Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 11 April

Transcription

1. Apr . 11, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin Gas moratorium goes for all categories of consumers Prime Minister while presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) has approved ending a moratorium on fresh bulk gas connections to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers. PM ordered settlement of growing circular debt for smooth running of the energy sector and directed that the structure for the new gas connections, primarily to be based on imported LNG be submitted to the forthcoming meeting of the federal cabinet for formal ratification and implementation. Dawn. ‘Inefficient’ captive plants: Ministry against provision of RLNG Planning Ministry has reportedly opposed provision of RLNG to "inefficient" captive power plants. In this regard, Planning Ministry has further argued that Petroleum Ministry's proposal regarding relaxation of moratorium to allocate imported RLNG on "as and when available basis" to industrial/ commercial consumers’ except captive power plants (being inefficient mode of power generation), is supported. The Minister has further stated that moratorium for new supply to captive consumers may remain continue. BR. FBR criticized for rolling back RPOs Exporters have criticized FBR decision to roll back all electronically created refund payment orders belonging to five export-oriented sectors. In a joint meeting, the exporters of more than a dozen value-added textile associations expressed concern over the FBR’s move which they said would hurt Pakistan’s already falling exports. They said refunds worth billions of rupees were held for more than 10 months and the exporters were unable to meet their export commitments as a result. Dawn. FBR estimates PKR 70Bn in revenue losses to exemptions in FY17 Tax authorities have factored in a revenue loss of around PKR 70Bn for FY17 owing to the exemptions awarded to CPEC projects and the exports package. The cost of tax exemption given under the export package are estimated around PKR 30Bn while exemptions on income tax, sales tax and customs duty given to CPEC-related projects are to cost PKR 30-40Bn. Surprisingly, the cost of exemption has been showing a downward trend over the last 4 years. It amounted to PKR 477.1Bn in FY14 as compared to PKR 412Bn in FY15 and PKR 394.59Bn in FY16. Tribune. 9MFY17 workers’ remittances down 2.3% Inflow of workers' remittance fell slightly by 2.3% as Pakistani workers remitted $ 14.06Bn in 9MFY17, compared with $ 14.39Bn during 9MFY16, depicting a decline of $ 330Mn. Month-on-month during Mar.’17, inflow of workers' remittances amounted to $ 1.69Bn, which are 19.58% higher than Feb.’17 and 1% less than Mar.’16. A major chunk of workers' remittances mainly arrives from US, Saudi Arab, UK and GCC countries has witnessed slowdown. However, inflows from EU countries witnessed uptrend. BR. Power sector’s circular debt swells to PKR 385Bn The power sector’s circular debt swelled to PKR 385Bn as of 31st Mar’17, calling for a govt. immediate action to settle receivables of energy chain in order to avert electricity crisis during the sweltering summer. Total payables to independent power producers (IPPs) stood at PKR 107Bn, while payment to PSO amounted to PKR 56Bn. The News. AIDC set to discuss business plans of two auto companies Auto Industry Development Committee (AIDC) is all set to discuss business plans of Dewan Motors and Al-Haj Faw Motors (Pvt) Ltd on Apr. 13, 2017 while business plans of Pak Suzuki is not being treated at par with those of the other two companies. The AIDC will discuss implementation of ADP 2016-21 regarding reimbursement /adjustment @ Kibor plus 2% on delivery beyond 60 days and recommend a legislation. BR. Electric cars icing on the CPEC cake A top Chinese brand mulls over launching its dealership in Pakistan next year. The car costs around $ 9,000, exclusive of taxes, with a range of 120Km and maximum speed of 60km an hour. For now, its manufacturer has no plans to start production in Pakistan but remains confident that its 1,000-per-month production capacity can meet the initial demand. Tribune. Growth rate to fall short of target: think tank According to the half-yearly economic review issued by the Institute for Policy Reforms (IPR), the GDP growth rate for FY17 will fall short of the target of 5.7%. The report said the GDP growth rate for the year will remain above 5%. A sudden rise in the current account deficit is serious, it said. At 2.6% of GDP, it has breached already the year’s target of 1.5% of GDP. Pakistan’s exports as a ratio of GDP are at a historic low, adding that this ratio was in double digits in 2000-10. It is now about 5%. Dawn. SECP amends reporting and disclosure rules SECP has directed listed companies that the directors, executive officer and substantial shareholder of a listed company may apply to the Commission to obtain certified copy of their returns and forms filed with the Commission. In this regard, SRO 245(I)/2017 has been issued where SECP has amended Reporting and Disclosure Regulations, 2015. Under the said regulations, register maintained shall be kept at the company’s registered office and shall be open to inspection by any member of the company during the office business hours. BR. IMF, WTO, OECD vow to defend free trade against protectionism The chiefs of the IMF, WTO and OECD vowed in a joint statement to defend free trade against creeping protectionist trends, amid growing global alarm over US President’s “America First” call. Disappointing trade growth figures and the danger of increasing protectionist tendencies give a clear incentive to support the international trading system even more, said the statement, also signed by the heads of the World Bank and the ILO, as well as host of the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The World Trade Organization has forecasted that global trade would likely grow only within a range of 1.8% to 3.1% this year. Dawn. First ‘Silk Road’ train from UK leaves for China The first-ever freight train from Britain to China, laden with drinks and baby products, started its mammoth journey on 10th Apr’17 along the modern-day "Silk Road" trade route. The 32-container train, around 600 meters long, left from London Gateway container port, bound for Yiwu on the Chinese east coast. The News. NADRA developing new SOP to ‘block' CNICs The govt’s database regulatory body is working on a new ‘procedure’ to ensure that no identity card is blocked unless there is solid evidence that the person is a non-national. The NADRA Chairman informed a meeting that NADRA has so far blocked 375,000 CNICs of suspected persons from all provinces. Tribune. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily Crude (AP'17) Gold (MA'17) Gold (10g) Local Silver (MA'17) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg Kibor-6M 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr 10-Apr PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl $/oz PKR $/oz PKR % 104.85 106.45 47,943 -0.49 53.48 1,254 43,585 17.93 7,234 6.16% Forex Reserves 31-Mar $ Bn 21.55 0.00% 0.09% 0.11% NM** 1.48% -0.08% -0.20% -0.66% 0.00% -0.01% WoW -1.12% YoY -2.29% -3.90% 15.99% -34.33% -120.51% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Jul-Mar 17 Remittances $ Bn 14.06 Jul-Feb 17 Exports* $ Bn 13.32 Jul-Feb 17 Imports* $ Bn 33.52 Jul-Feb 17 Trade Balance* $ Bn -20.20 Jul-Feb 17 Current Account $ Mn -5,473 % 4.01 Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Mar 17 Mar-17 Discount Rate % 5.75 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 175 165 155 145 135 125 115 105 95 85 75 Apr-16 USD GBP, 10-Apr-17, 130.3 EUR, 10-Apr-17, 111.2 USD, 10-Apr-17, 105.1 Jul-16 Oct-16 GBP Jan-17 Apr-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com EUR Quote of the Day "Success… seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit." Conrad Hilton Chart of the Day Inflation Vs. Policy Rate (Mar.'14 - Mar.'17) 12.0 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 Mar-14 Apr-14 May-14 Jun-14 Jul-14 Aug-14 Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15 Jul-15 Aug-15 Sep-15 Oct-15 Nov-15 Dec-15 Jan-16 Feb-16 Mar-16 Apr-16 May-16 Jun-16 Jul-16 Aug-16 Sep-16 Oct-16 Nov-16 Dec-16 Jan-17 Feb-17 Mar-17 Karachi’s development projects to be completed by May: CM Sindh CM Mr. Shah, while presiding over a meeting to review the progress of schemes started under the Karachi Package has said that the ongoing development work of PKR 10Bn launched in the city would be completed by the end of May, but the emergence of encroachments on the newly constructed roads is quite disappointing. The chief minister directed the project director to hire extra workforce so that the construction work on the roads, flyovers and underpasses could be done round the clock. Dawn. Real Interest Rate(%) CPI (%) Policy Rate (%) Source: KCCI Research, SPB, PBS 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