Business

ISLAMABAD: The government officially awarded additional spectrum to Ufone during a ceremony on Wednesday. Ufone was the only company to have submitted bids for the additional spectrum auction while Jazz, Telenor and Zong 4G — country’s top three mobile operators — had opted to stay away from the process. Sharing his thoughts on spectrum acquisition, president and group CEO of …

ISLAMABAD: Ignoring the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) workings, the government on Wednesday increased the prices of all the petroleum products by Rs5 to Rs6 per litre with immediate effect for next 15 days to pass on impact of higher international market and currency depreciation. According to a notification issued by Ministry of Finance, the prices of petrol and …

ISLAMABAD: Within first quarter of the new fiscal year, the Economic Coordination Committee (CCI) of the Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs28 billion supplementary grants to Ministry of Defence and about Rs44bn to Pakistan International Airlines. Presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, the ECC also allowed 70 million cubic feet of imported gas to two Punjab-based fertiliser plants for the …

KARACHI: Growing pressure in the external sector is likely to result in a current account deficit of $12 billion to $17bn for 2021-22, veteran bureaucrat and former aide to the premier Dr Waqar Masood Khan said on Wednesday. Addressing a book launch ceremony at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dr Khan said the country should expect major changes in …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said that Pakistanis are no longer required to visit a branch for opening an account and instead can use the digital framework designed by the central bank for the purpose. “Based on the success of the Roshan Digital Account framework, the SBP has now devised a comprehensive ‘Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework’, which …

ISLAMABAD: The government will revise prices of petroleum products on Wednesday (today). The prices may be increased by up to Rs10.5 per litre for the next fortnight if the calculations of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) are accepted by the government. However, a senior official told Dawn that the government might pass on a partial impact of increase in imported …

KARACHI: The production of iron and steel, with billets/ingots mainly used in the construction industry, in the last 10 years swelled by 196 per cent to 4.777 million tonnes in FY21 from 1.616m tonnes in FY12. H/CR sheets/strips, coils/plates, also known as flat steel products for production of electronics, surged to 3.296m tonnes in FY21 from 1.850m tonnes in FY12, …

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has been awarded the best Islamic stock exchange award by Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) for the year 2021. PSX has a robust platform for providing Shariah-compliant products including dedicated Islamic indices, equities and debt instruments. Speaking at the occasion, PSX Chairperson Dr Shamshad Akhtar stated it was definitely an immense achievement for PSX to …

ISLAMABAD: The German airline Lufthansa is keen on resuming flight operations to Pakistan after 13 years, a high-level business delegation from Germany informed the Board of Investment (BoI) on Tuesday. The German business delegation that included Lufthansa representatives told BoI Secretary Fareena Mazhar the airline — second largest in Europe in terms of passengers carried — was seriously considering resuming …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minis­ter Shaukat Tarin on Tuesday announced more than 32 per cent increase in the issue price of wheat — from Rs1,475 to Rs1,950 per 40kg — for release to mills and said the government would provide direct cash subsidy to the vulnerable population on four essential commodities — wheat, sugar, ghee and pulses. Speaking at a news conference, …