Healthy buying supported the benchmark KSE-100 index to breach 7,500 psychological level to hit 7,503.32 points intra-day high level on Thursday. The local institutions and retail investors joined the rally following the continuous foreign investors' interest at the local bourses and the index finally closed at 7,498.34 points level, with a healthy gain of 227.62 points.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has provisionally collected over and above Rs 1,150 billion during July-June (2008-09) against the downward revised target of Rs 1,179 billion, reflecting a shortfall of Rs 29 billion. According to the FBR revenue collection figures released here on Thursday, the board has collected over Rs 1,150 billion during July-June (2008-09) against Rs 1,007 billion collected during the same period last fiscal year, reflecting increase of over 14 percent.

The decision to increase one percent import duty on the import of raw material for drugs has forced some 10 multinational pharmaceutical companies to wind up business in Pakistan.

Egypt's Orascom Telecom (OT) said on Thursday it had launched a mobile banking operation via its Pakistani subsidiary Mobilink, widening access to banking in a country with limited penetration. The firm said the services would be provided in association with Citibank under an arrangement endorsed by the State Bank of Pakistan.

A division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) on Thursday inquired from KESC that whether it could announce schedule for load shedding in advance or not. The bench was seized with the hearing of a constitutional petition filed by a local social worker Syed Iqbal Kazmi who questioned the frequent load shedding in the city and also recent raise in tariff by 17 percent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has requested Pakistani authorities to provide statistics with respect to interest and amortisation payments of major public enterprises, budgetary expenditures, including subsidies, grants, net lending and earthquake-related spending, official sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.

Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), much maligned by the public throughout the country for long and unscheduled outages, has made a shocking revelation that the recent power crisis has compelled it to install the most inefficient and expensive rental power plants.

The Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank have launched a $500 million Islamic infrastructure fund, manager and adviser CIMB Standard said on Thursday. The two banks said last month they would set up the fund to invest in the 12 countries that are borrowing members of both banks, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

The Federal Board of Revenue has issued a new formula for calculation of duty drawback rates for exporters under the "manufacturing bond scheme" to clear thousands of pending claims at the level of Model Customs Collectorate (MCCs). The FBR on Thursday issued SRO.612(I)/2009 through amendment in Customs Rules, 2001 to fulfil a major demand of exporters.

The government is likely to announce sales tax zero rating facility on the import and supply of construction material by investors of Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Gwadar or development of the infrastructure through amendment in the zero rating SRO.549(I)/2008. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also given permission to export upto 50 percent of the production from zone to tariff area of the country on payment of normal duties rates.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has admitted that the taxpayers have misused the Universal Self Assessment Scheme (USAS), reflecting serious weakness in the voluntary payment system. According to the FBR latest quarterly review, the misuse of the USAS is evident from the fact that despite increase in number of returns for the last three years, there was 71 percent decrease in the income tax payments made during this period.

The European Central Bank kept euro zone interest rates at 1.0 percent on Thursday, bolstering expectations they will stay there well into next year, and said it would start buying bonds next week. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet gave no sign the ECB was planning to move rates from the current record low level soon, saying they remained "appropriate". However, he left the door open for further cuts if needed.