Business

ISLAMABAD: Annual short-term inflation surged 43.16 per cent in the week ending on Dec 14, primarily fuelled by pulses, rice and vegetables, reported the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Friday. The weekly inflation remained above 41pc for the fifth week in a row as gas prices, electricity tariffs stood higher than a year ago. This record-setting surge in prices has …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to take chief ministers into confidence before capping or rearranging more than 335 federal-funded provincial projects to create a space of almost Rs150 billion during the current fiscal year. The move is aimed at reducing federal expenditures to successfully complete the final review of the ongoing $3bn IMF programme slated for February with minimum …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) said on Thursday it has signed a share purchase agreement with Telenor Pakistan to buy 100 per cent of its shares based on an enterprise value of Rs108 billion ($380 million). The deal, structured on a cash-free, debt-free basis, is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the PTCL said in a …

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to facilitate manufacturers of eight sectors, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday issued a list of harmonised system code products that qualify for tax input adjustments. The decision, notified through a sales tax circular, underscores the necessity of a streamlined procedure for permitting input tax adjustments and provides a comprehensive overview of the raw …

KARACHI: Volatility marked the trading session on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the KSE-100 index extending its decline from a day ago in the first hour. However, buyers stepped in subsequently and share prices rose to hover within a small range in later hours, said Topline Securities Ltd. Positive contributions to the index originated from fertiliser, oil …

KARACHI: A sense of stability prevailed in the currency market as the rupee rose for the third session in a row against the US dollar in the interbank market on Thursday. The State Bank reported the dollar settled at Rs283.51 after losing 10 paise against the local currency. Dealers said the market stayed calm even though importers were facing a …

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Thursday announced that it had signed an agreement with Telenor to acquire a 100 per cent stake in the company on a cash free, debt free basis. Ownership of the country’s second-largest cellular service provider will soon change hands, as Telenor Pakistan had signalled leaving the country since last year amid a growing cost of doing …

ISLAMABAD: The prices of major petroleum products — petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) — are set to fall by over Rs10 per litre each on Dec 15 for the next fortnight mainly because of a decline in the international market. Informed officials said the international prices of both HSD and petrol had declined over the past fortnight by almost 5pc …

ISLAMABAD: Under the instructions of the Power Division, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has called a public hearing on Dec 20 to rubber stamp the application of Rs1.72 per unit additional cost to consumers of K-Electric on account of two quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs) for last fiscal year i.e. second and third quarter of FY23. The Power Division …

KARACHI: Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar said on Wednesday that public-sector dominance in the insurance sector should be reduced by privatising State Life Insurance Corporation. Addressing the International InsureImpact Conference 2023 organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), she said competition should be enhanced in insurance by offering a “level playing field” to private-sector operators. The state-owned …