Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 5 March

Transcription

1. Mar . 4 - 5, 2018 KCCI - eBulletin KCCI delegation meets Mauritian President, gives suggestions for smooth trade A high level delegation from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry on a visit to Mauritius, led by Vice President Rehan Hanif, met President of Mauritius Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. The delegation gave suggestions on how to deal with some major hurdles hindering smooth trade between the two countries. It expressed deep concerns over the ban imposed by the Mauritian govt. on the imports of meat from Pakistan, informing the President that officers of Mauritian Health Department are scheduled to visit Pakistan since last two years but they have not visited the country so far. The Mauritian President was requested to send the Mauritian Health Officers urgently to Pakistan so that the ban imposed on meat imports could immediately be lifted after inspection. The delegation also requested the President to facilitate KCCI in holding a Single Country Exhibition in Mauritius. The KCCI delegation is fairly convinced that Mauritius can be used by the Pakistani business community to effectively penetrate into the African region where Pakistan’s trade is almost non-existent. Daily Times-Sun. Economic Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily 2-Mar 110.57 112.15 0.15% 0.00% Crude (AP'18) 2-Mar 2-Mar 2-Mar 2-Mar PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl 43,740 -13.19 61.46 0.53% NM** 0.20% Gold (MA'18) Gold (10g) Local 2-Mar 2-Mar $/oz PKR 1,322.1 48,214 0.07% 0.00% IMF set to decide fate of budgetary assistance The IMF Executive Board will meet on Mar. 6, 2018 (tomorrow) to decide the fate of budgetary assistance from bilateral or multilateral sources for Pakistan. The IMF board will consider Pakistan's first post-program monitoring report. In this regard, an IMF staff mission, led by Harald Finger, visited Islamabad from Dec. 5 to 14, 2017. The govt. believes that IMF board would show satisfaction over the economic situation of the country. The visiting IMF staff mission had prepared its preliminary report on Pakistan’s economy, which would be presented in Executive Board meeting for approval. The Nation – Sun. Silver (MA'18) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 2-Mar 2-Mar $/oz PKR 16.47 7,716 -0.20% 1.41% Kibor-6M 2-Mar % 6.46 $ Bn 18.41 0.00% WoW -2.20% Non-CPEC projects: China willing to lend a helping hand Pakistan and China are to discuss a financial mechanism for further financing of development projects in addition to projects falling under the umbrella of CPEC. The proposal has been discussed at a Cabinet Committee meeting on CPEC. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has stated that Pakistan is the largest concessional recipient of Chinese loans with respect to CPEC projects. Therefore, Chinese side is interested in discussing the financial mechanism considering the fact that concessional loans by China for CPEC projects would not be enough to complete the projects. BR – Mon. Remittances 23-Feb FY18 Jul-Jan 18 $ Bn 11.38 YoY 3.55% Exports* Imports* Jul-Jan 18 Jul-Jan 18 $ Bn $ Bn 12.97 34.51 11.11% 18.92% Jul-Jan 18 Trade Balance* $ Bn -21.55 Jul-Jan 18 Current Account $ Mn -9,156 Foreign Direct Inv. $ Bn 1.49 Jul-Jan 18 Jul-Dec 17 LSM Growth* % 5.55 % 3.84 Jul-Feb 18 Avg. CPI Discount Rate % 6.00 Jan-18 WoW= Sources: KCCI Research, PMEXweek , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful on week; -24.18% -48.11% -2.94% Govt. plans $ 150Mn housing loans to low-income class The govt. is planning to start housing finance project for low-income Pakistanis with $ 150Mn credit from the World Bank, which will help people get affordable financing for their homes. The loan will be provided in two tranches of $ 145Mn and $ 5Mn at the cheapest interest rate of 1.25%. The state bank will provide it to the commercial banks who will utilize it for the mortgage purposes. The Nation – Mon. List of Indicators USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Forex Reserves Major Currencies July-January services trade posts $ 3Bn deficit The country's services trade swelled by 9% to $ 2.96Bn during 7MFY18 compared to $ 2.69Bn in 7MFY17. Pakistan's services sector exports moved up to $ 2.99Bn compared to $ 2.86Bn in 7MFY17. Similarly, services sector imports stood at $ 5.95Bn in 7MFY18 against $ 5.55Bn, showing an increase of $ 407Mn. Month-on-month basis, during Jan.’18, services trade registered a deficit of $ 401Mn with $ 411Mn exports and $ 812Mn imports. BR – Sun. 165 Over 11.5Mn cotton bales reach ginneries Seed cotton (Phutti) of over 11.5Mn bales have reached ginneries across the country till Mar 1, 2018, registering an increase by 7.63% compared to corresponding period of last year. The total sold out bales of cotton are recorded at 10.79Mn bales including 10.58Mn bales bought by textile mills and 216,615 bales purchased by exporters. Over 709,108 bales are still lying with the ginneries as unsold stock. BR – Sun. 125 Pakistan loses 50% market share in Kabul Chairman PAJCCI Zubair Motiwala has stated that India has succeeded in penetrating Kabul slashing Pakistan’s market share of by more than 50% in the last two years. He said Pakistan’s trade with Afghanistan fell to $ 1.2Bn from $ 2.7Bn in the last two years and the country has been losing even the traditional markets of flour, clothes and red meat. India has been providing goods at subsidized rates to capture the market and is providing air tickets with a 75% rebate, adding that Afghans find it easy to travel to India with cheap tickets and free multiple visas without police checks. Dawn – Sun. GBP, 4-Mar-18, 152.6 155 145 135 EUR, 4-Mar-18, 136.3 115 105 USD, 4-Mar-18, 110.6 95 Mar-17 USD Jun-17 GBP EUR Sep-17 Dec-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day "As an entrepreneur, every year you get tested and you get stronger. You build more resilience." OMCs asked to ensure sale of domestic petrol on priority \ The govt. has directed the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to ensure sale of domestic petrol before placing orders for imported Jeni Britton Bauer product to minimize loss of foreign exchange and misuse of Inland Freight Equalization Margin (IFEM). The directive stemmed from reports that some of the leading OMCs are resorting to import orders for short-term individual gains at the cost of foreign exchange losses and additional financial impact on consumers. Dawn – Sun. IMF warns US steel, aluminum tariffs likely to hurt economies The IMF has warned that U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminum would likely cause economic damage to the US and its trading partners, and has urged countries to resolve trade disputes without resorting to retaliatory measures. In a terse statement, it said that the import restrictions are likely to cause damage to US manufacturing and construction sectors, which are major users of aluminum and steel. US President Trump has planned to impose tariffs of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum products, designed to safeguard American jobs in the face of cheaper foreign products. The EU and Canada have raised the possibility of taking countermeasures. The News-Sun. Chart of the Day BREAK UP OF PAKISTAN'S PUBLIC EXTERNAL DEBT (DEC.'17) Foreign Exchange Liabilities, 3.65 , 5% IMF, 6.26 , 9% US dollar outlook darkens as trade war looms The US dollar could face headwinds if President Donald Trump’s proposals to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminium imports are enacted, with the biggest risk stemming from the possible flight of capital flows needed to finance ballooning US deficits. Currency markets, in general, dislike any form of trade intervention and previous protectionist efforts by the US govt. have resulted in dollar weakness. Tariffs introduced by Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in 2002 and 1995, respectively, had resulted in a 15% decline in the dollar overall. Daily Times-Sun. Auto Show attracts crowds with technology updates Pakistan Auto Show 2018, held from Mar. 2 - 4, 2018, attracted large crowds of people. Organized by the PAAPAM, it featured more than 200 international & local auto-manufacturers and related enterprises and showcased the vast potential of Pakistan's robust automotive industry. It also featured numerous insightful training sessions where industry experts provided technology updates. The Nation – Mon. New policy: Makers of auto parts look to enhance share in growing market Auto part manufacturers, working as vendors for global car manufacturing companies, are now looking to enhance their stake in the rapidly developing auto market of Pakistan. As the demand for automobiles is expected to rise over the next three to five years, the big challenge for Pakistan is to nurture domestic assemblers and vendors and rapidly generate investments for capacity building to meet the sharply rising demand. The industry is on standby mode as it has the potential to touch PKR 1Tn in coming years. Tribune. Govt. External Debt, 60.60 , 86% Source: KCCI Research, SBP Values in $ Bn 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