News

Bears take hold of PSX as shares plunge over 900 points on ‘delay in budget’

Bears took over at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as shares plunged more than 900 points on Tuesday, which analysts attributed to the delay in budget. The benchmark KSE-100 index plunged 834.24 points, or 1.1 per cent, to stand at 74,741.01 at 3:09pm from the previous close of 75,575.25 points. Finally, the index closed at 74,666.65, down by 908.60 points or 1.2pc, from the previous close.

Govt faces hard choices

The government faces a hard choice whether to abolish up to 15% additional tax on bank profits made by extending loans to the cash-starved finance ministry or tighten the existing law to recover about Rs60 billion more from financial institutions next year. Sources told The Express Tribune that two opposing forces were working to influence the budget – one seeking relief for banks despite the p

Led by exports, cement sales increase 8% in May

Cement dispatches increased 7.83% and reached 4.275 million tons in May 2024 against 3.965 million tons during the same month of last year. According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement sales of the industry were 3.357 million tons during May 2024 compared to 3.432 million tons in May 2023, showing a decline of 2.17%. Exports, however,

Petroleum levy collection target surpassed

The government has collected more than Rs900 billion in petroleum development levy on the sale of petroleum products, surpassing the full-year collection target of Rs869 billion in 11 months of the current fiscal year. As demand for petroleum products spiked to a nine-month high at 1.4 million tons in May 2024 in the wake of reduction in prices, total consumption reached 13.8 million tons in Ju

Poor people pay more taxes

Economist Dr Kaiser Bengali has said that people in the low-income group are paying more taxes in Pakistan than those in high-income brackets, as the share of indirect taxes has spiked to 85% compared to the government’s claim of reducing their ratio to 59-60%. Speaking at a workshop titled “Budget Reporting” at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, he said “a study found that the top 10% rich peo