ISLAMABAD: Privatisation Minister Abdul Aleem Khan on Saturday announced that three power firms will be privatised and directed the transparent and timely completion of transactions. A press release said the minister issued these directions while presiding over a meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board, which discussed issues related to the privatisation of the Discos and other state-run companies, including Pakistan International Airlines. The meeting unanimously decided that three power generation companies would be privatised in the first phase and that all legal matters would be completed by January next year. Moreover, the board approved hiring financial advisers for these Discos and moved forward…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be a big concern for policymakers, Pakistan’s exports to European countries fell 3.12 per cent in FY24 despite its GSP+ status, which allows duty-free entry into most European markets. In absolute terms, Pakistan’s exports to the EU dipped to $8.240bn in FY24 from $8.505bn in the preceding year, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan. The decline was mainly due to reduced demand for Pakistani goods in western, southern, and northern Europe. In October 2023, the European Parliament unanimously voted to extend the GSP+ status for another four years until 2027 for developing countries, including…
LAHORE: The recent “unusual” drop in lint and raw cotton prices has resulted in the ‘insolvency’ of ginners and growers. The rates of lint and raw cotton have registered a drop of Rs2,000 and Rs1,000 per 40kg, respectively, in the outgoing week, chilling the spine of the ginners and farmers. Cotton Ginners’ Forum chairman Ihsanul Haq says that the economic crisis has worsened as the fall in the prices of cotton hints that the lint is also following the trajectory of wheat, rice, maize and canola crops. He says that due to a record increase in electricity and gas tariffs, tax hikes, closure…
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 27,542 new companies in 2023-24, pushing the total number to 222,697. In the outgoing fiscal year, the commission witnessed the incorporation of 780 companies related to corporate agricultural farming and 560 in the power generation business. An infographic showing the number of companies registered with the SECP in the outgoing fiscal year. — Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (X/@SECPakistan) As digitalisation takes root in the SECP, a diverse range of companies have been registered online. The highest number, 4,129, is in the information technology sector, followed by 3,666 in…
SYDNEY: Australia moved on Saturday to ban mining at one of the world’s largest high-grade uranium deposits, highlighting the site’s “enduring connection” to Indigenous Australians. The Jabiluka deposit in northern Australia is surrounded by the heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, a tropical expanse of gorges and waterfalls featured in the first “Crocodile Dundee” film. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the national park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site — which has never been mined — honouring the decades-long desires of the Mirrar people. “They were seeking a guarantee that there would never be uranium mining on their land,” Albanese…
LONDON: UK police arrested two men on Saturday following an assault on a participant in an anti-fascism protest, held to counter another nearby demonstration organised by far-right agitator Tommy Robinson. London’s Metropolitan Police said the pair were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a “Stand Up To Racism” protester in Victoria Embankment Gardens in the city centre. Officers gave the victim first aid after he sustained a head injury in the incident, and he will be taken to hospital to be checked, according to the force. It noted that, contrary to social media reports, the arrests were not related to the…
MANILA: Some of the 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil inside a sunken Philippine tanker has started to leak into Manila Bay, the coast guard said on Saturday, as they raced to avoid an environmental catastrophe. The MT Terra Nova sank in bad weather off Manila on Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the country potentially facing its worst oil spill disaster. The oil slick has more than tripled in size and is now estimated to stretch 12-14 kilometres across the bay, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods. Divers inspected the hull of the…
CHICO: A huge, fast-moving and rapidly growing wildfire in northern California has forced more than 4,000 people to evacuate as firefighters battle gusty winds and perilously dry conditions, authorities said on Friday. Fueled by a crushing heatwave, the so-called Park Fire — the most intense wildfire to hit the state this summer — has rapidly devoured nearly 240,000 acres as of Friday night and is continuing to gain strength. “This fire has been rapidly expanding 4,000 to 5,000 acres an hour,” incident commander Billy See said at a press conference. For now, it is “zero per cent” controlled, despite the…
DHAKA: Bangladesh said three student leaders had been taken into custody for their own safety after the government blamed their protests against civil service job quotas for days of deadly nationwide unrest. Students Against Discrimination head Nahid Islam and two other senior members of the protest group were forcibly discharged from hospital and taken away by a group of plainclothes detectives. The street rallies organised by the trio precipitated a police crackdown and days of running clashes between officers and protesters that killed at least 201 people, according to a tally of hospital and police data. Islam earlier this week said he was being treated at…
CAIRO: At least 30 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian health officials said. The Hamas-run government media office said 15 children and eight women were among those killed in the strike in the central town of Deir Al-Balah. More than 100 people were wounded, the media office and the Gaza health ministry said. Israel’s military said it had targeted fighters operating there and that it had taken steps to reduce the risk to civilians. Separately, nine people were killed in a rocket attack on a football ground in…
