Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 19 January

Transcription

1. Jan . 19, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin H1 current account deficit soars by 92% The county's current account has posted 92% increase in its deficit, reaching $ 3.59Bn during 1HFY17 compared with $ 1.87Bn in the same period of FY16. With $ 10.53Bn exports and $ 21.35Bn imports, trade deficit registered 15% increase to reach $ 10.82Bn during 1HFY17 against $ 9.36Bn deficit in 1HFY16. Services trade posted a deficit of $ 1.71Bn with $ 2.54Bn exports and $ 4.24Bn imports during 1HFY17. The deficit of income sector fell by 17% to $ 2.30Bn in 1HFY17. BR. Slight drop in unemployment expected after CPEC: UN report Youth unemployment in the country is expected to slightly decline in the near term as a result of the implementation of projects under the CPEC. The ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects 2017’ says that economic growth in Pakistan is projected to remain robust, above 5%, and economic activity will be driven by strong consumption, a supportive monetary policy stance and rising investment and infrastructure projects boosted by the CPEC. Dawn. NTC slaps regulatory duty on import of Indian fine yarn The National Tariff Commission (NTC) has imposed variable counter regulatory duty on import of fine yarn from India, which was previously subsidized. The commission has imposed a provisional counter duty that varies from PKR 26.89 to PKR 55.50 per Kg on import of fine yarn from different exporters of India. The decision was taken after investigations on the subsidy, which injured the local industry from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 and July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015, respectively. The News. FBR makes online clearance compulsory Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) made online customs clearance compulsory for consignments titled diplomatic or belonging to allied forces under ATTA. Tax authorities made it mandatory for all the non-commercial cargoes under the Afghan Trade Transit Agreement (ATTA) to get clearance from the customs online system, stepping up efforts to prevent incidences of misplaced consignments or pilferage in case of a manual go-ahead. Now, all the non-commercial cargos under the Afghan Trade Transit Agreement will be cleared through the Web-Based One Customs (WeBOC) – the online clearance portal of the Pakistan Customs start from 25th Jan’17. The News. Gas Infrastructure Development Cess: Ministry asks CNG sector to retire PKR 40Bn dues In a special committee meeting on Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) Bill 2015, Petroleum Ministry has asked the CNG sector to retire its outstanding dues of PKR 40Bn collected under the GIDC head. The ministry has estimated that recovery from the CNG stations under the head of GIDC is PKR 30Bn, in addition to PKR 10Bn as Late Payment Surcharge (LPS). The Minister further said that the govt. would not give the waiver and CNG sector should come up with schedule of retirement of GIDC amount collected by CNG stations from public till deregulation of CNG prices. BR. Developing hydropower, support governance: accords worth $ 720Mn signed with WB, AIIB Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has witnessed the signing ceremony of agreements worth $ 720Mn with the World Bank (WB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to support Tarbela-5th Extension Hydro Power Project (1,410MW). The total cost of the project is $ 823.5Mn where WB will finance $ 390Mn, AIIB will contribute $ 300Mn and the remaining $ 133.5Mn will be funded by WAPDA and NTDC for additional Transmission line from Tarbela to evacuate additional power. BR. ECC takes decision on financial matters of PIA, PSM A meeting of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) has approved additional guarantees of PKR 10.5Bn to meet financial needs of Pakistan International Airline (PIA), besides sanctioning one month's salary for the employees of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). With the approval, total volume of govt. guarantee to PIA has increased from PKR 151Bn to PKR 161.5Bn. The meeting also approved the proposal by National Food Security and Research Ministry for extension in the time period to Mar. 15, 2017 for the export of surplus wheat and wheat products. BR. Pakistan in talks with Iran to renegotiate IP project GSPA Pakistan is in contact with Iran to renegotiate gas rates signed under the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline deal as the new price would improve chances to complete the long delayed project in the extended period. Minister for petroleum and natural resources has said that the govt. has requested Iranian authorities to bring changes in the gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA). The price of natural gas, under GSPA, was agreed at $ 12 per million metric British thermal unit (MMBtu), if crude oil price stood at $100/bbl in the international market. The Iranian authorities had already agreed to negotiate amendment in the GSPA with some other amendments, which are awaited. The News. Govt raises PKR 535Bn from banks The government raised PKR 535Bn from banks to bridge the widening fiscal gap and retire past debts. Banks had shown eagerness to invest double the amount eventually raised by the government. This indicates banks still find government papers attractive despite a drastic cut in their yields. Banks’ bids for T-bills were PKR 1,071Bn, out of which the government raised PKR 535.5Bn. The government raised PKR 274Bn, PKR 150Bn and PKR 111Bn through six-month, three-month and 12month papers, respectively. Dawn. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value USD-Interbank 18-Jan PKR 104.85 0.00% USD-Open MKT 18-Jan PKR 108.30 -0.09% KSE-100 index FIPI 18-Jan Pts. $ Mn 48,642 -10.34 -0.07% NM** Crude (MA'17) 18-Jan 18-Jan $/bbl 52.07 -2.27% Gold (FE'17) 18-Jan $/oz 1,204 -0.93% Gold (10g) Local 18-Jan PKR 43,928 0.59% Silver (FE'17) 18-Jan $/oz 17.06 -0.55% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 18-Jan PKR 7,057 1.15% Kibor-6M 18-Jan % 6.12% 0.01% 6-Jan $ Bn 23.20 WoW 0.16% Remittances Jul-Dec 16 $ Bn 9.46 -2.27% Exports* Jul-Dec 16 $ Bn 9.91 -3.82% Imports* Jul-Dec 16 $ Bn 24.40 10.10% Trade Balance* Jul-Dec 16 $ Bn -14.49 -22.20% Current Account Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Dec 16 $ Mn % -3,585 3.88 -92.23% Forex Reserves YoY Major Currencies 175 165 155 145 GBP, 18-Jan-17, 129.2 135 125 115 EUR, 18-Jan-17, 112.0 USD, 18-Jan-17, 104.8 105 95 85 75 Jan-16 Apr-16 USD GBP Jul-16 Oct-16 Jan-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com EUR Quote of the Day "Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes." Benjamin Disraeli Chart of the Day 6000 Province Wise Consumption of Petrol in Pakistan 5000 4000 Arif Habib Group to invest PKR 25Bn in new cement plant Arif Habib Group has said that it is going to invest PKR 25Bn (or $ 235Mn) in a new cement plant that will be completed in the next 2 years. The new plant will take the installed capacity to 3.37Mn tons from its current capacity of just 0.9Mn tons. Tribune. 2000 PM, Swiss president for expanding economic ties PM Mr. Nawaz and Switzerland’s President have stressed the need for exploring new avenues of cooperation and strengthening bilateral relations. The two leaders made these observations during a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. She said Swiss companies were willing to work in Pakistan and her government was also willing to join hydroelectric power projects. Dawn. Jul-Dec 16 Nov-16 Discount Rate % 5.75 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Sindh Okays 19 schemes worth PKR 7Bn. PDWP has approved 19 development schemes worth PKR 7.02Bn for Sindh. The schemes for FY17. The schemes include construction of DFC offices, residences, security towers and compound walls in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas worth PKR 418Mn, a 50-bed Medical and Surgical ICU among others. Dawn. IG orders officials to control city traffic chaos Taking notice of agonizing traffic jams in the metropolis caused by a host of factors, IG Sindh Police A. D. Khowaja directed the AIG Karachi and the DIG traffic police to carry out a comprehensive survey of main thoroughfares and adjoining roads of the city so that a joint traffic plan could be designed to end the chaos, which had made life of road users miserable. Dawn. Change Daily 3000 1000 0 PUNJAB SINDH KPK BALOCHISTAN TOTAL PAKISTAN: Source: KCCI Research, SBP Value in Million Tons 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