Current Final

Category: Business

  • Pak Suzuki records 62 per cent increase in sales

    Pak Suzuki records 62 per cent increase in sales

    Following the launch of multiple new models in the local auto market, the demand for cars has increased significantly since COVID-19.

    According to a Business Recorder report, volumetric sales in the auto industry have increased significantly Year Over Year (YOY) through the eleventh month of the fiscal year 2022 (11MFY2022).

    According to the data, around 270,000 auto sales were made in the 11MFY2022. It also notes that Kia, Changan, and other new automakers’ sales are not included in these numbers. When their sales are taken into consideration, the total rises to almost 300,000 units.

    With over 130,000 units sold and YoY growth of 62 percent, Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) continues to be in the lead. With almost 60,000 units sold and a YoY growth rate of 59 per cent, Toyota comes in second. Honda ranks third with over 30,000 units sold and YoY growth of 37 per cent.

    Despite the fact that sales have been steady over the previous year, they are projected to start declining in the second quarter (Q2) of FY2023. The automakers also forecast a drop in sales of up to 25 per cent, citing escalating shipping, gasoline, and raw material costs as well as the consequent pricing hikes.

    Conversely, many experts predict that pre-booked orders would help sales stay robust through Q1 FY2023. It would be fascinating to observe how the sales perform in Q3 FY2023 or Q4 FY2023, according to experts, as that is when the rise in automobile and gasoline prices will really start to have an impact on demand.

  • UK inflation reaches 40-year high as food and energy prices jump

    UK inflation reaches 40-year high as food and energy prices jump

    British consumer price inflation hit a new 40-year high of 9.1 per cent last month, the highest rate among the Group of Seven nations and highlighting the severity of the cost-of-living crisis. Rising food prices were a significant factor in this uptick.

    The reading, which increased from 9.0 per cent in April, was in line with the consensus of economists surveyed by Reuters. May’s inflation was the highest since March 1982, according to historical data from the Office for National Statistics, and it’s likely to get worse.

    “Rising inflation is putting further pressure on policymakers to ease the burden on households, while complicating the Bank of England’s task,” Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said.

    Prior to reaching a peak of just above 11 per cent in October, when regulated household energy bills are scheduled to rise once more, the Bank of England predicted last week that inflation would likely remain above 9 per cent over the upcoming months.

    Finance Minister Rishi Sunak responded to the information by saying that the British government is doing everything it can to stop a rise in prices.

    Food and non-alcoholic goods saw the largest annual price increase since March 2009 in May, rising 8.7 per cent, making this sector the main driver of annual inflation in that month.

    The ONS reported that overall consumer prices increased by 0.7 per cent in monthly terms in May, slightly higher than the 0.6 per cent consensus.

    In May, Britain had a higher headline inflation rate than the US, France, Germany, and Italy. Although Japan and Canada have not yet provided data on consumer prices for May, neither is probably going to come close.

  • Sony, Honda form joint venture to build electric cars together

    Sony, Honda form joint venture to build electric cars together

    Sony and Honda have formally signed a joint venture agreement to form an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing company. The new business is named “Sony Honda Mobility Inc.,” with Sony taking precedence over the proven automaker.

    Honda executive Yasuhide Mizuno has been named chairman and CEO, and Sony executive vice president Izumi Kawanishi has been named president and COO.

    As previously stated, the partnership will make use of “Honda’s cutting-edge environmental and safety technologies, mobility development capabilities, vehicle body manufacturing technology, and after-sales service management experience,” as well as Sony will contribute “imaging, sensing, telecommunications, network, and entertainment technologies” in the meantime.

    Honda is lagging behind competitors in EV progression, with the Honda E as its only electric vehicle, but it has recently accelerated its plans. It announced a partnership with GM earlier this year to co-develop a series of affordable electric vehicles based on a global architecture and GM’s Ultium battery technology. Honda and Acura SUVs are expected to be available in North America by 2024.

    Honda also announced last year that by 2040, it will have converted its entire vehicle lineup to electric and fuel-cell vehicles. It will invest $40 billion and launch 30 new electric vehicles by 2030 as part of this plan.

    Meanwhile, Sony has unveiled not one, but two self-designed electric vehicles, the Vision-S EV and Vision-S 02 electric SUV. It’s unclear how Sony Honda Mobility fits into all of these plans, but we should find out more information soon.

  • Tesla sued by former employees for laying off staff illegally

    Tesla sued by former employees for laying off staff illegally

    Former Tesla employees have filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s decision to lay off about 10 per cent of its workforce violated federal law by failing to provide the required advance notice.

    Two Tesla workers filed the lawsuit late Sunday in Texas, alleging that they were fired from the company’s gigafactory plant in Sparks, Nevada, in June. More than 500 workers were laid off at the Nevada factory, according to the lawsuit.

    According to the lawsuit, the workers claim the company failed to follow federal laws on mass layoffs, which require a 60-day notice period under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. They are requesting class-action status for all former Tesla employees who were laid off without warning in May or June across the United States.

    “Tesla has simply notified the employees that their terminations would be effective immediately,” the complaint said. Tesla, which has not commented on the numbers of layoffs, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.

    According to an email received by Reuters, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the wealthiest man, said earlier this month that he had a “super bad feeling” about the financial system and that the corporation would have to cut staff by about 10 per cent. According to online postings and discussions with Reuters, more than 20 people claiming to be Tesla employees said they were laid off, let go, or had their jobs terminated this month.

    John Lynch and Daxton Hartsfield, who were fired on June 10 and June 15, respectively, have filed a lawsuit seeking pay and benefits for the 60-day notice period.

    “It’s pretty shocking that Tesla would just blatantly violate federal labor law by laying off so many workers without providing the required notice,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney representing the workers told Reuters.

    She claims Tesla is only offering a few employees one week of severance, and she is getting ready for an urgent motion with the court to prevent Tesla from attempting to obtain employee releases in exchange for only one week of severance. The lawsuit was dismissed by Musk as “trivial”.

    The electric-car manufacturer, which is now headquartered in Austin, has about 100,000 employees worldwide and has been rapidly hiring in recent months. Many people were caught off guard by the job cuts, which impacted everyone from human resources to software engineers.

    According to reports, The petitioners are seeking monetary damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs, for the 60 days following their termination notice.

    Following the filing of a lawsuit by former Tesla employees alleging that the automaker violated US labour laws, Elon Musk has sought to clarify how many workers will lose their jobs.

    Musk said at a Bloomberg event on Tuesday that Tesla would trim its salaried workforce by 10 per cent in the next three months while increasing the number of hourly workers.

    He clarified that the company will reduce salaried headcount by 10 per cent while increasing hourly staffing.

    The tech mogul said was of the view that the layoffs would affect about 3.5 per cent of Tesla’s total workforce, but that the exact number was “not super material.” He added that salaried employees make up about two-thirds of Tesla’s workforce.

  • Gold surges to Rs147,250 per tola in local market

    Gold surges to Rs147,250 per tola in local market

    On Monday, gold prices in the local market rose by Rs1,450 per tola to a new all-time high, pushed up by the Pakistani currency’s continued depreciation against the US dollar.

    Despite no change in gold rates in the international market, gold rates in the local market increased to Rs147,250 per tola, according to data released by the All Sindh Saraf Jewelers Association. Similarly, the price of a gramme of gold increased by Rs1,243 to Rs126,243.

    However, gold prices on the international market remained unchanged at $1,840 per ounce.

    The price of silver per tola remained unchanged at Rs1,560. The price of a gramme of silver also remained unchanged at Rs1,337.44. When compared to rates in the Dubai gold market, local jewellers said prices in the local market remained below Rs3,000 per tola.

    Pakistani rupee dips to new lows

    Experts predict that the Pakistan rupee will continue to fall against the US dollar and other major currencies owing to concerns regarding the IMF’s $6 billion program’s restoration, the country’s expanding current account deficit, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

    The PKR which lost 32.5 per cent of its value in the current financial year 2021-22 is forecasted to remain under stress as the dollar is in high demand in the market due to economic crises.

    The central bank appears helpless to stem the rupee’s speculative fall, as demand for the US dollar continues to rise due to quarter-end payment strain.

  • Number of railway passengers increases after hike in bus fares

    Number of railway passengers increases after hike in bus fares

    The number of train passengers has enhanced as the cost of travelling by bus or private vehicle has elevated owing to skyrocketing fuel costs.

    Despite a slight increase in railway fares, a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways said that there was no comparison between train fares and bus or other forms of road transportation.

    According to AFP, Pakistan Railways had to jack up ticket prices by 10 per cent on some trains, but train travel was still affordable and convenient.

    On the other hand, due to an increase in petroleum prices throughout the country, bus fares have soared in the last month.

    Sardar Nasir, a passenger at the Lahore railway station, told this scribe that taking a bus with his family was too expensive, so he decided to take the train to Rawalpindi instead.

    Another passenger on the Allama Iqbal Express train to Bahawalpur with her family, explained that the pricing for Bahawalpur by bus was nearly doubled, so she chose to commute by train.

    The booking receptionist at the Faisalabad train station validated that train ticket sales had surged following the increase in petroleum product prices.

  • Pakistani rupee remains volatile as US dollar surpasses Rs211

    Pakistani rupee remains volatile as US dollar surpasses Rs211

    On Monday, the Pakistani rupee dropped sharply to a record low of over Rs211 against the US dollar in the interbank market, indicating that the currency remains highly volatile.

    The rupee’s latest devaluation against the US dollar is the result of panic buying by traders in response to reports that some financial institutions were out of foreign currency.

    According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the US dollar was available at Rs211.21 at 11:03 AM and had closed at Rs208.75 on Friday.

    It is worth noting that the Pakistani rupee has fallen for the seventh working day in a row, losing nearly Rs6, or more than 3 per cent, to date.

    Experts predict that the Pakistan rupee will continue to fall against the US dollar and other major currencies owing to concerns regarding the IMF’s $6 billion program’s restoration, the country’s expanding current account deficit, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

    The PKR which lost 32.5 per cent of its value in the current financial year 2021-22 is forecasted to remain under stress as the dollar is in high demand in the market due to economic crises.

    SBP appears helpless to stem the rupee’s speculative fall, as demand for the US dollar continues to rise due to quarter-end payment strain.

    Monetary specialists attribute the depreciation of the local currency to a widening trade deficit, political instability, and a drop in foreign direct investment. The currency expert believes that the positive news from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will help attract foreign investment, increasing the availability of the dollar.

    Traders expect the rupee to settle in a range of 195-200 per dollar until the end of the current fiscal year 2021-22 if the IMF deal is finalised.

    According to data compiled by Ismail Iqbal Securities, Pakistan’s currency has depreciated by 14.57 per cent against the dollar this year, making it one of the worst performers in the world.

    The worst-performing currency was the Sri Lankan rupee, which fell 43.9 per cent, followed by the Laotian Kip, which fell 24 per cent, the Turkish Lira, which fell 23.18 per cent, and the Ghana Cedi, which fell 22.33 per cent, according to the data.

  • DG Khan Cement to export 50,000 tonnes of cement to the United States

    DG Khan Cement to export 50,000 tonnes of cement to the United States

    Following long and complex certification processes, D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKCL), one of Pakistan’s largest cement producers, is set to export 50,000 tonnes of the building material to the sophisticated US market.

    This is a positive development for Pakistan, which is struggling to boost exports in the face of a burgeoning trade deficit that has steered the rupee to historic depths. The process took almost ten months for the renowned industrial group to complete the necessary certifications for delivering cement to US markets after winning the contract. TXDOT, LDOT, NCDOT, and SCDOT are among the certifications available.

    According to Brecorder, the company’s CFO, Inayat Ullah Niazi, stated that a ship was currently loading cement at a port in Karachi for delivery to Houston.

    It was not easy for the company to meet the contract for a monthly supply of 100,000 tonnes of cement to Texas. In August of last year, DG Khan Cement signed a contract with a US company for the year 2021.

    Since the United States lacks cement production, it imports it from Mexico, Canada, and Turkey.

    Finally. a Pakistani cement supplier has entered the US market for the first time, as demand for the construction material has risen dramatically, with buyers looking for other options in the wake of President Joe Biden’s $6 trillion infrastructure package.

    All of the mega infrastructure in the United States, including roads, bridges, and other structures, would be rebuilt as they were nearly a century ago under the announced package.

    Pakistan exported 4.971 million tonnes cement in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year (July-May), a negative growth of 43.32 per cent, according to export data. Cement exports to Afghanistan were only 813,493 tonnes during this time, a negative 65.04 per cent increase.

    With only 1.478 million tonnes exported, exports to other countries experienced negative growth of 27.2 per cent.

    As per industry insiders, after DG Khan Cement began discovering the US market for cement exports, other larger players began the certification process for their goods.

    According to the latest figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s exports declined by 10.22 per cent on a monthly basis in May 2022, falling to $2.6 billion from $2.897 billion in April 2022.

    D.G. Khan Cement, one of Pakistan’s largest cement producers, earned Rs4.1 billion in the nine-month period ending March 31, 2022, a 26 per cent increase in profit. In the same period of 2020-21, the company made Rs3.25 billion in profits.

    It is worth noting that the business also received orders for cement export to the Philippines back in 2020.

    With a nearly 50 per cent (Rs300 per bag) increase in the last 12 months, more price increases would be required to offset the coal cost impact.

  • Punjab’s ePay system collects over Rs90 billion tax revenue through 17 million transactions

    Punjab’s ePay system collects over Rs90 billion tax revenue through 17 million transactions

    Since its launch in October 2019, e-Pay Punjab, an online payment solution developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and the Punjab Finance Department, has collected over Rs90 billion in tax revenue through 17 million transactions.

    As per details released by the PITB on Friday, e-Pay Punjab has collected a total of Rs57 billion in sales tax, Rs11.5 billion in token tax, Rs9 billion in property tax, Rs4 billion in traffic challans, and Rs440 million in vehicle transfers.

    It’s worth noting that e-Pay Punjab now accepts online payments for 23 taxes and levies from ten different departments. Its 1-Link network integration with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and all scheduled banks makes it a secure and dependable payment channel.

    The e-Pay Punjab application, which has over 1 million downloads, generates a unique PSID number that is accepted by banks across Pakistan through their various channels, including Internet and Mobile Banking, ATMs, and physical branch visits.

    It is also a secure, smart, and fast online payment option for the annual Token Tax. Vehicle owners can use e-Pay Punjab to pay their Token Tax from the comfort of their own homes.

    The app’s primary objective is to make it convenient for the government to gather revenue in the form of taxes through a simple solution. With Pakistan’s first digital tax aggregator, the app demonstrates how Pakistan and its government are rapidly integrating financial technology (fintech) into their processes.

  • SpaceX fires employees involved in letter criticising CEO Elon Musk

    SpaceX fires employees involved in letter criticising CEO Elon Musk

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX has fired several employees as a result of a letter criticising the vocal billionaire’s public behaviour, according to a message to employees confirmed by AFP on Friday.

    SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell wrote in an email late Thursday that a “small group” of employees sought signatures from their coworkers as a show of support for the letter and participation in a survey.

    The mercurial billionaire uses Twitter on a regular basis to provoke, speak directly to customers and fans, and occasionally offend with unfiltered or crude remarks.

    According to Shotwell’s message, some employees felt “uncomfortable, intimidated, and bullied, and/or angry” because the letter pushed them to sign something that didn’t reflect their beliefs.

    “We have too much important work to do,” she continued, “and we don’t need this kind of overreaching activism”.

    The company “terminated a number of employees involved” after conducting an investigation, Shotwell said, without specifying how many.

    Musk’s public behaviour, as well as recent allegations of sexual harassment against him, were cited in the workers’ letter as “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us,” according to The Verge.

    “Elon is seen as the face of SpaceX as our CEO and most visible spokesperson – every Tweet Elon sends is a de facto public statement by the company,” the letter continued.

    Musk, who also runs Tesla, is in the middle of a roller-coaster $44 billion bid to buy Twitter, which has heightened interest in the investor.