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Weekly News Roundup

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September 27, 2020 (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 Friday, Pakistan LNG Limited decided to sell its unutilized LNG, thereby inviting interested parties to seek allocation of its unutilized capacity on a short-term basis.

On Thursday, the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) expressed deep regret on the shocking demand of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for recovery of 5% remaining withholding tax (WHT) from account holders from profits earned during last fiscal year July 2019 to June 2020.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) eased 100 percent cash margin requirement on the import of certain raw materials to support manufacturing and industrial sectors and further enhance their capacity to contribute towards the recovery of the economy in post COVID-19 era.

The same day, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed to prepare a time-frame based action plan for the medium and long-term projects to enhance agriculture produce in the country.

On Wednesday, the Government of Pakistan decided to set up Medium Term Note (MTN) programs to float both Eurobonds and International Sukuk, for a period of one year initially in order to lure foreign exchange reserves into the country.

 Furthermore, Privatization Commission (PC) Board on Wednesday approved TS of Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC).

In addition, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the proposal for the removal of additional customs duties (ACDs) and regulatory duties (RDs) on selected HS Codes of the textile sector, including synthetic fibers, wool, and vegetable-based fibers.  ECC also approved an amount of Rs 3850 million for provision of salaries to the employees of Pakistan State Mills (PSM) for the financial year 2020-21, which would be disbursed every month.

On the upside, Pakistan and Turkmenistan agreed to enhance cooperation in digital connectivity initiatives.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange said that Foreign persons and institutions as well as non-resident Pakistanis (NRPs) can invest in securities listed on PSX and benefit from potential growth opportunities available through investing in the Exchange.

Besides, Dun & Bradstreet Pakistan and Gallup Pakistan jointly issued their Inaugural Report on ‘Pakistan Consumer Confidence Index’.

On Monday, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its meeting decided to maintain the Policy Rate at 7 percent.

On the banking front, investigation titled ‘FinCEN Files’ by ICIJ revealed that there were as many as 29 suspicious transactions that took place between Pakistani banks and the rest of the world. It further revealed that nearly USD 1,942,560 were received by Pakistan and USD 425,000 were sent to various parts across the world.

On the equity front, National Refinery Limited (NRL) successfully commissioned the two-stage distillation unit revamp of its Lube-I Refinery.

Avanceon Limited and its subsidiary Avanceon FZE signed Supply, Installation, Maintenance and Upgradation Contracts worth over 100 Million PKR with a major supplier of natural gas in Pakistan. Avanceon will be providing a wide range of services to install, maintain and upgrade critical systems at multiple gas fields.

Besides, Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF) will expand its existing Waste Heat Recovery Plant to 25 MW with a projected outlay of  Rs 1.8 billion.

In addition to that, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) received approval from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on its proposal for undertaking an equity injection of Rs 500 million in its wholly owned subsidiary namely HBL Asset Management Limited.

Also, Askari Bank Limited acquired remaining 26% shareholding of Askari Securities Limited from Army welfare Trust.

Financial Results:

Apart from this, several listed companies announced their financial results last week amid ongoing earnings season. Some of the important ones are:

Aisha Steel Mills (ASL) reported a net loss of Rs 616 million (LPS: Rs 0.89) for FY20 against the net profit of Rs 253 million (EPS: Rs 0.26) reported in FY19.

Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO) booked net losses of Rs 2.9 billion against the net loss of Rs 2.29 billion incurred in FY19, depicting a jump of 28% YoY.

Ismail Industries Limited suffered a 33% decline in earnings as the profits for the year ended June 30, 2020, stood at Rs. 423.7 million as compared to Rs. 631.3 million recorded last year.

The financial statement of The Organic Meat Company (TOMC) showed earnings of Rs. 266.3 million (EPS: 3.71) i.e. up by 22% as compared to the profits of last year.

Nishat Chunian Power Limited (NCPL) made profits of Rs. 4.6 billion (EPS: 12.54) during the year ended June 30, 2020, signifying a growth of almost 35% over the last year.

Copyright Mettis Link News

Posted on: 2020-09-27T13:07:00+05:00

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