December 12, 2021 (MLN): The financial highlights of the country are brought to light with the economic and financial data releases over the course of the week.

• Pakistan’s exports had the fastest growth rate in South Asia in the month of November 2021 as the country’s exports grew by 33.5% compared to Bangladesh’s 31.3 % and India’s 26.5% growth.
• National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday notified Rs 4.74 per unit increase in tariff for October under the monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) mechanism. 
• Following the hike in the policy rate, the government on Thursday, increased profits rates on all national savings schemes by up to 2.4%, which would be effective from December 12, 2021.
• Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) jumped by $2.65 billion during the week ended on December 3, 2021.
• Pakistan's startup ecosystem has been able to secure over $300 million in funding this year after four e-commerce companies raise fresh funds.
• State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued revised Prudential Regulations for Microfinance Banks (MFBs) to streamline the requirement of obtaining Credit Information Report (CIR) and simplifying the documentary requirements from microfinance borrowers.
• The weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined group witnessed a drop for the third consecutive week, going down by 0.07% WoW for the week ended December 09, 2021.
• Foreign exchange inflows through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $2.92 billion in November 2021 since its launch in September 2020, indicating the increasing confidence of non-residents Pakistanis (NRPs).
• The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) decreased by 19.6% QoQ in Q3 2021 compared to Q2 2021 (NI = 70.8), indicating deteriorating consumer sentiments, the findings of the CCI survey for Q3 2021, conducted by Gallup Pakistan and Dun & Bradstreet, revealed on Wednesday.
• The total money supply circulating within the economy during the fourth month of FY22 has been recorded at around Rs27.59trillion, according to provisional accounts on Monetary Aggregates for the month.
• Fitch Ratings, in its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO), has lowered its global growth forecast to 5.7%, down by 0.3 ppts amid growing inflation concerns and its impact on monetary policy.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved an amount of $603 million results-based lending program to strengthen and expand social protection programs (SPP) in Pakistan.
• Fitch Ratings has affirmed Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B-' with a ‘Stable’ outlook.
• The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved an increase of Rs3.7571 per unit in the power tariff for Karachi consumers on account of the fuel cost adjustment for the month of September 2021.
• Pakistan signed new loan agreements worth $15.316 billion with various development partners, State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Authority China and foreign commercial banks during the FY 2020-21.
• Cement despatches witnessed an increase of 7% YoY in November 2021 to stand at 4.82 million tons.
• The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) informed that Information Technology (IT) exports would exceed the target of $3.5 billion by the end of December 2022.
• The total debt of the central government during the month of October 2021 surged by Rs4.77 trillion or 13.44% YoY to stand at Rs40.28tr when compared to Rs35.05tr recorded in October 2020.
• Net savings mobilized under National Savings Schemes (NSS) remained negative as investors pulled out Rs79 billion on a net basis during Jul-Oct FY22, against an inflow of Rs24.84bn in the same period last year.
• Football exports during the first four months of the fiscal year of 2021-22 grew up by 17.22% as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.

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