Business

ISLAMABAD: With a summary for increase in price of natural gas by up to 35 per cent on the table, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Friday approved a flat tariff of Rs12.96 per unit for electricity consumers across the country on additional consumption for four winter months in an effort to promote use of electrical appliances for heating …

ISLAMABAD: The country’s food import bill widened by over 50 per cent to $1.473 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year (2MFY22) from $0.980bn over the corresponding months of last year to bridge the gap in food production, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday. The continuing food import bill is …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday decided to involve commercial banks and microfinance banks through bidding in its flagship Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) that has been scaled down to address concerns of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the Steering Committee and Advisory Board of KPP presided over Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin. …

KARACHI: The current account deficit (CAD) has increased by a whopping 81 per cent in August to $1,476 million compared to July during this fiscal year (FY22), mainly because of an ever-rising imports bill. The latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday showed that FY22 has come under a strong grip of both trade and …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday asked top officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to follow an ambitious target of taking tax-to-GDP ratio to 20 per cent over the next six to eight years. At the same time, he expressed the hope that the FBR team would spare no effort or avenue to not only achieve the …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government and provinces have agreed to implement the much-awaited single portal for filing sales tax returns to reduce the compliance cost for taxpayers. The understanding was reached on Thursday during the second meeting of the National Tax Council (NTC) presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin at the Finance Division. The NTC considered different proposals for filing …

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Thursday expressed concern over the slow pace of development on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and dissatisfaction being expressed by the Chinese companies over the negligible progress over the past three years. While presiding over the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, its Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla said the Chinese were not satisfied with the …

LAHORE: The country’s unemployment rate jumped from 5.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 6.9pc in 2018-19, the first year of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in power, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday. In absolute terms, the number of people actively looking for jobs increased by 0.92 million to 4.71m in FY19 …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has become self-sufficient in mung bean production as the first estimate of the crop for 2021-22 records the legume output at 253,000 tonnes against the national requirement of about 180,000 tonnes. The self-sufficiency in mung bean — a major edible legume in Asia — was announced during the annual review and planning meeting for Rabi 2021-22 on Thursday. …

TEHRAN: An Iranian official has suggested that cryptocurrencies could be used to overcome problems related to international sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic. “We cannot remain indifferent to the phenomenon” of cryptocurrencies, Gholamreza Marhaba, spokesman of the economic commission at Iran’s parliament, said. “The transfer of money through cryptocurrencies could be a means to circumvent sanctions and ease their effects” …