Bankrupt power
March 7, 2021
The power sector is the foundation of an economy. Red alert: Pakistan’s power sector – sans government subsidies – is bankrupt. The real culprit behind this bankruptcy is: gross misgovernance. This gross misgovernance shows up as: circular debt and capacity payments (the two are indeed related).
Circular debt has risen from Rs1.1 trillion in 2018 to Rs2.4 trillion – and is projected to hit Rs4 trillion by 2025. Capacity payments – payments made for not utilising the installed power capacity – have gone up from Rs664 billion to Rs900 billion, and are projected to hit Rs1.5 trillion a year in the next couple of years. Imagine, capacity payments amount to 3 percent of Pakistan’s GDP. Lo and behold, circular debt is projected to hit a worrisome 8 percent of GDP.
(Bloomberg) Ghana settled half its debt to energy producers who’d threatened to turn the lights off in the West African economy over their inability to cover operational costs.
Letter: Natural gas should not be part of state s energy plans
to the editor
FacebookTwitterEmail
FILE. Letter writer says, We are between a rock and a hard place. We must not waste time and money developing infrastructure for a fuel that is not carbon-free. (Getty Images)Stocktrek
The revelation that a member of the Climate Action Council is a strong advocate for utilizing fossil gas is jarring (“There’s a role for natural gas in the renewable energy future, March 2). Gavin Donohue, President and CEO, Independent Power Producers of New York, paints a pretty picture of New York running on gas power plants. He refers to this dirty fossil fuel as clean and natural.
Stocks soar as PM seen passing political litmus
Business
March 6, 2021
Stocks managed a mighty rally on Friday mostly on bets the premier is set to ace his critical political test on Saturday, dealers said.
KSE-100 shares index gained 1.23 percent or 558.81 points to close at 45,837.35 points at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), while traded volume and value stood at 316 million shares and Rs15.9 billion respectively.
Topline Securities in its daily market review said stocks rebounded on last trading day of the week on expectations that Prime minister Imran Khan was well-positioned to win the vote of confidence from National Assembly after Senate vote upset, where governmentâs candidate Hafeez Shaikh lost to opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani.
PM approves withdrawal of 80 income tax exemptions
Govt set to introduce Income Tax Amendment Bill in NA next week to meet IMF conditions
ATL 2021 has replaced ATL 2020 that carried names of 3.12 million individuals and companies. A comparison of both lists showed that over 932,000 names were missing from the new list.. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday approved the introduction of Money Bill in the National Assembly next week to withdraw around 80 income tax exemptions and reform the tax laws to meet a prior action for the revival of $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The IMF has asked Pakistan to withdraw income tax exemptions worth Rs140 billion through a new legislation but the exact quantum can only be determined once the government officially lays the bill in the National Assembly.