Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 27 December

Transcription

1. Dec . 27, 2016 KCCI - eBulletin China to revise trade tariff for Pakistan China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) will adjust tariffs on a number of exports and imports relating to Pakistan. The new plan will come into force on Jan. 1, 2017. The tax rates will be lowered on some imported commodities next year including hydraulic actuators for aircraft, tuna fish and arctic shrimp. Exports tariffs on commodities including nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers will be scrapped and commodities such as steel billet will see reduced export tariffs. The number of items to be taxed in 2017 will reach 8,547. The Nation. PKR 5,000 note not being withdrawn, says govt The ministry of finance has made it clear that there are no government plans to withdraw the highest value currency note of the country and that reports about demonetization of the PKR 5,000 currency note are false. Ministry has said that continuing use of cash in transactions, government believes that discontinuation of PKR 5,000 note would adversely affect the efficiency of exchange in the business. Dawn. Companies can now be registered with SECP in a day In order to further promote corporatisation in the country, the SECP has revamped operations at its three major offices located in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Incorporation and facilitation desks have been established at these Company Registration Offices, which will ensure facilitation to the investors so that companies are incorporated within a day, said a press release. Furthermore, in order to reduce the turnaround time in business startups and ease the process of incorporation, optimal utilisation of information technology in service delivery has been ensured through enabling online payment of fee through credit card and the online fund transfer facility. This will enable registration of companies on the same day subject to the condition that registration documents are filed under the online mode. Tribune. Govt mulls to raise tax exemption limit for lower income group in next budget The government is planning to raise the tax exemption limits to PKR 500,000 from PKR 400,000 for lower income group in the next federal budget, reportedly to place more money in the hands of consumers ahead of elections, scheduled in 2018. If the move is approved, it is also likely to entail withdrawal of some withholding tax regime, bringing more relief to people in the lower-income brackets. Budget FY18 would be the election budget and the government intended to provide incentives to the lower strata of the society. The News. EU advises Pakistan for more value-added exports Pakistan must increase its value-added exports in order to become more competitive in the international trade, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the EU to Pakistan told the participants of 2nd Project Steering Committee Meeting. Pakistan should change the structure of exports to include more value-added products to compete with China. The role of the EU is that of a catalyst, and the industry and the Pakistani government have to take the reins in their hands, and steer the sector towards more value addition, and higher export earnings, he said. The News. China to finance three more road projects under CPEC Beijing has pledged to finance three more road projects under the CPEC, making its total contribution to the corridorrelated road projects to PKR 1.02Tn so far. China will provide PKR 107.76Bn as soft loan for the three new projects, which is on top of PKR 917Bn which for another three road projects. They include a 280-kilomtre road from Raikot to Thakot at a cost of PKR 8Bn, 210km dual carriageway from Yarik to Zhob (PKR 80Bn), and a 110km road from Basima to Khuzdar (PKR 19.76Bn). Dawn. Nepra to approve PKR 3.60 per unit refund of Discos Nepra is all set to approve PKR 3.60 per unit refund of power Discos and 60 paisa increase in tariff for KE consumers in Nov.’16 under monthly fuel price adjustment mechanism. In this regard, CPPA has proposed a reduction of PKR 3.60 per unit since the generation cost was PKR 3.70/unit against reference price of PKR 7.30/unit. However, according to KE, the cost of fuel and power purchase claim does not include any amount of late payment surcharge/ mark up/ interest. BR. Names on ECL: Bigwigs of insurance companies required to inform SECP about status The existing and proposed directors/CEOs/principal officers of the insurance companies would be required to inform SECP about placement/non-placement of their names on the Exit Control List (ECL). In this regard, SECP has amended Insurance Companies Regulations, 2012 through an SRO 1165(I)/2016. A proposed director or chief executive or principal officer shall not be considered as a fit and proper person if any overdue/past due payment to a financial institution, irrespective of amount, is appearing in the overdue column of the latest CIB report of the person and of the companies, firms, sole proprietorships, etc. BR. High taxation: mobile phone imports continue to fall The government's move to double the sales tax on the import of mobile phone in the budget FY17 did not bode well for the struggling telecom industry as mobile handsets' imports continue to see fall . As a result, mobile phone imports in Pakistan went down by 14.20% during the 5MFY17 compared to the same period of previous year. Total imports of mobile phone stood at $ 264.15Mn while it was $ 307.84Mn in the same period last year. Daily Times. World Bank chief, Dar discuss water dispute The World Bank (WB) President, Jim Yong Kim made a telephonic call to the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and discussed his Dec. 23, 2016 letter on Indus Water Treaty (IWT). In his letter, the minister had emphasized that this decision of the World Bank would seriously prejudice Pakistan's interests and rights under the Indus Waters Treaty (1960). BR. Disbursements under PMYBL reach PKR 8.5Bn Banks' loan disbursement under the Prime Minister Youth Business Loan (PMYBL) scheme has reached PKR 8.5Bn at the end of Sept.’16. With the addition of 454 fresh borrowers, total number of beneficiaries under the scheme increased to 8,926 as on Sept. 30, 2016 from 8,472 on Jun. 30, 2016. A total disbursement of PKR 416Mn was made during 3MFY17 under PMYBL registering a growth of 5% over the total disbursements at the end of Jun.’16. BR. Economic Indicators Date / Period Unit Value USD-Interbank List of Indicators 26-Dec PKR 104.86 Change Daily 0.01% USD-Open MKT 26-Dec PKR 108.10 -0.23% KSE-100 index FIPI 26-Dec 26-Dec Pts. $ Mn 46,690 -5.50 0.12% NM** Crude (FE'17) 23-Dec $/bbl 53.04 0.55% Gold (JA'16) 23-Dec $/oz 1,131 0.28% Gold (10g) Local 26-Dec PKR 42,600 0.20% Silver (JA'17) 23-Dec $/oz 15.73 -0.32% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 26-Dec PKR 6,698 0.00% Kibor-6M 26-Dec % 6.15% 0.01% Forex Reserves 16-Dec $ Bn 23.13 -0.70% Remittances Jul-Nov 16 $ Bn 7.87 -2.50% Exports* Jul-Nov 16 $ Bn 8.19 -3.93% Imports* Jul-Nov 16 $ Bn 19.96 8.83% Trade Balance* Jul-Nov 16 $ Bn -11.78 -19.90% Current Account Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Nov 16 Jul-Nov 16 $ Mn % -2,601 3.92 -90.97% WoW YoY Nov-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 175 165 155 145 GBP, 26-Dec-16, 128.8 135 125 115 EUR, 26-Dec-16, 109.6 USD, 26-Dec-16, 104.8 105 95 85 75 Dec-15 Mar-16 USD GBP Jun-16 Sep-16 Dec-16 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com EUR Quote of the Day "The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life." William Morris Chart of the Day Debt Snapshot of Pakistan (4MFY11 - 4MFY17) 25.00 20.00 15.00 10.00 5.00 0.00 4MFY12 4MFY13 Total Debt 4MFY14 4MFY15 Domestic Debt Value in PKR Tn 4MFY16 4MFY17 External Debt 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