Business

Petrol price to remain unchanged in Pakistan

Published

3 years ago

Farwa

Finance Division says decision taken in line with PM Imran Khan’s last fortnightly review.
Decision would mean that the government will bear the additional burden of Rs30 billion for the fortnight.
Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced slashing the petrol and diesel price by Rs10 per litre.

In line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision, the Finance Division announced in its fortnightly review that petrol prices would remain unchanged throughout the country.

“In line with the decision of the prime minister in the last fortnightly review, the petroleum product prices to remain unchanged despite abnormal price increase in the international market,” said a statement issued by the Finance Division.

The statement added that decision would mean that the government will bear the additional burden of Rs30 billion for the fortnight (March 16-31, 2022).

Product	New Prices w.e.f. 16-03-2022	New Prices w.e.f. 01-04-2022	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

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced slashing the petrol and diesel price by Rs10 per litre.

At the outset of his speech, PM Imran Khan had announced that everybody was of the view that increasing commodity and oil prices were a temporary phenomenon; however, in line with the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the government realised that prices would not fall in the international market.

Criticising the Opposition for hurling unnecessary allegations at the PTI-led government, the PM had asked them to come forward with solutions to address the petrol issue.

PM Imran Khan further had said that since Pakistan imports petrol, if the prices increase in the international market, there is nothing the government could do.

Sharing details of petrol prices in other countries, the premier had said that “in Pakistan, the price of petrol is still the lowest in the world.”

Among 190 countries, Pakistan stands at number 25 in terms of lowest petrol and diesel prices,” he had said.

The premier had further added that in Pakistan, the price of petrol is Rs160 per litre, while the price of petrol in India is Rs260, Rs185 in Bangladesh and Rs 200 in Turkey.

“If the government stops providing subsidies worth Rs70 billion, every worth then the price of petrol in Pakistan would have been Rs220 per litre,” he had said.

The premier further said that he received a summary from the Oil and Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to increase charges by Rs10 per litre keeping in view the price hike in the international market.

“In order to provide relief to the people, I want to announce that instead of increasing the price of petrol and diesel we are reducing it by Rs10 per litre,” he had said.

The premier had further announced that the prices would not be increased until the next budget, which is scheduled in June.

Business

China Contributes 43 New Foreign Firms to the 6% Growth in SECP Registrations

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has registered 2,617 new firms this year, a 6% increase from 2023, with assistance from the Special Investment Facilitation Council. This increases the overall number of businesses that are registered to 231,111.

Non-profits, trade associations, and public unlisted firms make up 4% of these, while private limited corporations make up 55% and single-member companies 41%. It is noteworthy that 99.8% of the registrations were done online, demonstrating SECP’s attempts to digitise.

Real estate has 237 new businesses, services has 306, and trade has 377 new businesses. These are the main sectors exhibiting growth. While the healthcare and textile industries each had 49 new businesses, the education sector saw 101.

China contributed the most, adding 43 new companies, out of the 61 new companies that were registered as a result of foreign investment.

These recently registered businesses are anticipated to decrease imports, increase domestic production, and contribute to closing the trade deficit.

Business

PSX reaches an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index surpasses 86,000 points.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has achieved a significant milestone, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index has attained an unprecedented peak.

On Tuesday at midday, the index ascended by 788 points, attaining a record high of 86,846 points. Following the ratification of the constitutional amendments, the stock market has increased by 1500 points over a span of two days.

Earlier today, the KSE-100 Index increased by 683 points, attaining a value of 86,741 points, before concluding at this new apex.

The bullish trend was apparent from the commencement of the trading session, with the index rising an additional 555 points to reach 86,612 points throughout the day. The reinstatement of the 86,500-point threshold signifies robust market performance.

Business

In three months, Pakistan’s IT exports increased by 33.54 percent.

Published

12 hours ago

Farwa

During the first three months of FY 2024-25 (July to September), Pakistan’s IT export remittances hit US$ 876 million, a notable 33.54 percent rise from US$ 656 million during the same period previous year (FY 2023-24).

In a statement, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the amount of money sent home by the export of ICT services was US$ 292 million in September 2024, a 41.7% increase from US$ 206 million in the same month the previous year.

She stated that efforts to make it easier for businesses to conduct business in the nation are the reason why IT exports are rising and that actions are being taken to increase them.

In response to the Prime Minister’s directions, Shaza Fatima stated that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the IT industry are dedicated to boosting IT exports with the full assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

A trade surplus of US$ 764 million was recorded by the IT & ITeS sector in the first three months of FY 2024–25, accounting for 87.21 percent of all ICT export remittances.

Over the same period last year, this surplus represents a 36.67 percent gain over US$ 559 million. The services industry as a whole, however, experienced a trade deficit of US$ 699 million during this period.

The largest of all service sectors, ICT export remittances from July to September 2024, were US$ 656 million, followed by “other business services” at US$ 374 million.