Category: Business

Saudi Arabia’s finance minister on Monday said the kingdom will triple its Value Added Tax (VAT) and halt monthly handout payments to citizens in new austerity measures amid record low oil prices and a coronavirus-led economic slump. The measures, which could stir public resentment with the cost of living rising, come as the petro-state steps […]

LAHORE: Rice traders and seed and poultry associations fear that the recently promulgated anti-hoarding law will be misused to hurt their and the country’s interests. Representatives of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP), Asia-Pacific Seed Association (APSA), Poultry Association of Pakistan and other large-scale sectors held a meeting at the […]

ISLAMABAD: Exports during the month of April plunged by 54 per cent to $957 million from $2.08 billion a year ago following the order deferrals and cancellations due to the impact of coronavirus on the global economy. The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday showed the impact of global economic […]

ISLAMABAD: An influential group of international investors operating in Pakistan has asked the government to make effective use of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to ensure collection of taxes on all incomes including the agriculture and continue pursuing the documentation of economy despite relaxations and reliefs announced in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak. […]

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Commi­t­tee (ECC) of the Cabinet will meet on Wednesday (today) to consider a heavy agenda including more than Rs1.1 trillion worth of restructuring of the power sector debt. To be presided over by Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the ECC is also expected to set an intervention price for cotton […]

ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday cleared documents to avail a $305 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The amount will be used for providing relief to the vulnerable segments of society through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and necessary medical equipment to hospitals through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). A meeting […]

KARACHI: Work on almost all ongoing uplift projects and schemes across the province is learnt to have come to a halt as the provincial government has frozen all funds allocated for the current Annual Development Programme (ADP) in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, it emerged on Sunday. Sources in the construction industry and provincial […]

ISLAMABAD: The prime minister’s think tank at a meeting on Sunday advised the government to consider reducing tax rates and shifting focus of federal and provincial development programmes to high-impact areas while keeping a close eye on an effective rescue and relief campaign to protect vulnerable segments of society from the serious fallout triggered by […]

PAKISTANIS distribute Zakat and are generous in helping the less fortunate in the absence of a social security net. However, their religiosity does not stop them from indulging in profiteering during Ramazan. To ensure adequate supply in the local market, the cabinet hasbanned the export of all edible items until further orders. Incidentally, exports to the […]

ISLAMABAD: At the peak of wheat harvesting season, the supply chain of major petroleum products, particularly high speed diesel (HSD), has been seriously affected in many parts of the country as oil marketing companies (OMCs) allegedly played tricks for monetary gains on the basis of increase in tax rates on petroleum products as approved by […]