Month: November 2020

The government has decided to borrow Rs3.5 trillion from the banking system till the coming January as it still needs resources to finance budget deficit despite growth in nontax revenue, it was learnt. The government aims to sell domestic debt up to the end of January 2021 to finance the budget deficit that stayed at Rs440 billion or 0.9 percent of gross domestic product during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year. The improvement in the budget deficit was attributed to an increase in non-tax revenues, while…

Read More

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has pinpointed more than Rs1.543 trillion worth of malfeasance and mismanagement of public funds by public sector entities, including the Petroleum Division and its subordinate oil and gas companies, during the fiscal year 2018-19. In an audit report, the AGP noted with serious concern the management weaknesses in the Ministry of Energy — Petroleum Division — as “no mechanism was in place for monitoring the assessment, collection of revenue receipts, recovery of arrears of gas development surcharge, gas infrastructure development cess, petroleum levy…

Read More

KARACHI: The government is trying to boost exports of halal meat and other perishable and non-perishable items to Saudi Arabia to further enhance economic diplomacy between the two countries, a senior official said this week. The country’s federal cabinet has recently approved export of livestock to Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to earn foreign exchange and boost farmers’ profitability. “Our six meat exporting companies have recently registered with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, removing a major obstacle in our way to export to…

Read More

ISLAMABAD: The government has adopted a unique way to seek go-ahead from International Monetary Fund (IMF) for signing the much-awaited amended power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers (IPPs) in line with some terms and conditions the government signed with the Fund under a $6billion loan programme, well-placed sources told The News. Pakistan sought approval of the IMF over the financial instrument under which dues of Rs392 billion will be paid to IPPs. Interestingly, not energy minister or special assistant to PM on power sector, but Khalid Mansoor, CEO…

Read More

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported 17 deaths in the last 24 hours due to novel coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of fatalities to 6,823, said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday.According to the NCOC, 977 fresh infections emerged during this period, lifting the national tally of cases to 333,970. Around 27,655 samples were tested during the last 24 hours across the country. There are a total of 12,592 active cases of the coronavirus as 314,555 patients have so far recuperated from the disease.So far, Sindh has reported 145,851…

Read More