Singapore, May 25 (IANS) Singapore maintained its 2026 economic growth forecast at 2 per cent to 4 per cent on Monday, citing stronger-than-expected first-quarter expansion driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-related demand, even as risks from the US-Israel-Iran conflict cloud the global outlook.The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said the economy grew 6 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, extending the 5.7 per cent expansion recorded in the previous quarter, supported by strong …
Latest IMF News & Updates
Islamabad, May 24 (IANS) Despite Pakistan’s efforts in seeking global relevance by turning into a peacemaker in the US-Iran conflict, its domestic economic crisis, internal conflicts surrounding Balochistan. and cross-border skirmishes with India and Afghanistan are among the issues that have consistently concerned the nation, a Bangladeshi media report said.The critique came after a Pakistani delegation, including Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, visited I…
New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Pakistan’s rising food import bill is emerging as a major threat to the country’s fiscal stability and economic resilience, exposing deep structural weaknesses in its agricultural and governance systems, a report has said. Latest trade data for the first 10 months of FY2025-26 showed that Pakistan’s food imports surged by 13.81 per cent to $7.848 billion, while exports of raw food products declined by more than 32 percent to $4.19 billion, according to the Business…
New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Pakistan’s deepening energy crisis and rising burden of circular debt are the result of years of flawed policy decisions, expensive imported fuel dependence and weak regulatory oversight rather than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) alone, according to a strongly worded analysis examining the country’s power sector.The report cited by The Tribune Express argued that Pakistan’s energy sector problems worsened significantly after the Nawaz Sharif-led government r…
Lisbon, May 23 (IANS) Pakistan’s government and media have attempted to project the country as a link between the Muslim world and the West, alongside renewed aspirations to position itself as a leading voice of the global Muslim community. Yet serious doubts remain about how far a state marked by economic underdevelopment, governance challenges, and strained public welfare systems can effectively claim such leadership.“Pakistan is at one of its toughest economic crisis in recent years. The co…
New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Pakistan’s move to explore Panda bonds has raised concerns over deepening financial dependence on China, even as Islamabad seeks alternative financing channels to manage persistent external sector pressures, a report has said.According to a report by Pakistan Today, the yuan-denominated debt instrument — issued in China’s domestic bond market — is being viewed in Islamabad as a way to diversify funding sources beyond traditional Western lenders and multilateral ins…
New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Germany risks repeating the United States’ early‑2000s deindustrialisation if it continues to admire China’s export success, a report has said and warned Europe’s largest economy about a sharp rise in bilateral trade imbalances and targeted Chinese industrial policies.“Germany remains hesitant, even as China has already eaten much of German industry’s lunch and is preparing to start on dinner,” the Brussels-based think tank Centre for European Reform (CER) sa…
New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) India is steadily improving in terms of industrial depth to become a global superpower, a report has said.”The challenge before India is to become a more technologically capable, industrially mature and structurally resilient one. It will have to enhance its ability to manufacture precision and high-end industrial machinery that can produce other machines, the report from India Narrative said.It further highlighted that it has a long way to go in developing dense, vertic…
New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Field Marshal Asim Munir is in complete control of Pakistan. The country may be ruled by a democratic government, but the fact is that the Pakistan Army under Munir is in complete control. However, even as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir put up a united front, in reality there are tensions brewing over massive military spending.For the outside world, it appears as though everything is hunky-dory between the government and the Pakistan Army.While to a certain…
Colombo, May 16 (IANS) The Pakistani government’s pompous display of diplomatic prowess may help secure quick last-minute loans, but is unlikely to remain sustainable in the long run.Unless the leaders commit to austerity measures, curb wasteful spending, and focus on addressing structural issues through reforms, the economy risks becoming all “noise and no substance”, a report said on Saturday.”Many things are not alright with Pakistan’s economy: the deepening foreign exchange crisis, p…