Chinese firms investing in EV batteries, chip frame plant as province unveils industrial zones LAHORE: Punjab Industries Minister Shafay Hussain has announced a new industrial policy offering zero duty on machinery imports and 10-year income tax exemptions for industries in free economic zones, according to a statement issued on Saturday. Speaking at the inauguration of…
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Ali Pervaiz Malik speaks during an interview with Reuters, during the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025, in Islamabad, Pakistan April 8, 2025. Photo: Reuters Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik on Saturday defended the government’s decision to introduce daily petroleum price adjustments, saying the new mechanism would help curb…
ISLAMABAD: The corporate debt market in Pakistan remains underdeveloped relative to the economy’s financing needs, even as the equity market has shown encouraging progress, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb observed while chairing a meeting of the Capital Market Development Council (CMDC) on Friday. According to a statement, the minister stressed the need to deepen the debt…
The coalition government took over $27 billion in foreign loans during the last fiscal year, including $9 billion in rollovers by China and Saudi Arabia, predominantly to finance the budget, retire debt and build foreign exchange reserves, official statistics showed. The provisional foreign economic assistance report released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday,…
Senate deputy chairman termed the event a vital initiative to bolster economic connectivity ISLAMABAD: Senate Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan Nasir has said that brotherly relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are built on a solid foundation of faith, mutual trust and shared progress. He emphasised that the Saudi Vision 2030 had opened new horizons for…
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose by 3% on Friday after the US and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with shipping threatened by a potential Red Sea closure on top of the restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures rose by $2.49, or 2.96%, to $86.72 a barrel by 1550 GMT….
KARACHI: Bank lending to the automobile sector, housing finance, personal loans and private-sector credit exhibited a strong year-on-year growth in Pakistan. According to statistics released by Arif Habib Limited (AHL), auto financing increased by 3.4% month-on-month and 38% year-on-year. Outstanding auto loans reached Rs381.69 billion in June 2026. Earlier, Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association reported that…
KARACHI: Pakistan’s information technology (IT) exports climbed to a record $4.600 billion in fiscal year 2025-26, extending the sector’s strong growth trajectory and reinforcing its position as the country’s largest services export. According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Balance of Payments data released on Friday, exports under the “Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services”…
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan has called for transforming Pakistan-Egypt relations into a stronger economic partnership based on trade, investment, joint production, technology cooperation and regional value chains. He was speaking at a reception held in Islamabad to celebrate the National Day of Egypt. The event was attended by ambassadors, high commissioners,…
Weekly inflation rises 1.4% on surge in tomato, chicken, LPG prices amid oil disruption KARACHI: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) remained elevated at 13.09% year-on-year for the week ended July 16, 2026 as prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Israel-US conflict with Iran continued to disrupt global oil supply chains and push…