Business - 3

Moody’s raised its outlook on Pakistan’s sovereign B2 foreign currency debt rating, which is five rungs below investment grade and the same as Indonesia’s, from “stable.” Pakistan’s $100 billion economy is forecast to expand 7 percent in the year to June 30 after growing 8.4 percent in the previous 12 months, the fastest pace in [...]

Visa Facilitation Desks have opened at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar airports. To obtain a visa valid for up to 30 days, business visitors have to show either a letter from their national Chamber of Commerce, an invitation letter from a business organization recommended by the appropriate trade organisation in Pakistan or a letter [...]

With these investments, Pakistan is also going to build Islamabad International Airport and two hydraulic power plants at Bunji and Nilam-Jhelum, Ghuman told local press recently. Pakistan has attracted US$1.6 billion in foreign investments during the first 7 months of this fiscal year, starting last July. It is expected to attract furthermore US$1.4 billion in [...]

Enshaa Holdings of Sharjah, UAE with its joint venture partner National Logistics Cell of Pakistan, has planned to invest $200 million in Karachi where the NLC has bought 13,000 square yards of Pakistan Railways land in an open bid against the price of Rs2.3 billion. Shaikh Tariq Al Qassimi said: “The investment environment and rapid [...]

According to locals, it also remains the cheapest compared to the newly introduced wireless phone services by PTCL and V Wireless. Most major cellphone companies of the country have yet to reach these remote areas. Advancement in telecommunications is beating the rate of infrastructure development in the Tharparkar district where wireless phone and the Internet [...]

Pakistan will soon replace its notes of all denominations with machine-readable currency to combat forgery and counterfeiting. Rs 20 notes had already been introduced in August last year with machine-readable technology. The ministry, through the State Bank of Pakistan, would ensure all currency notes were made with machine-readable security features this year. “The designs of [...]

Pakistan became the second country after Brazil to be picked up for the coveted trophy following a stiff competition with other contenders, including India. The GSM Association, a global trade association representing more than 680 mobile operators, awarded Pakistan its prestigious Government Leadership Award-2006 on Monday. The congress was being attended by mobile industry CEOs [...]

Bank profits have risen sharply over the last three years. Fiscal 2004 saw record profits. Profits were up a massive 105 percent in nine months to September, 2005. The boost in the banks’ market capitalisation was 200 per cent. Banks, both foreign and domestic, are outperforming all financial sectors, as Pakistani economy moves on a [...]

Pakistan has often hit the headlines for gross gender violations like honour killings and gang rapes. But that is not the entire picture. NDTV met some women who are breaking the glass ceiling, pushing boundaries in the corporate sector in Pakistan. Musharraf Hai has been heading the multinational, Unilever Pakistan for more than four years [...]

Toyota Motor Corp will start local production and sales of its IMV global strategic vehicle in Pakistan as early as this year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, citing company President Katsuaki Watanabe. The business daily said Pakistan will be the 10th country in which the world’s second-largest automaker has set up a manufacturing base for [...]