Business

ISLAMABAD: Almost entire Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have telephone coverage, but the internet services are limited to 40 per cent areas of the region and that too is mainly the 3G network. According to the Pakistan Tele­com­­munication Authority (PTA) Annual Report 2021, the teledensity in the region increased by 8.3pc over the previous year 2019-20 to 95.4pc in …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs3.79 trillion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (8MFY22), exceeding the target of Rs3.53tr by Rs268 billion, provisional data compiled by the tax body showed on Monday. Compared with the revenue collection of Rs2.92tr in 2020-21, 31 per cent growth was posted in July-February FY22. The historic growth …

LAHORE: Cotton crop may see its area increasing for the first time in the last decade this year in Punjab as its sowing starts and competing crops, especially maize, lose their economic sheen, claim farmers who abandoned the crop a few years back. According to farmers, some factors that started damaging cotton in the last decade or so, have started …

ISLAMABAD: The Board of Investment (BoI) has established links with Central Asian Republics and African countries, presenting Pakistan as a suitable investment destination. More than 100 delegates from CARs and Africa attended a day-long ‘Pakistan Investors Meet-up 2022’ organised by the BoI in Lahore on Saturday. The Board appreciated the speedy economic growth achieved by many African nations and said …

KARACHI: The outgoing week began with the KSE-100 index staying in the red zone on the back of investors’ concerns over geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The military conflict in Eastern Europe pushed global crude oil prices above the level of $100 per barrel. Other factors, like the Financial Action Task Force’s decision on Pakistan’s status along with the …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has come up with a new measure to help banks achieve their mandatory targets for housing and construction financing. Despite booming profits in 2021, the banks remained lethargic in the disbursement of approved loans for housing and construction. On July 15, 2020, the SBP set mandatory targets that required the lenders to extend …

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan will meet at the Torkham border on Monday to discuss issues for smooth flows of trade and pedestrians, largely part of a scheme aimed at enhancing bilateral ties with the landlocked country. A high-level Pakistani delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood and comprising senior bureaucrats from relevant departments, will meet its Afghan …

ISLAMABAD: Prices of all key petroleum products are estimated to go up by Rs8 to Rs10 on Monday for the next fortnight, mainly because of higher international oil prices, application of additional petroleum levy and currency devaluation. The benchmark crude price has increased from $95 per barrel to $99 in the international market over the past fortnight of import orders …

ISLAMABAD: The Skol­kovo Foundation, Russia’s principal agency for development and commercialisation of advanced technologies, and the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) of Pakistan will collaborate to enhance bilateral cooperation in the technology sector, foster business relations and increase exchanges between the scientific and technological institutions of two countries. In this regard, a letter of intent was signed by Chairman of …

KARACHI: In line with the trend in international shares markets, the benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange stayed in the positive territory for the most part of the trading session on Friday. According to Topline Se­­cu­rities, quarterly income pos­­ted by Indus Motor Com­pany Ltd was in line with market expectations while that by Pakistan Petroleum Ltd was less than …