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ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan has assured the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) of addressing all their concerns. The SAPM assured this to the members of the KCCI during a virtual meeting aimed to address several pressing issues concerning Karachi’s industrial sector, including electricity supply, water provision, rising gas levies, tax collection problems, and the challenges faced by exporters. The committees were set up following the prime minister’s directives to ensure a focused and systematic approach to resolving the concerns of local chambers and industrialists. “The goal is…

ISLAMABAD: President of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), Rehan Naseem Bharara, called on Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan on Thursday to discuss key issues faced by the business community and explore avenues for trade facilitation. During the meeting, Bharara highlighted the need for comprehensive reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), particularly concerning tariff structures that impact exporters. He proposed that export-oriented trade associations should be given permanent representation on policy-making boards, ensuring that voices from the ground are included in national trade strategies. Federal Minister Jam Kamal Khan assured the FCCI president of the…

KARACHI: Vice Chairman of Pakistan Soap Manufacturers Association (PSMA), Tariq Zakaria held an important extra general body meeting in a local hotel and expressed concern over the new Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which has issued without consultation with stakeholders and in the absence of parliamentary debate poses severe implications for both the business sector and rule of law, which will cause the worst financial crisis, with which the entire business community of the country in its grip. He objected to Section 138(3A) and 140(6A) of the Income Tax Ordinance, which override judgments of superior courts and render disputed tax…

NEW YORK: Bitcoin topped $100,000 on Thursday for the first time since early February, bolstered by a wide-ranging deal between the United States and the United Kingdom in a sign that perhaps President Donald Trump’s trade war with the rest of the world is easing. By midday, bitcoin was trading at $101,329.97, a 4.7% gain on the day. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has clawed its way back into positive territory for the year, although it remains below the record high of more than $109,000 reached in January. Ether, the cryptocurrency for the Ethereum blockchain surged more than 14 per cent…

NEW YORK: Bitcoin topped $100,000 on Thursday for the first time since early February, bolstered by a wide-ranging deal between the United States and the United Kingdom in a sign that perhaps President Donald Trump’s trade war with the rest of the world is easing. By midday, bitcoin was trading at $101,329.97, a 4.7% gain on the day. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has clawed its way back into positive territory for the year, although it remains below the record high of more than $109,000 reached in January. Ether, the cryptocurrency for the Ethereum blockchain surged more than 14 per cent…

KARACHI: Bloodbath continued on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the second straight day as the index suffered the largest-ever plunge, causing almost Rs820 billion loss to equity investors on Thursday after India launched drone attacks in major cities, including Karachi and Lahore. The market capital had lost Rs1.3 trillion in value in three sessions as jittery investors preferred to exit the market amid growing uncertainty about the economic outlook as geopolitical tensions turned into a military standoff after India hit three cities with missiles in the wee hours of Wednesday, martyring over 31 innocent civilians. Pakistan’s armed forces responded…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s export of services grew 9.85 per cent to $6.24 billion in the first nine months of 2024-25 from $5.68bn a year ago, driven by a surge in demand for telecommunication, computer, and information services. Services exports have seen positive growth since February 2024. However, there was a 6.50pc decline in August 2024. In rupee terms, the exports improved by 7.41pc to Rs1.734 trillion in 9MFY25 against Rs1.616tr in FY24, according to statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. In March, services exports recorded a growth of 4.89pc to $743.32 million as against $708.66m over the…

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Foreign shipping lines are gearing up to impose heavy freight charges while some companies have planned to implement emergency operational recovery surcharge (EORS) by middle of this month. Shipping industry people said that CMA CGM has circulated a letter regarding immediate implementation of EORS on all shipments to and from Pakistan from May 15 until further notice (valid until June 6 for US, Latin America and Australia). CMA CGM said this measure has become necessary due to strong geopolitical developments in the region which have significantly impacted on our operations. The surcharge is essential to maintaining the continuity, safety…

NEW DELHI: Wars are about grief and valour and more often than not also about hard-nosed business. Seeing the glitter of gold in India’s nationalist frenzy, four Indian entities applied for the trademark ‘Operation Sindoor’, among them Reliance Industries. On Thursday, according to The Hindu, Reliance Industries withdrew its application for the term ‘Operation Sindoor’. It explained that the application was inadvertently filed by a junior employee without authorisation. It wasn’t inadvertent though that in 2013, business tycoons had created Gujarat’s controversial chief minister Narendra Modi as their preferred prime ministerial candidate. The choice brought rich dividends: promoters got huge…

• NEC to meet on May 26 or 27 to approve development programme• 200 ongoing uplift projects likely to be closed• Ahsan says proper allocations cannot be made for key schemes ISLAMABAD: The federal government will present the next fiscal year’s budget on June 2, with a 16 per cent lower development allocation of Rs921 billion, resulting in the likely closure of about 200 ongoing development projects. This was announced at a press conference by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who disclosed that an indicative budget ceiling (IBC) of Rs921bn for the next year provided by the Ministry of Finance was…