Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 24 September

Transcription

1. Sep . 24, 2016 KCCI - eBulletin Pakistan-Turkey FTA talks to conclude by December Turkish Consulate Commercial Attaché in Karachi Murat Mustu has said that negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Turkey are planned to be concluded by Dec 2016, which will be followed by the signing of the agreement. During a visit to the KCCI, Mustu revealed that representatives of the two countries would meet in Istanbul by the end of Oct16 to review the request lists. Earlier, KCCI President Younus Muhammad Bashir highlighted that Karachi, which contributed more than 65% of revenue to the national exchequer, was an attractive place for Turkish investors and they could make maximum profit by setting up businesses or undertaking joint ventures. Tribune. Pakistan, Nepal for early finalization of FTA Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has stressed the need for early finalization of FTA between Pakistan and Nepal. PM has said the present bilateral trade volume of $ 135Mn needs to be enhanced. He said the two countries can increase cooperation in agriculture medicine and infrastructure development. Nepalese Foreign Minister has said Pakistan is an important country of South Asia and his country wants to promote ties with Pakistan. The News. EU to provide 83Mn euros to Pakistan Pakistan has signed two agreements with the European Union to achieve sustainable development goals in socio-economic sectors. Under the agreements, the European Union will give 83Mn euros to Pakistan out of which over 40Mn will be used for technical education and training while 34Mn euros will be spent for rehabilitation of homeless people. The Nation. Power outages planned to be cut by half from Nov The govt. has decided to cut power outages by half from Nov 2016 under a new 3 year supply management plan for the consumers paying their electricity bills regularly. However, the consumers in areas where payments for electricity consumption are low or power theft is running high will not get any relief under the plan. However, the Ministry of Water and Power has also asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to declare 23 big cities of the country free of load-shedding from Nov16, but it has not yet been approved. Tribune. Outstanding levy: Row over gas cess payment remains unresolved The govt. and the compressed natural gas (CNG) sector are locked in a row over payment of gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC) as the latter is reluctant to pay the outstanding levy. The director general gas of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has said that the amount outstanding against the CNG sector was PKR 42Bn. He revealed that ministry offered them to pay PKR 28Bn, but they still termed the demand unjustified and said they could pay only PKR 16Bn. Tribune. Banks asked to install cash authentication machines SBP has directed to all banks to install cash authentication machines (CAMs) at all their branches by 31st Dec, 2016 otherwise the financial institutions will face penal action. From 2nd Jan, 2017 the banks could only disburse machine authenticated cash to the public. From the next year, the banks will issue machine authenticated higher denomination cash from their branches and automated teller machines (ATMs) in 30 districts / cities. The News. ECC gives go-ahead to import Iranian electricity The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has approved contract for purchase of 74MW electricity from Tavanir Iran and opening of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) branch in China. The ECC has approved a summary moved by the Ministry of Water and Power for allowing NTDC (National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited) to approach NEPRA for approval of extension of tariff from Jan 1st 2016 to 31st Dec 2016 for a contract with TAVANIR Iran. Moreover, China had given special concession to Pakistan in opening of bank branch by reducing minimum asset requirement to $ 15Bn from $ 20Bn. The Nation. Economic Indicators Date / Period Unit Value USD-Interbank List of Indicators 23-Sep PKR 104.84 0.04% USD-Open MKT 23-Sep PKR 105.00 -0.10% KSE-100 index FIPI 23-Sep 23-Sep Pts. $ Mn 39,782 -0.71 -0.88% NM** Crude (JU'16) 23-Sep $/bbl 46.09 0.00% Gold (MY'16) 23-Sep $/oz 1,337.2 0.00% Gold (10g) Local 23-Sep PKR 45,773 0.27% Silver (MY'16) 23-Sep $/oz 19.97 0.35% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 23-Sep PKR 6,843 0.78% Kibor-6M 23-Sep % 6.06% 0.02% 9-Sep $ Bn 22.86 -0.54% Remittances Jul-Aug 16 $ Bn 3.09 -3.17% Exports* Jul-Aug 16 $ Bn 3.14 -8.19% Imports* Jul-Aug 16 $ Bn 7.88 10.21% Trade Balance* Jul-Aug 16 $ Bn -4.74 -27.06% Current Account Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Aug 16 Jul-Aug 16 $ Mn % -1,316 3.84 -91.84% WoW Forex Reserves YoY Jul-16 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 GBP, 22-Sep-16, 136.9 EUR, 22-Sep-16, 117.5 145 135 125 115 105 95 USD, 22-Sep-16, 104.8 85 75 Sep-15 Dec-15 USD GBP Govt. hires financial advisers to raise $750Mn The govt. has hired a consortium of financial advisers to raise at least $ 750Mn next month from international debt markets by issuing Islamic bonds amid worsening external account indicators that have started hitting the country’s foreign currency reserves. Tribune. PTA issues guidelines for cross-border telecom links Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has issued guidelines to establish cross border telecommunication links with neighboring countries. According to the document available on PTA website, all Long Distance and International (LDI) licensees, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL) and National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) are allowed to establish cross border bilateral/transit communication links with neighboring countries of Pakistan via terrestrial fixed wireline/fixed wireless or satellite, under their respective licenses. The Nation. Jun-16 Sep-16 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com "Nothing will work unless you do." Saarc agrees on plan to harmonise energy trade Energy regulators of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) have agreed to have harmonisation of regulations, codes and standards of electricity grids for cross-border electricity trade in the region. After a two-day meeting, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) of Pakistan that the regional regulators had an agreement on a plan of action on energy regulations. Dawn. Consumers to bear security cost of power projects The government decided to recover the cost of security required for upcoming power projects from consumers through monthly bills for entire 25-30 years life of the projects. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The meeting also decided to float the Islamic Sukuk bond in the international market. Depending on market response and pricing, the size of the bond will range between $ 500Mn and $ 1Bn, although the government has set a target of $ 750Mn in the budget for Sukuk. Dawn. Mar-16 EUR Quote of the Day Punjab approves 8 uplift schemes The Punjab Provincial Development Working Party has approved 8 development schemes of various sectors with an estimated cost of PKR 7,336.45Mn. The schemes were approved in the 16th meeting of Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) of current FY17. The Nation. Revenue authorities agree on uniform tax rate The provincial revenue authorities of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa decided to apply uniform rate of tax on intercity carriage of goods through oil tankers across provinces. It was agreed to hold another meeting on Oct 10 to chalk out a collection mechanism of tax because critical data from the Federal Ministry of Petroleum was not received in time despite several reminders. Dawn. Change Daily Maya Angelou Chart of the Day Literacy Rate in Pakistan 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 No in percentage Literacy Rate Male Female Source: KCCI Research, MOF 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