Oil prices fell sharply today, with crude oil near an 18 year low and Brent hitting its lowest since November 2002, as the global coronavirus pandemic worsens and the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war shows no signs of abating.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell as far as $19.92, near an 18-year low hit earlier this month, and was last trading down 3.77%, or $20.70 a barrel.
Brent futures were down 6.7%, or $1.68, to $23.25 a barrel, after dropping earlier to $23.03, the lowest since November 2002.
International crude oil analyst Osama Rizvi stated that oil prices are taking a beating once again:
As we have discussed before, prices will continue to remain under pressure. Russia hinted, last week, about a possible deal with OPEC but later on authorities from Saudi Arabia said that they are still going ahead with their plans to increase production. This shows nothing can be expected in the short term except for the fact that prices will drop further from the level they..
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Dawaai Raises Investment From Sarmayacar and Kingsway Capital
Dawaai, one of the largest digital platforms catering to healthcare in Pakistan, operates as an online pharmacy targeting both the B2B (retail pharmacies, medical stores, and businesses) and the B2C segments across the entire country.
Pakistan’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to be worth at least $3 billion and growing at a double-digit rate (excluding the rampant counterfeit market of $1+ billion). Despite its size and growth, the sector remains extremely fragmented with incumbents including a handful of regional chains and a large number of single-location retail players reliant on an inefficient and expensive supply chain riddled with counterfeit products.
Dawaai instead sources products directly from manufacturers and established distributors to ensure authenticity and subsequently fulfills demand aggregated across the country through its managed end-to-end logistics function.
Furquan Kidwai, a former investment banker from London, started Dawaai in 2013 with a mission to di..
There Isn’t Even a Single Coronavirus Case from China in Pakistan: Mirza
Pakistani students stuck in Wuhan, the former epicenter of coronavirus, are now thanking the government for not evacuating them. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, revealed that while briefing a team of doctors from China at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad.
Mirza said that the government had a massive pressure from their parents, media and the opposition, but it took the critical decision going against everyone’s advice.
We decided — it was a tough decision for us — against evacuating our students from Wuhan. We worked very closely with the Chinese government and just followed their recommendations.
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Now that the disease is spreading Pakistan, the same students are thanking the authorities for not being evacuated from China.
They are requesting us to take care of their families, in the same way, they were looked after by the Chinese government.
Due ..
Zong 4G Announces Free Calls for Its Customers
With customers as its number 1 priority, Zong 4G has stepped forward for its customers across the country. It is now providing daily free Zong minutes to its entire customer base with the intent of connecting people as they stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
To take advantage of this offering by Zong 4G, customers can simply dial *45# and get 20 Zong to Zong Minutes, without any charges at all. The free minutes can be availed on a daily basis by prepaid subscribers.
Zong 4G’s Chairman and CEO, Mr. Wang Hua said,
We take pride in being a customer-centric company and are firm in the resolve of fulfilling our commitment to the Zong family. In these difficult times, Zong 4G understands that the need to be connected with your loved ones is greater than ever. With this initiative, we are ensuring that all our customers, across the length and breadth of the country, can remain connected, absolutely free of charge!
With over 37 million subscribers, Zong 4G is working around the cl..
No End to Lockdowns in Sight as Coronavirus Chaos Continues
Coronavirus death toll in Pakistan has risen to 19 The country’s virus tally has crossed 1,650 Punjab has enacted Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Ordinance Countries are extending their lockdown periods Lockdown lifting in Pakistan remains unclear as well Warning that the US death rate is likely to peak in two weeks, President Trump has extended social distancing guidelines through April 30. Authorities in the UK have also made it clear that some lockdown measures in Britain could last months and be gradually lifted. Both countries are seeing a swift spike in positive cases with the US overtaking China and Italy in terms of confirmed cases and the UK being the 8th most-affected country.
In Pakistan too, the duration of lockdowns remains uncertain. On Sunday, Balochistan CM Jam Kamal announced that the lockdown in the province would continue for another week or more. The AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider also warned that a curfew could be imposed if people failed to follo..
Passing 1500, Pakistan’s Coronavirus Tally Surging by the Hundreds
Early Sunday, Pakistan’s coronavirus tally surged past 1,500. The country has recorded 12 fatalities from the virus so far while the recoveries stand at 28. Punjab remains the worst affected followed by Sindh, Balochistan, KP, AJK/GB, and Islamabad in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
China, the onetime epicenter of the disease, has now been overtaken by the US, which now has over 123,750 cases, followed by Italy that has recorded over 92,472 confirmed cases. In death toll, Italy is leading the world recording over 10,000 deaths followed by Spain with about 6,000 deaths.
In China, the new coronavirus cases are trending lower. The country reported 45 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Saturday, down from 54 on the previous day. Almost all cases involved travelers from overseas with only one case of local transmission.
Here are the latest updates:
10.45 pmHere’s UNICEF Pakistan’s explainer on social distancing 10.30 pmKP reports 4 new coronavirus cases 4 new coronavirus cases..
This is How Pakistani Organizations are Supporting Local Communities During the Coronavirus Pandemic
by Khayyam Siddiqi
While the Federal and Provincial government authorities have taken several measures to contain the Coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan and provide all possible socioeconomic relief to the people during this lockdown, the corporate sector and regulatory bodies have also come forward to facilitate the community in different ways.
The credit also goes to the corporate sector regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), that had advised the corporations during the third week of March to divert their corporate social responsibility activities and budget towards the prevention, detection, and cure of COVID-19.
Companies were also advised to take proactive measures, ensure contingency planning, and mitigate health risks to employees, customers, and communities while making alternate arrangements with suppliers and customers to ensure continuity of business operations.
So, let’s get straight to some recognition of those organizations who have been s..
Off Net Calls Likely to Get Cheaper in Pakistan
The government has decided to slash Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) from the current Rs 0.90/min to Rs 0.70, which would help telcos to keep off-net tariffs low for consumers.
MTRs play a critical role in driving retail tariffs, especially for off-net calls.
In view of the changing market structure of the cellular mobile segment and considering that the last change in MTR was made in 2010, a review of the existing MTR @ PKR 0.90/min was required in Pakistan.
Based on comments, hearing and meetings, the Authority decreased the MTR for all types of calls, that is local, long distance and international incoming calls terminated on mobile networks from other mobile networks or fixed networks from PKR 0.90 to PKR 0.80 on 01 January, 2019.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) official documents, available with ProPakistani, revealed that this rate will be further decreased to PKR 0.70 in 2020.
Subsequently, the MTR will be reviewed in the coming years in line with international..
Here Are Some of The Precautions Mi Pakistan is Taking to Deliver Your Orders
Smartlink Technologies is determined to flatten the curve by taking necessary safety measures and appealing everyone to follow the safety precautions suggested by the government of Pakistan to win the war against COVID-19.
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading all around the world including Pakistan. So to cater to this emerging situation, Smartlink Technologies is closely monitoring the situation and till now Mistore.pk is fully operational.
Here are some of the precautionary measures which are being practiced by the Mistore.pk team.
Packaging
The warehouse team is highly concerned about the cleanliness and recently the whole warehouse was sprayed with anti-bacterial chemicals. All warehouse employees first sanitize their hands before entering the warehouse, wear gloves and masks, and then start their work. All the packing material and product boxes are first sanitized with wipes before being packed.
Deliveries and Collections
Mistore.pk is in continuous contact with logistics partners ..
Xiaomi Delays Deliveries in Pakistan Amid Coronavirus
Many businesses are facing difficulties in operations due to the prevailing situation. Although Mistore.pk is operating 100%, it’s still facing some obstacles in delivering the orders due to recent emergency situation and the lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of COVID-19, which has directly affected the time duration of product delivery.
Mi Pakistan is extremely regretful for this delay, it is completely unintentional and it’s for the sake of the well-being of customers and employees as Mistore.pk is taking certain measures to sanitize their warehouses and products. The employees are also taking the necessary precautions to prevent themselves from this pandemic.
Xiaomi is in contact with its logistics partners, asking them to take precautionary measures against this pandemic. In this difficult time, the company is supporting the decisions taken by the government of Pakistan because this battle against Coronavirus cannot be fought by the government alone. We all ha..
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