NP newsroom ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has proposed abolishing Withholding Tax (WT) on cash withdrawals from banks, in the upcoming budget, as well the abolition of Super Tax on the banking sector. The state bank made this proposal on the premise that banking channels were avoided most times by businesses and individuals alike because of “such intricacies” …

NP newsroom WASHINGTON: Global remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, a World Bank report has assessed. The projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, …

BERLIN: Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) got approval from a German court on Thursday to continue to cut down forest near the capital Berlin to build its first European car and battery factory, in a defeat for local environmental activists. The court said in a statement it had rejected urgent applications from several environmental groups to stop the land being cleared of …

RIYADH: The coronavirus outbreak may curb demand for oil in China and other Asian countries, depressing oil prices further to as low as $57 a barrel and clouding growth prospects across the Middle East, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) has said. “Before the coronavirus we were assuming that oil prices would average $60 a barrel this year, compared to …

INDIA: Taiwan’s Wistron Corp plans to assemble printed circuit boards (PCBs) for iPhones at its new plant in southern India, highlighting Apple Inc’s push to expand manufacturing in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market. The local assembly of PCBs by Wistron’s India unit will be a first for the contract manufacturer, which began making Apple’s low-priced SE model in the southern …

MILAN/PARIS: Talks between Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI) and Peugeot owner PSA (PEUP.PA) over a potential tie-up that could create a $50 billion car giant, gathered pace on Wednesday, with a the possibility of a deal being announced as early as Thursday. The two groups said in separate statements they were holding discussions aimed at creating one of the world’s leading auto …

NP newsroom The Pakistani military’s media Inter Services Public Relations department said the other day that Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa told a group of businessmen that Pakistan’s “improved internal security environment” had “created space for increased economic activity”. Social media was abuzz with news of the meeting, primarily asking why the businessmen had approached the Army …

• Oil tanker Sanchi collides with Hong Kong registered grain carrier with 64,000 tonnes of cargo • Greenpeace ‘potential environmental damage could be caused by 1 million barrels of crude oil on board’ • Sanchi’s cargo could cause biggest oil slick from a ship for decades BEIJING: An Iranian oil tanker ablaze off China’s east coast was at risk of exploding …

By NP Newsroom TOKYO:  Companies in Japan are struggling to hire and retain staff in one of the most serious shortages of workers in decades. Increasingly unorthodox measures to alleviate the shortage include looking to housewives and retired people to rejoin the labour force. In some cases, it means offering better working conditions for some staff, even if this requires …

  Bristish budget liner Easyjet also at the table BERLIN: Lufthansa’s (LHAG.DE) supervisory board approved plans to invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in up to 61 additional planes to expand its Eurowings budget business after German rival Air Berlin was declared insolvent. Air Berlin’s creditors have selected Lufthansa and British budget carrier EasyJet (EZJ.L) to negotiate over a carve-up …