KARACHI: Meezan Bank on Thursday announced 8 per cent growth in earnings during the nine months (January–September) 2020 to Rs12/share, compared with the same period of the last year, a bourse filing said. The bank also announced an interim cash dividend of Rs1.5/share in addition to Rs3/share already announced. Analysts at Topline Securities said despite … Read more
KARACHI: The board of directors of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has appointed Syed Khalid Siraj Subhani, as the acting managing director and CEO of the company, a statement said on Thursday. Earlier the board of directors announced that Shahid Salim Khan has tendered his resignation from the posts and Subhani will … Read more
BEIJING: China will send three astronauts to its new space station this week, officials confirmed on Thursday, in what will be Beijing’s longest crewed mission to-date. The three will blast off at 12:23am on Saturday from the launch centre in northwestern China’s Gobi desert, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said at a press conference. They … Read more
KARACHI: The Sindh government will organise an investment conference as well as a Sufi classical performance at Expo 2020 Dubai, says a statement released by the Sindh culture department. This was decided at a meeting held in the Sindh Secretariat regarding Dubai Expo 2020 in which Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah, Provincial Minister … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA) has elected Shahzad Azam Khan, Abdul Rehman and Kashif Ahmed Aslam Zia unopposed as the central chairman, senior vice chairman and vice chairman, respectively, for the term of 2021/22, a statement said. The election results were announced in the annual general meeting held on Thursday. Abdul … Read more
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz urged the world to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country. “It is imperative that a congenial environment be created that would encourage the repatriation of Afghan refugees to their beloved motherland,” Maryam told U.S. Chargé d’affaires in Pakistan Angela Aggeler. … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Thursday it had suspended flights to Kabul over the “unprofessional attitude” of the Taliban authorities. PIA resumed special flights to the country after the Taliban seized power in mid-August, and was a lifeline for many Afghans trying to flee the new regime and economic crisis. “Our flights … Read more
KARACHI: The rupee is under immense pressure and continued its slide against the dollar on Thursday and made a fresh low of Rs171.20 in the interbank foreign exchange market, dealers said. The exchange rate recorded seven paisas decline in the rupee value against the dollar as against the previous day’s closing of Rs171.13 in the … Read more
DHAKA: Bangladesh police shot dead four people as hundreds vandalised several Hindu temples across the Muslim-majority country, police said on Thursday. Police opened fire on a mob of over 500 people late Wednesday following furore over footage of a Quran being placed on the knee of a figure of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman during … Read more
BEIRUT: Tank deployments and deadly exchanges of fire turned Beirut into a war zone Thursday after a demonstration organised by Shia parties against the lead port blast investigator turned violent. Heavy fire rang out as ambulances rushed the wounded through the deserted streets, a few blocks from the Palace of Justice, where hundreds of black-clad … Read more
TAIPEI: An overnight fire tore through a building in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Thursday, killing 46 people and injuring dozens of others in the island’s deadliest blaze in decades. The fire broke out in the 13-storey, mixed-use building in the small hours of Thursday morning, according to officials, raging through multiple floors … Read more
LAHORE: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) leadership and the representatives of the US Cotton have resolved to enhance mutual cooperation in cotton and textile trade and investment opportunities. This understanding was reached during a visit by a high-profile delegation of the Cotton US at the Aptma House, Lahore on Wednesday. The delegation consisted … Read more
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed the need to unfreeze Afghanistan’s financial assets after the Taliban’s takeover of the war-torn country. “PM Imran stressed the need for unfreezing of Afghanistan’s financial assets to help support the Afghan people at this critical juncture, especially before the onset of the winter,” said the PM Office. The … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The export diversification policy has just started showing promising results but there is still a long way to go, a senior government official said on Wednesday. “Product export diversification has to be coupled with geographical diversification to new markets such as Africa and South America,” he added. He stated this, while getting a briefing … Read more
KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers has announced a net profit of Rs4.41 billion, translating into the earnings per share (EPS) of Rs3.3 for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, which is 37.2 per cent lower than the profit of Rs7.03 billion (EPS: 5.27) in the corresponding period last year, a bourse filing said on Wednesday. The company … Read more
FRANKFURT: Up to 30,000 jobs at Volkswagen could be at risk if the German auto giant is unable to reduce the costs of its transition to electric models, its chief executive told a recent supervisory board meeting, according to a company source on Wednesday. The business daily Handelsblatt reported that CEO Herbert Diess had “expressed his concerns” for … Read more
KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market witnessed another selloff due to the uncertainty over the appointment of ISI director general, amid the continuous foreign selling and the lack of positive triggers, dealers said on Wednesday. “The government has reportedly agreed to pass the withheld determined power tariff increase of Rs1.39/unit to consumers in phases, while the … Read more
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has expressed reservations on the attachment of bank account under section 140 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and section 48 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 and term the new amendment a hurdle in the ease of doing business, as envisioned by Prime … Read more
NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase reported higher third-quarter profits on Wednesday, as the improving economic outlook allowed it to include in earnings $2.1 billion set aside earlier in the pandemic for potential loan defaults. The big US bank, kicking off the quarterly reporting season for large financial companies, reported profits of $11.7 billion, up 24 per cent … Read more
WASHINGTON: After debt loads surged last year, amid the pandemic, the governments now must take care to ‘calibrate’ spending, the IMF said on Wednesday. Global debt in 2020, including public and private borrowing, “jumped 14 per cent to a record high of $226 trillion,” according to the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Monitor report. The public debt … Read more
JEDDAH: While strongly condemning atrocities and targeted violence in India, the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged the Indian government to fulfil its international human rights obligations by ensuring the safety and security of the Muslim minority throughout India. The commission also asked the Indian government … Read more
KARACHI: The exchange rates witnessed a continuation of the rupee depreciation on Wednesday, as the dollar strides ahead to make a fresh high of Rs171.13, dealers said. The previous record high of the dollar was at Rs171.04 a day ago. The exchange rate witnessed a decline of nine paisas in the rupee value against the … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Hungary to Pakistan Béla Fazekas on Wednesday pledged to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan to $250 million, paving new avenues for bilateral economic cooperation. The two countries have the potential for bilateral trade in a number of sectors that needed to be further explored and work needed to be done in new … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) on Wednesday awarded licences to carry out oil and gas exploration activities in Attock district of Punjab province and Loralai district of Balochistan, under its strategy to make the country self-reliant in the energy sector. Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar witnessed the licence-awarding ceremony, a statement issued by … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan informed an independent UN human rights expert that Indian security forces in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were involved in torture and ill-treatment but had been denying facts and responsibility. In an interactive dialogue with the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer, Pakistani diplomat Saima Saleem asked him how … Read more
MOSCOW: Russia’s energy minister said on Wednesday that new contracts would need to be agreed for an increase in the natural gas deliveries to Europe, which is struggling with a surge in prices. “If there are requests that will only be via the establishment of new contractual obligations,” Nikolai Shulginov said, describing Russia as a “reliable … Read more
WASHINGTON: Snarls in transportation and supply chains have led to the rising prices and shortages of some goods, but US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged Americans not to panic. Price increases are not likely to last, and there should be plenty of products available for the holiday shopping season, Yellen said in an … Read more
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority announced on Wednesday that the telecom services in the country were operating on a “normal routine” after a “fault” in a submarine cable was fixed. “Work was completed last night. All telecom services are operational as per normal routine,” tweeted PTA while giving an update on the submarine cable fault. Submarine … Read more
