News

France eyes return to Pakistan’s LNG market

ISLAMABAD: France is poised to re-enter Pakistan’s Liquefied natural gas (LNG) export market after an absence of over a decade, following a legal dispute that led to a French company withdrawing from the sector. During the previous Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) administration, a contract for an LNG project was awarded to French firm, GDF-Suez (now ENGIE), which eventually ended up in the apex cour

Gas utility increases LPG imports to stabilise prices

KARACHI: Pakistani households have been left at the mercy of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) black marketers, who are demanding significantly higher prices in the range of Rs300-400 per kg from consumers, who need the fuel to run their kitchens. The consumers, especially in the hilly areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), are being forced to pay exorbitant prices, which are much higher than the retail

Seafood exports to China surge by 13%

BEIJING: Pakistan’s seafood exports to China increased by 13% in 2023 compared to the previous year. The rise is due to the growing demand for seafood products in China, a trend that has been steadily increasing over the past few years, according to Ghulam Qadir, Investment and Trade Counsellor at the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing. Qadir noted that Pakistan’s seafood exports to China reached $247

SBP expected to maintain rates at record 22%

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank is widely expected to hold its key interest rate at a record 22% for the sixth straight policy meeting on Monday as inflation risks continue to loom, but a majority of analysts expect rate cuts from the second quarter of this year. Monday’s policy decision would be the last ahead of the April expiry of a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement with the International Mon

PWSMA pushes for digital tax fix

ISLAMABAD: Plastic bag manufacturers have blamed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for billions of rupees in annual tax evasion by major commodity producers due to malfunctioning production tracking systems. Industry players have sought the intervention of the new Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is also advocating end-to-end digitisation of the tax system to eliminate leakages. Th