Business

KARACHI: The auto assemblers on Wednesday again shocked buyers of bikes, rickshaws, cars and commercial vehicles with immediate price hikes in the range of Rs10,000 to Rs350,000. Lucky Motor Corporation Ltd (LMCL) jacked up the prices of various models by up to Rs350,000 citing no reason. The new rate of Picanto Automatic, Stonic EX plus, Sportage AWD and Sportage Black …

LAHORE: President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday had an exclusive meeting with a delegation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) led by it President Kashif Anwar at the Governor House in a bid to discuss recent meetings of the army chief General Syed Asim Munir with the business community in Karachi and Lahore. The LCCI’s spokesman, through …

KARACHI: The rupee depreciated for the second session on Tuesday, falling by 0.48 per cent against the dollar to close at Rs307.10 in the interbank market, the central bank reported. However, after a crackdown on illegal money changers in Peshawar, the open market reacted differently and saw the dollar losing up to Rs7. The rupee weakened in the interbank market …

The Pakistani rupee continued to gain ground against the US dollar in the open market on Wednesday, rising by Rs4 against the greenback. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan, the rupee had gained Rs4 against the dollar and was changing hands at Rs313 at 12:15pm. It said that the dollar was selling for 313 in the open market while …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday announced its decision to introduce structural reforms in the exchange companies’ (ECs) sector in order to provide “better services to the general public and bring transparency and competitiveness” in the sector. “This is expected to strengthen governance, internal controls, and compliance culture in the sector,” the central bank’s statement said, adding that …

LAHORE: The federal government has decided to launch a crackdown “with full force” against electricity theft across the country to tame mounting technical and commercial losses being faced by the power distribution companies, Dawn has learnt. The interim government, facing the ire of agitated masses over inflated electricity bills in August, has been mulling its options — although limited — to placate …

ISLAMABAD: The global trade finance gap grew to a record $2.5 trillion in 2022 from $1.7tr two years earlier, as rising interest rates, flagging economic prospects, inflation, and geopolitical volatility reduced the capacity of banks to deliver trade financing, according to a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday. The “2023 Trade Finance Gaps, Growth and Jobs Survey” says …

ISLAMABAD: Amid countrywide protests over high electricity prices, the Power Division has virtually bombarded the power regulator with three separate sets of quarterly adjustments for K-Electric to clear the backlog for uniformity with consumers of ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (Discos), for simultaneous and overlapping application of 47 paise, Rs1.49-Rs4.45 and Rs3.55 per unit additional charges. The petitions filed before the National Electric Power …

KARACHI: The equities market began the week positively, buoyed by optimism surrounding the upcoming visit of a Saudi delegation to explore investment prospects in mineral, mining, and refinery sectors, coupled with assurances from the army chief to improve transparency in dollar exchange and interbank rates, which boosted investor confidence. The market’s resurgence can be attributed to optimistic developments stemming from a recent …

KARACHI: Constr­uction activities appear to have revived following a 37 per cent jump in domestic sales to 6.573 million tonnes during the first two months (July-August) 2023-24 from 4.8m tonnes in the same period last year. Export despatches also swelled by 117.13pc to 1.175m tonnes during 2MFY24 from 540,957 tonnes during the same period last year. As a result, total …