Asia

The issue of how to control and curb the flow of money leaving India seems to feature prominently in the minds of the Modi government’s officials of late, with the latest sign being deliberations at the Ministry of Finance on the “flight of capital” of high net-worth individuals (HNIs) out of the country, ThePrint has learnt. The government had earlier this year announced a hike on tax collected at source (TCS) on international transactions, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday voiced concern over the trend of Indians going abroad to get married. The matter of flight of capital of HNIs was discussed at the Chintan Shivir of the ministries of finance and corporate affairs, held in August at Kevadia in Gujarat. ThePrint has accessed the minutes of the meeting, which reveal, ap...

The Pakistani rupee has fallen 20% against the dollar this year, Bloomberg reported. That's after spiking in October, as demand for the rupee surged on a clampdown on illicit dollar transactions. But due to Pakistan's floundering economy, the rupee is the worst performing Asian currency this year. The Pakistani rupee has plunged about 20% against the dollar this year, putting it on track to end 2023 as Asia's worst-performing currency, Bloomberg reported on Monday. But if you rewind just a month, the currency was briefly the top performer in global markets. What happened? The rupee soared 8% in October to 275 per dollar after hitting a record low in September because of the Pakistani government's response to illicit dollar transactions, according to the Indian lender HDFC S...

Pakistan’s incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan was interrogated in jail by the country’s anti-corruption watchdog in a multibillion rupee corruption case, according to a media report on Monday. A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team visited the 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief in the Adiala Jail on Sunday, a senior official of the anti-graft watchdog told the Dawn newspaper. The former premier has been incarcerated in the high-security jail in Rawalpindi since September 26 in various cases. The NAB team interrogated Khan for over two hours in connection with the charges he faces in the GBP 190 million (Rs 50 billion) Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, the report said. The Al-Qadir Trust case is about the settlement of 190 million pounds, about Rs 50 bi...

Pakistan has achieved a crucial milestone in its economic recovery journey, securing initial approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of the next loan tranche from a $3 billion bailout program. According to a Bloomberg report, the announcement came as the Washington-based lender revealed a staff-level agreement, signalling a green light for Pakistan to access a payout of approximately $700 million, contingent on approval from the IMF’s executive board. The funding is deemed essential for Pakistan to avoid defaulting on debt obligations as the government intensifies efforts to rectify economic imbalances, such as adjusting gas prices and combating the illicit dollar trade. According to Bloomberg, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva commended Pakistan...