A follow-up discussion occurred in Islamabad between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the World Bank team to deliberate on Pakistan’s National Growth and Fiscal Program within the 10-year country partnership framework, which includes commitments of 20 billion dollars.

The framework emphasizes critical development sectors such as Health, Education, Climate Resilience, and sustainable growth.

During the discussion, Minister Aurangzeb underscored the necessity for a holistic and cohesive strategy for fiscal, trade, and private sector reforms that encompasses both Federal and Provincial levels.

He emphasized the significance of formulating reforms that are motivated by outcome-based and performance-based metrics directly associated with human development and socio-economic advancement.

The Finance Minister emphasized that a nationally coordinated strategy, as demonstrated by the national fiscal accord, is essential for maintaining macroeconomic stability.

He emphasized that this cohesive strategy will be fundamental for realizing the nation’s goals of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, while safeguarding the welfare of all citizens.

The Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) in the country had a decline of 1.78 percent during the initial seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year (2024-25) compared to the same period last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In January 2025, the LSM had a year-on-year decline of 1.22 percent compared to the same month in the previous year. In January 2024, LSM output rose by 2.09 percent month-on-month compared to December 2023.

The provisional quantum estimates for Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) for November 2024, using the base year 2015-16, have been formulated based on the most recent data provided by the source agencies.

The primary factors contributing to the overall negative growth of -1.78% include food (-0.47), tobacco (0.25), textiles (0.34), garments (1.55), petroleum products (0.17), automobiles (0.74), cement (-0.46), iron and steel products (-0.57), electrical equipment (-0.55), machinery and equipment (-0.14), and furniture (-2.16).

Production from July to January 2024-25, in comparison to July to January 2023-24, has risen in tobacco, textiles, wearing apparel, automobiles, and other transport equipment, while it has declined in food, chemical products, non-metallic mineral products, iron and steel products, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment, and furniture.

With the major index surpassing 116,000 points, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the day on a high note.

In the hope of a positive conclusion from the current discussions regarding the loan tranche with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rising trend has continued in recent days.

The PSX surged 1,000 points, peaking at 116,626 in the early hours of the week’s opening day.

Later, the index gained 663 points and finished at 116,199.

The KSE-100 Index gained 441 points on Friday, closing at 115,536.

The PSX recently gained momentum on Thursday after experiencing ups and downs, with the major index exceeding 115,000 points.

The KSE 100-Index closed at 115,094.23 points after gaining 1,009.70 points, or 0.89 percent. 115,247.39 was the intraday high, and 14,429.93 was the lowest.

According to experts, one important factor is Moody’s Ratings’ upgrade of Pakistani banks. Investor confidence was further bolstered by the expectation of fruitful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“We have changed our outlook on Pakistan’s banking system to positive from stable to reflect the banks’ resilient financial performance as well as improving macroeconomic conditions from very weak levels a year ago,” Moody’s said in its assessment last week.

Amidst the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a loan tranche, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has resumed its upward trajectory in recent days.