Author: admin

DUBAI: For most tourists, travelling is about creating memories and telling and retelling stories from their adventures. That’s why the travel industry is turning toward technology to enhance their experiences. Many such technologies were on display at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2025, which took place in Dubai from April 28 till May 1. The event observed the theme ‘Global Travel: Developing Tomorrow’s Tourism Through Enhanced Connectivity’. Keeping this theme in mind, The Klick Agency set up an innovation zone in Za’abeel Hall 1 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Tourism contributes 12% to UAE’s GDP in 2024, surpassing US…

KARACHI: Standard Chartered Foundation and British Asian Trust renew partnership to support young women micro-entrepreneurs build sustainable livelihoods With this partnership both institutes will launch ‘Thriving Futures’, a three-year enterprise development programme that will focus on providing support to high-potential youth microenterprises to help build their capacity and attain long-term sustainability. The previous programme enabled us to empower over 1000 young women and men to boost and sustain their Agri-enterprises by focusing on enterprise growth, marketing, quality assurance, digital literacy training which helped to increase the enterprise revenues by 25 percent on average. Building on learnings from the past programme,…

KARACHI The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, the President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, the President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, the Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, Mian Zahid Hussain has said that despite challenges, the country’s economy is stabilizing due to the joint efforts of the government and the armed forces, as evidenced by recent economic indicators and the business community’s confidence. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the Pahalgam attack is a lie and a conspiracy of the Modi government, which is being strongly condemned in Pakistan and around the world. He added that India…

KARACHI: Italian Ambassador to Pakistan, Marilina Armellin, has reaffirmed Italy’s long-standing commitment to supporting Pakistan’s textile industry, describing the sector as a cornerstone of the country’s economic growth and export performance. She emphasized that Italy remains a reliable partner in Pakistan’s decades-long journey of textile development, offering advanced machinery and technology across the entire value chain—from spinning to value-added garments. In an exclusive interview with Business Recorder during her historic visit to the publication’s headquarters in Karachi, Ambassador Armellin underscored the need for stronger bilateral trade cooperation. IGATEX PAKISTAN exhibition concludes “Italy is committed to strengthening this important partnership by…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved Pakistan’s long-awaited 10-year Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP 2025–35), which is expected to save $17 billion through the rescheduling and removal of 7,967 MW worth of projects. However, renewable energy projects (solar, wind, and hybrid) proposed by K-Electric (KE) have not been included in the IGCEP 2025–35. KE has instead been instructed to establish its own tie-line (grid station) to receive electricity from the National Grid. “Generation from Thar and nuclear power is available near KE’s system, and KE can use this to meet its needs. We have done justice with everyone…

LAHORE: Key milestones were achieved in strengthening trade ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh textile sectors during a recent visit, marked by the signing of three crucial Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). The Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PRGMEA) signed MoUs with both the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), while the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) signed an MoU with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Further demonstrating the growing interest in bilateral trade, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh expressed a strong interest in forging an MoU…

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The discussions have taken place in an ornate Kremlin hall, on the polished marble of St. Peter’s Basilica and in a famously contentious session in the Oval Office of the White House.What’s emerged so far from the Washington-led effort to end the war in Ukraine suggests a deal that seems likely to be favorable to Russia: President Donald Trump has sharply rebuked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, echoed Kremlin talking points, and indicated Kyiv would have to surrender territory and forego NATO membership. What’s more, he has engaged in a rapprochement with Moscow that was unthinkable months…

China is assessing whether to start trade negotiations with the United States following representations from Washington, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday, signalling a possible easing of the tit-for-tit tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.“China has noted the repeated statements from senior US officials expressing a willingness to negotiate with China on tariff issues,” a ministry spokesperson said. “At the same time, the US side has recently taken the initiative to relay messages to China through relevant channels, expressing a desire to engage in talks. China is currently evaluating this matter.”If the US truly wanted to talk,…

Apple on Thursday evening delivered solid quarterly numbers on many of the things Wall Street was concerned about — from better-than-expected iPhone sales to better-than-feared results in China. However, a small miss on services revenue was disappointing and knocked the stock down in after-hours trading. Revenue in Apple’s fiscal 2025 second quarter, which ended in March, rose 5% year over year to $95.4 billion versus the $94.7 billion estimated by LSEG. Earnings per share increased by 8% in the quarter to $1.65 versus the $1.63 estimated by LSEG. AAPL YTD mountain Apple YTD Bottom line Apple almost nailed it. If…

KARACHI: Exports as a percentage of GDP have consistently declined while poor Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) could not generate higher economic productivity, said the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In a detailed research in the half-yearly report on the State of the Economy 2024-25, released on Monday, the central bank observed that one of the key underlying issues facing Pakistan’s economy was weak competitiveness. “From a macroeconomic perspective, this is reflected in consistently declining exports (as a percentage of GDP), low FDI, and overall insufficient integration with global value chains (GVC),” said the report. From a micro perspective, this is…