Oct 19(ABC): In startling revelations, the government has imposed up to 500% more taxes on imported cars to protect the local car assemblers from foreign competition. In return, however, the assemblers have passed on the agony by overcharging consumers and delaying deliveries up to one year. The revelations were made during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – …

SINGAPORE, Oct 19(ABC): Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday, paring losses from the previous session, as concern over tight supplies following reports of lower inventories in the United States offset fears of lower demand from top oil importer China. Brent crude futures rose 73 cents, or 0.8%, to $90.76 a barrel by 0100 GMT. U.S. West Texas …

SYDNEY, Oct 19(ABC): Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday, with U.S. corporate earnings aiding sentiment, while traders awaited British inflation readings later in the day for clues on how hawkish central banks need to be to fight inflation. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged up 0.2%, but further gains were capped by slight falls in …

KARACHI, Oct 19(ABC): The US dollar continues to gain ground against the Pakistani rupee on Wednesday after a fresh appreciation. According to details, the local currency depreciated by 79 paisa against the greenback which was being traded around Rs220.5. The rupee had closed at Rs219.71 on Tuesday, according to Pakistan’s central bank data. However, despite the depreciation, the rupee has …

WASHINGTON, Oct 19(ABC): President Joe Biden will announce Wednesday he’s putting the final 15 million barrels on the market from a record release of US strategic oil reserves, with more releases possible if energy prices spike, a senior US official said. The new tranche of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be “completing the 180 million barrel release authorized …

GWADAR, Oct 18(ABC): Southern China Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center under construction in Gwadar Free Trade Zone will be functional next year, the firm responsible for building the facility said on Tuesday. The center is expected to host grand business exhibitions to encourage trade. An official representing the construction company, CCCC-FHDI Engineering CO.LTD, said, “The main structure of the center …

KARACHI, Oct 18(ABC): The 100-index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned around to a bullish trend on Tuesday, gaining 83.82 points, a positive change of 0.20 percent, closing at 41,839.27 against 41,755.45 points on the last working day. A total of 190,311,688 shares were traded during the day compared to 144,312,641 shares the previous day, whereas the price of …

Oct 18(ABC): Oil prices steadied in early Asian trade on Tuesday as a weaker U.S. dollar lent support, although rising shale production and fears that stubbornly high inflation could lead the world economy into a recession limited gains. Brent crude futures rose 9 cents or 0.1% to $91.71 per barrel by 1:20 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude …

SINGAPORE, Oct 18(ABC): Asia stocks nudged higher on Tuesday as the dramatic U-turn in British fiscal policy brightened investor sentiment, while the U.S. dollar took a breather at its lowest levels in more than a week as a revival in risk-taking lowered its appeal. Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt abandoned most of Prime Minister Liz Truss’ economic plan that …

WASHINGTON, Oct 18(ABC): Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has shown an indication to buy Russian oil but on the condition that it provides the important commodity at the same rate that it is giving it to India, reported. While replying to a question in Washington, Dar hoped that the West would have no objection to the import of Russian oil at …

KARACHI, Oct 18(ABC): The Pakistani rupee Tuesday depreciated against the US dollar for the fifth straight session after an increased demand for the greenback from the importers. The local unit depreciated by 0.37% (Rs0.82) on a day-on-day basis to reach 219.71 in the interbank market, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), down in value from the previous close …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (ABC): Pakistan’s public and publicly guaranteed debt to GDP ratio is expected to fall gradually in the upcoming years from 78% recorded at the end of Fiscal Year 2021-22 (FY22) to 71.7% in FY23 and 71.9% in FY24, said a report recently published by the World Bank. “At the end of FY22, public and publicly guaranteed debt …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (ABC): The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed an increase of Rs 950 on Monday and was sold at Rs 148,300 against its sale at Rs147,350 the previous day. The price of 10 gram 24 karat also increased by Rs 814 and was sold at Rs 127,143 against Rs 126,329; whereas that of 10 gram …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (ABC):Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) is actively pursuing six hydropower projects to add over 11,241 MW of environment-friendly hydel electricity to the existing 9,443 MW hydel generation in the coming years. Wapda officials told here that presently, the total installed capacity of 24 Wapda Hydel power stations stood at 9,443 MW and the addition of over …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (ABC): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar apprised the Pakistani-American IT/Tech entrepreneurs that government was according priority attention to IT/ Tech sector to tap its true potential. In a virtual meeting the entrepreneurs along with Minister for Economic Affairs, Ayaz Sadiq, he said that the country’s tech-savvy youth were an immense resource, which …

London, Oct 17 (ABC): Britain’s new finance chief Jeremy Hunt will Monday bring forward fiscal measures to further calm markets turmoil, in another government U-turn that appears to have left Liz Truss’s position as prime minister hanging by a thread. Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt, parachuted into the job on Friday to replace sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, will at 1000 GMT …

KARACHI, Oct 17(ABC): The US dollar continues to gain ground against the Pakistani rupee on Monday after a fresh appreciation. According to details, the local currency depreciated by 82 paisa against the greenback and was being traded around at Rs219.25. The rupee had closed at Rs218.43 on Friday, according to Pakistan’s central bank data. However, despite the depreciation, the rupee …

CAIRO, Oct 17(ABC):  OPEC+ member states lined up on Sunday to endorse the steep production cut agreed this month after the White House, stepping up a war of words with Saudi Arabia, accused Riyadh of coercing some other nations into supporting the move. The United States noted on Thursday that the cut would boost Russia’s foreign earnings and suggested it …

Oct 16(ABC): The chairman of the Renewable & Alternative Energy Association of Pakistan (REAP) Nisar Latif on Sunday demanded the government order the release of solar equipment containers stuck at ports for months. Addressing a press conference, he said that the solar industry and the people associated with its business were facing extreme difficulties as the equipment had not been …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (ABC): President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld a decision of the Banking Mohtasib (BM) and directed the Silk Bank Ltd (SBL) to refund the bank account of a fraud victim with Rs 200,000 along with the remaining profit till the date and credit the amount in his bank account. The President said Silk Bank had committed maladministration …

BEIJING, Oct 16 (ABC): Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Unani Tibb (traditional medicine in Pakistan) enjoy a broad space of collaboration in research and development, management and production,” highlighted Prof. Liu Xinmin, Member, Expert Advisory Panel on Traditional Medicine, World Health Organization (WHO) and Co-Director of Sino-Pakistan Cooperation Center on TCM (SPCCTCM). On the efficacy and safety of Jinhua Qinggan …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (ABC): The Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations would be installed at five Motorways locations, keeping in view the numbers of vehicles commuting on a particular road. “NHA has included EV charging stations in the contracts of filling station. Concessionaires/contractors are installing the same in line with the numbers of EV vehicles commuting on a particular road,” an …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (ABC): The Department of Civil Engineering of Pakistan Railways, in a summary moved to the Ministry of Railways, has demanded huge grant of money for the restoration of infrastructure damaged by massive torrential rains and floods. The Civil Engineering Department required about Rs 53 billion to restore the signals system, as many as Rs 60 billion to …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (ABC):Tobacco exports during the second month of fiscal year of 2022-23 increased by 97.36 percent as compared to the exports of the commodity during the corresponding period of last year. During the period from July 22-August 22, tobacco worth US$ 10,253,000 were exported as compared to the exports of US $ 5,195,000 during the same period of …

WASHINGTON, Oct 16(ABC):  Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Sunday called for greater policy support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) among other multilateral donors in Washington DC, US. It may be noted here that Dar is presently leading Pakistan’s delegation in the IMF-World Bank’s 2022 annual meetings being held in Washington DC. Other delegates include Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, federal …

KARACHI, Oct 16(ABC): The Pakistani rupee is expected to trade range-bound in the coming week, depending on the demand for greenback by importers as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has started to clear pending letters of credit. The market will also keep an eye on any assistance from multilateral lenders in the form of finance pledges following the cataclysmic …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sympathized with Pakistan for the losses caused by the recent floods across the country and assured of fund’s support. The assurance was made by IMF’s Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour in his meeting with Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Mohammad Ishaq Dar. They …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC): The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed an increase of Rs 50 on Saturday and was sold at Rs 147,350 against its sale at Rs147,300 the previous day. The price of 10 gram 24 karat also increased by Rs 43 and was sold at Rs 126,329 against Rs 126,286; whereas that of 10 gram …

CANBERRA, Oct 15(ABC): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a plan to increase paid parental leave (PPL) entitlements up to six months. Albanese on Saturday revealed the policy in a speech to a Labor Party conference, declaring the move would boost productivity. Currently, parents are entitled to 18 weeks of parental leave paid at the same rate as the …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC): Electric fans exports during the second month of fiscal year of 2022-23 increased by 31.96 percent as compared to the exports of the commodity during the corresponding period of last year. During the period from July 22-August 22, electric fans worth US$ 5,843,000 were exported as compared to the exports of US $ 4,428,000 during the …

London, Oct 15 (ABC): Britain’s new finance minister Saturday warned of looming tax hikes as he admitted to “mistakes” made in a disastrous budget that still threatens to bring down Prime Minister Liz Truss. “Truss fights for survival,” The Times newspaper headlined a day after she forced chancellor of the exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng to carry the can for market turmoil …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC): The Pakistani Rupee continued upward trend against the US dollar during the week ending on October 14 as it gained Rs 1.96 or 0.89% to close at Rs 217.96 on Friday compared to the close of Rs 219.92 on the last working day of previous week. After hitting the all-time high of Rs 239.71 against the …

WASHINGTON, Oct 15(ABC): World Bank Group President David Malpass reaffirmed the bank’s ongoing commitment to support Pakistan for its urgent needs in health, food, shelter, and cash transfers, as well as accelerating the preparation of new operations to rebuild in a more resilient way. The WBG president met with Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Minister of Economic …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15(ABC): The European Union and Pakistan emphasizing on the importance of bilateral trade relations have noted that the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) resulted in an increase in bilateral trade to EUR 12.2 billion in 2021. This was noted during the 12th European Union (EU) – Pakistan Joint Commission held in Islamabad on 5 October 2022 to …

KARACHI, Oct 15 (ABC):State Bank of Pakistan on Friday injected Rs 1390.250 billion into money market through its Open Market Operation. Rupees 1275.250 billion were as reverse repo purchase. Of these, Rs 377.950 billion were pumped for 7 days and Rs 675 billion for 63 days at 15.18 % rate of return accepted per annum. Rupees 115 billion were injected …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC):Onion crop would be cultivated on 162,000 hectares in order to produce about 2.422 million tons of onion during Rabi season 2022-23, besides cultivating potatoes over 226,000 hectares to produce 6.029 million tons of potatoes for fulfilling the domestic requirements as well as to export. In Punjab, the potatoes would be cultivated on 221,000 hectares as output …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15(ABC): Canvas Footwear exports during the second month of fiscal year of 2022-23 grew up by 2,171.43 percent as compared to the exports of the commodity during the corresponding period of last year. During the period from July 22-August 22, Canvas footwear worth US$159 thousand were exported as compared to the exports of US $ 7 thousand during …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15(ABC): The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on October 13 for the combined consumption group witnessed a decrease of 0.57 percent as compared to the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 204.55 points against 205.73 points registered in the previous week, according …

WASHINGTON, Oct 15(ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is awaiting World Bank and UNDP’s assessment report and the economic devastation as a result of unprecedented flooding in the country to determine how it can help Pakistan. The global lender also shared that it would send a mission in November to Pakistan after the annual meetings as part of …

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15(ABC): The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has allowed an increase of Rs3.21 per unit in the power tariff, enabling Ex-WAPDA Discos (XWDISCOSs) to collect an additional Rs94 billion from consumers. According to a notification issued by NEPRA on Friday, the increase comes on account of quarterly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for the last quarter of the …