KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Friday witnessed a bloodbath immediately after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced “tough decisions” taken by the government in the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2022-23. The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green in line with its positive trend a day earlier; however, it soon plunged a massive 2,053.35 points or 4.81%. The …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 23 (ABC): While saving precious forex reserves for Pakistan, the production of local and foreign mobile companies has not only outnumbered imports of mobile devices, but also created more than 22,000 jobs for the local population, reported on Thursday. According to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), between January and May 2022, at least 12.41 million mobile phones were assembled/manufactured …

DETROIT, June 23(ABC): Electric vehicle sales could reach 33% globally by 2028 and 54% by 2035, as demand accelerates in most major markets, consultant AlixPartners said on Wednesday. EVs accounted for less than 8% of global sales last year, and just under 10% in the first quarter of 2022. To support that demand, automakers and suppliers now expect to invest …

LAHORE, June 22(ABC): The provincial government passed, amid the absence of the Opposition, its budget of Rs3.226 trillion for the financial year 2022-23 in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday. Punjab Finance Minister Awais Laghari moved the Punjab Finance Bill 2021 which later the government passed amid empty Opposition benches. Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz was also present in the house. The Punjab …

MADRID, June 22(ABC): Spain will cut the value-added tax on electricity by half to shield consumers from soaring inflation fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday. The announcement comes after Sanchez’s Socialists were thrashed Sunday in a regional election in Andalusia, a longtime party stronghold. Sanchez told parliament the VAT reduction, from 10% to five …

RAJANPUR, June 22 (ABC): The OGDCL has notifed the discovery of gas reserves found in 4 wells in Rajanpur Punjab. According to details, the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited notified the discovery of oil reserves in 4 different well in Rajanpur city of Panjab. The notification issued by OGDCL said that the gas reserves discovered amount to 2.081 million …

BEIJING, Jun 22 (ABC): Gansu is to transfer modern Chinese agricultural science and technology particularly applicable to arid and semi-arid regions to Pakistan, revealed at the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS), China and the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Pakistan held online on Wednesday. Sharing similarities in climate, crop types and environment, …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 22 (ABC): The country assembled record 46 million smart and feature mobile phones during first 11 months of current fiscal year were assembled in Pakistan in 11 month of current fiscal year. During the period under review, some 20 millions smart mobile phones were assembled of which 99 percent have so far been sold in the markets while …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 22 (ABC) :The export of plastic materials from the country has witnessed an increase of 42.30 percent during the eleven months of the fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan exported plastic material worth US $385.643 million during July-May (2021-22) as compared to the export of $271.014 million during July-May (2020-21), showing …

ISLAMABAD, June 22(ABC): A storm of inflation has taken up utility stores and the prices of various essential commodities have gone up by a significant margin. According to the notification, 75 gram toothpaste has gone up by Rs 20 to Rs 117, toilet roll paper has gone up by Rs 5 to Rs 74, while tissue paper has gone up …

ISLAMABAD, June 22 (ABC): A European Union monitoring mission comprising officials from the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Trade and for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, arrived in Pakistan on 22 June. The mission will make an assessment of the effective implementation of 27 international conventions Pakistan is signatory to. The GSP+ (Generalised Scheme …

HONG KONG, June 22(ABC): Equities struggled Wednesday after a brief respite from last week’s painful rout across world markets, with recession fears continuing to build as central banks hike interest rates to combat decades-high inflation. While Asia, Wall Street and Europe all enjoyed healthy gains on Tuesday, analysts warned the downbeat mood on trading floors means the selling is unlikely …

MELBOURNE, June 22(ABC): Oil prices skidded in early trade on Wednesday amid a push by U.S. President Joe Biden to bring down soaring fuel costs, including pressure on major U.S. firms to help ease the pain for drivers during the country’s peak summer demand. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.34, or 1,2%, to $108.18 a barrel at …

KARACHI, June 22(ABC): Deposit inflows in Roshan Digital Account (RDA) recorded highest ever daily figure on Tuesday as $57 million were deposited in a single day. According to a message by official twitter handle of the State Bank of Pakistan with the significant increase, total deposits in RDA have crossed $4.5bn till June 21, 2022. At the end May 2022 …

KARACHI, June 22(ABC): The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the green on Wednesday, continuing its momentum from the previous day and soaring more than 100 points in the first hour of trading, just hours after the Islamabad and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached an understanding on the federal budget. According to the PSX website, the …

ISLAMABAD, June 21 (ABC): Promotion of trade in treated gemstones offers great economic benefits to Pakistan as the country is blessed with abundant deposits of both precious and semi-precious stones. “As some gemstones have a few natural flaws, they need to be treated to enhance their quality. More than 80% of gemstones traded in the market are treated in one …

BEIJING, June 21 (ABC): Pakistan’s export to China crossed $1.605 billion in the first five months of 2022, up 5.42 percent year on year, shows the official data from the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC). Badar uz Zaman, Commercial Counsellor at Pakistani Embassy in Beijing, said that despite the epidemic of COVID-19, bilateral trade …

HONG KONG, June 21(ABC): Equities rose Tuesday in Asia as some stability returned to markets after last week’s upheaval, but analysts warned of further pain for traders after central bank officials hinted at further interest rate hikes to reel in inflation. While there was no catalyst from Wall Street owing to a public holiday, a healthy performance across Europe provided …

WEB DESK, June 21(ABC): Oil prices rose 1% on Tuesday, clawing back more of last week’s losses as investors focused on tight supplies of crude and fuel products rather than concerns about a recession dampening demand going forward. Brent crude futures rose $1.08, or about 1%, to $115.21 a barrel at 0400 GMT, adding to a 0.9% gain on Monday. …

DUBAI, June 20 (ABC): Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai announced the opening of Expo City Dubai, this coming October 2022. The new city is an ideal smart and futuristic destination for business and innovation, driven by sustainability, innovation, education, and entertainment. Expo City Dubai – the legacy plan of Expo 2020 …

ISLAMABAD, Jun.20 (INP): Speakers at a webinar called for tapping and promoting Pakistani handicrafts export potential, says a report published by Gwadar Pro. The webinar on pricing strategies and logistic solutions for the export of handicrafts from Pakistan to China was jointly organized by the Consulate General of Pakistan in Shanghai and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. Hussain Haider, Consul …

ISLAMABAD, June 20 (ABC): The 1,320 megawatts Thar Coal Block-1 (TCB-1) power plant has achieved an overall 85% work progress and the 660MWs unit-1 is close to entering commissioning, a senior official of TCB-1 told on Monday. TCB-1 is the largest indigenous coal-based power plant project in Thar Block-1 under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative. The mine-mouth plant will …

HONG KONG, June 20(ABC): Asian markets fell again Monday and oil prices extended losses on growing fears that central bank moves to rein in soaring inflation will induce a recession. The losses come after a sell-off last week fuelled by the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate hike last week — the biggest in nearly 30 years — and a warning …

ISLAMABAD, June 20(ABC): Pakistan earned US $2,197.787 million by providing different Information Technology (IT) services in various countries during the ten months of fiscal year 2021-22. This shows growth of 29.29 percent as compared to US $1,699.860 million earned through provision of services during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2020-21, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. During July-April (2021-22), …

ISLAMABAD, June 20(ABC): The imports of overall petroleum group witnessed an increase of 99.14 percent during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. During the period under review, the total imports of the petroleum group stood at $19.679 billion, as against the imports of $9.882 billion last …

ISLAMABAD, June 20(ABC): The KSE 100-index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday witnessed bearish trend, losing 363 points, a negative change of 0.86 percent, closing at 41,776.98 points against 42,140.76 points on the last working day. A total of 162,112,379 shares were traded during the day compared to the trade of 282,931,441 shares the previous day, whereas the …

MUZAFFARGARH, June 20(ABC): Mangoes might be the most awaited sweetest summer fruit but the story doing rounds in news media about fifty per cent low production this year is sore to the core. Pakistan is reportedly facing a 50% drop in mango production this year due to the effects of climate change and high temperatures. The average production of mango …

JAKARTA, June 20(ABC): Indonesian authorities hope to reach an agreement with Singapore to start exporting chickens within weeks, officials said, as the city-state scrambles to find alternative supply sources after another neighbour Malaysia restricted sales. In a further sign of growing global food shortages and supply chain issues, Malaysia halted chicken exports this month until local production and soaring costs …

BEIJING, June 19 (ABC): China’s Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS) and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) (designated by the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote agricultural cooperation between China and Pakistan at an online signing ceremony held in Kunming and Beijing. While addressing the ceremony, Dr Wang Jihua, president of YAAS, noted …

BEIJING, June. 19 (ABC): China-Pak mango cooperation will give impetus to king of fruit industry, according to a report on Sunday. There is a dire need for joint ventures with China for establishing quality enhancement centres, fruit processing units, dehydration plants, drip irrigation and cold storage chains so Pakistani fruits could be exported in line with international standards,” Ehsan Chaudhry, …

ISLAMABAD Jun 19 (ABC): Eastbay Expressway in Gwadar has turned into a road of technology, says a report on Sunday As the only expressway in Gwadar, Eastbay Expressway runs through an array of complicated terrains from coast to mountains. Underpinning is the advanced construction technology. Of the over 19-km road, about 4 kilometers of the area is reclaimed from the …

ISLAMABAD, June 19 (ABC): To meet the deadline, construction is underway simultaneously at 10 sites of Dasu Hydropower Project (DHPP) in Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, according to report. Chairman WAPDA Naveed Asghar Chaudhry on Friday chaired a progress review meeting on HDPP. “Work on 10 project sites is underway to meet the 2026 deadline for power …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (ABC): Ambassador of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan Ulanbek Totuiaev on Sunday said that the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan would not only increase the trade volume between the two countries but also act as a catalyst for regional economic integration. Ulanbek Totuiaev said the implementation of the PTA would serve as …

NEW YORK, June 18 (ABC): Stock markets wobbled and oil prices sank on Friday amid growing fears that inflation-fighting interest rate hikes by central banks could trigger recession. Investors were shaken this week after the US Federal Reserve unleashed its biggest hike in borrowing costs for almost 30 years to tackle red-hot consumer prices. The third Fed increase was followed …

ISLAMABAD, June 18 (ABC): Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal directed the authorities to ensure inauguration of the new Gwadar Airport by March 23, 2023 along with shifting flight operations from the old airport to the new one. According to reports, the minister was chairing a meeting to enhance Balochistan’s national and international air connectivity. He said that …

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 18 (ABC): Pakistan and Canada have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. The understanding was reached at a meeting between Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Canada Zaheer Janjua and Canadian Member of Parliament Salma Zahid in the Canadian capital. During the meeting with Salma Zahid who is also the Chairperson of Canada Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, the …

BRUSSELS, June 18 (ABC): Europe sent a powerful symbol of solidarity with Ukraine on Friday, when Brussels backed Kyiv’s bid for EU candidate status, even as Russia shelled frontline Ukrainian cities and cut back gas supplies to the West. With the European Commission’s backing, Ukraine could now be added to the list of countries vying for EU membership as early …

ISLAMABAD, June 18(ABC): Keeping in view growing demand, Pakistan is seeking four shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for delivery in July According to details, Pakistan LNG Limited has sought bids from interested international suppliers by June 23. According PLL statement, the four delivery windows given to companies for the cargoes are July 3-4, 8-9, 25-26 and 30-31.

NEW YORK, June 18(ABC): Oil prices tumbled about 6% to a four-week low on Friday on worries that interest rate hikes by major central banks could slow the global economy and cut demand for energy. Also pressuring prices, the US dollar this week rose to its highest level since December 2002 against a basket of currencies, making oil more expensive …

KARACHI, June 18(ABC): Following an increase in petrol and diesel prices to revive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, the weekly inflation — based on the sensitive price index (SPI) — surged 3.38% week-on-week and 27.82% year-on-year hitting a 14-year high during the week ended June 16. According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), prices of …