KARACHI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $1 billion loan in immediate budget support to Pakistan to shore up the country’s public finances and help strengthen a slowing economy, the ADB announced on Friday.
The quick dispersing Special Policy-Based Loan is part of a comprehensive multi-donor economic reform program led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stabilize Pakistan’s economy after a major deterioration in its fiscal and financial position in mid-2018 caused growth to slump and threatened progress in alleviating poverty.
The Asian lender, in June this year, had announced to extend a loan of $3.4 billion to Pakistan for budgetary support to help with reforms and stabilization of the economy, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh had informed in mid of June 2019.
Pakistan was expecting $2.2 billion to be released this fiscal year FY 2019-20 to build up the country’s reserve position and the external account.
ADB’s financing was approved after the government implemented a series of IMF-supported reforms and actions to improve its current account deficit, strengthen its revenue base, and protect the poor against the social impact of the economic crisis.
“ADB is committed to providing wide-ranging support to strengthen Pakistan’s economy and reduce the risk of external economic shocks,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Mr. Werner Liepach, in a statement issued from Manila, Philippines. “These funds will meet the government’s emergency financing needs to prevent significant adverse social and economic impacts and lay the foundations for a return to balanced growth.”
Pakistan is facing significant economic challenges on the back of a large balance of payments gap and critically low foreign exchange reserves together with weak and unbalanced growth. While the country’s economy has a history of boom and bust economic cycles, it reached a tipping point in 2018 after foreign investment shrank sharply in an uncertain political and global economic environment and the ongoing poor performance of state-owned enterprises caused public debt to reach unsustainable levels, the statement added.
In July, the IMF approved a three-year $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to finance the government’s economic reform program that aims to put Pakistan’s economy on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth. The EFF is expected to catalyze at least $38 billion in financing from Pakistan’s development partners.
ADB has committed to provide a total of $2.1 billion in policy-based lending during fiscal year 2019–2020 to support the reform program, according to the statement.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion.
ADB Approves $1 billion in emergency budget support to Pakistan
ADB Approves $1 billion in emergency budget support to Pakistan
- Pakistan expected to get $3.4 billion in budget support during Fiscal Year FY 20
- IMF bailout program is expected to catalyze at least $38 billion financing from Pakistan’s development partners
Pakistan, UAE logistics firm finalize freight corridor project
- Project will run 50 km from Karachi Port in Pakistan’s most populous city to the Pipri marshalling yard
- Aim is to decongest Karachi, improve road safety, increase efficiency, reduce transport times and costs
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials and Dubai-based logistics giant DP World have finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling yard in southern Pakistan, state media reported on Monday.
The Karachi Freight Corridor is an infrastructure project in Pakistan aimed at improving the movement of freight from the port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest, to various parts of the country. The project involves the construction of a dedicated double-track corridor and other related facilities that will run 50 km from Karachi port to the Pipri Marshalling yard.
“A high-level delegation of Dubai-based logistics firm DP World led by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem visited Pakistan through the SIFC [Special Investment Facilitation Council] platform to finalize various commercial aspects of the freight corridor project from Karachi Port to Pipri,” state news channel PTV said.
“A mutually agreed-upon term sheet was signed between DP World and the relevant parties for the project’s implementation.
“This project will reduce the movement of freight vehicles in the Karachi metropolis through improved railway Infrastructure, aimed at advancing freight services within the country in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner.”
Pakistan and the UAE last year signed two inter-governmental framework agreements to establish a dedicated rail freight corridor and economic zone near Karachi.
The agreements cover plans for over $3 billion investments in railways, economic zones and infrastructure. DP World will act on behalf of Dubai, while the Pakistan Railways and Port Qasim Authority will act on behalf of Pakistan.
The aim is to decongest Karachi, improve road safety, increase efficiency and reduce transport times and costs.
A second framework agreement covers dredging of the navigation channel and the development of an economic zone at Port Qasim.
Pakistan sees the signing of the investment framework agreements as a step toward the South Asian nation becoming a gateway to Asia and reaping the commercial dividends associated with its strategic location.
Last month, Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation (NLC) and DP World said they would begin a shipping service between Karachi and Dubai from January.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia sign Hajj 2025 agreement in Jeddah
- As per agreement, 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj pilgrimage this year
- Pakistan’s religion minister is in Kingdom to attend four-day Hajj conference
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed the Hajj agreement 2025, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s religion ministry said on Monday, according to which 179,210 pilgrims from the South Asian country would be able to perform the annual pilgrimage this year.
The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umra Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabi’ah in Jeddah. Hussain arrived in the Kingdom on Sunday for a three-day visit to attend the Global Hajj and Umrah Conference and Expo in Jeddah.
“As per the agreement, 179,210 Pakistanis will perform the Hajj this year,” the religious affairs ministry’s spokesperson said, according to Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID). “It has been agreed to provide Pakistani Hajj pilgrims the best possible facilities.”
The spokesperson said Pakistani Hajj pilgrims will be provided a special place in Mina where the rates will be low, the spokesperson said.
“A shortened Hajj program of 20 to 25 days has been introduced to make the Hajj journey more accessible, easy and comfortable,” he said, adding that pilgrims will have the option to spend four to eight days in Madinah during the Hajj.
He said every Pakistani pilgrim will receive a specially designed bag containing the Pakistani flag, QR code for identification and information relevant to the Hajj.
The spokesperson said Hussain will participate in the four-day Hajj conference, adding that more agreements will also be signed with institutions and companies responsible for providing facilities to pilgrims.
Pakistan’s quota of 179,210 Hajj pilgrims for Pakistan in 2025 will be divided equally between government and private schemes.
For the first time, Pakistan’s Hajj policy allowed pilgrims last year to make payments in installments. Under this scheme, the first installment of Rs 200,000 ($717) had to be submitted with the application, the second installment of Rs 400,000 ($1,435) within 10 days of balloting and the remaining amount by Feb. 10 this year.
The Pakistani religious affairs ministry has also launched the Pak Hajj 2025 mobile application, available for both Android and iPhone users, to guide pilgrims. Additionally, the government announced a reduction in airfare, lowering ticket prices for federal program pilgrims to Rs 220,000 [$785.41], down from last year’s Rs 234,000 [$835.39].
Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, and private carriers have agreed to transport pilgrims this year.
Rescuers in Pakistan recover bodies of 11 workers killed in coal mine blast
- Miners died last week after a methane gas explosion caused a coal mine to collapse in Balochistan province
- Safety standards are commonly ignored in coal mining industry in Pakistan, leading to accidents and explosions
ISLAMABAD: Rescuers recovered the bodies of 11 coal miners who died last week after a methane gas explosion caused a coal mine to collapse in southwestern Pakistan, officials said Monday.
An operation is still underway to find a 12th worker who has been missing since Thursday when the mine collapsed in Singidi city in Balochistan province, said Abdul Ghani, a mines inspector.
Two more coal miners were killed on Sunday when another mine collapsed in Harnai, a district in Balochistan, he said.
Safety standards are commonly ignored in the coal mining industry in Pakistan, leading to accidents and explosions that kill dozens of mine workers every year. Miners often complain that owners fail to install safety equipment.
Last week, Pakistani security forces also rescued at least eight of 16 mine workers who had been kidnapped by local militants in the restive northwest, and an operation is still underway to rescue the remaining miners.
Pakistan’s finance minister to take part in two-day Asian Financial Forum summit today
- AFF brings together influential leaders from government, finance and business communities globally for economic discussions
- Muhammad Aurangzeb to meet Chinese and foreign officials, financial sector experts, professionals and investors during summit
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will take part in the two-day Asian Financial Forum (AFF) summit today, Monday, in Hong Kong where he is expected to meet top business officials and financial sector analysts as Pakistan navigates a tricky path to economic recovery.
The AFF is the region’s premier platform that brings together influential leaders from government, finance, and business communities globally for ground-breaking discussions and exchange of insights on the global economy from an Asian perspective.
Pakistan’s state media reported on Sunday that the finance minister will meet Chinese and foreign officials, financial sector experts, professionals, investors and top businessmen during the summit. These include the heads of China International Capital Corporation Limited, China New Energy Sky Rail Limited and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
“The #AsianFinancialForum has officially commenced! In two days’ time, we’ll explore the theme “Power the Next Growth Engine” with some of the brightest minds in global finance and business,” the AFF wrote on social media platform X.
At the eve of the summit, Aurangzeb met business officials of Servis Long March, Pakistani manufacturer of all-steel radial truck & bus tires, to discuss the importance of attracting foreign investment and presence of Pakistani businesses in international financial markets, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
“The discussions also focused on the broader implications of this collaboration, emphasizing the need to enhance Pakistan’s presence in international financial markets and attract foreign investment,” APP reported.
The minister met the company’s Chairman Jin Yongsheng and Chief Executive Officer Omar Saeed. Both sides discussed the potential benefits of listing on an international platform to access global capital markets.
Aurangzeb appreciated Servis Long March’s intention to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, assuring it of the government’s support, the APP said. He said Islamabad would also support other companies pursuing international equity capital raising.
“The meeting concluded with a mutual understanding of the need for continued dialogue and cooperation to address the complexities of international listings and capital raising,” APP reported.
The Pakistani finance minister will also hold interactions with foreign media, which include speaking to international publications such as Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia and other media representatives during the summit.
His visit to Hong Kong takes place as Pakistan attempts to ward off an economic crisis that has drained its resources and triggered a balance of payments headache for the country over the past two years.
Pakistan has made some economic gains since 2023 by slashing inflation to single-digit figures from a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 and registering gains in the stock market.
Financial Times features northern Pakistan in list of 50 holiday places to visit in 2025
- Publication cites improved security situation, “dramatic mountain scenery” as reasons to visit northern Pakistan
- Northern Pakistan is home to some of the tallest mountains in the world and is also a major tourist destination
ISLAMABAD: International business publication Financial Times recently featured Pakistan in its list of 50 places worldwide to visit on holidays, citing its “dramatic mountain scenery” and an improved security situation as reasons worth visiting the area.
Gilgit-Baltistan, a sparsely populated northern region administered by Pakistan as an autonomous territory, is home to some of the tallest peaks in the world and a major tourist destination. Thousands of tourists and foreign climbers visit the region each year for expeditions on various peaks, paragliding and other sports activities.
The Financial Times is a UK-based international business publication that enjoys massive readership worldwide. The publication says on its LinkedIn profile that it has a record paying readership of one million, three-quarters of which are digital subscriptions. It recommended its readers to visit northern Pakistan for trekking in the mountains in the month of September in a report titled: “50 holidays to take in 2025.”
“Northern Pakistan boasts some of the world’s most dramatic mountain scenery and an improved security situation, easier access and better accommodation options mean that more visitors are discovering it,” Financial Times said in the report which was published on Saturday.
It noted that Pakistan began offering free visas online for citizens of more than 120 nations in August 2024 and that there were now “growing numbers of flights” to Skardu and Gilgit, gateways to the Hunza Valley and Baltistan in the country’s northern mountainous region.
“Wild Frontiers, which started out offering trips to Pakistan in 1998, is running a guided 14-day group tour that provides a deep immersion in the culture, history and landscapes of the region, and includes six days’ trekking,” it said.
Other places mentioned in the list include India’s Kumaon Himalayas, Italy’s Ischia Island, Bhutan and Greenland.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan said the recognition was a testament to Pakistan’s commitment to promoting its diverse tourist offerings.
“As the country continues to improve infrastructure and facilitate travel, it is poised to become a leading destination for adventure and cultural tourism in 2025 and beyond,” it said.
Earlier this month, US-based broadcaster CNN curated a list of 25 destinations worth visiting in 2025, with the list featuring GB among the destinations.
While 2024 saw a surge in mountaineering expeditions in GB, nine mountaineers died last year in their attempts to summit various peaks in the South Asian country, according to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which arranges various expeditions. Of these climbers, five were from Japan, one from Russia, one from Brazil and two from Pakistan.
