Tag: PSDP

Sep 20, 2019: Germany has committed €109 million for future German Development Cooperation in Pakistan in addition to the on-going portfolio.

The German side committed grants worth €84 million for financial and technical assistance projects along with a concessional loan worth € 25 million.

The commitment was made during bi-annual negotiations on development cooperation between governments of the two countries held in Berlin from September 11-12, said a message received here on Friday.

The Pakistani delegation headed by Secretary, Economic Affairs Division (EAD) Noor Ahmed and included representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

The German delegation was headed by Director for Asia at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Gisela Hammerschmidt and included participants from the German Foreign Office, KfW, GIZ and BGR.

The two sides took stock of the existing development cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the trajectory of cooperation in different areas since 1961.

During the current talks, both sides underlined the importance of close cooperation and partnership.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development committed new funding in three sectors - Good Governance, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.

Fresh funds will be allocated to different projects, including the Billion Tree Afforestation Project, Resilience against Natural Disasters, Local Governance, support to people affected by migration and displacement, promotion of renewable energies, social health protection and improvement of social and labour standards.

The Pakistani delegation briefed the German counterparts about current and planned development priorities of the Pakistani Government, which include a stronger focus on transparency, institutional reforms, poverty alleviation, human resource development and green energy.

Both sides exchanged views on increasing the cost effectiveness of development assistance initiatives and the measures to enhance cooperation with the private sector.

The Pakistani side extended an invitation to the German delegation to visit Pakistan in the near future, which was accepted by the German side.

APP

September 20, 2019 (MLN): Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) output decreased by 3.28% for July, 2019 compared to July, 2018 and increased by 0.98% if compared to June 2019.

According to data published by PBS, the production in July 2109 as compared to July 2018 has increased in Fertilizers, and Electronics while it has significantly decreased in Food, Beverages & Tobacco, Coke & Petroleum Products, Pharmaceuticals, Automobiles and Iron & Steel Products.

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Sep 20, 2019: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Friday said Pakistan's current account was adjusting more rapidly than anticipated besides other key areas were also showing significant progress.

"Pakistan’s economic program is off to a promising start, but decisive implementation is critical to pave the way for stronger and sustainable growth", the IMF said in a statement issued at the end of a visit by the IMF mission led by Ernesto Ramirez Rigo.

The mission visited Islamabad and Karachi during September 16 to 20 to take stock of economic developments since the start of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and discussed progress in the implementation of economic policies.

A full mission for the first review under the EFF, is planned for late-October, the statement added.

Ramirez Rigo said, “While the authorities’ economic reform program is still in its early stages, there has been progress in some key areas. The transition to a market-determined exchange rate has started to deliver positive results on the external balance, exchange rate volatility has diminished, monetary policy is helping to control inflation, and the SBP has improved its foreign exchange buffers."

“There has been a significant improvement in tax revenue collections, with taxes showing double-digit growth net of exporters refunds. Moreover, the FBR is undertaking significant steps to improve tax administration and its interface with taxpayers, " he said. Importantly, the social spending measures in the program have been implemented.

“The near-term macroeconomic outlook is broadly unchanged from the time of the program approval, with growth projected at 2.4 percent in FY2019/20, inflation expected to decline in the coming months, and the current account adjusting more rapidly than anticipated.

However, domestic and international risks remain, and structural economic challenges persist. In this context, the authorities need to press ahead with their reform agenda."

He said in order to complete the first review, an IMF staff team plans to return to Pakistan in late-October to assess the end-September program targets.

The near-term macroeconomic outlook, he said was broadly unchanged from the time of the program approval, with growth projected at 2.4 percent in FY2019/20, and inflation expected to decline in the coming months.

APP

September 20, 2019 (MLN): The domestic equity market landed on consolidated today, lost only 72 points or 0.23% from the previous day’s closing and arrived at 32,111 points.

The Index traded in a range of 272.68 points or 0.85 percent of previous close, showing an intraday high of 32,331.11 and a low of 32,058.43.

Of the 92 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 27 closed up 60 closed down, while 5 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 120.35 million shares.

Sector wise, the index was let down by Cement with 43 points, Commercial Banks with 25 points, Technology & Communication with 11 points, Textile Composite with 7 points and Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 7 points.

The most points taken off the index was by OGDC which stripped the index of 22 points followed by HBL with 19 points, LUCK with 18 points, FCCL with 8 points and TRG with 8 points.

Sectors propping up the index were Inv. Banks / Inv. Cos. / Securities Cos. with 29 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 15 points, Miscellaneous with 6 points, Paper & Board with 5 points and Insurance with 1 points.

The most points added to the index was by DAWH which contributed 30 points followed by PPL with 20 points, PSO with 14 points, BAFL with 12 points and EPCL with 7 points.

All Share Volume increased by 16.71 Million to 153.28 Million Shares. Market Cap decreased by Rs.12.43 Billion.

Total companies traded were 351 compared to 357 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 138 closed up, 195 closed down while 18 remained unchanged.

Total trades increased by 2,377 to 59,394.

Value Traded decreased by 0.07 Billion to Rs.5.82 Billion

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September 20, 2019 (MLN): Imports into Pakistan during the month of August, 2019 amounted to Rs. 578,294 million as against Rs. 638,338 million in July, 2019 and Rs. 614,126 million during August, 2018 showing a decrease of 9.41% MoM and by 5.83% YoY.

As per the data gathered by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), in terms of US dollars the imports in August, 2019 was $3,658 million as compared to $4,019 million in July, 2019, showing a decrease of 8.98% and by 26.26% as compared to $4,961 million in August, 2018.

Imports during July-August, 2019 totaled Rs. 1,216,632 million as against Rs. 1,211,953 million during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 0.39%.

In terms of US dollars the imports during July -August, 2019 totaled $7,677 million as against $9,769 million during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 21.41%.

Main commodities of imports during August, 2019 were Petroleum products (Rs. 76,215 million), Natural gas, liquified (Rs. 46,779 million), Electrical machinery and apparatus (Rs. 38,133 million), Plastic materials (Rs. 25,347 million), Palm oil (Rs. 23,792 million), Iron and steel (Rs. 23,695 million), Petroleum crude (Rs. 23,328 million), Iron and steel scrap (Rs. 19,415 million), Power generating machinery (Rs. 15,564 million) and Medicinal Products (Rs. 13,692 million).

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