Business

Pakistan and the United States finalized a trade agreement aimed at boosting bilateral trade, expanding market access, attracting investment and fostering cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The breakthrough was reached during a meeting Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative…

A high-level meeting on insulin imports and joint ventures with Russia was held in Islamabad today with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan in the chair. The meeting was attended by Mr. Denis Nazarov, Representative of the Russian Government, senior officials from the Ministry of Industries and…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed Pakistan’s keen interest in deepening collaboration with the World Economic Forum, particularly in the areas of economic development, gender inclusion, vocational training, and digitization. He was talking to Managing Director and Board Member of the World Economic Forum Saadia Zahidi, who called on him…

Over the past two years, the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) function of Pakistan Customs has emerged as a leading enforcement arm—delivering unprecedented results in revenue recovery, fraud detection, anti-money laundering and policy reform. Once a relatively under-recognized component of the customs machinery, PCA gained national prominence through its data-driven operations…

Pakistan recorded an overall increase of four point seven percent in foreign direct investment in the last fiscal year due to the efforts of Special Investment Facilitation Council. Among the leading foreign investors were China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Türkiye. China topped the list of foreign investors with…

Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has expressed a strong desire to enhance trade relations with Kyrgyzstan. Speaking on the occasion of Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan Inter-Governmental Commission in Islamabad on Monday, he said that elevating bilateral trade to one hundred million dollars will require consistent and collaborative efforts across multiple…

Special Investment Facilitation Council’s support has paved the way for investment in Pakistan’s minerals sector. Australia is focusing on joint ventures in Pakistan’s mineral resources, particularly in the Reko Diq project. Both countries have agreed to enhance economic cooperation in the areas of energy, minerals and water resource management. Australia…

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed provincial governments including that of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to fully cooperate with federal government for digitization and cashless economy. Chairing a weekly review meeting on cashless and digital economy in Islamabad on Monday, he said the federal government’s digitization transformation…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to continue the Workers’ Remittances Incentive Scheme to facilitate the remittance of overseas Pakistanis to Pakistan. In a statement, the Prime Minster said that the hard-earned remittances of overseas Pakistanis play an important role in the development of Pakistan. The Prime Minister directed the…

With the July 30th MPC meeting approaching, Pakistan’s 11% policy rate against 3.2% inflation creates a punitive 7.8% real interest rate—nearly double India’s 3.4% and over five times China’s 1.4% Pakistani businesses pay double regional financing costs while facing electricity at 12-14 cents/kWh versus 5-9 cents regionally. Meanwhile, unemployment sits…

Pakistan is witnessing a notable rise in foreign investment and local manufacturing of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles due to the support of Special Investment Facilitation Council. According to Reuters, Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD will start electric vehicle assembly in Pakistan from next year. Pakistan’s electric vehicle market is…

Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, has urged international stakeholders to explore partnerships in Pakistan’s rapidly evolving health landscape. Representing Pakistan at the Global Health Forum in Beijing, he said Pakistan presents immense opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and investment. The Minister invited global partners to explore investment avenues, emphasizing Pakistan’s…

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has approved the development of a modern and world-class digital ecosystem in FBR. Chairing a meeting to review progress on FBR reforms in Islamabad today, he directed the engagement of globally renowned experts for this purpose. He instructed that all data from the production and…

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the GSP Plus scheme, which was proved mutually beneficial for both Pakistan and the European Union. He expressed the resolve while talking to Ambassador of the European Union, Riina Kionka, who paid a farewell call on the Prime Minister…

President Asif Ali Zardari has invited Saudi investors to explore investment opportunities in various sectors of the Pakistani economy. He was talking to Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, who called on him in Islamabad on Friday. The President noted that both countries share common views on regional and international…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said the government is pursuing the agenda of digitizing the economy, rightsizing of public institutions and merit-based appointment of experts in public sector organizations. He was chairing a meeting on the progress of the Public-Private Partnership Authority regarding the appointment of technical experts in federal…

Pakistan and Egypt have decided to further expand bilateral trade. This was decided in a meeting between Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan and Egyptian Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Ihab Mohamed Abdelhamid Hassan, in Islamabad. The discussions highlighted the untapped potential between the two countries.…

There has been a significant progress in Pakistan-UAE cooperation due to effective policies of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). According to State Bank of Pakistan, bilateral trade between the two countries rose by 20.24 percent, reaching 10.1 billion dollars. The 12th session of Pakistan-UAE Joint Ministerial Commission was recently held…

Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), one of Pakistan’s leading Islamic banks, has taken a groundbreaking step toward digital transformation in Islamic finance. In collaboration with fintech innovator Fauree, FBL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and deploy a comprehensive Islamic Digital Supply Chain Finance (SCF) and Agri-Digitization ecosystem.…

Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain has urged all stakeholders to cooperate fully with the government to ensure smooth supply and fair pricing of sugar across the country. He was speaking while chairing a high-level meeting with representatives of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association and other…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said improving tax system to increase national revenue and reduce tax burden on the common man is among the government’s top priorities. Chairing a meeting regarding FBR reforms in Islamabad, he said digitization of the FBR has helped in achieving targets. He said improvement in…