Business

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) group achieved a 23.2 per cent revenue growth in the January-March quarter over the same period last year. The PTCL group’s revenue was recorded at Rs43.2 billion during the first quarter of 2023, however, the group posted a net loss of Rs5.7bn. The key challenges faced by the company were increasing energy and fuel …

HOUSTON: Oil prices edges higher on Tuesday as upbeat economic data in No. 2 oil consumer China more than offset wider concerns that possible increases to US interest rates could dampen growth in the top consuming country. Brent crude rose 49 cents, or 0.6 per cent, to $85.25 a barrel by 12:48 p.m. ET (1648 GMT), while US West Texas …

KARACHI: The banks have failed to meet the surging demand for cash amid higher inflows of foreign exchange in Ramazan. It was also noted that dozens of automated teller machines (ATMs) were out of cash during the last two days as banks were not filling them up with the required cash. Currency dealers said the supply of cash from banks …

KARACHI: The Chinese mine operator in Thar whose output feeds coal-based power plants generating 1,360 megawatts has reportedly cut its production by half over non-payment of dues to the tune of $60 million. The China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) — which works under an offshore agreement with Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) as the operator of an open-pit lignite …

KARACHI: Thriving smuggling has wiped out steel bar manufacturing in Balochistan rendering thousands of workers jobless. In a letter Pakistan Association of Large Steel Producers (PALSP) Secretary General Syed Wajid Bukhari on Monday informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that over 80pc steel bars sold in Balochistan were coming from Iran through smuggling, misdeclaration and under-invoicing. Due to weak vigilance by …

WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are buying petroleum products from Russia at steep discounts, ignoring US objections, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday. Last year, the United States and its Western partners imposed strict sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, cutting off Moscow from its traditional trading partners. This has forced Russia to sell its products …

NEW DELHI: India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement (FTA), the Russian trade minister said on Monday, an announcement that could deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. The FTA talks mark a step-up in economic relations between the two countries despite calls from Western countries for India to gradually distance itself …

ISLAMABAD: Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) shrank 11.6 per cent in February over the same month last year causing massive layoffs, especially in export-oriented textile industries, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The slowdown in industrial output is mainly contributed to the textile and clothing industries because exports from the sector posted double-digit declines. It is expected …

About 300 people lined up at Apple’s store in Mumbai on Tuesday, as fans took selfies with Chief Executive Tim Cook who inaugurated the first retail store run by the company in India, underscoring the importance of its market. People gathered from across the nation, hoping to be among the first to enter the store in an opening event featuring …

In nine months of this fiscal year (between July 2022 and March 2023), the PML-N led government borrowed more than Rs2 trillion from banks to meet budgetary requirements, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. In the same period of the last fiscal year (between July 2021 and March 2022), the then PTI-led federal government borrowed Rs969 billion. The government’s …