Business

LONDON: Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade is set to rise 11 per cent this year as China leads a global drive to reduce pollution and tackle carbon emissions, Royal Dutch Shell said in an annual LNG report on Monday. Shell’s forecasts, which see LNG demand rising to 354 million tonnes this year and to 384m tonnes in 2020, reflect …

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General (AG) of Pakistan has demanded detailed investigations to fix responsibility for losses of almost Rs700 billion caused to the exchequer due to mismanaged development of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project and loss of water rights over the Jhelum River to India under an international arbitration. In its performance audit of the 969-megawatt power project worth Rs510bn in …

DHAKA: A fire in Bangladesh that killed at least 67 people in the oldest part of the capital shows the lapses in public safety that still plague the South Asian country despite its rapid economic growth. While the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina touts the garment factories and gleaming office towers in Dhaka’s north side as signs of progress, …

Banks in Pakistan lend to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) selectively and, at times, reluctantly. They have a reason to do so: about 95 per cent of SMEs work in the informal sector i.e. they are not documented. Lending to them is far riskier than lending to a tax-paying individual. That explains why banks offer personal loans generously, but keep …

Basmati rice is Pakistan’s celebrated export. But its production and exports have slipped of late. The absence of research and development makes it extremely difficult for the rice sector to prepare for new challenges. The high status of basmati rice as a major export commodity conceals the fact that its contribution to the economy is below its potential. Without a …

THE emerging consensus on the broad objectives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programme has been reinforced by the meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, held recently in Dubai. However, the prolonged negotiations show that views on specifics and pace of reform differ sharply. This time, based on decades of past experience, there …

Among 35 sectors on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), commercial banks stand out with their aggregate paid-up capital of Rs387 billion and market capitalisation of Rs1.46 trillion. Around two dozen banks are listed on the exchange. The five biggest banks — MCB Bank, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), United Bank Ltd (UBL), Allied Bank Ltd (ABL) and National Bank of Pakistan …

KARACHI: Bankers in Pakistan see negative impact of FATF fresh warning for Pakistan and said the government must understand the full impact of further downgrading from current grey list. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been unusually critical of Pakistan’s efforts to safeguard its financial system from the risk posed by terror financing and money laundering. Former head of …

KARACHI: As Pakistan’s exports to India face suspension after Pulwama attack on Feb 14, the trading and import of Indian goods, on the other hand, has so far been moving at normal pace. Some businessmen, however, want a “tit-for-tat action” from Pakistani government in view of up to 200 per cent duty imposed by India on import of Pakistani goods. …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday reconstituted the board of management of Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd for a period of three years. According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the 10-member board of management is led by Zafar I. Usmani as chairman while three other members included Tara Uzra Dawood, Mohammad Humayun Barakzai and Mohammad Shahid Khan. Ms …