Business

ISLAMABAD: April saw a double-digit increase in prices of consumer items as inflation edged up to 11.1 per cent from 9.1pc in March, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. Inflation entered a double-digit figure after a gap of 12 months though it fell to 5.7pc in January 2021. It is mainly driven by double-digit growth …

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Friday set up a special technical committee to find out details of petroleum exploration blocks awarded to state-run oil and gas companies without taking the province into confidence. Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal) lawmaker Sana Baloch, while speaking on a call-attention notice in the provincial assembly on Friday, pointed out that the federal government had allocated …

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) on state-owned entities (SOEs) on Friday called for expediting the process of privatisation and empowering their board of directors at the earliest to improve their management structures. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin presided over the meeting of the sub-committee of EAC on SOEs and privatisation. Minister for Privatisation …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday formally pitched a proposal to the World Bank for staggering power tariff increases in view of a third and more contagious and deadlier wave of Covid-19 pandemic that may force the government into smart lockdowns and hit an already struggling economy. This was the main theme at a virtual meeting Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin had with …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday kept the prices of all petroleum products unchanged for the next 15 days by reducing tax rates. “In line with the vision of the prime minister to provide relief to the consumers in the holy month of Ramazan, the government has decided not to increase the prices of petroleum products,” said an announcement by the …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) surpassed its revenue collection target by Rs34 billion to Rs384bn in April, the second highest collection in the second half of current fiscal year (FY21), provisional data collected by the tax authorities on Friday showed. April has emerged as the second consecutive month when the FBR revenue collection surpassed the projected monthly target …

ISLAMABAD: After two fortnightly cuts, the prices of petrol and diesel may go up again by about Rs6 per litre each because of higher international oil prices. Informed sources said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority had worked out about Rs6 per litre increase in the prices of both major projects based on the existing tax rates and import prices …

KARACHI: Car stakeholders appear highly upbeat over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s announcement regarding the option of ‘Roshan Apni Car’ for overseas Pakistanis who have opened Roshan Digital Accounts (RDAs) that recently crossed the $1 billion mark. “Now RDA holders can avail financing under Roshan Apni Car at very attractive terms to purchase a car for their loved ones in Pakistan. …

LAHORE: Consumer confidence in Pakistan further deteriorated during the period between January and March this year, primarily owing to the restrictions renewed by the government to stop the rising Covid-19 infections that heralded the third wave of the pandemic in the country. The major worry concerned the survey respondents the most was loss of jobs as the government imposes smart …

ISLAMABAD: The auction for mobile telephony spectrum is expected to be held in June, and consultants have expressed optimism that it will be successful because of the potential available in Pakistan. The briefing was made by a consultant at a meeting of the advisory committee for the release of Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum at the Finance Division on …