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‘Hard to imagine buying Russian oil’: Miftah Ismail says in CNN interview

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  • Miftah says Russia neither offered oil nor responded to former govt’s requests.
  • Says incumbent govt asked Russia and Ukraine, whoever can, to sell wheat to Pakistan.
  • Says impossible for Pakistani banks to open LCs or arrange to buy Russian oil at this point.

KARACHI: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Tuesday said that Western sanctions have made importing oil from Moscow impossible despite the Pakistani government’s request to buy wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

“Russia has not offered us any oil either. It is difficult for me to imagine buying Russian oil,” Miftah said in a conversation with CNN.

The minister said that as Russia is facing sanctions, it hasn’t responded to the previous government’s letter seeking imports. Regardless of this, the incumbent government has again asked both Moscow and Ukraine, whoever can, to export wheat to Pakistan.

“We would be happy to buy wheat from them,” he added.

Miftah further stated that Pakistan would surely consider if Russia offers oil trade at cheaper rates as there are no restrictions on buying the supply.

He said, however, it would be not possible for Pakistani banks to open LCs or arrange to buy Russian oil at this point.

Refuting former prime minister Imran Khan’s claims, Ismail said that Russia has not offered a 30% discount on oil or wheat.

“Let’s be clear. I don’t know where Khan gets these numbers from.

“Khan just makes it up as he goes along. He is the guy who was saying we (PDM) were brought in through an American conspiracy. And now he has come up with this new thing. If Russia was selling him cheap wheat and oil then why didn’t he buy it. He did not.”

He pointed out that the incumbent government is “at least” trying to initiate talks for wheat import because food is not under sanctions, unlike oil.

To a query regarding Pakistan’s negotiations with IMF, Ismail said, the government just finished a round of talks with the IMF in Doha.

“In particular, the IMF is looking to the budget I am going to present before the parliament in the early part of June. After that I am hoping we will reach a staff-level agreement,” he added

“What the IMF is looking for us to do is reverse the subsidies on oil, petrol and diesel in particular, that the previous government had given. It’s also looking for me to reverse some power sector or electricity tariff subsidies. These subsidies were introduced by the previous government in contravention with its own agreement with the IMF. I am pretty confident we should be able to sign an agreement with the fund, but there would be some austerity measures and some increase in taxation.”

He said the previous government in its waning days did a few things to violate agreements with the IMF, including giving unsustainably high subsidies on petrol and diesel and also on power.

“Khan knew it could not be sustained. And when we came to power he started going from city to city trying to rally the people and coming up with these theories, conspiracies and all the stuff and building a political pressure on us. That’s why it was difficult, but we finally took the plunge,” Ismail said.

In response to what Miftah said, former Human Rights minister and PTI leader Shireen Mazari said that its only the “fear of US” that is stopping the finance minister from buying Russian oil as there are “no sanctions” on Russian oil import.

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Finance Minister: A “big” IMF program is coming for Pakistan.

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Speaking at the Karachi Stock Exchange ceremony, the Finance Minister announced that meetings with IMF representatives would take place in Washington on April 14 and 15.

He applauded the caretaker government’s effort to bring about economic stability and predicted that the nation’s economy would stabilize with improved economic policies.

Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasized that in order to move the country’s economy toward stabilization, structural reforms must be implemented.

He restated that the nation’s recovery from the economic crisis depends heavily on the stock market. The stock market is, nevertheless, trending upward.

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Pakistan is still classified as a secondary emerging market by the FTSE.

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The nation could perhaps be demoted, according to the worldwide index provider, since its index weight has decreased over the previous few years.

Pakistan’s market capitalization peaked in 2017 at $100 billion, but it fell to $21 billion by 2024, according to a Bloomberg research.

It did, however, state that Pakistan’s standing as a secondary emerging market will remain unchanged due to favorable political changes brought about by the establishment of a stable government.

Bloomberg saw Shehbaz Sharif’s election as prime minister, who is open to reform, as a step in the right direction for the nation struggling financially.

Shehbaz Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, was chosen on March 4 to serve as the country’s 24th prime minister.

With 201 votes, PM Shehbaz defeated Omar Ayub Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) by 92 votes.

over the economy, earlier this month, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came to an agreement at the staff level over the second and last review conducted under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement.

The IMF secured a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the second and final review of the nation’s stabilization program, which is backed by the IMF’s US$3 billion (SDR2,250 million) SBA authorized, according to the official statement released by an IMF team led by Nathan Porter.

The remaining US$1.1 billion (SDR 828 million) of SBA access will be made available following the IMF Executive Board’s approval of the deal.

It was reported shortly after the February 8 election that the newly elected PML-N-led government intended to apply for a new IMF credit package.

Pakistan is anticipated to pursue a $6–8 billion loan program from the global lender, and the IMF will be contacted right once to begin negotiations for this. The sources went on to say that the IMF would have tighter requirements this time.

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PM Shehbaz Sharif: “A plan to digitize the tax system is underway.”

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In an address to the All Pakistan Newspapers Society delegation in Islamabad today, the prime minister announced that plans were in motion to update the tax collection system.

The prime minister added that efforts are underway to broaden the revenue base and that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is fully digitizing.

He emphasized that the Tax Excellence Awards were a recent initiative by the government to support female entrepreneurs, exporters, and engaged taxpayers.

The government’s priorities, according to the prime minister, are institutional changes, austerity, domestic and external investment, and privatization of government-owned businesses.

Praiseing the media’s contribution to public awareness-raising and good governance, he called on the sector to successfully communicate the benefits of economic stability under SIFC.

Calling fake news a major problem, he emphasized the need for cooperation to combat it. Additionally, he extended an invitation to the press to back Pakistan’s administration in its endeavors for the country’s growth and well-being.

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