Business

Rupee’s clawback against US dollar persists

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Local unit closes at Rs220.65 against dollar.
Rupee gains on expectations of a fresh loan tranche from IMF.
Analysts anticipate rupee will rise further.

KARACHI: October’s best-performing currency continued to gain against the US dollar Tuesday on expectations of a fresh loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local unit gained Rs0.24, or 0.11%, against the greenback in the interbank market, closing at 220.65 compared to Monday’s close of 220.89.

Rupee regained ground following a decline in the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) index in September and on expectations of a fresh loan tranche from the Washington-based lender.

REER index depreciated to 90.9 in September, compared with 94.4 in the previous month, the State Bank of Pakistan reported on Sunday. The REER index shows the rupee might strengthen further in the coming days.

In addition, the expectation that Pakistan would meet its obligations to pay off its foreign debt on schedule contributed to a surge in the price of Pakistani sovereign bonds, which helped buoy sentiments regarding the local unit.

Analysts anticipate that the rupee will rise further as soon as World Bank inflows begin coming in as well. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Beijing to hold talks on the rollover of Chinese loans, which now total $26.7 billion and include public and publicly guaranteed debt.

From Asia’s worst to best-performing currency

The Pakistani rupee had one of the strongest performances in Asia in October, rising by 3.3% against the dollar.

The Pakistani currency was closely followed by the Singapore dollar which appreciated by 1.38%, the Philippine peso (1.15%), and South Korean won (0.46%).

The rupee had a successful month. In October, the rupee value increased by 3.3%, said Topline Securities, which cited statistics from Bloomberg. The rupee was one of the best-performing currencies in Asia, it added.

After hitting historic lows in value in both July and August, the rupee suddenly began to appreciate in the final week of September. It started appreciating following the start of Ishaq Dar’s fourth term as Pakistan’s finance minister.

However, the local unit was under pressure on account of the political unrest brought on by the start of the PTI-long march towards Islamabad.

The rupee was able to gain ground thanks to Dar’s recent warning to speculators about currency manipulation and the decline of the REER.

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.