The Central Bank Conducted an OMO on Friday in which it injected Rs.1,055.15 Billion in the market for 7 Days through a reverse repo. It received 29 quotes, ranging from 5.90% to 5.79%, for a total amount of Rs.1,103.65 billion out of which the SBP accepted 26 quotes at 5.80%.
January 27, 2021: Minister for planning Asad Umar has stressed maintaining the momentum of CPEC projects and following the timelines for their early completion.
Chairing the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on CPEC in Islamabad on Tuesday, he said CPEC is a priority project for enhancing Pak-China economic cooperation.
The forum reviewed the progress on various projects undertaken by the Working Groups under CPEC.
The meeting was briefed on the overall progress of CPEC projects in Industrial Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure, Gwadar, Science and Technology, Socio-Economic Development, Agriculture, Transport and Communications and issues faced in the implementation of these projects.
The committee also emphasized that unresolved inter-ministerial issues should be brought before the Cabinet Committee on CPEC directly by the respective Ministries along with recommendations for their resolution.
The committee noted that significant progress has been achieved on various projects.
Radio Pakistan
January 27, 2021: European stocks rebounded Tuesday but Wall Street treaded water as traders tracked developments on the coronavirus pandemic and the latest US stimulus plan.
Investors welcomed a new forecast from the IMF, which lifted its 2021 while warning of "extraordinary uncertainty" due to Covid-19.
Bourses in Paris and Frankfurt made solid gains after an ugly session on Monday.
"Stock markets were already driving higher this morning and the bullish move was given extra help by the IMF, which lifted its expectations for the world growth," said market analyst David Madden at CMC Markets UK.
The International Monetary Fund said the global economy is expected to see a strong rebound this year, but the coronavirus crisis is causing severe damage, slashing tens of trillions of dollars off GDP.
Optimism that new vaccines will bring the pandemic under control and allow economic activity to resume, coupled with the stimulus in major economies, has allowed the IMF to boost its global growth forecast this year by two percentage points to 5.5 percent.
Investors have been on a stock-buying spree since November, when Joe Biden won the US presidency and vaccinations began to be authorized, with additional support coming from central banks' loose monetary policy and massive government spending.
But while the general feeling is of optimism about the long-term outlook, confidence is being tested by the pandemic, its rising death toll, new lockdowns, and problems in rolling out inoculations.
The biggest driver of the market rally in recent weeks has been hoping for Biden's $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan.
But there is a growing concern that it could be whittled down in congressional negotiations, with Republicans and even some Democrats concerned about its size in the wake of a $900 billion deal passed at the end of last month.
There is also growing concern that it may not pass before the US Senate turns to the impeachment trial of Donald Trump in two weeks.
Fawad Razaqzada at ThinkMarkets said that "although there are questions surrounding the timing and scale of new fiscal aid, investors seem convinced that the aid is coming, nonetheless."
US stocks wobbled, although the S&P 500 touched another record high before pulling back.
Razaqzada said that "investors are also positive that the fourth quarter technology earnings will beat Wall Street expectations."
Shares of Microsoft jumped 3.6 percent in after-hours trading after reporting a 33 percent increase in quarterly earnings to $15.5 billion.
Apple, Tesla, and Facebook will be among those releasing figures on Wednesday.
Asian traders were in a selling mood Tuesday, with Hong Kong and Shanghai suffering big losses after the People's Bank of China tightened liquidity in mainland financial markets.
Seoul shed more than two percent after data showed the South Korean economy suffered its worst year since 1998 when the Asian financial crisis rocked the region.
- Key figures around 2230 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 30,937.04 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,849.62 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.1 percent at 13,626.06 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 6,654.01 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.7 percent at 13,870.99 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 5,523.52 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.1 percent at 3,592.83 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 28,546.18 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: DOWN 2.6 percent at 29,391.26 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 3,569.43 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2170 from $1.2139 at 2100 GMT
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 103.61 yen from 103.75 yen
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3734 from $1.3675
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.48 pence from 88.76 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $52.61 per barrel
Brent North Sea crude: UP less than 0.1 percent at $55.91 per barrel
AFP/APP
January 26, 2021: Optimism that new vaccines will bring the pandemic under control and allow economic activity to resume coupled with a stimulus in major economies has boosted the growth forecast this year to 5.5 percent, the IMF said Tuesday.
"These developments indicate a stronger starting point for the 2021-22 global outlook," the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO).
The fund expects growth in the United States to be a full two points higher than previously projected at 5.5 percent, its strongest rate since 1984, while the IMF forecasts China growing 8.8 percent.
But the Washington-based crisis lender warned the outlook is beset by "extraordinary uncertainty" and more action is needed to prevent lasting damage.
APP
January 26, 2021 (MLN): Multinational companies operating in Pakistan repatriated $892.3 million in profit and dividends on investments in the country during the six months of FY21 which was 7% higher than the profits of $836.3 million repatriated in the corresponding period of last year. This was due to improved profitability and macroeconomic indicators which strengthened foreign investors’ confidence in Pakistan’s economy.
However, in the month of December alone, repatriation of profits and dividends on investment by the foreign firms decreased 13%YoY while jumped by a whopping 108% MoM to $144.2 million, SBP data showed.
The data further revealed that during July-Dec FY21, foreign companies repatriated $840.1 million worth of profit against the foreign direct investments (FDI) in various businesses compared to $743.2 million in the same period last year. Moreover, profits on equity investments stood at $52.2 million compared to $93.1 million a year earlier, marking a decline of 44% YoY.
Sector-wise:
The data shows that the major sectors that repatriated relatively higher profits include Food, Communication sector, Financial Business, Tobacco & Cigarettes, Transport, Oil & Gas Exploration sector and Chemical, among which Food Sector repatriated highest profits of $171.5 million during 6MFY21 to overseas, against $53.4 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal year, showing a growth of 221% YoY.
The data further revealed that profits outflow from Financial Businesses increased dipped 2% YoY to $122.5 million against an outflow of $125.5 million in July-Dec FY20.
Profit outflows from the Communication sector jumped to $119.3 million from $33 million. The transport sector repatriated $74.1 million in July-December FY2021, which was 47% lower when compared with $139.2 million in the corresponding period of FY2020.
The Tobacco & Cigarettes segment repatriated $76.5 million in the first six months of FY21, compared with $35.1 million in the same period of FY20.
The Oil & Gas Exploration sector repatriated $69.2 million, which was 38% lower as they had sent $111.8 million during July-Dec FY20.
Similarly, the Chemical sector repatriated 32% lower profits during the period under review which amounted to $46.8 million, while in the corresponding period last year, the sector repatriated $69.1 million.
Country-wise:
A country-wise break up of data on repatriation of profit/dividend released by SBP revealed that firms and individual investors belonging to the United Kingdom dispatched the single largest profit of $303.8 million during 6MFY21 compared to $155.7 million in the same period the prior year.
The United States witnessed the repatriation of the second-highest profits as the country repatriated $133.6 million abroad during the period under review, compared with $100.1 million in the corresponding period the previous year.
Third in line is Malta which repatriated $91.7 million from Pakistan during the period, while in the corresponding period last year, the country did not remit any profits or dividend income from Pakistan.
Next followed by Switzerland with profit repatriation of $53.4 million which was 12% lower when compared with last year figures.
Companies from Hong Kong repatriated $44 million in 6MFY21 compared to $98.9 million in July-Dec FY20.
Furthermore, Chinese firms repatriated $35.9 million abroad during the period under study, compared with $92.1 million in 6MFY20, depicting a fall of 61% YoY.
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