, 2017 06:45am

Miscellaneous

Deja vu for big finance

The Wall Street is back in play.

Published 14 Feb, 2017 06:41am

Miscellaneous

Autos: Saved by the tractor bells

Auto sales are coming close to the peak numbers from last year, driven mostly by the sheer success of commercial vehicles and tractors ,while passenger car sales are still recovering from the steep drop in sales once the taxi-scheme wrapped up last fiscal

Published 14 Feb, 2017 06:40am

Miscellaneous

Kaymu: Under a cloud

More power to Pakistans proliferating, multi-million dollar online marketplace that is said to be growing exponentially.

Published 13 Feb, 2017 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Broker default: where is the regulator?

The KSE-100 has reached 50,000 milestone level, the PSX has been sold to the Chinese and headlines have been made but one issue still remains unresolved; investor trust.

Published 13 Feb, 2017 06:35am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Hopes held high

The cement industry kicked of the new year with a slowdown in dispatches due to heavy rainfall and snow across the country.

Published 13 Feb, 2017 06:34am

Miscellaneous

ABL - balance sheet grows

Balance sheet growth.

Published 13 Feb, 2017 06:33am

Miscellaneous

Euphoric tides

Its all too familiar.

Published 10 Feb, 2017 07:42am

Miscellaneous

On Trump ban and education

Feeding into the ongoing debate over Trumps travel ban, the Brookings Institution recently featured a blog that showed how sealing the border could block one of Americas crucial exports: education.

Published 10 Feb, 2017 07:41am

Miscellaneous

MCB - healthy dividends despite profit dip

Banking profits are on a decline and expectedly so.

Published 10 Feb, 2017 07:41am

Miscellaneous

PRL looking up

Pakistan Refinery Limited (PSX: PRL) recuperated in FY16 where it turned to profits after weak FY15 and FY14.

Published 10 Feb, 2017 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Nandipur Projects: shifting sands

Calling it a fiasco wont be wrong.

Updated 09 Feb, 2017 09:40am

Miscellaneous

PTCL's topline problem

The telecom giant is not quite back on track yet.

Updated 09 Feb, 2017 09:42am

Miscellaneous

Cherat cement: Channeling growth

Cherat cement is slowly finding its footing in the industry and climbing up the ladder as it goes.

Updated 09 Feb, 2017 09:43am

Miscellaneous

Sugarcane's popularity

Earlier this week this column shed light on the area under major crops in Pakistan with an emphasis on wheat (published Monday).

Updated 09 Feb, 2017 09:46am

Miscellaneous

Auto sector: Chasing cars

Nearly a year into the launch of the new auto development policy, things are shaping up.

Published 08 Feb, 2017 06:08am

Miscellaneous

War on cash

Announcing zero duties on digital transactions, the latest Indian budget suggests a continuation of Modi governments cashless push.

Published 08 Feb, 2017 06:05am

Miscellaneous

Mutual Funds: January 2017

The equity market has had a volatile start to the new-year.

Published 08 Feb, 2017 06:04am

Miscellaneous

Engro Polymer's turnaround

After two years of consecutive losses, 2016 has been the turnaround year for Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (PSX: EPCL).

Published 08 Feb, 2017 06:02am

Miscellaneous

The CPEC: the Indian angle

Joining CPEC has become the oft repeated foreign policy mantras by Pakistans civilian leadership.

Published 07 Feb, 2017 07:51am

Miscellaneous

Wind tariff: A welcome move

The tariff methodology in Pakistan is currently undergoing a positive shift towards competitive bidding from the former upfront tariff mechanism.

Published 07 Feb, 2017 07:50am

Miscellaneous

PSO: A bitter sweet 1HFY17

Pakistan State Oil (PSX: PSO) announced its financial performance for the first half of FY17 yesterday, and where the firms earnings took a leap forward, no dividend announcement left a shareholder unhappy as the stock price nosedived.

Published 07 Feb, 2017 07:49am

Miscellaneous

EPQL FY16: A mediocre year

Engro Powergen Qadirpur Limited (EPQL) released it financial result for FY16 yesterday which showed a marginal decline in its bottomline as compared to the previous year.

Published 07 Feb, 2017 07:48am

Miscellaneous

Economic solutions?

Economics is not an absolute science; and there can be multiple interpretation of a country's economic health, especially when it is emerging from a lull period.

Published 06 Feb, 2017 07:47am

Miscellaneous

Will IXPs benefit broadband users?

Pakistans first domestic Internet Exchange Point (IXP) was launched last week with much fanfare in Islamabad.

Published 06 Feb, 2017 07:46am

Miscellaneous

EFOODS - a change of hands amid competiton

Engro Foods Limited (PSX:EFOODS) has emerged to take a leading position among the food companies in the country.

Published 06 Feb, 2017 07:46am

Miscellaneous

Wheat's rising popularity

Last week, the PBIF issued a statement urging the government to reduce the area under wheat cultivation.

Published 06 Feb, 2017 07:45am

Miscellaneous

Amreli: Weak first half

Amreli Steels (PSX: ASTL) announced its half-year accounts ending December 2016 marking a less than encouraging period for the company this fiscal year.

Published 04 Feb, 2017 08:46am

Miscellaneous

Tragedy of commons

Pakistanis tend to find strange solutions to collective problems.

Published 03 Feb, 2017 09:01am

Miscellaneous

Property tax: An illogical outcome

Rising urbanization in Punjab, has led to a large influx of people to Lahore from other parts of the province.

Published 03 Feb, 2017 08:50am

Miscellaneous

Colgate Palmolive on steady growth

Colgate Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (PSX: COLG) is a multinational company operating in consumer goods segments: Oral care, personal care, fabric care, and surface care.

Published 03 Feb, 2017 08:48am

Miscellaneous

Inflation calm for now

The headline inflation is heading south; but the core inflation is moving up, and latter's increased impact is more than offset by low food inflation.

Published 02 Feb, 2017 07:55am

Miscellaneous

Can media protect consumers' interest

The recent packaged milk saga brings to light two oft ignored cracks in Pakistans state-society relationship.

Published 02 Feb, 2017 07:55am

Miscellaneous

Gharibwal: Concrete beginnings

Gharibwal Cement (PSX: GWCL) kicked off the year with lukewarm growth under its belt starting off with a slower first quarter in terms of costs and margins, but 1HFY17 comes with better news.

Published 02 Feb, 2017 07:53am

Miscellaneous

Shakarganj's sweet 1Q

Shakarganj Limited (PSX: SML) has started MY17 on an extraordinary note; for the first quarter ended, the companys topline has more than quadrupled over last year.

Published 02 Feb, 2017 07:52am

Miscellaneous

Careem and Uber: Stopped in their tracks?

The moment of truth is finally here for app-based cab-haling firms operating in Pakistan.

Published 01 Feb, 2017 10:10am

Miscellaneous

FFC: Profits down as margins dip

Once upon a time, Pakistans fertilizer players were considered too big to fail.

Published 01 Feb, 2017 10:09am

Miscellaneous

Pharma exports 1HFY17

Relevant to earlier discussion on drug pricing (See column, Access to medicines) is the issue of falling pharmaceutical exports.

Published 01 Feb, 2017 10:08am

Miscellaneous

MFFL up in 1Q

Mitchells Fruit Farms Limiited (PSX: MFFL) has the privilege to be one of the oldest corporations in Pakistan with an extensive history in the food sector.

Published 01 Feb, 2017 10:08am

Miscellaneous

Does Gwadar need a change in status?

Yesterdays Brief Recording section marked the end of BR Researchs recent series of interviews that put spotlight on Gwadar.

Published 31 Jan, 2017 07:14am

Miscellaneous

PSX: correction with swings

Nerve wrecking volatility is back at the stock market as the benchmark KSE-100 index swivels around the 50,000 points barrier.

Published 31 Jan, 2017 07:13am

Miscellaneous

Honda: Solid prospects

Atlas Honda Limited (PSX: ATLH) wrapped up its third quarter ending December 2016 with a topline of Rs17 billion; which grew by 22 percent year-on-year owing to improved sales numbers this year around.

Updated 08 May, 2018 02:17pm

Miscellaneous

EXIDE: Impressive bottomline growth

Exide Pakistan Limited (PSX: EXIDE) released its 9MFY17 result yesterday, which saw healthy growth in the companys gross profit margins as well as its bottomline.

Published 31 Jan, 2017 07:11am

Miscellaneous

POL 1HFY17: A turnaround in volumes and price

FY17 is likely to turn out better than the previous couple of years for the oil and gas exploration and production companies due to rebound in crude oil prices.

Published 30 Jan, 2017 11:47am

Miscellaneous

Access to medicines

Drug pricing has always been a sensitive topic.

Published 30 Jan, 2017 11:39am

Miscellaneous

APL up on profits

Despite higher than expected earnings growth in 1HFY17, Attock Petroleum Limited (PSX: APL) share prices went down as there was swift selling; the shareholders most probably did not take the Rs15 per share dividend news well.

Published 30 Jan, 2017 11:38am

Miscellaneous

National Refinery looking up

National Refinery Limited (PSX: NRL) posted its 1HCY17 result last Friday which saw a decrease in company revenue by 4 percent and a corresponding fall in cost of sales of 5 percent.

Published 30 Jan, 2017 11:37am

Miscellaneous

Attock Refinery Limited

Attock Refinery Limited (PSX: ATRL) posted its 1HFY17 result last Friday which saw the companys unconsolidated result witnessing significant growth as compared to the corresponding period last year.

Published 30 Jan, 2017 11:08am

Miscellaneous

Danger: Trump walks his talk

Candidate Trump had confounded many a mind.

Published 27 Jan, 2017 09:21am

Miscellaneous

Inclusive Development Index: Devil is in the details

What is inclusive growth? Google it, and you get this: Inclusive growth is a concept that advances equitable opportunities for economic participants during economic growth with benefits incurred by every section of society The focus is primarily on equity

Published 27 Jan, 2017 09:20am

Miscellaneous

Lucky Cement 1HYFY17: solid as ever

Lucky Cement (PSX: LUCK) announced its result for the second quarter of financial year 2017.

Published 27 Jan, 2017 09:20am

Miscellaneous

HCAR: Top of its game

As predicted, Honda Atlas Cars (PSX: HCAR) financial statements have started showing a resounding green after the launch of its new 10th generation, Honda Civic and is outperforming by a wide margin since this time last year.

Published 27 Jan, 2017 09:18am

Miscellaneous

50,000 index: A bubble in the making?

Confidence is the name of the game; and liquidity is the trigger.

Published 26 Jan, 2017 07:56am

Miscellaneous

CPEC's softer side

Earlier this week, this column inquired how Pakistani firms and individuals should prepare for the countrys Chinese future.

Published 26 Jan, 2017 07:52am

Miscellaneous

On PSDP spending

The federal spending on the Rs800 billion public sector development programme (PSDP) has picked pace in last couple of months.

Published 26 Jan, 2017 07:50am

Miscellaneous

Power for Gwadar

The focal point of the much-hyped China Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the port city of Gwadar.

Published 26 Jan, 2017 07:49am

Miscellaneous

Talking trade numbers

Once again, exports offer no reprieve with most export items registering a decline in the first half of FY17.

Published 25 Jan, 2017 10:28am

Miscellaneous

Exciting times for ICI Pakistan Limited

ICI Pakistan Limited (PSX: ICI) has had more than a couple of goodies in its bag lately, keeping its shareholders excited, and its share price beating he benchmark index.

Published 25 Jan, 2017 10:27am

Miscellaneous

JDW's sweet 1Q

For the first quarter ended December 2016, JDW Sugar Mills (PSX: JDWS) performance has been phenomenal.

Published 25 Jan, 2017 06:35am

Miscellaneous

International Steels 2QFY17: Flying high

International Steel Limited (PSX: ISL) announced its result for the second quarter of fiscal year 2017.

Published 25 Jan, 2017 06:34am

Miscellaneous

New firm data: Reading the pulse of economy

Congratulations! Green shoots are visible in the economy.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 07:09am

Miscellaneous

Tractor Exports: Incentives needed

The exports situation of the country is dire to say the least and any contributions that give a boost to waning exports should be welcomed.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 07:07am

Miscellaneous

The feel good factor

Pakistans economy went through a patch of low growth and high inflation era (FY08-14) mired with bleak security situation and energy shortages.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 06:54am

Miscellaneous

Gearing up for CPEC

The Planning Commissions silence over CPECs transparency issue is growing, even as critique by public economists and businesses mounts by the day, and mushrooming anecdotal evidence suggests that a strategic fog is filling up the space.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 06:53am

Miscellaneous

BISP: Reach out the right way

Pakistans flagship social safety net (SSN), the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), has been in the spotlight lately.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 06:53am

Miscellaneous

Textile exports year end

With the export package announced, one may hope that the latter half of fiscal 17 brings some improvement.

Published 24 Jan, 2017 06:52am

Miscellaneous

PSX: steel-ing the show

The third week of January was a volatile one for the investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange with wild swings from the onset.

Published 23 Jan, 2017 07:05am

Miscellaneous

MPCL up in 1HFY17

Mari Petroleum Company Limited (PSX: MPCL) has given a couple of good news recently; it is looking to diversify into power generation, planning a 400MW gas-fired plant in southern Punjab as per media reports.

Published 23 Jan, 2017 07:03am

Miscellaneous

Oops! Current Account slipping again

Increase in current account deficit portends mounting pressure on the balance of payment position, and unfortunately, it is just doing that amid all out efforts to keep the external account beefed up.

Published 20 Jan, 2017 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Human agency

The recently released World Banks policy research report on the politics of development cites some interesting studies done at the intersection of politics and economics in Pakistan.

Published 20 Jan, 2017 07:37am

Miscellaneous

Cement's expansions bonanza

This is potentially cement industrys golden periodor from the looks of it, the sweet beginnings of a golden period.

Published 20 Jan, 2017 07:36am

Miscellaneous

Inequality: An alternative approach?

The debate about rising levels of wealth and income inequality has been at the center stage of election campaigns as well as policy makers and think tanks.

Published 20 Jan, 2017 07:35am

Miscellaneous

PSM: Of ambitious revivals

The government's prime economic focus is to sustain stable external account till the elections.

Updated 09 Nov, 2017 01:52pm

Miscellaneous

Shifting sands overseas

These are not boring times.

Published 19 Jan, 2017 08:36am

Miscellaneous

PPL - positive prospects outweigh negativities

Finally, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PSX: PPL) announced itsFY16 financial performance, and to no ones surprise, the oil and gas exploration and production company posted a decline in earnings for the year bitten largely by low crude oil prices.

Published 19 Jan, 2017 08:35am

Miscellaneous

Textile machinery: A look forward

Continuing our conversation on textile machinery imports (see yesterdays column), todays article looks at some underlying issues that have gone unsaid.

Published 19 Jan, 2017 08:34am

Miscellaneous

Gwadar: Look and feel

Gwadar is happening.

Updated 13 Oct, 2017 10:57am

Miscellaneous

Reviewing cement exports

The cement industry is chugging forward into a bonanza of historic high dispatches, gross margins and profits, in spite of the sharp fall in exports to its key markets such as Afghanistan and South Africa.

Published 18 Jan, 2017 06:57am

Miscellaneous

FDI 1HFY17: A ray of hope?

Fetching foreign direct investment has become arduous for Pakistan, and the slithering numbers month over month are a clear evidence of that.

Published 18 Jan, 2017 06:49am

Miscellaneous

Textile machinery imports: A look back

With the sales tax on textile machinery imports abolished in the export package, one may now hope that the latest technology and BMR activities come to our industry.

Published 18 Jan, 2017 06:46am

Miscellaneous

Charter of CPEC

There is little denying that historians will remember CPEC as one of best things that ever happened to Pakistan, provided of course this country does not deliberately goof up.

Published 17 Jan, 2017 07:38am

Miscellaneous

Of petroleum and fertiliser prices

For the first time in over three years, the government revised petroleum products prices mid of the month.

Published 17 Jan, 2017 07:37am

Miscellaneous

New tariff for Thar coal projects

The upfront Thar coal power tariff will expire on 19 January, 2017 with the regulator deciding against extending it.

Published 17 Jan, 2017 07:36am

Miscellaneous

Gold: What's in store for 2017

Before getting into what the current year holds for gold, lets review gold market in 2016.

Published 17 Jan, 2017 07:36am

Miscellaneous

CPEC: Waiting for Ba Tie Bao

What would really forge the relationship between two countries that already refer to each other as iron brothers (or ba tie in mandarin)? A steel plant! Even better, a massive steel plant in the middle of nowhere! This is where things seem to be headed if

Published 16 Jan, 2017 07:44am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Setting new year resolutions

There was still no reprieve from exports, as the cement industry wrapped up the year 2016 with a drop in total dispatches in Dec from Nov (2.

Published 16 Jan, 2017 07:42am

Miscellaneous

Confusion grips the market

After a surge during the first week of the new year, the benchmark KSE-100 index only went up 0.

Published 16 Jan, 2017 07:41am

Miscellaneous

Oil prices off the hook?

Looking at the graph, it seems that the bad days are over for oil producers and oil and gas investment worldwide.

Published 16 Jan, 2017 07:40am

Miscellaneous

Telcos and taxes

In support of a wider ICT uptake, this column has been a strong proponent for reducing taxes (WHT and FED) on cellular and broadband services.

Published 13 Jan, 2017 08:35am

Miscellaneous

Export package: What's in it for leather?

With so much buzz surrounding textile and the latest package, its easy to forget that it wasnt for textile only; the Rs180 billion package is actually for all five export-oriented sectors: textile, leather, surgical goods, carpets, and sports goods.

Published 13 Jan, 2017 08:28am

Miscellaneous

Competition, a catalyst for growth: Autos

This column has at different points discussed the many virtues of greater competition in the auto sector; one that has long enjoyed protectionnot only from imports with tariffs exceeding 70 percent but also to a great extent from new players entering the

Published 13 Jan, 2017 08:16am

Miscellaneous

Textile package: Garment is the key!

It was long due; finally, the PM's focus is on dwindling exports.

Published 12 Jan, 2017 09:40am

Miscellaneous

Autos: Tepid half-year; but don't despair.

The auto sector wrapped up half year sales with 122,347 units for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and tractors, a 3.

Published 12 Jan, 2017 09:36am

Miscellaneous

Remittances under duress?

Remittances have also joined the worries; along with the already falling exports and declining FDI, the inflows from Pakistanis abroad - that the country has for long relied upon - are have started weakening as well.

Published 12 Jan, 2017 09:33am

Miscellaneous

Cotton imports open!

With the announcement of the export package yesterday now comes duty free import of cotton something that the yarn manufacturers have been demanding for quite some time, particularly in light of another season of low cotton production.

Published 12 Jan, 2017 09:31am

Miscellaneous

Fertilizer subsidies need better targeting

In a surprise move, the federal government withdrew subsidies on urea and DAP fertilizer with immediate effect.

Published 11 Jan, 2017 10:11am

Miscellaneous

CPEC's raison d'etre

The hype, the hopes and expectations from the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is growing by the day.

Updated 23 Feb, 2018 06:47am

Miscellaneous

Opening up power transmission

There have been a couple of important draft guidelines published by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) recently including the those for competitive bidding as well as the concept paper on the rate of return for power sector projects.

Published 11 Jan, 2017 10:10am

Miscellaneous

What does it take to build a brand?

The conversation on exports (at least in this column) has been approached from multiple angles the need for research, innovation, diversification, etc.

Published 11 Jan, 2017 10:09am

Miscellaneous

Going cashless: Can demonetization help?

Smart politicians have a way of framing crisis to their advantage.

Published 10 Jan, 2017 10:03am

Miscellaneous

Targeting electricity subsidies

All the focus these days is on power generation, and somewhat rightly so, for the acute shortage has long been a bane.

Published 10 Jan, 2017 10:02am

Miscellaneous

Innovation and productivity: thinking beyond costs

Thanks to low labour costs, Pakistan is one of the most price competitive T-shirt producers of the South Asian region; yet the country has been facing low export growth for many years.

Updated 17 Apr, 2019 06:55am

Miscellaneous

Energy sector - a few good steps

Globally, the oil and gas sector was marked with OPECs return in 2016, after it let the market forces play with the demand and supply for at least two years; with flagging prices, the cartel surprised many with the first cut in production since 2008.

Published 10 Jan, 2017 10:01am

Miscellaneous

Non-debt inflows: Beaten black and blue

Monetary diplospeak may not always be a good thing.

Published 09 Jan, 2017 10:01am

Miscellaneous

Rewarding dishonesty: do amnesty schemes work?

Pakistani governments are fond of pardoning corrupt behavior, and since 1958, time and again, several amnesty schemes have been introduced repeatedly and unsuccessfully aimed to bring more citizens, businesses, investors and traders into the tax net and i

Published 09 Jan, 2017 09:59am

Miscellaneous

New Year: bulls still in control

After a bumper 2016, the bulls have taken control during the first week of the new-year as well.

Published 09 Jan, 2017 09:59am

Miscellaneous

Dying jute industry

One sub-sector in our textile industry that goes highly unnoticed is jute.

Published 09 Jan, 2017 09:58am

Miscellaneous

Cigs on the run

The central banks annual report has sounded an alarm over exponential growth of duty-evading cigarettes.

Published 06 Jan, 2017 09:17am

Miscellaneous

Negotiating CPEC

A few days before the 6th Joint Cooperation Committee on CPEC was to be held, the government had planned 29 special economic zones (SEZ) aimed at enhancing productive capacity and exports base.

Published 06 Jan, 2017 09:15am

Miscellaneous

Petroleum volumes to take a breather?

Petroleum consumption has increased significantly over the last two years due to lower prices despite the government not passing on the entire impact of lower prices to consumers.

Published 06 Jan, 2017 09:14am

Miscellaneous

Saudi Arabia raise prices, makes cuts

Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering reduction in its crude export sales to its partners, by as much as seven percent, in a n attempt to show the first signs of compliance to the Opec deal.

Published 06 Jan, 2017 09:13am

Miscellaneous

POL udders running dry for FBR

One of the challenges faced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar these days is to keep the balance between sales tax revenues from petroleum products and the prices consumer pay in the days of rising international oil prices.

Published 05 Jan, 2017 10:50am

Miscellaneous

Cement: Price promises!

Cement players had indicated that cement prices would be increased in accordance with coal price increase globally.

Published 05 Jan, 2017 10:49am

Miscellaneous

Retail banking and financial inclusion

The latest annual Payment System Review (the Review) by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows an all-round growth in retail payment infrastructure and transaction-mix during FY16.

Published 05 Jan, 2017 10:48am

Miscellaneous

Mutual funds performance - December 2016

The closing month of 2016 was one of the best performing months for the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Published 05 Jan, 2017 10:48am

Miscellaneous

Decision time: Print notes or cut subsidies

Electricity tariffs should be going down pretty soon.

Published 04 Jan, 2017 09:29am

Miscellaneous

Steel: stealing the spotlight

It isnt just China.

Published 04 Jan, 2017 09:26am

Miscellaneous

Energy sector: The road ahead

Another year is upon us.

Published 04 Jan, 2017 09:25am

Miscellaneous

Allowing sugar exports

Last week, the Commerce Ministry gave sugar mills the green light to export 225,000MT of sugar, but without a subsidy.

Published 04 Jan, 2017 09:24am

Miscellaneous

CPI tamed and in control

The CPI tamed down once again to subside the fears of immediate inflationary pressure.

Published 03 Jan, 2017 11:58am

Miscellaneous

Rethinking, not demonizing imports

The declining exports in Pakistan have been the focus of many conversations lately and for good reason.

Published 03 Jan, 2017 11:56am

Miscellaneous

Innovation: thinking beyond economics

Innovation has not been the hot topic for Pakistani economists; monetary, fiscal and energy affairs have kept them busy since time immemorial.

Published 03 Jan, 2017 11:55am

Miscellaneous

Food processing industry: Thriving yet largely unregulated

Growing consumerism, urbanization, and the middle class in the country have been key drivers for the food processing industry.

Published 03 Jan, 2017 11:54am

Miscellaneous

SBP report and the untold fiscal affairs

The SBP's recently released quarterly report suggests that the economy is moving on its growth trajectory, amid some challenges.

Published 02 Jan, 2017 12:05pm

Miscellaneous

Why capture telecoms?

Looking back, Pakistan might remember December 19 as a dark day in its economic history.

Published 02 Jan, 2017 12:05pm

Miscellaneous

Sino-isation of farming sector

Continuing this columns recent discussion on the need to attract FDI in unconventional sectors, todays piece would focus on the agriculture sector at large.

Published 02 Jan, 2017 12:03pm

Miscellaneous

The regulator's crisis

The announcement of changing the way the power sector regulator works as well its reporting hierarchy has made headlines recently.

Published 02 Jan, 2017 12:01pm

Miscellaneous

Tapping into tourism

Earlier this week, this column highlighted the need to adopt a sectoral and country-wise approach to finding solutions for weak exports and FDI (See BR Research column Forex troubles: Need a closer look, published December 28, 2016).

Published 31 Dec, 2016 12:36pm

Miscellaneous

It's the linkages

Businesses frequently are quick to blame the government for most of their problems; crying foul on their inefficiency and burdens of bureaucracy.

Published 31 Dec, 2016 12:35pm

Miscellaneous

Trump for transactions

Donald J Trump has written a new campaign playbook.

Published 31 Dec, 2016 12:30pm

Miscellaneous

SNGPL- earnings turn green from crimson

As always (at least in the recent couple of years), Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) announced its due annual report and the first quarter performance quite late.

Published 31 Dec, 2016 11:03am

Miscellaneous

Tapping into tourism

Earlier this week, this column highlighted the need to adopt a sectoral and country-wise approach to finding solutions for weak exports and FDI (See BR Research column "Forex troubles: Need a closer look," published December 28, 2016).

Published 31 Dec, 2016 10:14am

Miscellaneous

Inflation surges slowly

The headline inflation for October stood at 4.21 percent - highest since December 2014. On a monthly basis, CPI also inc

Updated 12 Nov, 2016 07:41am

Currency	Rate
USD PKR Interbank Selling / Dec 24	278.53
USD PKR Interbank Buying / Dec 24	278.33
USD to Japanese Yen / Dec 24	157.14
USD to Swiss Franc / Dec 24	0.90
Pound Sterling to USD / Dec 24	1.25
Euro to USD / Dec 24	1.04

Stock	Volume
Germany DAX 30 / Dec 23	19,848.77
S&P 500 / Dec 24	6,040.04
India Sensex / Dec 24	78,472.87
Tokyo Nikkei / Dec 24	38,986.40
Nasdaq / Dec 24	20,031.13
Hang Seng / Dec 24	20,098.29
FTSE 100 / Dec 24	8,136.99
Dow Jones / Dec 24	43,297.03

Item	Value
Crude Oil USD/Barrel / Dec 24	70.10
Karachi Cotton PKR/37.32 KG / Dec 24	17,785
Gold 10 Grams PKR / Dec 24	240,487.70
Gold Spot USD/Ounce / Dec 24	2,616.87
Cotton US¢/pound / Dec 24	68.78
Petrol/Litre / Dec 25	252.10

Stock	Price
Sec. Inv. Bank / Dec 24 Security Investment Bank Limited(SIBL)	5.99 ▲ 1.00 (20.04%)
Next Capital / Dec 24 Next Capital Limited(NEXT)	8.90 ▲ 1.00 (12.66%)
Pak Agro Pack. (GEM) / Dec 24 Pak Agro Packaging Limited (GEM)(GEMPAPL)	9 ▲ 1.00 (12.50%)
Ghani Chem. Ind. / Dec 24 Ghani Chemical Industries Limited(GCIL)	16.13 ▲ 1.47 (10.03%)
Pak Gulf Leasing / Dec 24 Pak-Gulf Leasing Company Limited(PGLC)	14.37 ▲ 1.31 (10.03%)
Popular Islamic / Dec 24 Popular Islamic Modaraba(PIM)	15.58 ▲ 1.42 (10.03%)
Mandviwala / Dec 24 Mandviwala Mauser Plastic Industries(MWMP)	16.59 ▲ 1.51 (10.01%)
Blessed Tex. / Dec 24 Blessed Textiles Limited(BTL)	301.77 ▲ 27.43 (10.00%)
Crescent Cotton / Dec 24 Crescent Cotton Mills Limited(CCM)	55 ▲ 5.00 (10.00%)

Stock	Price
S.G.Power / Dec 24 S.G. Power Limited(SGPL)	10.58 ▼ -1.18 (-10.03%)
Olympia Mills / Dec 24 Olympia Mills Limited(OML)	36 ▼ -4.00 (-10.00%)
J.A.Textile / Dec 24 J.A. Textile Mills Limited(JATM)	33.95 ▼ -3.77 (-9.99%)
Sanghar Sugar / Dec 24 Sanghar Sugar Mills Limited(SANSM)	26.16 ▼ -2.90 (-9.98%)
I.C.C. Ind. / Dec 24 ICC Industries Limited(ICCI)	9.85 ▼ -1.07 (-9.80%)
National Silk / Dec 24 The National Silk & Rayon Mills Limited(NSRM)	50.01 ▼ -5.43 (-9.79%)
Gulshan Sp. / Dec 24 Gulshan Spinning Mills Limited(GSPM)	4.10 ▼ -0.40 (-8.89%)
Crescent Fib. / Dec 24 Crescent Fibres Limited(CFL)	40.16 ▼ -3.81 (-8.66%)
Reliance Ins. / Dec 24 Reliance Insurance Company Limited(RICL)	11.55 ▼ -1.05 (-8.33%)

Stock	Volume
WorldCall Telecom / Dec 24 Worldcall Telecom Limited(WTL)	126,573,463 ▲ 0.05
Fauji Foods Ltd / Dec 24 Fauji Foods Limited(FFL)	66,984,381 ▲ 0.49
Cnergyico PK / Dec 24 Cnergyico PK Limited(CNERGY)	66,471,663 ▼ -0.27
Pak Elektron / Dec 24 Pak Elektron Limited(PAEL)	38,651,653 ▼ -1.53
K-Electric Ltd. / Dec 24 K-Electric Limited(KEL)	36,108,956 ▼ -0.18
Sui South Gas / Dec 24 Sui Southern Gas Company Limited(SSGC)	33,467,532 ▼ -0.50
P.T.C.L. / Dec 24 Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd(PTC)	33,030,118 ▼ -1.31
TRG Pak Ltd / Dec 24 TRG Pakistan Limited(TRG)	29,441,264 ▲ 3.35
Pace (Pak) Ltd. / Dec 24 Pace (Pakistan) Limited(PACE)	28,106,970 ▼ -0.18