KARACHI: Pakistan has requested proposals from advisers to arrange its first dollar-settled, rupee-linked bonds, adding a new instrument to a slate of planned Eurobond and Sukuk sales as the government works to widen its pool of foreign investors and push out the maturity schedule of its external debt.
Economy
Public debt tops Rs82 trillion as domestic borrowing surges
KARACHI: Pakistan’s total public debt climbed to Rs81.949 trillion by the end of May, according to central bank data released on Monday, as the government leaned harder on domestic banks to plug a widening gap between tax revenue and spending.
Pakistan blocks Ufone-Telenor rebrand to e& pending regulatory sign-off
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecommunications regulator has stopped the country’s newly combined Ufone-Telenor business from adopting the e& brand of its Abu Dhabi-based parent, adding a regulatory snag to a merger that created the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers.
Pakistan misses IMF gas-tariff deadline as regulator chief digs in over losses – report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan let a July 1 deadline to raise natural gas tariffs slip past, missing a commitment made to the International Monetary Fund just three months ago and adding a fresh complication to a $7 billion loan program already strained by more than 3.44 trillion rupees in unpaid gas-sector bills, Dawn newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s June LNG prices jumped 15 percent after Gulf conflict hit Qatar supplies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s energy regulator raised the price of regasified liquefied natural gas by roughly 15% for June, as the country’s two state-linked gas utilities were forced into costlier spot-market purchases after the war between the US and Iran disrupted contracted supplies from Qatar, Dawn newspaper reported on Monday.
Pakistan, Turkey renew pledge to hit $5 billion in trade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkey on Saturday recommitted to a long-standing goal of raising bilateral trade to $5 billion, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used a day of meetings here to widen cooperation on energy, mining, technology, and regional diplomacy.
Sindh cotton ginners shut mills within weeks of opening as tax relief fails to materialise – report
KARACHI: Several cotton ginning factories in Sindh province have shut down within a month of starting operations, industry officials told Dawn newspaper, after the federal government failed to reduce an 18% sales tax on the sector in its latest budget, deepening a price collapse that is rattling farmers and millers across Pakistan.
Pakistan trims petrol, diesel prices, but levy changes limit the benefit
KARACHI: The government lowered gasoline and diesel prices for the first time in roughly three weeks, passing on part of the recent decline in global crude costs to motorists while a simultaneous tax increase curbed the size of the relief.
SBP chief sees growth beating government estimate
KARACHI: Pakistan’s economy is poised to grow faster than the government’s own estimate for the past fiscal year, the central bank governor said, pointing to a buildup in foreign-currency reserves and a jump in remittances that have helped stabilise the country’s finances after years of crisis.
SBP forecasts $44 bln in worker remittances, reserves above $20 bln by December
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank expects remittances from overseas workers to reach a record $44 billion in the fiscal year that began on July 1, while forecasting its foreign exchange reserves will exceed $20.2 billion by the end of December, Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Friday.”