Business

KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has welcomed the launch of the latest UK government’s report, by the British High Commission, on Pakistan’s Intellectual Property (IP) regime, noting that its findings strongly validate the Chamber’s longstanding call for urgent IP enforcement reforms. The report, developed by the UK Intellectual Property Office and the Department for Business …

As part of its strategic vision to propel the Asian entrepreneurial landscape and expand opportunities within tech-driven entrepreneurial cultures and diverse economic sectors, ICCD successfully concluded the second edition of the Best of Entrepreneurship Series in Asia (BOE Asia 2025), on September 24, 2025, at Karachi Expo Centre, on the sidelines of the 26th ITCN Asia. The event brought together …

Motorists face the prospect of being charged for every mile they drive under radical plans to plug Britain’s black hole in public finances. The Resolution Foundation — a think tank with close links to Labour — has urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to overhaul motoring taxes, warning that fuel duty revenues are collapsing as drivers switch to electric vehicles. Its proposal …

Rick Stein’s famed restaurant and hospitality empire has plunged deeper into the red, warning that Rachel Reeves’s tax raid on employers is squeezing jobs and piling pressure on Cornwall’s largest private-sector businesses. The TV chef’s group — which includes restaurants, hotels, shops, a cookery school and an e-commerce business — reported revenues of £18.9m at its flagship Seafood Restaurant (Padstow) …

When people think about London’s economy, manufacturing is not usually the first sector that comes to mind. Yet more than 14,000 manufacturing businesses operate across the capital, many of them micro or small enterprises concentrated in a number of clusters across the city such as Park Royal (West London), Brimsdown Industrial Estate (North London) and Maker Mile (Hackney, East London). …

Peter Mandelson’s advisory firm has cut off his voting rights and dividend payments after damning emails revealed the extent of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Global Counsel — the high-powered advisory firm Mandelson co-founded in 2010 — has moved to sell the Labour peer’s 21% stake and reclassified his shares so that he no longer has any influence over company …

Jeremy Hunt has accused Rachel Reeves of dragging Britain into “stagnation and decline” by raising taxes, warning that the Chancellor’s policies risk smothering the entrepreneurial drive the country needs. Writing for Conservative Home, the former Chancellor said it was now “all but nailed on” that Reeves will raise taxes by £30bn in November’s Budget — pushing the overall increase in …

Manufacturers supplying Britain’s defence, automotive, aerospace and construction sectors have warned that businesses will collapse after government-approved energy charges are set to double. From October 1, standing charges and levies on industrial electricity bills will begin to rise sharply, with the full increase landing in April. Energy brokers said non-commodity costs – the fees for using the grid and funding …

HM Revenue & Customs has relaunched a controversial scheme giving it the power to take money directly from people’s bank accounts – including cash Isas – if they repeatedly fail to pay their tax bills. Under the Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD) programme, banks and building societies will be forced to hand over cash owed to the taxman from anyone …

JD Sports has warned Rachel Reeves against any fresh hikes in employment costs, saying further increases would cripple competitiveness and drive youth unemployment higher. Chief executive Régis Schultz said the Chancellor’s last budget had already piled pressure on retailers by raising staff expenses, creating “tension around unemployment”. He urged Reeves not to repeat the move in November’s Budget. “We’re starting …