Business & Economy Correspondent

Mehreen Abbasi

Stories by Mehreen Abbasi

Page 4 of 23

Street-level view of the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, D.C., a large stone office building with a colonnade of tall pillars and rows of windows under a clear sky.

Pakistan and IMF reach staff-level agreement to unlock $1.21bn

The IMF announced a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the fourth review of its $7bn loan programme, unlocking about $1.21bn once the Executive Board approves.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

VEON raises Pakistan investment plan to $1.5bn as Aurangzeb courts foreign capital

VEON raised its planned Pakistan investment over three years to $1.5 billion from $1 billion, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said at a UNDP investment fair in Karachi.

The granite and glass World Bank Group headquarters building in Washington, D.C., viewed from Pennsylvania Avenue, with its lower colonnade visible behind a low stone wall.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan holds nearly half the MENAAP region's $3-a-day poor, World Bank finds

The World Bank's October 2026 MENAAP Economic Update puts 48% of the region's $3/day poor in Pakistan and says poverty rose 6.4 percentage points between 2018-19 and 2024-25.

A handheld card payment terminal at a supermarket checkout, with a payment card inserted and a small screen and numeric keypad visible.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's retail payments were 92pc digital in FY26, SBP review shows

The State Bank of Pakistan's payment systems review for FY26 records 13.2 billion digital retail transactions, 92 per cent of the total, with mobile payments up 79 per cent.

A paved road crossing the arid, scrub-covered landscape of Tharparkar district in Sindh, Pakistan.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Thar Block-II coal mine enters Phase III, raising output to 11.2 million tonnes

Pakistan inaugurated Phase III of the Thar Block-II coal mine on 5 October 2026, adding 3.6 million tonnes of capacity and backing 1,980MW of power generation.

The State Bank of Pakistan headquarters building in Karachi, seen from the street.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

SBP to clear cheques as electronic images from 15 October

The State Bank of Pakistan will start the Pakistan Express Clearing System on 15 October 2026, clearing cheques as electronic images instead of physical instruments.

Archival July 2003 photograph of the State Bank of Pakistan's Multan branch building; contextual image for a story about the federal government and central bank reporting different SOE-debt numbers, it does not depict any current event.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan state-owned enterprises owe Rs10.1 trillion, finance ministry report finds

A Ministry of Finance report puts Pakistan's federal state-owned enterprises' debt at Rs10.1 trillion by end-December 2025, Rs7.1 trillion higher than SBP figures.

Two men in hard hats stand on a rooftop in the foreground with the rows of solar panels of the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park stretching to the horizon behind them.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's solar generation overtakes nuclear for the first time

Pakistan generated more electricity from solar than from nuclear for the first time in 2025, a new report says, as rooftop systems and Chinese panel imports reshaped the grid.

An archival 2012 group photograph of Pakistani power distribution company officials at an exchange programme event in Islamabad, used as contextual imagery of the DISCO sector being privatised; the photo does not depict the 4 October 2026 Privatisation Commission briefing.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan sets December 2027 deadline to sell nine power distributors

Pakistan has told the IMF it will privatise nine distribution companies by December 2027 in four batches, excluding loss-making Quetta, but the Fund questions the model.

The Pakistan Parliament House in Islamabad at dusk, a modern multi-storey block with the Bismillah calligraphy panel above the entrance and the Pakistani flag flying on the roof, with a boy standing in front of the gated perimeter

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Govt plans Rs110bn NFC deduction to recover provincial power arrears from IMF review

Pakistan has told the IMF it will recover more than Rs110 billion in provincial electricity arrears by adjusting NFC transfers, raising fresh provincial resistance and IMF concern.

Silhouetted gantry cranes and a berthed cargo ship at Karachi Port against a golden sunset, with a warehouse and harbour buildings along the waterfront.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's first-quarter trade deficit widens 15% to $10.8bn

Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit widened 15.1% to $10.79 billion in July–September as imports grew faster than exports, with September's gap up 6.2% to $3.56 billion.

Aerial view of a container port with blue gantry cranes, stacked shipping containers, a berthed vessel and oil storage tanks

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Karachi port cargo piles up as Islamabad container blockade stalls trucks

Truckers are refusing to haul cargo north from Karachi as police seize containers to barricade Islamabad before PTI's 4 October march, pushing up demurrage and freight costs.