Business

ISLAMABAD: Amid a record Rs1.138 trillion fiscal deficit in first half of the current fiscal year, the government has called the inaugural meeting of the 10th National Finance Commission (NFC) on Feb 18 to review overall fiscal position of the centre and the provinces. The Ministry of Finance on Wednesday said the fiscal deficit as percentage of GDP stood at …

ISLAMABAD: The Eco­no­mic Coordination Commi­t­t­ee (ECC) of the cabinet on Wednesday allowed continuation of gas supply to Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim for an­other five years and remo­ved a cap on dividend distribution on Mari gas to facilitate divestment of about 20 per cent of its shareholding. A meeting of the ECC presided over by Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr …

KARACHI: The country received fresh foreign investment of $6.921 million under the treasury bills (T-bills) on Feb 2, the State Bank reported on Wednesday. The latest inflow of almost $7m in domestic bonds since the beginning of February could be an encouraging sign for foreign investors who have already parked over $104m in long-term bonds. Experts say the latest inflow …

ISLAMABAD: Former adviser on aviation in ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s government Shujaat Azeem on Wednesday rejected as baseless the allegations levelled by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar about kickbacks in the leasing of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft that had recently been seized in Malaysia. The ex-adviser, when contacted, said he was in charge of the aviation division but the …

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed concern over exaggerated and estimated billing by some power companies and called for shifting the headquarters of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) to Islamabad from Lahore to improve its performance. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Power, presided over by Senator Fida Mohammad Khan, discussed allocations for the power …

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, the superior judiciary and appellate tribunal of the Federal Board of Revenue have disposed of 2,174 cases involving tax amount of over Rs250 billion in the first half-year, a move which will help the tax machinery to achieve annual tax collection target. The resolution of tax litigation cases — pending in different appellate forums including …

KARACHI: Foreign exchange inflows through the Roshan Digital Accounts (RDAs) reached $400 million within four months, reflecting growing confidence in the State Bank’s new initiative launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sept 10, 2020. RDAs aim to attract millions of Pakistanis living abroad by offering much higher returns on deposits compared to the returns in developed economies. “So far …

ISLAMABAD: The deal bet­ween the government and Ind­ependent Power Producers (IPPs) has entered the implementation phase after the finance ministry agreed to clear about Rs400 billion dues in two instalments of 40 per cent and 60pc within six months. At the time of filing of this rep­ort, the power division of energy ministry was finalising a summary that could be …

KARACHI: Amid rising demand on account of growing construction activities in public and private sectors, cement makers continue to raise prices linking them to higher coal prices in the world market. Overall domestic cement sales rose by 17 per cent to 27.65 million tonnes in 7MFY21, while exports also grew by 10.23pc to 5.71m tonnes from 5.186m tonnes in the …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday issued a circular to banks following the government’s decision to replace life certificates with biometric verification of pensioners twice a year, with immediate effect. “Pensioner will be req­u­ir­ed to undergo biometric verification from any bra­nch of a bank maintaining his or her pension account, every year in March and September,” said …