Business

In January, the annual increase in prices of essential items measured through the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) shot up to 19.5 per cent. This was the fastest ascend of SPI during the past 12 months, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). What is even more disturbing is that throughout the year (between Feb 2021 and Jan 2022) annual …

KARACHI: Stock trading commenced on a positive note in the outgoing week. But the market corrected midweek as oil prices crossed $90 per barrel for the first time since 2014, according to Arif Habib Ltd. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the disbursement of $1 billion while the Economic Coordination Committee approved the textile policy after incorporating certain changes. Furthermore, …

ISLAMABAD: Electri­city consumers will see an additional cost of Rs3 per unit in their February bills, as the country’s power regulator said generation plants used expensive fuel in December. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has notified the decision on fuel charge adjustment (FCA) for December for all electricity distribution companies. The increase in power rates drew sharp criticism …

KARACHI: The federal government is launching an ambitious Rs1.4 trillion financial assistance programme next week, hoping for quarterly disbursement of Rs40 billion interest-free loans across the country to help people set up their businesses, increase productivity in the agriculture sector and build homes with an additional facility of training for skill development, a key cabinet member said on Saturday. Calling …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan exhibits one of the lowest trade-to-GDP ratios in the world showing at just 30 per cent. However, it is not all doom and gloom and the country has a lot of room for improvement, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). One viable strategy that Pakistan can adopt to boost its growth is to further open its economy …

KARACHI: The government has decided to revise downward the markup rates for housing subsidy scheme with the aim to give the sector another chance to emerge as a leader in economic growth. A latest circular issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday said that in view of the feedback received from various stakeholders, the government has decided …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed export settlement of 14 items to Afghanistan in local currency. The export of poultry and products, meat, cement, pharmaceutical, textiles, fruits, vegetables, salt, rice and surgical instruments to the crisis-hit neighbouring country can be settled in Pakistani rupees, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood announced on his official Twitter account on Friday. The adviser said that queries …

ISLAMABAD: The weekly sensitive price indicator (SPI), which gauges inflation on a short-term basis, fell 0.08 per cent for the week ended on Feb 10, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. The decline was mainly driven by a sharp drop in the prices of essential food items and stood in contrast to a 1.35pc increase …

BEIJING: Appreciating Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing said both China and Pakistan would welcome all countries and international organisations to participate in the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the basis of consensus. “We appreciate the remarks made by Prime Minister Imran Khan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian …

KARACHI: Barring buses, two- and three-wheelers, the auto sector turned in a robust performance as car sales jumped by 61.5 per cent in the first seven months of this fiscal year followed by 80pc increase in demand for trucks, 56pc in jeeps/pickups and 16pc in farm tractors. The car segment, however, appeared to have slowed down in January with sales …