LAHORE, Nov 27 (ABC): Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries Task Force Chairman Badar Munir met Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi,  here on Sunday and sought a plan for trout fish farming in the province. He said that a pilot project for breeding of prawns would also be evolved. A decision was also made for issuing of online licences for hunting …

KARACHI, Nov 27(ABC):  As many 46 new high-speed railway coaches being imported from China arrived at the Karachi port on Sunday. Sources said the consignment included 45 coaches and one brake van. They further said Pakistan Railways had received first consignment of 46 out of 230 coaches booked under an agreement. Sources further said the new coaches would be added …

CHICAGO, Nov 27(ABC): Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures fell across the board on Saturday, led by wheat. The most active corn contract for March delivery fell 4.25 cents, or 0.64 percent, to settle at 6.5925 U.S. dollars per bushel. March wheat shed 7.75 cents, or 0.95 percent, to settle at 8.105 dollars per bushel. January soybean lost 7 …

Nov 27(ABC): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has denied the recent news reported in some sections of the media that certain Google payments are stuck at the central bank, which is inaccurate and misleading. “The fact is that in order to facilitate the domestic entities, SBP specified certain Information Technology (IT) related services, which such entities can acquire from abroad for their …

KARACHI, Nov 27(ABC): The rupee is likely to bounce back next week on expected inflows from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and as participants in the foreign exchange market track the impact of a key interest rate hike by the State Bank of Pakistan, reported Sunday. During the outgoing week, the rupee closed on a weak note and lost …

Nov 27(ABC): Punjab is likely to fall short of its wheat sowing target for the 2022-23 season, in what could be regarded as a major blow to the country’s food security, reported citing sources. With the inability expressed by the Sindh Government to sow even 75% of the targeted 4 million acres due to flood ravages, the wheat tilling progress in …

Nov 26(ABC): The Biden administration has banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose “an unacceptable risk” to US national security. The US Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it had adopted the final rules, which also bar the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology Co, video surveillance firm …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (ABC): The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on November 24 for the combined consumption group witnessed an increase of 0.48 percent as compared to the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 218.87 points against 217.82 points registered in the previous week, …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (ABC): Exchange rate of the Pakistan rupee depreciated by 03 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank trading on Friday and closed at Rs 223.94 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 223.91. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of dollar in the open market were recorded at Rs …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (ABC): The National Assembly on Friday informed that 5.798 million metric ton (MT) reservoirs of public wheat stock was available in Pakistan. In a written reply, Minster for National Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema told the National Assembly that out of 5.798 million MT, the PASSCO’s balance stock was 2.188 million MT, Punjab had 2.595 …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (ABC):The price of 24 karats per tola gold witnessed no change on Friday and was sold at  Rs159,600 against. The price of 12 gram 22 karats and 10 gram 22 karat also remained unchanged at Rs136,831 and Rs 125,428 respectively, All Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association reported. The price of per tola and ten gram silver remained constant …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 24(ABC): Pakistan’s timely finalisation of a recovery plan from devastating floods is essential to support discussions and continued financial support from multilateral and bilateral partners, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday. Pakistan was already battling a full-blown economic crisis, with decades-high inflation and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, when it was hit by floods earlier this year. …

Nov 22(ABC): Oil rose on Tuesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said Opec+ was sticking with output cuts and could take further steps to balance the market, outweighing global recession worries and concern about China’s rising Covid-19 case numbers. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday was also quoted by state news agency SPA as denying a Wall Street Journal report …

Nov 22(ABC): To better tackle distribution of oil and gas products across the country and tackle shortages, the federal government has drafted a bill to establish Pakistan Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority. Once passed, the bill help create a body to regulate oil and gas exploration companies in the all four provinces of the country apart including issuing licenses and registering …

DUBAI/ANKARA, Nov 22(ABC): Saudi Arabia and Turkey are discussing Riyadh placing a $5 billion deposit at Turkey’s central bank, a Saudi Ministry of Finance spokesperson said on Tuesday. “We are in final discussion to make a USD 5 billion deposit with the central bank of (Turkey),” the spokesperson said in an emailed response to a query. The Turkish central bank declined …

KARACHI, Nov 22(ABC):  Stocks rose Tuesday after investors somewhat cheered the narrowing of the current account (CA) gap in a tightly-guarded trade as political instability continues to remain a cause of concern, traders said. Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index ticked up by 167.43 points to settle at 42,928.62 after hitting an intraday high of 315.26 points at 43,076.45 points. …

KARACHI, Nov 22(ABC): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will announce its new monetary policy after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Friday. In a statement, the central bank says, “The Monetary Policy Committee of SBP will meet on November 25 at SBP Karachi to decide about the Monetary Policy. Later on, SBP will issue the Monetary Policy Statement through …

KARACHI, Nov 22(ABC): United States Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome has said he is committed to boosting bilateral trade and investment between the two countries under US-Pakistan Green Alliance which seeks to promote climate-smart agriculture and private sector-led growth in Pakistan. Blome visited Karachi on November 17 and 18 and during his visit, he underscored the strong ties between the two countries and to further …

KARACHI, Nov 22(ABC): The cost of insuring exposure to Pakistan’s five-year sovereign debt rose by 1,224 basis points over the weekend, hitting the highest-ever level of 92.53%, a brokerage’s data showed reported. The rate at these levels reflects a certain default. Analysts said the country’s sovereign dollar bonds would remain vulnerable until the political standoff between the government and the Imran Khan-led …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC): Pakistan on Saturday communicated with Russia to procure cheap oil and gas. Sources privy to the matter said that in this regard, the foreign ministry and petroleum ministry started to communicate – via letters – with Russia. The authorities have expressed their interest to the Russian administration in buying cheap oil and gas, but have put up …

BEIJING, Nov 20(ABC):Pakistan Consulate General, Shanghai has set up a national pavilion to showcase Pakistani traditional products at 4th Wenzhou International Import Expo opened in Wenzhou city in Zhejiang province. The opening ceremony of the four-day event to be continued till November 20, was attended by province and city leadership, diplomats and businesses. On the sidelines of the Expo, a …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC):Turkiye and Pakistan enjoy heart-to-heart relations and Turkiye is keen to boost bilateral trade with Pakistan at least up to US$ 5 billion in the next 2-3 years as the current volume of trade is not reflective of the actual potential of both countries. This was said by Dr.Mehmet Pacaci, Ambassador of Turkiye while addressing the business community …

BEIJING, Nov. 19Â (APP):The 4th International Symposium on the Belt and Road Bio-health Agriculture and the Development of Sino-Pak Bio-health Agriculture Oversea Sci-tech Demonstration Park was held at Northwest A&F University (NWAFU), Yangling, China. At the symposium, 22 keynote reports were delivered on bio-immunity and bio-protein technology, healthy seed industry, bio-information technology, smart agriculture technology and healthy animal husbandry. The …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC):The prices of oranges may rise this winter as the production recorded very low (50 percent) due to acute canal water scarcity and unexpected higher temperatures during the flowering stage of plants, Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) said. PBF Vice President Ahmad Jawad said ‘kinnow’ (orange) exports will resume from 1st week of December and the rate at farm …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC):The Pakistani traders have expressed keen interest in buying tea and coffee from Ethiopia at affordable rates. “There is a huge demand of tea and coffee in Pakistan, but connectivity, quality control mechanisms and institutional linkages between the two countries are the need of the hour,” said the members of a joint delegation of the Federation of Pakistan …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 20(ABC): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar Saturday rejected all speculations surrounding oil shortage and widening credit default swap, terming them “baseless rumours being spread on political goals”. Addressing a press conference via video link, the finance minister asserted that Pakistan will “absolutely not” default on its debt obligations. Country’s next big payment — $1 billion in international …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18 (ABC): The 100-index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) lost 89.48 points on Friday, depicting a slight negative change of 0.21 percent, closing at 42,730.24 against 42,819.72 points on the previous day. A total of 189,283,798 shares were traded during the day as compared to 181,226,661 shares the previous day, whereas the price of shares stood at …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18 (ABC): The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed a decrease of Rs400 on Friday as it was sold at Rs158,000 against its sale at Rs158,400 the previous day. The price of 10 gram 24 karat also decreased by Rs342 and was sold at Rs135,460 against Rs135,820, whereas that of 10 gram 22 karat went down …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18 (ABC): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has released its annual report for the fiscal year 2021-22. The Report caused under section 25 of the SECP Act 1997 comprises details of Commission activities and financial statements for fiscal year 2021-22, said a press release issued here. SECP Chairman Aamir Khan has expressed his satisfaction that …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18(ABC): Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha on Friday said that half of the businesses are running without taxes, tax payers must think that they must have a part in the country’s economy. Ayesha Ghaus said that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) needs to change its policy. FBR should register new tax defaulters, …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18(ABC): The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is likely to cut the power tariff for K-Electric (KE) consumers by Rs7.83 per unit on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for the month of November 2022. According to details, the KE consumers may get relief of Rs3.15 billion as K-Electric has sought a cut for its consumers on …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18(ABC): Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar called on President Dr Arif Alvi in Islamabad on Friday. During the meeting, the Federal Finance Minister briefed the President on the overall economic and financial outlook of the country. He also briefed the President on various steps taken by the Government to provide relief to the people of Pakistan, especially to …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 18(ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to share more details for undertaking the post-flood reconstruction at the cost of $16 billion, prior to taking a decision to dispatch its review mission to accomplish the pending ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. However, the IMF did not give any confirmed date for the completion of the …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 17 (ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has indicated its willingness to sympathetically view the targeted assistance for poor and vulnerable, especially flood affected people of Pakistan, said finance ministry in a statement issued here Thursday. According to the statement, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held an online meeting with IMF Mission Chief …

KARACHI, Nov 17(ABC): Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) surged by $3 million to $7.96 billion as of November 11, according to the data released by the central bank on Thursday. Pakistan’s total liquid foreign reserves stand at $13.8 billion, while net foreign reserves with commercial banks clocked in at $5.84 billion. “During the week …

Nov 17(ABC): The United States announced on Thursday that a total of $135 million had been raised as funding to combat global fertiliser shortages and food insecurity in low- and middle-income countries, according to a US Department of State press release. In a tweet, the US Embassy in Islamabad announced that the United States plans to provide support to Pakistan …

KARACHI, Nov 17(ABC): Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities have climbed by Rs12 trillion or 23.7% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, with analysts saying a delay in loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and devaluation of the rupee pushed the numbers up significantly. The debt and liabilities stood at Rs62.46 trillion in July-September FY2023, compared with Rs50.49 trillion …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 16 (ABC): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, here, on Wednesday expressed the government’s resolve to provide housing facilities to low and middle-income groups at affordable prices. Chairing a meeting on ‘Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar’ (MPMG) Scheme at the finance division, the minister advised the relevant authorities to work out at feasible proposals; address …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 16 (ABC): Pakistani Rupee on Wednesday depreciated by 50 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank trading to close at Rs 222.41 against the previous day’s closing of Rs 221.91. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the buying and selling rates of the US dollar in the open market were recorded at Rs 225.4 and …

ISLAMABAD, Nov 16(ABC): November 2022: Tobacco Health Levy Bill is ready to be presented in parliament and its immediate implementation can generate 60 Billion Rupee revenue for government. This revenue can help in reducing the damage caused by tobacco industry to health and economy. These views were agreed upon during a briefing organized by Society for Protection of Rights of …