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KARACHI: Speakers at an hour-long panel discussion on the question of “Is textile a rent-seeking industry?” on Saturday could’ve simply said “no” and wrapped up the programme within a minute. But the like-minded panellists, including the owners of the two of the largest textile mills, used the discussion forum organised by the Pakistan Textile Council to dwell at length on the bad hand that the state has dealt the dollar-earning sector. Shahzad Saleem, who serves as chairman of the Nishat Chunian Group, condemned the “persecution” of businessmen — especially in textile and power sectors in which his business group holds large stakes — in the name of rent-seeking. Rent-seeking is a term that’s often used locally to disparage businesses for making profits without contributing to the overall productivity in the economy. The textile industry, in particular, is accused of lobbying the government for access to subsidised energy and cheap financing. The argument is that the incentives it ...

KARACHI: The sentiment on the stock market remained predominantly negative in the outgoing week primarily because of the prevailing uncertainty about the resumption of the International Monet­ary Fund (IMF) loan programme. Arif Habib Ltd said economic numbers released during the week by the authorities showed the GDP grew 0.29 per cent in 2022-23 in sharp contrast to the preceding year’s 6.1pc growth. Additionally, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves fell by $119 million week-on-week to $4.19 billion. The rupee depreciated against the dollar by 0.23pc over the preceding week and closed at 285.15. As a result, the benchmark index of the stock market closed at 40,964 points, down 635 points or 1.53pc week-on-week. Sector-wise, negative contributions came from commercial banking (112 points), oil and gas exploration (70 points), technology and communication (63 points), power (56 points) and fertiliser (44 points). Sectors that contributed positively were food ...

A handout picture shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani attending a meeting with transport ministry representatives in Baghdad on Saturday.—AFP BAGHDAD: Iraq on Saturday presented an ambitious plan to turn itself into a regional transportation hub by developing its road and rail infrastructure, linking Europe with the Middle East. Once completed, the $17 billion project known as the “Route of Development” would span the length of the country, stretching 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) from the northern border with Turkey to the Gulf in the south. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani announced the project during a conference with transport ministry representatives from Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. “We see this project as a pillar of a sustainable non-oil economy, a link that serves Iraq’s neighbours and the region, and a contribution to economic integration efforts,” Sudani said. While further discussions ...

DETROIT: Trade ministers of 14 countries in the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) talks “substantially completed” negotiations on an agreement to make supply chains more resilient and secure, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Saturday. The “first of its kind” agreement calls for countries to form a council to coordinate supply chain activities and a “Crisis Response Network” to give early warnings to IPEF countries of potential supply disruptions, Raimondo told a news conference following a ministerial meeting in Detroit. The deal provides an emergency communications channel for IPEF countries to seek support during supply chain disruptions, coordinate more closely during a crisis and recover more quickly. Raimondo cited shortages of semiconductors during the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down American auto production, idling thousands of workers. “I can tell you I would have loved to have had that Crisis Response Network during Covid. It absolutely would have he...

MOSCOW: Russia’s economy is in a state of “unstable equilibrium”, Russian economic analysts said in a report, with the growth stimuli that prevented a serious slump last year petering out and new drivers struggling to gain traction. Russia’s economy proved unexpectedly resilient when faced with tough Western sanctions last year, helped by rising military production and huge state spending, but a return to pre-conflict levels of prosperity remains a long way off. Analysts at Russia’s Centre for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting wrote in the report that growth drivers that limited the economic contraction to just 2.1% in 2022 were waning and the requisite increases in private investment and commodity exports were not yet bearing fruit. Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2023 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/9Qf7tZD

Kemal Kilicdaroglu & Tayyip Erdogan ISTANBUL: In an attempt to rally his conservative base on the eve of a historic runoff vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday pays homage to his executed Islamic predecessor Adnan Menderes. Erdogan outperformed expectations by defeating secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu by almost five percentage points in the first round on May 14, falling fractionally short of an outright victory, setting up Turkiye’s first election runoff on Sunday. Pro-Kilicdaroglu activists are trying to pierce the air of inevitability surrounding Turkiye’s first runoff, where few believe Erdogan will fail to extend two decades of conservative Islamic-rooted rule to 2028. On the other hand, Erdogan’s visit to Menderes mausoleum takes him back to the man he cited when he called early polls for May 14 in a bid to ease his way to an unprecedented third decade of rule. Erdogan visits Menderes mausoleum on eve of presidential vote as pro-Kilicdaroglu...

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s failure to clear over Rs500 million dues of the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operators has caused fears of the suspension of the bus service, which caters to 300,000 commuters in the provincial capital on a daily basis. Officials told Dawn that the BRT operator Daewoo Pakistan as well as the privately-owned LMK-Resources Pakistan, which is responsible for intelligent transport system, fare collection and station management, had taken up the issue with the provincial government for early resolution. They said the provincial government owed over Rs500 million to both companies. The officials said the government company TransPeshawar, which owned the BRT, had the required funds at its disposal but “political interference” in its affairs was to blame for the delay in payments. Officials say TransPeshawar has funds to clear dues, while more money in the pipeline Caretaker transport minister Shahid Khan Khattak expressed ignorance ...