Month: April 2020

ISLAMABAD: The federal government reacted strongly to a law proposed by the Sindh government to provide economic relief to its people and warned the provincial government not to trespass the centre’s domain. An official said the provincial government had proposed an ordinance to waive full electricity bills with monthly consumption of less than 260 units and for gradual discount for higher consumption to provide relief to consumers within its service territories. Two distribution companies owned by the federal government, namely Sukkur Electric Supply Company and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, besides…

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DUBAI: Opec and it allies held talks on Thursday on record oil output curbs of 15 million to 20m barrels per day (bpd), or 15 to 20 per cent of global supplies, to support prices hammered by the coronavirus crisis, Opec and Russian sources said. They said the cuts included contributions of up to 5m bpd from producers outside their group known as Opec+ and could be made gradually, potentially overcoming resistance from the United States, whose involvement is seen as vital to win broad backing for an agreement. Talks…

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ISLAMABAD: A special meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Thursday cleared a cumulative bailout package of almost Rs300 billion for the power sector to settle immediate liabilities besides allowing compensation against foreign exchange loss to oil marketing companies (OMCs). The ECC also approved a board resolution of the Karachi Port Trust for extension in the existing free period from five working days to 15 working days for cargo/containers landing with effect from March to April 30. Under the power sector bailout package, about Rs200bn Islamic…

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ISLAMABAD: Ministry of energy has sought an immediate release of Rs108.7 billion on account of receivables to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to protect the state-owned firm against an international default, and avert an impending energy supply chain disruption in the country, it was learnt on Thursday. The petroleum division of the energy ministry forwarded the proposal to the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet, requesting immediate settlement of dues as PSO is facing severe cash flow constraints due to coronavirus-sparked lockdown. It requires Rs81.3 billion up to April 30, 2020…

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ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has repurposed $50 million from the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) to support the government’s preventive and response efforts to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country. The funds, which form part of the ADB’s series of support for Pakistan’s fight against COVID-19, will help procure medical equipmentand supplies to strengthen hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, isolation units, and other medical facilities in the country. The funds include reallocation of $30 million of previously approved but unutilized resources from the ADB…

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