Business

Petrol price in Pakistan expected to decrease by over Rs7/litre

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Latest news about petrol price in Pakistan suggests rates to drop.
Diesel price expected to drop by Rs16.61 per litre, light diesel Rs10.87.
Govt apparently not in mood to raise petrol price, say oil industry officials.

KARACHI: The price of petrol in Pakistan may decrease by Rs7.24 per litre and diesel by Rs16.61 per litre in the next fortnightly review if the government passes on the impact of the retreating global market by not raising taxation, latest news about the rates suggest.

Oil industry data shows that all petroleum prices are showing a declining trend; however, it is not clear if the government will pass on the impact or offset it by raising taxation.

Industry calculations show that the ex-depot price of petrol has registered a Rs7.24 per litre decrease to Rs230.19 per litre for the next fortnight compared to the existing price of Rs237.43 per litre, The News reported.

The ex-depot price of diesel has decreased by Rs16.61 to Rs230.82 per litre for the next fortnight compared to the current price of Rs247.43 per litre.

The ex-depot price of light diesel reduced by Rs10.87 to Rs186.41 per litre for the upcoming fortnight compared to Rs197.28 per litre now.

The ex-depot price of kerosene declined by Rs14.20 to Rs187.82 per litre against Rs197.28 per litre currently.

The prices calculated by the oil industry are based on the existing taxation by the government.

The government is charging zero general sales tax (GST) on petroleum products where the rate of petroleum levy (PL) on petrol is Rs37.42 and on diesel Rs7.58 per litre.

Under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions, the government has to raise the levy to Rs50 per litre on diesel and petrol to generate additional revenue to achieve the tax collection target for this fiscal.

According to the oil sector officials, the government apparently is not in a mood to increase the petroleum prices by raising the rate of levy or re-imposing GST after Ishaq Dar takes the help of the Finance Ministry.

“It seems that Dar would not be raising the price of petroleum products, at least for this fortnight to send out a message about his plan to provide relief to the masses as he had pledged to do so before taking the charge of the finance ministry,” a top oil firm official believed.

He said that Dar might pass the impact of the global downtrend or he could also decide to stick with the same if global markets further eased in the coming review of prices.

According to him, the average price of crude oil was around 91 dollars per barrel from September 16 to 28, whereas average prices of diesel and petrol were $115 and $81 per barrel respectively in the global market.

Business

Donald Lu visits Finance Minister Aurangzeb at the World Bank headquarters.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

Wednesday saw Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb meet US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst.

The finance minister briefed US officials on Pakistan’s reform plan at the World Bank. Meeting both delegations decided to improve bilateral ties.

Meeting topics included alternative energy, agriculture, climate, and tech industry. Boosting the Pakistan-US economic partnership was another finance ministry priority.

With US officials, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb addressed IT, agriculture, and other business potential.

Pakistan would collaborate with the US International Development Finance Corporation and Exim Bank, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb.

His name is Donald Lu.
Over 30 years of US government service for Lu as a foreign service officer.

What Pakistan calls the “cipher” dispute involves the American official. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder claimed that a supposed official letter between Washington and Islamabad proved his ousting as PM was a US conspiracy.

Washington has strongly refuted Khan’s allegations.

The State Department’s top South and Central Asia diplomat is Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state.

Business

Huge investment potential exists in the telecom and IT sectors. Shaza Fatima

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

According to Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, there are numerous investment prospects in Pakistan’s IT and telecom sectors.

She noted that the current administration is dedicated to fostering foreign investment in the nation, in line with the Prime Minister’s goal.

According to a news release, CEOs Wateen Adil Rashid and Muhammad Shahbaz Khan of Taavun (Pvt) Limited, who paid her a visit on Tuesday, spoke with Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

She declared that the private sector would receive complete support because it is essential to growing our exports.

Regarding youngsters, she stated that they are our greatest asset and that efforts are being made to further their growth.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates was thanked by Shaza Fatima for his particular interest in promoting additional investment in Pakistan’s telecom industry.

Business

WB pledges complete support for changes aimed at stabilizing Pakistan’s economy.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, according to a press release from the ministry of finance here. During the meeting, the minister discussed Pakistan’s progress under the nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) program as well as ongoing reforms in priority areas of taxation, energy, and privatization.

According to the statement, the minister also extended an invitation to the president to visit Pakistan, and both parties acknowledged the necessity of a rolling 10-year country framework plan.

The minister also talked on safeguarding Pakistan’s eligibility for concessional funding and future project pipeline during a meeting with Masatsugu Asakawa, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The chief executive officer of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Scott Nathan, also met with the minister of finance.

They discussed during the conference how DFC may increase its investments in Pakistan after resolving unresolved conflicts in a cooperative manner.

According to the minister, the government is supporting creative financing strategies to maximize PPP potential and private sector participation.

According to the statement, he gave his word that the government will do everything in its power to assist investment projects by both foreign and local businesses in Pakistan.