Removal of duty on electrical vehicles triggers affordability debate

The expiry of regulatory duty SRO on the import of electric vehicles (EVs) has triggered a debate about the affordability of EV imports, especially in the middle of fast depleting foreign exchange reserves and who it would benefit. After the expiration of SRO1571(I)/2022 on November 21, 2022, the regulatory duty (RD) on electric vehicles (EVs) has been removed and prices of electric vehicles dropped sharply. The price of the top model of Audi Etron dropped by around Rs20 million. With the removal of RD, price of RS e-tron GT fell…

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Govt increases LPG price by around Rs12 per kg

Owing to an increase in the prices of Propane and Butane by Saudi Aramco, Pakistan, being an importer, on Thursday also increased the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices by Rs11.8 per kilogram for domestic and commercial consumers for December 2022. With the increase in prices, the domestic gas cylinder weighing 11.8 kilograms will now cost Rs2,548, and commercial cylinder (45.4kg) at Rs9,804. After the increase of nearly 12 rupees, a kilogram of LPG will be available at Rs216. LPG is being used for cooking purposes in areas where piped natural…

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Hascol seeks creditors’ consent to loan restructuring

Hascol Petro­leum Ltd said on Thursday it’s going to hold a meeting of creditors on Dec 22 to seek approval for its plan to rehabilitate the company through “restructuring/rescheduling, settlement and repayment” of financial obligations. The oil marketing company has been in financial trouble since 2018. Its revenues have plummeted, losses risen and loans skyrocketed, sending its share price down from over Rs300 four years ago to less than Rs8 now. It filed a “scheme of arrangement” with the Sindh High Court, which ordered the company on Nov 28 to…

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Nepra all set to allow Rs9.98 per unit reduction in K-Electric’s power tariff

ISLAMABAD-National Electric Power Regulator Authority (Nepra) is all set to allow K-Electric a reduction of Rs9.983 per unit in power tariff on account of monthly and quarterly adjustments. In a public hearing on the KE’s petition for monthly fuel charges adjustments for October, NEPRA has calculated a reduction of Rs 2.15/unit in tariff, while for the quarterly adjustments for the 1st quarter (July to September) of FY2022-23 the regulator has decided to reduce the tariff by Rs 7.833/unit. In a public hearing presided over by Chairman NEPRA Tauseef. H.Farooqi over…

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Fate of Barrick’s $7bn project in Pakistan to be decided next week

Pakistan-Reko-Diq-mine

arrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX) will hear next week whether it can proceed with its $7 billion Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan, close to the borders of Iran and Afghanistan. The country’s Supreme Court, which has been tasked with ensuring the project is in line with Pakistan’s constitution and laws, finished its due diligence on Wednesday. The final verdict, however, won’t be announced until next week. The Reko Diq project, which hosts one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, has been on hold since 2011 due to…

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