Business

LAHORE: The UK-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UKPCCI) on Sunday announced to invest £200m in Pakistan under which it would operate an aircraft of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) under the public-private partnership. It would invest £140m in the government’s Naya Pakistan Housing Project and other segments of real estate while paying attention to the textile sector also. The …

ISLAMABAD: The government remains undecided on whether to impose a ‘sin tax’ on cigarettes, as suggested by a special Senate committee, due to opposition by the Federal Board of Revenue. The Special Committee on Causes of Decline in Tax Collection of Tobacco Sector, headed by Senator Kalsoom Parveen, has recommended a systematic increase in federal excise duty (FED) on cigarettes …

WASHINGTON: The visit of an IMF mission to Islamabad for finalising a bailout package for Pakistan may be delayed as both sides are still engaged in an intense discussion on the proposed programme, official sources told Dawn. Finance Minister Asad Umar said earlier this month that the mission would visit Islamabad soon after the spring meetings of the World Bank Group, …

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet is expected to formally clear the Assets Declaration and Amne­sty Scheme 2019 on Tuesday for immediate implementation thro­ugh a presidential ordinance to be given parliamentary sanction as part of Finance Act 2019 in May-June. Read: PTI govt’s first tax amnesty scheme ready for launch A senior government official told Dawn that the revenue division had already secured law division’s …

Crude horizon is getting clogged. Screws are being tightened. The output cut regimen adopted by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia (Opec+) is yielding results. In the meantime, the US embargo on Venezuelan crude has begun to hurt the markets too as the country’s production has fallen off the cliff. US sanctions on the state …

More than 1, 000 industrial units are either sick or closed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since long owing to different reasons thus causing unemployment but the government is yet to implement its first-ever industrial policy announced in 2016, according to reports. The new industrial policy envisages an enormous financial concessions, attractive investment incentives, infrastructural and services facilities as well as measures …

NEW DELHI: A US plan to end preferential duty-free imports of up to $5.6 billion from India could raise costs for American consumers, two US senators have told their country’s trade office, urging a delay in adopting the plan, and seeking more negotiations. If President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plan to end the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) …

KARACHI: Despite being overburdened with huge external and domestic debts, the government during the first nine months of the current fiscal year borrowed Rs303 billion for public sector entities (PSEs) up by 81 per cent from the R167bn borrowed for the same purpose during the same period last year. The figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on …

ISLAMABAD: In compliance with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has announced new measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. The new measures relate to SECP’s fresh guidelines on anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) and proliferation financing — act of providing funds for acquiring …

KARACHI: The government’s borrowing for budgetary support increased by 8.8 per cent year-on year during 9MFY19, reported the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday. The budgetary borrowing rose to Rs876 billion from July to April 5 FY19, compared to Rs805bn during the same period last fiscal year, representing an increase of Rs71bn or 8.8pc. The government is under serious …