Business

Petrol price in Pakistan to remain unchanged for first half of May

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PM Shehbaz rejects OGRA’s proposal to hike petrol prices.
Prices of petroleum products will remain unchanged.
Decision taken to not burden the consumers, per notification.

ISLAMABAD: Prices of petroleum products will remain unchanged after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday rejected the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) proposal for a hike in prices, said a notification issued by the Finance Division.

According to the notification, the decision was taken to not burden the consumers.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz directed to maintain the prices of petroleum products at the current level so as not to burden the consumers with the hike in prices,” read the notification.

Product	Old prices w.e.f. 16-04-2022	New prices w.e.f. 1-05-2022	Increase / (-) Decrease
MS (Petrol)	149.86	149.86	0
High-Speed Diesel (HSD)	144.15	144.15	0
Kerosene (SKO)	125.56	125.56	0
Light Diesel Oil	118.31	118.31	0

Earlier this week, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a statement, had said that the prices of petroleum products will not be increased for the first half of the next month.

Aurangzeb said the “incompetence and serious mistakes” of the last government were the reasons for people’s suffering.

“Former prime minister Imran Khan’s government had accepted harsh conditions set by the International Monitory Fund related to increasing prices of the petroleum products to secure a loan,” Aurangzeb said.

The information minister said the government is making “every possible effort” not to put any further burden on people, who are already facing the brunt of high inflation.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail had also earlier this week announced that the price of petroleum products would not be increased “immediately”.

Speaking during Geo News programme “Capital Talk”, Ismail urged people to stop filling their petrol tanks out of panic as prices will not be increased immediately.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

8 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

8 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

8 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.