Pakistan aims for $6bln IT exports
ISLAMABAD: The government and Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) are aiming to cross information technology exports worth $6 billion by 2020, State Minister for IT and Telecom Anusha Rehman Khan said.
Talking to newsmen after inauguration of the National Incubation Center, the minister said that the target of $6 billion in IT exports and IT-enabled services will be achieved by registering new companies and getting their financial documents and by creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and companies to develop new products and services for export purposes.
The National Incubation Center inaugurated in the federal capital alone is going to harbor and prepare 40 startups every year, she said.
No duty on chemical imports urged
By our correspondent
KARACHI: Pakistan Chemical and Dyes Merchants Association (PCDMA) urged the government to lift anti-dumping duty on the import of hydrogen peroxide because of its shortage.
Chairman Khwaja Arif Kapoor of PCDMA said local manufacturer of hydrogen per oxide created monopoly following the imposition of anti-dumping duty and increased prices.
Kapoor said only two units are manufacturing the raw material and one was shut. It would not be possible for the unit to resume manufacturing activities in next three months, he said. Taking advantage of the situation, the manufacturer increased the prices of raw material 20 percent.
The association chairman feared that the export sector especially textile industries will not be able to deadline for their orders.
SECMC initiates drive
News Desk
KARACHI: Under its skill development campaign, “Hunarmand Thar, Khushhaal Pakistan”, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) together with its partners has initiated another landmark drive for the employment of experienced local HTV drivers for its mining project in Thar Coal Block II, a statement said on Wednesday.
Under this drive, a five-day campaign will run to select 200+ experienced HTV licensed drivers from Tharparkar District, Umerkot and adjoining districts who will be considered for further evaluation.
Upon successful completion of the weeklong selection drive and subsequent evaluation by SECMC’s third party contractor and China Machinery and Engineering Corporation (CMEC) who are the EPC Contractor for Mining Project in Thar Block-II, these drivers will be inducted in the mining project in Block II, it added.
Unilever buys Dollar Shave Club
NEW YORK: Unilever Plc said it has agreed to buy razor-maker Dollar Shave Club in a deal that would expand the consumer goods group's catalog of men's grooming products.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in a statement released Tuesday evening. Unilever approached Dollar Shave Club for the deal and is paying $1 billion in cash for the Venice, California-based company, business magazine Fortune reported, citing sources.
Unilever and Dollar Shave Club were not available to confirm the report outside regular market hours. Dollar Shave Club founder Michael Dublin will continue to be the chief executive of the company after the deal that is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.
The Anglo-Dutch maker of personal care products such as Axe, Dove, and Pond's, is one of the biggest companies in its sector worldwide and competes with other giants like Procter & Gamble Co and Colgate-Palmolive Co. In December, P&G-owned razor brand Gillette filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Dollar Shave.
China Film plans $612 mlnIPO
HONG KONG: China Film Co Ltd, the country´s biggest film distributor, said on Wednesday it aimed to raise 4.09 billion yuan ($612 million) in an initial public offering, in what would be the largest in the nation´s cinema business.
The China unit of state-owned China Film Group Corp plans to issue up to 467 million shares in Shanghai, representing 25.01 percent of its issued share capital, according to its prospectus filed with the Shanghai bourse.
Proceeds will be used to develop its digital cinema business, replenish working capital and repay loans.
China Securities is the sponsor of the issue. The company will set the issue price on July 26, while the trading debut is set to be in early August. China Film said it had distributed 790 local movies and 223 imported movies in the past three years, accounting for 58.27 percent of the market. It controls three cinema lines in the mainland, and invests in four others.
Turkey blocks access to WikiLeaks
ISTANBUL: Turkey's Internet watchdog has blocked access to the WikiLeaks website in Turkey, it said, after the whistleblower organization released nearly 300,000 emails from the ruling AK Party. The Telecommunications Communications Board said on Wednesday that an "administrative measure" had been taken against the website - the term it commonly uses when blocking access to sites.
Twitter announces crackdown
NEW YORK: Twitter Inc said Tuesday it had moved to permanently suspend a number of user accounts for abuse and harassment after Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones on Monday drew renewed attention to the issue and announced she would quit the social media site.
Jones retweeted and shared several abusive tweets she received Monday before telling her 250,000 followers: "I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the shit I got today... wrong."