Business

Dollar depreciates further against rupee, loses Rs2.19 in interbank

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Dollar loses further in interbank market.
Market boosted after Ishaq Dar’s statement about dollar’s value.
SBP says action would be taken against banks involved in creating volatility.

The Pakistani rupee continued to gain ground against the dollar Thursday — the 10th consecutive session — and appreciated by 2.19 in the interbank market at the start of the intraday trade.

The greenback was being traded at Rs221.75 after losing 2.19 as the market opened today. It closed at 223.94 per dollar a day prior.

The market observers are of the view that the dollar declined on hopes of inflows, upbeat trade data, and bets that the new finance minister would be able to tame the US currency effectively.

“In my view, recent encouraging trade balance data, hopes from multilateral institutions of additional inflows supported the rupee,” said Samiullah Tariq, the head of research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company.

“The 215-220 per dollar seems a good level,” he added.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s statement “the actual value of the rupee was less than 200 and it would be brought down, as it was currently undervalued” further bolstered the currency as the dollar sales by the exporters continued to underpin sentiment and improve supplies in the market, according to a The News report.

Meanwhile, the governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance that action would be taken against banks and forex exchange companies involved in creating volatility in the exchange rate upon the finalisation of the inquiry.

The committee wanted to know the names of the eight banks that were allegedly involved in speculation for making money and there was a considerable difference in dollar rate in the interbank and exchange companies rate.

The committee directed the SBP to take appropriate action against all the banks and exchange companies allegedly firing up exchange rate volatility.

The committee also asked the SBP to take exemplary action against banks and exchange companies involved in speculations to make a profit so that no one could dare to play with the economy of the country in the future.

Business

China Contributes 43 New Foreign Firms to the 6% Growth in SECP Registrations

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has registered 2,617 new firms this year, a 6% increase from 2023, with assistance from the Special Investment Facilitation Council. This increases the overall number of businesses that are registered to 231,111.

Non-profits, trade associations, and public unlisted firms make up 4% of these, while private limited corporations make up 55% and single-member companies 41%. It is noteworthy that 99.8% of the registrations were done online, demonstrating SECP’s attempts to digitise.

Real estate has 237 new businesses, services has 306, and trade has 377 new businesses. These are the main sectors exhibiting growth. While the healthcare and textile industries each had 49 new businesses, the education sector saw 101.

China contributed the most, adding 43 new companies, out of the 61 new companies that were registered as a result of foreign investment.

These recently registered businesses are anticipated to decrease imports, increase domestic production, and contribute to closing the trade deficit.

Business

PSX reaches an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index surpasses 86,000 points.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has achieved a significant milestone, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index has attained an unprecedented peak.

On Tuesday at midday, the index ascended by 788 points, attaining a record high of 86,846 points. Following the ratification of the constitutional amendments, the stock market has increased by 1500 points over a span of two days.

Earlier today, the KSE-100 Index increased by 683 points, attaining a value of 86,741 points, before concluding at this new apex.

The bullish trend was apparent from the commencement of the trading session, with the index rising an additional 555 points to reach 86,612 points throughout the day. The reinstatement of the 86,500-point threshold signifies robust market performance.

Business

In three months, Pakistan’s IT exports increased by 33.54 percent.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

During the first three months of FY 2024-25 (July to September), Pakistan’s IT export remittances hit US$ 876 million, a notable 33.54 percent rise from US$ 656 million during the same period previous year (FY 2023-24).

In a statement, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the amount of money sent home by the export of ICT services was US$ 292 million in September 2024, a 41.7% increase from US$ 206 million in the same month the previous year.

She stated that efforts to make it easier for businesses to conduct business in the nation are the reason why IT exports are rising and that actions are being taken to increase them.

In response to the Prime Minister’s directions, Shaza Fatima stated that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the IT industry are dedicated to boosting IT exports with the full assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

A trade surplus of US$ 764 million was recorded by the IT & ITeS sector in the first three months of FY 2024–25, accounting for 87.21 percent of all ICT export remittances.

Over the same period last year, this surplus represents a 36.67 percent gain over US$ 559 million. The services industry as a whole, however, experienced a trade deficit of US$ 699 million during this period.

The largest of all service sectors, ICT export remittances from July to September 2024, were US$ 656 million, followed by “other business services” at US$ 374 million.