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SBP to announce Monetary Policy on July 27
July 23, 2021: The Monetary Policy Committee of SBP will meet on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at SBP Karachi to decide about Monetary Policy.
Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Reza Baqir, will give a press conference on the same day after the MPC meeting.
Press Release
PSX Closing Bell: Take-Offs and Put-Ons
July 23, 2021 (MLN): The domestic equity market remained dull throughout the day in the absence of positive triggers. Meanwhile, the surging cases of Covid-19, which probably may lead the economy towards lockdown, kept the investors’ interest subdue in the local bourse.
In addition, the cumulative current account deficit of $1.8bn during FY21 after 11 months of surplus and the uncertain political situation in Afghanistan have also tumbled the confidence of investors in the capital market.
Accordingly, the benchmark KSE100 index ended the trading session with a loss of 80.19 points or 0.17 percent decline to close at 47,793.07.
The Index traded in a range of 256.33 points or 0.54 percent of previous close, showing an intraday high of 47,947.66 and a low of 47,691.33.
Of the 98 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 34 closed up 63 closed down, while 1 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 122.87 million shares.
Sector wise, the index was let down by Cement with 25 points, Refinery with 17 points, Textile Composite with 15 points, Commercial Banks with 8 points and Fertilizer with 8 points.
The most points taken off the index was by ENGRO which stripped the index of 12 points followed by MLCF with 10 points, PSO with 10 points, TRG with 9 points and PSX with 9 points.
Sectors propping up the index were Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 11 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 5 points, Tobacco with 5 points, Real Estate Investment Trust with 4 points and Synthetic & Rayon with 3 points.
The most points added to the index was by SNGP which contributed 24 points followed by SYS with 15 points, HUBC with 12 points, LUCK with 10 points and FFC with 7 points.
All Share Volume decreased by 6.82 Million to 314.16 Million Shares. Market Cap decreased by Rs.1.87 Billion.
Total companies traded were 417 compared to 416 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 160 closed up, 237 closed down while 20 remained unchanged.
Total trades decreased by 5,934 to 111,727.
Value Traded decreased by 0.80 Billion to Rs.11.09 Billion
| Company | Volume |
|---|---|
| Byco Petroleum Pakistan | 34,058,000 |
| Dandot Cement (R) | 23,998,000 |
| Pace (Pakistan) | 22,591,000 |
| Sui Northern Gas Pipelines | 21,096,959 |
| Worldcall Telecom | 20,815,000 |
| Treet Corporation | 10,005,500 |
| K-Electric | 9,206,000 |
| TPL Corp | 8,441,000 |
| Avanceon | 8,047,000 |
| Sui Southern Gas Company | 6,194,500 |
| Sector | Volume |
|---|---|
| Technology & Communication | 53,979,193 |
| Cement | 37,055,756 |
| Refinery | 35,840,740 |
| Miscellaneous | 34,802,300 |
| Food & Personal Care Products | 33,167,449 |
| Oil & Gas Marketing Companies | 32,788,754 |
| Power Generation & Distribution | 11,358,073 |
| Chemical | 11,121,900 |
| Inv. Banks / Inv. Cos. / Securities Cos. | 10,493,127 |
| Commercial Banks | 9,027,826 |
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Pakistan’s Forex Reserves Increase by USD 815.90 Million
July 23, 2021 (MLN): Pakistan's Forex Reserves increased by USD 815.90 Million or 3.36% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 25,128.00 Million on Jul 16, 2021.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) it received proceeds of US$ 1,040.8 million against Pakistan Euro Bonds. After accounting for external debt repayments, its reserves increased by US$ 845.0 million to US$ 18,050.7 million.
| Foreign reserves held by | Jul 16, 2021 | Jul 09, 2021 | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Bank of Pakistan | 18,050.70 | 17,205.60 | 845.10 | 4.91% |
| Net Foreign Reserves Held by Banks | 7,077.30 | 7,106.50 | -29.20 | -0.41% |
| Total Liquid Foreign Reserves | 25,128.00 | 24,312.10 | 815.90 | 3.36% |
Amount in USD Million
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Pakistan’s products are available now at leading online platform “Shopee”
July 23, 2021 (MLN): Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to PM for Commerce and Investment has announced that Pakistan’s products like fruits, vegetables & textile products are now available at Shopee, the leading e-commerce online shopping platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
Taking to his Twitter handle, he said that Pakistan’s towels, manufactured by Cotton Home of Faisalabad, have become top-selling towels at Shopee.
He urged exporters to make use of the online platforms to sell their products. "Any issues faced in this regard should be brought to the attention of the Ministry of Commerce," he added.
He lauded the role played by Pakistan’s Trade & Investment Counsellor & urged him to provide greater facilitation in this regard.
Copyright Mettis Link News
PKR weakens by 2.4 rupees against USD over the week
July 23, 2021 (MLN): Pakistani rupee (PKR) on Friday slid by 84 paisa against greenback, continuing its downward journey amid strengthening dollar in interbank market as the currency closed the day's trade at PKR 162.32 per USD.
In the previous session, the local unit had closed at PKR 161.48 per USD.
The Rupee saw moderate volatility in today’s session and traded in a range of 1.35 rupees per USD showing an intraday high bid of 162.50 and an intraday low offer of 161.25.
During the week, the currency has lost 2.4 rupees against the greenback, as the previous week was concluded at PKR 159.94 per USD.
Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 162/163 per USD.
According to the data compiled by Mettis Global, the rupee has depreciated by 2.95% or PKR 4.78 in the fiscal year-to-date against USD. Similarly, the home unit has weakened by 1.53% or PKR 2.49 in CY21 with the month-to-date (MTD) position showing a decline of 2.95%.
Meanwhile, the currency lost 1.3 rupees to the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 222.9 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 221.6 per GBP.
Similarly, PKR's value weakened by 93 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 191.21 at the interbank today.
On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 7.20/7.30 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 7.05/7.12 percent.
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Import bill of POL inflates by 3x YoY to value at $1.22bn in June’21
July 23, 2021 (MLN): The import bill during for FY21 reached $53.88billion posted an upsurge of 23.23% compared to FY20. In the month of June’21 alone, total imports to Pakistan clocked in at $6.32bn, depicting a considerable increase of 77.58% YoY when compared to the import payments of June’20.
Similarly, on a sequential basis, the import bill has increased by 27.48% in the month of June’21, against the import value $4.96bn reported in May’21.
According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on import payment by commodities, the major contribution in import bill during June’21 was recorded from Petroleum, Machinery, Agriculture Products & Chemicals, and Food as they accounted for 19.35%, 15.28%, 14.26% and 10.77% of the total import respectively.
During the month, the import bill of Petroleum group expanded 3x YoY while on MoM basis, the same group witnessed a jump of 30% to stood at $1.22bn.
Petroleum crude and petroleum products remained the main products during the month that contributed in the expansion of Petroleum bill on yearly basis by almost 3.36x and 3.3x, respectively. However, on monthly basis, Natural gas liquefied shrank the import bill by 25%.
Meanwhile, the imports of Machineries witnessed a surge of 37.79% yoy. While a notable increment made it to stand at $966mn during the month under review against the imports of $711mn in the previous month and $701mn in June’20.
Under the Machinery group, the major portion of import was associated with Telecom machines which consist of Mobile Phones and other Apparatus as it constituted for 25.34% of the entire group’s import. The import of telecom inched up by 2.58% YoY to $244.87mn, while on monthly basis, the import value has climbed up by 47%.
Within the Telecom, the imports of Mobile Phones jumped significantly by 14.80% YoY to $185.13mn from $161.27mn during June’20. Likewise, the import of mobile phones depicted a hike of 58% on monthly basis.
Also, the import bill of Agriculture and Chemical group which comprises of Manufactured Fertilizer, Insecticides, Plastic material, Medicinal Products, and other Agricultural and Chemical products soared by 55.28% YoY. Meanwhile, on the sequential basis, the import of similar group surged by 10.50% to value at $901mn.
The major chunk of imports under the Agriculture and Chemical Products was mainly in the Plastic Materials which contributed a total of 26.36% of the entire group's imports. Total Plastic Material imports during the period under review recorded at $237.65mn, depicting increase of 49.27% YoY from $159.2mn in June’20.
Food group also appeared as a major contributor in increasing import bill during the month. The main food items that Pakistan imported include palm oil, tea and pulses. The import of palm oil stood at $50.88 during June’21 with the share of 36.86% in total group imports, depicting a surge by 52.64%YoY while on MoM basis, the import of same product moved up by of 6.89%.
Similarly, the import bill of Pulses reported an increase of 33.74% YoY and 12.18% MoM to stand at $78.97mn during June’21. On the other hand, the import bill of tea clocked in at $44.45mn, witnessed a decline of 18.54%YoY whereas on monthly basis, the same commodity posted a surge of 23.85% in June’21.
The imports of other products such as Transport group jumped by 80.73% YoY, while the import bill of Textile and Metals mounted by 93.49% and 93.46% YoY during June’21.
Cumulatively, during FY21, import bill of petroleum group reported an increase of 5.3% YoY to value at $9.75bn when compared to FY20.
During the same period, import bill of agriculture and other chemical stood at $8.41bn showcasing a growth of 19.58% YoY compared to FY20. Likewise, import of machinery jumped by 34.38%YoY to value at $8.32bn during the period under review. Similarly, imports of food, textile and metal also recorded a notable increase of 53.72%, 44%, and 42% YoY to stand at $7.24bn, $4.76bn and $4.58bn, respectively when compared to FY20.
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Eurozone economy booms at fastest rate in 21 years
July 23, 2021: Business activity in the eurozone shot ahead at its fastest rate in 21 years in July, a closely watched survey said on Friday, as the economy went into full throttle with loosened Covid-19 restrictions.
But the survey showed that the spread of the Delta variant was beginning to chip away at business confidence, with concern that new measures could again sow chaos in the economy.
The PMI composite index from economic data group IHS Markit said activity rose from 59.5 in June to a strong 60.6 in July, well above the 50-point level that indicates growth.
With the summer in full swing, Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit, said that the tourism and hospitality sectors were especially responsible for pushing the economy to historic growth levels.
However, for manufacturers, supply chain delays remained a "major concern", hurting production and pushing costs higher.
This, he warned, would likely "feed through to higher consumer prices in coming months" and make itself felt in the inflation data.
Pointing to darker days ahead, Williamson said the delta variant posed "a major risk to the outlook".
"Not only have rising case numbers led to a slide in business optimism to the lowest since February, but further covid waves around the world could also lead to further global supply chain delays and hence ever higher prices."
AFP/APP
Companies urged to ensure staff vaccination
July 23, 2021 (MLN): In view of the Government's relentless efforts to control the fourth wave of the COVID-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued a circular that advises all companies to ensure that their employees/workers, including their families, get vaccinated as soon as possible.
In the present circumstances, vaccination is seen as the only viable way to counter this global health crisis, as those who have not received the vaccine are seven times more likely to contract the virus than those inoculated. Moreover, some employers are also withholding the medical & other benefits of employees who do not get vaccinated, the circular issued to all TREC Holders said.
“In view of the above-stated facts, the chief executive officers of all public listed companies, public unlisted and private companies, associations, trade bodies, chambers, microfinance institutions, modarabas, insurance companies, NBFIs, brokers, intermediaries, etc. are advised to ensure that their employees/workers, including their families, get vaccinated as soon as possible. The companies are also advised to encourage their business suppliers and customers to get themselves and their families vaccinated, at the earliest,” it said.
All companies are required to submit information to the Commission regarding the current vaccination status of their employees and families by July 26, 2021.
“In case the employees and their families have not yet started and participated in the vaccination drive, the management of the companies are advised to encourage them for vaccination and provide a compliance report by August 31,” the SECP notice added.
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Textile Exports up by 23% to $15.4bn in FY21:PBS
July 23, 2021 (MLN): The total export of textile products witnessed a record high of $1.7 billion in the month of June 2021 as it surged by 57.8% MoM and 73.1% YoY when compared with the figures of the previous month and year respectively.
This takes the total textile exports in the fiscal year to reach $15.4bn as against $12.5bn, depicting an increase of 23% YoY, as per data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to the report by Intermarket Securities (IMS), the sharp mom increase is due to the pent-up demand following two consecutive months of decline on account of reduced working hours during the month of Ramadan and unusually long Eid holidays.
It is expected that exports would continue their present growth momentum in the coming months, ahead of Winter season holidays (orders expected to roll out from August), and easing of restrictions in the West.
The rise in textile exports during June-July FY21 was mainly the outcome of rising exports of value-added segments where Towels, Knitwear, Bed-wear, and Readymade garments surged respectively by 31.8%, 36.6%, 28.9%, and 18.8% to $937mn, $3.82bn, $2.77bn and $3.03bn compared to FY20.
On the other hand, textile imports during the month of June 2021 dropped by 3% MoM to stand at $352mn while on yearly basis, the country witnessed a surge of 80% YoY in textile imports. Within the textile segment, Raw cotton imports jumped by 24.5% MoM to $162mn.
On a cumulative basis, during the fiscal year 2020-21, the import of textile-related products grew by 52.8% YoY to $3.87bn mainly due to a 68% YoY increase in Raw Cotton imports to $1.48bn from international markets.
Going forward, the demand for Pakistan’s textiles globally is likely to remain strong due to continued rerouting of orders out of China and regional Asian countries such as Bangladesh, which are witnessing a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, Abdul Ghani Mianoor, an Analyst at IMS said.
The capacity enhancements by various textile exporters are an indication of strong order flows, while exports’ competitiveness is also supported by continued rationalization of tariffs on raw materials and power subsidies from the government. The risk of revocation of the GSP+ Status seems unlikely now.
Furthermore, the arrival of the new Textile Policy (likely in August) will also ensure sustained competitiveness of the sector and will be another impetus for Textile stocks, he added.
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Banking sector spread widens slightly by 4bps MoM in June
July 23, 2021 (MLN): The Banking sector spread for June 2021 slightly grown by 4 basis points (bps) over the month which brings its latest value to 4.48% as compared to the prior month's spread of 4.44%. On the other hand, the spread has compressed by 129 bps as compared to the same period last year.
As reported in the State Bank of Pakistan's monthly data released on Weighted Average Lending & Deposit Rates, the lending rate for all banks (inclusive of zero markup) grown by 6 bps as it stood at 7.98%. Meanwhile, the deposit rate increased by 2 bps over the month, thus bringing the latest rate to 3.5%.
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