ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Finance and Revenue Aisha Ghaus Pasha Wednesday slammed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for “intervening” in Pakistan’s internal matters. “Pakistan’s conduct is in line with the law,” the state minister said, terming IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan Nathan Porter’s statement — regarding the political situation in Pakistan — “extraordinary”. While the IMF does...
Category: Business
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Govt expected to keep standard rate of GST unchanged at 18%
ISLAMABAD: The government is expected to keep the standard rate of General Sales Tax (GST) unchanged at 18% for the upcoming budget 2023-24, reported The News. The government is also working on jacking up rates of withholding taxes where applicable and possessed the potential to increase tax revenues. The government also considered amendments for retailers to...
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Auto industry lays off thousands as sales decrease by 70%
ISLAMABAD: The automotive industry has laid off thousands of workers in recent months due to a decline in the sale of vehicles and spare parts triggered by the government’s ban on the import of raw materials, massive depreciation of the rupee and soaring inflation, The News reported citing an Arab News report. Pakistan is facing its most daunting economic...
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US should restore Pakistan’s military financing, sales: Masood Khan
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan on Thursday urged Washington to restore foreign military financing and foreign military sales for Islamabad, which was suspended by the Trump administration. Addressing a conference on ‘The Future of Pakistan-US relations’ at renowned US think-tank Wilson Centre, Khan cautioned about the serious perils of the policy...
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China to invest $58 billion in Pakistan to ring fence West
China has unveiled its most expensive Belt and Road Initiative to date, a $58 billion railway system connecting Pakistan to western China, which aims to reduce Western trade dependence, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The plan, reviewed by state-owned China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co Ltd., has...
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IMF lays ‘unimaginable’ conditions for save Pakistan to revive bailout package
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Pakistan to fulfill promises to impose new taxes in order to revive the $6.5 billion bailout package at times when country’s foreign exchange reserves drops again to $3.1 billion, only enough for less than three weeks of imports. An IMF delegation, that had landed in Islamabad on Tuesday to...
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Finance: The deepening forex crisis
Pakistan remained in the grip of the foreign exchange crisis in 2022. Now, at the beginning of 2023, the situation has deepened further. On January 6, forex reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) plunged to $4.343 billion, enough to cover just three weeks of imports, after the country repaid $1bn commercial loans of two...
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Petrol price may rise by Rs8.98
The price of petrol is expected to go up by Rs8.98 per litre while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) may rise by Rs1.06 per litre in the upcoming fortnightly revision of petroleum product prices. However, sources in the Petroleum Division said that the government could keep prices unchanged at current levels for January 16...
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Gwadar port starts receiving govt imports of bulk cargos
The Gwadar port has started receiving government imports of bulk cargos as three consecutive vessels carrying 90,000 MT urea have already arrived at the port and clocked the fastest discharge rate. This represents the efforts of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), Trading Corporation of Pakistan...
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NEPRA approves increase in power tariff for K-Electric consumers
National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Friday issued a decision on the application regarding the uniform tariff, approving an increase in the price of electricity for K-Electric customers in Karachi. The price increase for different categories will range from Rs 1.49 to Rs 4.49, resulting in an additional burden of Rs16 billion for consumers....