Member Inland Revenue – Operations, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmad has said that for the next budget, FBR’s priority is to cut the cost of doing business, get rid of excessive taxation, reduce compliance cost and set businesses free so that they could have minimum interaction with tax authorities and could focus on expanding their business and industrial activities.

For the first time since its inception, country’s leading connectivity provider, Zong 4G, has held its Annual Business Conference digitally. This innovative approach was adopted to ensure employees’ safety in compliance with the company’s and country’s COVID-19 SOPs, as Pakistan storms the second wave of the pandemic.

Chairman of National Business Group of FPCCI, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said a reduction in import duties on 152 items coupled with other positive steps are pushing economic activities.

A local research house expects that Faysal Bank Limited (FABL) to be converted into a complete Islamic bank by CY22. The bank received the nod from SBP in 2008. Since then, bank has been converting its conventional branches into Islamic branches.

The Auto sector is back in business due to lower cost of financing, upbeat demand, stable ex-factory prices and overall economic recovery as the 6MFY21 unit sales (PC, LCV & SUV) clocked in at 79,954, up 18% YoY. The month of December was filled with different vehicle launches from new entrants, like the Changan Alsvin (Sedan), United Alpha (Hatchback), MG Motors (SUV), Proton X70 (SUV), DFSK Glory Pro (SUV).

Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, who is visiting Turkey from 12-16 January, held meetings with the senior Turkish defence officials and discussed ways to further promote Pakistan-Turkey defence ties.

The visiting Pakistani dignitary separately called on Minister for National Defence of Turkey Mr.

The online short videos platform is rapidly becoming the content production application of choice for hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis to showcase their creativity, engage with like-minded people, and, in many cases, even kick-start a new, successful career as a broadcaster from home.

As the new year brings with it hope for better times to come, Telenor Microfinance Bank has taken it as an opportunity to further strengthen its ambition to enable a truly digital Pakistan. The Bank remains steadfast on a mission to transform Pakistan into a cashless and financially inclusive society through the power of collaboration and technology.

BankIslami, in line with its vision to enable and promote cash-less and digital payments, becomes the first Islamic bank to go live with NIFT ePay. National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT), one of the largest payment processors in Pakistan launched its services for enabling digital commerce payments (Mobile / Electronic Commerce Payments) through NIFT’s DFS platform under the brand name “NIFT ePay” last year.

Market saw profit booking today after testing 46k level a number of times during the week. The index oscillated between -239pts and +181pts during the session and closed -103pts. Selling activity was observed in Banks, Cement, E&P sectors, which was caused by a host of reasons including a slight decline in international crude oil prices.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at US$ 20,519.0 million on 08-January-2021.The break-up of the foreign reserves position is as under: –

Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan: US$ 13,400.0 million

Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks: US$ 7,119.0 million

Total liquid foreign reserves             : US$ 20,519.0 million

During the week ended 08-January-2021, SBP reserves decreased by US$ 12 million to US$ 13,400.0 million.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has renewed its integrated telecom services license with Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) for next 25 years. PTCL had initiated the renewal process by formally requesting PTA on June 29, 2018. After conclusion of the ongoing discussions, the license is now renewed in accordance with the existing government policies.

Bank of Khyber (“BoK”) which is a leading bank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with 175 branches, successfully went live with the next generation Core Banking Temenos Transact, Digital Banking Infinity Platform, Financial Crime Mitigation and Analytics. The implementation was carried out by Temenos Implementation partner National Data Consultant (“NdcTech”).

International Hospitality Investment Group (IHIG) Pakistan, a subsidiary of IHIG UK, is all set to be the first hospitality and Fractional investment company aiming to go Public Listed in Pakistan, and with plans to launch its IPO in 2022.

IHIG is Pakistan’s first Vacation/Fractional Ownership company headquartered in London, and is primarily involved in development & marketing of shared ownership properties in highly desired locations in Pakistan.

JazzCash, Pakistan’s leading digital payments platform, and KASB Securities, the country’s leading brokerage firm, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote retail investment by easing access to investment products and stock market trading. The MoU was signed by Erwan Gelebart, CEO, JazzCash and Ali Farid Khwaja, Chairman, KASB Securities during a ceremony at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) today.