Month: May 2020

KARACHI: The Searle Company Limited has successfully entered into an exclusive licensing & marketing agreement with Beximco Pharmaceuticals, Bangladesh. Searle is the first and only pharmaceutical company in Pakistan to source the generic version of Remdesivir for the treatment of Covid-19 through the Patient Access Program. Remdesivir is a direct acting broad-spectrum antiviral drug that inhibits viral RNA synthesis. Administered…

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When the world looked to Asia for successful examples in handling the novel coronavirus outbreak, much attention and plaudits were paid to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.But there’s one overlooked success story — Vietnam. The country of 97 million people has not reported a single coronavirus-related death and on Saturday had just 328 confirmed cases, despite its long border with…

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Pakistan government is studying a Turkish model for privatising power distribution companies (DISCOs), under which private sector will be engaged without selling state assets. A committee, constituted by the government and comprising ministers for power and privatisation, is examining a Turkish model along with other models for privatising public sector DISCOs. Under the Turkish model, assets will not be sold…

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As the government, private businesses, civil society, and the public at large grapple with the emerging pandemic situation across the country, an important debate has evolved in many circles regarding the degree to which the scourge of coronavirus (Covid-19) might impact the Pakistani economy. It is a cursory deduction to state that the impact will be severe and large, but…

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Budget-making is in the process. This one is a tough budget to make. Covid-19 demands stimulus; but the fiscal deficit is already too high. The government is asking for no new taxes and demanding stimulus for industries and vulnerable. The government wants higher PSDP spending to generate employment. The IMF has its own tax target and is rightly pushing for…

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ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected economic recession for Pakistan following the coronavirus-related ‘The Great Lockdown’ that would sharply contract the global economy this year. The fund projected Pakistan’s economy to shrink by 1.5pc during this fiscal year, compared to 3.3pc growth in 2018-19. These estimates are generally comparable with 1.3pc decline in the country’s economic output…

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From landfills that were bursting at the seams to remarkably clean cities, Taiwan’s changing attitude to waste has transformed the island’s streets.W Waste researcher Nate Maynard remembers exactly when he realised that bins were nearly impossible to find in Taiwan’s capital city, Taipei. He first came to Taiwan in 2013 for a research trip as part of his environment masters…

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The emissions from the massive clusters of coal mines and power plants in Thar will cause alarming levels of toxic depositions in the region and expose the local population to serious health risks, according to a Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) study. The study, titled ‘Air Quality, Health and Toxic Impacts of the Proposed Coal Mining…

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The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has raised serious questions over the disbursement plan of Rs200 billion to the power sector entities and asked the Power Division to come up with criterion on Saturday (May 30) as to on what basis the payments would be made. The ECC meeting presided by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance…

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