News

Gas for industry to be prioritised like residential supply: ECC

The Economic Coordi­nation Committee of the federal cabinet on Wednesday amended the gas supply priority list by placing gas for industrial processes in the first priority, alongside the domestic and commercial sectors. The meeting, chaired by Federal Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also decided that gas use for industries using captive power was relegated to a lower priority a

‘First independent power producer’ offers to revisit contract

Amid increasing pressure from the public and the business community to review power contracts to end unjustified capacity payments, an independent power producer (IPP) has announced that it is submitting proposals to the federal government to lower electricity prices and adjusting its rate of return from US dollars to the local currency. Shaharyar Chisti, chairman of Pak Asia Investment, the pa

Punjab govt takes U-turn on power subsidy for Islamabad

In a surprise move, the Punjab government has withdrawn the much-publicised electricity subsidy for consumers in Islamabad for September. According to a statement issued by Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) on Wednesday, the Rs14 per unit subsidy in electricity bills for federal capital consumers has been suspended by the Punjab government. However, consumers in other parts of Punjab

Equities stage 671-point rally on value-hunting

Despite heigh­tened political tensions amid persisting unce­r­tainty over IMF loan appr­oval, the robust remittances, falling global crude oil prices and a likely third straight cut in interest rate boosted market sentiments, tossing the KSE benchmark index above 79,000 barriers on aggressive mid-session value-hunting. Topline Securities Ltd said institutional buying in blue-chip stocks drove t

Auto sales jump 36pc in July, August amid uncertainty

Despite plant shutdowns and uncertain economic and political situation, the sales of cars, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), pickups and jeeps jumped 36 per cent to 17,288 units in July-August compared to 12,671 in the same period last year. According to the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) data released on Tuesday, the sales of these vehicles remained flat, posting a meagre