Business

KARACHI: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority czar Khalid Mansoor came out on Saturday swinging at the United States for hatching plots against the multibillion-dollar project. Addressing the CPEC Summit at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), the special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on CPEC affairs accused the United States of conniving in cahoots with India against the economic …

ISLAMABAD: Fearing disruptions in export proceeds, the government has decided in principle to look into various options including allowing exports of additional items in local currency to Afghanistan on land routes owing to non-availability of tradable currency through banking channels. As part of the facilitation, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has extended the facility of cash convertible currencies as …

LAHORE: The private sector is likely to be allowed to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from next month, the All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) said on Saturday. “During a recent meeting, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar was persuaded to allow the private parties including the CNG sector to import LNG on their own in a bid to meet the demand and …

KARACHI: Pakistan’s first green hydrogen plant will be built in Sindh with a capacity to produce approximately 150,000kg fuel per day, it emerged on Saturday. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of UK-listed Oracle Power Public Ltd, Naheed Memon, and Chief Representative in Pakistan of Power China International for development of the first green …

KARACHI: Stockbrokers are holding their breath while the government locks horns with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over the stalled loan programme. The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) barely inched up in the outgoing week because of the inordinate delay in the agreement, which will lead to the release of a $1 billion tranche against promises of …

KARACHI: The digital financial transactions in the country showed a robust growth during the fiscal year 2020-21, replacing the conventional banking transactions faster than expectations of the banking industry. According to the State Bank’s latest Annual Payment Systems Review (PSR) for FY21 issued on Friday, the transactions processed through the SBP’s large-value payments segment, known as Real-time Inter-Bank Settlement Mechanism …

KARACHI: Politics took a toll on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as an alliance of main opposition parties took to the streets against the government. As a result, the benchmark index failed to sustain its intraday high of 217 points and lost 243.04 points, or 0.53 per cent, to close at 45,578.36 points. On the corporate result front, …

LAHORE: The government is convincing Chinese companies — engaged in various power projects — to receive capacity payments in installments instead of full amounts, as it would be convenient for it to clear pending dues. “There are some issues prevailing in various CPEC and non-CPEC projects. One of the major issues is the capacity payments liable to be paid by …

WASHINGTON: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin left Washington on Thursday without concluding the talks that could have led to a much-needed endorsement of the government’s economic policies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The minister, however, leaves behind Finance Secretary Yousaf Khan to further pursue the talks for the resumption of a $6 billion …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will renegotiate all bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on the basis of new BIT template being finalised by the government, a top official of the Board of Investment said. Speaking at the ‘Inter­national Investment Agreement’ Conference of the World Investment Forum being held virtually, BoI secretary Fareena Mazhar shared that a positive initial response has been received from the …