ISLAMABAD: Despite surplus power generation capacity, most of the country’s engineering firms have held electricity scarcity and its poor supply responsible for their inability to meet production goals and achieve operational efficiency, thus losing competitiveness, whereas 95 per cent firms reported no access to finance. This has been disclosed by the state-run Pakistan Institute of Developmen
LAHORE: The total cost of free electricity units being used by the state-owned entities in the country’s power sector alone ranges between Rs22 billion and Rs25bn per annum whereas the allowances being given to other government departments’ employees from grade 1 to 22 are also worth billions, leaving the government with no option but to pass on such a huge financial impact to consumers. Howeve
A competitive cost of energy, particularly electricity tariffs, and its uninterrupted supply are essential for oiling the industry’s wheels. Rejecting the recent hike in electricity bills, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries said it was “debilitating both for residential and commercial consumers, with inflation already killing businesses and rendering them unprofitable a
Bears tightened their grip on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as the benchmark index plummeted by around 1,250 points, or 2.7 per cent, driven by concerns about the country’s faltering economy, rumours of an impending interest rate hike, and the persistent depreciation of the rupee. It was the year’s second-biggest overnight decline in the benchmark KSE-100 index in terms of point
THE bloodbath at the stock market on Thursday is just another grim reminder of all that is wrong with the economy. The fundamentals continue to worsen — faster than before — as the country hurtles towards yet another financial disaster amid political uncertainty. The fresh losses suffered by the stock market over the last few days are just one symptom of declining economic conditions exacerbate