On Tuesday, in a record 7.95 percent interest rate, Pakistan has raised a whopping $1 billion loan through its Sukuk bond, the highest rate it's ever paid on an Islamic bond in its history. The media also reported that in return for the much-needed loan, Pakistan also agreed to pledge a portion of the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway. The country issued the 7-year tenor asset-backed Sukuk bond to raise $1 billion with 7.95%. This rate is half a percent higher compared to the 10-year Eurobond which Imran’s government floated in April last year. The key difference between the traditional Eurob
India’s imports from China soar to almost $100 billion for the first time in the calendar year 2021 due to imports of electrical and electronic goods, machinery, and particularly smartphones. A massive surge was also seen in imports of special chemicals including APIs, fertilizers like ammonia sulfate, urea, and other varieties, industrial goods, telecom equipment, machine tools, and auto components. According to China’s General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC), India’s imports from China have reached $97.52 billion in 2021, whereas the total two-w
On Monday, the oil prices rose on worries regarding supply disruption amid rising tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This can make an already tight market even tighter. Meanwhile, Opec and its allies are struggling to raise their output. On Friday, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 57 cents (0.7%) to US$85.71 a barrel which fell to 0.5%. By 0742 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 58 cents, or 0.7 percent, to US$88.47 a barrel, reversing Friday's losses of 0.6 percent. Since October 2014, both the benchmarks rose for a fifth week in a row last week. It
Post-mid-term elections in September, Prime Minister Justine Trudeau returned to power. Shortly after four months, his popularity is taking a battering due to high levels of inflation. According to the government's data agency Statistic Canada, the consumer price for the month of December was at 4.8%, which reached the highest point in three decades. This level of data is considered as an “inflation anxiety”. Hashtag #JustinFlation is making rounds on social media by Trudeau’s opponents. In September, he formed another minority government for the first time after precipitating sna
On Friday (Jan 21), US President Joe Biden praised Intel’s plan to spend US$20 billion on a new US semiconductor facility. This facility was hailed by the president as the “historic” investment as a global chip shortage fans the inflation flames weighing on his leadership. The president was seen urging the manufacturers to bring their production back to the country. The nation was once a leader in making the chips key from vacuums to television to cars, everything that became scarce due to the pandemic. Biden said, “This is a truly historic investment in America and American wor
Official figures showed on Saturday, Sri Lanka’s consumer prices show a new high of 14 percent in December. The current high surpassed the previous high of 11.1 percent from a month earlier as food and fuel charges are worsening in the country. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) for December, year-on-year inflation reached its highest level since the index was established in 2015. Food inflation has seen a new record high of 21.5 percent which is up from 16.9 percent in November and 7.5 percent a year ago. Vegetables and fruits cro
New Zealand's first foreign aid Hercules aircraft carrying emergency supplies arrived in Tonga. The military plane landed after the workers cleared ash from the Tonga airport. Hundreds of volunteers and the rescue team desperately worked for days to clear the thick layer of ash at the Nuku’alofa airport runway that prevented planes from landing. They used wheelbarrows and shovels, to which New Zealand’s commander of joint force Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour called it a “mammoth effort”. New Zealand's Defence Force confirmed the arrival of Hercules C-130 at 16:00 local time (03:00 GMT
On Wednesday, the Turkish Central Bank announced a currency swap deal between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Both the nations have agreed to a currency swap of 4.74 billion to build and boost Turkey’s foreign exchange reserve. With the possibility of extending the deal further, currently, the nations swapped 65 billion Turkish lira and 18 billion UAE dirham for three years. According to the agreement, the central bank sold foreign currency to prop up the lira during a currency crisis in order to increase reserves in Turkey. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s statemen
On Tuesday, India announced a $500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka purchase fuel (petroleum products). The island nation is currently struggling with massive fuel and energy crisis. According to the Indian High Commission, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar agreed to offer critical support along with a $500 million credit line through a letter written to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peiris. The nation started to lose its currency value, making imports costly. It is also grappling with a shortage of almost all essential commodities including fuel. The power cuts are imposed
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has junked the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) request to open the Afghanistan Relief Fund and requested to review its decision. According to the local media, the Central Bank is afraid that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) can impose sanctions against Islamabad. On Saturday, the bank advised them to review the action in light of Pakistan’s commitments under international covenants and the FATF action plan. Since 2018, Pakistan is on the Paris-based FATF’s grey list for anti-money laundering and for deficiencies in its counter-terror