October 4, 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, the government appointed Tabish Gauhar as a special assistant to the prime minister on power.
The same day, ECC approved import of 180,000 MT of wheat from Russia on GTG basis
On Thursday, the government set export targets for the next five years, depending upon economic conditions, global situation and currency movement.
Meanwhile, Asian Development Bank announced to provide a loan of 300 million dollars for Third Capital Market Development Program in Pakistan.
On Wednesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) extended the date for filing income tax returns/ statements till Dec 08, 2020.
Furthermore, the Economic Coordination Committee approved over 19 billion rupees to start the implementation of retrenchment plan of Pakistan Steel Mills on immediate basis.
On energy front, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Wednesday completed a hearing on a petition filed by the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) on behalf of ex-WAPDA power distribution companies for 98 paisa per unit increase for August under monthly fuel adjustment mechanisms.
Additionally, SSGC started supplying up to 180 mmcfd of gas to K-Electric as the Gas shortfall in Sindh has reduced from 150 to 100 mmcfd, with pressure of gas also improving considerably.
On the oil front, the government fixed the target of producing 31.12 Million Barrel (MBL) oil, 1.58 Trillion Cubic Feet Gas (TCF) gas during the fiscal year 2020-21 aimed at meeting the maximum domestic fuel requirements through indigenous means and bringing down the country’s oil import bill.
Also, Sindh cabinet in its meeting under Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in Karachi today accorded approval to allot land to Sui Southern Gas Company to lay gas pipeline in Malir, Jamshoro and Thatta districts of the province.
Besides, Pakistan Customs (FBR) revised upwards rates of Duty Drawback for the Leather sector under Prime Minister's vision of “Make in Pakistan”.
On the equity front, Agha Steel signed Rs 10.5 billion MoU with Horizon Steel that ensures Agha Steel will reliably supply the intermediate steel product that the downstream steel industry uses as raw material.
Burshane LPG Ltd issued a clarification in which the company termed the case compiled by the I&I wing of FBR as totally fabricated, fictitious and baseless.
ATC Holdings, the holding company of National Food Limited (NATF), made an equity investment of Rs 88 million out of Rs 300 million by way of acquiring ordinary shares of National Foods Limited from the open market.
Furthermore, the Board of Directors of JS Fuel Pvt. Limited (JSFPL) and Quality 1 Petroleum Pvt. Limited (Q1), approved the amalgamation of JSFPL with and into Q1, with the completion date of the amalgamation being September 30, 2020.
Besides, the Board of Directors of Service Industries Limited announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Service Global Footwear Limited, decided to raise capital through Initial Public Offering, and to accordingly get itself listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Avanceon Limited and BMA Capital signed the mandate for the planned Initial Public Offering of Avanceon Limited’s wholly-owned subsidiary Octopus Digital.
In addition to that, the Board of Directors of the Security Investment Bank Limited (SIBL), in their meeting held on September 26, 2020, approved the transformation of SIBL into Micro Finance Bank at province level.
Also, NBP Pakistan Growth Index will be made live along with its constituents from October 5, 2020.
Hub Power Company Limited (HUBCO), in an announcement to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), said that the government of Pakistan has notified the achievement of Financial closing by ThalNova Power Thar (Private) Limited (TNPTL) on September 30, 2020, an associated company of HUBCO
Financial Results:
Apart from this, several listed companies announced their financial results last week amid ongoing earnings season. Some of the important ones are:
Silk Bank Limited witnessed a whopping 16x increased in net profits to Rs 1.88 billion for the six months ended on June 30th 2020, compared to the profits of Rs 116.8 million in the corresponding period of last year.
Gul Ahmed Textile Mills reported losses of Rs. 625.7 million (LPS: 1.46) for the Financial Year 2020, as opposed to the earnings of Rs. 3.6 billion recorded last year.
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) observed 15.47% YoY decline in its net profits in FY20 to Rs 1 billion compared to the profits of Rs 1.18 billion earned in FY19.
Searle Company Limited witnessed 12.5% YoY increase in net profits for FY20 to Rs 2.548 billion compared to the profits of Rs 2.265 billion reported in FY19.
Fecto Cement Limited incurred losses of Rs. 770 million (LPS: 15.35) for the year ended June 30, 2020, against the profits of Rs. 88.9 million (EPS: 1.77) recorded in the previous year.
Pioneer Cement suffered losses of Rs. 209.6 million (LPS: 0.92) for the year ended June 30, 2020 on the back of lower retention prices and high production cost.
The financial statement of Nishat Chunian Limited (NCL) showed a whopping 91.6% YoY decline in net profits to Rs.265.3 million for FY20, compared to Rs 3.16 billion booked in FY19.
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