Business

LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the relevant ministers to immediately have a detailed meeting with the representatives of textile industry and come up with a solution till Wednesday (tomorrow) regarding finalisation of a competitive gas and electricity tariff for the export sector and restoration of gas to the captive power-run industry. The PM also directed the authorities …

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Pow­er Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Monday allowed K-Electric to raise about Rs19 billion additional funds in August by charging an unprecedented additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs9.42 per unit to consumers on electricity they consumed in May. At a public hearing presided over by Nepra Chairman Tauseef H. Farooqui, the regulator considered KE’s request for …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) looks set to raise its key policy rate by 125 basis points at its review on Thursday, as it attempts to tackle 13-year high inflation, according to the median estimate in a snap poll of 10 economists and market watchers. The economists, analysts and senior professors surveyed were widely split on the quantum of increase …

LAHORE: US Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs Dilawar Syed says his country is keen to enhance bilateral trade with Pakistan besides tapping the investment opportunities in different sectors like textile, renewable energy and agriculture. “I am confident to say that a huge investment in textile sector is expected. And after availing tremendous trade opportunities from the US, Pakistani …

As a country, we love banning things. From the most basic stuff like confectionery to more sophisticated things such as mobile phones. It’s more than just economic management, more like an obsession. Nothing drives that point home better than the case of TikTok where courts along with the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) have played big brother and decided what people should do …

Can PML-N, the leading party of the ruling coalition, motivate and mobilise its political base of traders and industrialists to rise, take risks and surprise the nation by investing more than before against odds to prove mastery of their skills and to show their trust in democracy and the future of the country? If the elites so decide they can …

The budget for the current fiscal year is aimed at dampening growth. Taxation measures are such that they would force companies to produce less. The eroded real income of people, on the other hand, would reduce their spending. A new demand-supply equilibrium so achieved would “stabilise” the economy and correct the “imbalances” in the economic structure. So, demand for private …

The roots of rising external sector vulnerabilities can be traced to the long persisting pattern of import-led economic growth funded by increasing unsustainable foreign debts which have now culminated in the risk of loan default. To quote an analyst, 95 per cent of the imports help in production and fuel the economy. Financing of imports is however getting more and …

Imagine a visiting foreigner is taken on a handful of day trips through Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore and other Pakistani cities, including the industrial areas within and around them. On his flight back to Dubai or Singapore, he might just pen the following remark in his notebook: “A highly reproductive but not very productive general population; well-meaning but not regionally-informed or …

ISLAMABAD: As nano-lending fintech gains popularity among the unbanked population of the country, several non-licensed companies have entered the fray and the authorities are unable to stop them. Of the eight non-banking finance companies (NBFC) in the country, only two are in the instant digital lending business providing up to Rs25,000 loans in less than half an hour to clients. …