Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 10 August

Transcription

1. August 09-10 , 2020 KCCI - eBulletin Businesses to open on Monday, schools on Sept 15, says Sindh govt Sindh’s Provincial Task Force on Coronavirus has decided to reopen business activities all over the province from today (10th Aug’20), as proposed by the National Coordination Committee (NCC). However educational institutions would reopen on 15th Sep’20. The provincial govt. will once again review the situation in the first week of next month to go ahead with the plan. Dawn-Sun. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT 7-Aug 7-Aug PKR PKR 167.88 168.50 -0.15% -0.12% KSE-100 index FIPI 7-Aug 7-Aug Pts. $ Mn 40,030 -1.01 -0.34% NM** Crude (AP'19) 7-Aug $/bbl 41.54 -1.19% Gold (MA'19) 7-Aug $/oz 2,031.3 -1.70% Gold (10g) Local 7-Aug PKR 110,100 -1.43% Silver (MA'19) 7-Aug $/oz 28.28 -2.98% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 7-Aug PKR 8,841 0.00% Kibor-6M 7-Aug % 7.18 -0.03% Import of raw materials: Commissioners IR exercising discretionary powers Commissioners Inland Revenue in the field formations of FBR are exercising discretionary powers and their individual understanding for issuance of exemption certificates on the import of raw materials and other inputs consumed by manufacturers etc. Tax experts have said that though under section 153 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001 the manufactures are entitled to the issuance of exemption certificates in respect of their supplies to address the issue of excessive tax deduction at source yet due to lack of standard operating procedures there is no uniformity across the country. BR-Mon. Forex Reserves 30-Jul $ Bn 19.56 WoW 3.44% Remittances Jul-Jun 20 $ Bn 23.12 6.35% Exports* Jul-Jun 20 $ Bn 21.39 -6.84% Imports* Jul-Jun 20 $ Bn 44.57 -18.61% Trade Balance* Jul-Jun 20 $ Bn -23.18 27.11% President-elect of UNGA arrives on two-day visit to Pakistan President-elect of UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir arrives in Islamabad on a 2-day visit. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will hold discussions with Volkan Bozkir on issues relating to peace and security, development, and human rights. BR-Mon. Current Account Foreign Direct Inv. Jul-Jun 20 Jul-Jun 20 $ Bn $ Bn -2.97 2.56 77.92% 88.03% Monthly fuel price adjustment: Nepra increases tariff Nepra has formally notified cumulative increase of PKR 1.17/unit to be recovered in bills of Aug’20 and PKR 1.098/unit in Sep’20 in Discos tariffs under monthly fuel price adjustment. BR-Mon. ‘Govt plans to phase out custom taxes, regulatory duty on selected imported raw materials’ Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has said that the govt. is aiming to reduce Additional Customs Duty (ACD) and Regulatory Duty (RD) on raw materials that are not produced in Pakistan. KCCI President Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan said that it is encouraging to see that the ministry of commerce had been working to finalize tariff rationalization policy on industrial raw materials for the next 3 years which is long overdue and which would ensure sustainability to economy. The planned reforms would allow businessmen and industrialists to focus on expanding their production and exports rather than on remaining concerned with unpredictability of costs due to frequent changes in tariff structures and ad hoc measures by FBR. Profit Pakistan-Sat. Duration of electricity interruption much higher in Pakistan: WB World Bank, in its first comprehensive stock-taking of infrastructure services in Asia, says although electricity access in Pakistan is in line with regional averages of 92.5%, the average interruption duration and frequency values are much higher. Pakistan suffers from outdated facilities and a complex distribution system vulnerable to damage, the report says. Dawn-Sun. Karachi power situation set to aggravate Power supply situation is set to aggravate, particularly in Karachi, as K-Electric’s (KE) financials deteriorate to an extent of its inability to pay fuel bills due to non-payment of subsidies and a freeze on tariff by the govt. KE has formally conveyed to the federal govt. that it is not in a position to make payments against gas and furnace oil supplies to SSGCL and PSO. Dawn-Mon. 592 new companies step in Pakistan’s booming IT market Govt., during the last 2 years has attracted around 592 information technology companies, which got themselves registered for new business ventures. Ministry of Information Technology said that the number of IT companies have increased to 2,354 as of 30thJun’20 compared to 1,762 valid registrations as of 30th Jun’18. The Nation-Mon. Coronavirus threat far from over in Pakistan, claims ICG report The International Crisis Group, a think tank used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global crisis, has dire warnings for Pakistan according to its latest report, “Pakistan’s Covid-19 Crisis”. It said that so far Pakistan appears to have the situation \ under control but there is no way of knowing how the massive processions and gatherings during Muharram will alter the situation. The report points out Aug’20 could see another surge since the public because of mixed messaging from the govt. itself may disregard precautions during religious festivities and ceremonies. The News-Mon. High energy tariffs: SMEs on verge of collapse Commerce Ministry has said that hundreds of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – acting as indirect exporters – are virtually on the verge of collapse because of the highest energy tariff. It said that if the govt. failed to extend regionally competitive power tariff at 7.5 cents per unit and RLNG at $ 6.5 per MMBTU, they will surely be shut down. It said that if the govt. extended to the SMEs the regionally competitive tariff, then exports with this decision alone would increase by $ 3Bn in a year. The News-Mon. Pakistan makes fresh requests for oil facility on deferred payment The oil facility of $ 4.7Bn from Saudi Arabia and IDB’s Islamic Trade Finance Corporation on deferred payment has been in a transitory phase as Islamabad has made fresh requests for renewal of both facilities for another 1 year. Pakistan could hardly utilize only over 30% or $ 1.5Bn during FY20. The News-Sun. Sindh concedes it doesn’t control up to 70 per cent land in Karachi The Sindh govt. has conceded that it had no authority to control up to 70% of Karachi’s area that was controlled by different federal landowning agencies. Federal landowning agencies include cantonment boards, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Karachi Port Trust and the Pakistan Railways. The News-Mon. FBR to separate audit, enforcement, legal functions in LTUs FBR has finally decided to spin off 3 core functions of its revenue-generating machines 7 years after completing a World Bank-funded project on tax reforms to increase revenue through expanding taxpayers’ base. It is going to bring in a functional system in large taxpayers units (LTUs) to separate three core functions – enforcement, audit and legal – to enhance efficiency of workforce. These functions will be dealt separately by commissioners of Inland Revenue under the new system. The News-Sun. YoY Jul-May 20 LSM Growth* % -10.32 % 9.26 Jul-20 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 7.00 Jul-20 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful, WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 235 GBP, 9-Aug-20, 219.5 225 215 205 EUR, 9-Aug-20, 198.2 195 185 175 165 USD, 9-Aug-20, 168.2 155 145 Aug-19 Nov-19 USD GBP Feb-20 EUR May-20 Aug-20 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day “It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” Robert Kiyosaki COVID: Pakistan's Total Tests vs. Cumulative Cases (As of 7th August) 2,500,000 2,000,000 Total Tests: 2,079,333 1,500,000 Total Cases: 282,645 1,000,000 500,000 0 1-Apr 9-Apr 17-Apr 25-Apr 3-May 11-May 19-May 27-May 4-Jun 12-Jun 20-Jun 28-Jun 6-Jul 14-Jul 22-Jul 30-Jul 7-Aug Moody’s reaffirms Pakistan credit rating Moody’s has confirmed Pakistan’s B3 credit rating with a stable outlook as part of the review for downgrade. It has also confirmed the B3 foreign currency senior unsecured ratings for The Third Pakistan International Sukuk Co Ltd. The review for downgrade was triggered by Pakistan’s announcement that it would seek to participate in the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which raised questions that private sector creditors would be asked by the country to extend similar treatment to Pakistani debt. Dawn-Mon. Total Tests Cumulative Cases Source: KCCI Research, Our World in Data, WHO Suki Kinari hydropower project: 270 Chinese technicians to be airlifted to resume work Disclaimer As many as 270 Chinese technicians to be airlifted from Chengdu, the capital of China's southwest Sichuan province, by a special chartered This report has been prepared by KCCI Research & Development Cell. The plane to resume work on the Suki-Kinari hydropower project being build under CPEC framework. BR-Mon. information contained herein have been compiled or arrived at based upon information obtained from sources believed to be reliable and in good faith. * KCCI has received an inquiry for export of Medical goods / Equipment including napkins, swabs, masks, gowns, gloves, waste bags, Such information has not been independently verified. disinfectants, and other medical equipment in bulk quantities to Kyrgyzstan. If you are interested please let us know at the earliest. We icon represents the sole viewpoint of the KCCI R&D Cell, and is will share the details with you to avail this opportunity. * stated to enrich the readers' understanding of the news item. The