Stocks traded in a narrow range on Wednesday before slipping below the preceding day’s close after investors chose to book profits. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark index stayed in the positive zone for the most part of the trading session. Renewed interest was witnessed in the last trading hour following a press conference by the prime minister and his cabinet members. The finance minister hi
THE current flour crisis has been looming on the horizon for several months. Concerns were being expressed ever since the last domestic wheat harvest fell far short of expectations as well as the country’s consumption requirements. The catastrophic summer floods exacerbated the situation as the wheat stocks in the flood-hit areas were badly damaged. Balochistan on Saturday said the province was
Members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue spoke with one voice on Wednesday about the unapproachability of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “He doesn’t even meet me,” said PML-N MNA Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, chairman of the body, when members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) complained about their lack of access to the all-powerful minister. In hi
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued guidelines for offering Islamic financial services covering all its regulated sectors. The guidelines are framed to facilitate the growth of Shariah-compliant financial products which include Islamic capital markets, Takaful, Modarabas, NBFCs, pension and private funds, REITs, and so on. The guidelines are based on notions
For facilitating the proposed privatisation of power plants on a government-to-government (G2G) basis, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Wednesday approved changes to the gas sale agreements (GSAs) of three LNG-based power projects in Punjab — Balloki, Haveli Bahadur Shah and Bhikki. A meeting of the ECC, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, also allowed Pakist