Mettis Global News

Aug 20, 2019: The Trump administration gave Huawei Technologies a 90-day reprieve Monday from a ban on doing business with US companies, as high-stakes trade talks between Washington and Beijing struggle to show gains.

The US Commerce Department effectively suspended for a second time tough rules banning US companies from selling technology components and services to the Chinese telecommunications giant and a prohibition on buying equipment from it.

The move means Huawei can continue to buy US-made semiconductors and other materials crucial to its phones and network equipment, and that US telecommunications companies can continue to buy Huawei's networking equipment.

But it doesn't signal a change in US concerns that Huawei equipment poses a national security threat or lift a general prohibition on the use of its market-leading next-generation 5G systems in the United States.

The Commerce Department, meanwhile, added 46 more companies to its list of Huawei subsidiaries and affiliates that would be covered by the ban if it is implemented in full, taking the total on the list to more than 100.

"As we continue to urge consumers to transition away from Huawei's products, we recognize that more time is necessary to prevent any disruption," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

- Markets surge -

The move, which was first reported in the media Sunday, gave a boost to markets from Asia to the Americas, which had been driven down by fears that the trade war between the world's economic superpowers is driving the global economy toward recession.

Both Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks soared more than two percent, and in early trade US shares were up more than one percent.

Also helping the market mood were comments from President Donald Trump's chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow, who said Sunday that the two sides were working to rekindle the trade negotiations.

Kudlow said that negotiators at a deputy level were to have teleconference discussions over the next week to 10 days.

If those "pan out," there can be "a substantial renewal of negotiations" at the level of principal negotiators, Kudlow told Fox News.

"The phone calls last week actually produced a lot more positive news than has been reported in the media," he said.

- National security 'threat' -

Huawei is the number two global smartphone vendor and is considered the world leader in fast fifth-generation or 5G equipment, but is hampered by lack of access to key hardware and software, including smartphone chips.

US intelligence has warned for several years that Huawei has close ties to the Chinese military and that its 5G equipment by design could provide Beijing's spies an electronic backdoor into the computer systems of any of its clients.

With Huawei's lower-priced, proven 5G technology already being installed around the world, Washington has pressed key allies to steer clear of it and forbidden its use by US telecoms companies and government entities.

"Technically, Huawei says they're privately-owned company, but under Chinese law even private companies are required to cooperate with the military and with the Chinese intelligence agencies and they're also required not to disclose that they are doing so," Ross told Fox News Network Monday.

Nevertheless Trump has partially linked Huawei's US business to gaining concessions in his broader trade showdown with China.

On May 15, he issued a national security order banning all business with the company, sending shockwaves through Huawei, because of its heavy dependence on US semiconductors, but also through Silicon Valley's chipmakers.

As China threatened to take a harder stance in trade talks, a 90-day reprieve eased the situation. The 90-day extension announced Monday gave companies on both sides more time to prepare.

Yet Trump remained ambiguous over whether Huawei was a trade or national security issue.

"Huawei is a company we may not do business with at all," he told reporters Sunday, before the reprieve was announced.

"At this moment it looks much more like we're not going to do business. I don't want to do business at all, because it is a national security threat."

AFP/APP

Aug 20, 2019: The price of 24 karat gold sinked by Rs 1,000 and was traded at Rs 88,000 per tola as compared with the last closing at Rs 89,000, Karachi Sarafa Association reported on Monday.

The price of 10 gram gold also witnessed decrease of Rs 865 and was traded at Rs 75,439 against Rs 76,303 of last day.

The price of silver remained constant and was traded at Rs 1,120 per tola and Rs 960.21 per 10 grams.

In international market the price of per ounce gold dipped by $ 16 and was traded at $ 1,498 as compared with the last closing at $ 1514.

APP

August 19, 2019 (MLN): Cyan Limited held its Board Meeting on August 19, 2019, in which the board announced Losses of Rs. 55 million for the half year ended June 30, 2019, as compared to profits of Rs. 155 million recorded in the same period of last year.  

According to the official document issued to the PSX, the company suffered heavily due to decline in gain on sale of investments by 97%.

The Company’s Loss per share stood at Rs. 0.95 for the said period, as opposed to EPS of Rs. 2.65 recorded in the same period last year.

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August 19, 2019 (MLN): After feasting on negative sentiments on trading floor for the last 8 sessions, the bears handed over control to the bulls in today’s session as the KSE 100 index recovered 797 points of the 3,174 points lost in these 8 trading sessions.

This recovery pulled the index back above 29,000 points, letting it conclude the day at 29,562 points which is 2.77% higher than Friday’s close.

Today’s recovery is owed to a general expectation of improved trade numbers as the deficit is expected to decrease 29% in the first month of ongoing fiscal year.

Moreover, the sell-off led by mutual funds in the last 8 sessions took a breather today, which further relieved the index.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 935.28 points or 3.25 percent of previous close, showing an intraday high of 29,609.16 and a low of 28,673.88.

Of the 92 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 80 closed up 10 closed down, while 2 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 76.33 million shares.

Sectors propping up the index were Commercial Banks with 257 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 142 points, Fertilizer with 98 points, Cement with 63 points and Power Generation & Distribution with 60 points.

The most points added to the index was by HBL which contributed 84 points followed by OGDC with 73 points, MCB with 70 points, ENGRO with 59 points and PPL with 53 points.

Meanwhile, the KSE All Share Volume increased by 37.30 Million to 102.52 Million Shares. Market Cap increased by Rs.113.22 Billion.

Total companies traded were 354 compared to 310 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 283 closed up, 51 closed down while 20 remained unchanged.

Total trades increased by 13,030 to 42,563 while the Value Traded increased by 0.52 Billion to Rs.3.94 Billion.

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August 19, 2019 (MLN): As many as 10.9 thousand passenger cars were sold during the month of July 2019 against the production of 16.4 thousand units, a report issued by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (PAMA) revealed on Monday.

As a result, the sale of passenger cars plunged by nearly 42% as compared to the same period of last year.

Surprisingly, the maximum number of sales were made within the category of ‘below 1000cc’ engine at 5,310 units. Within this category, Suzuki Alto recorded the maximum sales at 4,584 units.

Nearly 2,051 units were sold within the ‘1300cc and above’ category, wherein Toyota Corolla made the highest sales at 1,981 units during the month. This was followed by Honda cars, which sold 1,452 units.

With respect to 1000cc category, Suzuki Cultus sold 1,208 units, whereas Suzuki WagonR sold 843 units.

Furthermore, 407 units of Trucks were sold during the stated month, which is 30.3% less than the sales of same period last year.

The number of total buses sold in July totaled 118 units, which is 7.2% less than the sales of same period last year.

Lastly, the total number of two wheelers and three wheelers sold in July amounted to 107,427 units, i.e. 28.7% lower than sales in same month of last year.    

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August 19, 2019 (MLN): The overall output of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) decreased by 3.64%, in Fiscal Year 2019. Meanwhile, the output in June 2019 decreased by 5.05% on a year-on-year basis, and by 8.5Y one a month-on-month basis.

The monthly quantum index of manufacturing has touched an all-time low of 125.18 in the last 2 years, as the last low recorded prior to this was witnessed in June 2017.

The production in FY19 as compared to FY18 has increased in Fertilizers and Electronics while it has significantly decreased in Food, Beverages & Tobacco, Coke & Petroleum Products, Pharmaceuticals, Non Metallic Mineral Products, Automobiles and Iron & Steel Products.

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August 19, 2019: The imports of vegetable products into the country decreased by 13.20 percent during the financial year 2018-19 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

According to State Bank of Pakistan the vegetable product imports into the country during July-June (2018-19) were recorded at 2475.547 million dollars against the import of 2852.307 million dollars during July-June (2017-18), showing declined of 13.20 percent.

The imports of cereals declined by 11.15 percent from $99.745 million to $88.617 million while the imports of edible fruits and nuts decreased by 66.677 percent, from $108.478 million last year to $36.155 million.

August 19, 2019: The total disbursements from various financial sources were recorded $10,186 million during the fiscal year 2018-19, including loans of $9,856 million and grants of $330 million, official sources said.

Out of these, the disbursement from multilateral sources were $2,112 million whereas the disbursements from and bilateral sources stood at $1,977 million, according to One Year Performance Report launched by the government.

During the period under review, the borrowings from foreign commercial banks were $4,098 million and State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposit from China were $2,000 million.

These finances were helpful to finance development projects, repay outstanding external loans, improve balance of payments position and provide budgetary support, it added.

Meanwhile, during FY 2018-19, the incumbent government repaid $9,101 million to international development partners and foreign commercial banks on account of principal repayments ($7,047 million) and debt servicing ($2,055 million).

The external inflows facilitate the government to discharge its debt obligations, the report added.

The government recovered Rs239.158 billion foreign loans relent to provincial governments and autonomous bodies and as a result of recovery the receipts of the government increased.

According to the report, the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) has launched a project on “Strengthening of External Debt Management in EAD”, with support from the World Bank under the Pakistan Debt Management Support Programme (P-DMSP).

The project aims to ensure sustainability of the public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) external debt data statistics and reporting and Implementation of United Nation Commission for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) backed latest version (6.0) of Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS).

During the year, the government signed $3,419 million worth of new loan agreements with Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Korea and France.

In addition, $833 million worth of new grant agreements have also been signed with various multilateral and bilateral development partners.

APP

August 19, 2019 (MLN): Pakistani rupee (PKR) appreciated by 5 paisa against US Dollar (USD) in today's interbank session as the currency closed the day's trade at PKR 158.62 per USD, against last session's closing of PKR 158.67 per USD.

The rupee traded within a very narrow range of 15 paisa per USD showing an intraday high bid of 158.85 and an intraday Low offer of 158.75.

Within the Open Market, PKR was traded at 158.00/159.50 per USD.

Meanwhile, the currency gained 47 paisa against the Pound Sterling as the day's closing quote stood at PKR 192.32 per GBP, while the previous session closed at PKR 192.79 per GBP.

On the other hand, PKR's value weakened by 9 paisa against EUR which closed at PKR 176.06 at the interbank today.

On another note, within the money market, the overnight repo rate towards close of the session was 12.75/13.00 percent, whereas the 1 week rate was 13.00/13.25 percent.

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August 19, 2019 (MLN): International Steels Limited has reported net profits of Rs. 2.6 billion (EPS: Rs. 6.12) for the year ended June 30, 2019, which is around 39% lower than the earnings of last year.

The Board of Directors of the company also recommended a payment of 15% final cash dividend i.e. Rs. 1.50 per share in addition to the interim dividend of 15% already paid, making a total dividend of 30% i.e. Rs. 3 per share for the said period.

Regrettably, the company’s performance for the year was slightly worse than what the market had expected.

The decline in company’s profit was mainly due to lower than expected volumetric sales during the last quarter. This can be attributed to the increase in prices of Cold Rolled Coil and Hot Dipped Galvanized Coil due to PKR devaluation.

On top of that, the finance costs for the year surged by a massive 139% due to increase in interest rates.

Nevertheless, fall in income tax expense by 29% provided much needed relief to the company.

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