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Senate body orders fresh audit of solar imports since 2018

A Senate subcommittee on Monday ordered a complete audit of all solar panel imports since 2018 after showing dissatisfaction with a probe into Rs70 billion worth of under- and over-invoicing by two importers through the involvement of commercial banks. After a meeting of its subcommittee, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, led by Senator Mohsin Aziz, announced that fresh reve

Chinese DeepSeek sparks global AI sell-off, Nvidia loses about $593bn of value

Investors sold technology stocks across the globe on Monday as they worried that the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model would threaten the dominance of current AI leaders like Nvidia, shaving $592.7 billion off the chipmaker’s market value. Last week, Chinese startup DeepSeek launched a free AI assistant that it says uses less data at a fraction of the cost of in

Easypaisa Bank gets digital bank licence

The SBP awarded the first digital retail bank licence to Easypaisa Bank on Tuesday. In a ceremony held at the central bank, Governor Jameel Ahmad awarded the licence to Easypaisa Bank Ltd, formerly Telenor Microfinance Bank Ltd, authorising it to commence commercial operations. The SBP chief expects the bank to promote innovation, enhance financial inclusion, and ensure the availability of acce

Green taxonomy framework by April: Aurangzeb

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday announced that Pakistan will have a green taxonomy framework by April. Virtually speaking at the first day of the Pakistan Climate Conference, organised by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), the minister said a green taxonomy framework would provide a rulebook for businesses to understand the classification system that

Question mark over fate of Pakistan Tobacco Board assets

A question is doing the rounds these days about the ownership of research centres belonging to the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) after the federal government’s decision to transfer the organisation’s control to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The board possesses properties spread over 484 kanals in KP, 654 kanals in Punjab and 160 kanals in Balochistan. It has no assets in Sindh. In KP, the PTB has a sprawl