Business

KARACHI/LAHORE: The gas crisis has deepened across the country as two state-owned companies on Monday announced complete closure of gas supply till July 5 to industries and CNG stations following a decline in gas availability, low pressure in the system and dry docking of LNG terminal. CNG stations in Sindh were to open from June 28 after the closure on …

The World Bank’s (WB) board of executive directors on Tuesday approved $800 million for financing two programmes in Pakistan. According to a press release, the programmes include the Pakistan Programme for Affordable and Clean Energy (PACE) and the Second Securing Human Investments to Foster Transformation (SHIFT II). WB Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine said that the reforms underpinning the two …

MANSEHRA: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said tourism offers excellent potential for boosting the country’s revenue and employment opportunities and it is his vision to keep Pakistan clean and green to attract tourists from across the world to this heavenly land. “Switzerland is half the size of our northern areas and has no match with the natural beauty of our …

ISLAMABAD: The government has called a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday (today) to consider allowing an intervention price of about Rs5,000 per 40kg for cotton, which has arguably been necessitated by a sharp decline in production, besides clearing a dozen supplementary grants so close to the passage of federal budget by parliament. To be presided over …

YOUNG Musaf Hanif, a software developer working with a start-up that provides ecommerce solutions and digital consultancy in Karachi, is very busy these days. Following the last month’s announcement that ecommerce giant Amazon has added Pakistan to its sellers’ list, several people have been approaching him and his firm with a similar question i.e. how fast they could launch a business …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is seeking $300 million from the International Development Associa­tion (IDA) of the World Bank Group to help improve access to and quality of basic services in vulnerable communities in the districts recently merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Following the merger, residents of the merged areas have expressed increased expectations for improved service delivery, particularly in the areas …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that the Roshan Digital Account had achieved another milestone as the inflows of deposits had crossed $1.5 billion mark on Friday, with investment in Naya Pakistan certificates surpassing $1bn. On his Twitter account, the prime minister posted an index of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showing cumulative inflows of deposits in …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has ruled that an insurance company cannot avoid a life insurance policy after two years of its coming into effect merely for the reason that the policy contains false information or inaccuracies about the insured person’s health condition. And to prove the allegations of fraud or falsity, the insurance company has to come up with strong …

KARACHI: Pakistan borrowed over $12 billion during the 11 months of the current fiscal year (11MFY21) – an increase of about 63 per cent compared to the same period in FY20 – reflecting the growing need for foreign exchange despite record remittances and higher exports. During July-May FY21, the government borrowed $12.13bn compared to $7.44bn in the same period in …

ISLAMABAD: As the government has proposed an increase in tax on mobile phone calls, prepaid customers mainly those belonging to the low-income segments of society will be hardest hit by the move. The finance minister has announced levy of additional Federal Excise Duty (FED) at the rate of Rs0.75 “after every five minutes” of mobile phone calls. The industry has …