Coal miners face expansion issue as China stops funding

News Image

MG News | May 23, 2024 at 08:21 PM GMT+05:00

0:00

May 23, 2024 (MLN): Chinese and other major lenders are increasingly reluctant to invest in Pakistan’s expansion of coal mines, according to the head of a local producer as reported by Bloomberg.

“The real challenge for us is financing,” Amir Iqbal, chief executive officer of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co., said in an interview in Islamabad, mentioning China among the backers that have withdrawn their support.

Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, inaugurated a decade ago as part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt & Road initiative, Beijing has been the main supporter of the country’s coal development, fueling 6.6 gigawatts of power capacity in the South Asian nation.

In 2021, Xi pledged to halt all coal construction and financing abroad, but two years later BNEF researchers found that China-based banks remained among the major supporters of the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is under pressure to build more coal mines to increase energy security and curb inflation.

Currently, more than 60% of Pakistan’s total electricity is generated through imported fuel, according to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s latest report.

Government intervention is necessary to protect the mining and power sector from mounting debt, Iqbal said.

Copyright Mettis Link News

Related News

Name Price/Vol %Chg/NChg
KSE100 138,597.36
256.32M
-0.05%
-68.14
ALLSHR 85,286.16
608.38M
-0.48%
-413.35
KSE30 42,340.81
77.13M
-0.03%
-12.33
KMI30 193,554.51
76.19M
-0.83%
-1627.52
KMIALLSHR 55,946.05
305.11M
-0.79%
-443.10
BKTi 38,197.97
16.53M
-0.59%
-225.01
OGTi 27,457.35
6.73M
-0.94%
-260.91
Symbol Bid/Ask High/Low
Name Last High/Low Chg/%Chg
BITCOIN FUTURES 117,670.00 121,165.00
117,035.00
-1620.00
-1.36%
BRENT CRUDE 69.23 70.77
69.14
-0.29
-0.42%
RICHARDS BAY COAL MONTHLY 96.50 0.00
0.00
2.20
2.33%
ROTTERDAM COAL MONTHLY 104.50 104.50
104.50
-0.30
-0.29%
USD RBD PALM OLEIN 998.50 998.50
998.50
0.00
0.00%
CRUDE OIL - WTI 66.03 67.54
65.93
-0.20
-0.30%
SUGAR #11 WORLD 16.79 17.02
16.71
0.05
0.30%

Chart of the Day


Latest News
July 19, 2025 at 04:28 PM GMT+05:00

4.7m families get BISP aid in Punjab


July 19, 2025 at 03:00 PM GMT+05:00

Key Pakistan Market Stats and Economic Indicators


July 19, 2025 at 02:49 PM GMT+05:00

RDA attracts $182m in June


July 19, 2025 at 02:49 PM GMT+05:00

M2 falls by Rs455bn in a week



Top 5 things to watch in this week

Pakistan Stock Movers
Name Last Chg/%Chg
Name Last Chg/%Chg