Massive oil and gas reserve found in Pakistan’s waters

Morning! Did you know there's a co-working space... in space?

It’s called the International Space Station (ISS), a high-tech lab floating above Earth. And since NASA knows not many of us are lucky enough to work in the coolest office ever, it keeps a daily blog to share what’s happening up there.

Like yesterday, three astronauts - Tracy, Oleg, and Nikolai - were preparing to return to Earth. Meanwhile, the other crew was busy with several tasks like studying how living in space affects their bodies, such as how it can weaken muscles and affect vision. They’re also working on spacesuits that help them adjust back to Earth’s gravity.

The blog is called the "Space Station Daily Blog" that gives you the latest update on what’s happening on the ISS that day.

In this week’s edition:

⛔ Turns out: The land of the free is not so free

🛢️ Pak to have its Saudi moment soon

🦻🏼 You and your grandpa will soon be sharing your air-pods

🏦 Your access to banking (much like a Visa) depends on where you live

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Turns out: The land of the free is not so free..

If your baher-rehne-wale-chachu/mamu, or any other relative wasn’t planning to vote for Biden, they might reconsider now—thanks to Biden’s plan to raise prices at Shein and Temu, making their luggage a lot lighter.

It will be due to changes in a trade law proposed by the Biden administration that is challenging the use of a loophole that lets Chinese-linked retailers avoid paying U.S. import taxes (and hence will help local manufacturers like H&M and Zara).

Key takeaways:

• Shein and Temu might have to raise their prices by at least 20% if the de minimis rule changes. This rule lets items valued under $800 enter the U.S. without import taxes.

• Even with higher prices, these platforms would still be cheaper than many competitors. For example, the average price of a Shein dress is $28.51, while it’s $40.97 at H&M and $79.69 at Zara. A 20% increase would bring Shein’s price closer to that of H&M.

• Shein generates over $30 billion in annual revenue, while Temu’s parent company, PDD Holdings, saw a 90% revenue growth to $34.9 billion in 2023. Higher prices could slow down this growth.

Moving ahead: Due to these ongoing investigations, Shein has delayed its U.S. IPO plans and is now considering a public offering in London (since regulatory pressure in UK is much less than the US).

TLDR: Biden’s new trade law might raise Shein and Temu’s prices by 20% due to changes in the de minimis rule, which lets low-value imports avoid U.S. taxes. Despite this, they’ll still be cheaper than many rivals, though it might slow their growth. Shein, which makes over $30 billion annually, is considering a London IPO due to delays and scrutiny in the U.S.

What else is new in news

✶Samsung, Xiaomi, and other phone brands allegedly worked with Amazon and Flipkart to launch their products exclusively on these sites, breaking Indian competition laws. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that both Amazon and Flipkart favored certain sellers and used heavy discounts to hurt other businesses.

Local 🇵🇰

Pakistan will have its own Saudi moment soon

We used to laugh (read: envy) at oil-rich countries, but guess what—Pakistan might soon be one of them.

A huge discovery of oil and natural gas has been made in Pakistan’s waters, and some think it could be the fourth-largest in the world.

Key takeaways:

• If the discovery turns out to be gas, it could replace expensive imported LNG, and if it’s oil, it could reduce the need for imported oil. Right now, Pakistan imports 85% of its oil and 29% of its gas, with an energy bill of $17.5 billion, which could grow to $31 billion soon.

• However, getting the oil and gas out of the ground will cost a lot of money—about $5 billion—and could take 4–5 years.

• Former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) member Muhammad Arif emphasizes that while this is promising, the full potential won’t be clear until further analysis and exploration are conducted.

Moving ahead: A former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority member suggests not to be too excited (too late for that now😬) as more studies and drilling (read: money) is needed to confirm the full potential.

TLDR: A massive oil and gas reserve has been found in Pakistan's waters, potentially the fourth-largest in the world. If tapped, it could significantly reduce Pakistan's costly energy imports, but extracting it will take time, money, and further studies. But it may take 4-5 years and around $5 billion to fully explore and utilize the reserves.

News Flash

✶The Pakistani government has extended the Essential Services Act to the entire electricity sector until January 25, 2025, to prevent disruptions during restructuring. This law stops workers in power companies from going on strike, making sure the country has a steady electricity supply during changes in the industry.

Tech

Global 🌎️

You and your grandpa might be sharing one air pods very soon..

The big tech might be feeling a guilty for once for all the damaging it had done to our ears with its earphones/airpods.

Apple is introducing a big update to the AirPods Pro 2 that turns them into a hearing aid (or maybe it just wants its slice of the pie of the USD 13.70 billion of the global hearing loss treatment market size).

Key takeaways:

• When turned on, the hearing aid will enhance certain sounds in real time, such as speech and background noise.

• A new hearing test will be available, letting users check their hearing in less than five minutes using their AirPods Pro 2 and a compatible iPhone or iPad. Results will be shown in the iPhone Health app and will help create a custom hearing profile.

• There will also be a mode to protect your hearing by automatically reducing noise in loud places like concerts. This feature is always on and aims to help people who are often in noisy environments.

• At $249, the AirPods Pro 2 offer a more affordable option compared to traditional hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars. However, they are not suitable for severe hearing loss or for users under 18.

Moving ahead: These features are waiting for FDA approval but are expected to be available soon. The updates will be free and available this fall in over 100 countries, including the US, Japan, and Germany.

TLDR: Apple is turning the AirPods Pro 2 into hearing aids with a new update, enhancing sounds like speech and background noise in real time. Users can also take a quick hearing test via their iPhone, and a new mode will reduce loud noises automatically. These updates aim to offer a more affordable alternative to traditional hearing aids, with FDA approval expected soon.

What else is new in news

✶OpenAI has launched a new AI model called OpenAI o1, which can solve tougher science, coding, and math problems better than before by reasoning and thinking ‘much like a person’. For example, it could help doctors analyze cell data for research or assist physicists in developing intricate math formulas by learning from its errors and trying different approaches just like a human.

Local 🇵🇰 

Your access to banking (much like a Visa) depends on where you live

Imagine the possibility of having your own bank account depending on which province you were born in.

This study by Data Darbar looks into Pakistan’s financial inclusion (access to affordable and useful financial services) and examines how the numbers vary by region or province. While the differences aren’t surprising, it’s striking how varied the access to financial inclusion really is.

Key takeaways:

• According to the 2022 Karandaaz Financial Inclusion Survey, 30% of Pakistani adults have formal financial accounts, but this varies widely. For example, only 14% of people in Balochistan have accounts, compared to 45% in Islamabad. Punjab, Sindh, KP, AJK, and GB have varying figures from 26% to 35%.

• The Karandaaz index shows Islamabad leading in financial access with a score of 0.93 out of 1, while Balochistan lags at 0.54.

• Over the past 20 years, Pakistan's banking network has grown, with 16,678 branches by March 2024. However, there's a big gap between urban and rural areas, with only 6.4 branches per 100,000 rural adults compared to 21.3 in urban areas.

• Punjab leads in both traditional banking and branchless banking. It has 413,991 branchless agents and makes up 66.31% of all transactions. Balochistan's branchless banking is growing but remains behind, with 2.6% of national transactions.

Moving ahead: By drilling down the numbers to regions, it helps in knowing where targeted efforts are needed (if the government bothers) to improve financial inclusion across Pakistan.

TLDR: The Data Darbar study reveals that access to financial services in Pakistan varies greatly by province. As of 2022, only 14% of people in Balochistan have bank accounts compared to 45% in Islamabad. Punjab leads in both traditional and branchless banking, while Balochistan remains far behind.

Tech tour of news

✶For Pakistani freelancers, the internet might be spotty, but the transaction fees on Payoneer are as steady as ever and not in a good way.

The popular online money transfer service has increased its transaction fees for users in Pakistan. The fee has jumped from 2% to 3% of the total transaction amount, plus an extra $0.49 for each transaction in USD. This fee hike will affect payments made with debit or credit cards, as well as payments received through Payoneer's Request a Payment or Initiate a Payment options.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

📃 With the U.S. election coming up, this article “Doing the minimum” by Scott Galloway is a must-read, especially since it is so relevant in the Pakistani economic and political context as well.

Galloway discusses why raising the minimum wage is critical to reducing inequality and poverty, and why politicians avoid it (hint: they want to kiss the corporations asses).

Our favourite bit from this: “To give someone or something money is to love them … our youth now are depressed, anxious, obese, and broke. It’s not globalization, network effects, or some other bullshit narrative fomented by the incumbents. It’s the wealth transfer, and, like I said, it’s been purposeful”.