Day: April 13, 2020

Coronavirus digging grave for the ailing economy. Efforts of Governor SBP, recent salary package lauded. Interest rate, all taxes and duties should be halved: Mian Zahid Hussain

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FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel SVP, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Monday said coronavirus is digging a grave for country’s stressed economy. Giving package to some sectors while at the mercy of the situation is not good policy as all sectors are interlinked that should be bailed out together, he said. Mian Zahid Hussain said that a very serious economic is looming which calls for a proper response otherwise the whole nation will face the consequences. Talking to…

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Energy sector circular debt touches Rs 2 trillion

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The country’s energy sector circular debt has touched whopping level of Rs 2 trillion as failures are witnessed starting from generation, transmission distribution and recovery. A couple of months ago, Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Tauseef H Siddiqui opened a pandora’s box when he submitted report to the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, challenging all the claims of Power Division including the figures of circular debt. According to Chairman Nepra, the stock of circular debt (payables to IPPs and Gencos) and debts parked in the books of PHPL stood…

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Govt set to start talks with IPPs for relief in PPAs

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The PTI government is quite serious to start next week renegotiations of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with positive mode seeking relaxations based on mutual agreement, but not with the intent to harassthem as PPAs are supported by sovereign guarantees. To this effect, a committee headed by Federal Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan, comprising other members of Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Dr Muhammad Farogh Naseem, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Coordination of Marketing & Development of Natural Resources Shahzad Syed Qasim, Secretary…

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ECC’s double game set the stage for sugar subsidy

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Who was pulling the strings of Usman Buzdar to get Rs3 billion subsidy for sugar industry approved, is not documented in official files but it is now clear that none else than the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) set the stage for sugar mill owners’ windfall. Not only that the ECC’s decision was referred to byboth the Punjab food and finance departments as supportive to the subsidy option, the provincial government sources said that the ECC did not share with the province all important calculations of the then…

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Byco Refinery resumes production due to improved POL demand

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Pakistan’s premier oil refining company, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL) has informed that it has resumed production. In late march, the Ministry of Energy had issued an order to stop all import of petroleum products to all oil marketing companies to ensure that domestic refineries products are fully consumed. Fayaz Ahmad Khan, Vice President of Commercial at BPPL said: “Due to improved POL demand across the country, Byco has resumed production at its oil refinery.” Khan praised the Ministry of Energy in its efforts to support the domestic refining industry:…

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