Month: April 2020

Baker Hughes reported that the number of oil and gas rigs in the US fell again this week by 64, falling to 664, with the total oil and gas rigs clocking in at 361 fewer than this time last year. It is the largest single-week drop since March 2015. It is the fewest number of active rigs since January 2017. The number of oil rigs decreased for the week, by 62 rigs, according to Baker Hughes data, bringing the total to 562 – a 269-rig loss year over year. The…

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MANILA, PHILIPPINES (3 April 2020)— Fostering greater innovation would bring faster and more inclusive economic growth in Asia and the Pacific, according to the theme chapter of the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today. “Developing Asia invests 2.1% of its gross domestic product in research and development, but there are wide variations across countries,” said ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada. “The five key drivers of innovation are sound education systems, innovative entrepreneurship, conducive institutions, deeper capital markets, and dynamic cities which bring together research universities and…

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Karachi- 2nd April, 2020: Reflecting Pakistan’s growing stature in the international financial space, JS Bank, one of the country’s fastest growing financial institutions won the ‘Best bank for SMEs’ and ‘Best bank for CSR’ awards at the Asiamoney Awards 2020. The Bank has won the Asiamoney Best Bank for SME award in 2019 as well. 2019 was a year of growth and development at JS Bank. While not amongst the largest banks in Pakistan, JS Bank is amongst the top three when it comes to lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Bank’s overall…

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ISLAMABAD: Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) has constituted a sub-committee to deliberate the matter on a summary moved by the Petroleum Division regarding negotiations with the LNG terminal companies. Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a meeting of the CCoE on Thursday. On a summary of the Petroleum Division regarding negotiations with the LNG terminal companies, the CCoE set up a sub-committee to deliberate the matter and report back to the CCoE within a week. The Petroleum Division also apprised the CCoE on the updated status…

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ISLAMABAD: Faced with increasing liabilities in the energy sector, a cabinet committee on Thursday decided to engage with private investors in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals and power projects to renegotiate terms of their capacity payments, return on equity and exchange rate indexation. A meeting of the reconstituted Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) led by Planning Minister Asad Umar decided to direct the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to charge general sales tax (GST) on actual collection of electricity bills instead of just billing to bring down circular debt…

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