May 15, 2022 (MLN): The highlights of the important economic and business events that took place during the last week are in order so as to become acquainted with the recent developments in Pakistan’s economic and public policy.

Events of Importance through the week:

• On Saturday, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr Miftah Ismail expressed the firm resolve of the Government to ensure stability in the Forex market
• On the same day, Mr Miftah Ismail emphasized that  Kamyab Pakistan Program (KPP) should be re-examined and modified accordingly for ensuring a greater level of effectiveness, transparency and efficiency.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,345 new companies in April 2022 raising the total number of registered companies to 168,030.
• Meanwhile,  in a bid to improve and ensure transparency in the process for capital formation, SECP has recommended a revamp of Companies (Further Issue of Shares) Regulations, 2020.
• The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Friday raised the distribution price of Regassified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) by up to $6.87 per million metric British thermal unit (mmbtu) for the month of May 2022.
• The government has approved an amnesty scheme for Pakistani citizens holding more than one Pakistani passport.
• President Dr Arif Alvi Friday approved the reconstitution of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on the advice of the prime minister.
• On the upside, Pakistan has exported its first vehicle – made by Master Changan Motors – under the new Auto Industry Development and Export Policy (AIDEP 2021-26).
• Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) has announced the addition of Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC) and the deletion of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) from the constituent list of MSCI Frontier Market Index (FM).
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide the additional support of $2.5 billion for FY23, from which $1.5-2 billion can be available in the ongoing calendar year.
• On the agriculture side, the government has so far released funds amounting to over Rs7.761 billion to execute 26 ongoing and 07 new agriculture-related projects under its Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the financial year 2021-22.
• During the week, Easypaisa introduced an innovative feature that enables users to upgrade their mobile wallet accounts through in-app biometric verification.
• Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmud has taken the notice of massive hike in locally assembled cars and asked the Engineering Development Board (EDB) to submit a brief report on the responsible factors behind the surging prices.
• Pakistan’s B2B e-commerce startup Jugnu has launched its Buy Now, Pay Later solution for SME retailers.
• Pakistan’s MedznMore has raised more than $11.5 million in the country’s largest funding round by a healthcare startup, helping the company expand services and hire more tech talent.
• The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday cleared four development projects worth Rs136.74 billion during its meeting held here under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan.
• On the same day, Minister for Privatization Abid Hussan Bhayo informed the National Assembly that privatization transactions worth Rs4.293 billion have been conducted from August 2018 to April 2022.
• On Tuesday, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom Aminul Haque stated that the cyberattack attempted on the NTC system of the ministry was foiled.
• Considering the cost of production and expected international price scenarios of future markets, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research has proposed to revise the intervention price of seed cotton (Phutti) to Rs6,000 per 40 kg for crop season 2022-23.
• The government is reverting urea price to the old price i.e. Rs1768/bag to provide relief to farmers.
• Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail on Tuesday said that the upcoming budget aims at bringing in the fiscal consolidation and improving the overall resilience of the economy.
• During the departed week, Pakistan has selected a group of banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. to manage US dollar-denominated bonds.
• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, taking notice of the detection of the highly-infectious sub-variant of the Omicron virus, directed the restoration of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).
• The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Monday has granted the approval to revise the prices of Wheat flour (Atta) and Sugar from Rs950 per 20 kg to Rs800 per 20 Kg and Rs85 per kg to Rs70 per kg respectively.
• Markaz Technologies, a Y-Combinator backed startup from Islamabad, has secured $2.4 million in seed funding led by Indus Valley Capital.
• Talks between Pakistan and International Monetary Fund (IMF) will likely to hold from May 18, 2022, in Doha. The matter pertaining to the removal of subsidies on petrol and electricity will also be discussed.

Announcement:

• On the equity side, the shareholders of Saif Holdings Limited (SHL) have approved the distribution of 46,111,748 numbers of ordinary shares as dividend in kind to SHL shareholders which are 11.93% of SPWL paid-up capital.
• The Organic Meat Company Limited (TOMCL) has become the first company to secure supply contracts worth USD2.2 million to Jordan and Kuwait to supply “Fresh-chilled Bone-in Beef” and “Commercially-Branded Frozen Bone-in Beef”.
• Arif Habib Limited (AHL), Manager to the Offer, on behalf of the acquirers, has submitted a Public Announcement of Offer (PAO) to acquire up to 1,967,700 ordinary shares of Karam Ceramics Limited, representing 13.52% of the total issued paid-up capital of the target company.
• The Issuer and the Advisor, KTrade Securities Limited to the Issue has once again decided to cancel the book building of Coeus Solutions Limited on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board until further notice.
• Oilboy Energy Limited (PSX: OBOY) has decided to raise Rs150 million through a right issue of 15mn ordinary shares at a par value of Rs10/- each.
• Ittehad Chemicals Limited has commenced the commercial operations of its state-of-the-art LABSA/SLES Plant.
• TPL Properties Limited (TPLP) has informed that its wholly-owned subsidiary TPL REIT Management Company Ltd (TPL RMC) has successfully entered into Unit Subscription Agreements for its first funding round of Rs18.35 billion in its TPL REIT Fund I (Fund) with all initial investors.
• Systems Limited (PSX: SYS) has entered into a term sheet with the sponsor shareholders of National Data Consultant (Pvt.) Limited (NdcTech) for the acquisition of 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital of NdcTech.
• Ghani Global Glass Limited (GGGL) has successfully commenced the commercial operations for manufacturing of glass tubing from its newly installed 25 tons per day (TPD) second furnace from May 07, 2022.
• Agritech Limited’s (AGL) urea plant has now resumed its operations after an improvement in the demand-supply position of gas as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) restored the supply of RLNG from May 7, 2022.
• The shareholders of the G3 Technologies Limited (PSX: GTECH) in their Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EoGM) held on May 7, 2022, have resolved to increase the authorized share capital of the company by Rs500 million.
• Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has announced that the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) has provisionally awarded a new exploration block, Chah Bali, located in Balochistan to OGDCL and Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL).
• The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited (PACRA) has maintained entity ratings of Mughal Iron & Steel Industries Ltd- PP Sukuk at ‘A+’ for the long term with a stable outlook.
• The aggregate shareholding of Ismail Industries Limited (ISIL) in the Bank of Khyber (BOK) has increased to 269,383,781 shares which comprise 24.43% of the total issued voting shares of the bank.

Copyright Mettis Link News

32725