ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s key economic indicators have been showcasing stability in the real, fiscal, and external sectors as the country is heading towards the end of FY2024, the Ministry of Finance said in its latest report on Wednesday.
The report titled ‘Monthly Economic Update and Outlook report for May 2024’, the finance ministry’s Economic Adviser’s Wing noted that signs of economic stability were becoming more evident amid stability in the key sectors.
According to the report, GDP growth is elevating while inflation rates are on a decline with a positive primary balance, reflecting the effectiveness of recent fiscal consolidation efforts.
The economic performance also indicates that agriculture has been a major contributor to this fiscal year’s economic upswing, registering a growth of 6.25%. The agriculture sector’s recovery is mainly attributed to government initiatives through improved input supply and increased credit disbursement to farmers.
Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growth in 2024 Quarter 3, became positive and is expected to remain moderately positive on average throughout the second half of the current fiscal year.
It witnessed a minor decline of 0.1% during July-March FY 2024 against the contraction of 7.0% same period last year. During this period, 11 to 22 sectors witnessed positive growth.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation stood at 17.3% on a year-on-year basis in April 2024 as compared to 36.4% in April 2023. The major drivers include housing, water, electricity, gas & fuel, perishable food items, furnishing & household equipment maintenance, clothing, footwear and transport.
On the fiscal front, during July to March FY24, the revenue growth outpaced the growth in expenditures. Within revenues, both tax and non-tax collection grew significantly by 29.3% and 90.7%, respectively.
Moreover, measures to control non-mark-up spending helped in improving the primary surplus to Rs1615.4 billion (1.5% of GDP) from Rs503.8 billion (0.6% of GDP) last year. While, the overall fiscal deficit remained at 3.7% of GDP, the same as recorded last year.
On the external front, the current account for FY2024 (July-April) narrowed down significantly, recording a deficit of $0.2 billion compared to last year’s $3.9 billion, primarily due to an improved trade balance.
In April 2024, the current account surplus was recorded at $491 million, an increase from $434 million in March 2024. Year-on-year, exports in April 2024 increased by 23.4% to $2.6 billion, fueled by eased import restrictions that enhanced the supply chain for export industries.
In the same period, imports also rose by 22.8% to $4.4 billion. The trade deficit for April 2024 was recorded at $1.8 billion.
Furthermore, the FDI witnessed an increase of 39.1% and reached $358.8 million in April 2024, as against an inflow of $258.0 million last month.
The remittances in April 2024 were encouraging, as they increased on a year-on-year basis by 27.9% to $2.8 billion.
On the back of a persistent policy rate at 22%, during 1st July – 03rd May, FY2024 money supply (M2) shows a growth of 7.1% (Rs 2,229.8 billion) as compared to 7.0% growth (Rs1,943.4 billion) in last year.
Although the signs of a moderate economic recovery are evident. But to sustain this positive momentum, the policy efforts and reforms to raise productivity, and competitiveness are imperative.
In Jul-Apr FY2024, workers’ remittances recorded at $23.8 billion ($23.0 billion last year), increased by 3.5%.
YoY remittances increased by 27.9% in April 2024 ($2.8 billion) as compared to April 2023 ($2.2 billion). However, MoM remittances declined by 4.8% as compared to March 2024 ($3.0 billion) mainly owing to post Eid factors.
Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves increased to $14.3 billion on May 24, 2024, with SBP’s reserves stood at $9.1 billion and commercial banks’ reserves remained at $5.2 billion.
“Going forward, the economy will gain momentum in the coming months of this fiscal year,” the report added.
Honda remains leader in bikes market, with its top-selling units like CD 70, and that’s without making any major changes as the entry-level bikes look almost same for a long time. As the CD-70 remains its most selling model, bikes like the CD-70 Dream and Pridor are considered a niche products.
Despite failing to achieve top sales, CD 70 Dream is still in the market, featuring air-cooled, 4-stroke engine that delivers smooth performance and impressive fuel economy, often averaging around 60-70 km/l, making it ideal for daily commuting.
The bike looks better with stylish and modern design with attractive graphics, as compared to simple CD70. People also like its comfort as built quality remains optimum, comparing to other players.
Its pricing makes it accessible to a wide audience, including students and working professionals, solidifying its status as a favorite among motorcycle enthusiasts in Pakistan.
As bikes prices remain out of hands, people are having hard time to upgrade their ride while companies also face low sales.
Honda CD 70 Dream Price
The price of Honda CD70 Dream is Rs168,900 in September 2024.
If you live in Lahore or any other city in Punjab; you might have faced difficulties in getting land record in previous years, but now the government made the land verification process smooth with digitization.
To curb the menace of land mafia and to help residents of Punjab, the government rolled out a systematic process and also eased the process of property transfers and real estate transactions.
A new verification system is Live by provincial authorities to check the legitimacy of properties available for purchase or investment across the region of 110 million people.
The relevant authority in this regard is Punjab Land Record Authority which oversees management and maintenance of land records. You can get different services, including ability to search for and view land records, as well as request copies of documents.
Check Property Ownership Online 2024
Here’s Step by Step Guide To Check property ownership
LAHORE – Finally, it’s time to say goodbye to the iconic Suzuki Bolan as Pak Suzuki pulled plugs to replace the minivan with another model. Over the last 3.5 decades, Suzuki Bolan enjoyed decent sales and was valued for its flexibility, serving a multi-passenger vehicle and for commercial purposes.
Amid shift in auto landscape in Pakistan, Bolan becomes latest drive to be discontinued after Suzuki Mehran, which you can still spot.
Pictures of Suzuki Bolan’s last batch surfaced online, and Pakistanis hit nostalgia as many grew up in this vehicle. The final chassis number marked as 01151691. The country’s oldest automaker and maker of Bolan also confirmed discontinuation of the 800cc Carry Dabba.
The company decided to replace Bolan for its outdated design and lack of safety features. Amid its low sales, consumer demand for a modern replacement like Changan Karvaan increased.
Suzuki Every to Replace Bolan
Suzuki earlier mentioned that Every will replace Bolan, and one of its recent model was unveiled at a recent auto show.
The launch of Every models faced delays due to import challenges and it is expected to launch in mid October.
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