Business

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has initiated an inquiry into the suspected cartelisation by primary dealers (PDs) in the recent auctions of Market Treasury Bills (T-bills) carried out by the government. A preliminary probe was undertaken due to various concerns raised with respect to the significant rise in the yields for all tenors including 3-, 6- and 12-month …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday approved the transaction structure and project proposal for the construction and operation of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) on public-private mode at an estimated cost of about Rs220bn. Under the transaction structure approved by the board of Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A), the private sector will finance, develop and run the project on commercial lines. The meeting …

KARACHI: Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HPL) said on Monday it’s been “fully cooperating” with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which is looking into its past activities. “Much of the information being assessed by the FIA is based on facts, which the company has already chosen to disclose to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX),” according to a press release. It said the …

ISLAMABAD: While igno­ring the recommendations of a parliamentary panel on agriculture, the government on Monday approved about 7.6 per cent increase in minimum indicative prices (MIPs) of tobacco crop for 2022. A special meeting of the Economic Coordination Comm­ittee of the cabinet, virtually presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, on Monday approved the MIPs proposed by National Food Security …

KARACHI: The huge and powerful dark green locomotive attached to a long line of big and small freight containers awaited the inauguration ceremony to be off on its way at the Hutchison Ports Pakistan, also known as the South Asia Pakistan Terminal, on Monday. Then as soon as the ribbon was cut, it honked loudly while making the slouching guests …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 9.75 per cent in its latest monetary policy and signalled that borrowing costs would remain steady for now, as recent tax increases were expected to curb demand and reduce the country’s budget deficit. “There’s no need for further tightening at the moment because of the …

Contrary claims have emerged over construction activities in the country as constructors and builders paint a gloomy picture while the State Bank of Pakistan (SPB) paints a rosy scenario given 85 per cent growth in construction and housing finance in 2021. The decline in local cement despatches to 4.057 million tonnes in December 2021 from 4.124m tonnes in November 2021 …

In six months and 20 days of the current fiscal year (between July 1, 2021, and Jan 20, 2022,) the rupee has lost 12 per cent value against the US dollar. On June 30 last year, the rupee closed at 157.54 per dollar in the interbank market; On Jan 19, 2022, it finished the day’s trading at 176.49. A rising …

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday arrested Mumtaz Hasan, founder of the Hascol Petroleum Limited (HPL), in a Rs54 billion scam. Director of the agency’s Sindh Zone Amir Farooqi said a total of 30 suspects — including present and former top officials of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), HPL and other organisations — had been booked in …

ISLAMABAD: Around 15 oil marketing companies (OMCs) are reported to have imported over 2.4 billion litres of petrol from China in two years earning a windfall of more than Rs20bn because of a special arrangement allowed under the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA). These OMCs have reported to the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) through the Oil Companies Advisory Council …