News

PIACL incurs Rs75bn loss in 2023

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on Monday that Pakistan International Airlines Company Ltd (PIACL) incurred a loss of Rs75 billion in 2023, with overall liabilities of Rs825bn and total assets of Rs161bn. A meeting of the committee, chaired by MNA Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar, recommended that employees’ rights be protected during the privatisation process

Businesses want cut in SBP policy rate to 15pc

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Atif Ikram Sheikh has urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to immediately bring down its policy rate to 15 per cent to enable local exporters to compete on the regional and international markets with reduced cost of capital. He added that this step should be accompanied by fulfilling the government’s promise to rationa

Consumers brace for Rs1.90 quarterly hike in tariff

While completing the process for Rs1.90 per unit additional quarterly tariff adjustment in electricity rates across the country, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) censured all the power companies on Monday for discouraging solar net metering to consumers. At a public hearing presided over by Nepra Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) — the c

AGP pinpoints Rs4.5tr leakages in power sector

The Auditor Gene­ral of Pakistan has identified leakage, malfeasance and dozens of other loss-making practices to the tune of Rs4.5 trillion in the country’s ever-bleeding power sector that have put the nation on the brink of collapse. The AGP, in his report, expressed concern over lack of accountability and poor response to corrective measures. In the audit report on the accounts of Power D

Stocks stay in green despite delay in IMF board approval

Despite mounting political tensions and an unexpected delay in the approval of the Staff-Level Agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund in July for a new $7 billion Extended Fund Facility, the falling T-bill yields and robust corporate results helped the stock market close the outgoing week in green territory. The non-inclusion of Pakistan in the agenda of the IMF’s Executive Boar