Mobile accessory prices soar in Pakistan as markets depend on Chinese imports are running out of supplies due to coronavirus fears. This includes mobile phone hardware, accessories and spare electronic parts. According to an importer, they have reached a historic low in the stock of supplies. The market has responded to the dwindling supplies by raising prices. LCD screens for mobile phones that cost between Rs900 and Rs1,000 now cost Rs1,800.
Hundreds of trucks loaded with trade goods have got stranded at the Pakistan side of the Torkham border as Afghan authorities have refused them entry without route permit. Pakistani transporters at the border said that the Afghan government had imposed the restriction in response to a similar condition the Pakistani authorities had imposed for all Afghan drivers.
The government of Kenya has shown keen interest in importing mangoes and citrus fruits from Pakistan. This was said by Waheed Ahmed, Patron in Chief of All Pakistan Fruit & Vegetable Exporters, Importers & Merchant Association from Kenya who is visiting its capital Nairobi. Waheed Ahmed said that they have held several meetings with the government officials in Kenya, convincing them about the varieties Pakistan hold for Mango and citrus.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced to provide $200 million financial assistance to Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan programme for youth development. UAE ambassador made the announcement while meeting PM’s Special Assistant to on Youth Affairs Usman Dar today. The financial assistance had been promised by the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi during his recent visit to Pakistan.
In less than a year of its launch in Pakistan, bus-hailing service Swvl has increased its base fare by up to tenfold. Without an announcement, the Egyptian company has increased the fare of a 30-kilometer ride from Rs. 50 to Rs. 200. The company is running a Rs. 100 promo, which gives the impression that the prices have only been doubled.
Pakistan’s overall economic freedom score has increased by 0.6 point, with higher scores for judicial effectiveness and property rights outpacing declines in monetary freedom and fiscal health, says a US think-tank report released on Saturday. The Economic Freedom Index 2019, compiled by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, gave Pakistan 55.0 on a scale of 0 to 100, making it the 131st freest economy on a list of 186.
Transparency International’s Pakistan chapter made a clarification regarding Pakistan’s three spot slip stating that it did not reflect an increase of decrease in corruption. A statement quoted TI Pakistan Chairman Advocate Sohail Muzzafar as saying that the score falling from 33 to 32 was “within the standard margin of error”. He pointed out that score lowered from 88 to 87 for Denmark, which was least corrupt country in 2018 and 2019.
Pakistan starts exporting furnace oil as Byco Petroleum refinery ship loaded with furnace oil left Karachi Port earlier today, according to a senior official the Karachi Port Trust (KPT).
With 5,686 flights in six cities in FY19, Serene Air has grown to become the second largest airline in Pakistan. The airline recorded double-digit growth of 29 percent for passenger traffic in 2019. The airline is in competition with other airlines such as PIA and Airblue to grab the market share which was created due to the closure of Shaheen Air.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange shrinks after Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani’s assassination on US President Trump’s orders. It lost over 800 points to slip below the 42,000-point level—that it had managed to maintain after 15 months. By midday, the KSE-100 dropped to 41,480 points with all top active scrips, including K-Electric and the Bank of Punjab, heading downward in their share prices.