Year 2019’s first week brought along a series of development in various fronts within the country. The Supreme Court on Tuesday was informed that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recovered Rs.167 million from Pakistani citizens holding undisclosed foreign bank accounts and properties abroad.
During the proceedings, the Chief Justice remarked that they were given the impression by the authorities that Rs.3,000 billion will be recovered.
Other than this, the Supreme Court has also directed the FBR to submit a complete report about the assets and properties owned by Pakistanis abroad by 13th of this month. A three member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the case pertaining to the foreign assets of Pakistanis in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has cut power tariff by 0.32 rupees/unit, on account of variation in fuel charges for the month of November 2018 in respect of Ex-WAPDA Distribution Companies (Discos).
Apart from this, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed the Authorized Dealers to effect advance payments up to USD 10,000/- per invoice on behalf of importers cum exporters for import of raw materials, accessories and spares, stated a press release.
Moreover, the government has also reduced the price of petroleum products by up to Rs.4.86 per litre for the month of January 2019.
Indus Motor Company (IMC) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company raised the prices of their vehicles to pass on the impact of rupee depreciation on consumers. Having raised car prices four times in 2018, both the companies again enhanced prices at the beginning of the new year.
Internationally, The Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Imran Khan met with the leading Turkish businessmen and investors in Ankara on Friday. About 20 leading Turkish investors and businessmen who have on-going projects in Pakistan participated in the first meeting.
CEOs and senior officials of Limak Construction, Coca Cola Beverages, Havelsan, Hayat Kimya, Arçelik, Dolsar, Tgl Transtas Global Logistics, Zorlu Energy, Ora Construction, Bank Al Habib, and Tüm Ekip Pharma attended the meeting.
During the outgoing week, various data maintained by organizations including SBP, PBS and PCGA were also released, apprising the masses of the following stats:
- All Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) recounted in its bi-monthly report that as of January 1, 2019, a total of 10.3 million bales of cotton arrived at various cotton ginneries across Pakistan, marking a decline of around 7.5% over last year’s total for the corresponding month.
- According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan, the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at USD 13,837.80 million on December 28, 2018.
- The weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the combined group dropped by 0.31% during the week ended January 4, 2019, as compared to the one before.
- Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 0.4% over the month of December, and jumped by 6.2% as compared to last year.
- Domestic cement dispatches declined in first six months of FY18-19 by 1.41 percent as compared to same period last year which is the first ever such instance in last nine years.
Within the capital markets, the net change in the benchmark KSE-100 index stands at a decline of over 476 points. The index witnessed a remarkable gain worth over 900 points on the first day of the year, but unfortunately, it continued to decline for the next three days until the week end.
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