Business

KARACHI: Around 50 per cent of small- to medium-sized salt makers have gone on strike against the “unjustified increase” in prices by the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC). “Other manufacturers will follow suit in case the PMDC does not revert the price hike,” said Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SMAP) chairman Ismail Suttar, adding that there are around 2,000 salt …

DOHA: France’s TotalEnergies on Saturday signed a further $1.5 billion investment in Qatar’s natural gas production expansion, which comes as Europe scrambles to find new energy sources to replace Russian supplies. The French energy giant will have a 9.3 per cent stake in the North Field South gas project, the first foreign partner in that section of the vast field, …

KARACHI: One-third of Pakistan may be underwater, but the blue-chip companies continue to make hay while the sun shines as brightly as ever on the country’s corporate sector. Net profits of the top listed companies went up 22 per cent for 2021-22 to over Rs1 trillion on an annual basis. Speaking to Dawn on Saturday, Topline Securities CEO Mohammed Sohail said growth …

KARACHI: Banks and the corporate sector invested Rs4.877 trillion in government papers during the nine months through June, showing an increase of 30 per cent over the previous figure. The government has recently increased the treasury bill rates to 15.99pc for all tenors ranging from three to 12 months. Yields on Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), as of Sept 14, were …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected to spend $2 billion of the World Bank funds — meant for multi-sectoral projects in the country — on food, shelter and other urgent needs in the wake of devastating floods. WB’s new vice president for the South Asia region on Saturday announced that the lender was envisaging financing of about $2bn to help Pakistan strengthen …

ISLAMABAD: Retired three- and four-star officers of the armed forces will be able to import duty-free bulletproof vehicles of up to 6,000cc under a policy green-lighted by the federal cabinet, but is subject to approval from the premier, an official source told Dawn. The facility will also be available to all three services chiefs and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday amended regulations to strengthen the foreign exchange regime to encourage customers to use banking channels. The SBP said the banking channels will be used to buy foreign currency through exchange companies. All foreign currency purchases or outward remittances of $2,000 or above will be now conducted through cheques. The State Bank said a …

KARACHI: The rupee on Friday managed to stage a modest recovery against the US dollar after suffering losses in the last 15 consecutive sessions. The dollar lost just six paise against the local currency to close at Rs239.65 from Rs239.71 a day earlier. Currency dealers were not sure whether the reversal of the exchange rate trend would be sustainable or …

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) clarified on Saturday that it had not issued any Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) for the import of duty and tax-free bulletproof cars. “The news that has appeared in various sections of the media is not based on correct facts. The federal cabinet approved a decision in 2019 to allow such [a] facility but no …

ISLAMABAD: Inflation for the week ended on Sept 22 dipped 8.1 per cent compared to the previous week, mainly on the back of a decline in the prices of food items like tomatoes, bananas and cooking oil, official data showed on Friday. However, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which gauges inflation for the short term, was still over 29pc higher …