Business

ISLAMABAD: A high-powered Ru­­s­­sian delegation is currently in Islamabad for critical talks on the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project. When contacted, an official of the petroleum ministry said that talks with the Russian delegation, led by A.A. Tolparov, deputy director of department of foreign economic co­­operation and fuel markets development, were continuing and exp­e­cted to conclude on Thursday (today), following …

ISLAMABAD: The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) on Tuesday appeared to be back-peddling its diplomatic push for oil and gas deals with Pakistan’s public sector firms under government-to-government arrangement after an aggressive public snub by the Petroleum Division. A Socar spokesman said that various media reports appearing in the last several days did not represent the reality of successful cooperation …

ISLAMABAD: The Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) continued its growth momentum in the fourth consecutive month as big industrial sectors’ output rose year-on-year by 36.84 per cent in May, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Tuesday. The overall output of Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) increased by 14.57pc in July-May 2020-21 compared to 11MFY20. However, on a month-on-month …

LAHORE: The National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) on Tuesday secured Rs6.4 billion financing from a three-member consortium of banks for construction of a 220kV/132kV grid station and 35 kilometre-long allied transmission lines for getting 1,274MW of lean renewable energy power from 10 wind energy projects being set up in Gharo-Jhimpir wind corridor near Tando Muhammad Khan in Sindh. The …

KARACHI: Overseas Pakis­tanis remitted record $29.4 billion during 2020-21, helping the country meet its widening trade deficit and expected current account deficit in the last month of the just-ended fiscal year. The central bank said that with inflows of around $2.7bn in June (9pc growth year-on-year) and 8pc (month-on-month), workers’ remittances continued their unprecedented streak of above $2bn for a …

KARACHI: The last fiscal year (FY21) turned out to be a massive recovery period for the auto sector amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as car sales soared by 56.7 per cent, followed by 19.7pc increase in trucks, 16.6pc in buses, 227pc in jeeps, 57pc in pickups, 55pc in tractors and 39pc in two- and three-wheelers. The entire auto sector remained …

KARACHI: With most bike assemblers looking towards China for collaboration in the local assembly of electric bikes (e-bikes), a Punjab-based assembler claims to have introduced an indigenous model in the market that is also cheaper on the wallet. “We have introduced the JE-70 e-bike with our indigenously developed technology. No foreign funding, no joint venture with the Chinese or any …

ISLAMABAD: The petroleum division on Monday said it did not avail the offer of Azerbaijan’s state-run company for import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on credit because its price was ‘substantially expensive’ besides other challenges. “Socar’s proposal was substantially higher than recent LNG agreement with Qatar Petroleum and spot LNG cargoes purchased through tenders,” the petroleum division said in a …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday directed all banks to improve their grievances handling mechanism, making it accessible and convenient for people to lodge complaints, track progress and get quick and efficient remedy. The federal banking ombudsman earlier in a quarterly report had mentioned that over 135 per cent more complaints had been received in the first …

KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) on Monday said that businesses should strive to have one-fourth women employees in the overall workforce as well as in management roles by 2025. This will play a critical role in ensuring an inclusive economy and robust business growth, the chamber said in a position paper titled “Increasing women’s inclusion …