Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 4 February

Transcription

1. Feb 04 , 2021 KCCI - eBulletin Environmental protection agenda: Wahab urges business community to cooperate Advisor to CM Sindh on Climate Change Barrister Murtaza Wahab, while speaking at a national symposium on Integrated Solid Waste Management organised by KCCI in collaboration with Society of Economic Geologists and Mineral Technologies (SEGMITE), has said that the business community should cooperate in the implementation of the Sindh govt.’s environmental protection agenda and promote the recycling of goods and biodegradable plastic bags. In response to a suggestion by Chairman BMG Zubair Motiwala, Murtaza Wahab agreed to review Sindh Environmental Protection Act 2014. He directed the Secretary Environment to immediately notify a liaison/ consultative committee so that Sindh govt. in consultation with KCCI could thoroughly review and finalise legislations for Solid Waste Management. President KCCI Shariq Vohra stressed that citizens must also act responsibly as it was not the responsibility of the govt. alone to ensure cleanliness. BR. FBR abolishes additional duty FBR has abolished additional customs duty on the import of electric vehicles 2-3 wheelers completely built unit (CBU) condition; electric auto rickshaw, electric motorcycle, and 3-wheeler electric-loader up to 30th Jun’25. In this regard, the FBR has issued a notification to amend . BR. Jewellery traders bound to retain cash transaction records FBR has made it mandatory for jewellery traders to retain record of cash transactions above PKR 2Mn rupees as the govt. accelerates efforts to document the economy ahead of a decision of the global financial watchdog. A jeweler is required to retain record of such transactions for at least five years following the completion of a transaction. The News. Sugar mills pay 80% more in taxes: FBR tells PM FBR has taken action on the basis of the report of an inquiry commission that probed into the causes of a sugar crisis earlier in 2020. PM Imran Khan was chairing a meeting, reviewing implementation on the recommendations of the sugar inquiry commission headed by the FIA. FBR issued tax demand notices of PKR 345Bn to sugar mills that had tempered their tax records. It has recovered 80% more tax from sugar mills from PKR 16Bn to now PKR 29Bn. Tribune. Pakistan Customs launches project for pre-arrival clearance of goods Pakistan Customs has expedited the launch of its flagship pilot project on pre-arrival clearance titled ‘Clearance in the Sky’ to allow pre-release of coronavirus vaccine shipments which had started coming into the country. The expedited but risk aware clearance of goods by Customs has a direct bearing on the dwell time; hence pre-arrival clearance is going to be one of the major contributors in the country’s ease of doing business ranking. Pre-arrival clearance will have its impact by increasing air trade volumes, and will help Pakistan’s seamless integration with international supply chains. The News. Cabinet briefed: Govt spent PKR 3Tn to effect correction in exchange rate Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has testified before the Federal Cabinet that the incumbent govt. has spent PKR 3Tn on effecting a much-needed correction in PKR-USD exchange rate since it came to power and also borrowed money used to meet tax collection shortfall due to Covid-19. He shared these facts with the Federal Cabinet on January 26, 2021. At present, Pakistan's total debt is the PKR 36,500Bn, whereas it was 25,000Bn PKR when the present govt. took charge in 2018, he said, adding that out of the PKR 11,500Bn borrowed during past two years, PKR 6,000Bn was paid for debt servicing. BR. SECP (Amendment) Bill, 2021 introduced in NA The federal govt. Wednesday introduced “The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, 2021” in the National Assembly to enhance the SECP’s operational autonomy, establishing independent Financial Services Market Tribunal and strengthening of Audit Oversight Board (AOB). The govt. also introduced another, “The Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2021” and laid three ordinances, “the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020”, “the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020”, and “the National Institute of Health (Re-Organization) Ordinance, 2020”, before the House. BR. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan ink roadmap for rail link Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan have inked a roadmap for a landmark rail link aimed at bolstering trade ties between Central and South Asia. The proposed 573 km railway track is set to connect Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent via Afghan capital Kabul with Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar. The 3 countries signed a joint request last month seeking a $ 4.8Bn loan from international financial institutions for the Trans-Afghan railway project. The News. Allocation of existing pipeline capacity: Move to create monopoly of two private LNG terminals gets scuttled The move by the Maritime Affairs Division for creating a monopoly of two private LNG terminals, which are not yet visible on the ground, on the existing pipeline capacity has got scuttled as a sub-committee on the issue, headed by Asad Umar, has clearly opposed the move, saying the \ concessions proposed to the original terms of the provisional Letter of Intent and project guidelines are meant to favoring the two companies, Tabeer and Energas that could leave other players in the market high and dry. The News. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Pakistan, UNICEF sign MoU to compile Adolescence Equality Index Pakistan and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have signed a MoU to compile an Adolescence Equality Index, aimed at looking into the problems being faced by the youth of 10-19 years age bracket and finding their solution. Under the MoU, a PM’s Kamyab Junior Programme would be introduced for the welfare of the children falling in the age bracket of 10 to 19 years. BR. Saudi Arabia, UAE retain $ 2Bn financial support Saudi Arabia and UAE have not withdrawn their $ 2Bn loans that matured in Jan’21, indicating a thaw in relations between Pakistan and the two key Gulf nations. Saudi Arabia has retained the remaining $ 1Bn cash deposit. In Dec’20, the kingdom had withdrawn $ 2Bn out of $ 3Bn loans extended in late-2018 to help Pakistan avoid default on international debt repayments. Tribune. Treasury bills attract $ 7Mn foreign investment in fresh auction Pakistan has received fresh foreign investment of $ 6.92Mn under Treasury Bills (T-bills) on 2nd Feb’21. This latest inflow in domestic bonds since beg-Feb’21 could be an encouraging sign for foreign investors who have already parked over $ 104Mn in long-term bonds. Dawn. Automaker plans PKR 2.4Bn investment Ghandhara Nissan has presented its brownfield investment business plan of PKR 2.4Bn for launching passenger cars in Pakistan in collaboration with China’s Cherry Group. The line-up includes various types of passenger cars such as hatchbacks, sedans, crossovers and SUVs. The company will also introduce its lineup of electric vehicles in Pakistan in the next 2-3 years. Dawn. Cotton arrivals plunge 34% to 5.6Mn bales Cotton arrivals hit a three-decade low level of 5.6Mn bales due to farmers switching to other crops with the sliver fiber production sharply down 34% year-on-year till 31st Jan’21. Production has decreased to the lowest level due to substandard seed, substandard pesticides that led farmers to move to other crops. The News. Unit Value Change Daily USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT 3-Feb 3-Feb PKR PKR 160.19 160.13 0.02% -0.06% KSE-100 index FIPI 3-Feb 3-Feb Pts. $ Mn 46,934 2.62 0.76% NM** Crude (AP'19) 3-Feb $/bbl 56.10 1.96% Gold (MA'19) 3-Feb $/oz 1,824.0 -0.94% Gold (10g) Local 3-Feb PKR 96,580 -0.11% Silver (MA'19) 3-Feb $/oz 26.60 -1.41% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 3-Feb PKR 11,574 0.00% Kibor-6M 3-Feb % 7.56 0.00% Forex Reserves 22-Jan $ Bn 20.11 WoW -0.07% Remittances Jul-Dec 20 $ Bn 14.20 24.89% Exports* Jul-Dec 20 $ Bn 12.10 4.98% Imports* Jul-Dec 20 $ Bn 24.52 5.72% Trade Balance* Jul-Dec 20 $ Bn -12.42 -6.44% Current Account Foreign Direct Inv. Jul-Dec 20 Jul-Dec 20 $ Bn $ Bn 1.13 0.95 155.66% -29.82% YoY Jul-Nov 20 LSM Growth* % 7.41 % 8.19 Jul-Jan 21 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 7.00 Jul-20 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful, WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 235 GBP, 3-Feb-21, 218.9 225 215 205 195 EUR, 3-Feb-21, 192.9 185 175 165 155 145 USD Feb-20 GBP May-20 EUR Aug-20 USD, 3-Feb-21, 160.3 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Nov-20 Feb-21 Quote of the Day “Ideas in secret die. They need light and air or they starve to death.” Seth Godin Pakistan, Iran to complete pilot projects for joint border markets Pakistan and Iran have agreed to complete pilot projects for establishing joint markets in border areas of the two counties. As a result, economic activities are expected to increase on both sides of the border, local people would get jobs and edible items would be available easily in the border towns. Dawn. CCoE to consider electricity policy today The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) which is scheduled to meet today (4th Feb’21) with Minister for Planning, Asad Umar in the chair will consider the long-awaited National Electricity Policy 2021. The CCoE is also expected to approve agreements with 47 Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which have already been initialed by both the representatives of IPPs and Govt. of Pakistan. BR. Date / Period Global Smartphone Shipments in Q3 2020 ($ Mn) Others, 69.64, 19% Samsung, 80.40, 22% Realme, 14.80, 4% Vivo, 31.00, 8% Total Smartphones Shipped $ 365.64 Mn Oppo, 31.00, 9% Apple, 41.70, 11% Huawei, 50.90, 14% Xiaomi, 46.20, 13% Source: KCCI Research; counterpointresearch Webinar on UAE’s Economy Business institutes and government departments are holding a webinar on UAE’s economy and its amended FDI law (100% foreign ownership). Members wishing to register may click the link for more info: https://bit.ly/2L4iEIM