Business

WASHINGTON: Pakistan needs to undertake energy reforms and opt for renewable energy sources, said a senior US official, stressing that reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would help Islamabad break the “vicious circle of debt and international financing”. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst, who heads the Bureau of South and Central Affairs at the State Department, emphasised …

KARACHI: Equity investors are closely watching the upcoming State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Sept 14, anticipating a 200 basis points hike in key interest rates and its potential impact on inflation and economic stability. Simultaneously, all eyes are on an impending visit by a Saudi Arabian delegation, poised to unveil investment plans in Pakistan’s mineral, …

LAHORE: Since the Punjab government has so far been unable to fix the sugar price for sale in the market, it is being estimated that the sugar mills have extorted some Rs50 billion from people in the province, says Punjab food secretary Zaman Wattoo. After the suspension of price notification of sugar at Rs98.82/kg by the Lahore High Court on …

LAS ROZAS: Spain’s Olympic chief said on Friday the actions of football federation boss Luis Rubiales, who has unleashed a furore by kissing a women’s World Cup winning player, were “inappropriate, unacceptable” but did not represent Spanish sport as a whole. Men’s national team coach Luis de la Fuente meanwhile apologised for clapping Rubiales as he refused to quit last …

ISLAMABAD: A day after jacking up the prices of petrol and diesel, the caretaker government on Friday increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 19.4pc, pushing up the cost of a domestic cylinder by Rs460 for the current month. Pakistan Railways followed suit, raising passenger fares by 5pc. This was the second increase in a month. In a …

ISLAMABAD: Consumer prices continued to surge unabated in August, with the second month of the current fiscal year witnessing inflation at an elevated level of 27.4 per cent, mainly due to soaring energy prices that show no signs of relenting. However, it recorded a marginal deceleration from 28.3pc in July, attributed to a slight decline in perishable food prices. On …

KARACHI: Some respite came for investors on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as the benchmark index recovered after five consecutive negative sessions following the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) dismissal of interest rate hike speculations. The SBP dispelled rumours about holding an emergency meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, saying that such reports were “completely baseless.” “The reports …

KARACHI: Rejecting the price hike in petroleum prices, business leaders on Friday said the country needs an out-of-the-box solution to stabilise the economy instead of ruthlessly counterproductive decisions aimed at ruining the industries and consumers. Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said the government has no clue about the socioeconomic repercussions of the …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has highlighted policy implementation, higher sovereign guarantees and poor performance of state-owned entities (SOEs) as potential risks and uncertainties that could impact the country’s fiscal outlook while record inflation rates posed heightened risks to the country’s external stability. In its latest Fiscal Risk Statement (FRS) 2023-24, the ministry has noted that federal government exposure to SOEs, …

KARACHI: Bears tightened their grip on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the benchmark index plummeted by around 1,250 points, or 2.7 per cent, driven by concerns about the country’s faltering economy, rumours of an impending interest rate hike, and the persistent depreciation of the rupee. It was the year’s second-biggest overnight decline in the benchmark KSE-100 index …