Business

ISLAMABAD: The Heal­thcare Devices Association (HDA) has warned the relevant authorities of disruption of medical and surgical treatment facilities across the country after the recent restriction making registration with the Drug Regula­tory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) mandatory for the import of medical and surgical equipment. “Drap has not been able to make decisions on most of the registration applicati­ons submitted …

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia and China were set to beef up Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves much before the close of this month, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday and announced that the government would be shortly imposing flood levy on the affluent and a significant gain tax on banks’ foreign exchange earnings to ramp up revenue. “Our foreign exchange reserves by end-June …

Oil rebounded on Thursday after posting the biggest two-day loss for the start of a year in three decades with the shutdown of a US fuel pipeline providing support, though economic concerns capped gains. Big declines in the previous two days were driven by worries about a global recession, especially since short-term economic signs in the world’s two biggest oil consumers, the …

Pakistan’s biggest agricultural machinery manufacturer, Millat Tractors Limited, said on Thursday that it would remain closed from January 6 (tomorrow) till further notice, citing reduced demand and cash flow problems. In a regulatory filing, it stated, “Due to continuing reduced demand for tractors and cash flow constraints, the company will remain closed from Friday January 6, 2023 till further notice.” …

Pakistan’s trade deficit stood at $2.857 billion in December, shrinking 40.68 per cent year-on-year, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed. In December 2021, the deficit had clocked in at $4.816bn. The lower figure was mainly on account of a decrease in imports, which amounted to $5.161bn — declining 31.91pc from last December’s $7.58bn. Imports have plunged …

KARACHI: The cash-starved PMLN-led coalition government on Tuesday borrowed Rs655 billion exceeding the Rs300bn auction target for the treasury bills by 118 per cent without making any upward revision in the cut-off yields. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that the entire amount was raised for a three-month tenor at 16.99 per cent while the bids for six- and …

LAHORE: A white paper issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) comp­aring the economic performance of the Pakistan Demo­cratic Movement (PDM) and PTI governments painted a bleak picture of affairs and warned that hyperinflation, coupled with unemployment, could push the country towards “complete anarchy”. Speaking at a ceremony held at Chief Minister’s Secretariat at The Mall via video link, PTI Chairman …

Microsoft Corp is in the works to launch a version of its search engine Bing using the artificial intelligence behind OpenAI-launched chatbot ChatGPT, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the plans. Microsoft could launch the new feature before the end of March, and hopes to challenge Alphabet-owned search engine Google, the San Francisco-based technology news website said …

Oil edged lower on Wednesday after slumping in the previous session, weighed down by concerns about weak demand due to the state of the global economy. Brent futures for March delivery fell 13 cents to $81.97 a barrel, a 0.1 per cent loss, by 0511 GMT. US crude dropped 28 cents, or 0.3pc, to $76.65 per barrel. Both benchmarks plunged …

KARACHI: As all official imports of raw materials and finished goods are made on prevailing interbank dollar rates, consumers are forced to pay higher prices for gold and its related products as daily bullion rates are calculated on higher open market exchange rates. More surprisingly, official gold imports have been suspended for the last many years as claimed by bullion …