While approving an already allocated Rs7.5 billion subsidy package for the upcoming Ramazan, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet could not decide how to recover Rs100bn in additional money from gas consumers in the remaining four and a half months of the current fiscal year as the commerce minister pressed for reducing cross-subsidisation burden on industry. The meeting of
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a meltdown on Monday as post-election political instability triggered an across-the-board panic selling, which dragged the benchmark KSE 100-share index below 61,000 hitting an intraday low at 60,647.68. Arif Habib Ltd Head of Research Tahir Abbas told Dawn that the political landscape ambiguity along with lack of clarity on the circular debt resoluti
Although Pakistani currency dipped slightly, it remained largely stable at Rs279.33 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Monday as heightened political turmoil in the country following general elections did not leave a large impact on the currency. According to SBP data, the rupee ticked down 0.02%, or Rs0.03, against the greenback on a day-on-day basis, ending its three-day winnin
Edible oil manufacturers have called for reducing the duty on Crude Palm Oil (CPO), abolishing section 8B of the Sales Tax Act, and enhancing taxes on commercial importers. The aim is to encourage farmers and others to boost industrial growth in the country. They reported that over 3.2 million metric tonnes of palm oil are imported into the country. The edible oil sector sources raw materials f
The legitimate tobacco industry in Pakistan faces a severe crisis, with heavy taxes on tobacco products leading to a significant decrease in production and substantial tax losses. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, legal cigarette production has plummeted by 40% in just five months due to the widening price gap between legal and illegal cigarettes, primarily attributed to increased