Business

ISLAMABAD: Emphasising the need for concerted efforts to explore onshore and offshore oil and gas reserves, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Tuesday the country has an abundance of natural resources to cater for domestic and industrial needs. Speaking at the Petroleum Conference as the chief guest, the prime minister reaffirmed the government’s readiness to contribute to infrastructure …

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet approved on Tuesday a simplified scheme for taxing the indicative incomes of traders, retailers and specified people to raise an additional revenue of Rs400 billion to Rs500 billion. The proposal was approved as part of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) restructuring plan in a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq. However, …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom sector generated Rs850 billion in revenues in 2022-23, marking a 17 per cent growth from the previous year and demonstrating the sector’s resilience amid challenges of inflation, high business cost, and economic slowdown, the Pakistan Telecommu­nication Authority (PTA) says in its annual report. The report says the industry holds substantial investment potential, with local industry investments of $5.7 …

ISLAMABAD: The Sec­urities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has published its first Islamic Finance Bulletin for the financial year 2022-23, aimed at providing up-to-date data, insights into new developments, and a deeper under­standing of regulatory reforms in the Islamic financial services industry. The bulletin provides essential information on the Islamic financial services industry, including Islamic capital markets, non-banking financial …

KARACHI: The country received $150 billion in remittances during the five years from 2017 to 2022 and was ranked fifth among the top remittances-receiving countries in 2022. This was revealed in the 2nd Albaraka Regional Conference over the role of home remittances held on Monday. According to the Saleh Kamel Islamic Economy Database, Pakistan received around $150bn in home remittance …

ISLAMABAD: The National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday formally decided to bar financing to provincial development projects from federal resources from coming fiscal year, except for merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 20 least developed districts (LDDs) of other provinces. A meeting of the NEC, presided over by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, was attended by the chief ministers …

Pakistan’s ranking on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has improved by seven spots from 140 out of 180 countries in 2022 to 133 in 2023, Transparency International said in a report on Tuesday. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. It relies on 13 independent data sources and uses a …

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday held its key rate at 22 per cent for the fifth policy meeting in a row. The decision is the last under the caretaker government before general elections due next week. It also comes in the midst of the $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Addressing a press conference …

The real estate sector holds eminent status in Pakistan. From an investment viewpoint, it has offered lucrative returns primarily due to appreciation in land value, while rental yields remained subdued, mostly below the country’s risk-free rate. On the economic level, the sector is linked to a number of ancillary industries like steel, cement, brick, sanitary, timber, and marble and has …

Bears took charge of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost over 1,000 points on foreign selling ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 benchmark index lost 630.11 or 0.99 per cent at 11:23am to stand at 63,182.95 from the previous close of 63,813.06. By 3:30pm, the index …