Briefs

 Briefs

Govt to enact anti-corruption law

KARACHI: The government is determined to get the proposed law against corruption passed through the parliament, finance minister said on Friday.

Ishaq Dar, addressing the brokers at the Pakistan Stock Exchange, said the government would easily sail the bill through parliament despite the hindrances. “We can do it also through joint session of the parliament.”

Pakistani citizens, under the proposed law, will have to declare their foreign assets and the law would be very effective to check money laundering in future.

Minister Dar said the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued 42,000 notices to the companies mostly in Karachi without due consultation with the ministry of finance. “The government is determined to put the things in the right direction within legal framework,” he added.

Zero-rated facility suspended

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suspended zero-rated sales tax facility granted to nine textile units on consuming electricity and gas and directed tax office to initiate proceedings against misuse.

The FBR on Friday issued two different Sales Tax General Orders (STGOs) to suspend the facility. The facility has been suspended on the recommendation of the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Karachi.

The FBR directed chief commissioner RTO Karachi to submit report in respect of action taken or recovery made in the case of misuse of the facility.

The FBR also instructed the chief commissioner to coordinate with the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited and K-Electric to discontinue the zero-rating facility of the units and start charging normal sales tax at 17 percent.

The government is providing zero-rating of sales tax on the consumption of utilities, including gas and electricity since 2007 in order to boost manufacturing and export of textile products.

 Textile Machinery Brand Expo opened

News Desk

KARACHI: Three-day GTex Int’l B2b Textile Machinery Brand Expo opened on Friday attracting large number of domestic and foreign visitors in all occupied Halls of Expo Centre, a statement said.

After continuous and mega success of last year GTex Expo in Karachi and Lahore, the Global Enterprise has organised this edition again in Karachi. Expo will continue till Sunday during 10am to 7pm hours, it added.

World first auto size changing eyelet button hole machine CSA-3630-02 is first time introduced in Pakistan during this expo by United Machinery. On first day, visitors from national and international companies including foreigners visited this latest machine and showed their interest in latest technology and designs.

PIA to fly Boeing 737 800 aircraft

MULTAN: The two Boeing 737 800 aircraft obtained by the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on wet lease from a Turkish operator this week would be put into operation from January 20, a statement said on Friday.

No other airline in Pakistan is currently using this aircraft. The aircraft have been obtained for a period of three months and two more aircraft are expected to join PIA’s fleet in the coming weeks, it added.

The decision to acquire these aircraft had been taken to meet the immediate shortage of aircraft due to grounding of four aged A310 aircraft at the end of the last year.

The narrow-body aircraft have a capacity of carrying 189 passengers in all economy configuration, it said.

The two aircraft would operate six flights on January 20, which include PK-316 (Karachi-Lahore) PK-317 (Lahore-Karachi) PK-306 (Karachi-Lahore) PK-307 (Lahore-Karachi) PK-380 (Karachi-Multan-Islamabad) and PK-319 (Islamabad-Karachi), it added.

Samsung opens new service centre

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Samsung inaugurated a highly equipped service centre for its mobile devices on Thursday at Amma Tower, MA Jinnah Road, Karachi, a statement said.

Samsung Electronics has been opening up numerous service centres in different cities of Pakistan to enhance the level of satisfaction among its buyers.

The authorised service centre in Karachi is also a one-stop solution that promises to deliver complete service, repair, maintenance and genuine parts replacement of all kinds of Samsung smartphone devices and tablets under a one roof, with the expert supervision of qualified and experienced engineers, it added.

UBL honoured

News Desk

KARACHI: The UBL Facebook page, already the top Facebook page for any bank in Pakistan with more than 1.5 million fans, has been ranked No 14 among the global “Top 100 Banks on Facebook”, a statement said on Thursday.

The ranking has been published by The Financial Brand, a digital publication focused on marketing and strategy concerning retail banks. As the only Pakistani bank to feature on the list, this achievement of UBL, once again reaffirms the bank's progressive and innovative brand attributes, it added. Ali Habib, head of Corporate Affairs and Marketing at UBL, said: “Inclusion in this global ranking, that includes some of the most prestigious global banks, is a matter of pride both for UBL and for Pakistan.”

PSO, ABL sign agreement

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Allied Bank Limited (ABL) have signed an agreement to facilitate deployment of ABL ATMs at PSO stations nationwide, a statement said on Thursday.    The agreement was signed by Ghulam Murtaza Sheikh, deputy general manager, New Initiatives, PSO, and Faisal Nadeem Siddiqui, group head e-Banking, DBG, ABL, at the Allied Bank Limited’s head office in Lahore, it added.

Sheikh Imranul Haque, MD and CEO of PSO and Tahir Hassan Qureshi, CEO of ABL, accompanied with other officials from the two organisations were present on the occasion. Under this agreement, the ABL’s ATMs would be installed at PSO outlets across the country.

Oil to push up eurozone inflation

BERLIN: Rising oil prices will lead to higher inflation in the eurozone over the next two years than previously expected, a European Central Bank survey said on Friday.

The report comes a day after ECB president Mario Draghi said it was still too early for the bank to start scaling back its easy money policies despite a recent spike in consumer prices.

According to the ECB´s quarterly survey of professional forecasters, eurozone inflation is expected to rise by 1.4 percent in 2017 and 1.5 percent next year, up from a previous estimate of 1.2 and 1.4 percent. "These upward revisions largely reflect the increase in the price of oil," the ECB said in a statement.

The forecasters also gave their first readings for 2019, when they predict inflation will hit 1.6 percent -- still a way off the ECB´s goal of keeping the rate below but close to 2 percent.

The Frankfurt-based institution has embarked on an unprecedented effort to drive up growth and inflation in the region using a combination of cheap loans to banks, ultra-low interest rates and a massive bond-buying programme.