ISLAMABAD: Pakistan formally launched a licensing regime for virtual asset firms on Saturday, a step officials cast as the foundation for a broader effort to route billions of dollars in remittances and trade finance through blockchain-based systems.
Economy
Pakistan raises petrol, diesel prices into the weekend
The government raised gasoline and diesel prices for the weekend, the latest move under a daily pricing mechanism the country adopted last month to keep pace with volatile international crude markets.
Pakistan draws 11 bids for power distributor Gepco in privatisation push
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s plan to sell control of a second state-owned power distributor attracted expressions of interest from 11 investors, as the government presses ahead with an overhaul of a electricity distribution network burdened by losses and unpaid bills.
Pakistan raises fuel prices as Trump’s Iran threats push oil to three-week high
Pakistan raised petrol and diesel prices for delivery Friday, the Petroleum Division said on Thursday, as crude oil climbed to a three-week high after President Donald Trump threatened sweeping economic measures against countries that continue trading with Iran.
Pakistan opts for tender test before committing to sugar exports
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee stopped short of authorising sugar exports on Wednesday, choosing instead to test international demand through a tender for 108,000 tonnes — a hedge that reflects the government’s wariness of repeating a costly cycle of trade reversals that has rattled consumers and strained its International Monetary Fund program.
Pakistan slashes diesel price by record 32.63 rupees as refineries yield to government pressure
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cut the price of diesel by the widest margin in months on Wednesday, delivering relief to a transport and power sector squeezed by months of war-driven volatility in Middle East energy markets, even as petrol costs edged higher for consumers.
Pakistan presses US for $10 billion currency backstop, eyes September decision
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally asked the United States for a $10 billion facility designed to shore up confidence in the rupee, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, as Islamabad tries to convince investors it no longer needs the emergency bilateral support that has propped up its reserves for years.
Pakistan refiners agree to cut diesel price by up to Rs32 a liter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil refiners agreed to cut diesel prices by more than Rs30 to Rs32 a liter, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervez Malik said Wednesday, delivering relief to consumers after months of price increases tied to the war in the Middle East.
Pakistan launches app-based tax scheme to bring small traders into the net
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan rolled out a mobile application on Wednesday to formalize its Fixed Tax Asaan Scheme, a bid to draw millions of small traders into the tax system through a simplified, app-based filing process that officials say removes the friction that doomed past efforts.
Factory output rises 4.98 percent on autos surge, June slumps
Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector expanded 4.98% in the fiscal year ended June, with a surge in automobile production offsetting weakness in textiles and pharmaceuticals, even as output tumbled in the final month of the period, both from the prior month and a year earlier.