Mr. Zahid Rafiq, of Habib Rafiq Limited (HRL), the Pakistan’s leading Real Estate & Construction Company, has been honored with the most prestigious Burj CEO Award in Washington D.C, USA by CEO Clubs Network on July 27th 2016. The event was attended by Dubai’s Royal Family, US Government Officials, US Senators and Congressmen, VIPs from all over the world, local and international business executives and Elite CEO Clubs members. This award was created to honor and generate public recognition about achievements and positive contributions of the International Business community. These awards were bestowed upon the top Executives from all over the world in different categories and industries. HRL was the only company from Pakistan to win the prestigious award in Engineering & Project Management category. It is worth mentioning that CEO Clubs Network is world’s largest elite club by invitation only with 16,000 members globally.

TEA plantations have shrunk from a peak of 700 acres a few years back, to around 40 acres, owing to government apathy and marketing problems. 

Meanwhile, the country is heavily dependent on tea imports. More than Rs 31bn worth of black tea was imported in 2015. The import bill of green tea was around Rs 100m. These figures do not include the unchecked tea smuggled into the country. To cut imports, the National Tea Research Institute (NTRI) — established in Shinkiari in Mansehra district of KP in 1986 — started tea plantation on 50 acres of land. 

According to a report, a tea plant remains productive for well over 80-100 years. If managed properly, tea is a highly remunerative crop and no major cash crop can compete with it in net-return per unit area.

Ankara expects Pakistan to close down institutions run by Fethullah Gulen, the US-based religious leader accused of masterminding and backing the botched coup attempt in Turkey last week. “We have called on all friendly countries to prevent activities of this (Gulen’s) group,” Turkish Ambassador Sadik Babur Girgin said at a media briefing on the developments in Turkey after the failed attempt to topple the government. He said the Turkish government had solid evidence that Gulen’s movement was behind the plot.

In Pakistan, Gulen runs a network of about 21 schools and Rumi Forum, an intellectual and intercultural dialogue platform, in addition to having business stakes. His organizations and businesses have been operating in Pakistan for decades. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had said his country would improve relations with not only Russia and Egypt but also with all countries around the Black Sea and Mediterranean.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic Party´s 2016 nomination for the White House on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S.history. Delegates from South Dakota gave Clinton 15 votes, ensuring that she had more than the 2,383 votes needed to win the nomination during a state-by-state roll call at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. After a tough battle with Democratic rival U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton is now the party´s standard-bearer against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the Nov.8 election. Supporters of Clinton say her Washington credentials show she has the experience needed for the White House during troubled times as the United States tries to speed up its economic recovery and faces security challenges abroad.

Two-way trade between Pakistan and the United States was more than $5 billion in 2012. Pakistan exports more products to the United States than to any other country in the world. In fact, American consumers purchased almost 20 percent of Pakistan’s exports last year. The United States also consistently ranks among the top sources of foreign direct investment in Pakistan. “The United States is the largest and most open economy to trade and investment in the world,” said Mr. Fluker. “In fact, the United States government allows Pakistani businesses to export more than 3,500 items to the US without paying any duties on them, including jewelry, most manufactured items, and many types of carpets, agricultural products, minerals, and marble. It is clear to us that trade, investment, and private sector growth are keys to the future of the US-Pakistan relationship.

After disengaging itself from the widespread workers’ protests, the government has embarked on the stalled privatization process. On July 14th, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar summoned a meeting of the members of Cabinet Committee on Privatization to deliberate on the divestment of bleeding public sector units.

Under consideration were the Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA and Power Sector entities. The CCoP approved the sale of residual 40.25pc shares in the stock market listed Kot Addu Power Company Limited (KAPCO). The government called for Expression of Interest (EoIs) in the country’s largest Independent Power Producer (IPP) on July 15. While the investors at the market are looking forward to the prospects of a larger free-float post privatization of Kapco, their joy is the government’s intent to divest part of holdings in power sector entities through the stock exchange.