Business

Topline Securities, a brokerage firm in Karachi conducted a survey of key market participants on their expectations of interest rate cuts in the upcoming monetary policy meeting due Dec 12. In its survey, it found that 63 per cent of participants anticipate that the policy rate will remain unchanged, while 19pc of participants expect it go down by 50 basis …

LAHORE: The auto industry is facing a severe setback as the investments made are taking a hit due to supply chain disruptions and weak demand. Despite significant investments in the latest machinery and infrastructure, the underutilisation of resources is becoming a growing concern for the industry. “Our efficiency got affected due to current economic conditions as vendors’ current capacity utilisation …

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research asked the Ministry of National Food Security to urgently address complaints of farmers regarding non-availability of urea fertiliser for the wheat crop in the country. Despite a reported surplus, the fertiliser was found to be scarce in the market with black market prices soaring to Rs5,600 per bag, well …

LAHORE: The Afghan government imposed an exorbitant rate of customs duty on kinno imports from Nov 27, sending a shock wave among mandarin exporters as well as local farmers. Exporters claim that Kabul has begun charging Rs2.9 million per 35-tonne container customs duty, a 43.5 per cent increase over last year’s rate, coinciding with the beginning of the fruit harvesting …

KARACHI: Industrialists in the economic nerve centre of Pakistan have announced a complete production shutdown on Monday (Dec 4) to force the caretaker government to reverse the unprecedented hikes in the gas tariffs. They estimate a per day export loss of $47 million from the port city. Businessmen have already displayed protest banners at the offices of all trade associations, demanding the …

ISLAMABAD: Mainly because of lower prices in the international market, the caretaker government on Thursday reduced the prices of petroleum products by about Rs4 to Rs7 per litre, except that of petrol, for the next fortnight starting Dec 1. However, it increased the price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month. In a late-night announcement, the ministry of finance said …

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker IT Minister Umar Saif and the group chief executive officer of VEON, the parent company of Jazz Pakistan, met on Wednesday to discuss the company’s plans and the challenges facing the country’s telecom industry, primarily a high cost of doing business. Mr Saif said on X, formerly Twitter, that the discussion focused on four issues, including instalments-based smartphones …

KARACHI: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday temporarily suspended a one-off 40 per cent tax imposed by the government earlier this month on bank profits reaped from foreign exchange transactions in the past two years. The court has suspended a statutory regulatory order (SRO) in this regard until Dec 8. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the cabinet …

KARACHI: With a slight decrease in share prices, the stock market underwent a correction on Wednesday following an extended bull run. Topline Securities Ltd said trading began on a positive note with rising share prices propelling the benchmark index beyond the 61,000-point mark for the first time. However, selling pressure emerged within an hour and led to a reversal of …

LAHORE: Pakistan has exported at least 125,000 cotton bales this season and the quantum is set to improve further during the current crop season. The cotton consignments are being destined for China, Vietnam and Indonesia and a significant point is that all these export deals have been clinched by only one cotton ginner from Sindh, Dr Jasso Mal, Dawn has learnt. It …