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China’s “little giant” manufacturers have been put under a big spotlight at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, with the government work report and lawmakers discussing more support amid an intensifying tech war with the United States and China’s rapid advancement in artificial intelligence (AI).In the work report he delivered to the legislature on Wednesday, Premier Li Qiang vowed to nurture more innovative manufacturing champions, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) occupying technological niches in the global supply chain for specialised products.“We will promote the growth of SMEs that use specialised, sophisticated technologies to produce novel…
When Bonnie Chan Yiting was in Davos six weeks ago for the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual confab, the Swiss ski resort was abuzz with a groundbreaking app that a little-known artificial intelligence (AI) start-up had released half a world away in China.Hangzhou-based DeepSeek rolled out its namesake app on January 20, providing its low-cost large language model (LLM) for free on the same day that the WEF got under way.Within two days, DeepSeek had overtaken OpenAI’s ChatGPT as the most downloaded freeware app on the iOS app store in the US. On Wall Street and elsewhere, DeepSeek sparked a…
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has expressed concerns over a 10 per cent decline in Karachi’s industrial power consumption and has asked K-Electric and National Grid to have additional interconnection for better utilisation of cheaper electricity. Sindh Member (Technical) Rafique Ahmed Shaikh has written a special note to K-Electric, National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) and the federal government to look into the matter. He noted that overall electricity sales in KE declined by 6.6pc in December 2024 year-on-year. Industrial sales, in particular, fell by 5.7pc compared to December 2023 and experienced a significant 9.7pc decrease compared…
ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), recorded a negative growth of 0.87 per cent year-on-year in the week ending March 6 after almost seven years owing to a decline in the retail price of tea and perishable products. Week-on-week, the SPI-based inflation declined 0.09pc, official data showed on Friday. The overall short-term inflation has slowed due to the higher base of last year. Moreover, the prices remained stable for most products, excluding wheat flour. However, the retail price of sugar and edible oil increased despite the decline in the international market. The items whose prices saw…
KARACHI: The government is negotiating a Rs1.25 trillion ($4.47 billion) loan with commercial banks to reduce its bulging energy sector debt, the power minister and banking association said. Plugging unresolved debt across the sector is a top priority under an ongoing $7bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, which has helped Pakistan dig its way out of an economic crisis. “The loan will be repaid over a period of 5 to 7 years,” Power Minister Awais Leghari told Reuters, adding that the term sheets are yet to be signed. The government, the largest shareholder or owner of most power companies, faces…
KARACHI: Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has warned that revoking the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) would be a catastrophic mistake which would cripple the export industry, stifle economic progress and leave Pakistan vulnerable to growing trade imbalances. The EFS is not just a policy — it is the backbone of our value-added export sector. Instead of revoking it due to enforcement failures, the council said the government must tighten regulatory controls, strengthen customs and FBR oversight, and severely punish violators. Revoking the EFS will be an economic suicide, warned PBC chief executive Ehsan Malik in a letter to finance, commerce, and…
ISLAMABAD: At the conclusion of technical talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan has proposed no additional taxation measures, opting instead to recover additional revenues through legal and administrative means. However, the government presented a contradictory stance on electricity pricing, seeking both relief on general sales tax (GST) on electricity and approval for an additional financial surcharge on power bills. Formal policy-level talks are set to begin on Monday (March 10), where an IMF staff mission led by Nathan Porter will formally speak its mind on the revenue aspect. Sources said the Fund’s staff opposed outright the authorities’ proposal…
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said his government was working to provide a conducive environment for investment and business in Pakistan. In a meeting with leading businesspersons of the country, the PM commended their efforts for the country’s development. He also acknowledged their role in creating employment opportunities in Pakistan. The prime minister said the journey towards economic improvement and reforms in all sectors will continue in consultation with business leaders. He emphasised that the consultative process with the business community was aimed at further accelerating economic development. The businesspersons expressed their “complete confidence” in the government’s policies,…
Gold prices fell on Friday even as the dollar fell against most major rivals, but the precious metal is still heading for weekly gains. US unemployment rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, missing estimates of 4.1%. US average wages rose 0.3% in February as expected, slowing down from 0.5% in the previous reading. The US economy added 151 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 159 thousand, but still up from 125 thousand in the previous reading. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at the Chicago University that the…
The Canadian dollar fell against most major rivals on Friday following mixed jobs data. Canada’s jobless rate held steady at 6.6% in February, beating estimates of a rise to 6.7%. Canada’s economy added 1.1 thousand new jobs in February, below estimates of 19.7 thousand, and down from 76.0 thousand in the previous reading. On trading, the Canadian dollar fell 0.5% as of 20:44 GMT to 0.6958. Aussie The Australian dollar fell 0.4% as of 20:44 GMT against the US counterpart to 0.6310. US Dollar The dollar index fell 0.2% as of 20:23 GMT…