Business

Rupee continues downward spiral for third straight session

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

The Pakistani rupee continues to fall for the third session in a row in the interbank trade today.
The local currency eased by Re0.22 or 0.10% versus the dollar to close at 221.91 compared to Monday’s close of 221.69.
“Rising dollar demand, foreign funding drought and political ferment weighed on the rupee,” says a currency dealer.

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee maintained its downward trend against the US dollar for the third consecutive session in the interbank market on Tuesday.

The local unit eased by Re0.22 or 0.10% versus the dollar to close at 221.91 compared to Monday’s close of 221.69, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed.

Traders pinned this downtrend to lean foreign exchange reserves amid rising imports, while the decline was also attributed to an increase in demand for the greenback from importers.

“Rising dollar demand, foreign funding drought, increase in country’s default risk, and political ferment weighed on the rupee,” said a currency dealer.

Moreover, the postponement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan and the rescheduling of talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Islamabad for the completion of the ninth review of the IMF’s bailout package hurt investor sentiment.

Dealers expect the rupee to remain range-bound in the coming sessions, depending on the demand and supply of the dollars in the market.

As of November 4, the forex reserves held by the SBP fell by $956 million.

As a result, reserves held by the central bank have fallen to as low as $7.9 billion, enough to cover less than six weeks of imports. The reserves declined on external debt servicing, according to the SBP.

Remittances from abroad dropped by 8.6% to $9.9 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year. In October, the cash transfers fell to $2.2 billion, a 15.7% decrease from a year earlier. In October, remittances have fallen by 9.1% month-on-month.

Business

Islamic Sukuk Bonds: Government Is Expected To Begin Bond Auction Next Week

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

There is now more positive economic news for the people of Pakistan. The government is anticipated to begin the Sukuk Islamic Bond auction next week, after the central bank’s announcement of a large drop in the policy rate.

Business

SIFC Encourages Green Tourism: Reforming Visas to Increase Investment

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Enhancing investment in the tourism sector, Green Tourism Pakistan’s initiative has received backing from the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Visa-On-Arrival for 126 countries, Visa-Free Entry for Gulf Cooperation Council nations, and 24-hour expedited visa processing are some of the main features of the Green Tourism Visa Policy.

It is anticipated that these endeavors will draw in about 80 million dollars in foreign direct investment and 8.3 billion rupees in domestic investment.

Green Tourism Private Limited has introduced hunting resorts in Naltar, Hunza, and Skardu, along with four- and five-star city hotels, to improve the tourism experience.

In the first phase of the project, 17 of the 78 areas have seen the start of development activity.

Approved is a central authority for Green Tourism that will supervise the growth of Air Operations.

To promote Religious Tourism, extra precautions have been taken to guarantee the security of visitors from all religions, including Sikhs and Buddhists.

Furthermore, in order to improve the quality of the tourist experience, the green guide quality program has been introduced to supply top-notch tour guides.

There is now a deluxe bus excursion from Islamabad to Peshawar that promotes local culture.

Business

July 2024 export data from Pakistan shows a significant rise.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

The Strategic Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been instrumental in improving Pakistani products’ access to international markets, as seen by the significant surge in exports from the country at the start of the 2024–25 fiscal year.

With a 7.26% rise over the same month the previous year, July 2024 exports to the US were $476.017 million. After increasing by 7.74% annually, the United Arab Emirates emerged as the second-largest export destination.

The third and fourth places were occupied by exports to the UK ($183.303 million) and China ($60.100 million). A substantial increase in exports to Afghanistan was recorded in July of this year, rising from $46.262 million to $88.065 million, largely due to successful anti-smuggling efforts.

With a combined export volume of $553.951 million, more important export destinations included Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

A bright future for the national economy is suggested by the growing confidence major international markets have in Pakistani exports. Through the efforts of SIFC and the government, this greater access to global markets has been made possible.

Pakistan’s economy is predicted to remain stable as a result of the export growth that SIFC has enabled.