BEIJING: China’s state-owned assets regulator published a list on Wednesday of mega-projects that were completed or started construction in 2023 by the country’s central state-owned enterprises. Among the projects that exemplified super engineering are the launch of Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, the operation of China’s new-generation “artificial sun” HL-3 in the high-confinement mode under a plasma current of 1 million amperes, …

The federal government has suspended the temporary licenses granted to car manufacturers following the expiration of relief measures provided on an interim basis for failing to localize vehicle components and spare parts, well-informed sources said. Sources said that three major companies shared business plans with the Ministry of Industries and Production in an attempt to address this issue. Sources added …

The Federal Board of Revenue has crossed the IMF’s tax target in first six months of the current fiscal year. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had set Rs 4.425 trillion revenue collection target for six months while Rs 4.44 trillion tax has been collected in the period,” sources said. The target was 35% above in comparison to last six months of …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has repeatedly ordered to cut the electricity connection of the industries causing environmental pollution and now IHC Justice Shahid Karim directed WAPDA to take immediate action against the industries in the light of the commission’s report. Justice Shahid Karim heard the application for smog remediation wherein various departments submitted reports. The LHC directed the WASA …

Stocks were surging for the second consecutive day as the benchmark KSE-100 Index climbed over 1.32 per cent during early trading on Thursday, meaning that the market may end the year on a high note after two weeks of massive losses. At 9:54am, the KSE-100 was recorded at 61,669.20 after a gain of 805.58 points, or 1.32 per cent, against …

Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi has revised customs values on the import of Cashew Nuts/Kaju from Vietnam. The directorate issued a new valuation ruling (1836 of 2023) on Friday for an accurate assessment of duties and taxes on the import of Cashew Nuts. Earlier, the Customs values of Cashew Nuts were determined under Section 25A of the Customs Act, …

BEIJING: China’s annual growth in value-added industrial output is likely to exceed 4.3 percent this year as industrial production maintained a recovery trend, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The ministry said at a national work conference on industrial development and informatization Thursday that the output of the manufacturing sector, with its share in China’s GDP …

SHENZHEN: The number of electronic sports (e-sports) users in China reached 488 million in 2023, up 0.1 percent compared to the previous year, according to an industry report released in south China’s Shenzhen on Wednesday. The actual revenue of the e-sports industry reached 26.35 billion yuan (around 3.71 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, down 1.31 percent year on year, as …

The World Bank (WB) has approved $350 million in financing for the implementation of institutional reforms in Pakistan. The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $350 million in financing for the Second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) Operation, which aims to strengthen fiscal management and promote competitiveness for sustained and inclusive economic growth. Najy Benhassine, the World Bank …

Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $9 million in November 2023, said the data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). According to SBP data, the Current Account Deficit (CAD) was recorded at $775 million in July 2023 however, the CAD improved significantly over time and posted a surplus of $9 million in November 2023. The SBP data indicates …

BEIJING: China’s top market regulator on Monday rolled out measures to stabilize the prices and guarantee the quality of daily necessities with New Year’s Day and the Spring Festival holidays approaching. Supervision of food, industrial products, life services, and medical goods will be strengthened to meet people’s daily needs during the holidays, the State Administration for Market Regulation said. Specifically, …

HAIKOU: At the ongoing 26th China (Hainan) International Winter Trade Fair for Tropical Agricultural Products held in Haikou, capital of south China’s island province Hainan, a diverse array of products including durian from Thailand, coffee from Rwanda and rice from Cambodia has drawn the attention of visitors. Enterprises from over 20 countries and approximately 60 representatives from international organizations are …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Pakistan to reduce the number of tax slabs for salaried and business-class workers from 7 to 4 and more than double tax collection from business individuals and salaried individuals. The proposal was made by the lender’s technical mission that finished its two-week study of Pakistan’s tax policies last week. The mission also proposed raising …

BEIJING: China’s value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 6.6 percent year on year in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday. The growth accelerated from the 4.6-percent rise registered in October, according to the NBS. On a monthly basis, industrial output edged up 0.87 percent in November. Most sectors logged faster industrial output …

TIANJIN: German carmaker Volkswagen Group has announced that Volkswagen (China) Technology Co., Ltd., the group’s Chinese company and its largest research and development center outside its German headquarters, will launch an electric vehicle platform for the entry-level market in three years and develop pure electric models tailored for Chinese customers. The move highlights the determination of Europe’s largest car company …

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched a drive against non-filers in senior bureaucracy, financial institutions, public sector organizations, and regulatory bodies. The FBR believes that many senior government officials are not filing income tax returns. The FBR is also taking action against senior executives in financial institutions, who are non-filers. The FBR initially started an in-house exercise to …

BEIJING: China’s vehicle sales rose 27.4 percent year on year and 4.1 percent month on month in November, reaching 2.97 million units, latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Monday. The nation’s vehicle output in the same month hit 3.09 million units, up 29.4 percent year on year and 7 percent compared to the previous month, the …

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund will meet on January 11 to approve the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with Pakistan for the first review of the $3bn Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), an IMF spokesperson told Bloomberg. In June, the IMF executive board had approved the much-needed nine-month arrangement with Pakistan “to support its economic stabilisation programme”. The approval had allowed …

LAHORE: The weekly inflation rate has increased by 1.16 per cent while the overall inflation has touched mark 42.68 per cent on an annual basis. According to a Pakistan Bureau of Statistic (PBS), the prices of 15 essential items were increased during the week where the prices of onion were raised by Rs13 per kg and eggs Rs8 per dozen …

CHENGDU: Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, and Chongqing Municipality have handled over 5,000 China-Europe freight trains throughout the first 11 months of this year, according to data released at a conference. According to the first global partner conference of China-Europe freight train services to and from Chengdu and Chongqing, which took place in Chengdu, there are now nearly …

BEIJING: China is projected to inaugurate about 400 new shopping malls in 2023, according to a recent report. During the first half of this year, the average daily customer volume in shopping malls nationwide reached 18,500, marking an over 30 percent increase from the same period of the previous year, according to the report released by the China Chain Store …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) intends to demolish the iconic Roosevelt Hotel in New York City to pave the way for the construction of a new hotel through a joint venture, a representative of the Aviation Division informed the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation on Wednesday. The PIA owns 37 buildings across the globe, of which 29 are located in …

BEIJING: China’s total goods imports and exports expanded 1.2 percent year on year in November, official data showed Thursday. Last month, the country’s foreign trade stood at 3.7 trillion yuan (about 519.84 billion U.S. dollars), according to the General Administration of Customs. Exports grew 1.7 percent year on year to 2.1 trillion yuan, while imports edged up 0.6 percent from …

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved three projects totalling $658.8 million to help Pakistan achieve its goal of more inclusive and sustainable growth and development. The projects approved this week, will focus on improving domestic resource mobilisation; rehabilitating schools damaged by the devastating August 2022 floods; and enhancing agricultural productivity to improve food security, ADB said in a …

Cotton arrival in Pakistan witnessed an improvement of 5.2% as of November 30 compared to November 15, according to the latest fortnightly data released by the Pakistan Cotton Ginner’s Association (PCGA) on Tuesday. As per the report, total cotton arrival in Pakistan rose to 7.753 million bales compared to 7.371 million bales recorded on November 15, 2023, an increase of …

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Pakistan has been unable to secure a place on the schedule of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board, at least until mid-December, for the approval of the staff-level agreement (SLA) and disbursement of $700 million. Informed sources said the Ministry of Finance had been trying its best to seek a date in the first week of December to …

KARACHI: A socially driven movement to boycott western products in protest against their alleged support for Israeli atrocities in Gaza has dealt a serious blow to businesses of the world’s renowned brands in Pakistan. Simultaneously, it has boosted prospects for local alternatives, which are still struggling to fill the gap due to their own loopholes, a study and industrialists said. …

Topline Securities, a brokerage firm in Karachi conducted a survey of key market participants on their expectations of interest rate cuts in the upcoming monetary policy meeting due Dec 12. In its survey, it found that 63 per cent of participants anticipate that the policy rate will remain unchanged, while 19pc of participants expect it go down by 50 basis …

DUBAI: Some 117 governments pledged to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 at the U.N.’s COP28 climate summit on Saturday, as a route to cut the share of fossil fuels in the world’s energy production. The pledge was among a slew of COP28 announcements on Saturday aimed at decarbonizing the energy sector – source of around three-quarters of …

Pakistan’s headline inflation clocked in at 29.2% on a year-on-year basis in November, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Friday, higher than the reading in October when it stood at 26.9%. On a month-on-month basis, the reading was up 2.7%. This takes July-November’s average inflation to 28.62% compared to 25.14% in the same period of the previous year. …

BEIJING: China’s service trade value grew 8.7 percent year on year in the first 10 months of this year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Friday. The service trade value exceeded 5.34 trillion yuan (about 751.65 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-October period. Of the total, service imports climbed 23.5 percent year on year to over 3.16 trillion yuan, …

Pakistan’s GDP is expected to decrease by a minimum of 18 to 20 percent by 2050 due to severe climate-related occurrences, environmental deterioration, and air contamination, says the World Bank. The Bank in a special note ‘Climate Silence in Pakistan’ stated that climate change has profoundly affected Pakistan, manifesting in altered weather patterns and devastating floods. Overall, 8 in 10 …

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to register members of different associations and service providers like lawyers and tax advisers of High courts and the Supreme Court under the broadening the tax base exercise, official sources told media. The probe is set to target members of powerful associations including industrialists, lawyers, and doctors. FBR sources have disclosed that …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has sought a meeting with Pakistan’s petroleum division officials to ‘review’ steps taken under the petroleum levy to boost revenue. Currently, Pakistan is charging Rs60 per liter levy each on petrol and diesel, the sources familiar with the matter said. As per details, the meeting is expected to take place on November 30 in …

The Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday it had approved a $180 million loan to improve water supply and solid waste management services in two cities in Pakistan’s Punjab province. “This project will help make municipal services in these two cities more sustainable, resilient, and less carbon-intensive,” ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said in a …

A delegation of technical experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached Islamabad on a mission to expand the tax net in Pakistan. As per officials in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), during the weeklong consultations, the IMF delegation will provide assistance in increasing tax efficiency. The Fund has insisted on raising the tax-to-GDP ratio to 15%. The …

Multan traders Friday rejected the announcement of the Punjab government to smart locks in Multan division to battle smog. All public and private schools remained closed but traders rejected the idea of smart lockdown and expressed their concerns over government’s decision to close the business centers. Trader association central president Sultan Mahmood said traders have rejected the decree issued by …

The caretaker government took a policy reform decision to get rid of capacity payments in future and establish a wholesale market in the electricity sector. The Energy Committee of the Cabinet gave approval. How wholesale market will work? In the first phase, the wholesale market will be introduced for bulk and up to one MW consumers. Domestic consumers will be …

BEIJING: China’s foreign exchange market recorded transactions worth a total of 16.24 trillion yuan — equivalent to 2.26 trillion U.S. dollars — in October, official data showed on Friday. The transaction volume of the client market totaled 2.71 trillion yuan last month, and that of the interbank market came in at 13.53 trillion yuan, according to the State Administration of …

Border trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed on Wednesday after Islamabad repealed a new visa restriction for two more weeks. The movement of goods stopped earlier this week when Pakistan started demanding commercial vehicle drivers to carry passports and visas in order to enter. The Afghan government replied by refusing to allow any trucks to cross. Commerce Ministry officials met …