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PM hoPeful of IMf agreeMent beIng sIgned thIs Month
g says agreement wIll encourage multIlateral lenders to support pakIstan g thanks chIna for commItment on ml-1 project, provIdIng all possIble assIstance ter nawaz sharif. but, unfortunately, the ptI government of the past discontinued it. the prime minister commended railways minister khawaja saad rafique for adopting the model of outsourcing train services, including internal and janitorial ones. he said outsourcing services is the way forward in today’s world as governments should focus on governing institutions instead of running them. shehbaz sharif said state owned enterprises have become loss-making entities due to political interference. “we are focusing on saving each and every penny of the national kitty.” the prime minister also expressed the confidence that agreement with the Imf will soon be finalized and after that all multilateral and bilateral institutions will also come forward to support pakistan. he said the coalition government is committed to steer the country out of current economic crisis. shehbaz sharif also thanked china for its commitment on ml-1 project and providing all possible assistance to pakistan.
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PrImeminister shehbaz sharif friday said that he fully expects an agreement with the International monetary fund (Imf) this month, after which other multilateral lenders would also support the country to help mitigate its economic crisis.
“I fully expect an agreement with the Imf will be signed this month and we will get out of these difficulties. and multilateral institutions will also support us.” prime minister shehbaz sharif expressed the views while addressing the inaugural ceremony of green line train service here in Islamabad.
“the coalition government is committed to steering the country out of current economic crisis.” finance minister Ishaq dar, railways and civil aviation minister khawaja saad rafique and planning and development minister ahsan Iqbal also attended the ceremony. the premier’s comments follow the Imf’s announcement of fielding its staff mission to pakistan on jan 31 for talks for the ninth quarterly review of a funding programme pending for almost four months. the completion of the review would ensure release $1.2 billion for the country, which is facing a severe cash crisis as foreign exchange reserves deplete to a critical level. addressing the inaugural ceremony at margalla railway station, pm shehbaz said the green line was launched during the previous government of former prime minis- earlier, speaking on the occasion, khawaja saad rafique said green line express train will have luxury coaches. he said we have signed an agreement with china to import 230 coaches. he said 46 coaches have arrived from and rest will be manufactured in pakistan under transfer of technology agreement with china. saad rafique said over 2,000 passengers can benefit from this train on daily basis. he said the train will offer various services, including wi-fi, infotainment, bedding, a utility kit and fresh food. g Interbank rate closes at rs262, open market rs269
It is pertinent to mention that the green line, plying between margalla station Islamabad to karachi, will stop at rawalpindi, chaklala, lahore, khanewal, bahawalpur, rohri, hyderabad and drigh road on the way. the turnaround time of the green line is set at 22 hours which will be reduced over time.
Profit Report
Shahnawaz ali the us dollar starts from where it left off yesterday. at the closing time, the state bank reported the interbank exchange rate of dollars to be at rs. 262.6. the exchange rate also touched the 264 rupee mark in the intraday trading. the closing rate marks a 2.7% depreciation in the value of rupee. In the open market, the dollar was quoted at as much as 269, however, the availability was scarce as before. experts believe that this was a much needed move and will help export proceeds and remittances back to formal channels. despite massive depreciation, the market expects further devaluation, resulting in little to no selling of dollars in the market. a liquidity crisis is also owed to the forex reserves of pakistan that were recorded at their lowest ever in the last 8 years, at $3.67 billion on thursday. the dollar index also dropped by 0.28% this week, showing the weakening of the greenbacks against 6 major currencies of the world. however, this development, fails to provide any respite against rupee which was fresh off the peg itself. pakistan is said to have devalued its currency in line with the Imf program, a delegation of which, is expected to visit pakistan between 31st january and 7th february.

In a historic session, on thursday, the rupee lost its value by rs. 24, in a single day. this was reported to be the highest level of depreciation within a single day, both in real and absolute terms in the last two decades. collectively, the value of the rupee has now dropped by more than 12% in the last two days.