610 stories · Page 16 of 21
Pakistan's Zuma Resources has signed a global telecommunications deal with US-based Telna, signalling the company's formal entry into the eSIM market. The agreement positions Zuma Resources to distribute and leverage Telna's eSIM infrastructure, enabling connectivity services across international markets with Pakistan as a base for regional expansion.
Sales of motorcycles and three-wheelers in Pakistan rose by 30.87 percent over the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association, pointing to robust consumer demand in the two- and three-wheeler segment. The growth reflects a combination of factors including rising affordability of smaller vehicles relative to cars, increased demand from delivery and logistics sectors, and financing availability for lower-income consumers.
Attock Refinery Limited has confirmed that its main processing unit has resumed operations following a period of shutdown, restoring the facility's refining capacity and signalling a return to normal production output at one of Pakistan's significant petroleum refining installations. Attock Refinery, listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange and majority-owned by the Attock Group, processes crude oil into a range of petroleum products including motor spirit, high-speed diesel, jet fuel, and furnace oil.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Monday mounted a sharp political attack on the ruling coalition, accusing the government of presiding over what it described as an unprecedented economic crisis while publicly projecting stability and recovery. The opposition party dismissed official claims of macroeconomic improvement as disconnected from the ground realities facing ordinary citizens, pointing to persistent inflation, high energy costs, and stagnant industrial output as evidence of systemic mismanagement.
India's electricity generation has surged to its highest level in two years, driven by an intense and sustained heat wave that has pushed cooling demand across the country to exceptional levels. The spike in power output reflects both the severity of the ongoing heat event and the expanded generation capacity India has commissioned over the past two years, including significant additions in thermal and renewable energy segments.
Despite Pakistan's economy signalling growing demand for skilled workers across multiple sectors, university graduates continue to face significant barriers to employment, pointing to a structural misalignment between academic output and market requirements. The paradox of a skills-hungry economy producing unemployed graduates has become one of the country's most pressing labour market challenges.
A Pakistani delegation has attended an investment summit in the United States with the stated objective of expanding the country's global economic footprint and attracting foreign capital into key sectors. The participation signals Islamabad's continued effort to position Pakistan as an investment destination amid ongoing economic stabilisation measures.
FIFA is facing a deepening broadcast rights crisis ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with India's Reliance reportedly offering only $20 million for broadcasting rights while China has yet to announce any deal, leaving two of the world's largest television markets without confirmed coverage agreements. The figures represent a significant gap between FIFA's valuation of broadcast rights in Asia's two most populous markets and the offers currently on the table.
The Competition Commission of Pakistan has formally approved the acquisition of shares in Rafhan Maize Products Company by the Nishat Group, clearing one of the more closely watched corporate transactions in the country's food and agro-processing sector. Rafhan Maize, a publicly listed company and a leading manufacturer of corn-based products including glucose, starch, and animal feed ingredients, has long been regarded as a strategically valuable industrial asset.
The United Arab Emirates' energy minister has argued that the country is obligated to its investors to produce oil without output restrictions, signalling the Gulf state's continued resistance to deeper OPEC+ production curbs. The statement reflects growing tension within the OPEC+ alliance, where some members have pushed for extended supply cuts to stabilise global crude prices amid demand uncertainty.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a notable recovery on Monday, gaining approximately 900 points as bullish momentum returned following recent volatility. The rebound reflects renewed investor confidence, with buying pressure concentrated across heavyweight index constituents in the energy, banking, and cement sectors.
Gold prices edged lower on Monday as markets balanced persistent inflation concerns against partial optimism stemming from diplomatic signals around US-Iran nuclear talks, creating a complex and directionally uncertain environment for safe-haven assets. The precious metal had previously benefited from elevated geopolitical risk premiums linked to Gulf tensions and stubborn global inflation readings.
Indian financial markets face heightened volatility as the rupee and domestic bond yields remain exposed to elevated oil price risks stemming from the protracted US-Iran standoff, with analysts warning that any further escalation in the Gulf could materially worsen India's external account position. India is one of the world's largest crude oil importers, making its currency and sovereign debt markets acutely sensitive to oil price movements.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark KSE-100 index opened the trading week on a positive note Monday, advancing approximately two percent in early session activity. The upward movement reflects renewed investor confidence at the start of the week, though market analysts caution that early session gains do not always sustain through the full trading day.
A major editorial analysis published Monday argues that Pakistan's multiple ongoing crises are not isolated phenomena but are deeply interlinked, each amplifying the severity of the others in ways that conventional single-issue policy responses cannot adequately address. The piece draws connections between fiscal stress, energy sector dysfunction, institutional erosion, and political instability, arguing that treating these as separate policy files produces circular outcomes.
A newly published commentary argues that Pakistan stands at a critical inflection point in its relationship with artificial intelligence, warning that the country risks falling irreversibly behind if it fails to mount a coherent national response to the AI transition now reshaping global economies. The piece identifies a structural readiness gap spanning three interconnected dimensions: inadequate digital infrastructure in public institutions, a workforce not equipped with AI-relevant technical and analytical skills, and the absence of a binding national AI policy framework with enforcement teeth.
The Federal Investigation Agency's latest move targeting cotton traders has drawn sharp and widespread criticism from within Pakistan's textile and agriculture sectors, according to the weekly cotton review. Industry stakeholders have expressed alarm that investigative actions against market participants are disrupting commercial activity and creating a climate of uncertainty at a critical point in the cotton trading cycle.
The National Tariff Commission has issued a warning against dumping and unfair competition in global trade, urging Pakistani industries to utilise available trade defence instruments and calling on the government to enforce anti-dumping measures more rigorously against imports sold below fair market value. Dumping, which involves exporting goods at prices below their production cost or home market price, is particularly harmful to domestic manufacturing sectors such as steel, textiles, chemicals, and plastics, which compete against heavily subsidised foreign producers in markets with significant overcapacity.
Analysts and policy commentators have raised pointed questions about the objectivity of the IMF's Global Competitiveness and Development Assessment, alleging that the framework is structurally biased against developing economies such as Pakistan and disproportionately rewards institutional configurations more prevalent in advanced Western economies. Critics argue that the GCDA's methodology embeds assumptions about governance, regulatory architecture, and financial market depth that systematically disadvantage lower-income countries, effectively penalising them for development gaps rather than measuring their actual reform progress.
Pakistan exported over 486,343 metric tons of fruits valued at $260.63 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, according to official trade data released on Sunday, underscoring the agricultural sector's growing contribution to the country's export earnings. The figures reflect rising demand for Pakistani produce in key export markets across the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Europe.
Gulf stock markets closed higher on Sunday, benefiting from regional investor appetite and positive sectoral momentum, though gains remained constrained as uncertainty surrounding the United States-Iran standoff continued to weigh on trader confidence across the region. Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, the UAE's ADX, and Qatar's exchange all posted modest advances, with energy and banking stocks leading the upside.
The outgoing Vice President of the European Central Bank has publicly argued that Spain should be allocated a new seat on the ECB's governing board, a call that injects a note of institutional politics into eurozone governance debates as leadership transitions unfold at the Frankfurt-based institution. The remarks carry added weight given the official's departing status, suggesting a deliberate effort to shape institutional discourse before exiting the role.
The Balochistan government has initiated a formal review of mineral royalty structures as part of a broader push to develop the province's substantial but underleveraged mining sector. The review aims to recalibrate rates that have long been cited by industry stakeholders as a barrier to large-scale investment in Balochistan's mineral-rich terrain.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a review meeting on Tuesday to assess the implementation progress of the government's fuel conservation and austerity measures, signalling continued official focus on curtailing state expenditure amid fiscal consolidation pressures. The meeting is part of a broader government effort to enforce the austerity framework that was announced in response to fiscal tightening requirements under the IMF programme.
Germany's birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1946, according to the latest official statistical data, deepening concerns about the country's long-term demographic trajectory and its implications for labour supply, pension sustainability, and social welfare systems. The data marks a post-war low not seen in eight decades.
Germany has prepared draft legislation to introduce a sugar tax on sweetened beverages and food products, joining a growing number of European nations that have adopted fiscal measures to reduce sugar consumption and address related public health burdens. The bill, if enacted, would impose levies calibrated to the sugar content of targeted products.
SpaceX has formally tied its chief executive Elon Musk's compensation package to the company's ambitious goal of colonising Mars, according to a draft arrangement reviewed by industry observers. The structure represents an unusually direct alignment between executive pay and a specific interplanetary objective, departing from conventional metrics such as revenue, profitability, or market capitalisation.
Pakistan's retail sector is bearing the brunt of mandatory early closure regulations, with traders and industry bodies reporting sharp declines in daily sales volumes as the policy continues to restrict operating hours across commercial markets nationwide. The closures, introduced as part of energy conservation measures, have effectively truncated peak evening trading hours — the period during which a significant share of retail transactions historically occur.
Service Long March Tyres, a joint venture in Pakistan's tyre manufacturing sector, is advancing its Rs7.8 billion initial public offering with book-building scheduled for May. The IPO represents one of the larger industrial listings expected on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the current calendar year.
China has extended its fuel export control regime into May, even as sources indicate that outbound petroleum product shipments are expected to rise modestly compared to recent months. The continuation of the policy reflects Beijing's intent to prioritise domestic energy supply while carefully calibrating export volumes to avoid destabilising global markets.