Business

DHAKA: A fire in Bangladesh that killed at least 67 people in the oldest part of the capital shows the lapses in public safety that still plague the South Asian country despite its rapid economic growth. While the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina touts the garment factories and gleaming office towers in Dhaka’s north side as signs of progress, …

Banks in Pakistan lend to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) selectively and, at times, reluctantly. They have a reason to do so: about 95 per cent of SMEs work in the informal sector i.e. they are not documented. Lending to them is far riskier than lending to a tax-paying individual. That explains why banks offer personal loans generously, but keep …

Basmati rice is Pakistan’s celebrated export. But its production and exports have slipped of late. The absence of research and development makes it extremely difficult for the rice sector to prepare for new challenges. The high status of basmati rice as a major export commodity conceals the fact that its contribution to the economy is below its potential. Without a …

THE emerging consensus on the broad objectives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programme has been reinforced by the meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, held recently in Dubai. However, the prolonged negotiations show that views on specifics and pace of reform differ sharply. This time, based on decades of past experience, there …

Among 35 sectors on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), commercial banks stand out with their aggregate paid-up capital of Rs387 billion and market capitalisation of Rs1.46 trillion. Around two dozen banks are listed on the exchange. The five biggest banks — MCB Bank, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), United Bank Ltd (UBL), Allied Bank Ltd (ABL) and National Bank of Pakistan …

KARACHI: Bankers in Pakistan see negative impact of FATF fresh warning for Pakistan and said the government must understand the full impact of further downgrading from current grey list. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been unusually critical of Pakistan’s efforts to safeguard its financial system from the risk posed by terror financing and money laundering. Former head of …

KARACHI: As Pakistan’s exports to India face suspension after Pulwama attack on Feb 14, the trading and import of Indian goods, on the other hand, has so far been moving at normal pace. Some businessmen, however, want a “tit-for-tat action” from Pakistani government in view of up to 200 per cent duty imposed by India on import of Pakistani goods. …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday reconstituted the board of management of Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd for a period of three years. According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the 10-member board of management is led by Zafar I. Usmani as chairman while three other members included Tara Uzra Dawood, Mohammad Humayun Barakzai and Mohammad Shahid Khan. Ms …

Several companies, including AT&T and Nestle, are pulling advertisements from YouTube over concerns about inappropriate comments on videos of children. A video from a popular YouTuber and a report from Wired showed that pedophiles have made unseemly comments on innocuous videos of kids. The comments reportedly included timestamps that showed where kids innocently bared body parts. YouTube says it disabled comments on …

LAHORE: Even though a controversy over the bidding process persisted, the Water and Power Develop­ment Authority (Wapda) on Friday granted approval to award of contract for the 800MW Mohmand dam project to a joint venture of China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) and Descon Engineering. Wapda also instructed the project authorities to issue a letter of acceptance as per the rules, seeking mobilisation …