News

Reforming at gunpoint

THIS could be a case study in how not to do things. Common sense tells us that when problems are left to fester for long, they can grow in scale and complexity. Having postponed inevitable adjustments for long periods of time, a moment arrives when the necessary adjustment has to be undertaken in panic, in a short period of time, without the luxury of staggering out its impact, or embedding it wit

PIA sell-off opposed

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday strongly opposed the caretaker government’s plan to privatise national assets such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). “Institutions like PIA and Steel Mills are assets of the motherland, and PPP has always opposed the privatisation of PIA and will continue to do so,” PPP’s information secretary Faisal Karim Kundi sa

Merchandise exports grow over 13pc

Pakistan’s merchandise exports increased for the second month in a row after a year-long downward trend, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. In absolute terms, the export proceeds were recorded at $2.70bn in October against $2.38bn over the corresponding month of last year, indicating a growth of 13.55pc. However, on a month-on-month basis, the export proceed

Profit rates on savings schemes increased

The government has anno­unced adjustments in the profit rates on national savings schemes including its Islamic products and accounts with effect from Oct 30. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the profit rate on savings accounts has been incre­ased by 1pc to 20.5pc per annum. Likewise, the profit rate on special savings accounts has been increased by 20 basis points

Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd earns Rs49bn

Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd reported on Wednesday its earnings for July-September amounted to Rs49 billion, down eight per cent from a year ago. Insight Securities Ltd said the year-on-year decline in quarterly income was due to the absence of a hefty exchange gain of Rs11bn. Revenues increased 13pc year-on-year mainly because of the devaluation of 23pc even though the decline in oil