Pakistan offers Saudi firms tax-free oil storage under bonded policy
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told the new Saudi ambassador that reserves held under the regime would carry no local tax liability.
Pakistan has approved a tax-neutral bonded policy under which Saudi companies can establish commercial oil reserves in the country without local tax liabilities, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to Pakistan, according to a statement reported by Business Recorder.
The minister raised the policy during a meeting in Islamabad with Ambassador Dr Rajeh bin Tami Al-Baqami, whose agenda covered mining, petroleum and energy cooperation. Malik said the framework is modelled on international energy hubs such as Fujairah and Singapore, and is intended to draw foreign investment into the country's storage sector.
According to the statement, the minister presented the arrangement as a way for Riyadh to diversify maritime transit risks linked to the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait while gaining easier access to Asian markets. Storage inside Pakistan, he said, would give Saudi Arabia more flexibility in managing supply routes.
Malik also described plans for a large petroleum storage and refining complex at Hub in Balochistan, being developed under the guidance of Technip Energies UK. The facility, as described in the statement, would be able to handle Very Large Crude Carriers and is meant to build Pakistan's position as a regional energy corridor serving Central Asian and Chinese markets.
The minister pointed to the country's refinery upgradation programme, aimed at modernising domestic refining, improving efficiency and moving towards Euro 5 fuel standards, as an opening for Saudi investment. He thanked Saudi authorities at Yanbu port for prioritising crude oil shipments to Pakistan during recent disruption in global markets, and said coordination with Saudi Aramco was under way on expanded crude cargo purchases and dedicated LPG shipments, citing expected higher gas demand in winter.
The ambassador announced that the Saudi embassy in Islamabad has begun processing visas for Pakistani citizens on the same day, a step he linked to business, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Malik invited Saudi Arabia's Vice Minister of Mining Khalid al-Mudafier to the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, scheduled in Islamabad for November 12 and 13.
Information ministry blames Kabul inaction for strained Pakistan-Afghanistan ties
The ministry rejected a Taliban spokesperson's account of the dispute, saying cross-border militancy remains the biggest obstacle to normal relations between the neighbours.
Tarar proposes national council on cyber security and digital literacy
The information minister used the PTA's Cyber Security Awareness Week to float a coordinating body and to call for digital literacy in school curricula.
Health minister says barcode scan will flag fake medicines from November
Mustafa Kamal told the National Assembly that hospitals will also have to buy all vaccines from Pakistan's own funds by 2030, at a cost of about $1.2 billion.
Fakhar Zaman hits century and passes 4,000 ODI runs
The Pakistan batter reached 4,000 one-day international runs in his 97th ODI and became the 16th from his country to pass the mark.