The State Bank of Pakistan said Pakistan foreign exchange reserves increased modestly for the period, rising by 24 million U.S. dollars, a much-needed but only temporary relief for the country’s financial prospect. The central bank reports total foreign exchange reserves reached approximately 9.5 billion dollars by September 20, rising slightly over the previous week. Commercial banks had around 5.3 billion dollars in reserves, raising the country’s total liquid foreign reserves to nearly 14.8 billion.
The local stock market was elated following the endorsement by the IMF of a 7 billion USD Extended Fund Facility for Pakistan, but it soon dipped as foreign investors sold off their respective holdings. The KSE-100 index witnessed massive volatility and closed down by 589.95 points.
The IMF press release – while duly noting appreciable progress, not least on the business environment, governance, and an oversized state role in the economy – points to weaknesses. The apparently narrow tax base remains a challenge for fiscal sustainability and development.
All these were compounded by institutional selling on account of profit-taking, political uncertainty, and fear of the government’s capability to enforce effective reforms so that it could fully capitalize on the IMF bail-out, a weakening rupee, and lower crude oil prices plus the circular debt haunting the power sector
BF Biosciences Ltd moved ahead to form a bright spot in the country’s capital markets by completing the book-building portion of the Initial Public Offering (IPO). Its offering received an oversubscription of 3.4 times wherein it raised 1.93 billion rupees against its target of 1.37 billion rupees. And this is the first IPO in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector in 2024 in not such a bouncy economic climate. [Read More About Bioscience]
The success of the IPO is a welcome sign for the larger economic future of the nation, particularly for sectors such as pharmaceuticals, which have maintained high demand despite macroeconomic issues. Analysts also foresee that so many success stories would inspire even greater confidence in other sectors of the economy and thereby attract more investment months down the line.
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Haider Shah