Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 18 August

Transcription

1. Aug . 18, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin Turkey urged to reciprocate market access In a meeting with the Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Sadik Babur Girgin, Pakistan has reiterated its commitment to offer market access to Turkish manufacturers under the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but linked it with reciprocal access for Pakistani goods. Pakistan and Turkey have entered into the final round of negotiations on the proposed FTA where Pakistan’s important sectors to seek duty concessions are textile and clothing, while for Turkey auto and chemicals are the important sectors. During the meeting, Commerce Secretary Younus Dhaga said that Pakistan has repeatedly requested for a level playing field vis-a-vis other foreign competitors in Turkish market in the form of PTA; GSP+ and FTA, however it has not been accepted favorably by the Turkish side. Dawn. PM assures exporters of govt. support for boosting exports In a meeting with leading exporters of the country, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has assured the exporters of fullest support from the govt. for boosting exports and reiterated that govt. is committed to facilitate the business community for which all the proposals and suggestions would be appreciated. The exporters presented various proposals for boosting country's exports and suggested measures aimed at facilitation of the business community and creating congenial environment for further promotion of business and trade activities in the country. The Nation. Sell-off process shelved The federal govt. has reportedly shelved privatisation process almost entirely, inclusive of power sector companies due to political uncertainty. Out of nine govt.-owned power distribution companies, seven are now running in losses. The govt.'s lack of interest in privatisation of public sector companies including loss-making entities, including PSM, can be gauged from the fact that no full-time Minister or Secretary has been appointed for the recently created Ministry of Privatisation. The only remaining govt.-owned profitable companies are Lahore (although its balance sheet is not publicly available) and Gujranwala power distribution companies. BR. More than half of registered firms fail to file tax returns More than half of the registered companies failed to file their income tax returns for TY16, pointing to a weak law enforcement by the authorities. FBR has detected around 41,800 non-filer corporate entities, which are registered with SECP. The number of registered companies with SECP rose to 81,493 in the FY17 from 73,207 a year earlier. Under Section 114 of Income Tax Ordinance 2001, every incorporated company is required to file income tax return even in case of losses or no income derived during the tax year. FBR received around 31,400 corporate returns filed till Aug. 10, 2017 for TY16. The News. Aug. 31, 2017 set as submission deadline for salaried individuals FBR has set Aug. 31, 2017 as the deadline for salaried individuals to file their income tax returns and wealth statements for TY17. The FBR has issued final income tax return forms for individuals and association of persons. In this regard, it circulated the draft returns forms for both on Jul. 20 and 27, 2017 respectively. Salaried individuals are required to submit annual return on or before Aug. 31, 2017 as per Income Tax Ordinance 2001. So, they will have only 14 days to meet the obligations. The News. \ Forex reserves slip below $ 20Bn The country's foreign exchange reserves continued to weaken as forex reserves declined by $ 62Mn to reach at $ 19.94Bn on Aug. 11, 2017 down from $ 20Bn on Aug. 4, 2017. During the week under review, the SBP's reserves decreased by $ 88Mn to $ 14.31Bn compared to $ 14.40Bn a week earlier. Reserves held by banks moved up by $ 26 Mn to $ 5.63Bn at the end of last week from $ 5.6Bn. BR. Senate body on finance criticizes SECP In a bid to consider agenda of the SECP, FBR and Finance Division along with taking up the Corporate Rehabilitation Bill, 2017 of SECP, Senate’s Finance Standing Committee has shown displeasure over SECP after it expressed inability to provide record of one of the sugar mills, and stated that "institutions are pursuing head-on policy with the Parliament". BR. Fixed sales tax on petroleum freight proposed Seeking an end to the never ending dispute on provincial sales tax mechanism and collection on transportation of petroleum products, a report has been submitted to the Prime Minister's office for a dispute resolution. The report has extensively compared two different revenue collection approaches of fixed and existing sales tax rates and recalling that sales tax on inter city transportation services is charged under different revenues authorities at varying rates from 13% to 16%. BR. SBP to upgrade printing machines State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa, on his first visit to Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC), has said that modern printing machinery will be used to enhance the printing capacity and improve the quality of banknotes. The SBP acquired the banknote- and prize bond-printing functions of PSPC from federal govt. in Jun.’17. The Governor further said that PSPC will have to join hands with SBP-Banking Services Corporation (BSC) and the central bank’s finance department to strength the research and development function. Dawn. US furniture manufacturers to visit Pakistan on 21st After returning of business delegation from US, Pakistan’s furniture manufacturers have disclosed that a high-level US delegation of furniture manufacturers will visit Pakistan for five days from Aug. 21, 2017 to tap new prospects of mutual investment in the field of furniture industry. The majority of the US furniture manufacturers in businessto-business meetings have shown keen interest in Pakistani handmade furniture products and desired for joint venture and investment. The furniture exports from Pakistan are hovering around $ 8Mn to $ 12Mn per annum total world trade in furniture is estimated to be at $ 23.2Bn. The Nation. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily Crude (AU'17) Gold (JY'17) Gold (10g) Local Silver (JY'17) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg Kibor-6M 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug 17-Aug PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl $/oz PKR $/oz PKR % 105.40 106.60 43,136 -3.26 47.14 1,288.7 43,628 17.00 6,537 6.16% Forex Reserves 11-Aug $ Bn 19.94 0.00% 0.00 -2.38% NM** 0.36% 0.42% 0.39% -0.68% -1.63% 0.01% WoW -0.31% YoY 16.04% 10.58% 36.74% -55.46% -148.57% 162.81% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Jul-17 Remittances $ Bn 1.54 Jul-17 Exports* $ Bn 1.63 Jul-17 Imports* $ Bn 4.84 Jul-17 Trade Balance* $ Bn -3.20 Jul-Jun 17 Current Account $ Mn -12,098 Foreign Direct Inv. $ Bn 0.22 Jul-17 Jul-May 17 LSM Growth* % 5.69 % 2.91 Jul-17 Avg. CPI-FY17* Discount Rate % 5.75 Jul-17 WoW= week Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful on week; Major Currencies 145 GBP, 17-Aug-17, 135.4 135 125 EUR, 17-Aug-17, 123.4 115 105 95 Aug-16 USD USD, 17-Aug-17, 105.1 Nov-16 GBP EUR Feb-17 May-17 Aug-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day "With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve." Muhammad Ali Jinnah Chart of the Day Net Foreign Direct Investment in Pakistan (Jul.'08 - Jul.'17) 222.65 Jul.'17 Jul.'16 Jul.'15 Jul.'14 Jul.'13 Jul.'12 Jul.'11 Jul.'10 Jul.'09 Jul.'08 84.73 166.51 33.53 122.25 51.98 84.60 110.54 151.46 342.46 0 50 100 150 200 Value in $ Mn 250 300 350 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