PPL funds construction of centre for deaf

KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) donated Rs3.24 million to the Pakistan Association of the Deaf for the construction of a centre of excellence for the deaf in Korangi Industrial Area, a press said on Wednesday.

Mobilink to launch tech incubator

KARACHI: Mobilink said on Wednesday it is establishing an incubation centre, which will be set up under the National Information and Communications Technology Research and Development fund.

Report on women economic participation

ISLAMABAD: A status report on women’s economic participation and empowerment in Pakistan was launched on Wednesday at an event jointly hosted by the National Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

The newly launched ‘Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment: Status Report 2016’ emphasises the complex and multifaceted concept of women’s economic empowerment and in using national survey data and qualitative studies documents the status of Pakistani women to different dimensions and determinants of economic participation such as human, financial and physical capital, employment statistics and vulnerability in employment, gender wage differentials and poverty.

Saudi’s Binladin secures bank loan

RIYADH: Construction firm Saudi Binladin Group has secured a 2.5 billion riyal ($667 million) loan from local banks to ease its financial pressures, banking sources aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

Arab National Bank and Saudi British Bank are providing the loan, which Binladin is using to cover redundancy costs for workers it is laying off, back salaries and severance costs, the sources said.

The loan is one of several recent signs of relief for Binladin, one of the Middle East’s largest construction groups, which has faced severe financial problems since last year.

Binladin has declined to describe its financial situation publicly, but Gulf commercial bankers have said they believe it owes local and international banks a total of about $30bn, and some think it may have to restructure some of that debt.—Reuters

China’s Midea makes $5.2bn offer for Kuka

HONG KONG: Chinese appliance maker Midea made a $5.2 billion takeover offer Wednesday for German industrial robot maker Kuka, a move that it says would help it capture a larger share of the “future service robots market”.

Midea said it would offer 115 euros ($130) a share to buy all the Kuka stock it doesn’t already own. The cash offer values Kuka at 4.57bn euros ($5.2bn).

Investors seemed bullish on the offer price, pushing shares in Kuka up a stunning 31 per cent to 108.8 euros on the news.

The Chinese company, which is based in southern China’s Guangdong province, raised its stake in Kuka to 10.2pc in February.

Indirect holdings of Kuka stock bring its current total ownership to 13.5pc.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2016