General Economic Updates
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Fatman17
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The government’s expenditure on civil administration and pension payouts has continually climbed over the last five years, with the first quarter of the current fiscal year seeing a double-digit increase despite a strict official austerity policy and an aggressive downsizing exercise.
Fiscal data released by the Ministry of Finance indicates a 13pc increase in ‘Running of the Civil Government’ expenditure in the first quarter, which runs from July to September. The costs rose to Rs161.2bn in the current fiscal year, compared to Rs142.5bn during the same period last year.
Read more: https://www.dawn.com/news/1959878/centres-own-spending-rises-amid-austerity-restructuring
Fiscal data released by the Ministry of Finance indicates a 13pc increase in ‘Running of the Civil Government’ expenditure in the first quarter, which runs from July to September. The costs rose to Rs161.2bn in the current fiscal year, compared to Rs142.5bn during the same period last year.
Read more: https://www.dawn.com/news/1959878/centres-own-spending-rises-amid-austerity-restructuring
Fatman17
Moderator
Happy ending for you. Living on borrowed money
PakFactor
Elite Member
It gets better:
Pakistan’s external debt nears $130bn as 40% of exports go to debt servicing: World Bank
Net foreign inflows shrink more than tenfold; China holds 23% of Pakistan’s bilateral debt
profit.pakistantoday.com.pk
ejaz007
Registered Member
Mitchell’s Fruit Farms appoints CEO and chairman following CCL acquisition
- The leadership change follows CCL Holding (Private) Limited’s acquisition of shareholding in Mitchell’s
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Mitchell’s Fruit Farms Limited (MFFL), a Pakistani manufacturer of farm and confectionery products, has appointed new leadership, with Kashif Sajjad Sheikh named as Chairman of the Board and Usman Zafar Butt appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The appointments were confirmed during a Board of Directors meeting, the listed company shared in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.
“The Board of Directors has resolved that Kashif Sajjad Sheikh is appointed as the Chairman of the Board and Usman Zafar Butt is appointed as the CEO of the company for a term of three years commencing from 9th December, 2025,” read the notice.
Following the election of directors, the company also reconstituted key board committees to strengthen governance and oversight.
The audit committee will be chaired by Ahsan Rashid, with members Asim Dilawar Sheikh and Nadeem Bin Javaid Sheikh. The human resource & remuneration committee will be led by Babur Sultan, alongside members Hassan Zubair Sheikh and Usman Butt, while the sustainability committee will be chaired by Fariyha Subhani, with Hassan Zubair Sheikh and Usman Butt as members.
The leadership and committee changes follow CCL Holding (Private) Limited’s acquisition of a significant 40.63% shareholding in Mitchell’s in October, marking a change in the company’s ownership structure.
According to information available on MFFL’s website, Kashif is the Executive Chairman of CCL Holding, with nearly three decades of leadership experience. “As the former CEO of CCL Pharmaceuticals, he led the company’s transformation, driving significant growth in revenue, market capitalisation, and expanding global operations to more than 16 countries,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Usman Butt has over 30 years of experience primarily in Pakistan’s food & beverages industry. He spent 17 years with Coca-Cola İçecek, Pakistan, where he held various significant roles, including Commercial Director and Chief Supply Chain Officer, the company’s website said.
Mitchell’s Fruit Farms Limited has a history that dates back to 1933. The company went public in 1993 and was listed on the stock exchange in 1996. The principal activity of the company is the manufacturing and sales of various farm and confectionery products, including beverages, ketchups and sauces, preserves, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food.
Mitchell’s Fruit Farms appoints CEO and chairman following CCL acquisition
The leadership change follows CCL Holding (Private) Limited’s acquisition of shareholding in Mitchell’s
www.brecorder.com
ejaz007
Registered Member
Nestlé brings Pakistan operations on par with global plants, plans to showcase investments at Davos
- Nestlé is implementing solar and biomass energy systems
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Nestlé Pakistan, a subsidiary of Swiss giant Nestlé SA, has brought its manufacturing operations in Sheikhupura and Khanewal to global standards, with both facilities now fully automated and integrated with Nestlé’s worldwide systems.
This modernisation positions Pakistan’s operations on par with the company’s leading global plants, said the delegation from Nestlé Pakistan during a meeting with Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday, read a statement.
The delegation from Nestlé Pakistan, led by Chief Executive Officer Jason Avancena, accompanied by Chief Financial Officer Maqsood Ahmad Anjum and Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Sheikh Waqar Ahmad, briefed the finance minister on the company’s longstanding commitment to Pakistan and its plans for future expansion.
The CEO highlighted Nestlé Pakistan’s significant progress in technology-driven manufacturing.
Avancena elaborated on ongoing and upcoming investments in sustainability, agricultural services transformation, enhanced manufacturing capacity, and the deployment of advanced technologies across the value chain.
He explained that Nestlé is implementing solar and biomass energy systems, digital dashboards, environmentally improved packaging, and supply-chain automation, enabling reductions in operational costs and greenhouse-gas emissions while strengthening the company’s long-term competitiveness.
During the meeting, Aurangzeb reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening Pakistan’s formal economy and encouraging responsible, long-term investment.
Emphasising the government’s resolve to clamp down on the informal sector, the finance minister noted that improved compliance, transparency, and a strengthened tax ecosystem are central to Pakistan’s economic recovery.
The finance minister highlighted the establishment of the Tax Policy Office within the Finance Division as a major structural reform that will allow continuous, year-round engagement with the private sector, enabling policy refinement and effective implementation ahead of the next budget cycle.
Meanwhile, Nestlé’s delegation highlighted that the company’s localisation efforts have materially strengthened its resilience.
They noted that Nestlé Pakistan has reduced its import volumes by nearly half over the past three years, from around $150 million to approximately $76–80 million, thereby minimising exposure to foreign-exchange pressures and deepening integration with Pakistan’s agricultural and manufacturing base.
The finance minister commended these localisation efforts and underscored the government’s intention to facilitate greater formalisation and enhanced tax equity across the food and beverages sector.
He noted that the gains observed in tobacco, where formal-sector volumes have increased as enforcement tightened, represent a model that can be replicated across other industries, such as packaged juices, where informal players have rapidly expanded market share by operating outside the tax net.
The minister welcomed Nestlé Pakistan’s readiness to work with the Tax Policy Office set up in the Finance Division on potential reforms to improve tax recovery, rationalise sector-specific anomalies, and support domestic manufacturing while maintaining public-interest objectives.
The delegation also discussed export performance, including the company’s presence in markets such as the United States, Canada, the Gulf, and the United Kingdom, and shared insights into challenges related to regional trade, particularly the Afghanistan corridor.
The finance minister advised exploring logistics partnerships to expand access to Central Asian markets and reiterated that the government is committed to enabling export-oriented industry growth.
In the context of Nestlé’s expanded investments over the next several years, targeted toward sustainability, agricultural transformation, automation, and strengthening production capabilities in infant and dairy nutrition, the delegation conveyed Nestlé’s desire to announce these plans on the global stage.
Referring to the upcoming World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, the delegation shared that Nestlé’s global leadership, including the Executive Vice President for Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa, Remy Ejel, intends to attend the event and looks forward to a meeting with the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The finance minister welcomed the proposal, confirming that the prime minister’s participation at Davos had been communicated to WEF management and assuring the delegation that the government would support the facilitation of this meeting.
He stated that discussions between Nestlé Pakistan and the Tax Policy Office will remain ongoing, ensuring timely alignment on policy options that can strengthen the domestic industry, support sustainability objectives, and enhance Pakistan’s position in regional and global markets.
Nestlé brings Pakistan operations on par with global plants, plans to showcase investments at Davos
Nestlé is implementing solar and biomass energy systems
www.brecorder.com
SoulSpokesman
Trusted Member
Pakistan is now 88% urban
www.riazhaq.com
The World Bank researchers have recently concluded that 88 per cent live in urban areas. Their conclusion is based on satellite imagery and the Degree of Urbanization (DoU) methodology. The official Pakistani figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) put the current level of urbanization at 39%. The source of this massive discrepancy is the government's reliance on administrative boundaries rather than population density and settlement patterns, according to the World Bank working research paper titled "When Does a Village Become a Town?".
Urban areas are characterized by high population density, while rural areas are sparsely populated with more open space. Major differences include urban areas having more commercial development, diverse job opportunities, and a faster pace of life, while rural areas often focus on agriculture and have a slower pace of life with closer-knit communities but may face challenges with limited access to services.
The World Bank’s Paper suggests that secondary cities and peri-urban areas — rather than megacities — are the primary drivers of recent urban expansion which are systematically overlooked in official Pakistani classifications. This discrepancy between functional and administrative classifications has significant fiscal and planning implications.
Pakistan's official data grossly underestimates urbanization, with Islamabad showing only 47% urban population compared to 90% under the DoU, while figures in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh are more closely aligned. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DoU estimates the urban population at nearly three times the official 15%, while Islamabad is mostly dense urban, and other provinces show mixed suburban and peri-urban growth. The report finds that Pakistan’s urban landscape has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. Since the early 2000s, a growing share of the rural population has left agriculture, transforming previously rural settlements into new and vibrant urban centers. Unlike Afghanistan, India and sub-Saharan Africa, the agriculture sector is no longer the top employer in Pakistan. Services sector is now the top employment sector in the country.
The policy research paper finds that misclassified areas reduce property tax revenues and undermine the planning and provision of critical public services. It also distorts spatial socioeconomic indicators, masking the true extent of urban-rural disparities and complicating the design of effective, evidence-based public policy.
The DoU method facilitates cross-national comparisons, as it provides a consistent criteria. Application of the DoU reveals that, despite variation across urban typologies, the proportion of the population residing in urban areas exceeds 70 percent in all examined countries. The list (fig 2) includes Brazil and Pakistan (98% each). Bangladesh (79%), Egypt (83%), India (77%) and Mexico (82%).
The paper finds that Pakistan is among only a minority of countries that use purely administrative definitions to identify urban areas. Changing how the country determines urban areas to include population density, service access, and other urban characteristics will allow it, as the DoU shows, to account for a varied urban landscape. Recognizing the existence of areas between dense cities and rural villages can help to establish a staggered expansion of the areas subject to property taxes. Updating the urban classification could increase property taxes sevenfold, and new technologies can help modernize cadaster systems. Besides supporting the reclassification of what areas are urban, satellite data offers additional possibilities to identify properties and update the cadasters.
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World Bank: Pakistan is 88% Urbanized
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The World Bank researchers have recently concluded that 88 per cent live in urban areas. Their conclusion is based on satellite imagery and the Degree of Urbanization (DoU) methodology. The official Pakistani figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) put the current level of urbanization at 39%. The source of this massive discrepancy is the government's reliance on administrative boundaries rather than population density and settlement patterns, according to the World Bank working research paper titled "When Does a Village Become a Town?".
Urban areas are characterized by high population density, while rural areas are sparsely populated with more open space. Major differences include urban areas having more commercial development, diverse job opportunities, and a faster pace of life, while rural areas often focus on agriculture and have a slower pace of life with closer-knit communities but may face challenges with limited access to services.
The World Bank’s Paper suggests that secondary cities and peri-urban areas — rather than megacities — are the primary drivers of recent urban expansion which are systematically overlooked in official Pakistani classifications. This discrepancy between functional and administrative classifications has significant fiscal and planning implications.
Pakistan's official data grossly underestimates urbanization, with Islamabad showing only 47% urban population compared to 90% under the DoU, while figures in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh are more closely aligned. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DoU estimates the urban population at nearly three times the official 15%, while Islamabad is mostly dense urban, and other provinces show mixed suburban and peri-urban growth. The report finds that Pakistan’s urban landscape has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. Since the early 2000s, a growing share of the rural population has left agriculture, transforming previously rural settlements into new and vibrant urban centers. Unlike Afghanistan, India and sub-Saharan Africa, the agriculture sector is no longer the top employer in Pakistan. Services sector is now the top employment sector in the country.
The policy research paper finds that misclassified areas reduce property tax revenues and undermine the planning and provision of critical public services. It also distorts spatial socioeconomic indicators, masking the true extent of urban-rural disparities and complicating the design of effective, evidence-based public policy.
The DoU method facilitates cross-national comparisons, as it provides a consistent criteria. Application of the DoU reveals that, despite variation across urban typologies, the proportion of the population residing in urban areas exceeds 70 percent in all examined countries. The list (fig 2) includes Brazil and Pakistan (98% each). Bangladesh (79%), Egypt (83%), India (77%) and Mexico (82%).
The paper finds that Pakistan is among only a minority of countries that use purely administrative definitions to identify urban areas. Changing how the country determines urban areas to include population density, service access, and other urban characteristics will allow it, as the DoU shows, to account for a varied urban landscape. Recognizing the existence of areas between dense cities and rural villages can help to establish a staggered expansion of the areas subject to property taxes. Updating the urban classification could increase property taxes sevenfold, and new technologies can help modernize cadaster systems. Besides supporting the reclassification of what areas are urban, satellite data offers additional possibilities to identify properties and update the cadasters.
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hydrabadi_arab
Trusted Member
Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans Limited (PABC) has announced plans to set up a new $110 million beverage can manufacturing facility in Afghanistan.
The listed Pakistani can maker disclosed the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.
“The company had earlier, on 30 October 2025, disclosed the Board’s endorsement of plans to construct a new beverage can manufacturing facility in Afghanistan, with a capacity of 1.3 billion cans and an estimated capital outlay of approximately USD 110 million, subject to regulatory and customary approvals,” read the notice.
PABC said that the approvals represent continued steps under the company’s strategic roadmap.
The development comes as ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months. The relationship deteriorated after Islamabad demanded that the Afghan Taliban administration tackle militants who have stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operate from havens in Afghanistan.
The neighbours have closed several crossings along their border in the aftermath of the fighting, halting trade.
Earlier in October, PABC cautioned that the ongoing closure of Pak-Afghan border crossings could weigh on its sales performance, as disruptions to regional trade routes threaten to impact its business operations in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Moreover, PABC’s Board of Directors have also approved the acquisition of 60% of the units of Alfalah Agri-Cultivation Fund - I, a private equity fund, from Liberty Mills Limited, an associate of PABC, for Rs621 million.
“The fund focuses on modern, mechanised, and sustainable corporate farming projects in Pakistan, with its investment in Terra Crop Innovations (Pvt) Ltd in the Cholistan Desert expected to enhance food security, promote agricultural exports, and support import substitution,” it said.
The company shared that the transaction is subject to customary procedures, and the board has authorised PABC’s representatives to take necessary actions to implement it.
The listed Pakistani can maker disclosed the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday.
“The company had earlier, on 30 October 2025, disclosed the Board’s endorsement of plans to construct a new beverage can manufacturing facility in Afghanistan, with a capacity of 1.3 billion cans and an estimated capital outlay of approximately USD 110 million, subject to regulatory and customary approvals,” read the notice.
PABC said that the approvals represent continued steps under the company’s strategic roadmap.
The development comes as ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months. The relationship deteriorated after Islamabad demanded that the Afghan Taliban administration tackle militants who have stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operate from havens in Afghanistan.
The neighbours have closed several crossings along their border in the aftermath of the fighting, halting trade.
Earlier in October, PABC cautioned that the ongoing closure of Pak-Afghan border crossings could weigh on its sales performance, as disruptions to regional trade routes threaten to impact its business operations in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Moreover, PABC’s Board of Directors have also approved the acquisition of 60% of the units of Alfalah Agri-Cultivation Fund - I, a private equity fund, from Liberty Mills Limited, an associate of PABC, for Rs621 million.
“The fund focuses on modern, mechanised, and sustainable corporate farming projects in Pakistan, with its investment in Terra Crop Innovations (Pvt) Ltd in the Cholistan Desert expected to enhance food security, promote agricultural exports, and support import substitution,” it said.
The company shared that the transaction is subject to customary procedures, and the board has authorised PABC’s representatives to take necessary actions to implement it.
hasssanali8998
Elite Member
hydrabadi_arab
Trusted Member
Someone want to burn money so be it.
Distant_Observer
Trusted Member
Establish your facilities in Pakistan and provide jobs to Pakistanis instead of chasing cheap labor in the hellhole of the world.
nahtanbob
Banned
where is aluminium for aluminium cans coming from?
Toxic
Trusted Member
Samlee
Trusted Member
Tight slap on Failed Marshall and his SIFC.
After en masse departure of multinationals now even Pakistani companies think that of all places Afghanistan is a better place to do business than Pakistan
After en masse departure of multinationals now even Pakistani companies think that of all places Afghanistan is a better place to do business than Pakistan
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