December 06, 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, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) via official Twitter handle, informed that despite rise in Covid-19 cases across the globe, Pakistan’s exports have shown a strong recovery.
On the same day, Advisor to PM for Commerce and Industries, Abdul Razak Dawood, taking to his Twitter handle said that the export of animal casings from Pakistan to Japan has resumed after a ban of four years.
With regards to vaccine, Pakistan is all set to benefit from COVID-19 vaccines, as it has completed all prerequisites to submit the vaccine request to GAVI, through the COVAX facility, a coalition for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines by all countries.
Moreover, Ministry of Commerce, on Friday, released Rs. 1.78 billion for Textiles Sector under Drawback of Local Taxes and levies (DLTL) scheme.
On Thursday, State Bank of Pakistan released its Quarterly Payment System Review (QPSR) for the first quarter, July – September 2020, of the fiscal year 2020-21, which shows strong growth in the pace of digital financial transactions in the country.
On industrial front, ECC approved abolishment of Time-of-Use tariff scheme for Industrial consumers of XWDISCOS and K-Electric which would be implemented w.e.f. 01 November 2020 till 30 April 2021. In addition, ECC also approved release of funds to PSM for payment in lieu of gas supply to SSGC
The State Bank of Pakistan released its Quarterly Payment System Review (QPSR) for the first quarter, July – September 2020, of the fiscal year 2020-21 today, which shows strong growth in the pace of digital financial transactions in the country.
SBP also made some amendments in the Master Circular on Auction of Government Securities, as a step towards more market-driven pricing in the auction of government securities and diversification of the investor-base of government securities.
Furthermore, SBP announced the auction calendar for Dec – Feb 2021 in which it plans to raise Rs.4.155 trillion through the sale of Government Securities.
On the upside, Chinese Smart Phone Manufacturer, VIVO, decided to establish a smart phone manufacturing facility in Pakistan, for which the land has been purchased. This was informed by Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, via his official Twitter account on Wednesday.
Besides, he congratulated Systems Limited Pakistan, SEARLE Pakistan (pharma) and Feroze1888 Mills (textiles) on making it to the Forbes “Asia's 200 Best Under A Billion 2020” List.
On the downside, Fitch Solutions revised down Pakistan’s refining output to a larger contraction of -25% in 2020, down from the -16% forecast prior, as current trends of refinery shutdowns and below-optimal run rates look set to be extended due to a sharp resurgence in new daily Covid-19 infections in Pakistan, putting brakes on the government’s economic reopening plans after earlier lockdowns.
In order to facilitate Clearing Members (CMs), National Clearing Company Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) on Tuesday, computed the aggregate amount of Capital Gain Tax (CGT) arising on the disposal of shares at Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period July 01, 2020 to October 31, 2020 and trading of future commodity contracts at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange for the period July 01, 2020 to September 30, 2020 (without adjusting brought forward losses of previous years).
On the automobiles front, Pakistan Suzuki Motors Company Limited (PSMC) and Indus Motors Company raised the prices of several variants by up to Rs.100,000, Pak Wheels Reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a price-revision notification of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for the month of December.
Announcements
On the equity front, Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL) signed a tripartite agreement with PROTECH, XINJIANG TBEA Automatic Equipment Co. Ltd, China and LONGI Solar Technology Co. Ltd China along with Attock Energy Limited as lead consultant for erection, procurement and commissioning of 20MW Solar Power Plant.
Besides, Air Link Communication Limited (Air Link or the Issuer), a leading distributor of mobile phones such as Apple, Samsung, TCL, Techno and Huawei in Pakistan applied to the Exchange for revalidation of PSX’s approval earlier granted on February 24, 2020 to the Draft Prospectus of the Issuer.
In addition to the above, the Board of Tri-Pack Films Limited, in its meeting held on December 2, 2020, approved investment in a new state of the art Biaxially Oriented Poly Propylene (BOPP) Film manufacturing line subject to successful financial close with banks on the borrowing facilities.
Moreover, Unilever, via notification to Exchange has updated that the company has completed the unification of its group legal structure under a single parent company, Unilever PLC, on 29 November 2020.
On the banking front, Silk Bank witnessed turnaround in profitability, as the bank reported net profits of Rs 150.84 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 against the loss of Rs 2.769 billion incurred in the same period last year.
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