Tag: Pakistan Bureau

May 16, 2022: Sri Lankan Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera on Monday assured the public of adequate fuel in the country soon.

In a statement on his Twitter page, Wijesekera said that with the arrival of a diesel cargo on Sunday and three fuel vessels in the near future, adequate fuel will be made available nationwide.

He also requested the public not to queue or re-fill in the next three days until the fuel station deliveries are completed.

Sri Lanka has been facing a severe fuel shortage, triggering almost daily power cuts in the past few months.

Xinhua/APP

May 16, 2022: China's investment in property development went down 2.7 percent year on year in the first four months of 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

Xinhua/APP

May 16, 2022: The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) on Monday realized the target of issuing Rs980 billion fresh bonds in the last 10 months of current fiscal year 2021-22 from July 1st to May 15th.

The CDNS had set an annual gross receipt target of Rs980 billion from July 1 to June 30 of the previous fiscal year 2020-21 to promote savings in the country, the senior official of CDNS told APP here.

The senior official said the CDNS had set Rs250 billion annual collection target from July 1 to June 30 for the year 2020-21 as compared to Rs352 billion for the previous year (2019-20) for the same time span to enhance savings in the country.

The CDNS had set Rs352 billion annual collection target for the year 2019-20 as compared to Rs350 billion for the previous year (2018-19), he said.

Replying to a question, he said the CDNS has decided to start Islamic finance and will start implementing its procedural work from next month to provide the facility of Islamic finance in the institution.

In this regard, under Islamic Sharia Compliance, Prize Bonds and Savings Certificates will be issued for investment in accordance with Sharia Principles, he said.

The CDNS will provide Islamic investment opportunities to its consumers in an institution like the rest of the private and public sector banking, where Islamic sharia business has now reached 20 percent.

Replying to another question, the senior official said that (CDNS) has started working to increase new investment opportunities and promote digital investment through many new projects.

The CDNS in collaboration with State Bank of Pakistan is developing digital Prize Bonds, which will be available through online electronic channels, he said.

He said the CDNS is in process of launching its first Mobile App for online purchase and encashment of National Savings Schemes.

The official said that for better and efficient transfer of funds electronically, the CDNS is going to adopt RAAST in the current month for speedy flow of funds through its financial tributaries, he said.

Initially, the CDNS has opened three separate accounts in State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to avoid/stop direct access to the Non-Food Account-1 for its Alternative Delivery Channel (ADC) operations, 1Link Payment, UPI Payment and RAAST payment.

The Finance Division will allocate budgetary ceiling on a daily basis and the CDNS will operate within the allocated funds limit. Accordingly, the PFM Act, 2019 is adopted in its true spirit for the Alternative Delivery Channels of CDNS.

He informed that the CDNS interest rates were linked with the PIB policy set by the SBP. He said the CDNS had opened new avenues for public and private investment to document the country’s economy and ensure transparency in the financial system.

Replying to another question on the current revision of CDNS certificates’ profit rates, he said the CDNS had maintained the same interest rate on the savings certificates investment due to the market situation and as per Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIB) policy decision.

APP

May 16, 2022: China's economy is expected to recover gradually as the country achieves major anti-epidemic outcomes and pro-growth policies take effects, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said Monday.

The country's economy took a hit from the domestic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in April, but the impacts are "short-lived and external," Fu said.

"The fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain unchanged. The overall trends of economic transformation and upgrading and high-quality development remain unchanged," he said.

"There are many favorable conditions for stabilizing the economy and achieving the expected development goals," the spokesperson said.

With a super-large market, complete industrial and supply chains and huge domestic demand, the world's second-largest economy has the resilience to ward off all kinds of challenges.

Fu said that despite the impacts of the epidemic, grain and energy production maintained growth during the first four months, laying a solid foundation for fighting the epidemic and promoting economic recovery. In April, the output of raw coal, crude oil and natural gas rose 10.7 percent, 4 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively, year on year.

Market supply of food and daily necessities was sufficient, with prices remaining stable. The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose just 2.1 percent year on year last month.

High-tech industries posted stellar performances, with the production of new-energy vehicles and solar cells surging 42.2 percent and 20.8 percent year on year in April.

China's economy is expected to improve in May with the accelerating resumption of work and production in Shanghai and Jilin as well as the implementation of pro-growth measures, he added.

Looking ahead, China will strengthen macro policy adjustment and mitigate the epidemic's impacts to ensure the economy runs within an appropriate range, Fu said.

Xinhua/APP

May 16, 2022 (MLN): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the provinces to meet wheat procurement targets by June 01, 2022.

Chairing a meeting on Monday, he expressed his grave concerns over the non-fulfillment of wheat procurement targets by the provinces, as reported by Radio Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said the people cannot be put into trouble under any circumstances adding that the federal government will provide flour to the people at lower rates at all costs.

He said the shortage of the commodity will not be tolerated.

The PM directed the Minister for National Food Security to immediately constitute a committee for transparent distribution of imported wheat amongst the provinces, it noted.

He directed to ensure the import of quality wheat.

Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government will also extend every possible support to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government whilst rising above politics. He said serving the poor people is our prime duty.

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