Category: Information Technology

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided on collecting Capital Gains Tax (CGT) annually, instead of monthly collections. This will now provide more liquidity to investors for selling shares of publicly listed companies.

Tax filers are liable to pay 15 percent CGT on the sale of shares on profit. Non-tax filers are liable to pay 30 percent CGT on profit. The losses on sales of shares are adjustable over a three-year period.

Prior to this agreement, the losses were needed to be adjusted annually. The National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) collects CGT on behalf of the revenue board. Combined, these factors were causing a lack of liquidity for investors.

ALSO READ

PSX Asks for Rationalization of CGT Structure to Generate More Tax Revenue

This new rule will also benefit the revenue authority through the ease of buying and selling of shares. CGT increases when the stock market is performing well and liquidity is a major determinant for PSX performance. With higher liquidity, the sale of shares will also get a boost, and ultimately aid in higher CGT collection as well.

Continue Reading

State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed local banks to facilitate disabled citizens with special arrangements to provide them access to banking and financial services.

Yet, the local banks are far behind in facilitating disabled persons in Pakistan, limiting their access to financial services.

The banking regulator instructed banks to facilitate customers with visual and hearing impairments through making special arrangements at the branches for them. However, banks have shown reluctance in this regard.

ALSO READ

SBP Reserves Increased by $484 Million in One Week

In 2014, SBP instructed the banks to print all the relevant forms, documents, etc., in Braille Script.

The banks were also directed to collaborate and ensure that in a vicinity where various banks are operating, at least one branch should have Talking ATMs for the facilitation of visually challenged persons.

Regarding this, the State Bank has directed the banks to submit the compliance status by December 31, 2020.

These steps will facilitate disabled persons to avail necessary banking services such as opening and operating a bank account, cash withdrawal, cheque book facility, credit cards, ATM or debit cards, mobile and internet banking, lockers, and extension of loans.

The banking regulator prompted all banks, including Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Development Financial Institutions (DFIs), to construct ramps at all newly opened and existing places of business (excluding Mobile Banking Units) to provide easy access to persons with disabilities and wheelchair users.

ALSO READ

SBP Orders Banks to Relax Conditions Of Verifying Sources of Income For Low-Cost Housing Schemes

SBP has instructed the banks to submit a 2-year time-bound action plan to construct ramps at all-existing places of business by December 31, 2020.

Also, a senior level management committee of the respective banks, MFBs, and DFIs shall be constituted, which will be responsible for monitoring the overall progress in the implementation of the action plan. Furthermore, the quarterly implementation report should be submitted to this committee within 15 days after the end of each quarter.

Continue Reading

A total of seventeen companies have expressed interest in partnering with the Pakistani government to run Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on a public-private partnership, Arab News reported.

The foreign companies that have shown a willingness to partner with Pakistan in this regard include six Russian firms including the METPROM Group, three Chinese companies including the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), four Ukrainian entities including the Ukrainian National Foreign Economic Corporation, and one American firm.

According to the recent statements of the Minister for Industries, Hammad Azhar, the government plans to run the state-owned PSM on a public-private partnership model, with Pakistan as the majority shareholder.

Once responsible for almost half of the country’s steel needs, the state-owned Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi, designed and funded by the Soviet Union in the 1970s, now contributes Rs. 15-20 billion in annual losses to the national exchequer and has been dormant since 2015.

ALSO READ

Government to Sell 1,300 Acres of Pakistan Steel Mills Land

According to Pakistani government officials, PSM infrastructure has the annual capacity of expanding production to three million tonnes of cold and hot-rolled steel.

However, faulty policies and failure to upgrade relevant technology and machinery caused production to drop by as much as 92 percent in the past decade. The dip in demand brought about by the 2008 recession also did not do any favors to the mill, and consumers turned to cheaper imported steel products, thereby further denting PSM’s revenues.

The incumbent government, however, seems bent on turning the loss-making entity around and has also begun to take some highly unpopular decisions, starting with laying off of almost half the workforce of PSM.

ALSO READ

Pay and Pension Commission to Streamline Pay Scales of All Govt Employees

However, the government also believes that once PSM begins to operate at full capacity, it will lead to employment generation. Once the company is performing efficiently, it will not only fulfill local steel demand but would also provide opportunities for Pakistan to export steel products.

Now, the government has caught the interest of several local and international firms in this pursuit of reviving the 19,000-acre facility.

Continue Reading

As expected, the iPhone 12 series has been incredibly well received in the market with global sales exceeding expectations. However, despite healthy demand, Apple is facing supply constraints which is causing a shortage for some of the iPhone 12 models due to a lack of critical components.

According to a report from UDN, the iPhone 12 Pro is currently in short supply and the primary reason for this is a lack of some key ICs for the device. These components are crucial for the device and they cannot be assembled without them.

The report also says that the supply constraint will continue until next year. This is because foundries are currently overwhelmed with orders and their lack of capacity to make advanced process wafers and the shortage of packaging and testing will continue until Q2, 2021.

This is why Apple is unable to keep up with the supply gap for the iPhone 12 Pro, which is larger than the iPhone 12 and Pro Max at the time of writing. This will affect the company’s overall annual Smartphone shipments for 2020 and some portion of 2021 as well.

Moreover, since orders for smartphone components are growing in recent months, Apple may find it difficult to stock up inventory for its iPhones in the near future.

Continue Reading

Pakistan is in talks with different Turkish defense companies for the acquisition of hi-tech drones to consolidate its border-surveillance capabilities.

According to sources, these drones will primarily be deployed on the eastern border that several Indian spy quadcopters had attempted to cross over in recent months for India’s reconnaissance missions.

ALSO READ

FIR Registered Against PIA For Employing Foreign Nationals at Top Posts

Turkey has become a hub of modern drone technologies in recent years and has exported its hi-tech drones to many countries.

Azerbaijan’s military had also successfully deployed Turkish drones against Armenia in the weeks-long Nagorno-Karabakh war that ended in its victory last month.

ALSO READ

Melbourne Stars Sign Young Pakistani Pacer for Upcoming Big Bash Season

Pakistan also intends to acquire Turkey’s ILTER Drone Detection and Prevention System which is the latest technological advancement that can detect drones from distance and jam surveillance devices.

The Pakistani army had also held trials of S-250 and S-350 drones in recent months.

Continue Reading

In an exclusive report shared by Menabytes.com, the Egypt-based truck marketplace Trella is set to start its operations in Pakistan. The online service connects shippers and carriers to facilitate the transportation of commercial goods.

Trella began in 2019 and extended its operations to Saudi Arabia earlier this year where it garnered plenty of attention. The service has reportedly created a reliable and convenient platform for the trucking industry in both Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

ALSO READ

These are the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2020

Trella is a Mobile application based service for shippers that allows them to create and track shipments in addition to remaining in touch with the carrier. The carriers also receive a designated mainframe on their mobile application that gives them market access, order tracking, and performance reviewing capability.

Trella’s new local operations will reportedly be under Saim Chaudhry who previously worked with Uber and had a significant role in introducing the Uber Auto (rickshaw service) and the Uber Moto (motorcycle service) in Pakistan.

ALSO READ

The Aquatic Mall Islamabad to Deliver an Unsurpassed Shopping and Living Experience

Speaking about the launch of the new service in Pakistan, Chaudhry said:

“There are a great deal of cultural, economic, and environmental similarities between Pakistan and the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) countries; they are actually often grouped together. With Trella becoming a key regional player, such an extension seemed natural”.

“The impact of COVID-19 has accelerated the evolution of digital technologies in Pakistan. We feel that we will be able to reach a strong product-market fit now rather than later, and you can gain an early mover’s advantage due to the nascent size of the digital freight startups operating in the massive Pakistani trucking industry,” he added.

Continue Reading

The US-based medical company, Moderna, has issued the detailed findings of the phase-III clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine, revealing that the vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19.

Last month, Moderna had disclosed that its vaccine offered 94.5 percent protection against the deadly viral infection that has killed more than 1.47 million worldwide within almost a year.

ALSO READ

Using the Word ‘Ban’ On Visas for Pakistanis Is An Insult To UAE: Zulfi Bukhari

CEO Moderna, Stephane Bancel, has said that the vaccine will change the course of the coronavirus pandemic by preventing severe infections and by reducing the hospitalization rate.

“The final results of the phase-III trials confirm the ability of our vaccine to prevent the COVID-19 disease with 94.1 percent efficacy, and importantly, the ability to prevent severe COVID-19 disease with 100 percent efficacy,” he announced.

Bancel also affirmed that all age and race groups had tolerated the vaccine and that no serious side-effects of the vaccine had been reported during the phase-III clinical trials.

ALSO READ

Saudi Arabia Appoints Women to Help Umrah Pilgrims

Moderna has also submitted its coronavirus vaccine, mRNA-1273, to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval.

While acknowledging Moderna’s submission, the FDA said in an official statement that its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will evaluate mRNA-1273 in its meeting on 17 December.

Continue Reading