Business

Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir asserted on Thursday that the PML-N-led coalition government’s commitment to stabilise Pakistan’s economy and prevent the effects of an “international energy crisis” from manifesting in the country was clear as petroleum product reserves were at a “record level”. Dastgir, who was addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, said this …

KARACHI: Lucky Motor Corporation Ltd (LMCL) has emerged as the first company to pass on the huge impact of rupee’s devaluation by raising prices by up to Rs1.1 million. In a circular to its authorised dealers on Tuesday, the company said the price of two models of 1,000cc Picanto (manual and automatic including capital value tax) has been raised by Rs5m to …

WASHINGTON: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has underscored Pakistan’s continued commitment to the International Monetary Fund’s programme, hoping that this would encourage the IMF to give early approval to its staff agreement with Islamabad. In a meeting with Deputy Managing Director Antoinette M. Sayeh on Monday, the minister also sought the IMF’s assistance to the country’s agriculture sector, especially …

ISLAMABAD: The government has asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to allow increasing electricity rates by up to Rs11 per unit for high-end residential consumers across the country to bear the additional burden of consumers with lower consumption. The rate approved by the federal government under the “tariff rebasing 2022-23” for consumers with a monthly consumption slab of …

India’s central bank is prepared to sell a sixth of its foreign exchange reserves to defend the rupee against a rapid depreciation after it plumbed record lows in recent weeks, a senior source aware of the central bank’s thinking told Reuters. The rupee has lost over seven per cent of its value in 2022 and weakened past the psychological level of …

The rupee continued its fall in the interbank market on Wednesday, with the local currency sliding to a historic low of Rs225 against the dollar as Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said political turmoil was to blame for the downturn. “The panic in the market is primarily due to political turmoil, which will subside in a few days,” Ismail told Reuters, adding …

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed intense selling pressure on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost over 900 points. The market’s decline coincided with the rupee falling to an all-time low against the dollar for a second consecutive day. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 Index opened at 41,367.11 points and went up 176 points initially. However, after 10:30am the …

The rupee fell to an all-time low against the dollar for the second day in a row on Tuesday, closing at Rs222 in the interbank market. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the greenback was up Rs8.8, or 4 per cent, against the previous day’s close of Rs215.20 to reach Rs224 around 2:30pm. However, it closed at Rs221.99, …

ISLAMABAD: Moody’s Investors Service on Monday termed the staff level agreement (SLA) signed by Pakistan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of its programme as ‘credit positive’ and hoped it would ease pressure on declining foreign exchange reserves. But the credit rating agency wondered whether the government could afford to keep raising petroleum taxes and electricity tariffs in the …

ISLAMABAD: PTCL Group president and chief executive Hatem Bamatraf on Monday said that Ufone was not interested to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction but demanded the government not to ease the conditions. “We have no plans to participate in the new spectrum auction but the terms and conditions should be the same as they were during the last auction,” …