Business

KARACHI: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) tsar Khalid Mansoor said on Thursday Chinese businesses have shown willingness to relocate their production facilities to Pakistan if the ongoing trade war between China and the United States escalates further. Speaking at a conference of business leaders, the special assistant to the prime minister on CPEC affairs said two to three investors have approached …

KABUL: The Taliban said on Thursday they have approved their first budget for Afghanistan since the Islamists returned to power in August, with no mention of foreign aid. International assistance represented 40 per cent of Afghanistan’s GDP and made up 80pc of its budget when the former US-backed government was in control. When it crumbled in August and the Taliban …

KARACHI: Pakistan Bus­i­ness Council (PBC) chief executive officer Ehsan Malik said on Wednesday the country’s fiscal policy is inconsistent, inequitable and replete with U-turns. Addressing a summit of business leaders jointly held by Nutshell and Martin Dow groups, the head of the advocacy body representing the interests of 87 blue-chip companies said the latest imposition of sales tax on new-economy …

WASHINGTON: Growth in Pakistan surprised on the upside last year, supported by improving domestic demand, record-high remittance inflows, a narrow targeting of lockdowns, and accommodative monetary policy, says a World Bank report released on Wednesday. The bank’s Global Economic Prospects report 2022 projects that growth in the South Asian region (SAR) will accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2022, as pandemic-related disruptions fade, …

ISLSMABAD: The Fertiliser Review Committee (FRC) on Wednesday observed that urea was still being sold at prices higher than what the authorities had prescribed it to be. The committee was confident that an increase in urea availability with higher daily supply status would help stabilise its prices in the coming days. The FRC meeting was informed that a report by …

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir has exhorted the country’s exporters to compete with global players and increase the export-to-GDP ratio to “well above” its current level. “I’d like our exporters to take up this challenge since the exchange rate is competitive and the government is giving them subsidies as well as various kinds of incentives. …

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday allowed applicability of cheaper fixed electricity rate of Rs12.96 per unit on incremental consumption to domestic, commercial and general services in current winter months to K-Electric and until Oct 31, 2023 to all industrial consumers of the utility while missing out industrial (B1) consumers of other distribution companies (Discos). It …

ISLAMABAD: The Cen­tral Development Work­ing Party (CDWP) on Monday cleared 10 projects costing Rs96.1 billion. The CDWP meeting presided over by Deputy Chairman Planning Commi­ssion Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan formally approved eight development projects with a total estimated cost of Rs30.2bn and recommended two projects worth Rs65.9bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval. Under the …

KARACHI: The stock market stayed bullish on Monday as investors became optimistic on the back of the highest-ever textile exports in the first half of 2021-22, according to Arif Habib Ltd. Although the market opened under pressure because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases, traders took aggressive bets on technology stocks. A rally in the banking sector took place …

ISLAMABAD: Amid criticism from parliamentarians over unending tariff hike and loadshedding in various parts of the country, the government on Monday said it has targeted the power sector circular debt to come down to Rs1.88 trillion by end-June, about Rs400bn lower than a year ago. At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Power presided over by MNA …