Business

In a recent Dawn article, the authors — a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), chairman of Habib Bank Limited and president of Bank of Punjab — have discussed in detail a serious problem of Pakistan’s economy: unsustainably high level of currency in circulation (CIC). Apart from unleashing other miseries in the economy and society, consistent buildup in CIC …

RIYADH: Opec heavyweights said on Sunday oil and gas should not be stigmatised in the climate debate and that the industry had a role to play in an orderly energy transition. Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, the three largest members of the Opec, have gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the UN MENA …

KARACHI: Minister for Energy, Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali has said there are no short-term solutions to the issue of the circular debt. Speaking at the 20th Annual Excellence Awards organised by the CFA Society Pakistan on Friday evening, Mr Ali said a roadmap to address the issues in the energy sector, including the circular debt, will be developed by …

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued a warning to the general public against investing in fraudulent investment schemes of Meilleuretech Services, a sole proprietorship concern. The SECP has noticed that the entity, owned by Zeeshan Munir, is prima facie accepting deposits from the public illegally by offering various illegal “advertisement watching packages” and promising unrealistic …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan “over-performed” on innovation for the second consecutive year and positioned itself among the economies that have shown the most significant ascent in the 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII), according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Pakistan ranks 88th among the 132 economies featured in the GII. Relative to GDP, Pakistan is performing above expectations for its level of development, …

KARACHI: A combination of a government crackdown on speculators, a stronger rupee and a fall in global market rates has resulted in a notable drop of around Rs20,000 per tola in the domestic 24-karat gold rates over the past 25 days. However, with All Pakistan Gem and Jewellers Association (APGJA) halting its daily rate announcements on Sept 13, traders have been quoting …

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, the flow of Afghan transit cargoes has witnessed a substantial surge in one year. The number of containers under Afghan transit trade transporting goods through Pakistan has increased by nearly 39 per cent, reaching a total of 102,886 containers in the 2022-23 from 74,316 containers in the previous year, according to …

ISLAMABAD: In a rare development, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had to surrender to a legal stance of K-Electric that it had rejected twice in the past involving over Rs1.44 billion financial cost to be charged to KE consumers at the rate of about 33 paise per unit. Nepra had acceded to the KE’s position following speaking orders …

ISLAMABAD: Amid a public debate on whether the caretaker government can only address the day-to-day affairs, former finance czar Ishaq Dar came to the government’s rescue on Friday by backing its authority to make significant economic policy decisions. In its last days, the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government had made some amendments to the Elections Act 2017, Mr Dar told …

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose on Friday but remained on track to post their steepest weekly losses since March, after another partial lifting of Russia’s fuel export ban compounded demand fears due to macroeconomic headwinds. On Friday, Brent futures edged 36 cents higher at $84.43 per barrel at 1:33 pm EDT (1733 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were …