Business

Strike called off as petroleum dealers’ margin raised by Rs1.6 per litre

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Dealers initially termed Rs1.64 per litre increment “insufficient”.
Raise in margins to be applied in four phases.
Dealers’ margin to rise to Rs 7.64 per litre after two months.

KARACHI: In a bid to convince petroleum dealers to call off the strike they threatened last week, the government agreed to increase their profit margin on petroleum products by Rs1.64 per litre, after hours-long negotiations, The News reported Tuesday.

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairman Abdul Sami Khan announced the deal made in this regard.

The government had proposed increasing the dealers’ margin by Rs1.64 per litre.

The dealers — who had initially sought an increase of Rs5 per litre — initially opposed this increment as “insufficient” in the face of the increased cost of their business.

However, they later accepted the offer.

The rise in dealers’ margins will be applied to the consumer price in four phases.

It will be raised by Rs.0.41 per litre every fortnight, and the dealers will receive a full raise of Rs1.6 per litre in two months, bringing the dealers’ margin to Rs7.6 per litre after 2 months from the current Rs6 per litre.

Last week, the petrol pump owners’ representative, PPDA, announced shutting down fuel pumps across the country from July 22, demanding an increase in profit margins amid an inflation crisis.

In a statement, the association said the State Minister for Petroleum, Musadik Malik, was informed about their concerns but to no avail.

The official communique said interest rates and inflation had hit operators’ businesses and called for the dealership margin to be increased.

It said sales have slumped by 30% due to Iranian fuel being smuggled into the country.

However, the following day, the PPDA deferred its strike for two days after the association members negotiated with the petroleum minister, who arrived in Karachi on Friday to convince the PPDA to call off the nationwide strike.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.