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Oil at discounted rate: Russian team to visit Pakistan next month, says minister

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  • A Russian delegation will arrive in Pakistan on Jan 20.
  • Pakistan closes to strike a deal for Russian oil at discounted rate.  
  • US will not impose sanctions on Pakistan for the proposed deal, says govt.

The coalition government is moving ahead with its plans to strike a much-anticipated deal for Russian crude oil at a discounted rate as Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik on Tuesday said that a high-level delegation from Moscow will arrive in Islamabad on January 20.

A day earlier, the minister said Russia had agreed to provide crude oil as well as petrol and diesel to Pakistan at discounted rates. “Our visit to Russia turned out to be more productive than expected.” 

In a statement, Malik claimed that the US will not impose sanctions on Pakistan for the proposed deal.

Brushing aside claims of former prime minister Imran Khan about his alleged talks with Russia on oil import, Malik took credit for the proposed deal and said that the minutes of their meetings with Mosco officials can prove their claims.

Responding to a question about the financial crisis in the county, the minister said that the government is not deliberating on imposing any economic emergency. He maintained that the government recently paid $1 billion for Sukuk bonds.

He maintained that the country would not default.

‘Russia agreed to export petrol, diesel to Pakistan’

A day earlier, Malik said Moscow was agreed to provide crude oil to Pakistan at discounted rates.

Malik said Russia did not have Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). “Talks with Russia private firms are underway for the import of LNG, while we have also engaged Russia’s state LNG producers,” Malik said.

According to the state minister, significant progress has been in talks over the pipeline projects with Moscow.

Last week, The News, quoting sources, reported that Pakistan’s delegation asked for a 30-40% discount on Russian crude oil during talks in Moscow, but the Russians said they could not offer anything right now as all volumes were committed.

During talks on the gas pipeline projects, Moscow asked Pakistan to first honour its commitment to the flagship project of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) to be laid down from Karachi to Lahore, Punjab.

In their response, the Pakistani team proposed to change the model of the PSGP project. The Russian side said that the model of the project under GtG (government-to-government) arrangement had already been settled, save for some clauses of the shareholding agreement, which would soon be finalised.

Talking to the journalists, Malik said the country required one percent additional energy to meet the demand.

To a question, he said the government would ensure uninterrupted gas supply to households during cooking hours. “More gas is being supplied to the domestic sector in December 2022 compared to the last year,” the minister said

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In January 2025, RDA inflows reach 9.564 billion USD.

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Remittances under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) increased from US $9.342 billion at the end of 2024 to US $9.564 billion by the end of January 2025.

The most recent data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed that remittance inflows in January totaled US$222 million, compared to US$203 million in December and US$186 million in November 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own a Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Card (POC), desire to engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan using these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking options.

Nearly 778,697 accounts were registered under the scheme by the end of January 2025, according to the data.

By the end of January, foreign-born Pakistanis had contributed US $59 million to Roshan Equity Investment, US $479 million to Naya Pakistan Certificates, and US $799 to Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates.

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FBR lowers Karachi’s built-up structure property valuation rates

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A year-by-year breakdown of the depreciation value of residential and commercial built-up properties is included in the updated property valuation rates for Karachi that the FBR has announced.

The notification said that built-up structural values on residential property will be gradually reduced.

A residential home’s built-up structure, which is five to ten years old, will lose five percent of its worth.

In a similar vein, constructions between the ages of 10 and 15 will lose 7.5% of their value, while those between the ages of 15 and 25 would lose 10%. Built-up structures that are more than 25 years old will be valued similarly to an open plot.

Furthermore, age will also be used to lower the valuation of built-up properties, such as apartments and flats.

Structures that are five to ten years old will depreciate by ten percent, while those that are ten to twenty years old will depreciate by twenty percent. A 30% depreciation will be applied to properties that are 20 to 30 years old, while a 50% reduction will be applied to those that are above 30 years old.

In terms of commercial built-up properties, buildings that are 10 to 15 years old will lose 5% of their value, while those that are 15 to 25 years old will lose 8%. The value of properties that are more than 25 years old will drop by 10%.

In contrast, there would be a 15% boost in the value of commercial properties in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) that face any Khayaban.

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Remittances Increase 25.2% in January 2025: $3.0 Billion Inflow

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Remittances from Pakistani workers totalled US$3.0 billion in January 2025, representing a 25.2% increase from the previous year.

The cumulative remittances for July through January of FY25 were 20.8 billion dollars, up 31.7 percent from 15.8 billion dollars during the same period in FY24.

In January 2025, the United States of America contributed 298.5 million dollars, the United Kingdom contributed 443.6 million dollars, the United Arab Emirates contributed 621.7 million dollars, and Saudi Arabia contributed 728.3 million dollars.

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