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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…

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…

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…

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…

A Japanese railway company has launched an etiquette campaign aimed at foreign tourists that taps into one of the nation’s most globally recognisable cultural icons – manga characters – in response to increasing annoyance regarding the behaviour of some international visitors on trains.In April, Central Japan Railway Company, in collaboration with publisher Kodansha, began displaying posters of characters from 17 popular manga series at stations along the Tokaido shinkansen line between Tokyo and Osaka.Each of the Manga Manners posters – featuring the stars of comic books including Sailor Moon, Fairy Tail, and Attack on Titan – is accompanied by a…

MADRID (AP) — The massive power outage that hit the Iberian peninsula on April 28 has reignited a debate in Spain over the country’s plan to phase out its nuclear reactors as it generates more power with renewable energy.As people wait for answers about what caused the historic power cut, which abruptly disrupted tens of millions of lives, some are questioning the wisdom of decommissioning nuclear reactors that provide a stable, if controversial, form of energy compared to renewables, whose output can be intermittent.Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected such criticism, asking for patience while the government investigates what…

ISLAMABAD: Directorate General of Customs Valuation Karachi has revised customs values on the import of iron pad locks with keys from China. According to a ruling (2002 of 2025) issued by the directorate on Thursday, the customs values of lron Pad Locks determined vide Valuation Ruling No.14 of 2019. The existing Valuation ruling is more than 05 years, therefore, an exercise has been initiated by this Directorate to re-determination of Customs values under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969. The meetings with stakeholders were scheduled on March 27, 2025 and April 22, 2025. No stakeholders attended the meeting. Keeping…

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), in collaboration with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Islamabad, held an interactive awareness session on Competition Law. The session focused on the role of competition in promoting economic growth, investment, and consumer welfare. The session was led by Ahmed Qadir, Director General Advocacy and OIEA, and senior officials including Salman Zafar, Senior Director and Head of the Cartel and Trade Abuse Department, Mr. Noman Ahmed, Assistant Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Amin Akbar, Assistant Director, Office of Fair Trade. The event opened with a short video showcasing CCP’s…

KARACHI: Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves witnessed a significant boost during the week ended May 2, 2025, rising by $ 231 million to reach $ 15.483 billion, according to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The SBP’s reserves increased by $ 118 million to reach $ 10.332 billion, up from $ 10.214 billion a week earlier. The improvement in SBP reserves reflects higher inflows, possibly from external financing or remittance support. Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks also recorded a notable increase of $ 113 million to$ 5.150 billion, compared to $…