Category: Information Technology

Prime Minister, Imran Khan, issued orders on Wednesday for quick resolution of the problems faced by Faisalabad’s textile industry.

During a meeting with a delegation of business representatives and exporters associated with the textile industry, PM directed Minister for Industries and Production, Hammad Azhar, to consult with all stakeholders regarding the setting up of an Expo Center in the city.

He also directed the Ministry of Communications to prepare for setting up a motorway interchange at Chak Jhumra.

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The PM also instructed the Ministry of Aviation to strategize for building Faisalabad International Airport. In return, the business community vowed to increase textile exports to $21 billion by next year.

The Prime Minister commended the industrialists and said, “You are Pakistan’s industrial hub. If you progress, Pakistan will progress.”

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Karachi Port Trust joins hands with Pakistan Railways to sign an agreement with Singaporean LNG Easy (Pvt) Limited for the development of a Virtual Pipeline facility.

LNG Easy Singapore is already in this business and is successfully operating similar projects in China, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

KPT shall allocate suitable berths for this purpose and arrangements are underway for the transportation of ISO tanks to upcountry through Pakistan Railways which will further enhance the revenue stream for both KPT and Pakistan Railways.

The process involves the transfer of LNG from ships to ISO tanks through a Mobile Filling Platform (MFP) and thereafter to their respective destinations. LNG Easy and Metrogas will re-gasify the LNG at end-user premises and will also provide gas storage units.

Aiming at meeting gas shortage in Pakistan through a rapid practical LNG Virtual Pipeline solution, it is expected to result in the provision of much-needed fuel for commercial, industrial and residential sectors of the country. This is also in line with the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the present government and it will surely result in economic, social, and industrial development much needed by the country.

Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi and Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed had agreed in principle in 2019 to work together on this project during a meeting held at KPT. Chairman KPT spearheaded the project and facilitated the same through coordination with all the concerned stakeholders.

The LNG Virtual Pipeline can be the driving force to unlock the LNG market in Pakistan by providing accessible and affordable energy to SMEs and the common man.

KPT’s vision is to provide the impetus to private investors and consumers to establish strategic storages across the country ultimately leading to onshore LNG.

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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to relax the criteria for companies intended to provide GSM or GPRS or Satellite Communication services for monitoring and tracking of containers and vehicles carrying cargoes throughout the journey.

The FBR has issued draft amendments in the Tracking and Monitoring of Cargo Rules, 2012 here on Thursday.

According to the rules, the FBR has released a detailed procedure for the grant of a licence to the company to be engaged in tracking and monitoring of various types of cargo throughout the journey from the port of entry to the port of exit or from one warehouse to another, on a real-time basis.

The FBR has laid down detailed criteria for the companies who wanted to carry out tracking and monitoring of cargo including transit cargo, transhipment cargo and transportation of petroleum products to Afghanistan.

The FBR has specified many conditions for the companies who wanted to obtain a licence for such monitoring and tracking of cargo. One of the main conditions is the financial soundness of the company which has been relaxed and relevant amount has been reduced.

Under the criteria for grant of licence to the applicant, the company shall be in a financial position to undertake the project-minimum turnover of Rs 350 million and financial worth of Rs 200 million. After the relaxation of the condition, it shall be in a financial position to undertake the project-minimum turnover of Rs. 175 million and financial worth of Rs. 100 million.

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A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) was held under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, in Islamabad, on Thursday.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy discussed a proposal of the Power Division related to reform and restructuring of the gas transmission and distribution system.

The CCoE directed the Petroleum Division to prepare a comprehensive strategy for regulatory and policy reform of the gas sector. It was further directed that short-term measures for efficiency enhancement and loss reduction should be immediately implemented.

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The chairman said that for the longer term, a roadmap to a competitive gas market is required where the private sector would perform an active role.

The CCoE also set up a sub-committee for regular monitoring of the overall progress on the reform agenda and implementation of CCoE decisions.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Energy, Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shibli Faraz, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance, Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, SAPM on Petroleum, Nadeem Babar, and other officials of various divisions.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has revised general conditions for the public offer of debt securities by “issuer” including companies, Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), or body corporate.

The SECP has proposed amendments in the Debt Securities Trustees Regulations, 2017 and Public Offering Regulations, 2017 through two notifications issued on Thursday.

The Public Offering Regulations, 2017 apply to a public limited company or body corporate proposing to issue securities to the general public; an ‘Offeror’ who intends to offer securities to the general public and sponsors of the public limited company or body corporate, the ‘Consultants’ to the Issue, the ‘Underwriter’, the ‘Book Runner’, the ‘Designated Institution’, the ‘Banker to an Issue’, ‘Investment Agent’ and ‘Issuing and Paying Agent’.

On the other hand, Debt Securities Trustees Regulations, 2017 provide a comprehensive regulatory framework under the Securities Act, 2015 for licensing and regulation of debt securities trustees (DSTs).

SECP officials ProPakistani that the commission has issued certain amendments to the Public Offering Regulations, 2017 to promote capital formation by facilitating issuers and safeguarding the interest of the general public.

According to the S. R. O.1229 (I)/2020, one of the revised general conditions for the public offer of debt securities is that in case of debt securities other than the commercial paper, it has an appointed Debt Securities Trustee or investment agent.

Previously, the condition said that in the case of debt securities, other than Commercial Paper and Sukuk, it has an appointed debt securities trustee licensed by the Commission.

The SECP has also revised the functions of the ‘Consultant to the Issue’. The Consultants to the Issue” means any person licensed by the Commission to act as a Consultant to the Issue which may also be called Lead Manager or Adviser.

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Pakistan’s e-commerce market is estimated to have expanded to Rs. 234.6 billion in the financial year 2019-20, showing a growth of 55.5 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to a report published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The transaction of the e-commerce comprises of Cash-on-Delivery (CoD), which stood at Rs. 140.7 billion, whereas payments through digital means stood at Rs. 93.8 billion.

The reduced working hours and restricted mobility made it challenging for people to access avenues such as general stores and shopping centers. Therefore, consumers shifted towards e-commerce, mainly since the authorities allowed logistic services to operate under the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Besides, various megastores and shopping centers have either shifted to or expanded their e-commerce platforms for providing their services to customers while maintaining the social-distancing.

However, it seems that the e-commerce industry was not ready to cater to a sudden surge in customer demand due to the COVID-19 crisis.

As a result, a large number of orders were reportedly canceled, and refunds were either not processed on time or were indefinitely delayed.

Since digital payment-based orders are processed on a pre-payment model as opposed to a post-payment model in the case of COD, customers have swayed away from digital payments and towards cash settlement, as they could minimize their risk by holding the payments until order completion.

On the other hand, most of the existing non-retail e-commerce players with digital payment options had to suspend their operations due to restrictions in major cities.

For instance, restaurants had to suspend operations in the initial days of lockdowns, which might have caused a dip in food deliveries.

Likewise, there were restrictions on pillion-riding and ride-hailing services in some cities, causing the overall volume of digital e-commerce sales to fall.

The e-commerce market has shown impressive growth over the past few years. Increasing digital penetration, lower costs, and increased awareness about electronic commercial platforms have led to a significant shift in consumer purchasing patterns over the years.

While similar infrastructure exists for business-to-business (B2B) exchanges, such interactions have so far been rather confined to logistics services. In overall terms, the estimated e-commerce sales in Pakistan have grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 62 percent during FY17-19.

Furthermore, the focus of e-commerce platforms on enhancing the customer experience via feedback and rating mechanism has helped build customers’ trust while forcing sellers and vendors to improve their service delivery and product quality.

Although cash on delivery remains the most preferred mode of payment, the use of debit and credit cards and IBFT has also increased in both volume and value terms during this period.

This progress has continued during FY20 as well, whereas a significant development during the first three quarters was a notable surge in Mobile wallet payments with e-commerce merchants.

Anecdotal evidence also points towards marketplaces as well as one-to-many digital outlets leveraging on the expanding mobile wallets ecosystem to attract customers by occasionally offering special discounts.

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With the arrival of imported wheat, the price of wheat has started to decline in the retail markets, claimed the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to import 1.50 MMT of wheat on 4th August 2020. On the request of provinces, the Federal Government enhanced the quantity of imported wheat up to 2.2 MMT to ensure an uninterrupted supply of wheat at affordable prices.

The import of wheat is being made through TCP and PASSCO on behalf of recipients, which are PASSCO, Punjab, KP, and Sindh. Out of the total allocation of 2.2 MMT, 280,000 MT wheat has already arrived in the country, whereas seven more ships carrying around 400,000 MT of wheat are expected to arrive in November 2020.

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Furthermore, 20 ships carrying 1.4 MMT have been booked and are scheduled to reach in December, January, and February.
Provincial Food Departments have reported downward trends in the retail market prices of wheat and wheat flour. The prices of local and imported wheat have decreased around Rs. 200 per 100 kg.

The price of imported wheat in Karachi has reduced from Rs. 4900 per 100 kg to Rs. 4700 per 100 kg. In the Rawalpindi area, the wheat price has decreased from Rs. 2400 per 40 kg to around Rs. 2200 per 40 kg. The prices of wheat flour are controlled by the respective local administration.

Provincial Food Departments of Punjab, Sindh, and KP have fixed the release price of wheat at Rs. 1475 per 40 kg. The controlled price of flour in Punjab and KP is Rs. 43 per kg (Rs.860 per 40 kg) while Rs. 52 per kg in Sindh. The superfine wheat flour is being sold at Rs.60 per kg in Punjab, Rs. 58 per kg in Sindh, and Rs. 65 per kg in KP.

Furthermore, Provincial Food Departments have enhanced the release of wheat to flour mills from 30,000 MT in the previous week to 40,000 MT as of today. However, this quantity varies as per the requirement of the flour mills. It is expected that due to the arrival of more wheat in the upcoming months, the prices of wheat and fine flour will be further reduced.

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the first Coronavirus self-diagnostic molecular test that not only can be performed at home but it also delivers accurate results in 30 minutes.

According to details, the single-use test kit has been designed and developed by Lucira Health, a California-based biotechnology company.

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In an official statement, FDA Commissioner, Stephen Hahn, has said the action underscores FDA’s ongoing commitment to expand access to COVID-19 testing.

This new testing option is an important diagnostic advancement to address the pandemic and reduce the public burden of disease transmission.

CEO Lucira Health, Erik Engelson, has said:

Molecular tests like Lucira’s are 50 to 60 times more sensitive than antigen tests and are considered the ‘gold standard’ for determining if someone is infected.

Besides self-diagnosis, Lucira’s testing kit can be used in point-of-care (POC) settings such as doctor’s offices, hospitals, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms for all ages.

Lucira Health’s self-diagnostic testing kit will be widely available by March 2021 and will be priced at $50.

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How Does it Work?
The test works by swirling the self-collected nasal swab sample in a vial that is then placed in the testing kit.

Within 30 minutes, the result can be read directly from the kit’s light-up display that shows whether an individual is positive or negative for the SARS-CoV-2, the Coronavirus which causes the COVID-19 disease.

FDA has advised individuals with positive results, which indicates the presence of SARS-CoV-2, to self-isolate and seek additional care from their health care provider.

The post US Approves First Ever Self-Testing Device for COVID-19 appeared first on .

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