The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Thursday greenlit a roughly Rs40 billion plan to wind down the state-run Utility Stores Corporation (USC), a once-profitable retailer that has haemorrhaged funds for over a decade.
Economy
Pakistan faces flood risks as inflation holds at 4-5 percent, fiscal gains strengthen
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy, with August inflation projected at 4-5% and support from a narrowing fiscal deficit and strong revenue growth, faces rising risks from flood damage that could disrupt food supplies, strain fiscal resources and threaten agricultural growth targets, the Finance Division said in its monthly outlook on Thursday.
Pakistan postpones revenue-sharing talks as Sindh faces flood threat
By Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: Pakistan delayed the first meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC), the country’s revenue distribution body, on Thursday after Sindh
CCP pushes for ban on Chinese e-commerce giant Temu over unregulated operations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s antitrust authority has called on the country’s telecommunications regulator to ban the Chinese e-commerce platform Temu, warning that its unregulated operations could harm local businesses.
US firms eye Pakistan’s oil sector amid Trump’s ‘massive reserves’ claim, experts skeptical
ISLAMABAD: US companies are showing renewed interest in Pakistan’s struggling energy sector following President Donald Trump’s claim of “massive” oil reserves in the South Asian nation, but industry experts remain skeptical, citing decades of limited discoveries and persistent challenges, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
Pakistan targets 2025 panda bond debut to access Chinese capital
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is pressing ahead with plans to issue its first panda bond in 2025, a move to tap China’s deep investor pool and diversify its funding sources, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, as the nation seeks to rebuild reserves and return to global capital markets.
Punjab battles historic floods after India releases dam waters, hundreds of thousands displaced
LAHORE: Pakistan mounted a frantic response on Wednesday to confront a swelling flood emergency in its populous Punjab province after India released excess water from dams in the disputed Kashmir region, exacerbating weeks of punishing monsoon rains that have already claimed hundreds of lives and submerged vast swaths of farmland across the nuclear-armed neighbors.
ECC approves gas surcharge relief, funds for flood-hit Gilgit-Baltistan
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet approved a bailout for the state broadcaster, a plan to recover overdue petroleum levies from a refinery and a mechanism to use gas surcharges to cut electricity tariffs for all consumers
TCP secures initial 30,000 tons of sugar in global tender
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state-owned Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has acquired an initial 30,000 metric tons of white sugar through an international tender that closed last week, Reuters reported on Tuesday, as the South Asian nation grapples with surging domestic sugar prices.
Loans, grants lift Pakistan July inflows to $695 million
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan kicked off the new fiscal year with a robust 59 percent increase in foreign inflows, totalling $695 million in July, driven by a sharp rise in loans and grants following the finalisation of a critical International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement.