Business

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the delay in the launching of Dhabeji Industrial Zone (DIZ) in Sindh, and urged the provincial government to provide additional 1,500 acres of land it had promised for the project. The prime minister gave these remarks at a meeting on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) which are being set up in …

Facebook’s parent firm Meta on Wednesday delivered a gloomy mix of a sharper-than-expected drop in profit, a decrease in users and threats to its ad business that plunged shares some 22 per cent in after-hours trading. Already jittery markets have punished pandemic-era darlings including Netflix for disappointing results, with Meta getting a taste of that after its $10.3 billion quarterly …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can harness its strategic geopolitical potential, improve regional and international economic connectivity and become an economic hub for Asia if the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is implemented successfully, but without structural reforms the country will not be able to achieve optimal benefits. This was stated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a fresh report released on Wednesday. …

Pakistan’s economy is set to keep on recovering in fiscal year 2022, with real GDP growth projected at four per cent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday, hours after approving the continuation of an extended loan arrangement. The IMF Executive Board also approved Pakistan’s request for waivers of applicability and nonobservance of performance criteria. The board met in Washington on …

ISLAMABAD: The telecom sector regulator is planning to contain the dominating position of mobile phone operators by restricting freewill tariff increase and utilising their profits for other telecom services. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has sought feedback on the draft ‘Tariff for Telecommunication Services Regulations, 2022’ which will bound all telecom operators to provide access to ‘Emergency Services’ to their …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s general inflation measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) clocked in at 24-month peak of 13pc in January as prices of almost all commodities and utilities maintained a growing trend. The sectors that posted double-digit growth in prices when compared to the same month of last year included perishable and non-perishable food items, energy, transportation, clothing, restaurants and health. …

KARACHI: A proposed five-year business plan to turn around Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suggests financial restructuring, independent decision making, re-organisation of company structure, restrictions to core business, financial discipline and human resource (HR) rationalisation cost controls. The proposed plan also calls for reviewing destinations, fleet planning exercises and network expansion thereby increasing PIA’s network spread and passenger uplift. The comprehensive …

KARACHI: The representative body of the downstream oil industry has approached the central bank governor for the resolution of “regulatory issues” that prevent banks from extending additional trade financing to liquidity-constrained energy companies. Speaking to Dawn on Tuesday, Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) Secretary-General Dr Nazir Abbas Zaidi said financing requirements of oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refineries have registered a “significant …

ISLAMABAD: With almost 55 per cent electricity generation from cheaper domestic resources with static prices, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday finalised Rs3.10 per unit increase in tariff for ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) on account of monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) to mop up additional Rs26 billion from consumers in February’s bills. “The Central Power Purchasing Agency …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs3.352 trillion in tax revenue in the first seven months (July to January) of the current fiscal year, exceeding its target by Rs262bn. However, data released by the FBR on Monday suggested the quantum of higher-than-targeted collection dropped from Rs286bn in the first six months to Rs262bn by the end of seven …