KARACHI: Pakistani start-ups are high on the global investors’ radar, as they raised a record $305 million in initial and advanced level financing from across the world in the first nine months (January-September) of 2021. “[The] average deal size [went] up five times to $5.9 million in the first nine months (January-September) of 2021, compared … Read more
HONG KONG: Embattled property giant China Evergrande suspended trading in its shares in Hong Kong on Monday pending an announcement on a “major transaction”, as the firm struggles in a sea of debt and faces a default. The halt comes as reports said Hopson Development Holdings planned to buy a 51 per cent stake in … Read more
STOCKHOLM. US scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian on Monday won the Nobel Medicine Prize for discoveries on receptors for temperature and touch. The Nobel jury stated, “The groundbreaking discoveries by this year’s Nobel Prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to … Read more
Widely acknowledged as one of the world’s natural treasures, Al-Ahsa oasis in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province is home to shady palm groves, crystal clear springs, and a centuries-old secret. Scientists have long puzzled over how the ancient watercourse, the largest self-contained oasis in the world, managed to survive the passage of time, providing its lush, … Read more
PESHAWAR: An audit report published on Monday found irregularities worth Rs4 billion in the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) — a flagship project of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) government. According to the report, some government officers received Rs1 million extra as allowances in the BRT project. While, several other unrelated government officials received … Read more
MILAN. At least eight people have been killed after a private plane crashed into a building in a suburb near Milan. The light aircraft piloted by Romanian billionaire Dan Petrescu crashed into an empty office building in the San Donato Milanese, a comune of the metropolitan city, on Sunday, killing him, his wife and their … Read more
NEW YORK: More than a dozen heads of state and government, from Jordan to Azerbaijan, Kenya and the Czech Republic, have used offshore tax havens to hide assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a far-reaching new investigation by the ICIJ media consortium. The so-called “Pandora Papers” investigation — involving some 600 journalists … Read more
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia is fast becoming a global player in terms of startups and venture funding, said the CEO of 500 Global. In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Christine Tsai said: “2020 was really a record year (for Saudi Arabia) in terms of startups and venture funding and new funds and a lot of … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has drilled 12 new wells, producing 584,808 barrels (BBL) crude oil and 12,092 million cubic feet (MMCF) gas, in its production gathering system during the last fiscal year. “The injected wells include Mela-7, Pasakhi-11, Pasakhi Deep-6, Pasakhi West Deep-2, Saand-1 and 2, TAY South West-1, Umair-1, … Read more
LAHORE: Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) visited the multipurpose Diamer-Basha Dam to review the construction work on the project being constructed on River Indus 40km downstream of Chilas town and 180km upstream of Tarbela Dam. Commander 10 Corps Pakistan Army Lt Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza also accompanied him … Read more
LAHORE: Punjab chief secretary Kamran Ali Afzal has directed all the divisional commissioners to expedite campaigns against profiteers and hoarders. Chairing a meeting to review the price control measures at the Civil Secretariat, he said mere fines were not enough and stern action should be a lesson for the hoarders. The chief secretary said those … Read more
LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to make appropriate market interventions to curb the dollar flight, a statement said. LCCI president Mian Nauman Kabir, senior vice president Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and vice president Haris Ateeq said that the rupee fall has far-reaching implications, including … Read more
BEIJING: After cooperation to deal with the pandemic, Pakistan and China should also accelerate the building of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative. The 10th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting of the CPEC has been held, and a new IT working group has been established, which will … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bulgaria have agreed to enhance bilateral economic cooperation in different sectors and intend to ensure investment in different potential areas of both sides. Both the countries agreed to initiate the proposal for the investment in different potential areas, including information technology (IT), food processing and tourism sectors for investment, a statement issued … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the Kamyab Pakistan Programme on Monday, under which loans worth Rs1.4 trillion would be rolled out among 3.7 million families in the country. A press release quoted Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, as saying, that the Kamyab Pakistan Programme would be a major initiative in the government’s efforts to … Read more
KARACHI: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has assured that the Ministry of Finance would make efforts to address the reservations of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on the amendment to the Tax Laws (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, a statement said on Saturday. He said that he would look into … Read more
KARACHI: Several Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have failed to earn profits due to corruption and inefficiencies, an official said on Saturday. In a tweet, former Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar said: “It’s not the job of [the] government to own and run businesses, but until we are able to … Read more
PATHANKOT: As the winter months near, beekeepers of occupied Kashmiri like Abid Hussain are preparing for an annual migration southward in search of warmer climes, more honey and bigger payouts. Hussain wears protective gear on his arms and face as he readies to send his convoy of bees hundreds of kilometres from the Himalayan region … Read more
KARACHI: Pakistan is in a state of shock after the news of the demise of veteran comedian Umer Sharif broke the internet on Saturday. The critically ill comedian had left Pakistan in an air ambulance on September 28 after he requested the government to provide him with medical treatment in the United States. During a … Read more
BEIJING: Qinhuangdao/Caofeidian onshore power project, located in the mid-western Bohai Bay, has been launched by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to power offshore oilfields. It demonstrates remarkable energy saving and emission reduction effects, marking a historic change in the power consumption mode in China’s offshore oilfield operations, the CNOOC said. This launch indicates … Read more
BEIJING: China’s used car sales climbed 40.4 per cent in the January-August period from the year ago, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed. The sales volume is 22.8 per cent higher than the same period of 2019 or the pre-pandemic level. In August, the ratio of used car to new car transactions hit a … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The coronavirus pandemic claimed 46 more lives across the country in the past 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) announced on Saturday. Pakistan reported 1,664 new infections, while the total number of virus cases in the country exceeded 1,248,200. The NCOC, the country’s department leading the campaign against the Covid-19 pandemic, … Read more
BEIJING: The growing number of Pakistani youth studying at Donghua University, Shanghai will contribute to the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Belt and Road Initiative and in the future “it will also provide more professionals to Pakistan,” International Cultural Exchange School at Donghua University dean Prof Yao Weixin said on Saturday. On … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has imposed a fine of Rs31 million on the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) on the charges of negligence, resulting in fatal incidents during the period July 2019 to October 2020, a statement said. The authority upon receipt of reports of 15 deaths due to different electrocution … Read more
ISLAMABAD: The completion ceremony of a vocational training institute under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC was held on Friday in Gwadar. As an important project for public well-being, the Gwadar Technical and Vocational Institute was constructed by the China Harbor Engineering Company, with an aim to meet the urgent need of the locals in Gwadar … Read more
DUBAI: Dubai has created a “new city” for Expo 2020 that will exist for decades, the head of the event told AFP, promising most of the vast site will remain in use after the six-month world fair. The $7 billion, purpose-built showground occupies a vast site on Dubai’s outskirts, with hundreds of pavilions and exhibitions sprawling … Read more
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has asked Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Muhammad Ajmal Gondal to take measures for enforcing financial discipline in government departments to put an end to irregularities. He emphasised the need for adopting the latest IT-based audit techniques that would greatly help oversee the management of public finances, as well as … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi shared Pakistan’s perspective on the contemporary global development challenges and underscored the urgency of vaccine equity, debt relief and enhanced concessional finance to address multiple inequalities. Delivering a video statement at the ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 (G-77) on the eve of the 15th quadrennial session … Read more
