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Shahid Iqbal

Shahid Iqbal

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Pakistan gets robust inflow of $3.7bn in May

Pakistan gets robust inflow of $3.7bn in May

KARACHI: Pakistan looks set to exceed its annual remittances target of $38 billion with $3.7bn inflows in May. So far in the 11 months of the fiscal...

13.06.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Pakistan imports 32.8GW of solar PV modules in 5 years

Pakistan imports 32.8GW of solar PV modules in 5 years

KARACHI: The growing adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Pakistan is set to reshape the energy landscape — enabling a more...

09.06.2025 100

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Reforms launched to ease funding barriers for SMEs

Reforms launched to ease funding barriers for SMEs

KARACHI: In a bid to unlock the potential of the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday...

07.06.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Importers struggle for dollars despite higher inflows

Importers struggle for dollars despite higher inflows

KARACHI: Despite stronger dollar inflows this fiscal year, importers are struggling to access foreign currency, with prices rising beyond official...

06.06.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Cotton import bill goes up by 114pc

Cotton import bill goes up by 114pc

KARACHI: Amid falling local production, the cotton import bill swelled by 114 per cent in the first 10 months of FY25 compared to the last year. From...

02.06.2025 40

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Indian aggression fails to disrupt remittances

KARACHI: Indian aggression against Pakistan did not shake the confidence of overseas Pakistanis, as remittances remained high in May. On May 7, India...

30.05.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

SBP buys $6bn to bolster its forex reserves

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has purchased $5.9 billion from the currency market since June 2024 to bolster its reserves despite...

29.05.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Pakistan’s remittance per expat lags behind peer nations

KARACHI: Despite projected remittance inflows of $38 billion in the current fiscal year (FY25), Pakistan’s per expatriate remittance remains...

28.05.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Govt borrowing from banks surges to Rs2.7 trillion

KARACHI: After retiring Rs1.5 trillion in debt during the first half of the current fiscal year (FY25), the government has significantly increased its...

26.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Rupee depreciates despite global drop in dollar index

KARACHI: The rupee has been gradually depreciating against the US dollar, even as the greenback itself has fallen by around nine per cent on the...

24.05.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Banks’ credit to NBFIs falls sharply

KARACHI: Banks’ credit to non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) sharply declined to Rs416 billion during November-May FY25, compared to over Rs1...

23.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Push for simplified sukuk structures

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan is working to simplify sukuk structures and streamline the issuance process to deepen the Islamic finance market,...

22.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Bank advances drop by Rs1.6tr in January-April

KARACHI: Bank advances sharply declined by Rs1.589 trillion during the January to April period of the current fiscal year, despite a notable reduction...

19.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Current account surplus shrinks to $12m in April

• July-April surplus still high at $1.88bn compared to $1.337bn deficit a year ago • Foreign direct investment plummets to $140.8m in April from...

18.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Private sector reverses debt retirement trend

KARACHI: Reversing the debt retirement trend, the private sector made significant borrowings from banks in April to meet its working capital needs....

15.05.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Govt repays $3.8 billion in third quarter

• SBP data shows $4bn interest paid on debt servicing in nine months • Overseas inflows ease pressure on growing trade deficit KARACHI: Pakistan...

14.05.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

NON-FICTION: HISTORY THROUGH JOURNALISM’S LENS

Senior journalist and rights activist Hussain Naqi’s detailed interview in a newly published book is a story of journalism and...

11.05.2025 20

Dawn (Magazines)

Shahid Iqbal

SBP orders vigil on outflows

KARACHI: Amid heightened tensions with India, the State Bank of Pakistan has asked banks to closely monitor dollar outflows, as the escalating...

09.05.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

With exports, FDI on the wane, economic productivity takes a hit

KARACHI: Exports as a percentage of GDP have consistently declined while poor Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) could not generate higher economic...

03.05.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Central bank blames falling productivity for weak growth

KARACHI: While anticipating an improvement in the overall outlook with economic activities picking up momentum in the second half, the State Bank of...

30.04.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Regulations for AI use in banks on the cards

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is in the advanced stages of finalising guidelines for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI)...

28.04.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Financial sector grows 18pc

KARACHI: The recent turmoil from the global trade war has created significant uncertainty, and the State Bank warns it may pose challenges to the...

26.04.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Raast quarterly payments surge to Rs6.4tr

KARACHI: Digital payments are rapidly increasing as Raast transactions surged to Rs6.4 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, said State Bank of...

21.04.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Profit outflows double in nine months

KARACHI: The outflow of profits on foreign investments in Pakistan doubled by the end of the third quarter of the current fiscal year, reflecting a...

20.04.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Record $1.2bn surplus in March

KARACHI: Pakistan recorded its highest-ever monthly current account surplus in March, with a surplus of $1.195 billion compared to $363 million in the...

19.04.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Banks bid Rs3.3tr to invest in govt papers

KARACHI: The government on Wednesday raised a cumulative Rs1.22 trillion through auctions of Treasury Bills (T-bills) and Pakistan Investment Bonds...

18.04.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

SBP initiative fails to spur financing for SMEs

KARACHI: The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) receive less than 10 per cent credit from the private sector despite contributing 40 per cent to the...

14.04.2025 60

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Bank advances to private sector fall

KARACHI: Despite a massive cut in the benchmark interest rates, the private sector continued retiring loans as bank advances plunged 52 per cent in...

12.04.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Three nations pull $1bn from T-bills amid uncertainty

KARACHI: Only three countries withdrew nearly $1 billion from Pakistan’s treasury bills during the current financial year, with outflows almost...

07.04.2025 40

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Remittances to exceed $3.5bn in March

KARACHI: Remittances are expected to cross a record high of $3.5 billion in March, rising 15 per cent month-on-month, driven largely by inflows during...

04.04.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Quarterly digital retail transactions hit record level

• Over 2bn payments made, value hits Rs154tr • Digital channels process 88pc of all transactions • Country’s 19,519 ATMs facilitate 259m...

30.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

SBP buys $5.5bn from currency market

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) purchased $5.5 billion from the banking market during the June-December period and the market expects the...

29.03.2025 60

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

T-bill yields jump by up to 34bps, surpass policy rate

KARACHI: The cut-off yields on treasury bills were increased by up to 34 basis points, surpassing the policy interest rate in the auction held on...

28.03.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

T-bills attract $1.14bn in 8MFY25

KARACHI: Despite declining returns, foreign investors parked over $1 billion in the Treasury Bills (T-bills) in the first eight months of FY25....

27.03.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Dollar outflow doubles

KARACHI. The outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investments more than doubled during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. On...

23.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Private sector lending drops sharply

KARACHI: The private sector lending has slowed sharply, raising concerns over economic growth and revenue generation, both of which are already...

22.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Govt borrows less than half of target in T-bill auction

KARACHI: The government borrowed less than half of its target in the latest auction of short-term treasury bills (T-bills) held on Wednes­day,...

21.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Current account deficit falls to $12m in February

KARACHI: With a sharp decline in the current account deficit (CAD) to $12 million in February from $420m in the preceding month, Pakistan recorded a...

19.03.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Rupee dips to Rs281 vs dollar in interbank

KARACHI: The rising demand due to higher debt servicing and repatriation of profits by foreign investors built pressure on the local currency, which...

16.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Thar coal-fired energy ‘cheaper than hydropower’

KARACHI: Sino Sindh Resources Pvt Ltd (SSRL) Chief Executive Officer Li Jigen has stated that the power generation cost from Block-1 of the Thar...

15.03.2025 50

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Moody’s upgrades Pakistan’s banking outlook

KARACHI: Global rating agency Moody’s has upgraded Pakistan’s banking outlook to positive from stable on the back of improved financial...

14.03.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Exchange firms see $5bn inflow by end of Ramazan

KARACHI: Inflows of remittances are higher than ever and the exchange companies alone could accumulate $5 billion by the end of Ramazan, said...

10.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Govt raises Rs1.2tr at auctions for bonds, T-bills

KARACHI: Amid the high possibility of no further cuts in the interest rate, investors made a total of Rs2.207 trillion bids, mostly for the long-term...

07.03.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Govt’s bank borrowings plunge amid revenue dip

KARACHI: Amid falling tax collections, the federal government’s borrowing from banks plunged 84 per cent during the first seven and half months of...

06.03.2025 10

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Economy needs digital shift, say banking experts

KARACHI: Amid growing concerns over Pakistan’s cash-dominated economy, bankers at a recent summit in Karachi called for a comprehensive digital...

03.03.2025 100

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Market opinion divided on interest rate cut

KARACHI: Interest rates may see another reduction in the upcoming monetary policy, with market sources suggesting a potential cut ranging from 50 to...

02.03.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Private sector retires 48pc bank debt in a month

KARACHI: Banks have taken back about 48 per cent of the money they lent to the private sector within a month, indicating that the private sector has...

01.03.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Yield on dollar bonds hits three-year low

KARACHI: A significant improvement in the external account has brightened Pakistan’s chances of reentering the international capital market soon as...

28.02.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

SBP issues criteria for Raast participants

KARACHI: To reduce cash transactions through digitalisation, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued a criterion on Saturday to enhance the technical...

24.02.2025 20

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal

Profit outflows surge 90pc in July-Jan

KARACHI: The profit outflows slightly decreased in January but were still higher by 90 per cent in the first seven months of FY25, according to State...

22.02.2025 30

Dawn Business

Shahid Iqbal