Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 9 July

Transcription

1. July 09 , 2021 KCCI - eBulletin Sindh govt to appoint Murtaza as Karachi administrator The Sindh govt. has decided to appoint Murtaza Wahab as Administrator of Karachi. In this regard, a notification is likely to be issued next week. Murtaza Wahab has been given the task of improving the infrastructure of Karachi. BR. Hamdard Foundation sets up heat relief camp The Online Journalism, in collaboration with Hamdard Foundation and KCCI organized a one-day RoohAfza heat relief camp outside the office of KCCI yesterday to serve ready to drink RoohAfza to the members of KCCI, visitors and commuters in order to protect them from the scorching heat. RoohAfza heat relief camp was inaugurated by Mr. Shamsul Islam, Senior Vice President, KCCI. Pak Observer. Talks with IMF going smoothly: SBP chief SBP Governor Reza Baqir has said that negotiations with the IMF on the 6th review of its $ 6Bn financial package were going smoothly. At a briefing on 25th Jun’21, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice told journalists that the completion of the review would “require continued discussions on the sustainable fiscal path, structural reforms, particularly on the tax and energy sectors”. He also underlined the need for accelerated implementation of policies and reforms. Dawn. Umar rules out imposition of complete lockdown NCOC Chief Asad Umar, while ruling out imposition of complete lockdown during the fourth wave of coronavirus, said that the fourth wave of the pandemic would likely start in Jul’21. BR. SBP warns against foreign currency exchange through Hawala, Hundi SBP has warned the general public and persons engaged in sale, purchase and transfer of foreign currency through Hawala/Hundi. SBP said that people may unknowingly become part of money laundering and terrorism financing offence by dealing with illegal foreign exchange operators. The money laundering and terrorism financing offences are punishable under Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Act, 2010 and AntiTerrorism Act (ATA) 1997. Daily Times. CPEC’s joint cooperation committee set to meet on 13th The delayed 10th meeting of CPEC’s Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) will be held on 13th Jul’21. The meeting has been delayed by at least a few months reportedly because of differences over finalization of the agenda for the meeting and delays in completion of the working group’s meetings including financing for upgrade of ML-1 Railway Track, newer Chinese financial commitments for Gwadar, and roadmap for industrial cooperation. Dawn. K-IV Project: Wapda awards contract for consultancy services Wapda has awarded the contract worth PKR 1.14Bn for unified consultancy services for the Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) project to a JV through an international competitive bidding. The JV comprises of an Austrian and two Pakistani firms. It is worth mentioning here that K-IV Project envisages to supplying 650Mn gallons of drinking water per day to Karachi. The Nation. Salt can be country’s main export: Dawood Advisor on Commerce Razak Dawood has said that Pakistan has the second-largest reserves of salt that can be the country’s main export product. The advisor said this while chairing a meeting to discuss issues related to salt industry and export enhancement plans. Daily Times. PTI govt makes available modern fire tenders in city: governor Speaking at inauguration ceremony of the new fire station at Korangi industrial area, Governor, Imran Ismail has said that there is a dire need for modern fire tenders in Karachi and this need has been made true by the govt. He said that it was now the responsibility of KMC to provide experienced drivers and trained staff to make them functional. BR. E-bike production launched to curb pollution PM Imran Khan has launched the production of electric motorcycles in the country. The launch of the electric motorcycle is part of the govt.’s five-year Pakistan Electric Vehicles Policy 2020-2025, approved last year. The E-Bike, manufactured by a Pakistani company Jolta Electric, will available in different models with different speed specifications from 10km to 60km per hour and can cover a distance from 60km to 100km after full charge. Dawn. Sindh govt gave PKR 2.27Bn to local bodies of Karachi in July, says Nasir \ Sindh Local Govt. Minister Nasir Hussain Shah has said the provincial govt. is taking concrete measures to strengthen the local bodies in the city. He added that the provincial govt. in the month of Jul’21 alone has provided PKR 2.27Bn to nine local bodies of Karachi, including KMC, District Council Karachi and DMCs so that they continue their services uninterrupted in the city. The News. ‘Rebar prices in Pakistan lower compared to China, Turkey’ Steel manufacturers of Pakistan have said that they are selling rebars at a lower price as compared to international market prices by absorbing the constantly increasing cost of inputs. They said that the prices of steel rebar in international markets was $ 420 in 2020 and in Jul’21 the average rebar prices – assuming zero duty – are $ 831 in Turkey and $ 845 in China whereas, in Pakistan the rebar prices without duty and landing charges on scrap is $ 794. The News. Islamabad, Kabul sign to extend APTTA for 6 months Islamabad and Kabul have signed the protocol for 6-months extension of Afghanistan–Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement 2010 (APTTA). Speaking on occasion, Dawood said that his vision for trade and economic relations with Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) makes Pakistan a hub for trade, transit & transshipment. Daily Times. Sell-off revenue used to repay debt, reduce poverty, Senate body told At the maiden meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization the govt. has said that 99% of the revenue generated through privatization was utilized for debt retirement and poverty alleviation. Dawn. Experts alarmed at country’s population growth rate At a World Population Day seminar organized by RAHNUMA-Family Planning Association of Pakistan (Sindh) it was said that the population of Pakistan is at the moment 225Mn. It was 32Mn in 1947 and by 1971, it had more than doubled to 65Mn. If the trend continues, it will be 260Mn by 2030, raising issues such as food security and education. Dawn. Govt decides to revamp Pakistan Post’s financial services The govt. has decided to revamp Pakistan Post’s financial services, re-engineer and re-visit its processes and procedures to make it FATF compliant. This was revealed by Ministry of Communications while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Communications. During FY19, revenue of Pakistan Post was PKR 14.76Bn, which increased to PKR 15.97Bn in FY20, while expenditure for the same period increased from PKR 23.90Bn to PKR 26.35Bn. BR. Forex reserves rise to $ 24.41Bln Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have increased 4.8% or by $ 1.12Bn to reach $ 24.41Bn in the week ended 2nd Jul’21, mainly on account of Chinese and World Bank loan disbursements. SBP reserves have increased to $ 17.23Bn while the net foreign reserves held by commercial banks have increased slightly to clock-in at $ 7.18Bn. The News. List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT 8-Jul 8-Jul PKR PKR 159.33 160.20 0.26% 0.56% KSE-100 index FIPI 8-Jul 8-Jul Pts. $ Mn 48,053 -1.92 1.70% NM** Crude (AP'19) 8-Jul $/bbl 72.94 1.02% Gold (MA'19) 8-Jul $/oz 1,800.2 -0.11% Gold (10g) Local 8-Jul PKR 93,020 0.00% Silver (MA'19) 8-Jul $/oz 25.99 -0.54% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 8-Jul PKR 14,039 0.77% Kibor-6M 8-Jul % 7.66 0.01% Forex Reserves 2-Jul $ Bn 24.41 WoW 4.98% Remittances Jul-Apr 21 $ Bn 24.25 29.01% Exports* Jul-Jun 21 $ Bn 25.27 18.15% Imports* Jul-Jun 21 $ Bn 56.33 26.37% Trade Balance* Jul-Jun 21 $ Bn -31.06 -33.96% Current Account Foreign Direct Inv. Jul-May 21 Jul-May 21 $ Bn $ Bn 0.15 1.75 104.65% -27.70% YoY Jul-Apr 21 LSM Growth* % 12.84 % 8.90 Jul-Jun 21 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 7.00 Jul-May 21 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful, WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 235 GBP, 8-Jul-21, 219.5 225 215 205 195 EUR, 8-Jul-21, 187.5 USD, 8-Jul-21, 160.2 185 175 165 155 145 USD Jul-20 GBP Oct-20 EUR Jan-21 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Apr-21 Jul-21 Quote of the Day “Some people don't like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” Elon Musk The Economist Global Normalcy Index Rankings 2021 and Scores- Out of 50 Countries Hong Kong(1st) 96.3 New Zealand(2nd) 87.8 Pakistan(3rd) 84.4 Nigeria(4th) 84.1 Ukraineth(5th) 83.6 Denmark(7th) 81.3 Mexico(10th) 80.2 China(19th) 72.9 USA(20th) 72.8 India(48th) 46.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 *Index measures progress toward getting back to Source: KCCI Research; Economist pre-pandemic life. Note Pakistan Post is being tipped as a key player by the federal govt. in providing quality service to the sellers for shipping their products to Amazon warehouse abroad. Registered sellers are requested to kindly share their company profile and contact details at res@kcci.com.pk.