AhsAn, BAlIGh dIsCuss ProMoTIon oF hIGher eduCATIon, oTher Issues

LAHORE I N P

FE D E R A L Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal called on Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman at Governor House Lahore on Saturday and discussed with him various issues including promotion of higher education

K a r a c h i: Faysal Bank partnered with Mercantile Pakistan

(Authorized Apple Distributor) to provide a facility of Buy

Now Pay Later (BNPL) at a zero percent profit rate to its customers using its payment cards This is the first time in Pakistan that customers can avail BNPL facility to buy Official Apple products from authorized retail outlets During the rollout phase, over 100 mercantile registered resellers will start offering Apple official products on 3 6 9 and 12 months easy instalment plans Mercantile products will also be available on Faysal Bank DigiMall, Faysal Bank's Online Marketplace and via PIP options through call centers

This partnership will enable easy payments for Faysal Bank customers via Mercantile Pakistan authorized channels while simultaneously leveraging on the Faysal Bank platform's capacity to empower its authorized businesses through faster payment cycles In the last few years, BNPL has become an incredibly popular option amongst consumers enabling customers to obtain goods through flexible and interest-free payments offered in the form of a secure and seamless payment experience provided by merchants utilizing BNPL

This move will also enable the growth of the Ecommerce ecosystem at a domestic level enabling trust in pre-payments systems and quality, and goods & services Speaking at the Occasion, Mr Aneeq Malik, “Head of Consumer Finance & Payment Services, Faysal Bank, said, "This partnership is a testament to our vision of empowering customers with flexible financing options This card-led product will also enable to rekindle growth among the countless businesses of different sizes, during this period of continued economic uncertainty P r

S ur vey by ACC A and IMA paints pic ture of a steady but weak global economy

K a r a c h i: The Q4 Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) shows signs of steadying, however, many indicators remain weaker than a year ago The good news is that the GECS Confidence Index bounced slightly for the second consecutive quarter, perhaps reflecting hopes that the worst of the central bank tightening might soon be over and that China might successfully relax its zero-COVID restrictions Even so, the Confidence Index remains below its median reading for the period since 2012 There is not much positive news from the other three economic indicators –new orders, capital expenditure (CapEx), and employment CapEx picked up marginally but remains below the median of the same period; new orders and employment showed a further modest deterioration Taken as a whole, the results are consistent with a subdued macro-economic outlook But the good news is that they do not appear yet to be at levels consistent with an outright global recession in 2023 – even though this is the base case scenario for many economic forecasters A good cross-check is provided by the two GECS Fear indices, which reflect respondents concerns that customers and/or suppliers may go out of business Reassuringly, these were little changed from the 2022 Q3 survey, despite the sharp rise in borrowing costs and the prospect of negative corporate-earnings growth in 2023 Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, said: “What stands out is the improvement in confidence in developed countries - both Western Europe and North America The improvement in confidence probably reflects hopes that the Russia–Ukraine situation can be contained, and that there will be sufficient natural gas to see Europe through what now looks increasingly likely to be a mild winter Looking to the weaker emerging markets (especially Pakistan) however, 2023 could still prove to be a challenging time as reflected in the growing sovereign credit concerns and request to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance Moreover, the central bank remains under pressure for continued higher interest rates, monetary tightening and foreign exchange transaction restrictions (further slowing growth) Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA, said: “Global confidence has edged up for the second consecutive quarter as cost concerns have eased and with worries about accessing finance and securing prompt payment having not gotten any worse P r