IMF grants Pakistan green light for deferred electricity payments, calls for 50% gas price hike

Morning! We found the coolest Instagram account ever and it happened to be 🥁 *drumrolls* 🥁 Itla’s Instagram! We have finally decided to stop procrastinating and started posting. Give it a follow as we have some super exciting stuff planned you won't want to miss out on 🚀

In this week’s edition:

🤝🏻 Summit showdown

🥴 A mixed deal

💔 Another break-up

💡 Influencers get influenced

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

G20’s top 5

The G20 Summit – where world leaders gathered, chatted, and maybe even dropped a few hints about changing the name of a whole a*s country.

Summit showdown:

• The G20 welcomed the African Union (AU) as its newest member during the summit. This expansion was significant as it added representation from a region with a collective GDP of $3 trillion and 1.4 billion people.

• All talks, no action on climate change (as usual). While the G20 leaders backed tripling global renewable energy by 2030 and limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, they failed to agree on how they are going to do that.

• A broad alliance, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, unveiled plans for a modern-day Spice Route, connecting Europe, the Middle East, and India. This initiative aims to boost infrastructure and trade, potentially normalizing relations between Israel and Gulf Arab states.

• At the G20 Summit, world leaders managed to reach a diplomatic compromise on the Ukraine conflict. Despite pre-summit disputes, leaders avoided directly slamming Russia, opting to condemn territorial aggression.

• PM Modi raised eyebrows by using "Bharat" instead of "India" at the G20's start, sparking talk of a possible name change. He also warmly greeted delegates as G20 President, referring to the nation as "Bharat."

TLDR: The G20 Summit welcomed the African Union as a new member. Despite endorsing renewable energy and limiting warming, leaders didn't agree on an action plan, a modern Spice Route was proposed, connecting Europe, the Middle East, and India. Diplomatically, they sidestepped directly criticizing Russia on Ukraine. And there's buzz about India's name possibly changing from 'India' to 'Bharat.'

What else is new in news

🌡️ Amid scorching summers, raging wildfires, and devastating floods that hit Europe this year, the European Commission says that these climate disasters could start hurting the region's economy as soon as this year. In their latest economic forecast, the European Union's executive body dialed back its growth expectations for 2023 and 2024.

Local 🇵🇰

Electric hikes, gas spikes

The IMF has given Pakistan the green light to allow consumers using up to 200 units of electricity to spread their bill payments over three months. In return, Pakistan must hike gas prices by up to 50% starting in July.

The good and the bad (but more bad than good): 

• The IMF's approval for extending bill payments only applies to people using up to 200 units monthly who don't receive subsidies. So, lifeline consumers and those protected from price hikes in this bracket won't catch a break. This means that just around 10% of consumers will benefit from this arrangement.

• Consumers using up to 200 units were hit hard by electricity price hikes. Bills for those in the 100-unit range surged by Rs7.28 per unit, totaling Rs24.21 per unit. Meanwhile, users in the 101 to 200 unit bracket saw an increase of Rs8.28 per unit, pushing it to Rs30.68 per unit.

• This short-term help for electricity consumers means a harder hit for gas consumers. Back in June, OGRA threw a 50% increase in gas prices at Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) users and a 45% bump for Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) users, translating to an Rs417.23 per unit gas price hike. But the previous government didn't make it official, despite OGRA's notice.

TLDR: The IMF gave Pakistan the go-ahead to let electricity consumers using up to 200 units spread their payments over three months, but in return, gas prices will soar by up to 50% from July. Those using up to 200 units saw electricity bills spike, and gas consumers might face even tougher times as gas prices have been proposed to surge, but await official approval.

News Flash

🚆 Shahid Ashraf Tarar, the Caretaker Minister for Railways, is planning to get rid of the old and broken-down trains, passenger cars, cargo wagons, and other similar stuff.

Tech

Global 🌎️

China is breaking up with Apple

Breakups are making headlines not just in Hollywood but also in China. The country which is a significant contributor to Apple's revenue with over 19% in the latest quarter, has dropped the bombshell. It has informed employees at local government and state-owned companies that bringing their iPhones to the office is a no-go. This move is seen as part of China's effort to reduce its reliance on U.S. tech.

Rewind: Both the U.S. and China have been working to reduce their dependence on each other for technology to safeguard their data, intellectual property, and national security. This has led to a series of restrictions and bans on tech companies from both sides.

Impact in numbers: Following the news of the ban, Apple's stock price experienced a significant drop of more than 6%. However, some analysts believe that the market reaction may be overdone, and the worst-case scenario might result in a 4% revenue hit for the company.

Quote: The New York Times raises the question: "If one of the most successful operators in the world's second-largest economy is at risk, can any Western company thrive in China?"..

TLDR: China is banning iPhones in local government and state-owned companies, affecting Apple's revenue. Both the U.S. and China are trying to become less dependent on each other for technology. Apple's stock price dropped over 6%, but some experts think it's an overreaction and might only result in a 4% revenue loss for the company. This raises questions about Western companies' ability to succeed in China.

What else is new in news

💬 WhatsApp, the messaging app, is testing something new. They've added a screen called "Third-party chats" in a beta update, but it doesn't work yet, and regular users can't use it. However, the name suggests that WhatsApp might be working on making their encrypted messaging app compatible with other platforms in the future.

Local 🇵🇰 

Walee: Where influencers get influenced

In a world where content is king, WALEE - Pakistan's innovative influencer marketing platform - is uniting creators in the dynamic digital world. It uses data and AI to assist advertisers in influencer marketing. Now, they're extending this tech magic to empower content creators through their "Walee Partners" initiative.

What’s in it: At the core of WALEE's offering is a cool AI-powered program designed to equip content creators with insightful data, creative inspiration, and predictive analytics.

• Smart profiling: Matching creators based on shared interests and niches.

• Data-driven insights: Walee's exclusive Influencer Insights Report, is packed with over 70 data points to help creators see impactful content.

• Personal creative assistant: Serving up AI-powered recommendations and insights to fuel creative journeys and foster growth.

• Performance & ROI predictions: Giving creators the insights to max out their reach and engagement with predictive insights.

• Streamlined partnerships: Making influencer-brand collaborations smooth.

TLDR: WALEE, Pakistan's influencer marketing platform, is launching the "Walee Partners" initiative which offers creators smart profiling, data-driven insights, performance predictions, and streamlined partnerships, revolutionizing the world of content creation.

Tech tour of news

📍 Bill Gates is expected to visit Pakistan later this month, on September 23, 2023, and this visit is expected to open up new opportunities for collaboration in various crucial areas.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

💄 As someone who loves skincare, this blog was one of the most insightful stuff ever on all things beauty and womanhood. Our favorite bit from the article was: “The [beauty] industry serves us the science of aesthetic manipulation, and we receive it as the science of skin health.” If you’re curious about reading about how much capitalism sucks, give it a read.

🍎 Today marks the day of "Wonderlust," not some teenage drama series on Netflix but Apple's highly-anticipated press event where some exciting announcements, including the launch of the iPhone 15 are expected, all starting at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. You can figure out how to watch the event here.