Day: April 10, 2021

Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL) is looking to buy a second-hand refinery complex to upgrade its operations and increase output to help meet rising demand for petroleum products as the country emerges from a pandemic-driven slump. The South Asian country currently has five refineries with a total capacity of 417,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to Pakistan’s 2020 economic survey, the largest of which stands at 150,000 bpd. If the purchase goes ahead PRL could double its capacity to 100,000 bpd. The company this week sought offers to purchase a second-hand…

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Shell Pakistan on Friday organised a webinar to look at the global transformations taking place in the energy sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its resultant impact on demand. Head of Shell Scenarios and Vice President of Global Business Environment Jeremy Bentham was the keynote speaker at the event titled “The Energy Transformation Scenarios”. “The COVID-19 pandemic is having a tremendous negative impact on the global landscape. The energy industry and its systems are also faced with unprecedented challenges due to this public-health crisis, as the demand for fuels…

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Pakistan is set to become the world’s 23rd biggest economy by 2040 based on its predicted gross domestic product (GDP) rank which currently sits at 39th position, according to a United States intelligence report, which is issued every four years. The assessment was included in this year’s Global Trends report by US National Intelligence Council (NIC), which is designed to help policymakers and citizens anticipate the economic, environmental, technological and demographic forces that are likely to shape the world through the next 20 years. “Our intent is to help policymakers and citizens……

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Pakistan needs economic transformation by redefining resource allocation and incentive structure, said Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar. Addressing a seminar on Friday, Umar said that deeper understanding and new levers are needed to trigger growth, and the most important function of the government is to provide policy signalling, a framework for competitiveness and supportive regulatory architecture. He urged economists to do more research on the incentive structure in light of the East Asian experience, globalisation and technological advancements, highlighting that the industrial policy tools that…

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The country’s development and defence budgets have shrunk significantly over the past two years and spending at a reduced level will remain almost flat in the medium term, that is until 2026, in line with fiscal consolidation measures under the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Documents released by the IMF after revival of its programme about two weeks ago show that Pakistan’s defence budget has declined from 3 per cent of GDP in FY2017-18 to 2.9pc last year and would drop to 2.8pc of GDP this year. The spending…

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