Country to face serious gas shortage in winter, NA told

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum Division Omar Ayub Khan has acknowledged that the country is going to face a serious natural gas shortage in upcoming winter months due to a gap between the demand and supply of gas. He highlighted that during winter months, gas consumption by the domestic sector increased manifold on account of use […]

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‘Heading in the right direction’: Pakistan sees record 1Q current account surplus

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said Pakistan was “headed in the right direction finally” as the country’s current account witnessed a record surplus of $792 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed. The surplus came on the back of an upward […]

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Govt seeks $200m IDA loan to strengthen digital connectivity

ISLAMABAD: The government has submitted a project to the World Bank, seeking $200 million to strengthen digital connectivity as a key foundation for the development of digital economy, and to enhance the government’s capacity for digitally enabled public service delivery. The proposed project, to be financed by the loan from the International Develop­ment Association (IDA), […]

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Unpredictable external sector trends

PTI government’s regulatory approach for reducing foreign trade and current account deficits and for creating a balance of payments surpluses did succeed for a while, but these positive trends seem to be losing steam with sporadic signs of economic recovery. In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that Pakistan’s current account […]

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Expansion of gas network for domestic users may be discontinued

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering an end to expansion of gas pipe­line network for residential consumers, conversion of all coastal independent power plants (IPPs) on furnace oil to water desalination plants and exemption of all energy sector inv­estments from the scope of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). This is part of a broad energy sector […]

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Major restructuring package for power sector planned

ISLAMABAD: The government is planning to announce a major restructuring package for the power sector envisaging a freeze on average consumer tariff coupled with incentive-based lower rates for industry and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), transfer of distribution companies (Discos) to the provinces and transfer of K-Electric’s majority shares to Shanghai Electric under the China-Pakistan […]

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Unemployment to fall sharply in coming days, says Hafeez

LAHORE: The unemployment rate will start to decline sharply in coming days due to various steps being taken in this regard, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh claimed on Thursday. “The government is taking various steps to put economy on the path of sustainable growth and create employment opportunities for the youth. We hope that […]

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Auto manufacturers seek tax relief to bring down prices

ISLAMABAD: Local auto manufacturers have asked the government to cut down taxes to reduce prices of cars and off-road vehicles in the country. The concerns were shared in a meeting organised by the government with local manufacturers seeking proposals to help reduce the prices of locally-manufactured vehicles. With the demand and supply balance tilting again […]

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