Pakistan's internet connectivity 📶 is facing some bumps in the road, and it seems like letters of credit 📜 may be partially to blame.

Read 🧵 below 👇 According to a recent report, the Universal Service Fund (USF) has encountered problems importing telecom machinery📱due to the lack of LCs, and the Senate is taking steps to address the issue.

🇵🇰🇺🇿 Pakistan and Uzbekistan team up to boost trade! 🤝

The two countries have signed an agreement to implement the Pakistan-Uzbekistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which aims to increase trade volume to $1 billion by 2023. In addition to the PTA, eight other agreements were signed to strengthen bilateral relations in various sectors.

🚨 Alert 🚨 The State Bank of Pakistan has made it easier to open an Asaan Mobile Account (AMA) by waiving the One Time Password (OTP) and Call Back Confirmation (CBC) requirement until May 2023. Customers will still have to undergo a NADRA biometric verification within 60 days of opening the account or it will be treated as debit blocked after a 10 day notice period.

پاکستان ڈیفالٹ کے دہانے پر؟ سابق وزیر خزانہ مفتاح اسماعیل نے خبردار کیا ہے کہ اگر ملک نے مدد کے لیے آئی ایم ایف سے رجوع نہیں کیا تو سنگین نتائج برآمد ہوں گے۔ لیکن موجودہ وزیر خزانہ اسحاق ڈار کا اصرار ہے کہ آئی ایم ایف حکومت کو حکم نہیں دے سکتا اور وہ ان کی مدد کے بغیر "کوئی مسئلہ نہیں" کا انتظام کریں گے۔ برآمدات 31 بلین ڈالر اور ترسیلات زر 30 بلین ڈالر، اور آمدنی اور اخراجات میں 19 بلین ڈالر کے فرق کے ساتھ، کیا پاکستان کا چین پاکستان اقتصادی راہداری (CPEC) پر انحصار اپنی اقتصادی ترقی کو محفوظ بنانے کے لیے کافی ہے؟ ایک پروفیسر مقامی صنعت کو سپورٹ

The Pakistani government has decided to use all legal means to recover PKR 447 billion in unpaid Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) from commercial and industrial entities.

Read 🧵 below 👇 The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered the recovery of all GIDC accrued by 2020-21 and suspended future GIDC until all outstanding amounts were recovered. However, 3,194 petitions in various high courts are hindering the recovery of PKR 420 billion.

Just two budget items: 1) Interest on debt and 2) Defence, consumed the majority of Pakistan's budget during the first five months of this fiscal year, even more than the total net income of the federal government. 😮
See 🧵 below👇 This has led to a severe curtailment of other expenses and an alarming increase of 83% in the interest cost on the Rs50 trillion federal government debt stock.

Pakistan's economy is in a dire state, with structural inflation and devaluation of the rupee leading to a crisis for the current political government. 🧵👇 The country is facing challenges both domestically and internationally, with a lack of dollars and a high policy rate environment only adding to the difficulties.

🚨 BREAKING 🚨: "When I took oath, I wasn't aware of the gravity of Pakistan's economic problems," admits Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The country was at risk of defaulting on its debt, and the International Monetary Fund program was "stained." 1/5 Despite these challenges, Sharif is confident that the country will "sail through" the difficulties. 2/5

حکومت پاکستان نے 58.2 ارب روپے کی لاگت سے تھر کول اور پورٹ قاسم کو پاکستان ریلوے نیٹ ورک سے منسلک کرنے کے منصوبے کا اعلان کیا ہے۔ پراجیکٹ، جس کا مقصد ایک قابل بھروسہ اور موثر ریلوے انفراسٹرکچر فراہم کرنا ہے 🚂، ایک 105 کلومیٹر کا ٹریک بنانا شامل ہے، جس میں 24.58 کلومیٹر لوپ لائن اور 18 کلومیٹر ڈبل لائن کے ساتھ ساتھ 14 پلیٹ فارم والے سات ریلوے اسٹیشن شامل ہیں۔ اس منصوبے کا بنیادی مقصد تھر کے کوئلے کو پورے ملک میں پہنچانا، ماحولیاتی آلودگی اور سڑکوں پر ٹریفک کے ہجوم کو کم کرنا ہے۔ پاکستان میں کوئلے کی مانگ، بنیادی طور پر پاور اور سیمنٹ کے شعبوں سے چلنے

The tech startup sector in Pakistan has had a rough year 🌪️ with investment plunging 47% quarter-on-quarter and 68% year-on-year to $55.4m in Q3 2022 - the lowest level since Q1 2021

@bznotes @nighatdad @xParacha @ZahidLilani @rehanallahwala @kalsoom82 @aatif_awan 1/7 This is particularly concerning considering that 2021 saw record investment of $366m in the country and local startups raised over $174m in Q1 2022. 2/7

It's deeply disturbing that only about 2 out of 10 women in Pakistan 🇵🇰 have access to a bank account 🏦. This lack of financial inclusion not only limits women's ability to make their own financial decisions and have autonomy, but it also has significant social and economic impacts.

The Sindh High Court has declared a 10% super tax imposed by the federal government earlier this year as discriminatory, which will deprive the government of almost Rs 247 billion in revenue. The super tax was levied upon a certain class of taxpayers in the rates between 1% to 10% on income groups who earned at least Rs 150 million and was applied to 13 sectors including beverages, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.

The size of Pakistan's digital payments ecosystem saw significant growth in the past fiscal year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan's Annual Payment Systems Review. Mobile phone banking increased by 100.4% to 387.5 million transactions, while internet banking grew by 51.7% to 141.7 million transactions.

یہ دیکھنا تشویشناک ہے کہ پاکستان میں آٹے کی قیمتیں مزید بڑھنے والی ہیں، ملرز نئی فصل کی آمد سے چند ماہ قبل ہی ریٹ 11 روپے فی کلو تک بڑھا رہے ہیں۔ اوپن مارکیٹ میں فی 100 کلوگرام 10,200 روپے تک پہنچ گئی، جو کہ ایک ہفتہ قبل 9,300 روپے تھی۔ پاکستان فلور ملز ایسوسی ایشن کے چیئرمین کے مطابق قیمتوں میں یہ اضافہ اوپن مارکیٹ میں تاجروں کی جانب سے اناج کو آہستہ آہستہ جاری کرنے کی وجہ سے ہوا ہے۔ نئی فصل آنے تک قیمتیں زیادہ ملیں، تاہم اس حقیقت پر غور کرنا ضروری ہے کہ سندھ حکومت ہر مل کو ماہانہ صرف 10,000 گندم کے تھیلے فراہم کر رہی ہے، جو کہ سردیوں کے موسم میں آٹے

Pakistan's exports to the Middle East declined by 5.57% YoY to $951.78m in the first five months of FY23, with the majority of this decline attributed to a drop in exports to the UAE. Despite some growth in exports to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain, overall exports to the region were mixed. The UAE is the largest market for Pakistani exports, accounting for 65% of the region's total exports.