Business

ISLAMABAD: The rec­ent decision of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to increase the interest rate has received widespread condemnation from the business community and political circles. Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) President Muh­amm­ad Shakeel Munir criticised the SBP’s decision to make a steep hike of 2.5 per cent in benchmark interest rate and taking it to 12.25pc. This harsh …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will need about $3 billion in external assistance in the next six months to help restore supplies of essential items including fuel and medicine, its finance minister told Reuters on Saturday. The island nation of 22 million people has been hit by prolonged power cuts and shortages which have drawn protesters out on to the streets and …

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has announced its decision to resume the two separate processes requested by Pakistan and India in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants, in line with its responsibilities under the Indus Waters Treaty. The decision has been formally communicated in letters to India and Pakistan, a World Bank press release said. The two countries …

ISLAMABAD: Inflation measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) increased 1.53 per cent during the week ended on April 7, owing to a rise in the prices of essential food items, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Friday. This was the biggest increase in weekly prices since Nov 11, when the SPI jumped 1.81pc. One reason behind rising …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has sought about Rs14.5 per unit (7.87 US cents per unit) levelized tariff for 40 years for its second mega Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) of 1100 megawatts at Karachi (K-3). The plant (K-3) is second of the series of two 1100MW each nuclear plants and is currently in testing phase sending out about …

ISLAMABAD: The sixth meeting of the Joint Working Group on Industrial Cooperation between Pakistan and China held here in Islamabad on Friday reviewed progress on special economic zones of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and vowed to take forward in a pragmatic manner the ‘Framework Agreement’ the two countries signed in February. Unlike previous JWG meetings, the sixth meeting witnessed …

KARACHI: Bulls returned to the shares market on Friday as the Supreme Court’s order ended uncertainty over the status of the PTI government. The impact was immediately visible across the bond, currency and equities markets. The rupee recovered 1.9 per cent value against the dollar in a day in what analysts termed the highest recovery in two years. In addition, …

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics’ flagship Galaxy S22 smartphone has taken a battering from reports of hobbled performance and has seen carriers half its price at home in South Korea just weeks since its launch, hurting its image as an iPhone rival. Consumers have complained — and even filed a class-action lawsuit — about the handset maker advertising what it called its …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president has appointed a panel of experts to organise a restructuring of foreign debt as he seeks a way out of a worsening economic crisis, with protests demanding his resignation escalating. Shortages of food and fuel, along with record inflation and regular blackouts, have inflicted unprecedented misery on Sri Lankans in the most painful downturn since independence …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Inter­national Airlines (PIA) will operate direct non-stop flights to Sydney from April 22 with an interline arrangement made with Virgin Australia (VA) for eight more connecting destinations within Australia. A spokesman for the national flag carrier said on Thursday that the PIA flights would initially be operated from Lahore to Sydney on Fridays and from Sydney to Lahore …