Latest news with #Rs26
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
PIA plans UK flights from Aug 14
PIA's bidding is expected to take place in the last quarter (October-December) of the current calendar year, said Muhammad Ali, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation. photo: file Listen to article The government said on Tuesday that the new buyer of the Pakistan International Airlines would require investing up to Rs70 billion in the loss-making airline over a period of five years but final investment needs would be assessed only after the audited accounts are available next month. Privatisation Commission secretary Usman Bajwa said that the new investors would require to invest Rs60 billion to Rs70 billion over the five years. He made the statement during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization, which was chaired by Senator Dr Afnan Ullah Khan of the PML-N. Usman Bajwa said that new investment will be aimed at financial recovery, operational improvements, and increasing the fleet size. During the last failed attempt to privatise PIA, the government set the investment limit at $300 million and the new limit appeared on the lower side compared to the last time. One of the possible reasons can be the assumption of improved profitability due to opening of international routes to Europe and the United Kingdom and tax exemptions on lease of aircraft. Usman Bajwa said that PIA has decided to start flights to Manchester from August 14 after the United Kingdom lifted a ban on PIA flights. The ban had been imposed after the last PTI government claimed that the PIA pilots had bogus degrees. The advisor to Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali said after the meeting that the airlines total investment requirements would be assessed once the audited financial accounts for end June period are available by mid of next month. The Secretary Privatisation said that there were security concerns regarding PIA's North America routes but efforts were underway to address and clear these concerns. The investor will retain 85% of the bid amount to invest the money in the airline. The government will get only 15% of the bid money. The PIA fleet age has also risen to 18 and a half years and the new investor would have to double the fleet within five years, said the secretary. The CEO of PIA said early this month that the airline was currently flying 19 aircraft. The government had earlier claimed that the PIA showed Rs26 billion profit last year but a report by the Ministry of Finance busted the claim and stated that the airline in fact incurred a net loss of Rs4.6 billion and one-off "accounting profit" of Rs26 billion due to treating past losses as future assets "should not be misinterpreted as a sign of operational profitability". The government wants to sell 51% to 100% stakes along with the management control. It had also made an attempt to privatize PIA last year but ended up receiving Rs10 billion bid against Rs85.03 billion minimum price. The standing committee also reviewed a report highlighting complaints of the pensioners of PIACL. It was also revealed that currently pension liabilities for 6,625 employees of PIA amounted to Rs14. 9 billion. Expressing concern, Chairman Committee Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan remarked that the pension amount was extremely low, asking how people are expected to survive. In response, the Ministry of Privatization stated that pension policies are regularly revised and updated annually in line with allowances. The Chairman directed that grade and scale wise pension details, including the amount received and the distribution process, be presented in the next meeting of the committee The secretary said that the due diligence process for pre-qualified companies has begun and the field visits would start soon. He said that starting next week; pre-qualified companies will conduct site visits and participate in expert sessions. These sessions will include briefings on aircraft conditions and routes, as stated by Usman Bajwa. The Privatisation Commission officials said that the current business model of PIA was not sustainable. They said that the privatisation prospects have increased after Rs45 billion worth more liabilities were taken off the balance sheet of PIA and parked in the new holding company. They said that the last failed attempt will not affect the new bidding process. The Secretary Privatisation said that the government was earlier providing Rs100 billion annually to keep PIA operational. The Committee was informed that the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation (PMDC) is not yet included in the Privatization list. Senator Zeeshan Khanzada questioned why this institution was being privatized. Senators further queried the basis of the privatization decision, noting that the Petroleum Ministry lacks the mandate to privatize the PMDC. Regarding Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), the committee was informed that it is included in phase one of the privatization list approved by the government in August 2024. ZTBL is currently in the process of hiring a financial advisor. The Chairman Committee questioned the delay in hiring a financial advisor, noting that the last meeting was held on January 31st, when the bids were submitted and evaluated. He expressed concern that nearly six months had passed without finalizing the appointment. The ministry responded that the process typically takes six to eight weeks but was delayed due to high fee demands by one party by nearly Rs500 million, which is forcing a restart of the process.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Rs 26-trn debt resolved via IBC
Mumbai: Nine years after the launch of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), India has managed to resolve debt worth more than Rs26 lakh crore, either directly or indirectly, a new report said on Tuesday. Out of the total amount, around Rs12 lakh crore of debt was resolved through about 1,200 cases of stressed borrowers after they were admitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), as per data compiled by Crisil Ratings. However, a bigger impact of the IBC has been in creating fear among defaulting borrowers, which helped settle nearly 30,000 cases involving Rs14 lakh crore of debt even before these cases could be formally admitted by the NCLT. Since its launch in 2016, the IBC has replaced the earlier debtor-friendly system with a creditor-in-control approach. This major shift has made IBC more successful compared to earlier debt recovery methods like the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Lok Adalats, and SARFAESI. Data shows that the average recovery under the IBC has been 30-35 per cent, which is much higher than 22 per cent under SARFAESI, 7 per cent under DRT, and just 3 per cent through Lok Adalats.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Consumer biz fuels RIL's Q1 net to record high
New Delhi: India's most valuable company Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs26,994 crore for the April-June quarter, reflecting a growth of 78.3 per cent over the year-ago period, driven by a bumper showing of consumer businesses. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit attributable to owners of the company stood at Rs26,994 crore or Rs19.95 per share, in April-June 2025 compared to Rs15,138 crore earnings in the year-ago period, according to an exchange filing. The net profit was also 39 per cent higher quarter-on-quarter when compared to Rs19,407 crore earnings in the preceding three months ended on March 31. RIL Chairman and Managing Director, MukeshAmbani said that Reliance has begun FY26 with a robust, all-round operational and financial performance. 'Consolidated EBITDA for the first quarter of FY26 improved strongly from a year-ago period, despite significant volatility in global macros. During the quarter, energy markets encountered heightened uncertainty, with sharp fluctuations in crude prices. Our O2C business delivered strong growth, with thrust on domestic demand fulfillment and offering value-added solutions through the Jio-bp network. Performance was supported by improvement in fuel and downstream product margins,' Ambani said. The firm helmed by billionaire MukeshAmbani continued to post an uptick in consumer businesses -- retail and telecom. While Jio was helped by a rise in consumer base, the retail business delivered steady performance due to an increase in footfalls at its expanded store network. Revenue from operations was up by 5.26 per cent to Rs2.48 lakh crore in the first quarter of 2025-26 compared to Rs2.36 lakh crore in the year-ago period. The mainstay oil refining and petrochemicals business, called O2C, posted a 1.5 per cent decline Y-o-Y due to a fall in crude oil prices and lower volumes on account of the planned shutdown. Segment revenues were supported by increased domestic placement of transportation fuels through Jio-bp, a company statement said.
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
Pakistan develops its first-ever indigenous biomolecule to make anti-rabies vaccine
KARACHI: In a historical breakthrough in health and medical sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has successfully achieved lab-scale formulation of Pakistan's first indigenous human anti-rabies vaccine. This milestone positions the country on the path toward self-reliance in combating dog-bite cases that claim many lives every year. The pharmaceutical industry officials confirmed that this is the first-ever indigenous human vaccine developed from a locally achieved biological molecule, creating a new history in the health and medical sciences in Pakistan. The World Bank supported the project. It was implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Dow University started commercial production of anti-rabies vaccine from Chinese raw material last year, naming it 'Dow Rab'. Now the university has developed its own indigenous biomolecule that will be used to develop the vaccine. This would reduce the country's heavy dependence on imported vaccines worth billion of rupees in a year. According to the university's website, its Linkedin's post, and confirmation by its officials to Business Recorder 'this (the vaccine) purified, inactivated, lyophilised vaccine has been developed from a locally isolated rabies virus strain, marking a critical step forward in the fight against rabies in Pakistan'. With lab-scale success achieved, the project will now progress to the manufacturing of clinical trial batches for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approval, 'bringing us closer to national vaccine production and use,' the DUHS announcement read. Current state of vaccines in Pakistan Speaking at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, the other day, Macter, Director Quality Operations and Biotech, Farooq Mustafa said Pakistan completely depends on imported vaccines, which are donated and supplied at discounted price worth totaling around Rs26 billion a year with the support of GAVI, UNICEF and WHO. The GVAI support is ending by 2031. This will increase financial burden to Rs100 billion annually in vaccine imports that comes to around four time of the federal health budget at Rs27 billion. The anticipated development do not only suggests a looming crisis in the healthcare system of Pakistan, but at the same time provides an opportunity to the country to shift its focus towards achieving self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing indigenously. Mustafa also wrote in an article that Pakistan produces virtually no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines domestically. 'We lack essential seed banks, have minimal university-based vaccine development programmes, and operate with regulatory guidelines that are inadequate for sophisticated vaccine manufacturing. Our clinical trial expertise remains severely limited, creating bottlenecks in bringing locally developed vaccines to market,' he said.
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Health
- Business Recorder
Pakistan develops first-ever indigenous biomolecule to make anti-rabies vaccine
KARACHI: In a historical breakthrough in health and medical sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has successfully achieved lab-scale formulation of Pakistan's first indigenous human anti-rabies vaccine. This milestone positions the country on the path toward self-reliance in combating dog-bite cases that claim many lives every year. The pharmaceutical industry officials confirmed that this is the first ever indigenous human vaccine developed from a locally achieved biological molecule, creating a new history in the health and medical sciences in Pakistan. The World Bank supported the project. It was implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Dow University started commercial production of anti-rabies vaccine from Chinese raw material last year, naming it 'Dow Rab'. Now the university has developed its own indigenous biomolecule that will be used to develop anti-rabies vaccine. This would reduce the country's heavy dependence on imported vaccines worth billion of rupees in a year. According to the university's website, its Linkedin's post, and confirmation by its officials to Business Recorder 'this (the vaccine) purified, inactivated, lyophilised vaccine has been developed from a locally isolated rabies virus strain, marking a critical step forward in the fight against rabies in Pakistan'. With lab-scale success achieved, the project will now progress to the manufacturing of clinical trial batches for the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approval, 'bringing us closer to national vaccine production and use,' the DUHS announcement read. Current state of vaccines in Pakistan Speaking at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, the other day, Macter, Director Quality Operations and Biotech, Farooq Mustafa said Pakistan completely depends on imported vaccines, which are donated and supplied at discounted price worth totaling around Rs26 billion a year with the support of GAVI, UNICEF and WHO. The GVAI support is ending by 2031. This will increase financial burden to Rs100 billion annually in vaccine imports that comes to around four time of the federal health budget at Rs27 billion. The anticipated development do not only suggests a looming crisis in the healthcare system of Pakistan, but at the same time provides an opportunity to the country to shift its focus towards achieving self-reliance in vaccine manufacturing indigenously. Mustafa also wrote in an article that Pakistan produces virtually no antigens for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines domestically. 'We lack essential seed banks, have minimal university-based vaccine development programmes, and operate with regulatory guidelines that are inadequate for sophisticated vaccine manufacturing. Our clinical trial expertise remains severely limited, creating bottlenecks in bringing locally developed vaccines to market,' he said.
