Briefs

SECP’s VOSS portal gets functional

By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The modified Virtual One-Stop Shop (VOSS) portal for integrated company and tax registration with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has become functional, a statement said on Tuesday.

The SECP assumed the ownership of the VOSS project in September 2016, and 446 companies registered under eServices were allotted national tax numbers between March 6, 2017 and April 4, 2017, on the basis of data provided by the SECP to FBR through VOSS.

The VOSS is aimed at reducing the turnaround time for business start-ups, facilitating investors, and enhancing coordination of activities among the regulatory authorities by enabling mutual sharing of information through a unified web portal. The project was launched on the basis of recommendations made in the World Bank Starting a Business Report, which highlighted the need for a unified registration process for major government agencies in Pakistan.

Earlier, after facing various technical issues in the VOSS software, the SECP modified the VOSS portal for resolution of the issues, and developed the web-services for utilisation by FBR and EOBI in November 2016.

Emirates awarded

News Desk

KARACHI: Emirates’ focus on meeting and exceeding customer expectations both in the air and on the ground were recognised with four accolades at the          Business Traveller Middle East 2017 Awards, a statement said on Tuesday.

At a ceremony attended by key travel industry executives, Emirates was crowned “Best Airline Worldwide”. It was also named “Airline with the Best First Class”, “Airline with the Best First Class Lounge” and “Best Frequent Flyer Programme”, it added.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, said: “Our customers are at the heart of our brand. In every step of the customer’s journey, we thoroughly and regularly examine the product to achieve a high level of customer care.”

UnionPay, Summit Bank sign deal

By our correspondent

KARACHI: UnionPay International has signed an agreement with the Summit Bank to issue payment cards in an effort to support the trade, economic cooperation and personnel exchanges between China and Pakistan, a statement said on Tuesday.

“With the implementation of the Belt and Road Strategy and the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, UnionPay has made remarkable progress in Pakistan,” UnionPay International CEO said at the agreement signing ceremony.

Through this cooperation with UnionPay International, the Summit Bank will change more than half of its cards in circulation into UnionPay chip cards, and will also issue new cards on a large scale, it added.

The cards to be issued are all global payment cards that can be used in UnionPay’s global network while support online payment, it said.

Citi gets licence to operate in S Arabia

DUBAI: Citigroup has obtained a licence to conduct capital markets business in Saudi Arabia, a move that will allow the U.S. bank to return to the kingdom to offer banking services after an absence of almost 13 years.

The business, which will be branded Citigroup Saudi Arabia, will provide a full range of investment banking services including debt and equity capital markets operations, according to a Citi statement.

The licence comes as the Gulf country seeks to diversify its funding resources away from oil revenues under its National Transformation Plan. "Saudi Arabia has embarked on a profound economic transformation journey and we are excited and committed to contributing to this endeavour," said Jim Cowles, Citi’s CEO for Europe Middle East and AfricaCiti, which had formally applied for a licence, is not the only international bank seeking to expand in Saudi Arabia.

Global lenders such as Credit Suisse are also exploring the possibility of obtaining banking licences as a number of investment opportunities open up in the kingdom.

The most notable is the government´s plan to list up to 5 percent of oil giant Saudi Aramco in an initial public share offering that could raise as much as $100 billion. Citi exited Saudi Arabia in 2004, when it sold a 20 percent stake in Samba Financial Group.

In 2015, it obtained permission from the Saudi regulator to invest directly in the country´s stock market. On April 17, the bank appointed Carmen Haddad as head of the bank´s Saudi Arabia business, with the mandate to lead the bank´s strategy and business development in the kingdom.

There are over a dozen licensed foreign bank branches in Saudi Arabia, including Deutsche Bank , BNP Paribas , JPMorgan Chase and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to the Saudi central bank´s website.

Novartis Q1 profit slips

ZURICH: Novartis´s first-quarter core net income fell 4 percent, it said on Tuesday, as the Swiss drugmaker´s spending to kick start sales at its eyecare unit Alcon and for its heart failure drug Entresto weighed on earnings.

Core net income fell to $2.69 billion, Novartis said, beating the $2.67 billion average estimate of analysts in a Reuters poll. Sales fell 1 percent to $11.54 billion, compared to the $11.6 billion average estimate in the poll.

The company confirmed its 2017 outlook, with core operating income expected to be broadly in line with last year or to decline at a low-single-digit rate.

Chief Executive Joe Jimenez has called 2017 another transition year for the Basel-based drugmaker as it spends on Alcon to arrest a sales slump and on slow-starting Entresto, while absorbing falling revenue from its patent-expired cancer drug Gleevec.

Toshiba to start taking bids in June

TOKYO: Japan´s Toshiba Corp will start taking bids for Landis+Gyr, its Swiss smart meter unit, as early as June, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.

Hitachi Ltd and other Japanese firms are seen as possible bidders for the unit, Kyodo said, without citing sources. Reuters last month reported that Toshiba had hired UBS to explore a sale or an initial public offering of the business, potentially valued at over $2 billion.

Toshiba is targeting buyout groups such as Carlyle, Cinven, Advent, Blackstone, Bain, Onex , Triton, CD&R and even former owner KKR, a person close to the matter said. A Toshiba spokesman did not have an immediate comment on the report.

S Korea GDP growth to bounce sharply

SEOUL: South Korea´s economic growth likely accelerated at a sharper pace in the first three months of the year than the previous quarter as exports and capital investment tracked a recovery in the global economy. The local economy is expected to have expanded by a median 0.7 percent over January-March in seasonally adjusted terms from the previous quarter, according to a Reuters poll.

On a yearly basis, respondents predicted a median 2.6 percent rise. While North Korean provocations, a diplomatic spat with China and ongoing corporate restructuring present downside risks to the economy, a new president, to be elected May 9, is likely to boost government spending, which should be supportive of growth this year.