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Weekly News Roundup
January 16, 2022 (MLN): The highlights of the important economic and business events that took place during the last week are in order so as to become acquainted with the recent developments in Pakistan’s economic and public policy.
- On Saturday, the government increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs3 per litre.
- Pakistan and China have launched air cargo service on Kashgar-Islamabad route with the successful landing of Pakistan Faxon Airlines Air Cargo plane at Kashgar airport in Xinjiang region of China.
- To facilitate the nine million overseas Pakistanis, the federal government is going to introduce residential schemes under the smart housing concept.
- President Dr Arif Alvi asked youth to capitalize the silent revolution of information technology in order to boost exports.
- With the commencement of export of kinnows during the current season, it is anticipated that Kenya can become a promising international market of 40,000 – 50,000 tons of Pakistani citrus.
- China has expressed interest to hire nearly 150,000 Pakistani employees with IT skills in the next year under CPEC.
- During the week, Pakistan assumed chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China (G-77) for the year 2022 on January 14, 2022.
- Intensifying its ongoing crackdown against smuggling, Model Customs Collectorate, Gwadar and Pakistan Navy, in a joint open-sea operation, confiscated a huge cache of foreign smuggled liquor,
- The business community has expressed reservations on various tax measures taken by the government through mini-budget approved by the National Assembly a day earlier.
- on the energy front, Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Friday said the government has brought the much-needed reforms to streamline the matters related to pricing of the imported gas for the domestic sector, new electricity generation contracts through a competitive and transparent process.
- The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday raised electricity tariff by Rs4.3 per unit for consumers of Ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (XWDISCOs) under Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for the month of November 2021.
- The National Assembly on Thursday passed the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1996 [The State Bank of Pakistan] (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the Finance (Supplementary) Bill, 2021.
- Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Special Communication Organization (SCO).
- During the departed week, Pakistan's central bank has recommended banning cryptocurrency, arguing in documents submitted in an ongoing court case that allowing it would cause capital flight.
- Islamic Finance News (IFN) has announced State Bank of Pakistan as the best Central Bank of 2021 across the world in promoting Islamic finance.
- The government has so far released funds amounting to over Rs5.508 billion to execute 26 ongoing and 07 new agriculture-related projects under its Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).
- The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), to facilitate the insurance sector in complying with the applicable regulatory requirements, has issued a master circular, consolidating all existing applicable circulars, directives, and guidelines issued up to December 31, 2021.
- The Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) on Wednesday clarified that none of its members had supplied Urea to any minister on preferential basis.
- Link International Exchange Company announced that the company has distanced itself from Rahim Shah, who has been arrested by FIA Peshawar today, on account of illegal currency smuggling.
- President Dr. Arif Alvi while upholding a decision of the Banking Mohtasib, has advised the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to pay PKR 500,000 to a citizen who had been the victim of bank fraud at the hands of a former branch manager.
- Majid Al Futtiam has invested a further Rs 1 billion to its current investment of Rs9.5bn in Carrefour.
- The federal cabinet meeting approved a Re1 per unit cut in electricity tariff for the next three months to provide relief to the people.
- Under PM's Agriculture Emergency Programme, Rs1.73 billion has been earmarked to provide subsidy on agriculture machinery to promote per acre production of sugarcane.
- International real estate services provider Savills has announced that it has expanded its operations in three locations in Pakistan, effective as of 1 January 2022.
- Pakistan's central bank chief believes the country has the capacity and financial cushion to ride out rising external account pressures being driven by a surge in global commodity prices.
- Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to address all outstanding issues pertaining to the development of LNG terminals and finalize the final investment decision by the end of this month.
- Binance assured its full support to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime Sindh regarding mega financial scam investigation involving eleven fraudulent applications using Binance blockchain addresses.
- Following the most recent bull run in international prices, the price of cotton in the domestic market touched a record high of PKR20,000/mound despite a steady supply of commodity.
- The NA standing Committee on Power informed that the circular debt stock is declining and will come down to Rs1.880 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year.
- The CDWP approved eight projects worth Rs30.2 billion and recommended two projects worth Rs65.9bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.
Announcements:
- on the equity side, Pakistan Stock Exchange informed that a new ETF namely; Alfalah Consumer Index Exchange Traded Fund (ACIETF) by Alfalah GHP Investment Management Limited shall be launched on January 17, 2022.
- Crescent Star Insurance Limited (CSIL) termed DSL’s material information intimated on January 14, 2022, regarding an investment offer from a potential investor to invest in the share capital of the company misleading.
- Indus Motor Company (INDU) launched its all-new Taglon Supreme SP/GF-6A 0W-20 Engine Oil formulated specifically for Gasoline and Hybrid Vehicles.
- Mughal Iron and Steel Industries Limited (MUGHAL) has increased the load capacity of the 132-KV grid station to 90 MW.
- The management of Hi-Tech Lubricants Limited (HTL) obtained further extension in the provisional license up to December 31, 2023, from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) for setting up of an Oil Marketing Company (OMC).
- The board of directors (BoD) of Nimir Industrial Chemicals Limited (NICL) has re-appointed Mr Zafar Mahmood as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.
- The Board of Directors of Cnergyico Pk Limited (CNERGY) has approved the acquisition of a 57.37% stake in Puma Energy Pakistan Private Limited (Puma).
- National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) will collect capital gain tax (CGT) from clearing members and Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMX) for the month of November’21 on January 24, 2022.
- Nishat Chunain Limited (NCL) has requested Nepra to delete 2 Bulk Power Consumers (BPC) and add 11 new BPCs in its generation licence.
- The board of directors of ZIL Limited (ZIL) approved the closure of a factory located at Hyderabad as it faced operational difficulties due to housing society built in its surrounding area.
- The management of the D. M. Textile Mills Limited stated that the placement of the company “on defaulter segment” at this stage of difficult environment would destabilize the process of revival of the company.
- The production activities at Fateh Sports Wear Limited (FSWL) will be started in the shortest possible time on the availability of working capital and the receipt of stuck-up funds of $2 million.
- Image’s sales are projected to grow to Rs1.6 billion for the year ending June 30, 2022, from the actual level of over Rs1bn for the year ended June 30, 2021, on the back of the expansion of existing production capacity.
- Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SAZEW) sold 579 units of Auto Rickshaw during the month of December 2021, which was around 33% lower than the sales of 865 units made in the previous month.
- Landmark Spinning Industries Limited (LMSM) is in the process of a reverse merger with Liven Pharmaceuticals (Pvt.) Ltd to recommence its business operations again.
- The management of Azgard Nine informed that the sale transaction of Muzaffargarh Unit to be completed by December 2022.
- Regal Automobile Industries Limited has applied for listing on Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), seeking to raise Rs800 million to invest in the Electric Vehicle assembly line.
- Salman Noman Enterprises (SANE) has closed its operations due to huge losses.
- First Dawood Investment Bank Limited (FDIBL) has approved an equity investment of up to Euro 7.50 million by Mr Dmitry Plotnikov, CEO/Director of “Light World” of Czechoslovakia.
- The shareholders of Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL) resolved the execution of the management services agreement between the company and Bestway International Holdings Limited.
- The board of directors of Askari Bank Limited (AKBL), Askari Securities Limited (ASL) and Foundation Securities Pvt Limited (FSL) have resolved for the amalgamation of ASL with and in to FSL.
- TRG board has announced the election results of directors of TRG Group at the Annual General Meeting held today as per which Mr. Khaldoon Bin Latif from Faysal Asset Management secured highest votes, more than 504 million votes.
- The name of Orix Leasing Pakistan Limited has been changed to OLP Financial Services Pakistan Limited.
- The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has informed that the name of General Tyre & Rubber Company of Pakistan Limited (GTYR) has been changed to Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company Limited.
- Clover Pakistan Limited (CLOV) has requested Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to remove it from the defaulters’ segment of the exchange immediately.
- Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL) has received $2 million as dividend from accumulated profits of its 60% owned subsidiary i.e. Saqr Al Keetan for Cement Production Company Limited (SAKCPCL).
- The shareholders of Panther Tyres Limited (PTL) have approved to acquire the Banbury Tangential Mixer along with parts and accessories from Dalian Rubber & Plastics Machinery Co. LTD. (Dalian / DXS), China at a price of Rs327.97 million instead of Farrel Limited, United Kingdom.
- National Foods Limited (NATF)'s wholly-owned subsidiary, National Foods DMCC based in Dubai has established a subsidiary namely National Epicure USA Inc., in the USA.
- Khalid Siraj Textile Mills (KSTM) has requested the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to remove its name from the defaulter’s segment along with unfreezing suspension of trading the shares as the company is running its operations smoothly.
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Weekly Market Roundup
January 16, 2022 (MLN): This week, the benchmark KSE100 index closed up by 417 points on a cumulative basis or 0.91% WoW to settle at 45,763 points.
The market kicked off the week on a positive note amid growing optimism on mini-budget approval and stability in USD-PKR parity, a report by Spectrum Securities said.
On the economic front, although, forex reserves dipped by $117mn to $23.9bn, however, PKR appreciated by 60paisa WoW against USD and settled at PKR 176.07/$.
However, in later sessions, profit-taking was witnessed on the back of increasing international oil prices and Pakistan requesting IMF to shift board meeting for approval towards tail end of Jan’22.
In terms of index contribution, the top 5 sectors throughout the week were commercial banks (282pts), miscellaneous (54pts), chemical (50pts), power generation & distribution companies (47pts), and oil & gas exploration companies (36pts).
Commercial banks added the most points in the index as advances witnessed a growth of 19% YoY (highest in 3-years) given the overall economic recovery and new financing schemes by SBP. Moreover, investors also factored in prospects of improvement in profitability on the back of increasing interest rates.
On the flip side, cement, technology, tobacco, fertilizer and investment banks/companies took away 181 points from the KSE100 Index. The cement sector witnessed the highest-selling pressure during the week as it alone eroded 66 points from the index on the back of a rebound in international coal prices during the week.
Scrip-wise, HBL, MCB, PSEL, HUBC, and GOLG were the best-performing stocks during the week as they added 298 points to the index, whereas SYS, LUCK, ENGRO, PAKT, and TRG took away 165 points from the index.
Flow wise, foreigners were the net buyers during the week, purchasing stocks worth $0.53mn compared to $24.2mn last week. Major buying was witnessed in technology ($0.5mn) and power generation ($0.4mn).
On the local side, the majority of the selling was reported by mutual funds, corporations and insurance companies amounting to $9.95mn, $2.45mn, and $0.15mn respectively. However, banks and individuals stood on the other side with net buying of $6.8mn and $2.9mn respectively.
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Govt sets Rs50b target for loans under KJP this year
January 16, 2022 (MLN): Government has set the target of disbursing loans worth Rs50 billion under the Kamyab Jawan Program (KJP) this year to promote entrepreneurship amongst youth and create job opportunities in the country, as reported by Radio Pakistan.
This was stated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib and Special Assistant on Youth Affairs Usman Dar at a news conference in Islamabad on Saturday.
Farrukh Habib pointed out that loans of Rs30bn were disbursed under Kamyab Jawan Program over the last two years under which twenty-two thousand new businesses were opened. This, he said, provided fifty thousand direct jobs to the youth and indirectly led to the creation of thousands of other jobs.
The Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said startups are especially being promoted under Kamyab Jawan Program. He said a proposal will be floated in the cabinet for approval under which no guarantee will be sought from those acquiring loans up to Rs2 million.
Farrukh Habib said under an Rs10bn Skill for All Program, hi-tech certification is being provided to the youth in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, graphic designing, and so on.
He stated under this program, scholarships have been awarded to one hundred thousand youth whilst another sixty-one thousand will be provided on the 31st of this month.
“The government is targeting to enhance its IT exports to three billion dollars during the current fiscal year and this skill development program will help strengthen our IT exports,” he added.
In his remarks, Usman Dar said 2022 has been declared as the year of youth and different activities will be arranged during this year to promote the soft image of Pakistan. He said, “We are also considering launching a sports scholarship program for the youth.”
Usman Dar highlighted that the loans under KJP are being provided in the most transparent manner.
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Weekly Economic Roundup
January 16, 2022 (MLN): The weekly economic roundup summarizes the country's key economic and financial data for the week from various sectors to keep an eye on next week's trends.
- The government on Saturday has increased petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices by Rs3 per litre to Rs147.83, and Rs144.62 respectively, according to a statement issued by the Finance Division.
- Pakistan and China have launched air cargo service on the Kashgar-Islamabad route with the successful landing of Pakistan Faxon Airlines Air Cargo plane at Kashgar airport in the Xinjiang region of China.
- The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) of Pakistan, increased to 98.5 in November 2021, a jump of 2% compared to 96.4 recorded in October 2021.
- The weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the combined group witnessed a drop of 0.43% for the current week ended January 13, 2022.
- Workers’ remittances rose to $15.8 billion during 1H of FY22 which was 11.3% higher compared to the same period last year.
- Private sector credit offtake during Jul-Dec FY22 reached Rs1,013 billion against Rs344.17 billion in the same period last year, up by 2.9x YoY.
- The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday raised electricity tariff by Rs4.3 per unit for consumers of Ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (XWDISCOs) under Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for the month of November 2021.
- After an economic expansion of 4.5 percent in 2021, Pakistan’s GDP growth is projected at 3.9 percent in 2022, driven by private consumption, record-high remittances and fiscal support,” the United Nations said in its flagship World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report.
- The National Assembly on Thursday passed the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1996 [The State Bank of Pakistan] (Amendment) Bill 2021 after clause-by-clause reading with a majority vote, rejecting all the amendments tabled by the opposition parties.
- The foreign exchange reserves held by the country dipped by $117 million or 0.5% WoW to stand at $23.9 billion during the week ended on January 7, 2021, compared to $23.9 billion in the previous week.
- The government has so far released funds amounting to over Rs5.508 billion to execute 26 ongoing and 07 new agriculture-related projects under its Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the financial year 2021-22 in order to promote agriculture and livestock sectors in the country.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), to facilitate the insurance sector in complying with the applicable regulatory requirements, has issued a master circular, consolidating all existing applicable circulars, directives, and guidelines issued up to December 31, 2021.
- The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an auction on Wednesday in which it sold Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) worth Rs730 billion for 3, 6 and 12 months.
- The sale of passenger cars witnessed an upsurge of 59.4% MoM during the month of December 2021, clocking in at 24,462 units as opposed to 15,351 units sold in November 2021 on the back of improvement in the supply chain.
- Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SAZEW) sold 579 units of Auto Rickshaw during the month of December 2021, which was around 33% lower than the sales of 865 units made in the previous month.
- The CDWP approved eight projects worth Rs30.2 billion and recommended two projects worth Rs65.9bn to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.
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Govt jacks up petrol prices by Rs3 per litre
January 15, 2021 (MLN): The government on Saturday has increased petrol and diesel prices by Rs3 per litre, according to a statement issued by the Finance Division.
As per the statement, the price of petrol has been increased by Rs3.01 per litre to Rs147.83 and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3 per litre to Rs144.62.
The price of kerosene oil was also increased by Rs3 per liter to Rs116.48 per liter.
In addition, light diesel oil will cost Rs3.33 more and will thus be valued at Rs114.54per litre.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had recommended a Rs5.52 per litre increase in the price of petrol and Rs6.19 per litre in HSD prices.
The new prices will be effective from January 16, 2022.
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Pakistan, China launch Air Cargo service
January 15, 2021 (MLN): Pakistan and China have launched air cargo service on Kashgar-Islamabad route with the successful landing of Pakistan Faxon Airlines Air Cargo plane at Kashgar airport in Xinjiang region of China, as reported by Radio Pakistan.
According to China Radio International, this is the second international cargo route from Kashgar Airport to Pakistan after the Kashgar-Karachi cargo route in 2019.
As the main aviation fulcrum of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Kashgar airport has opened international cargo routes, providing air traffic and service platforms for economic and trade development between Xinjiang, South Asia, West Asia and Europe.
The construction of the International Transport Corridor (ITC) and the International Aviation Center (IVC) is of great importance to the Xinjiang region.
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Govt to introduce residential schemes for expats
January 15, 2021 (MLN): The federal government is going to introduce residential schemes under the smart housing concept to facilitate the nine million overseas Pakistanis, Farrukh Habib, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting said on Friday, as reported by APP.
The federal cabinet has given approval for launching the state-of-the-art residential projects for overseas Pakistanis, he added.
He said Pakistani expats might purchase the apartments through Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA). The project was aimed at attracting remittances through RDA, he noted.
Overseas Pakistanis sent $30 billion in terms of remittances annually through RDA which showed their full trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Commenting on the voting rights to Pakistani expats, he said it was the first time that any govt recognized the expats services to the country. All credit goes to PM Imran who was a strong proponent of Pakistanis rights living abroad, he said.
On the sustainability of Naya Pakistan Housing Project, he said nobody can roll back public interest projects, adding that the government engaged the private sector for the purpose.
Banks were taking lead in the government residential schemes as they had distributed loans worth Rs40 billion and approved loans worth over Rs120 billion and loan applications worth over Rs160 billion were received, he added.
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President asks youth to capitalize on silent IT revolution
January 15, 2022 (MLN): Pakistan is going through a silent revolution in the field of information technology and youth should be trained to avail opportunities in new areas like cloud computing and artificial intelligence in order to boost exports, President Dr Arif Alvi Friday stated while speaking at the closing ceremony of Huawei ICT competition on Friday, as reported by APP.
He said he was aware of the cooperative arrangement of the Huawei Academy with about 80 different universities in Pakistan to develop and groom young talent.
He appreciated companies like Huawei for training a large number of students in the field of information technology, noting the international companies wanted to create an ecosystem for harnessing talent.
He was of the view that ten million people would get jobs in information technology sector in future.
The president opined that data had assumed huge significance in today’s world and software engineers and other professionals were required to analyze and sift the data which was getting added at a very fast speed.
Professionals were needed in the new areas of cloud computing, cyber security, artificial intelligence and block chain, Dr Alvi continued.
He said use of information technology had immensely increased in different sectors of the economy including banking and financial institutions, adding security and efficiency of the data systems was of paramount importance.
The president stated that sharing of data was an ongoing process and societies were going through the process of digital transformation.
He underscored the need for digitization of land record and data of public sector departments to end corruption and enhance transparency.
Use of technologies of block chain would discourage corrupt practices, he explained.
He quoted the example of Estonia which upgraded its cyber security to stop penetration of its computer systems.
He said data warfare was a constant feature of today’s world and Pakistan was also being targeted.
The youth bulge of Pakistan could be utilized to make headway in information technology, through which now people could work from anywhere in the world, he added.
He underlined the need for bridging the technology gap and educating the youth through distance learning and internet applications.
The field of information technology was changing at an exponential rate, he remarked.
He said countries like Pakistan missed the third industrial revolution but its policy makers should prepare the nation for the fourth industrial revolution led by information technology.
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REER jumps 2% MoM in November, stands at 98.5
January 15, 2021 (MLN): The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) of Pakistan, increased to 98.5 in November 2021, a jump of 2% compared to 96.4 recorded in October 2021, the latest monthly data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Saturday.
The index decreased 1% in November 2021 against the value of 99.3 in November 2020.
Cumulatively, REER has declined by 1% since June 2021 and 4% from its recent peak in April 2021, implying that Pakistan's goods become more competitive in the international markets.
REER is a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies, a decrease in REER implies that exports have become cheaper while imports become more expensive therefore, this decrease indicates an increase in trade competitiveness.
On the other hand, the Nominal Effective Exchange rate Index (NEER) decreased by 0.2% in November 2021 to a provisional value of 55.35 from the revised value of 55.48 in October 2021. On a yearly basis, the NEER index witnessed a drop of 7% from the value of 59.8 in November 2020.
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Pakistan aims to export kinnows to Kenya
January 15, 2022 (MLN): With the commencement of export of kinnows during the current season, it is anticipated that Kenya can become a promising international market of 40,000 – 50,000 tons of Pakistani citrus, said Mr. Waheed Ahmed, the Patron-in-Chief of All Pakistan Fruits and Vegetable Exporters Association (PFVA) yesterday.
The joint extensive efforts by PFVA, Department of Plant Production (DPP) serving under the Federal Ministry of National Food Security & Research and Ministry of Commerce, paid rich dividends leading to the opening of an important international market in Africa.
The quarantine experts from an African country, Kenya visited Pakistan from 02-08 Jan 2022 to evaluate the import of Pakistani kinnow & mango to Kenya and expressed satisfaction with the standards of quarantine facilities.
According to Waheed Ahmed, during the Pakistan-Africa trade conference in January 2020, a delegation of PFVA had meetings with Kenyan importers and officials of the quarantine department and mutually agreed to explore the opportunities of export of Pakistani Kinnow to Kenya and agreed to finalize the quarantine protocols between the two countries.
Pakistani Embassy in Kenya and DDP played a vital role in transforming this mutual understanding into a trade opportunity.
The Kenyan delegation consisted of Prof. Theophilus Mutui Managing Director KEPHIS (Head of Delegation), Dr. Isaac Macharia General Manager Phyto-sanitary Services, Mr. George Momanyi Chief Inspector and PRA Expert & Ms. Asenath Koech and visited kinnow orchards and inspected 33 plants and packhouses in Karachi, Multan and Bhalwal.
Mr. Waheed hoped that Kenya would become a gateway for Pakistani exports in Eastern Africa and simultaneously with the export of kinnow, the Kenyan market would prove to be a good market for Pakistani mango as well.
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