Briefs

Briefs

Paapam, NED sign MoU

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam) and the NED University of Engineering and Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop strong linkages between industry and the academia, a statement said on Monday.

The MoU was signed by Paapam Chairman Mashood Ali Khan and NED University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Afzal Haque at the third edition of DICE-Automotive 2016 last week in Karachi, it added.

The purpose of the MoU is to create a long-term framework of collaboration, cooperation and development of strong linkages between the industry and the academia in the fields of consultancy, training, research and development.

MCC Gwadar revenue collection up 

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The revenue collection of the Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Gwadar has increased sharply by 87 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year, owing to enhanced activities under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The collectorate collected duty and taxes worth around Rs12 billion during July–December 2016 as compared to Rs6.32 billion during the corresponding period of the last year. The collectorate also surpassed the first half target, as an amount of Rs7.1 billion was assigned for the period. Customs officials attributed the high growth to enhanced activities under CPEC and efforts to curb smuggling.

DKT Pakistan holds workshop

News Desk

KARACHI: DKT Pakistan under its Dhanak Clinics initiative hosted a two-day consultative workshop and training on communication skills and linkages development among different stakeholders for the integrated health services, a statement said on Monday.

The workshop, which was held recently in a hotel in Islamabad, was attended by Dr Said Ali Khan, DG Health, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Dr Sahib Gul, provincial coordinator of MNCH, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa along with 25 district health officers and senior directors from the health department, it added.

DKT was represented by Syed Sadaqat Ali, chairman of the Executive Committee, along with senior management officials. DKT Pakistan has close to 1,100 Dhanak Health Care Centres across the country. These areas include districts such as Swat, Malakand, Haripur, among many others, it added.

German, French indices fall

LONDON: Germany´s DAX and France´s CAC share indexes fell on the first trading day of 2017 on Monday, with Dialog Semiconductor, the maker of chips used in smartphones made by Apple and Samsung Electronics, featuring among the top fallers.

Shares in Dialog Semiconductor fell 2 percent after a report said late on Friday that Apple would trim production of iPhones by about 10 percent in the January-March quarter of 2017.The DAX index was trading 0.4 percent lower by 0820 GMT after climbing to its highest level since August 2015 in the previous session, while the CAC dropped 0.2 percent, retreating from Friday´s near 13-month high. The Euro zone´s blue-chip Euro STOXX was trading 0.3 percent lower.

SK Innovation to invest up to $2.5bln

SEOUL: SK Innovation Co Ltd, which owns South Korea's top refiner SK Energy, said on Sunday it will spend up to 3 trillion won ($2.49 billion) in chemicals, oil exploration and battery businesses to boost its global growth.

Kim Joon, president of SK Innovation, said in a statement that the investments would target new growth options and innovate its business, even though 2017 is expected to be a tough business environment.

Under the plan, SK Innovation aims to continue its investment on mergers and acquisitions in chemicals and oil exploration sectors as well as expansion of its battery plants, according to the statement.

SK Innovation said in September last year it would expand its businesses in China through joint venture or mergers and acquisitions of Chinese chemical companies. In 2013, SK Innovation subsidiary SK Global Chemical invested a total of 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) into the Sinopec-SK Wutan Petrochemical joint venture.

Samsung to reveal Note 7 probe results

TOKYO: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will announce this month the results of an investigation into what caused some of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to catch fire, the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported on Monday citing unnamed sources.

The South Korean firm said in October it was examining all aspects of the phone, suggesting there may be a combination of factors that contributed to one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history.

The world's top smartphone maker warned of a $5.1 billion hit to its operating profit over three quarters following its decision to permanently halt Galaxy Note 7 sales in October. Investors and analysts have said it is critical for Samsung to identify the root cause of the fires in order to rebuild consumer trust and avoid repeating the same mistakes.  A Samsung Electronics spokesman declined to comment.