Business

KARACHI: It’s that time of year again when finance ministers at both federal and provincial levels proudly announce major hikes in development budgets amid a loud thumping of desks by legislators. Populist rhetoric containing eye-popping percentage increases in allocations for development schemes draws jubilant applause. But few pay any attention to the hundreds of billions of rupees that go unspent …

KARACHI: Due to falling vegetable prices on world markets, Pakistan earned a meagre amount despite exporting a record quantum of 1.035 million tonnes in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Pakistan fetched $235 million from vegetable exports during 9MFY23 compared to $240m from 675,331 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. The average per-tonne price (APT) in …

ISLAMABAD: The Asi­an Development Bank (ADB) is considering supporting the dev­e­lopment of some of the required transmission lines through a $250 million loan to the power transmission stren­gt­hening project in Pakistan. The project aims to support the government’s age­nda to deploy sufficient, rel­i­a­ble, clean, and cost-effective energy for sustain­able economic gro­wth by expanding the high-voltage transmission network in the northern …

ISLAMABAD: As the European Union’s 10-year preferential trade arrangement approaches its expiration this year, Pakistan has intensified its efforts to enhance compliance with key international conventions that encompass a wide spectrum of human rights, labour standards, and environmental protections. The EU monitoring team had already visited Pakistan and compiled the last assessment report on the Generalised Scheme of Prefe­rences Plus …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday held out reassurance to the businessmen of Karachi pledging to consider their concerns during the budget deliberations for the year 2023-24. The businessmen had expressed grievances regarding the restrictive import policies imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan, particularly concerning raw materials, which they claimed had significantly declined the country’s exports. The budget …

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday “reassured” the nation that Pakistan will not default and promised that the government had planned reforms for the country’s “long-term betterment”. Speaking to a delegation of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Islamabad, Dar said: “Our main objective today is just to assure you that as your economic team, we are putting …

ISLAMABAD: The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) on Friday recommended a tentative national development plan of about Rs2.66 trillion, including the federal Public Sector Development Programme of Rs950bn to lift the country’s economic growth rate to 3.5 per cent in the next fiscal year from one of the lowest rates of 0.3pc this year. The plan is subject to change …

ISLAMABAD: The chief executive officer of Jazz Pakistan’s parent company has stressed that storing data within the country will help drive digitalisation, create jobs and protect the data from falling into the wrong hands. “By keeping the data within Pakistan, new employment opportunities can be created for engineers to develop innovative digital services,” Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of Amsterdam-based Veon Group, …

ISLAMABAD: For the ninth month in a row, Pakistan’s merchandise exports dived by 16.69 per cent year-on-year to $2.18 billion in May, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Friday. In the first 11 months (July to May) of 2022-23, the exports dipped 12.14pc to $25.36bn compared to $28.87bn in the corresponding period last year. The export …

KARACHI: The local auto assemblers have voiced concern over a government’s proposal to charge withholding tax (WHT) on an invoice price basis instead of engine capacity saying it will push up vehicle prices and further dampen already reeling sales. Currently, a fixed WHT is being applied on the engine capacity basis of an automobile under section 231B of the Income …