BISMARCK: North Dakota stands to gain more than $110 million annually in tax revenue after oil begins coursing through the Dakota Access pipeline, an analysis by The Associated Press shows.
The calculation shows the potential payoff for a state whose officials have supported the pipeline despite concerns from Native American tribes and other opponents who fear it could harm drinking water and sacred sites. The money the state stands to make in just one year far outstrips the $33 million in costs to police a section of the pipeline that has been the subject of intense and sometimes violent protests over the last year.
“The amount of the windfall to the state doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Payu Harris, an American Indian activist and pipeline opponent. “That’s why the state of North Dakota expended the resources they did.”
Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners’ $3.8 billion pipeline will carry oil more than 1,000 miles to a shipping point in Illinois and may be moving oil as early as next week. Its completion would be welcome both for drillers seeking a cheaper path to market and for the state government in North Dakota, where declining tax revenue has clouded its budget.
“Every dollar they get extra is good for the state as well,” state tax commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said.
State budget analysts and an economic consulting firm working on the revenue forecast that lawmakers will use to create a spending plan for the next two years may take the potential tax benefits into account, State Budget Director Pam Sharp said. The new forecast will be released next week.
North Dakota in the past decade has become the second-biggest oil producer in the US, behind Texas. But its location in the northern Plains, far from major oil markets, means less profit on each barrel of oil. North Dakota lowers its tax on each barrel to keep its crude competitive with other states.
Much of North Dakota’s oil is shipped by truck or train. The Dakota Access pipeline would carry the oil through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. It could shave shipping costs by more than $3 a barrel, according to Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. State tax officials estimate every dollar saved means about $33.6 million in added tax revenue each year.
“Every dollar back is a win for producers, the state and mineral owners,” said Ness, who called the Dakota Access pipeline the most important infrastructure project in North Dakota since the interstate highway system.
It also will link to pipelines serving Gulf Coast refineries, which pay premium prices for high quality sweet crude like that drilled in North Dakota.
In addition to oil tax revenue, the pipeline is estimated to generate $55 million in property taxes annually in the four states it crosses, including more than $10 million a year in North Dakota, said Rauschenberger, the state tax commissioner.
That will provide much-needed revenue to rural counties, he said.
“It’s going to benefit schools and counties and more valuation means lower property tax bills for everybody,” Rauschenberger said.
The pipeline was first announced in 2014, days after then-Gov. Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, urged that more oil and gas pipelines be built to reduce hazardous truck and oil train traffic and to curb the flaring — or burning off — of natural gas at wellheads.
Dakota Access sailed through the state’s approval process, only to run into resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation straddling the North Dakota-South Dakota border is near the pipeline’s route. The Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes urged the US government not to allow the project to move forward and fought the pipeline in court and with protests at a nearby encampment on federal land that at times grew to include thousands of people.
The opponents were dealt a devastating setback in January when President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance the pipeline’s construction. The Army subsequently gave approval for ETP to put the last final big chunk of pipe under a Missouri River reservoir near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The Army has authority over that stretch because its Corps of Engineers manages the Missouri River.
Authorities last week cleared the last vestiges of the protest camp ahead of spring flooding, although the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux continue to fight the project in court.
Taxes could flow with Dakota Access pipeline
Taxes could flow with Dakota Access pipeline
Trump-backed financial firm partners with Pakistan Crypto Council to boost blockchain adoption
- Pakistan has signaled plans to announce comprehensive cryptocurrency legalization policies soon
- Country’s finance chief says such partnerships will open new doors for investment and innovation
KARACHI: World Liberty Financial (WLF), a decentralized finance platform backed by US President Donald Trump, signed a letter of intent with Pakistan’s Crypto Council on Saturday to advance blockchain innovation, stablecoin adoption and decentralized finance (DeFi) integration across the South Asian country.
The agreement, signed in Islamabad, comes as Pakistan looks to formalize its crypto economy amid rising interest in blockchain technologies.
Pakistan is already among the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets, ranking near the top in global adoption rates, with an estimated $300 billion in annual crypto transactions and around 25 million active users.
The government has signaled plans to announce comprehensive cryptocurrency legalization policies soon, building on its wider digital economy ambitions fueled by a largely young population and growing mobile penetration.
“Pakistan’s youth and technology sector are our greatest assets,” Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is currently in Washington and attended the ceremony through video link, said, according to a government statement. “Through partnerships like this, we are opening new doors for investment, innovation and global leadership in the blockchain economy.”
The WLF delegation also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and several federal ministers during the visit.
The partnership outlines cooperation on areas such as regulatory sandboxes for blockchain product testing, tokenization of real-world assets, expansion of stablecoin applications for remittances and trade and advisory support on blockchain infrastructure and regulatory trends.
Pakistan’s proactive stance follows its broader push to position itself as a hub for digital finance innovation, with 64 percent of its population under the age of 30.
Rising mobile broadband access, a booming freelance economy and increasing government interest in blockchain have accelerated the country’s Web3 adoption.
Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, said the collaboration with WLF was aimed at empowering Pakistan’s young population and integrating the country more deeply into the future of global finance.
WLF leadership praised Pakistan’s “energy, vision and talent,” calling it one of the most exciting places in the world to build decentralized finance ecosystems.
Pakistan requests extra 10 billion yuan on China swap line, says finance minister
- Muhammad Aurangzeb says Pakistan aims to diversify its lending base by issuing panda bond
- He expects IMF board to approve first loan review, climate resilience disbursement early next month
WASHINGTON: Pakistan has put in a request to China to augment its existing swap line by 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, adding he expected the country would launch a Panda bond before year-end.
Pakistan has an existing 30 billion yuan swap line already, Aurangzeb told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group spring meetings in Washington.
“From our perspective, getting to 40 billion renminbi would be a good place to move toward ... we just put in that request,” Aurangzeb said.
China’s central bank has been promoting currency swap lines with a raft of emerging economies, including the likes of Argentina and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan has also made progress on issuing its first panda bond — debt issued on China’s domestic bond market, denominated in yuan. Talks with the presidents of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) — the two lenders who are in line to provide credit enhancements for the issue — had been constructive, he said.
“We want to diversify our lending base and we have made some good progress around that — we are hoping that during this calendar year we can do an initial print,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb expected the IMF executive board to sign off in early May on the Staff Level Agreement on its new $1.3 billion arrangement under a climate resilience loan program as well as the first review of the ongoing $7 billion bailout program.
Getting the green light from the IMF board would trigger a $1 billion payout under the program, which the country secured in 2024 and has played a key role in stabilizing Pakistan’s economy.
Asked about the economic fallout from the tensions with India following the killing of 26 men at a tourist site earlier this month, Aurangzeb said it was “not going to be helpful.”
The attack triggered outrage and grief in India, along with calls for action against neighbor Pakistan, whom New Delhi accuses of funding and encouraging terrorism in Kashmir, a region both nations claim and have fought two wars over.
After the attack, India and Pakistan unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines and suspending trade ties, and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus River and its tributaries.
Trade flows between the two countries had already fallen off sharply following past frictions and totalled just $1.2 billion last year.
Aurangzeb estimated growth around 3% in the current financial year which ends in June 2025, and in the 4-5% range next year, with a view to hitting 6% thereafter.
Saudi PIF assets triple with 390% surge since 2016, 2030 target raised
- Record-breaking growth fuels job creation, sector expansion, and a powerful shift beyond oil
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has recorded a 390 percent surge in assets under management since the launch of Vision 2030, according to the initiative’s latest annual report.
PIF’s assets have soared from $160 billion in 2016 to $941.3 billion in 2024, surpassing its annual target of $880 billion and underscoring the fund’s rapid growth trajectory under the Kingdom’s transformative agenda.
Building on this momentum, the wealth fund has revised its 2030 goal, raising its asset management target from $1.87 trillion to $2.67 trillion. The updated ambition reflects the fund’s strengthened position and growing influence in shaping Saudi Arabia’s future economy.
Between 2016 and 2024, PIF posted a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent, highlighting its consistent ability to generate strong returns while advancing national development priorities.
Driving forces behind PIF’s expansion
Following its restructuring under Vision 2030, PIF has transformed from a traditional sovereign wealth fund into a globally recognized driver of economic diversification and innovation.
The fund’s growth has been propelled by a proactive, diversified investment approach, with 40 percent of its portfolio allocated to Saudi companies and giga-projects. Simultaneously, it has made strategic international investments across high-potential sectors.
This balanced strategy has contributed to the expansion of priority industries within the Kingdom, including tourism, mining, culture, logistics, and technology, supporting efforts to build a resilient, diversified economy.
Economic impact and sectoral growth
PIF’s strategic investments have not only boosted economic growth but also stimulated private sector participation, created employment opportunities, and attracted foreign direct investment.
By 2024, the fund’s initiatives had contributed to the creation of 1.1 million jobs, a significant leap from 77,700 direct and indirect jobs recorded in 2021. Over the same period, the number of companies established with PIF’s support more than doubled, rising from 45 to 93 across 13 strategic sectors.
The fund achieved 48 percent local content across its projects by 2024, highlighting its strong commitment to driving domestic economic growth.
Between 2021 and the third quarter of 2024, PIF attracted more than $37.33 billion in private investments across a range of initiatives, according to the report.
Through its Private Sector Hub initiative, it published over 200 opportunities during this period, representing a total investment value of $10.67 billion.
In addition, more than 300 contractors have been pre-qualified, and over 200 small and medium-sized enterprises have been trained to collaborate with companies across PIF’s portfolio.
PIF’s role in strengthening Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy has been pivotal.
According to the report, non-oil sectors accounted for 51 percent of the Kingdom’s real gross domestic product by 2024, a key milestone in achieving Vision 2030 goals.
The fund’s influence is evident in the launch of several megaprojects aimed at redefining the Kingdom’s economic landscape, ranging from world-class tourism destinations to advanced industrial zones.
PIF also played a crucial role in advancing financial sector reforms. The number of licensed asset managers in Saudi Arabia rose sharply from just five in 2019 to 36 in 2024, reflecting the Kingdom’s growing investment landscape and financial market sophistication.
Strengthening financial resilience
The fund has reinforced its financial base to support its ambitious investment strategy, highlighted by the transfer of 8 percent of Aramco shares. This move reduced the government’s direct ownership in the oil giant to 82.186 percent, enhancing PIF’s asset strength and investment capacity.
In addition, PIF secured $15 billion in syndicated credit facilities from 23 global financial institutions, significantly boosting its liquidity and financial flexibility. These initiatives align with PIF’s strategic objectives of developing new sectors, localizing knowledge and technology, and generating sustainable, high-quality employment opportunities across the Kingdom.
Global recognition
PIF’s transformation has not gone unnoticed on the international stage. The fund was named the world’s No.1 sovereign wealth fund brand by Brand Finance, with its brand value estimated at $1.1 billion.
Adding to its accolades, PIF swept four awards at the 2024 Middle East Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Conference, including Best Sukuk Deal, Best Landmark Deal, Best Semi-Sovereign Treasury and Funding Team, and Best Deal in Islamic Capital Markets.
Capital markets expansion
Saudi Arabia’s capital markets have grown in tandem with PIF’s rise, playing a critical role in broadening the nation’s economic base since the launch of Vision 2030.
Regulatory reforms—such as updates to the Companies Law and Government Tenders and Procurement Law—have enhanced transparency, strengthened investor confidence, and paved the way for a surge in initial public offerings.
The Saudi Exchange has seen remarkable expansion, with the number of listed companies increasing from 205 in 2019 to 353 in 2024. Foreign investor ownership more than doubled, reaching $112.8 billion in 2024 compared to $52.8 billion in 2019, while non-Saudi portfolio ownership grew from $29.3 billion in 2016 to $131.5 billion.
The number of individual portfolios on the Saudi Exchange also rose sharply, climbing from 9.2 million in 2016 to 13 million by 2024.
Meanwhile, Tadawul’s market capitalization (excluding Aramco) grew from 66.5 percent of GDP in 2019 to 86.7 percent in 2024, indicating the increasing maturity and depth of Saudi Arabia’s capital markets. The banking sector mirrored this growth, with total assets rising from $693.3 billion in 2019 to $1.12 trillion by the second quarter of 2024.
These developments have positioned Saudi Arabia’s financial sector as one of the most dynamic and accessible in the region, offering expanded opportunities for both local and global investors.
Reflecting this confidence, international credit rating agencies reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s strong economic outlook in 2024. Moody’s assigned an AA3 rating, Fitch rated the Kingdom at “A+,” and S&P Global Ratings gave it an “A/A-1” rating, all with stable outlooks.
Beyond Vision 2030
As the Kingdom prepares to enter the final phase of Vision 2030 delivery in 2026, the focus will increasingly shift toward building a sustainable and resilient private sector. Key priorities include reducing reliance on government support while fostering growth through regulatory enhancements, infrastructure development, and targeted investments.
Saudi Arabia envisions the private sector playing a leading role in advancing the economy, particularly in high-impact fields such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy.
By empowering private enterprises, the Kingdom aims to achieve its target of generating 65 percent of GDP from private sector activities, positioning it as a critical driver of sustainable growth in the decades beyond Vision 2030.
Pakistan’s forex reserves triple since early 2023 as central bank targets $14 billion
- Central bank governor says Pakistan’s reserves have seen both qualitative and quantitative improvement
- Governor Jamil Ahmed was briefing executives of global financial and investment institutions in the US
KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have more than tripled since early 2023, driven by a surplus in the external current account rather than fresh borrowing, the top central bank official said, according to a statement on Saturday, as the country targets $14 billion in reserves by June.
Pakistan’s forex reserves had touched critically low levels two years ago, giving it an import cover of less than a month. Faced with the threat of a sovereign debt default, the country secured a $3 billion short-term International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, tightened fiscal and monetary policies, restricted imports and allowed greater exchange rate flexibility.
Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Jameel Ahmad, told senior executives from global financial and investment institutions on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington the country’s external buffers had seen a “substantial qualitative as well as quantitative improvement” since then, as he briefed them about the current economic situation.
“Unlike previous episodes of reserve build-up, the ongoing rise in external buffers is not due to any further accumulation of external debt,” he said. “In fact, Pakistan’s public sector external debt, both in absolute terms and as a percent of GDP, has declined since June 2022.”
Ahmad added that the central bank had been able to strengthen reserves through foreign exchange purchases in the open market, supported by a current account surplus.
“The SBP is targeting to increase [forex] reserves to $14 billion by June 2025,” he said.
Ahmad said Pakistan had made tangible progress in stabilizing its economy, crediting a prudent monetary policy and sustained fiscal consolidation efforts for the improvement.
He informed that headline inflation had declined sharply over the past two years, reaching a multi-decade low of 0.7 percent in March 2025, while core inflation had also dropped from above 22 percent to a single digit and was expected to moderate further in the coming months.
Pakistan’s IT exports seen reaching $4 billion in FY25 as industry seeks tax relief
- Country’s software association calls IT industry the only sector with 75% trade surplus
- Government has set an ambitious target of reaching $10 billion in IT exports by 2029
KARACHI: Pakistan’s information technology (IT) sector expects exports to reach $4 billion in the current fiscal year and seeks regulatory reforms and a 10-year tax holiday to sustain growth momentum, said the country’s top software association on Saturday.
The IT sector is one of Pakistan’s priority industries as the country looks to boost export revenues and stabilize its external accounts.
Under the government’s “Uraan Pakistan” initiative, launched last year in December, Islamabad aims to raise IT exports to $10 billion by 2029.
Industry leaders say IT remains one of the few sectors capable of exponential growth despite the broader economic challenges.
“Muhammad Umair Nizam, Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), has apprised that information technology has become the fastest growing export industry of Pakistan – and, the country is set to achieve $4 billion in its IT exports for the FY25,” the software association said in a statement, adding that Pakistan’s IT exports stood at $3.2 billion in the last fiscal year with the prospect for a 25% year-on-year growth.
However, P@SHA warned regulatory bottlenecks and inconsistent tax policies were hampering the sector’s expansion at a time when new tech sub-sectors were emerging.
The association said it had also submitted detailed budget proposals to the government, seeking a facilitative framework that includes streamlined foreign exchange regulations, banking sector support, removal of sales tax anomalies and accelerated development of special technology zones and IT parks.
Pakistan’s IT industry is the only sector with a trade surplus of around 75%, the statement said, underlining its potential to create jobs, develop skilled human capital and reduce the trade deficit on a sustainable basis.
The software association also raised concerns over income tax disparities between salaried employees and freelancers, saying the current structure discourages formal employment and needs urgent correction in the upcoming federal budget.
