Business

Rupee further strengthens against dollar despite flood losses

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

The Pakistani rupee continued to strengthen against the dollar in the interbank on Thursday despite the flood emergency triggering economic and humanitarian losess in the country.

The dollar shed Rs1.5 and was trading at Rs217.25 in the interbank market during intraday trade as of 10:10am.

The unit has lost Rs4.67 during the last three sessions since the International Monetary Fund bailed Pakistan out from the risk of slipping into default.

Early estimates put the damage from the floods at more than $10 billion, government officials have said, adding that the world had an obligation to help the South Asian country cope with the effects of man-made climate change.

The major reason for the rupee’s uptrend was due to the deposit of much needed $1.16 billion from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF)

“Today, SBP has received proceeds of USD 1.16 billion (equivalent of SDR 894 million) after the IMF Executive Board completed the combined seventh and Eight reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan,” wrote the bank.

The bank said that the funds will improve the SBP’s foreign exchange reserves.

“[It] will also facilitate realisation of other planned inflows from multilateral and bilateral sources,” read the statement.

With the revival of the IMF programme, Pakistan is expected to receive funds from multilateral and bilateral organisations, apart from friendly countries.

Economist and former adviser to the federal ministry of finance Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb said that the IMF programme resumption would certainly help build Pakistan’s depleting foreign exchange reserves, but the flood devastation has increased the country’s foreign financing needs.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

1 hour ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

1 hour ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

1 hour ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.