Business

ISLAMABAD: Oppo­sing some of the proposed pension reforms as unfair and demoralising to government employees, the Establishment Division (ED) has proposed increasing the retirement age by two years to 62 to contain pension liabilities. The ED, which is the custodian of the employees’ career path, has strongly opposed the change in pension conditions that seek to work out retirement benefits on the …

ISLAMABAD: The prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are estimated to go up by Rs5-9 per litre on Jan 31 for the next fortnight owing to higher international prices and import premiums, nullifying an impact of minor exchange rate gains. Informed sources said the prices of both major petroleum products – petrol and HSD – had increased in the …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s public sector insurance companies have not only expanded their market share but also pioneered the development of innovative products to cater to the needs of low-income individuals and micro-entrepreneurs. A high-level meeting was convened on Thursday to evaluate the performance of public sector insurance companies — State Life Insurance Company (SLIC), National Insurance Company (NIC) and Pakistan Reinsurance …

LONDON: Oil prices rose on Thursday after data showed US crude stockpiles fell more than expected last week and a fresh attack by Houthi forces on ships off Yemen’s coast underscored the peril facing trade in a key global transit route. Brent crude futures were up $1.29, or 1.6 per cent, to $81.33 a barrel at 1521 GMT , while …

ISLAMABAD: Careta­k­er Prime Minister An­­w­a­arul Haq Kakar on Thu­rsday urged the Al-Jomaih Group of Saudi Arabia to invest in the alternative energy sector of Pakistan. Mr Kakar, in a meeting with a four-member delegation, led by the Al-Jomaih Group head Sheikh Abdulaziz Hamm­ad, said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had brotherly ties which were getting further stronger. Al-Jomaih earlier made a …

KARACHI: After inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased enough to cover 1.6 months of imports, helping the exchange rate to remain stable. The SBP reported on Thursday that the reserves of the central bank went up by $243 million to $8.27 billion during the week ending on …

ISLAMABAD: Taking strict notice of the financial autonomy claimed by corporate and autonomous entities and executive departments of the federal government resulting in budgetary slippages, the Ministry of Finance has tightened fiscal controls ahead of a quarterly review with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The ministry has barred all the federal ministries, divisions and their attached and sub-ordinate offices, corporations, …

Bears returned to the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as shares traded in the red and lost more than 500 points. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index closed at 64,298 points, down 524.43 or 0.81 per cent, from the previous close of 64,822.43. The index had previously maintained an upward trajectory on expectations of measures aimed …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has evolved a simplified scheme for taxing the indicative incomes of traders, retailers and specified persons as part of the documentation to reduce the size of the informal economy. The tax department projects that the newly proposed scheme could potentially generate an income tax revenue ranging from Rs400 billion to Rs500bn. The details …

ISLAMABAD: In line with commitments with the multilateral lenders to contain ever-rising pension bill, the government has started inter-ministerial consultations for major pension reforms including reduced benefits in commutation and regular payments for existing pensioners and the beginning of a contributory pension scheme for current employees. A senior official at the Ministry of Finance told Dawn that all federal ministries and divisions …