The outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investment in Pakistan witnessed a decline of 16.5 per cent during the first four months of the current fiscal year (4MFY22). The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that outflow of profits fell to $566.6 million compared to $678.6m during the same period in FY21. The biggest outflow was from banks indicating…
Read MoreMonth: November 2021
Poor Boardroom Governance mars Discos’ Performance
None of the 10 chairmen in as many electricity distribution companies (Discos) is a certified director from the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG), an independent training body set up by multiple regulatory authorities to improve boardroom governance in the corporate sector. According to a recent research paper by Afia Malik of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), only…
Read MoreDECEMBER PETROL PRICES TO SEE ‘FULL IMPACT’ OF GLOBAL OIL PRICE DROP: SPOX
While global oil prices continued their downward trend this week, there seems little chances of the government revising the prices of petroleum products to pass on relief to the masses on Dec 1. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, Muzzammil Aslam, in a tweet said, “Allah has been kind to Pakistan. Very timely drop in oil prices globally. Brent…
Read MorePSEs: PM for Filling Top Vacancies Urgently
Expressing concern over inordinate delay in filling positions of CEOs/MDs of important public sector entities, the Prime Minister has urged the Ministries/Divisions to initiate the process of appointing CEOs/MDs of organizations, under their respective Divisions, well ahead of the time the positions become vacant. Prime Minister gave these instructions at a recent meeting of the Federal Cabinet when Ministry of…
Read MoreGas supplies to CPPs of Sindh, Balochistan to be Discontinued
In adherence to Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), Government of Pakistan’s priority order for gas load management, where domestic sector tops the list and to serve the domestic customers with even more care and consideration, especially those in Balochistan already experiencing the winter season, gas supplies to all captive power plants of general industries (non-export) across Sindh and Balochistan had…
Read MoreLost in the Flare
We are short of natural gas and must import costly RLNG (regasified liquid natural gas) to operate our power plants but at the same time we are burning low-BTU (British thermal unit) permeate gas in air instead of diverting it to power plants that could use it. Permeate gas is a form of low-BTU gas, which is high in sulphur…
Read MoreEni Sells Snam 49.9% Stake in Algeria Gas Pipelines for 385mn Euros
Italian energy group Eni has agreed to sell gas group Snam 49.9% of its stake in strategic pipelines carrying Algerian gas into Italy for 385 million euros ($436 million), the two companies said on Saturday. The pipelines will be jointly controlled by the two companies, they said in a joint statement. Italy imports more than 90% of its overall gas…
Read MoreGas supply restored after women’s protest in Kohat
KOHAT: The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) restored gas supply to the affected areas and resolved the problem of low pressure in other parts on Friday night following a meeting of women protesters with the administration. The Pesco has also curtailed timings of outages by half and addressed the fluctuation issue. The unscheduled outages of one hour have been…
Read MoreStocks Seen in Range; Saudi Support Eyed
Stocks in the outgoing week sustained worst weekly losses since Covid-19 outbreak, but there are bets Saudi dollars may spur a rally with the caveat of any macroeconomic shocks that can limit trade. Week-on-week, KSE-100 Shares Index, the benchmark of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) lost 2,375 points or 5.11 percent to close at 44,114 points, the highest weekly decline since…
Read MorePetrol Crisis
Though Pakistan’s petrol retailers have called off their nation-wide strike after reaching an agreement with the government over an increase in profit margins, the country’s energy policies once again become a focus of questions that need answers. The issue of ‘low profit’ margins is debatable and the government is ultimately responsible for setting a reasonable margin that is neither too…
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