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Bilateral trade with Turkiye surpasses $ 1b in 11 months: FPCCI

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Bilateral trade with Turkiye surpasses $ 1b in 11 months: FPCCI

President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Irfan Iqbal Sheikh Thursday said that Pak-Turkiye bilateral economic and trade relations were improving; whereas the bilateral trade with Turkiye had surpassed $1 billion.

It was a milestone and we could only envisage Pakistani exports to Turkiye growing steadily from here onwards, he added.

It is pertinent to note that a high-profile and large Turkish trade delegation is visiting Pakistan; and, FPCCI has organized a multi-sector B2B networking session for the delegation.

The B2B event attracted top traders from all sectors of both the countries and a total of 350 traders took part in the meetings – encompassing diverse industries; exploration of joint ventures; transfer of knowledge and technology; assessing the trade potential in non-conventional product segments and vistas that will be opened after the Turkish parliament passes that Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA) with Pakistan.

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Addressing the official dinner in honor of Turkish delegation hosted by FPCCI, Suleman Chawla, SVP FPCCI said that Pakistan and Turkiye had never been positioned for more robust, diverse and large-scale bilateral trade growth as they were now due to Pakistan’s accession into TIR Convention for land-based cargoes.

The Chairman of FPCCI’s Pakistan-Turkiye Joint Business Council (PTJBC) apprised the audiences that FPCCI was closely working with DEIK and TOBB for business-to-business and chamber-to-chamber cooperation; and, FPCCI was striving to benefit from Turkiye’s technological advancements in industrial production, quality standards as good as any other European countries, entrepreneurial zeal and exportable goods.

He added that after visit of the aforementioned delegation of Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association (DKiB), which were the top bodies of Turkish traders; and, this visit would result in enhanced bilateral trade and joint ventures.

Ahmet Hamdi Gurdogan, head of the Turkish delegation, Supervisory Board Member of Türkiye Exporters Assembly and Vice President of Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association, said that the delegation comprised of 45 members and they were looking for their local partners for industrial, trade and commercial cooperation. He also apprised that Turkiye wanted to cement trade relations with Pakistan on the lines of Turkiye-Iran trade relations – making full use of geoeconomic advantages; transit trade and capitalizing on land-based regional connectivities.

Cemal Sangu, Consul General of Turkiye, highlighted that Pakistan had a population of 220 million and Turkey had a population 85 million; and, those 305 million plus people and consumers substantiate a bilateral trade volume of at least $5 billion. This milestone could be achieved in short-term and should not take more than 2 – 3 years to achieve; and, the new TGA should enable us to reach $15 billion 5 – 10 years, he added.

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China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

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China wins WTO dispute with Australia over steel products

China has won a nearly three-year-long dispute with Australia at the World Trade Organization over tariffs on steel products that began during a low point of bilateral relations between the countries, and Australia’s trade minister said Wednesday his government accepted the ruling.

Beijing took its complaint to the WTO in June 2021 over Australia’s extra duties on railway wheels, wind towers and stainless steel sinks imported from China. Trade in these products was worth 62 million Australian dollars ($40.4 million) in 2022.

On Tuesday, the WTO panel adjudicating the case in Geneva, Switzerland, found that Australia’s investigating authority, the Anti-Dumping Commission, had acted inconsistently with some articles of the anti-dumping agreement.

Australia’s Trade Minister Don Farrell said in a statement Wednesday that Canberra accepted the WTO’s ruling and supported a rules-based trading system.

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“Australia will engage with China and take steps to implement the panel’s findings,” Farrell said.

“Australia remains committed to a fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system so that the rights and obligations of all WTO members can be enforced,” he added.

They fled kibbutzim after Hamas attacked. Now, many Israelis must decide whether to go back.
Trade tariffs have been a hot topic between Beijing and Canberra in recent years after China imposed a raft of sanctions on Australian goods in 2020 during the most recent nadir in the bilateral relationship. It is estimated that the tariffs cost the Australian economy 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion).

Most of the tariffs have since been lifted as the relationship thawed, but tariffs on wine, rock lobster and some abattoirs still remain.

In April, Australia suspended a complaint to the WTO in a bid to reopen the Chinese market to Australian barley, which had been one of the products targeted by the tariffs and was widely seen as the new Australian government’s attempts to repair relations with Beijing.

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The Australian government has also halted another WTO dispute against China over sanctions on Australian wine worth about 1.1 billion Australian dollars ($720 million) in exchange for a review by China to be completed by the end of March. 

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GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

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GameStop shares fall as video game retailer faces competition, weak spending

GameStop’s (GME.N), opens new tab shares fell more than 14% on Wednesday, as the brick-and-mortar video game retailer reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue on the back of a spending slowdown and rising competition from e-commerce firms.

The Grapevine, Texas-based company also said late on Tuesday that it had cut an unspecified number of jobs, joining Japan’s Sony (6758.T), opens new tab and Electronic Arts (EA.O), opens new tab in a bid to reduce costs as economic uncertainty hits discretionary spending.

GameStop is set to lose more than $700 million in its market capitalization if the losses hold.

As of Tuesday, GameStop’s stock had fallen nearly 12% this year, as the retail and ecommerce environment remains intensely competitive for the company, which was once a mainstay of American malls.

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The company has a total of 4,169 stores as of Feb. 3, compared with 4,413 in January last year.

GameStop was hailed as the pioneer of Wall Street’s so-called meme stocks. The stock’s price rose as much as 100 times over several months in 2021, largely on the sentiment of individual buyers connected through the Reddit (RDDT.N), opens new tab community forum WallStreetBets.

“No sooner has the meme stock craze been resurrected by Donald Trump’s media company enjoying a big share price boost, it’s somewhat ironic that the grandfather of meme has fallen flat on its face,” AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O), opens new tab rose more than 12% on Wednesday, a day after its stellar Nasdaq debut.

GameStop’s first adjusted per share profit in four quarters also failed to lift investors’ spirits. The company’s earnings were 22 cents per share on an adjusted basis for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 3, after breaking-even in the third quarter.

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Exclusive: First Quantum execs discuss investment, disputed copper with Chinese officials

Exclusive: First Quantum execs discuss investment, disputed copper with Chinese officials

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Carnival Corp (CCL.N), opens new tab, (CCL.L), opens new tab raised its annual profit forecast on Wednesday, betting on a record year of bookings for its cruises as the industry has its “revenge travel” moment.

Cruise companies are experiencing all-time high booking rates as travelers switch to cheaper sea-borne experiences over expensive land-based alternatives such as booking hotels or flights, allowing operators to hike prices.

However, U.S.-listed shares of the company, which owns the Cunard and Holland America Line cruise lines, reversed course from premarket and were last down about 3%. They have risen about 94% in the last 12 months.

“This has been a fantastic start to the year,” CEO Josh Weinstein said in a statement.

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“We delivered another strong quarter that outperformed guidance on every measure, while concluding a monumental wave season that achieved all-time high booking volumes at considerably higher prices.”

The company’s first-quarter revenue rose to $5.41 billion, roughly in line with analysts’ expectations.

Bookings for the rest of 2024 remain the best year on record with total customer deposits reaching a first-quarter all-time high of $7 billion, the company said.

Carnival has estimated an impact of up to $10 million on both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for the full year following the Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on Tuesday.

The company said in January that strong demand trends during the year were expected to offset the impact it was seeing due to the re-routing of ships in the Red Sea region.

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The cruise operator now expects adjusted profit per share of 98 cents in 2024, compared with its prior forecast of 93 cents. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1 per share, according to LSEG data.

Adjusted cruise costs, excluding fuel in constant currency, were up 7.3% in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier. 

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