Business

ISLAMABAD: The Asia Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering has improved Pakistan’s rating on 21 of the 40 technical recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against money laundering and terror financing, but retained it on ‘Enhanced Follow-up’ for sufficient outstanding requirements. The second Follow-Up Report (FUR) on Mutual Evaluation of Pakistan released by the APG — a regional …

ISLAMABAD: The leaders of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday presented a dismal picture of the state of economy in the country due to “failed fiscal policies” of the present Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government as former finance minister Ishaq Dar stressed the need for having a “serious review” of the economic policy to bring Pakistan out of …

ISLAMABAD: Even though the government appears to be slowing down ongoing power projects, it will have to increase generation capacity by 35-40 per cent from about 34,501MW to 57,204MW by 2030. According to the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP), 2030, prepared by the National Transmission and Dispatch Company, the annualised compound growth rate (ACGR) of 3.3pc to 4.6pc is …

KARACHI: Finance and Revenue Minister Shaukat Tarin has assured businessmen that no notices will be issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from July 1 as the taxpayers will be able to carry out self-assessment whereas only 4 to 5 per cent of the cases will be sent for audit which will not be done by FBR but by …

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) — the supreme parliamentary forum for accountability of federal government departments — appears to be helpless before influential contractors in the power sector and bureaucrats allegedly involved in irregularities worth billions in construction projects, it has emerged. A PAC meeting was held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Rana Tanveer Hussain that examined the …

• First half year’s performance has improved macroeconomic outlook for FY21 • Debt servicing remains a key challenge KARACHI: The economic recovery is becoming more visible exceeding the previous forecast to reach 3 per cent GDP growth rate with 7-9pc inflation and better prospects for wheat output, State Bank’s Second Quarterly Report said on Thursday. The report covers the first …

ISLAMABAD: In a rare move, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday said it would allow only 43 paisa per unit reduction in electricity rates — about half of 86 paisa suggested by the power companies — under monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for consumption in April. At a public hearing on monthly FCA, Nepra Chairman Tauseef H. …

KARACHI: Petrol sales hit an all-time high of 731,000 tonnes in May, up by 15 per cent over the same month last year, despite restricted movement of people due to early closure of markets by 6pm and long Eidul Fitr holidays. High-speed diesel (HSD) sales also remained brisk with 761,000 tonnes as compared to 688,000 tonnes in May 2020, up …

LAHORE/KARACHI: In what is being seen as a positive development for the real estate sector and capital markets, the State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday reduced the risk weight of banks/DFIs from 200 per cent to 100pc on their investment in units of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for five years to facilitate development of housing finance and capital markets. …

GENEVA: The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed more than 100 million more workers into poverty, the UN said on Wednesday, after working hours plummeted and access to good-quality jobs evaporated. And the labour market crisis created by the pandemic was far from over, the UN’s International Labour Organisation warned in a report. Employment was not expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic …