Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 27 October

Transcription

1. Oct . 27, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin Iran willing to supply 3,000MW electricity In a meeting with Pakistan’s business community, Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost has said that Iran is ready to supply 1,000-3,000MWs electricity to Pakistan if Islamabad signs an agreement with Tehran. He further said that Iran has spent millions of dollars to bring the gas pipeline up to the border of Pakistan, but there is no progress on Pakistan's side. On the other hand, while responding to the Iranian Ambassador, the business community lamented that Iran is maintaining high tariffs on many exportable products of Pakistan ranging from 90% to 200%, which is a serious hurdle in promoting trade with it. They further highlighted Iran's permit system, frequent changes in import regime, import authorization system, lack of banking channels and non-tariff barriers as major bottlenecks in two-way trade. The Nation. Govt expects positive outcome of GSP Plus review in December Pakistan is likely to succeed in the mid-term review of GSP-Plus negotiations with the European Union in Dec’17. Comprehensive strategy plan has been made for a positive mid-term review of GSP-Plus extended by the European Union for duty relaxation on exports to enhance the trade with potential markets of the EU countries. The News. Customs facing difficulties in curbing smuggling In the aftermath of imposition of regulatory duty (RD) on several items, the FBR’s Customs authorities are facing hardships in curtailing ever rising trends of smuggling through Motorways/National Highway because Motorway Police do not allow anti-smuggling operations, citing sections of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000. Customs field formations have sent out a detailed letter to the FBR’s headquarters with the request to take up this issue with the Ministry of Communication/NHA for resolving it amicably as rise in smuggling is causing losses of billions of rupees to the national exchequer on daily basis. The News. US companies keen to invest in Pakistan: American Business Council survey A large number of US companies have plans to invest in Pakistan, with almost 95% participants of American Business Council (ABC) ‘perception survey’ optimistic about long-term economic and operating environment in the country. Over 40% of the respondents indicated that the perception of Pakistan improved in FY17, compared to 6% in FY16. 45% rated the business climate as being better as compared to the year before while 17% respondents rated it good, highlighting market improvement. Dawn. MNCs’ profit repatriation jumps 25% Outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investments from the country increased more than 25% in 1QFY18 to $ 385.6Mn. However, the net inflow of FDI during the quarter increased 56.5% to $ 662Mn. The significant jump in FDI during 1QFY18 was mainly due to Chinese investments, which constituted about 65% of total inflows. Dawn. Asian Development Bank to fund IT park in Karachi ADB will provide financing for setting up a model information technology park in Karachi as well as helping in developing a strategy for national IT parks. The government has requested ADB to support its efforts to rejuvenate the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom has initiated institutional arrangements such as the establishment of ‘Research and Development Fund’ for ICT. Dawn. Jhelum hydel power project: cost soars to PKR 500Bn from PKR 88Bn, NA body told Chairman WAPDA has stated that Neelum Jhelum Hydel Power Project's cost has gone up to PKR 500Bn from PKR 88Bn \ and it will start producing electricity by Feb.’18. In a meeting with NA’s Water Resources Standing Committee, Chairman informed that the first unit of Golan Gol Hydro Power Project will become functional in Dec.’17 which will help reduce the load shedding in Chitral. BR. Cabinet forms body to determine LPG prices The federal cabinet has constituted an eight-member committee to determine LPG prices while the Petroleum Division would intimate the price to Ogra for notification. The Cabinet approved the proposal subject to inclusion of a representative of Federal Board of Revenue as member of LPG Pricing Committee. The Cabinet was further apprised that LPG prices would be revised by Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) from time to time based on the recommendations of the LPG pricing committee. BR. Extension in lease contract of Saindak Project: agreement signing ceremony held Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi witnessed the agreement signing ceremony for extension in the lease contract period of Saindak Copper-Gold Project between Saindak Metals Limited (SML) and Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC). The PM, while appreciating the efforts of MCC in developing the Saindak Project to its commercial operation stage, said that Chinese investment in Pakistan will pay long term dividends for the welfare of Pakistanis. The Project employs over 2,000 Pakistanis and is also providing free services to the villages in Balochistan. BR. Additional financing for FATA project: agreement signed with WB Pakistan has signed an agreement with the World Bank amounting to $ 114Mn namely, Additional Financing for FATA Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) Emergency Recovery Project. The objective of the project is to support the early recovery of families affected by the militancy crisis, promote child health and strengthen emergency response safety net delivery systems in the affected areas of FATA. The project consists of the Original Project of FATA TDP-ERP of $ 75Mn. BR. Forex reserves drop Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $ 19.9Bn during the week ended 20th Oct’17 from $ 20.05Bn. The reserves held by SBP decreased $ 216Mn to $ 13.94Bn due to external debt servicing, however, reserves held by commercial banks increased to $ 5.9Bn from $ 5.8Bn a week ago. The News. List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct 26-Oct PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl $/oz PKR $/oz PKR % 105.44 107.40 41,409 -3.32 52.80 1,265.5 45,471 16.76 6,752 6.17% -0.01% 0.09% -0.45% NM** 1.11% -0.83% 0.38% -0.97% 0.00% 0.00% WoW -0.75% YoY 1.05% 10.84% 22.19% -29.75% -117.29% 56.33% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Crude (DE'17) Gold (NO'17) Gold (10g) Local Silver (NO'17) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg Kibor-6M Forex Reserves $ Bn 19.90 20-Oct FY18 Jul-Sep 17 Remittances $ Bn 4.79 Jul-Sep 17 Exports* $ Bn 5.17 Jul-Sep 17 Imports* $ Bn 14.26 Jul-Sep 17 Trade Balance* $ Bn -9.09 Jul-Sep 17 Current Account $ Mn -3,557 Foreign Direct Inv. $ Bn 0.66 Jul-Sep 17 Jul-Aug 17 LSM Growth* % 11.30 % 3.39 Jul-Sep 17 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 5.75 Sep-17 WoW= week Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful on week; Major Currencies 155 GBP, 26-Oct-17, 139.1 145 135 125 EUR, 26-Oct-17, 123.7 115 105 95 Oct-16 USD Jan-17 GBP EUR Apr-17 USD, 26-Oct-17, 105.3 Jul-17 Oct-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day "Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." David Frost Chart of the Day 180 Index of Large Scale Manufacturing and its Growth Trajectory (May.'14 - Aug.'17) 14% 170 12% 160 10% 8% 150 6% 140 4% 130 2% 120 0% 110 -2% 100 -4% May/14 Jun/14 Jul/14 Aug/14 Sep/14 Oct/14 Nov/14 Dec/14 Jan/15 Feb/15 Mar/15 Apr/15 May/15 Jun/15 Jul/15 Aug/15 Sep/15 Oct/15 Nov/15 Dec/15 Jan/16 Feb/16 Mar/16 Apr/16 May/16 Jun/16 Jul/16 Aug/16 Sep/16 Oct/16 Nov/16 Dec/16 Jan/17 Feb/17 Mar/17 Apr/17 May/17 Jun/17 Jul/17 Aug/17 RPOs issued up to Aug. 31, 2017: FBR told to make refund payments In a meeting, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar directed FBR to issue sales tax refunds by Oct. 31, 2017, against Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) issued up to Aug. 31, 2017. The decision aims at facilitating trade, particularly exports. Refund of PKR 13Bn is involved in more than 4,000 RPOs. The FBR has already paid sales tax refunds amounting to PKR 27.6Bn in FY18. BR. Economic Indicators LSM Index (LHS) Y-o-Y Growth (RHS) Source: KCCI Research, PBS 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