Tuesday, April 22 2025

Surge in complaints against digital fraud
While expressing concern over the rise in complaints against digital and electronic platforms, Banking Mohtasib Pakistan (BMP) Sirajuddin Aziz disclosed that his institution provided relief of Rs1.65 billion to banking customers on Monday. He said the growth in mobile and digital applications has led to increased incidents of fraud. “During calendar year 2024, a major increase was seen in complaints of frauds and cases of account blockage by banks on one pretext or the other,” he said. He said the increase in complaints was also due to the inefficiency of bank services, adding that the respective stakeholders and the State Bank of Pakistan had been made aware of these issues. He said Rs1.65bn relief was provided by disposing of 27,753 complaints against commercial banks during 2024 compared to monetary relief amounting to Rs1.26bn during 2023.
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Monday, April 14 2025

The telecom crunch
The telecom sector in Pakistan is facing a wide range of taxation, pricing, and regulatory challenges impacting its growth, sustainability, and competitiveness. Some of these issues also extend into related sectors, such as solar infrastructure and local manufacturing, and together, they affect the broader business landscape in the country. One of the main challenges is the change in the Advance Income Tax (AIT) rate. While the Finance Act in December 2021 increased the rate from 10 per cent to 15pc, it was later reduced to 10pc for FY22 and 8pc for FY23. This tax only applies to tax filers, but most telecom users in the country are non-filers. As a result, the burden of the tax falls on consumers who are not even legally required to pay it, leading to questions about fairness and implementation.
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Wednesday, April 09 2025

Telcos merger nears settlement
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is expected to grant approval to the merger of Telenor Pakistan with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) if its settlement option is accepted, which comes following intervention from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). PTCL's merger application has been pending for the past almost one year as its management has yet to provide relevant documents to address scores of queries. A CCP letter sent to PTCL lawyer Rahat Kaunain Hassan in the case refers to Section 11(11) of the Competition Act 2010, offering a new settlement option to the company. PTCL sources revealed that the option provided by the CCP included an investment of around $1 billion by the UAE-based telecom company e& (erstwhile Etisalat) that holds management control of PTCL.
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Tuesday, April 08 2025

Regulatory approval for Starlink services awaited, NA body told
Only a provisional licence has been granted to Starlink to provide satellite-based internet services in the country and the final regulatory approval was still awaited, Federal IT Minister Shaza Fatima said on Monday. The statement came during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on IT & Telecom, chaired by Syed Aminul Haque. The minister said Starlink services were expected to be available in the country by the end of this year. Starlink, the satellite internet service run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has recently been granted a provisional licence by the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB). The federal minister said there were no complications in the licensing process, emphasising that satellite internet was a new technology and required careful consideration. A Chinese firm — Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology — has also applied for a satellite-based internet licence, she added. “The government is encouraging competition in the sector.”
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Thursday, April 03 2025

Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok
Amazon has made a last-minute bid to buy TikTok, which faces a US ban if not sold by its Chinese owner, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. The offer arrived in a letter to officials involved in talks regarding the sale of TikTok to appease US national security concerns, according to the New York Times. President Donald Trump has downplayed risks that TikTok is in danger of being banned in the United States, saying he remains confident of finding a buyer for the app’s US business by a Saturday deadline. US media reported that Trump plans to meet with top White House officials on Wednesday to discuss possible solutions. The Times added that its sources said the parties involved in the talks did not appear to be taking Amazon’s bid seriously. According to reports, the most likely solution would see existing US investors in ByteDance roll over their stakes into a new independent global TikTok company.
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