Business

ISLAMABAD: Rejec­ting K-Electric’s demand for 49 paise per unit increase, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday ordered the Karachi-based power utility to refund 5 paise per unit it overcharged consumers in April under monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) mechanism. The regulator has decided to allow the negative FCA for April to be reflected in June’s bills, said …

KARACHI: Baluchistan Wheels Ltd (BWL), a main supplier of steel wheel rims to the local auto industry, announced on Friday a suspension of production activities from June 19 till the end of Eidul Azha holidays due to a drop in sales orders from the assemblers. In a stock filing on Friday, the company said that production activities would resume immediately …

KHYBER: Twelve stranded tankers carrying imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) were cleared from customs process at Torkham late Friday evening and allowed to proceed to Peshawar. Customs clearing agent Mujeebullah Shinwari told Dawn that the clearance process was completed in the evening after acquiring permission from the Collectorate of Customs in Peshawar on Thursday. An exhausted Mr Shinwari said that they had …

KARACHI: Shares ope­n­ed on the higher side on Friday but a lack of triggers pushed the benchmark index down amid lacklustre sentiments. Arif Habib Ltd attributed the negative sentiments to the ninth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which remains stalled. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said stocks closed lower after the finance minister’s statement that the delay in the …

ISLAMABAD: Amid a declining trend in rice exports in the outgoing fiscal year, a ray of hope has emerged with the registration of 15 more rice establishments for exports to the Russian Federation. The Department of Plant Protection (DPP) of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research recommended these establishments to the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary …

HYDERABAD: Energy Minis­ter Khurram Dastgir has said that despite objections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government would continue with its plans to dole out a huge power subsidy. Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, he said Pakistan had managed issues without IMF’s support and hoped that “we can pass more days without this support”. He admitted that the …

KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $107 million to $4 billion during the week ending June 9, 2023. However, Pakistan reportedly paid $1bn to China on Monday, which brought down the SBP reserves to $3bn. The finance ministry neither confirmed nor denied the media report. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has expressed disappointment …

ISLAMABAD: Following a two-day visit by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Azerbaijan on Thursday agreed to start shipments of LNG cargoes to Pakistan at “cheaper rates” from next month, said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the prime minister held a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev at Zagulba Palace wherein it was decided …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minis­ter Ishaq Dar continued with his ‘contradictory’ approach with the IMF, alleging on Thursday that geopolitics was behind a stalled loan programme as global institutions wanted Pakistan to default like Sri Lanka and then enter negotiations, but also insisting that negotiations with the Fund were ongoing and the ninth review would be complete this month. Testifying before the …

COLOMBO: Crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s economy shrank by 11.5 per cent in the first quarter just before an IMF bailout kicked in, official figures showed on Thursday. The contraction in the first three months compared with shrinkage of 0.5pc in the corresponding period of 2022, and a decline of 12.4pc in last year’s final quarter. A currency crisis from late 2021 …