Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 1 December

Transcription

1. Dec . 1, 2016 KCCI - eBulletin NA approves amnesty scheme for realty sector The National Assembly has approved an amnesty scheme for the realty sector by allowing the buyers to clean up their huge undeclared transaction amount. The amendment removes a gap between the basic rates at which most of the registries are signed at the deputy commissioner’s office (called DC rates) and the valuation by the FBR determining the price of the property. The buyer of the property will have to pay three per cent of the difference between the A and B, and the FBR will not ask about the source of their income. Dawn. KCCI opposes FBR audit policy 2016 KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo has expressed disappointment over the recently-approved FBR Audit Policy 2016 and termed it as ‘yet another attempt’ to harass the loyal taxpayers as this new policy empowers the officers to carry out audit of those cases again which were audited last year. He pointed out that in case of corporates, businesses and industrial units, the audits by FBR involve explicit monetary burden including legal costs as well as implicit costs to businesses like diversion of time, resources, efforts and concentration away from core business activities. He suggested that the audit once done should be exempted for at least 3 years so that businesses may be spared to perform business activities smoothly. Tribune. PKR 2 per liter increase in petrol prices The govt. has announced an increase of PKR 2/liter and PKR 2.7 per liter respectively in the prices of petrol and diesel to be effective from Dec. 1, 2016 (today) and stated that RON 92 would be available across the country against RON 87. In this regard, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has also disclosed that the govt. would collect PKR 100 GST on one MMBTU price of gas reduced for industry from PKR 600 to PKR 400. Price of one MMBTU gas for industry would be PKR 500 i.e. PKR 400 basic price and PKR 100 GST. BR. In five months: Shortfall in tax collection widens to over PKR 130Bn Tax collection shortfall has further widened to over PKR 130Bn in 5 months while the number of income tax return filers dipped by 38%, as tax machinery struggled to match even its last year’s performance. Against the target of PKR 1.2Tn, the FBR ended up collecting just PKR 1.06Tn. FBR provisionally collected PKR 1.06Tn during 5MFY17, registering just 1.7% growth over collection in 5MFY16. In absolute terms, the collection was a mere PKR 18Bn higher than the comparative period. Tribune. Pakistan faces quandary in trade with China Pakistan is in an "if and but" position for the second round of talks on FTA with China as both FBR and majority of local industry have not supported enhancement of the trade pact. Both countries' trade teams are scheduled to meet from Dec. 6-7, 2016 in Islamabad to review performance of existing FTA which is massively in China’s favor. There is an impression in the govt. circles that if Pakistan does not move forward towards the second phase, it would be difficult for Pakistan to remain in Chinese market as China has already diluted most of the concessions given to Pakistan by executing FTAs with other countries. BR. Pakistan puts cotton imports from India on hold as tensions mount Pakistan has suspended cotton imports from India, saying shipments failed to fulfil phyto-sanitary certification. The decision will help other cotton suppliers such as Brazil and the US to increase exports to Pakistan. Indian exporters have signed contracts to export 350,000 bales to Pakistan since the start of the marketing year on Oct. 1, 2016 and out of that nearly 300,000 bales for shipments in Dec.’16 and Jan.’17 could get stuck. BR. FBR extends date for filing returns till Dec. 15, 2016 FBR has extended the date for filing of income tax returns and statements for the Tax Year 2016 till Dec. 15, 2016. According to circular number 17 of 2016 issued by the FBR, date of filing of returns of total income /statement of final taxation which was due on Aug. 31, 2016 (already extended up to Nov. 30, 2016) is hereby further extended till Dec. 15, 2016. BR. Heart of Asia moot: Aziz will be travelling to India on Dec. 4, 2016 Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz will be travelling to India to attend Heart of Asia conference on Dec. 4, 2016. As many as 40 countries would be participating in the conference. Pakistan is primarily attending the conference in the context of Afghanistan to support peace and stability as well as supporting an initiative aimed at economic development of the country. BR. North-South pipeline: Pakistan, Russia reach LNG price accord Pakistan and Russia have agreed on the price for the $ 2Bn North-South pipeline that will pump imported LNG from Karachi to Lahore. They will sign a commercial contract soon. Russia had demanded a fee of $ 1.2 per mmbtu for gas supply. However, the negotiating committee agreed on a fee of $ 0.85 cents per mmbtu. Tribune. Thar: SECMC unveils plans for five more coal-fired plants Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has informed that 5 more coal-fired power plants would be set up in block II of Thar by December 2021 and the total production capacity of coal based electricity of Thar would be expanded to around 3,000MW. The company has informed that the coal mining project’s total cost was $ 845Mn which would be on the basis of 75:25 debt to equity ratio and would consist of 31.5% foreign and 68.5% local debt. Tribune. SBP to auction MTBs,PIBs worth PKR 2.25Tn The central bank is set to sell treasury and long-term papers worth PKR 2.25Tn in the next 3 months to help fund the govt. budgetary deficit. SBP auction calendar shows that the govt. planned to borrow PKR 2.10Tn through the sale of 3, 6, and 12-month market treasury bills. It would also raise PKR 150Bn through the sale of 3-, 5-, 10-, and 20-year of long-term Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs). The News. 'Industries, exporters to boost exports of traditional, non-traditional products' Representatives of industrial and trade bodies, in a meeting, have urged registered members and other industrial units and exporters to enhance exports of traditional and non-traditional products. In this respect, Karachi Chamber assured that it was and will be playing an active role in strengthening the foundation of business community to effectively meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Daily Times. Oil jumps 8 %on prospects for big OPEC output cut Oil prices jumped more than 8% on 30th Nov‘16 to a five-week high as some of the world's largest oil producers tried to agree a production cut that could be bigger than expected. Brent crude futures for delivery in Jan‘17 were up $ 3.83, or 8.3%, at $50.21 a barrel which is biggest one-day move in nine months. OPEC members are in discussion to cut in production by 1.4Mn barrels per day (bpd). Daily Times. Dar stresses need to boost regional trade Finance Minister Mr. Dar while addressing the launching ceremony of a research report on Pakistan Afghanistan Central Asian Trade (PACT) has stressed the need to increase trade volume between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries to foster prosperity in the region. Dawn. Modarabas to offer consumer financing In a bid to streamline informal lending channels, SECP has allowed the modaraba sector to extend consumer financing. In the first phase, the financing of motorcycles will be catered for by four modarabas. Dawn. WB plans neighbourhood improvement project in Karachi World Bank will launch a neighborhood improvement project in Karachi in 2017 to improve urban living conditions and safety by improving citizen services in selected areas. The $ 100Mn Karachi Neighborhood Improvement Project will be the first step in a multi-year World Bank group engagement. The executive board of the bank is scheduled to approve a loan of $ 80Mn for the project and the Sindh government will contribute $ 20Mn. Dawn. Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily USD-Interbank List of Indicators 30-Nov PKR 104.83 -0.01% USD-Open MKT 30-Nov PKR 107.75 0.00% KSE-100 index FIPI 30-Nov 30-Nov Pts. $ Mn 42,622 -11.15 -0.44% NM** Crude (JA'17) 30-Nov $/bbl 48.89 7.83% Gold (JA'16) 30-Nov $/oz 1,172 -1.45% Gold (10g) Local 30-Nov PKR 42,857 -0.20% Silver (JA'16) 30-Nov $/oz 16.50 -0.92% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 30-Nov PKR 6,843 0.00% Kibor-6M 30-Nov % 6.12% 0.01% Forex Reserves 18-Nov $ Bn 23.87 -0.93% Remittances Jul-Oct 16 $ Bn 6.26 -3.82% Exports* Jul-Oct 16 $ Bn 6.43 -6.60% Imports* Jul-Oct 16 $ Bn 15.75 8.01% Trade Balance* Jul-Oct 16 $ Bn -9.32 -21.07% Current Account Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Oct 16 Jul-Oct 16 $ Mn % -1,762 3.95 -63.45% WoW YoY Nov-16 Discount Rate % 5.75 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 175 165 155 145 GBP, 30-Nov-16, 130.5 135 125 115 EUR, 30-Nov-16, 111.1 USD, 30-Nov-16, 104.5 105 95 85 75 Nov-15 USD Feb-16 GBP May-16 Aug-16 Nov-16 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com EUR Quote of the Day “Sustained success is largely a matter of focusing regularly on the right things and making a lot of uncelebrated little improvements every day.” Theodore Levitt Chart of the Day 140 Crude Oil Price (USD/bbl) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 28-Jan-11 28-Mar-11 28-May-11 28-Jul-11 28-Sep-11 28-Nov-11 28-Jan-12 28-Mar-12 28-May-12 28-Jul-12 28-Sep-12 28-Nov-12 28-Jan-13 28-Mar-13 28-May-13 28-Jul-13 28-Sep-13 28-Nov-13 28-Jan-14 28-Mar-14 28-May-14 28-Jul-14 28-Sep-14 28-Nov-14 28-Jan-15 28-Mar-15 28-May-15 28-Jul-15 28-Sep-15 28-Nov-15 28-Jan-16 28-Mar-16 28-May-16 28-Jul-16 28-Sep-16 28-Nov-16 National Assembly passes income tax, other bills The National Assembly has passed "Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016" requiring advance tax to be payable at 3% on registering or attesting to the transfer of real estate to be collected from the purchaser. For immovable property acquired before Jul. 1, 2016, tax is 5% where holding period of immovable property is up to three years. The “Public Private Partnership Authority Bill, 2016" to promote domestic and foreign private investment in infrastructure and "The Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Bill, 2016" to enhance scope of inquiry commission have also been passed. BR. Economic Indicators Source: KCCI Research; Opec Basket Disclaimer This report has been prepared by KCCI Research & Development Cell. The information contained herein have been compiled or arrived at based upon information obtained from sources believed to be reliable and in good faith. Such information has not been independently verified. icon represents the sole viewpoint of the KCCI R&D Cell, and is stated to enrich the readers' understanding of the news item. The R&D Dept. bears no responsibility for its correctness or accuracy. Contact: res@kcci.com.pk