Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 12 February

Transcription

1. Feb . 11 - 12, 2018 KCCI - eBulletin Sindh announces first-ever tripartite labour policy The Sindh govt. has announced that it has become the first provincial government to present the tripartite Labour Policy 2018 titled ‘A Framework of Industrial Relations, Social and Economic Wellbeing of the People of Sindh’, after the 18th Constitution Amendment. Unveiling the policy, Minister for Labour Nasir Hussain Shah said that the policy is for laborers but it is also friendly to investment so that both employees and employers benefit with balance. The policy aims to ensure health and safety at work along with guaranteeing living wages for all. In order to facilitate and monitor the implementation of laws, the ministry will set up a provincial health and safety council. Tribune-Sun. Despite promises, Pakistan unlikely to get heavy funding by June Despite having firm commitments of roughly $ 26Bn, the govt. is unlikely to get any major injection from traditional lenders in the remaining four months of FY18, restricting its options and pushing it to rely on foreign commercial loans and Eurobonds to meet pressing external financing needs. Inflows from the two largest lenders –ADB and the World Bank – are expected to remain below the budgetary projections as both the lenders are unlikely to give budgetary support due to deterioration in major economic indicators. However, project lending from them will depend on progress on the schemes. Tribune-Sun. Dollar falls on low demand Falling demand for dollars in the open market has pushed its price below the target set by SBP. The dollar traded as low as PKR 111.20 - 111.50 in the open market - its lowest since touching the record high of PKR 113. SBP had asked the representatives of the exchange companies to bring down the dollar price to reduce the gap between the rate of open and interbank markets to just 1%. However, dealers said that low demand could be a temporary phenomenon since trade with China has fallen to its lowest levels due to the ongoing Chinese New Year vacations. Dawn-Sun. Import of three-year used cars allowed In a major policy decision, the federal govt. has decided to allow import of three-year old used cars in accordance with previous policy on the demand of importers. PM’s Advisor on Finance Dr. Miftah Ismail said that the ECC has approved the procedure applicable before Oct’17 and used cars can be released from ports like in the past. BR-Mon. Import consignments: MCC EPZA declares”100% examination” mandatory Model Collectorate Customs (MCC), Exports Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), in order to avoid undue exemptions costing around PKR 30Bn per year, has declared ''100% examination'' mandatory for the clearance of import consignments. MCC EPZA has given USD 2Bn tax exemption on imports worth USD 9Bn during last 10 years, due to improper manual system, which encourages high misdeclaration on the import consignments. However, high officials in MCC EPZA have assured that bona fide exporters and importers would not be hurt by the move, adding that the said measure was taken to eradicate ill-practices being continued for years. BR-Sun. Power, gas price cut for industry may not come: minister A proposal to cut the cost of energy for textile exporters, especially from Punjab, looks likely to die a natural death awaiting the PM nod, according to the Textile minister Pervaiz Malik. The ministry had suggested a cut of PKR 2/unit in the cost of electricity supplied to the export-oriented industries besides halving the price of 600MMBTU of RLNG provided for factories in Punjab. Dawn-Sun. Third Corolla recall in a year The Indus Motor Company (IMC) has made a 3rd recall of Toyota Corolla 1.8L Altis Grande vehicles in just one year owing to low quality parts and accessories, with total recalls now tallying over 15,000. The company said that it is undertaking a special service campaign for the said models under which airbag sensors will be inspected and replaced free of cost. IMC produced and sold 25,102 and 25,325 units in 1HFY18 respectively versus 25,946 and 25,768 units in 1HFY17. Dawn-Sun. K-Electric sees power generation autarky by 2021 The reliance of K-Electric on national grid will end in next 3 years as the company hopes to become self-sufficient in power generation by 2021. Upcoming projects including 900MW RLNG based bin Qasim power station III, 700MW coal fired power \ project, 50MW solar project and few other IPPs will end the reliance of the company on the national grid, said KE Chief Marketing Officer. Currently, the peak demand in K-Electric area is 3200MW while the availability is 2900 MW. The Nation-Mon. Ogra supports indigenous gas production to bridge shortfall Ogra is pursuing a plan to encourage local gas production as the gap between supply and demand is expected to reach over 6 bcfd within a decade, according to a company official report. It also said that the addition of new LNG re-gasification terminals and respective enhancement of pipeline capacities of gas utility companies of the country shall open up new business avenues and help diversifying Pakistan’s energy basket. The News-Sun. Provinces to get CPEC revenue through NFC The federal government would distribute the income generated by CPEC projects among the provinces through NFC Award. Any increase in income generated by CPEC projects will come into Federal Consolidated Fund for further distribution between Federation and Provinces. Therefore, the impact of income generated by CPEC projects will have positive impact on the income of provinces through NFC Award. The Nation-Sun. UK high commissioner sees no impact of Brexit on bilateral trade British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew has said that the UK and Pakistan are partners with strong trade ties and many British businesses are operating in the country, but the establishment of British Business Centres in Pakistan recently is another step forward in building the trade relationship. Speaking to businessmen, he assured that Brexit would not affect UK’s trade relations with Pakistan. Tribune-Sun. Pakistan, Canada trade talks today Pakistan and Canada will hold trade dialogue that is aimed at promoting bilateral trade, between the two countries to its true potential. This trade dialogue will be conducted during Minister of Commerce Pervaiz Malik visit to Canada. The Nation-Mon. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily 9-Feb 110.55 111.35 0.14% -0.62% Crude (MA'18) 9-Feb 9-Feb 9-Feb 9-Feb PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl 43,809 -1.53 58.88 0.30% NM** -2.37% Gold (MA'18) Gold (10g) Local 9-Feb 9-Feb $/oz PKR 1,313.8 48,171 -0.34% 0.00% Silver (MA'18) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 9-Feb 9-Feb $/oz PKR 16.26 7,657 -0.53% 2.07% Kibor-6M 9-Feb % 6.43 $ Bn 19.18 0.00% WoW -0.89% Remittances 2-Feb FY18 Jul-Dec 17 $ Bn 9.74 YoY 2.51% Exports* Imports* Jul-Jan 18 Jul-Jan 18 $ Bn $ Bn 12.97 34.51 11.11% 18.92% Jul-Jan 18 Trade Balance* $ Bn -21.55 Jul-Dec 17 Current Account $ Mn -7,413 Foreign Direct Inv. $ Bn 1.38 Jul-Dec 17 Jul-Nov 17 LSM Growth* % 7.19 % 3.85 Jul-Jan 18 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 6.00 Jan-18 WoW= Sources: KCCI Research, PMEXweek , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful on week; -24.18% -59.08% -2.81% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Forex Reserves Major Currencies 165 GBP, 10-Feb-18, 153.1 155 145 135 EUR, 10-Feb-18, 135.7 125 115 105 95 Feb-17 USD, 10-Feb-18, 110.7 May-17 GBP USD EUR Aug-17 Nov-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day "Coolness and absence of heat and haste indicate fine qualities." Ralph Waldo Emerson Chart of the Day T R A D E S N AP S H OT O F P A K I S TAN ( 7 M F Y 1 1 - 7 M F Y 18 ) 40.00 30.00 26.33 22.55 20.00 13.12 13.12 27.19 25.81 25.69 14.05 14.68 25.62 14.12 29.11 12.07 34.51 11.69 12.97 10.00 0.00 -10.00 -20.00 -9.42 -13.21 -11.64 -11.13 -13.07 -30.00 Trade Deficit ($ Bn) Imports ($ Bn) -13.54 -17.43 -21.55 Exports ($ Bn) Source: KCCI Research, Disclaimer Money Market: Bank deposits rise 0.66% According to the weekly statement of position of all scheduled banks for the week ended Jan 26, 2018 deposits and other This report has been prepared by KCCI Research & Development Cell. The information contained accounts of all scheduled banks stood at PKR 12,002Bn after a 0.66% increase over the preceding week’s figure of PKR 11, 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. 923Bn. On the other hand, gross advances stood at PKR 6,556Bn versus last year’s corresponding figure of PKR 5,467Bn; showing a growth of 19.90%. Dawn-Mon. 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