The planned upgrade of existing oil refineries has been dealt a blow owing to the failure to sign implementation agreements as the Petroleum Division is seeking an extension in deadline for another six months. In this respect, the division has prepared a summary for taking approval of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE). Earlier, the deadline for signing plant upgrade agreements with the
A delegation of international investors, led by Ahmad Bozai, MD of Citibank Pakistan, called on Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday to explore investment prospects and economic dynamics in Pakistan. The finance minister welcomed the delegation and assured them that the government is committed to fostering an enabling business environment in Pakistan. S
The government is set to deliberately violate an Act of Parliament by not securing the approval of the federal cabinet for the Budget Strategy Paper until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gives its nod to the fiscal policy. This decision indicates that the finance ministry has prioritised the IMF bureaucracy over the elected representatives of the people, who sit in the federal cabinet and
The stock market was on a losing streak for the third consecutive day as investors indulged in profit-taking on pre-budget uncertainty. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market extended overnight losses on pre-budget uncertainty and reports of falling fertiliser and cement sales. Urea sales plunged 49 per cent month-on-month to 328,000 tonnes in April, hitting a three-year low
WHAT goes up must come down. This truth also applies to economic trends, which exhibit cycles of ups and downs. However, the pace of going up and coming down depends not on gravity, but economic policies. We are now seeing the effects of higher interest rates, which are slowly taking the steam out of inflation in the consumer price index (CPI). Year-on-year inflation has come down from its peak of