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Current account deficit for the month of July 2018 has reached $2.2 billion, an increase of 11.3% over the deficit recorded in the prior month, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday, August 20, 2018.
During June 2018, the last month of the previous fiscal year, current account deficit was recorded at $1.976 billion. In one month from June to July, the current account deficit has increased by $268 million.
Compared to the corresponding month of the last fiscal year, i.e. July 2017, current account deficit has increased by 13.87% as the deficit stood at $1,932 billion in the same period last year.
Cumulative deficit during the last fiscal year stood at $18.13 billion.
As a percentage of GDP, current account deficit stands at a negative 8.6% of the GDP, while during the same month last year, current account deficit accounted for a negative 7.1% of the GDP.
According to provisional data released by the State Bank, exports of goods (FOB) during July rose by 10.3% over the year as the country exported goods worth $2 billion in July, while the growth in imports surpassed that of exports, having grown at a pace of 19.8% during that period. Compared to $2 billion in exports, the value of imports stood at $5.566 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.557 billion with respect to the trade of goods exported and imported.
Trade deficit during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year i.e. July 2017, had stood at $2.823 billion and has grown by 26% over the year.
The balance on trade in services, on the other hand, has grown by merely 4% over the year as trade deficit for services was recorded at $498 million compared to a deficit of $479 million last year in July 2017.
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Cost of Petroleum Imports falls by 15% in July: PBS
Cost of petroleum imports has fallen down by 15.33% in July as the country imported petroleum related commodities worth $1.27 billion during that month.
A month before that, during June 2018, the value of petroleum related commodities imported into the country, stood at $1.5 billion. However, compared to last year, import of petroleum related commodities are still very large, having increased by 34.29% over the year as imports during July 2017 were worth close to $947 million.
Pakistan imported petroleum products worth $556.17 million in July, a 16.71% decline over the $667.76 million worth of petroleum products imported in June.
The largest month-on-month fall in the import of petroleum related commodities was for crude petroleum, imports of which fell down by 24.26% over the month, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics revealed. Pakistan imported crude oil worth $371.7 million in July 2018. Compared to July 2017, import of crude petroleum has however surged by 70% as the value of imports last year stood at $218.5 million.
Import of LNG on the other hand has demonstrated a marginal increase of 0.35% this month, being the only petroleum-related commodity that has not witnessed a decline in its value of imports.
However, it also the very commodity that has witnessed the largest growth in the cost of imports over the year, having grown by 143.79% over the value of LNG imports recorded in July 2017. LNG imports have been brought in at a cost of $332 million in July, while in the previous month (June) and the previous year (July 2017), imports were priced at $330.9 million and $136.2 million respectively.
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Mixed Sentiments prevails as the 100 index remains around yesterday’s closing
Investors have demonstrated mixed sentiments today as the benchmark KSE – 100 index opened over 160 points above the previous closing but failed to sustain that direction, falling sharply during the first few hours to about the same level as the last closing.
For the rest of the session, the index remained relatively range-bound and traded sideways for the latter part of the day. By the day end, the KSE – 100 index lost merely 21 points to close the day’s session at 42,425 points, down by just 0.05% from the previous trading session’s closing value.
The intraday high was recorded at 42,701 points while the index dropped to an intraday low of 42,309 points, thus travelling within a range of 392 points today.
Trading activity remained weak as only 70.9 million shares were traded of the companies listed within the KSE – 100 index while the value of the trades summed up to about PKR 4.7 billion.
In comparison, the volume of trades made today and their respective aggregate value within KSE -100 fell behind the previous session’s volume and value, which were recorded at 111.4 million shares and PKR 6.1 billion respectively.
Amongst the scrips listed within KSE – 100, a total of 94 scrips were traded today, out of which 36 scrips advanced to the green zone, 56 scrips landed in the red zone while 2 scrips remained unchanged from their previous closings.
Sector-wise, Cement and Fertilizer sectors were the top contributors to the index, having contributed around 53 points to the 100 – index collectively. Oil and Gas Marketing and Exploration companies on the other hand took away the most points from the 100 index.
In contrast to KSE 100, the more comprehensive KSE All Share index gained 38 points by the end of the day’s session, to close at 30,764 points.
The KSE index had jumped to an intraday high of 30,875 points and had slipped to an intraday low of 30,627 points, thus moving within a bracket of 247 points.
The companies constituting the KSE All share index witnessed a trading activity of 146.9 million share, at a total value of PKR 6.4 billion.
Within the broader KSE All Share Index, 150 scrips closed the session in the positive territory, 156 scrips closed the session in the negative territory, while 12 scrips remained unchanged.
The sector turnover within Karachi Stock Exchange was dominated by the Technology & Communication sector, which traded 23.9 million shares during the day.
NET GAINERS:
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Rice Exporters draw Sindh Govt’s attention towards issues troubling the sector
Rafique Suleman, Senior Vice Chairman, Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has drawn the attention of Syed Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh towards the prevailing severe condition of the rice export sector.
He apprised that in the Sindh province, non-basmati varieties (Irri-6, Irr-9, KS-282 etc) have been sown very late.
According to the association, Dadu, Larkana and other important rice growing areas are normally fed with three canals namely Rice Canal, Dadu Canal & Kheer Thar Canal once a year while farmers wait for this water flow keenly.
However, this year they have been provided the water with a delay of 30-45 days raising fears that the rice crop will arrive very late this year and farmers will have to suffer huge losses as a result of that. Taking into account the usual practices, he said that although there is some delay of 10-15 days every year, this year we have observed too much of a delay compared to the past.
While urging Chief Minister Sindh to take notice of this delay, Mr. Rafique Suleman expressed his concern that due to this delay, rice crop will be available for export purposes at a later date, thereby causing a delay in catering to their export orders which may hurt the image of rice exporters as well as that of our country.
He went on to raise concerns that the rice exporters may not be able to get decent prices for their rice output and will probably have to face difficulties in achieving their annual targets.
In addition, he also drew the attention of Sindh Government on a ban on rice sowing in some areas. While urging CM Murad Ali Shah to investigate the matter on a priority basis, he also requested for the permission to grow rice in more areas, so that they are able to generate extra crop and are consequently able to export more and therefore earn more foreign exchange for the country.
Rafique also added that this year rice exporters have observed that the limit of Moisture & Chalky in rice has been exceeding its normal limits causing them to run their rice processing plants for extra hours at a time when they were already facing an energy crisis.
He requested the concerned Ministries of the government to review the processing methods of rice and urged that the government should provide soft Islamic loans for the purchase of latest rice plants, so that they could make value addition in rice and get better prices for their rice output.
He also mentioned that they have already requested the State Bank of Pakistan for Long Term Finance on Islamic banking for the storage of rice and were still waiting for that approval. Citing its benefit, he said that the scheme will attract the attention of rice exporters as they will want to take advantage of this scheme.
During a recent meeting at TDAP, Rafique requested the Government of Pakistan to install a Dryer, on an experimental basis, that is funded by the Government in any one or two rice mills proposed by REAP. This request was made so that after the success of this pilot project, more rice farmers could get this facility on their rice processing area and the government could extend them soft Islamic loans for the installation of such a Dryer.
He complained that both the rice research institutes, i.e. Kala Shah Kaku (Punjab) and Dokri (Sindh) were not doing Research and development work in rice seeds and that since the last 10-15 years, there has been no rice seeds introduced by them.
As a result, he said that the members of the rice exporters association have been importing good quality Chinese hybrid rice seeds that have better results and greater yields.
Current Account deficit rises by 14% in July over the year
Current account deficit for the month of July 2018 has reached $2.2 billion, an increase of 11.3% over the deficit recorded in the prior month, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday, August 20, 2018.
During June 2018, the last month of the previous fiscal year, current account deficit was recorded at $1.976 billion. In one month from June to July, the current account deficit has increased by $268 million.
Compared to the corresponding month of the last fiscal year, i.e. July 2017, current account deficit has increased by 13.87% as the deficit stood at $1,932 billion in the same period last year.
Cumulative deficit during the last fiscal year stood at $18.13 billion.
As a percentage of GDP, current account deficit stands at a negative 8.6% of the GDP, while during the same month last year, current account deficit accounted for a negative 7.1% of the GDP.
According to provisional data released by the State Bank, exports of goods (FOB) during July rose by 10.3% over the year as the country exported goods worth $2 billion in July, while the growth in imports surpassed that of exports, having grown at a pace of 19.8% during that period. Compared to $2 billion in exports, the value of imports stood at $5.566 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.557 billion with respect to the trade of goods exported and imported.
Trade deficit during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year i.e. July 2017, had stood at $2.823 billion and has grown by 26% over the year.
The balance on trade in services, on the other hand, has grown by merely 4% over the year as trade deficit for services was recorded at $498 million compared to a deficit of $479 million last year in July 2017.
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SC orders Shaheen Air to pay Rs 20 million compensation to stranded passengers
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered Shaheen Air to submit twenty million rupees as compensation in the court.
The court was hearing a suo moto case regarding the stranded passengers of the airline in China.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar said that the court will fix the compensation amount that shall be paid to the affected passengers.
He directed the airline to ensure payment of the amount within a week.
Energy giant Total officially leaves Iran: Oil minister
French energy giant Total has officially quit its multi-billion-dollar gas project in Iran, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Monday, following the reimposition of US sanctions.
"Total has officially left the agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars (gas field). It has been more than two months that it announced that it would leave the contract," he told the ICANA news agency, which is linked to the oil ministry.
(APP)
Asian markets mostly up at start of week on trade talks hopes
Asian and European markets mostly rose on Monday as investors grow hopeful that China and the United States will resolve their trade dispute.
Wall Street ended last week with gains following a report that top officials from the world's top two economies would hold talks to resolve a crisis that has seen them hit each other with tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods, with more in the pipeline.
The report in the Wall Street Journal said the talks were aimed at easing the trade dispute before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold a summit in November.
The possibility that the months-long row which has battered world markets could be brought to an end was enough to spur optimism on trading floors.
Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, pointed out that Beijing, which is struggling to support the economy while also addressing a debt mountain, may have had a "lightbulb moment" last week with the release of more weak data and a sharp drop in the troubled yuan.
Authorities in China appeared to be moving to support the yuan last week as it headed towards seven to the dollar, its weakest level since January 2017.
Some observers have suggested the central bank has been letting the yuan soften in recent weeks to offset the effects of any US tariffs, a claim China has denied.
Winning again
"President Trump is winning again," he said. "That's the takeaway he's likely to get from news that China's resolve may be cracking and the trade delegation being sent to Washington is not as low-level as many thought."
Hong Kong rose 1.3 percent in the afternoon session and Shanghai closed up 1.1 percent, while Sydney and Singapore each climbed 0.1 percent and Seoul ended with marginal gains.
Jakarta soared 1.8 percent, while Wellington and Taipei also posted gains.
Tokyo pared early losses to end 0.3 percent lower.
In early European trade London rose 0.1 percent, Paris added 0.2 percent and Frankfurt gained 0.4 percent.
On currency markets the Turkish lira was hovering above six to the dollar, well off the record levels around seven seen last week but still under pressure after Ankara and Washington traded fresh sanctions threats as the row over a jailed American pastor drags on.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded Turkey's sovereign debt for the second time in four months and warned of a recession in 2019.
"The worry over Turkey's currency crisis eased slightly last week as the lira rebounded against the US dollar. But this isn't the end of the problem," said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.
Attention now turns to this week's annual central bankers' symposium at Jackson Hole in Wyoming, which will be followed for clues on US interest rate plans among other issues.
Key figures around 0720 GMT
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 22,199.00 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.3 percent at 27,555.32
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 2,698.47 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,568.89
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.55 from 110.57 yen at 2100 GMT Friday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1423 from $1.1441
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2744 from $1.2749
Dollar/Turkish lira: UP at 6.06 lira from 6.03 lira
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN four cents at $65.87 per barrel
Oil - Brent Crude: DOWN two cents at $71.81 per barrel
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.4 percent at 25,669.32 (close)
(APP)
Century Insurance’s half yearly profits plunge by 87%
Century Insurance Company Limited observed 87% reduction in half yearly profits during the six months’ period ended on June 30th 2018, as the profits decreased from Rs.106.6 million during the half year ended on June 30th 2017, to Rs.13.8 million, a year later.
In a Board of Directors meeting that took place on August 20, 2018, the company discussed its financial earnings for the period under review
Century Insurance’s Net insurance claims increased by a quarter while Insurance claims and acquisition expenses increased by 36%.
Moreover, other expenses witnessed an increment of 13% while Share of profit of associates dropped by 32%.
Additionally, the company’s Earnings per share dropped by 86%, as it reduced from Rs.2.12 per share to Rs.0.28 per share.
|
Financial Results for the half year ended June 30th 2018 (Rupees) |
|||
|
|
Jun-18 |
Jun-17 |
% Change |
|
Net insurance premium |
322,176,683 |
269,565,005 |
19.52% |
|
Net insurance claims |
(142,313,895) |
(113,307,630) |
25.60% |
|
Premium deficiency |
|
|
|
|
Net commission and other acquisition costs |
2,035,441 |
10,364,791 |
-80.36% |
|
Insurance claims and acquisition expenses |
(140,278,454) |
(102,942,839) |
36.27% |
|
Management Expenses |
(141,094,797) |
(133,210,338) |
5.92% |
|
Underwriting results |
40,803,432 |
33,411,828 |
22.12% |
|
Investment(loss)/income |
(28,656,600) |
154,056,144 |
|
|
Other income |
8,394,565 |
3,381,901 |
148.22% |
|
Other expenses |
(3,708,932) |
(3,271,774) |
13.36% |
|
Results of operating activities |
16,832,465 |
187,578,099 |
-91.03% |
|
Finance costs |
|
|
|
|
Share of profit of associates |
1,547,408 |
2,300,721 |
-32.74% |
|
Profit from Window Takaful Operations |
148,934 |
- |
|
|
(Loss)/profit before tax |
18,528,807 |
189,878,820 |
-90.24% |
|
Income tax expense |
(4,687,146) |
(83,310,504) |
-94.37% |
|
(Loss)/profit after tax |
13,841,661 |
106,568,316 |
-87.01% |
|
Earnings per share - basic and diluted (Rupees) |
0.28 |
2.12 |
-86.79% |
Unilever Foods reports 14% growth in half yearly profits.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited’s half yearly profits rose by 14% during the six month period ended on June 30th 2018.
In a Board of Directors meeting held on August 20, 2018, the company reviewed its financial earnings for the given period and issued a report to PSX the same day
As compared to the half year ended on June 30th 2017, Unilever Food’s Sales increased by around 12% while Gross profits registered a growth of almost 15%.
Distribution, admin & other operating expenses rose by 15% yet the company’s profits before taxation grew by 16.4% and total profit for the period increased fromRs.757.5 million to Rs.864.1 million
The company’s Earnings per share were recorded at Rs.138.38 per share, up by 13%
|
Financial Results for the Half Year Ended June 30th 2018 ('000 Rupees) |
|||
|
|
Jun-18 |
Jun-17 |
% Change |
|
Sales |
6,234,169 |
5,573,339 |
11.86% |
|
Cost of Sales |
(3,347,010) |
(3,056,294) |
9.51% |
|
Gross profit |
2,887,159 |
2,517,045 |
14.70% |
|
Distribution, admin & other operating expenses |
(1,723,570) |
(1,493,944) |
15.37% |
|
Other incomes |
120,193 |
68,193 |
76.25% |
|
Finance cost |
(30,873) |
(14,624) |
111.11% |
|
Profit before taxation |
1,253,213 |
1,076,670 |
16.40% |
|
Taxation |
(389,067) |
(319,151) |
21.91% |
|
Profit after tax |
864,146 |
757,519 |
14.08% |
|
EPS - basic and diluted (Rupees) |
138.38 |
122.12 |
13.31% |
Rice Exports plunge by about 25% in July: PBS
Rice exports were valued at $110.9 million in July 2018, down by 24.62% over the previous month when export of rice was valued at $147.2 million.
Compared to the corresponding month of last year, rice exports have still increased by 2.85% as the country had exported rice worth $107.9 million during July 2017.
The value of Basmati rice exported in July 2018 stood at $34.8 million, having fallen by about 18% from the month before that when the value of the exported basmati rice was recorded at $42.4 million.
On a year-on-year basis, the value of exported basmati rice has still witnessed an increase of 5.25% as last year, basmati rice that was exported was valued at merely $33 million.
Export of the commodities constituting the Food Group have fallen down by 16.26% in July as the country exported food items worth $266.4 million in July, down from $318 million worth of exports in the month before (June 2018).
Compared to the corresponding month of the previous year (July 2017), export of food items has increased by 6.08% since the value of food item exports in June stood at $251 million.
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