KARACHI: Pakistan’s goods transport industry ground to a halt Saturday as thousands of truckers began an indefinite nationwide strike, escalating a dispute with the government over daily diesel price adjustments, toll charges and tax policy that threatens to disrupt supply chains across the South Asian nation.
Economy
Pakistan delivers back-to-back fuel price cuts as Iran war keeps oil markets on edge
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cut retail fuel prices for the second consecutive day on Friday, trimming petrol by 2.20 rupees and high-speed diesel by 1.50 rupees per litre, as the country’s new daily pricing regime absorbs a Middle East oil market whipsawed by the nearly six-month-old war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
Turkish, Chinese firms join local giants in race for Fesco sale
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s privatization drive for its state-owned power distribution companies cleared its first major hurdle, with the government reporting a dozen expressions of interest from investors seeking to take control of Faisalabad Electric Supply Co., one of three regional utilities up for sale in the country’s most ambitious power-sector overhaul in decades.
Nepra approves 75-paisa-a-unit tariff increase for August bills as fuel costs rise
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power regulator signed off on an additional 9.8 billion-rupee charge for electricity users in August, after trimming a bigger request from the country’s power purchasing agency and setting up a fresh round of scrutiny over how utilities manage output during the country’s fastest-growing hours for rooftop solar.
Petrol down Rs3.19, diesel Rs1.50 for Friday
ISLAMABAD: The government cut petrol and diesel prices on Thursday, trimming petrol by Rs3.19 a litre and high-speed diesel by Rs1.50, under a daily pricing mechanism adopted last month to keep pump prices in step with volatile international oil markets.
Pakistan raises petrol price, cuts diesel in first split under daily pricing
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan raised the price of petrol while cutting diesel rates, the first divergence between the two fuels since the government abandoned weekly price-setting for a daily mechanism designed to track international crude markets in near real time.
Pakistan and the US report progress on trade framework, aim for early deal
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States said negotiations over a reciprocal trade framework have advanced substantially, with officials from both governments pledging to wrap up the agreement soon following a virtual meeting between Islamabad’s finance minister and Washington’s top trade negotiator.
PM Sharif courts foreign investors to revive Pakistan’s power utilities privatization drive
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered officials to draw up a “comprehensive strategy” for luring international investors into the country’s power-distribution privatization program and told the Privatization Commission to finish its own institutional overhaul within a month, as the government presses ahead with a sale process the International Monetary Fund has linked to broader fiscal reform.
Pakistan revives plan to break up gas utilities into five firms
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is reviving a long-stalled plan to break up its two dominant gas utilities into five separate companies, reopening a restructuring effort that regulators and consultants derailed six years ago on concerns it wasn’t financially sound.
Pakistan exports rise 10 percent to start fiscal year as textiles lead gains
KARACHI: Pakistan’s exports climbed 10% at the start of the new fiscal year, a gain textile industry representatives say risks being undercut by a faster increase in imports of consumer goods that don’t feed back into the country’s manufacturing base.