April 2, 2020 (MLN): ICI Pakistan has temporarily closed its Polyester Plant and office locations (which do not fall within the definition of essential services) till further orders and has moved to work from home arrangements to the extent possible, in accordance with directives of the Government with regard to containment of COVID-19.
Copyright Mettis Link News
33889
May 29, 2020: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar has said that a special meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Coronavirus will be held on Monday to finalize the strategy regarding coronavirus for the month of June.
He stressed the need for devising a mechanism of providing the latest information about the availability of beds and ventilators in the hospitals to facilitate COVID-19 patients.
Chairing a meeting at National Command and Control Centre, he said that such information would facilitate the infected people to get admission to hospitals as per their own preference.
The meeting was apprised that sufficient beds and ventilators are available in hospitals across the country for accommodating COVID-19 patients and most of the infected people prefer isolation at homes.
The forum also reviewed the progress on the implementation status of COVID-19 guidelines.
Radio Pakistan
May 29, 2020: Prime Minister Imran Khan while stressing the need of dealing with the economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic holistically as a global issue has said the world would not recover from coronavirus recession without helping the developing countries.
Addressing virtual 'United Nations high-level event on Financing for Development in the era of COVID-19 and Beyond', he said it is a global issue and a global problem, which needs global solutions.
The event was hosted by the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica and the United Nations Secretary-General.
Pleading for the help of developed countries to the developing nations, Imran Khan said it is very important for the developed world at this critical juncture to look after the people of developing countries, who are struggling.
Talking about the problems of Pakistan vis-a-vis COVID-19, the Prime Minister referred to the government’s 8 billion dollar stimulus package and said it is one of the biggest programs in Pakistan’s history.
He said we doled out 8 billion dollars to stimulate our economy and give cash to the most vulnerable section in our society.
The Prime Minister welcomed the G-20 for taking the big initiative of giving debt relief to the developing countries.
He also congratulated the UN Secretary-General, and the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica for the initiative of high-level events and urged them to continue to pursue it.
Radio Pakistan
May 29, 2020: Equities fell in early trade Friday after Donald Trump called a news conference for later in the day to outline his response to China's plan to crack down on Hong Kong, which many fear could further increase tensions between the superpowers.
The losses were being tempered, however, by hopes that parts of the planet are slowly emerging from the coronavirus crisis as governments continue to ease up on lockdown restrictions that have battered the global economy.
The retreat tracked a negative day on Wall Street, which suffered a late sell-off after Trump said he would make a statement on Beijing's controversial security plan for the southern financial hub.
The US president told reporters at an Oval Office meeting that he was "not happy" with Beijing and the news conference would be about "what we're doing with respect to China", while giving no specifics.
The White House has already revoked the city's special status, potentially opening the way for it to be stripped of key trading privileges such as lower tariffs than mainland China.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated since the outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans, with Trump laying the blame at China's door.
The row has fanned fears of a renewal of their trade war, which slammed the world economy and sent markets tumbling last year.
"All focus today will be on pre-positioning ahead of US President Trump's announcing new policies related to China in response to China's decision to move ahead with national security legislation for Hong Kong," said Stephen Innes at AxiCorp.
He said traders were eyeing losses of around seven percent for US markets, the amount they fell during last year's standoff.
But he pointed out that there was a cycle last year when stocks would dive on bad headlines before bouncing to record highs.
- 'Very cautious' -
"Once stocks were looking good, Trump would have the confidence to drop another headline bomb via new tariffs. Arguably with the S&P 500 above 3,000 they might look good again in the president's eye."
In the morning trade, Hong Kong was down 0.3 percent, Shanghai dropped 0.1 percent and Tokyo went into the break 0.3 percent lower.
Sydney fell more than one percent, Seoul eased 0.4 percent, while Singapore, Wellington and Taipei slipped 0.2 percent each.
However, Manila and Jakarta edged up.
The losses, though, were shallower than the beginning of the day, with support coming from hopes that the world is gradually returning to a semblance of normal as death and infection rates of coronavirus ease.
Bars, cafes, shops, and beaches from Asia to the US are beginning to reopen, while Italy and England have set June dates for a resumption of their football seasons.
There was also some cheer from the news that fewer people applied for US unemployment benefits for the first time last week, while the insured unemployment rate, measuring the people actually receiving benefits, also dipped for the first time since the pandemic struck.
Still, some observers remain nervous.
"I'm very cautious about my medium- and even long-term outlook for the markets," Kate Jaquet at Seafarer Capital Partners told Bloomberg TV.
"I perceive there to be a very large disconnect between the stock market valuations across the globe and underlying company fundamentals."
- Key figures around 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,854.00 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 0.3 percent at 23.053.23
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 2,843.03
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.1 percent at $33.33 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.8 percent at $35.00 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1088 from $1.1077 at 2100 GMT
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 107.42 yen from 107.59 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2327 from $1.2319
Euro/pound: UP at 89.95 pence from 89.92 pence
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 25,400.64 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.2 percent at 6,218.79 (close)
AFP/APP
May 28, 2020 (MLN): The State Bank of Pakistan conducted an auction on Thursday in which it sold PIB’s worth Rs.238.15 Billion for 3, 5, 10 and 15 years in fixed and floating rate bonds.
The combined auction target was Rs.175 billion while the maturing amount was nil.
The SBP accepted Rs.171.85 Billion in fixed Rate PIBs and Rs.66.300 Billion for the 10 year floating rate PIB.
In the fixed rate auction, the SBP received bids worth Rs.142.35 billion for 3 years, Rs.63.90 billion for 5 year, Rs.29.50 billion for 10 years, Rs.3.50 billion for 15 year and Rs.1 billion for 20 years out of which the central bank accepted Rs.81.45 billion for 3 years, Rs.57.90 billion for 5 years, Rs.27 billion for 10 years and Rs.2.5 billion for 15 years while the bids for 20 years was rejected.
Cut of Yields decreased to 7.64, 8.05, 8.69 and 9.9699 percent for 3, 5, 10 and 15 years.
In the floating rate bond auction, the SBP received bids worth Rs. 80.30 billion out of which the SBP accepted Rs.66.30 billion at a cut off price of 101.5366.
In addition to the above the SBP picked up an additional Rs. 2.999 Billion in Non-Competitive Bids making the total accepted amount Rs.238.15 Billion.
Copyright Mettis Link News
May 28, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan's Forex Reserves decreased by USD 20.40 Million or 0.11% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 18,597.90 Million on May 21, 2020.
According to data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) its reserves decreased by USD 55.40 Million due to external debt repayments.
| Foreign reserves held by | May 21, 2020 | May 15, 2020 | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Bank of Pakistan | 12,073.90 | 12,129.30 | -55.40 | -0.46% |
| Net Foreign Reserves Held by Banks | 6,524.00 | 6,489.00 | 35.00 | 0.54% |
| Total Liquid Foreign Reserves | 18,597.90 | 18,618.30 | -20.40 | -0.11% |
Amount in USD Million
Copyright Mettis Link News
