Month: February 2022

Air Link Communication Limited is all set to begin the production of Xiaomi mobile phones in Pakistan next week, the company’s notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has revealed.

According to the official notice, President of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi will inaugurate the company’s state-of-the-art production facility at Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, on March 4, 2022.

Sources within Air Link claim that around 3 million Xiaomi handsets will be indigenously manufactured while the initiative will create over 3,000 direct jobs in the national market, with the country expected to earn more than $550 million through sales of Xiaomi mobiles.

Xiaomi is a global mobile phone brand and is ranked at 334th among the Fortune Global 500 companies. In Q2 2021, it emerged as the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, beating Apple at that time. Currently, it is the number one mobile phone brand in Europe and other major markets including India.

In an official statement, Air Link said, “It’s a historic event for our country where Xiaomi, one of the largest smartphone companies, is kicking off production in Pakistan by joining hands with Select Technologies Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Link”.

“This production facility is a step forward in the direction of PM’s vision of ‘Make in Pakistan’ and will have a huge impact on Pakistan’s economy resulting in the export of locally-produced Xiaomi mobile phones,” the statement concluded.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has increased the per kilogram price of Liquified Natural Gas (LPG) by Rs. 27, setting the prices at Rs. 234 per kg, while the international LPG prices are fixed at $980 per megatons (MT) after an increase of $108 per MT in Saudi Aramco Contract Price.

The prices per domestic cylinder of LPG and per commercial cylinder have been set as Rs. 2,759 and Rs. 10,613, respectively, for March 2022 after an increment of Rs. 319 per domestic cylinder and Rs. 1226 per commercial cylinder.

During the current government’s tenure, the LPG prices have been increased by 160 percent, resulting in an increase of Rs. 144 per kg, Rs. 1,692 per domestic cylinder and Rs. 6,513 per commercial cylinder.

The LPG consumer prices have skyrocketed to historical levels, as LPG was available to poor people at Rs. 90 per kg with the rates of Rs. 1,067 per domestic cylinder and Rs. 4,100 per commercial cylinder in April 2020.

Chairman LPG Distributors Association Pakistan, Irfan Khokhar, said on Monday, “LPG is the poor people’s fuel and now it has gone out of reach for the poor LPG consumers and poor rickshaw drivers due to this surge in LPG prices on a daily basis.” He regretted, “We will fail to achieve the dream of Green Clean Pakistan if prices do not get under control.”

He demanded the government to resume the operations of Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) in order to save more than Rs. 4 billion.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The first-ever policy for the development of the livestock industry in the country was drafted. Food security, poverty reduction, and increase in national income are among the key targets of the policy.

The policy also plans to increase the current Rs. 53 billion halal meat exports. The share of agriculture in the country is 60.7 percent, and economic growth is 11.6 percent, but the livestock sector has been inconsistent in the past. However, the incumbent government drafted the first livestock policy for food security, poverty reduction, and increase in national income, intending to double the digit growth in the livestock sector by 2025 with the help of the private sector.

According to the policy document, the employment of more than 8 million farmers in Pakistan is related to livestock, and the annual growth of this sector is only 4 percent. Pakistan annually exports halal meat and products worth more than Rs. 53 billion. The policy is targeting to increase the exports of halal meat, milk, butter, and other products.

According to the proposed draft policy, Pakistan has the potential to become a world leader in the livestock sector in the next ten years. In addition, modern organic livestock farming is planned to boost the number of farm animals, which currently lie at 120 million, and legislation will also be enacted to establish Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health Authority. Emphasis has been placed on allocating more funds for research on food safety, and modern laboratory systems.

The policy has also proposed the establishment of model mat production farms. It is proposed to give priority to trade in live animals and livestock products.

Commerce Adviser, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, said that after reviewing the proposed policy, an implementation strategy will be prepared

Source: Pro Pakistani