Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 10 November

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1. Nov . 10, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin Expo Pakistan 2017 kicks off in Karachi The Expo Pakistan 2017, the flagship trade event of the government of Pakistan, was inaugurated by at the Karachi Expo Centre on Thursday (9th Nov’17). The event is organized by the Ministry of Commerce and TDAP. This year, 775 foreign buyers/importers are visiting from 70 countries to participate in the event. Ambassadors from Tunisia, South Africa and Azerbaijan are leading business delegations from these countries. Meetings of different delegations were held with top businessmen of Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry and businessmen of other trade sectors. Meetings with business delegates from Germany’s Metro Group, British High Commission, Ali Baba and China also took place. Daily Times. Imbalances threatening hard-earned gains: WB The World Bank has expressed concern that Pakistan's growing fiscal and external imbalances are threatening hard-earned gains in economic growth and stability. A biannual report issued by the bank said Pakistan's economic growth had accelerated to 5.3% in the 2017 financial year - the highest in a decade - and is projected to touch 5.8% in the financial year 2019. But as growth had picked up, it said, internal and external imbalances had re-emerged and the fiscal deficit had expanded, with revenue mobilization weakening and spending rising. The current account deficit had reached highest in a decade. The report further said that FDI has increased as a result of Chinese involvement where Beijing has committed $ 57Bn to build road and rail infrastructure and enhance energy production in Pakistan as part of its "One Belt, One Road" plan. BR. Doing Business Reform Strategy: government claims it has implemented four key reforms Pakistan's performance under World Bank's ease of doing business has dropped to 147th from 144th place in 2018. However, the govt. claims that it has successfully implemented four key reforms under "Doing Business Reform Strategy 2016", developed after consultation with all stakeholders including BOI, SECP, FBR as well as SBP, federal and provincial departments. The World Bank ranking was supported by representatives of chambers of commerce who contended that the situation in terms of doing business has worsened due to various factors. BR. World Bank urges caution against regulatory duties World Bank Senior Economist has suggested that Pakistan should reduce average tariffs and minimize the use of para-tariffs, such as regulatory duties. Speaking at the launch of the Pakistan Development Update, WB official said that the country’s current tariff policy is based on “revenue and protectionist considerations” instead of long-term competitiveness-enhancing measures. Dawn. Trade accords to be retooled in favor of local sectors: minister The government has embarked on reexamining the existing trade agreements with other countries to plug disadvantageous loopholes and make amendments to the best leverage of the local manufacturing sector. Minister for commerce and textile, at inauguration ceremony of 10th International Expo Pakistan, said that changes in the ‘terms and conditions’ will be made in the broader interest of the country. The News. Minister for “independence” of Discos Minister for Power Division, Awais Leghari has emphasized the need for "independence" of power Discos which are being remote-controlled from Islamabad. The minister said that jurisdiction of the three Discos is far too large due to which consumers' issues are not being dealt with in an appropriate manner. He further said that discos should adopt financial autonomy and be able to generate their own funds from the open market instead of from the govt. Leghari stated that all efforts will be made to make Discos' functions free from political interference. He directed the Discos to take strict administrative actions against employees employ having political influence. BR. \ SECP makes ownership disclosure part of shareholding pattern The SECP, has amended company law schedules to make disclosure of foreigners’ beneficial ownership of companies as part of shareholding pattern instead of financial disclosures. The requirements for disclosing beneficial ownership of the companies held by foreign shareholders, other than natural persons, shall now be made part of the pattern of shareholding instead of financial disclosures, according to an official statement of the SECP. The new applicability is in addition to the applicable financial reporting frameworks prescribed for each class under the third schedule. Daily Times. LNG deal signed with Malaysia Witnessing the signing ceremony of Inter-Governmental Agreement on supply of LNG between Pakistan and Malaysia, PM Shahid Khaqan said that continuous gas supply is vital for domestic and industrial consumers and essential for the economic prosperity of the country. The Prime Minister, in his remarks, congratulated both sides for finalization of Inter-Governmental Agreement for supply of LNG. PM also expressed the hope that Malaysian E&P companies would utilize the huge potential that Pakistan offered in the oil and gas sector. BR. Pakistan set to start development of information technology park The govt.’s ‘Pakistan Vision 2025’ is reportedly fully geared up to establish information technology (IT) park in Islamabad. In this connection, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has invited request for proposals (RFP) for procurement of consultancy services for undertaking environmental impact assessment (EIA) for technology park development project Islamabad. The project site is situated in Chak Shahzad, 8km away from Islamabad. Daily Times. Remittances rise to $ 6.4Bn Remittances showed a slight increase of 2.27% to $ 6.44Bn in 4MFY18 compared to $ 6.30Bn in 4MFY17. SBP has announced that the inflow of workers’ remittances in Oct’17 jumped 27.87% to $ 1.6Bn compared to $1.29Bn in Sep’17. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the top two source of remittances, maintained falling trend in the month under review. Dawn. Regulatory change takes KSE-100 Index up by 531 points Pakistan equities surged to end the day with decent gains as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed near 41,800 points, up 531 or 1.3%. Traded value of shares rose by 80% while volumes were up 66% on Thursday. Latest regulatory change applicable on equity mutual funds-that waived the requirement for maintaining a minimum of 5% of assets as cash-turned the sentiments positive as participants bet on possible fresh liquidity finding its way into equities. Daily Times. Foreign reserves rise to $ 19.9Bn The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $ 19.91Bn on Nov. 3, 2017 compared to $ 19.84Bn a week earlier. The break-up of the foreign reserves position showed that foreign reserves held by the SBP increased by $ 14Mn to $ 13.86Bn as against $ 13.85Bn in the preceding week. Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $ 6.05Bn compared to $ 5.99Bn. The Nation. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov 8-Nov PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl $/oz PKR $/oz PKR % 105.44 107.30 41,259 1.53 56.77 1,281.6 45,642 17.03 6,966 6.16% 0.00% -0.09% 0.51% NM** -0.72% 0.39% 0.28% 0.44% 0.78% 0.00% WoW 0.35% YoY 2.27% 10.84% 22.19% -29.75% -117.29% 56.33% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Crude (DE'17) Gold (DE'17) Gold (10g) Local Silver (DE'17) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg Kibor-6M Forex Reserves $ Bn 19.91 3-Nov FY18 Jul-Oct 17 Remittances $ Bn 6.44 Jul-Sep 17 Exports* $ Bn 5.17 Jul-Sep 17 Imports* $ Bn 14.26 Jul-Sep 17 Trade Balance* $ Bn -9.09 Jul-Sep 17 Current Account $ Mn -3,557 Foreign Direct Inv. $ Bn 0.66 Jul-Sep 17 Jul-Aug 17 LSM Growth* % 11.30 % 3.50 Jul-Oct 17 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 5.75 Sep-17 WoW= week Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful on week; Major Currencies 155 145 GBP, 9-Nov-17, 138.1 135 125 EUR, 9-Nov-17, 122.2 115 105 95 Nov-16 USD Feb-17 GBP EUR May-17 Aug-17 USD, 9-Nov-17, 105.2 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day "The more you invest in your mission, the more profits your business will produce." Dan Gilbert Chart of the Day R E M I T T A N C E S R E C E I V E D FROM T O P 1 0 C O U N T R I E S BY P A K I S T A N ( 4 M F Y 1 8 V S . 4 M F Y 1 7 ) 1,794.0 1,689.2 Saudi Arabia 1,433.9 1,411.4 UAE 723.1 U.K. 913.5 796.0 841.6 USA 259.2 259.9 255.0 227.3 125.6 134.3 119.1 126.5 65.4 77.7 57.9 66.9 Kuwait Oman Bahrain Qatar Australia Canada Values in $ Mn 500.00 4MFY17 1,000.00 4MFY18 1,500.00 2,000.00 Source: KCCI Research, SBP 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