Pakistan, Turkiye accept on joint oil, gas bids
In a significant development, Pakistan and Turkiye have agreed on forging cooperation in oil and gas exploration, which came on the sidelines of Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2025.
Pakistan and Turkiye signed a joint bidding agreement, according to which they would jointly participate in offshore bidding round to be conducted by Islamabad.
In February 2025, the government of Pakistan announced an offshore block bid round, offering 40 blocks in Makran and Indus basins for exploration licences. This bid round is a significant opportunity for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the upstream energy sector.
“We are pleased to announce that reputable Pakistani E&P (exploration & production) companies, Mari Energies, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), have signed a joint bidding agreement with Turkish state-owned enterprise Turkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakligi to jointly participate in the offshore bid round,” said a statement issued on Tuesday.
Industries Ministry proposes introduction of super tax
The Ministry of Industries has proposed the introduction of super tax in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26 to bring Pakistan’s corporate tax structure on a par with regional standards.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan floated the proposal during a high-level meeting on budget proposals.
He gave directives for revising budget proposals as there was a need for tax reforms to uplift the industrial sector. In that regard, he proposed the introduction of super tax.
Meeting participants discussed various key issues including the promotion of local manufacturing, import and export of raw material and the structure of customs duty, regulatory duty and additional customs duty.
Pakistan, eco talk regional trade, tourism
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), Dr Asad Majeed Khan, on Tuesday to discuss enhancing regional economic cooperation and strengthening ECO’s role in promoting trade, commerce, and tourism among its 10 member states.
Khan briefed the minister on ECO’s strategic importance, highlighting the potential of emerging trade corridors and regional markets. He underlined the need to enhance connectivity and collaboration to unlock shared economic benefits.
Persistent delay in m-6 a roadblock to progress
The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry (HCST&SI) has termed the persistent delay in construction of Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) a major roadblock to Pakistan’s economic progress.
In a statement, HCST&SI President Muhammad Saleem Memon noted that the chamber had sent urgent letters to the prime minister, the minister for communications, National Highway Authority (NHA) chairman and the minister for planning, development and special initiatives, demanding immediate completion of M-6 motorway.
A letter was also sent urging the Sindh chief minister to put pressure on federal authorities to expedite work on the long overdue project.
Highlighting the strategic importance of M-6, the chamber president said, “Karachi-Peshawar Motorway is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and M-6 is the only missing link. Karachi handles over 60 percent of Pakistan’s exports and imports; therefore, the delay in M-6 completion is causing enormous losses to the business community through higher transport costs, trade inefficiencies and increasing accidents.”
Businessmen term energy tariff reduction insufficient
Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI) President Muhammad Saleem Memon has expressed appreciation for the recent reduction of Rs7 per unit in electricity prices by the government, but he termed the initiative insufficient that would not fully address concerns of the industrial sector.
In a statement, Memon recalled that when the current government took office in 2022, the average industrial electricity tariff was Rs18 per unit. Over the past three years, this rate has escalated to Rs48 by April 2025.
The recent cut to Rs40.51 per unit, though a step in the right direction, offered little relief to struggling industries as the tariff was still alarmingly high, he said and emphasised that the reduction appeared to be more of a temporary appeasement strategy rather than a genuine policy change, ignoring ground realities.
Government raises sugar price for tax
The government on Tuesday fixed a new minimum sugar price for collecting sales tax, which will increase the per kilogram price by Rs10 to Rs15 while generating an additional Rs90 billion annually in taxes for authorities facing a yawning revenue shortfall.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a new statutory regulatory order (SRO) to revise the per kilogram sugar price for the purpose of collecting 18 percent sales tax. Through the fresh notification, it annulled the old price of Rs72.22 per kg and set a new price.
The new minimum price will change every 15 days based on the weekly retail price of sugar published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The new price, effective till April 15, is Rs126 per kg—showing a 75 percent increase over the previously notified price. However, some mills were already paying sales tax on the basis of Rs100 to Rs110 per kg.
In March, cement sales dip 9.48pc
According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during the month of March 2025 were 2.961 million tonnes compared to 3.338 million tonnes in March 2024, showing a decline of 11.31 percent.
Export despatches were nearly unchanged at 608,614 tonnes in March 2025 compared to 605,142 tonnes in March 2024. Total cement despatches during March 2025 were 3.569 million tonnes against 3.944 million tonnes during the same month of last fiscal year, showing a decline of 9.48 percent.