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Two councils formed to boost exports

In a strategic move to boost the country’s exports, the Ministry of Commerce has established two powerful export advisory councils to devise a strategy for the promotion of textile and non-textile products. The councils will be tasked with developing sector-specific strategies to increase export volumes, according to two notifications issued by the commerce ministry on Wednesday. These counc

Uplift funds skewed in favour of PDM lawmakers’ projects

Discre­tionary spending by parliamentarians under the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Pro­gramme (SAP) accounted for more than a third of the total federal development expenditure in the first four months of the fiscal year, official data showed on Wednesday. The disproportionate funding towards parliamentarians’ schemes under SAP, whose discretionary funds are considered a tool to mu

Stocks rally 294 points on economic triggers

Share prices continued their upward trajectory on Tuesday on positive developments on the macroeconomic front. Topline Securities Ltd said the positive momentum was driven by the tentative scheduling of the Executive Board’s meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Dec 7. The board is expected to approve the staff-level agreement with Pakistan, which will pave the way for a loan

Pakistan floats LNG tender to meet winter demand

Pakistan on Monday floated an urgent international tender for a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo in the first part of January to meet anticipated peak winter shortage in the residential sector. The tender, issued by the state-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) with a four-day notice, asked bidders to submit technical and financial bids by Nov 24 for a standard LNG cargo with targeted delivery on J

Fuel cost adjustment of Rs3.5 more per unit to further inflate bills

The Cen­tral Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on Mon­day sought a massive Rs3.55 per unit as fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for ex-Wapda distribution comp­anies (Discos) to raise another Rs33bn from consumers in Dece­mber, des­pite a healthy 76 per cent ele­ctricity generation from cheaper domestic fuels. This comes on top of about 26pc increase in the annual base tariff and around 18pc hike under th