Pakistan has sought the re-profiling of more than $27 billion in debt and liabilities with friendly nations — China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — to secure a 37-month IMF bailout package and ease energy sector foreign exchange outflows and consumer tariffs. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Sunday said Islamabad had already asked the friendly bilateral trio of lenders to roll over its more t
Pakistani shares snapped a two-day recovery spree on Thursday as investors resorted to profit-taking in a volatile session, dragging the benchmark index below 79,000 despite a bullish start on better corporate results. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the stock market witnessed an across-the-board downturn due to political uncertainty. He said investor concerns about a settlement
THERE is nothing quite like a punch-up among the billionaires. That is exactly what we have going on these days with the whole ‘capacity payments to Independent Power Producers’ (IPPs) issue. If you’re confused about what exactly is going on and trying to figure out who is right in all of this, let me help you with one simple line: this has nothing to do with you. Relax. Here is what’s happenin
The prospects of success for Pakistan’s economic reforms under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme remain tenuous, with significant challenges ahead for the government and economy, opine business leaders. Earlier this month, Pakistan and the IMF reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) for a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility. The IMF-mandated reforms included increases in tax revenu
In light of the recent increase in base tariffs, government-owned power distribution companies (Discos) have sought an additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs2.63 per unit to extract about Rs35 billion more from consumers in the next billing cycle for the electricity consumed in June. The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), a subsidiary of the power division, has filed a formal petition