Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang of timely completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and safe environment for investors. “Pakistan would provide a completely secure and conducive business environment for Chinese investors,” Mr Shehbaz said during a long telephonic conversation with Mr Li. Separately, PM Shehbaz issued di
Welcoming the people involved in the largest acquisition of a local software company by an American firm to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), PSX CEO Farrukh H. Khan said on Thursday the transaction bodes well for the burgeoning IT industry of Pakistan. Stock trading began with Lord Aamer Sarfraz of Kensington striking the gong to mark the acquisition of Cloudways — which provides small and me
The National Electric Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has made it mandatory for all independent power producers (IPPs) to utilise local coal, particularly from Thar, before opting for imports that would also be contracted in Pakistani rupees. This has been done through notification of ‘Guidelines for Procurement of Coal on Spot Basis’ issued by the regulator to ensure that procurement of coal on a
Earnings of commercial banks are expected to drop by 4-11 per cent for 2022 if the government imposes a new tax on their foreign exchange income. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in a recent press conference that the government was planning to ramp up its tax revenues by levying an additional tax on banks, which have made “excessive gains” on the back of a high volatility in the currency market.
State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves hit an eight-year low at $5.576 billion during the week ended on Dec 30, 2022. Despite fast dwindling SBP reserves, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is still hopeful about reverting the situation with expected financial help promised by the friendly countries, but nothing has been realised so far. During the week the SBP foreign exchange re