News

PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel leased out to NYC for three years against $220m

The government has finally leased out its precious asset in the United States —Roosevelt Hotel, a property of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) — to the New York City Administration for a period of three years against USD 220m. A contract has also been signed between the government and the NYC administration/government, according to Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saa

Stocks lose 341 points on profit selling

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a negative session on Wednesday, with the benchmark index of representative shares ceding ground to the bears by the end of trading. Arif Habib Ltd said the KSE-100 index hit an intraday low of 406.62 points following the market chatter about new tax measures in the upcoming budget. Investors decided to book profits after news reports emerged that the

A steep price

PAKISTAN’S economy faces a severe multidimensional crisis amid a gloomy and uncertain outlook. A recent State Bank report on the state of the economy during the first half of the present fiscal year admits that macroeconomic fundamentals are deteriorating, but it understates the severity of the painful crisis the country and its people have been contending with for the last one year — just as Fina

CORPORATE WINDOW: Pre-budget dejection

Tycoons, aware of challenges and Prime Minister Shehbaz’s government’s weakness, are not hopeful. The volatile market is desperate for positive signals. The people, however, expected relief in an election-year budget. To avoid higher levies on their income/profit, bankers, brokers and barons are lobbying hard, approaching heavyweights in the power corridors. The currency dealers, commodity trad

Chemical plant faces delays amid forex crunch

Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd (EPCL) — which is the country’s only manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride or PVC resin used in plastic and rubber production — has been facing long delays in setting up its $23 million hydrogen peroxide plant. Speaking to a group of journalists at the Bin Qasim factory on Wednesday, company officials said the cost of the under-construction facility has exceeded the