Business

ISLAMABAD: Contribution of the telecom sector to the national exchequer increased by 129 per cent in the fiscal year ending in June 2020 compared to a year ago owing to Covid-19 lockdown, the Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said on Friday. Sharing its Annual Report 2020, PTA highlighted that the surge in demand for telecom services due to lockdown resulted in …

ISLAMABAD: Textile exports during December 2020 increased by 22.72 per cent to a historic high of $1.401 billion compared to $1.14bn in the corresponding month of last year, latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed. On a month-on-month basis, the country’s exports during the month increased by 9.20pc. On a cumulative basis, the textile exports …

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday granted provisional licences of virtual liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipelines to two private companies — Daewoo Gas and LNG Easy — for supply of the fuel through bowsers to consumers outside the gas network. The licences would be valid for one year. These would be first of its kind projects …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked financial institutions to place dedicated desks to boost women customers and entrepreneurs’ trust in the banking system. Unveiling a policy proposal titled ‘Equality policy: reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion draft’, the SBP noted that banks are unable to facilitate women customers and recommended gender diversity training for staff at …

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister on Thursday said the sale of maximum possible Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum will contribute towards overall economic growth through digitalisation and improve the quality of broadband services in Pakistan. Chairing a meeting of the the Advisory Committee, the minister asked the consultants to follow a proactive approach and meet the given deadlines for the release …

ISLAMABAD: In a move towards reviving the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the government has decided in principle to increase the electricity rates by about Rs1.90 per unit in the current billing month. A formal announcement to this effect is expected to be made over the next couple of days. A federal minister told Dawn that a news conference had been called …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday proposed greater cooperation with Azerbai­jan in trade and energy sectors. He was talking to Azerbai­jan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who called on him. Mr Bayramov was on a two-day visit to Pakistan during which he also attended a trilateral meeting with his Pakistani and Turkish counterparts. “The prime minister exp­r­essed satisfaction at the …

ISLAMABAD: As vegetable oil and ghee rates remain volatile, mainly moving upwards, the stakeholders in the sector have demanded that the government revise duty structures to help maintain prices in the local market. The Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA) in a presentation sent to the ministry of industries on Wednesday informed the government that the price of processed ‘refined, bleached …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has been voted as the best central bank in promoting Islamic finance for the fourth time by a poll conducted by Islamic Finance News (IFN) of REDmoney Group Malaysia on Thursday. This is the second international award bestowed upon the SBP for Islamic Banking during FY21. Earlier, the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday decided to announce soon a major economic package for Gilgit-Baltistan as promised before regional elections in November last year. In a meeting with the newly-elected leadership of Gilgit-Baltistan, the ministry of planning and development constituted two technical groups to finalise the integrated development plan on the pattern of the recently announced Karachi Transformation Plan. GB …