News

FBR refunds Rs65bn to exporters

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has released verified refunds of Rs65 billion to exporters. An official announcement of the FBR on Monday said that the decision was taken after directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his first speech on the floor of the National Assembly after being elected as the 24th premier of Pakistan on Sunday. The released refunds issued to exp

Access to banking is a fundamental right: SBP

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad has said that access to financial services is a fundamental right of the people. He was delivering a keynote address at the inaugural event of Pakistan Financial Literacy Week (PFLW) on Monday at the SBP. The theme for the week is ‘Digital Bankari – fori aur asaan’. The event was attended by presidents and CEOs of commercial banks, senior of

Receding Kibor sparks rate cut hopes

KARACHI: The Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) has started to recede, reflecting both the money market’s reaction to low inflation and anticipation of an interest rate cut in the next monetary policy review. From Friday to Monday, Kibor dropped by 11 basis points (bps) for a one-year term, decreasing from 21.38 per cent to 21.27pc. This marked the most significant decline in the two days.

Cement sales fall 19pc in February

KARACHI: The overall cement despatches (domestic and export) declined by 19.22 per cent to 3.259m tonnes in February as against 4.035m tonnes in the same month last year due to few working days and holidays for general elections. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement sales during February were 2.863m tonnes as compared to 3.590m to

Nepra plans doubling of licensing fees

ISLAMABAD: Following in the footsteps of power companies, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has decided in principle to increase by at least 100 per cent its annual and one-time registration fee for all its licensees like those dealing in generation, distribution, transmission, trading, operators and suppliers. At the same time, Nepra is also seeking the imposition of an