February 12, 2020: European stock markets rose at the start of trading on Wednesday, with London's benchmark FTSE 100 index up 0.2 percent at 7,514.76 points.
In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index gained 0.4 percent to 13,676.90 points and the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.3 percent to 6,070.37.
AFP/APP
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February 18, 2020 (MLN): The non-government sector has retired a net sum of Rs.32.91 billion during the week ended February 07, 2020, which brings the cumulative net borrowing for ongoing fiscal year FY2020 to Rs.140.4 billion. The net borrowing as of prior week was recorded at Rs.173.31 billion.
According to weekly data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, the sector's borrowing has dropped by Rs.534.77 billion over the year since the borrowing as of corresponding period of last year was recorded at Rs.675.18 billion.
The non government sector is divided into three broad categories namely, the Private Sector, the Public Sector Enterprises and NBFI. Commercial banks are the main source of financing for the private sector, incuding conventional banks, islamic banks and islamic branches of conventional banks.
This fiscal year, the private sector borrowed a net sum of Rs.150.91 billion, whereas the PSE's have retired Rs.11.15 billion and NBFI has borrowed Rs.642.29 million.
As we disintegrate the inflows and outflows within the private sector, we see that Conventional Banks lent a cumulative sum of Rs.49.56 billion, Islamic Banks lent Rs.16.96 billion and lastly the Islamic branches of Conventional Banks lent Rs.84.39 billion.
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February 18, 2020 (MLN): The government of Pakistan has accumulated Rs.36.32 billion during the week ended February 07, 2020, which brings its total net retirement for ongoing fiscal year FY2020 to Rs.3.62 billion. As of prior week, the government had retired a net sum of Rs.39.94 billion.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan's weekly estimates in this regard, the government had borrowed Rs.733.45 billion net, around the same time last year.
The government sector borrowings are divided into three broad categories based on the purpose of loan which are budgetary support, commodity operations and others.
Split three ways between these broad categories, the cumulative net borrowing for budgetary support was Rs.75.73 billion, while that for other purposes stood at Rs.4.26 billion. On the contrary, a net total of Rs.83.61 billion were retired off Commodity Operations.
The two biggest source of financing for budgetary support are the State Bank of Pakistan and the Scheduled Banks. This fiscal year, the central bank has been retired a net sum of Rs.702.9 billion by the government, out of which the Federal Government retired Rs.351.83 billion, the Provincial Government retired Rs.328.33 billion, AJK Government retired Rs.19.1 billion, and the GB Government retired Rs.3.64 billion.
On the other hand, the Scheduled Banks have lent out a net total of Rs.778.63 billion out of which the Federal Government borrowed Rs.820.89 billion while the Provincial Government retired Rs.42.26 billion.
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February 18, 2020: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired a high level meeting here at the Finance Division to evaluate the current situation of prices of essential food items in the country.
The Adviser was given a detailed briefing on the prices of essential items, the price trends over the years and the comparative situation of prices in the international markets. The Adviser was also briefed on the measures taken to control the price hike of essential food items and the preparations for the upcoming months including Ramazan.
The Adviser directed the relevant stakeholders to take all requisite measures to ensure that reasonable prices of all essential items are maintained across the country with effective coordination of the provincial governments and the burden on the common man is not enhanced with runaway prices.
Press Release
February 18, 2020 (MLN): Gold witnessed an increase in demand as the price of 12-gram gold went up by Rs 350 to close at Rs 91,150 in the local market. The valuable yellow metal had closed at Rs 90,800 per 12 gram on previous trading day.
According to the Karachi Sarafa Association, gold price per 10 gram clocked in at Rs 78,146, up by Rs 300 from Rs 77,846 per 10 in the previous trade.
On the other hand, the silver prices remained flat and closed at Rs 1000 per 12 gram. Similarly, 10-gram silver remained stable at Rs 857.33.
In the global market, gold prices edged higher by only $6 to $1,587 per ounce, while silver was valued at $17.90 per ounce.
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February 18, 2020: Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry called on the Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh here at the Finance Division.
The Minister for Science and Technology discussed with the Adviser details of a proposal they are preparing for the promotion of Research and Development in the country specifically with reference to bio-technology and chemical production the country.
The proposal envisages a liaison between the business community, different Universities and research institutions. The Minister briefed the Adviser that the proposal envisages an export value of $1.3 billion worth of chemicals that are used for different industrial purposes.
The Ministry of S&T is working on a proposal to establish Special Economic Zones to promote research in Chemicals and bio-technology, initially in some major cities of the country, said Minister for Science and Technology.
The Minister also stated that research and development in the field will not only boost the quality of local production but also has chances to fetch foreign exchange by export. A pilot project shall be started soon, he said
The Adviser appreciated the prospects the project is likely to offer and the role of the Ministry of S&T in bringing in innovative ideas for the promotion of exports and promoting projects that will help in promotion of investment in research with commercial application. He assured the Ministry of S&T of all possible coordination and facilitation.
Press Release
