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Government critics, including members of the opposition and economists, questioned the credibility of official economic growth figures after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported a 3.71% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of FY2025-26, largely driven by a significant rise in industrial output. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday shared the figures on social media, highlighting a 9.38% growth in the industrial sector. “It should not be ignored that this growth is coming despite the 2025 flood shock and absorption of all fiscal tightening, energy subsidy withdrawal, and food inflation,”…

Gold prices fell in European trading on Wednesday, resuming their losses that had briefly paused in the previous session, and touching a two-week low, as renewed correction and profit-taking activity emerged in the final trading sessions of the year, under pressure from a stronger US dollar against a basket of global currencies.   Despite the modest pullback at year-end, the precious metal gold is preparing to post its strongest annual performance since 1979, supported by exceptional and record-breaking demand for gold bullion as one of the most prominent safe-haven assets, amid geopolitical turmoil and global economic shifts that made gold…

CXMT Corporation, parent of Chinese memory chip giant ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), aims to raise 29.5 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) from an initial public offering in Shanghai to fund technology upgrades, as Beijing presses ahead with its drive for tech self-reliance amid geopolitical tensions.The Shanghai Stock Exchange received CXMT’s application for a listing on the Nasdaq-style Star Market, a filing on the bourse’s website showed on Tuesday night. This marks a critical step towards a listing for China’s largest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) designer and manufacturer.The company planned to issue no more than 10.62 billion new shares, the filing said.CXMT’s…

China is set to break its own record in hypergravity research with a colossal new centrifuge that can spin multi-tonne samples at unmatched intensities.The machine, known as CHIEF1900, was built by Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group and shipped to Zhejiang University in eastern China on December 22 for installation. Once up and running, it will allow researchers to compress space and time, recreating catastrophic events such as dam failures and earthquakes inside a laboratory, according to the university.With a capacity of 1,900 g·tonne – a unit that combines gravitational acceleration (g) and sample mass in tonnes – CHIEF1900 will become…

Chinese generative artificial intelligence start-up MiniMax Group has kicked off its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), seeking to raise up to HK$4.19 billion (US$538 million) to support its growth as competition intensifies in China’s fast-moving AI sector.The Shanghai-based company would offer 25.39 million shares globally, with about 5 per cent allocated to Hong Kong retail investors and the rest to international investors, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.Shares were priced at up to HK$165 each, implying a maximum fundraising size of HK$4.19 billion before any greenshoe option, the filing showed.The company said it would start trading under…

Chinese generative artificial intelligence start-up MiniMax Group has kicked off its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), seeking to raise up to HK$4.19 billion (US$538 million) to support its growth as competition intensifies in China’s fast-moving AI sector.The Shanghai-based company would offer 25.39 million shares globally, with about 5 per cent allocated to Hong Kong retail investors and the rest to international investors, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.Shares were priced at up to HK$165 each, implying a maximum fundraising size of HK$4.19 billion before any greenshoe option, the filing showed.The company said it would start trading under…

European aviation giant Airbus won another two major orders from Chinese clients for a total of 90 A320neo aircraft on Tuesday, just a day after receiving orders for 55 passenger jets of the same model from two other Chinese airlines.The orders came weeks after Airbus’ CEO accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron on a state visit to China and mark a big win for the European manufacturer over its American competitor Boeing in one of the world’s biggest aviation markets.Air China, Beijing’s state-owned flag carrier airline, announced in a statement that it would purchase 60 A320neo narrowbody passenger jets from Airbus…

Sitting on the pavement outside the emergency ward of the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases in South Delhi’s Mehrauli, Asha promised her son she would not leave his side.Nineteen-year-old Nitish was reluctant to be admitted to a government hospital, even after doctors said he needed further tests to understand the cause of his sudden breathlessness.He had been struggling to breathe for two or three days – something he had never experienced before – and his family believes Delhi’s hazardous air played a role.“He never complained of breathing issues. I don’t know what is wrong, it must be the…

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks are set to close out 2025 with annual gains for the second year in a row, as a tariff truce between Beijing and Washington mitigated geopolitical risks and China’s growth held up.The Hang Seng Index has risen 28 per cent this year, putting the 89-member benchmark on track for its best yearly performance since 2017, when it gained 36 per cent. The CSI 300 Index of the mainland’s yuan-denominated stocks has climbed 18 per cent, heading for the biggest gain since 2020.The blistering gains caught most market participants flat-footed, with many global money managers…

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks are set to close out 2025 with annual gains for the second year in a row, as a tariff truce between Beijing and Washington mitigated geopolitical risks and China’s growth held up.The Hang Seng Index has risen 28 per cent this year, putting the 89-member benchmark on track for its best yearly performance since 2017, when it gained 36 per cent. The CSI 300 Index of the mainland’s yuan-denominated stocks has climbed 18 per cent, heading for the biggest gain since 2020.The blistering gains caught most market participants flat-footed, with many global money managers…