Indian technology startups are having the best year so far as they set a record of raising $11.3 billion after the downfall in 2016 when the startups only accumulated $4.3 billion i.e. $3.6 billion less from the year before. According to the research firm Tracxn, startups with consumer-facing offerings including financial services have attracted most of the venture capital this year with $8.2 billion, followed by retail startups and enterprise service providers.
Sales of petroleum products dropped to a six-and-a-half-year low at 4.42 million tons in the quarter ended September 30, 2019, as a contraction in industrial output. Moreover, this is the eighth successive quarter in which oil sales continued to fall in the country. Major decline in sales of furnace oil and high-speed diesel was also witnessed due to lack of requirement in power generation and drop in vehicle sales.
The State Bank of Pakistan has granted an in-principle approval to NayaPay to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in Pakistan. The approval will enable the company to “commence pilot phase of transactions in a controlled environment and under the SBP’s supervision to seek approval for the commercial launch of its services”. With NayaPay, customers will be able to open e-money accounts.
Pakistan has been listed among the ‘Top-20 improvers in Doing Business for the year 2020’ by World Bank. A statement by the World Bank said, “Pakistan improved in six areas measured by Doing Business—starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders—reflecting the country’s development of an ambitious reform strategy.”
Hira Jalal, ACCA, founder of Finperial, organized a financial literacy seminar for entrepreneurs in Islamabad on 14th September, 2019. The event was held at WeCreate Centre and was attended by 70+ startup founders. The seminar touched upon numerous accounting standards and included topics related to bookkeeping, financial statements, budgeting, break-even analysis, FBR, SECP or any other financial fundamentals.
Atoms, a Pakistani e-commerce brand and one of the trailblazers in the world of footwear, has raised $8.1 million from a list of illustrious backers to bring its concept to the masses. The company has been selling directly to consumers in the US via its website and at one point had a list of nearly 40,000 people waiting to buy.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) management has laid off nearly 1,000 surplus employees in order to reduce operational cost. The staff which has been termed “redundant” by PIA President Arshad Malik, was laid off on cost cutting recommendations of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh. Dr Sheikh asked PIA to effectively utilise its assets, improve revenue streams and ensure efficiency and financial discipline.
The government is ready to establish a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Haripur in collaboration with the private sector, dropping the idea of privatizing the Telephone Industry of Pakistan (TIP). To fully realize the potential of IT sector, talks are underway with five to six different Chinese companies for establishing a mobile handset manufacturing plant.
PTI leader and former finance minister Asad Umar has said that according to his assessment inflation rates would peak in next two to four months. While speaking on a local news channel, Umar said that after few months, slowly inflation rate would start going down, which would be reflected in monetary policy and hence, interest rates would also go down.
Pakistan and China have decided to enter into an agreement to control misdeclaration at the country’s ports, as the menace has been causing massive revenue and foreign investment loss. In order to control corruption within the customs department and reduce misdeclaration, the two countries will automate the port data and declaration system. Currently, 62% of declared goods at port showed discrepancies.