Federal Budget for 2018-19 to be presented in May, 2018 making this the incumbent Government’s final budget, according to sources.
Development Expenditures assessment will be completed by February 28th.
According to sources, the preliminary budgetary papers are likely to be finalized by February.
July 16, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan's Forex Reserves increased by USD 162.50 Million or 0.86% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 18,952.60 Million on Jul 10, 2020.
According to data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) its reserves increased by USD 13.30 Million while those held by commercial banks increased by USD 149.20 million
| Foreign reserves held by | Jul 10, 2020 | Jul 03, 2020 | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Bank of Pakistan | 12,054.90 | 12,041.60 | 13.30 | 0.11% |
| Net Foreign Reserves Held by Banks | 6,897.70 | 6,748.50 | 149.20 | 2.21% |
| Total Liquid Foreign Reserves | 18,952.60 | 18,790.10 | 162.50 | 0.86% |
Amount in USD Million
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Jul 16, 2020: Sindh Minister for Energy Sindh Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh has recommended to design and run 660 Megawatts Jamshoro Power Company Ltd (JPCL) plant-II on Thar Coal in order to generate 100 percent power through 'Thar Coal'.
Imtiaz Shaikh has made this recommendation in a letter written by him to Federal Minister for Power Umar Ayub Khan, said a statement on Thursday.
Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh said that Generation of 660 Megawatts of power in JPCL plant-II through Thar Coal would not only save USD 125 million per annum in forex but it would also provide 17.11 million USD saving in low cost electricity produced from Thar Coal.
In his letter, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh termed that Generation of power through Thar Coal would be low cost, more convenient, feasible and in the best national interest.
Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh informed that for the conversion of JPCL plant-II on Thar Coal Sindh Government and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company are also been engaged in contact with power division.
In his letter Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh also suggested that the services of Pakistan railways would be taken for the transportation of Thar Coal. In this regard he suggested further that laying of railway track from Islamkot to new Chorr would be included in CPEC.
APP
July 16, 2020: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has proposed amendments to the primary insurance law i.e. Insurance Ordinance 2000. The draft law has been placed on SECP’s website for stakeholders and public consultation.
The Draft Bill will address the regulatory gaps in existing law and provide a conducive regulatory environment to encourage market development. It will facilitate the use of technology, provide ease of doing business and address entity-specific and systemic risks by shifting towards Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) and Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Regime.
The amendments in law will also strengthen the regulatory framework and ensure its alignment with the Insurance Core Principles (ICP) of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).
The significant reforms proposed in the draft bill include the introduction of dedicated microinsurers, provisions for regulation of takaful and re-takaful, regulation of local and foreign reinsurance business for enhancement of local capacity, regulation of reinsurance brokers, flexibility for the introduction of new intermediaries, insurance repository and insurance self-network platform, provisions for regulation of index-based insurance and InsurTech.
Provisions for the introduction of RBS and RBC regime and establishment and operation of a guarantee fund for insolvency of insurers have been included to strengthen the regulatory framework and align the law with core principles of IAIS and address systemic risk. The amended law will also assist in enhancing compliance with AML/CFT frameworks.
The changes include the requirement of appointed actuary and product filing of personal lines for non-life insurance, the appointment of internal actuary for life insurers and enhancement of market conduct provisions. The regulatory powers of the Commission for regulation and supervision of insurance companies and intermediaries have also been streamlined in the Draft Bill.
Press Release
July 16, 2020 (MLN): Domestic equities on Thursday took a turnaround from yesterday’s closing and concluded today’s session on a greener note by gaining 322 points to reach 37,001 points.
Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that, this is the first time since March 11, 2020 that the benchmark KSE-100 index has closed higher than 37,000 points.
The index remained positive throughout the session today led by Cement Sector as the Prime Minister inaugurated construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam while SBP also mandated banks to increase lending to construction sector. Moreover, E&Ps also closed in green as international crude oil price remained upbeat at USD 43.77/bbl, a closing note by Ismail Iqbl Securities stated.
The Index touched an intraday high of 37,029.44 (+350.41 or 0.96%) points.
Of the 98 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 67 closed up 31 closed down. Total volume traded for the index was 237.08 million shares.
Sectors propping up the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 66 points, Cement with 66 points, Commercial Banks with 46 points, Automobile Assembler with 41 points and Automobile Parts & Accessories with 24 points.
The most points added to the index was by LUCK which contributed 38 points followed by PPL with 37 points, HBL with 32 points, THALL with 18 points and MTL with 16 points.
Sector wise, the index was let down by Insurance with 3 points, Textile Spinning with 3 points, Miscellaneous with 2 points, Leather & Tanneries with 2 points and Sugar & Allied Industries with 1 points.
The most points taken off the index was by COLG which stripped the index of 13 points followed by BAFL with 8 points, HASCOL with 6 points, EFUG with 5 points and CHCC with 4 points.
All Share Volume increased by 74.20 Million to 402.59 Million Shares. Market Cap increased by Rs.71.59 Billion.
Total companies traded were 385 compared to 386 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 231 closed up, 142 closed down while 12 remained unchanged.
Total trades increased by 19,568 to 143,783.
Value Traded increased by 1.91 Billion to Rs.16.07 Billion
| Company | Volume |
|---|---|
| JS Bank | 31,676,000 |
| Maple Leaf Cement Factory | 24,850,000 |
| Pak Elektron | 24,115,500 |
| Hascol Petroleum | 20,333,500 |
| Pakistan Petroleum | 19,194,559 |
| Fauji Cement Company | 19,116,000 |
| Unity Foods | 18,223,500 |
| TRG Pakistan | 15,599,000 |
| Hum Network | 15,444,500 |
| TPL Corp | 14,377,000 |
| Sector | Volume |
|---|---|
| Cement | 66,551,986 |
| Technology & Communication | 52,429,000 |
| Commercial Banks | 51,144,503 |
| Cable & Electrical Goods | 31,984,750 |
| Oil & Gas Marketing Companies | 27,286,074 |
| Oil & Gas Exploration Companies | 21,803,383 |
| Chemical | 19,722,219 |
| Vanaspati & Allied Industries | 18,228,700 |
| Engineering | 17,211,400 |
| Power Generation & Distribution | 13,197,854 |
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July 16, 2020 (MLN): Gold moved fractionally higher at the domestic bullion market today. The price of 24 Karat-Gold increased by only Rs 50 to Rs 109,350 per tola in the local market. The valuable yellow metal had closed at Rs 109,300 per tola on the previous trading day.
According to the Karachi Sarafa Association, the price of 10-gram gold also increased marginally by Rs 43 to settle at Rs 93,750 against Rs 93,707 on the last trading day.
On the other hand, the silver prices remained flat at Rs 1,110 per tola. Similarly, 10-gram silver remained stable at Rs 943.07.
In the international market, gold prices reached $1,806 an ounce, down by only $2 while silver was pegged at $19.27 per ounce.
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