Business
Govt seeks private role in shipping | The Express Tribune
Maritime minister offers 140 acres of port land for industrial park for shipbuilding, shipping ventures
KARACHI:
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry has invited the private sector, particularly Karachi’s business community, to invest in Pakistan’s shipping and maritime industry, traditionally dominated by foreign firms and the state-run Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC).
Speaking at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Tuesday, the minister said the government aims to open up the sector for local investors, offering port land and joint-venture opportunities to develop new shipping lines and terminals. “We have 140 acres of land available where an industrial park can be developed in partnership with the private sector,” he said, adding that the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is ready to act as a strategic partner whilst the private sector handles operations.
He emphasised that the ministry will no longer allow real estate ventures on port lands, which will be reserved strictly for trade, logistics and industrial purposes. “We will provide land, but it must be used for business — not housing societies,” he stressed.
Pakistan’s business community, particularly in Karachi, has long voiced grievances against foreign shipping companies operating in the country. With the exception of the PNSC, nearly all shipping lines serving Pakistan are foreign-owned, with their headquarters based abroad. These firms handle the majority of the country’s import and export cargo through local agents who, traders allege, often treat them harshly and impose excessive charges.
Business leaders complain that shipping agents levy multiple fees under various heads, including container damage, port delays and demurrage, and pass on all such costs to local importers and exporters. In addition, several foreign shipping companies reportedly charge customers using an exchange rate of Rs297 per US dollar, significantly above the official interbank rate of around Rs280. These rates, displayed publicly on their websites, are said to exceed even the hawala or hundi market rates, further increasing the cost of doing business.
The business community has repeatedly appealed to authorities to address these practices, calling for regulatory oversight to ensure transparency and fairness in shipping operations.
Acknowledging these long-standing issues, the maritime minister has urged local entrepreneurs to invest in the country’s shipping sector. He encouraged businessmen to establish indigenous shipping lines and purchase vessels, assuring that the government would offer port land to investors at fair prices.
The minister urged Pakistani businessmen to form a consortium and launch local shipping companies, noting that “PNSC alone cannot bear the burden of reducing freight costs.” He announced that the government is expanding PNSC’s fleet by 50%, with five new vessels to be added soon, and directed that the target of 30 ships be achieved within one year instead of three.
Chaudhry also outlined plans to develop a Pakistan Maritime Industrial Zone on 700 acres, featuring a shipbuilding yard, steel melting unit and ship-breaking facility. He said the ministry was ready to offer land for both ship-breaking and shipbuilding, on the condition that it would not be converted into real estate.
Fiona Irving,South East environment correspondentand
Craig Buchan,South East
BBCThe boss of South East Water has said the company is too dependant on individual facilities after a six-day supply failure affected thousands of people in Kent.
About 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells had no or low pressure tap water from 29 November until supplies returned to most on 4 December. For the next nine days, residents were told to boil the restored tap water before consumption.
A disinfection problem at Pembury Water Treatment Works had caused the failure but there was no evidence supply became infected, said South East Water.
The water company’s chief executive, David Hinton, said the firm was “just too reliant in some areas on one asset”.
Mr Hinton was speaking to the BBC earlier in the week and said the company wants to “do more” at a separate works at Bewl Water reservoir, near Wadhurst in East Sussex, and spend £30m on expanding output capacity.
The proposal would give the company the ability to “rapidly fill the area of Tunbridge Wells, for example, as soon as we see any issue”, said Mr Hinton.
He said this would allow “extra resilience should any other challenges hit any other treatment works” without further draining the reservoir.
“It’s not only for Tunbridge Wells, it’s for the wider parts of Kent as well,” added the chief executive, who has faced calls to resign over the supply issues.
South East Water was one of five companies to contest regulator Ofwat’s latest price controls, which already allowed it to increase an average annual bill from £232 to £274 by 2030.
The firms argued the 36% average price increase for customers in England over the next five years was not enough to deliver better infrastructure.
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally agreed that South East Water can increase bills by an extra 4%, pending a final decision in 2026.
Mr Hinton said the Bewl Water proposal was a reason why the company was asking the competition regulator to allow it to raise more money from customers.
South East Water suspects “something to do with the level” of water at its Pembury reservoir contributed to the supply failure but the firm wants to “do a full investigation”, he said.
The company introduced hosepipe restrictions in July for Kent and Sussex customers after dry weather earlier in 2025.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate said it was investigating the Tunbridge Wells loss of supply incident.
Business
GST notice: UltraTech Cement gets Rs 782 crore notice; company says it will contest – The Times of India
UltraTech Cement on Saturday said it has received a demand notice of Rs 782.2 crore from GST authorities and plans to challenge the order before the appropriate forum, according to PTI.In a regulatory filing, the Aditya Birla Group company said it is reviewing the order and considering all legal options. “The Company is reviewing the Order, considering all legal options, and accordingly would be contesting the demand,” UltraTech Cement said, PTI quoted.The demand pertains to the period 2018-19 to 2022-23 and has been raised on account of alleged short payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST), improper utilisation of Input Tax Credit (ITC) and related matters, the company said.UltraTech added that the order was passed “without due consideration of the Company’s submissions”.According to the filing, the order upholds a tax liability of Rs 3,90,95,58,194, along with applicable interest on the tax demand, additional interest of Rs 27,68,289, and a penalty of Rs 3,90,95,58,194.The company said the order was issued by the Joint Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax and Central Excise, Patna, on Friday.UltraTech Cement is India’s largest cement manufacturer, with a production capacity nearing 200 million tonnes per annum.
Last Updated:
The value of the gold reserves increased by $758 million to $107.741 billion during the week ended December 12, as per the RBI’s latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ data.
India’s Latest Forex Reserves.
India’s forex reserves (forex) jumped $1.689 billion to $688.949 billion during the week ended December 12, according to the latest RBI data. The value of the gold reserves increased by $758 million to $107.741 billion during the week.
In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $1.033 billion to $687.26 billion.
For the week ended December 12, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $906 million to $557.787 billion, according to the data.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) surged by $14 million to $18.745 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ data.
India’s reserve position with the IMF rose $11 million to $4.686 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.
The price of the safe-haven asset gold has been on a sharp uptrend over recent months, perhaps amid heightened global uncertainties and robust investment demand.
After the latest monetary policy review meeting, the RBI had said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to cover more than 11 months of merchandise imports. Overall, India’s external sector remains resilient, and the RBI is confident it can comfortably meet external financing requirements.
In 2023, India added around $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of $71 billion in 2022. In 2024, reserves rose by just over $20 billion. So far in 2025, the forex kitty has increased by about $47-48 billion, according to data.
Foreign exchange reserves, or FX reserves, are assets held by a nation’s central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies such as the US dollar, with smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.
The RBI often intervenes by managing liquidity, including selling dollars, to prevent a steep depreciation of the rupee. The RBI strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens.
The Indian rupee has been under pressure for a host of reasons. It has already weakened by nearly 6 per cent this year on a cumulative basis.
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December 20, 2025, 08:16 IST
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