Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 21 October

Transcription

1. October 21 , 2020 KCCI - eBulletin FATF meeting begins today: Country likely to remain on 'grey list' As the three-day virtual meeting of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) plenary begins today, Pakistan is likely to remain on its "grey list" till next year, but "the risk of being placed on its blacklist is over". The virtual meeting of the FATF plenary is scheduled till 23rd Oct’20, will decide about the status of Pakistan, based on a review of the country's performance to meet global commitments and standards on fight against money laundering and terror financing (ML&TF). BR. Karachi exporters to get LNG at lower cost The cabinet has given the go-ahead to a package for Karachi’s export-oriented industries in a bid to provide LNG at a weighted average cost in winter. Under the package, a weighted average tariff of PKR 930 perMn British thermal units (mmbtu) will be charged from industrial consumers in Karachi between Oct’20 and Feb’21, lower than the $ 6.5 per mmbtu (approx. PKR 1,080) which export goods manufacturers are paying in Punjab. From Mar’21, the notified domestic tariff will be charged, unless an alternative mechanism is devised and approved. Industrial consumers in Karachi, who were drawing more than the approved gas load, would regularize their connections before 30th Nov’20, failing which any volume taken in excess of the approved load would be charged full LNG price without exception, or the volume would be curtailed to the approved gas load. Tribune. Higher Electricity Tariff: Main cause of theft, non-payment of electricity bill | NEPRA issues State of Industry Report 2020 Showing serious reservation over the high tariff of the electricity, NEPRA has noted that, the high cost of electricity, inefficient distribution services and load-shedding policy on high loss feeders is pushing consumers away from the DISCOs. It is noted that one of the main causes of theft of electricity and non-payment of electricity bill is higher electricity tariff. In NEPRA’s State of Industry Report 2020 it said that an amount of PKR 2.15Tn has been accumulated as of 30th Jun’20 on account of circular debt of power sector. The Nation. PKR 63Bn construction projects enrolled under amnesty scheme FBR has said that 127 projects worth PKR 63Bn have been registered with the tax department under PM’s Package for Construction Sector. In addition, a total of 108 persons are also in the process of registering 114 projects at a projected cost of PKR 109Bn under the amnesty scheme. So far, 61 projects from Karachi have been registered, followed by 44 in Lahore, Islamabad 30, Rawalpindi 19, Faisalabad 10 and rest from other cities. The last date for registering projects under the scheme is 31st Dec’20. Dawn. Pakistan will produce gas and diesel from Thar coal The govt. has geared up the process on two projects for turning Thar coal into gas and diesel and in is contact with two Chinese companies. It wants to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas and the other one on Coal to Liquid and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer. 75% fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. The News. FBR agrees to extend date for filing Form H FBR has agreed to allow an extension in date for filing annexure-H for the convenience of traders. FBR also agreed to extend the number of days to file Form ‘H’ from 120 to 180. However, it asked those associated with trade and industry to catch up with the FBR’s automation so they were compatible with the latest technology. The News. KE nears 3-year RLNG supply deal for 900MW plants K-Electric Limited is nearing a three-year RLNG supply deal with Pakistan LNG Limited and SSGC for 900 MW project underconstruction at Port Qasim. It also initiated talks with upcoming LNG terminals, including Tabeer Energy and Shell Consortium, to maintain gas supply afterwards. The News. \ Naya Pakistan Certificates: SBP allows resident Pakistanis to invest In exercise of power conferred by sub-rule 2 of Rule 3 of the Naya Pakistan Certificate Rules, 2020, SBP has notified that resident Pakistanis having assets abroad as declared in their latest wealth statement filed with FBR may invest in USD denominated Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) by opening a Foreign Currency Value Account, subject to the some conditions. As per condition, investment in NPCs by Resident Pakistanis must be funded by remittance from abroad. BR. SSGC allowed to lay gas pipeline The years-long pending issue between the federal and Sindh govts. has finally been resolved as SSGC has been asked to lay a 17km pipeline for gas import to overcome prolonged gas and power blackouts in Karachi, upper Sindh and Balochistan. “SSGC aims to complete the project in two to three months at an estimated cost of PKR 2Bn. The 30-inch diameter pipeline will be capable of transporting 600 mmcfd. Tribune. Govt. notifies rules for removal, blocking of unlawful online content The federal govt. has notified the Rules for Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules, 2020 under Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, earlier approved as Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules 2020. According to the rules, the PTA will not restrict or disrupt the flow or dissemination of any online content unless it is necessary for the reasons as prescribed in sub-section (1) of Section 37 of the Act and without prejudice to the generality of the powers in Section 37 (1) of the Act unless the removal and blocking of access to an online content would be necessary in the interest of glory Islam, integrity, security and defence of Pakistan, public order, public health, public safety, decency and morality. BR. Olive cultivation gains momentum, harvest reaches 11,000 tonnes Olive cultivation in the country has been gaining momentum as local output during the current season is projected to cross 11,000 tons, showing a significant development towards reducing reliance on the imported edible oil as well as to exploit the export potential of this particular agriculture produce. The Nation. Gold imports decline 73% The imports of gold into the country witnessed decline of 73.04% to $ 1.20Mn during 1QFY21 as compared to $ 4.47Mn in 1QFY20. In terms of quantity, the gold imports shrunk by 82.30% by falling from 113 kilograms last year to 20 kilograms during the period under review. The Nation. Govt borrows to repay debt: report Pakistan has slipped into a debt trap due to the govt’s. failure to bring reforms and weak fiscal management, which has also raised national security concerns, said a brief report of the Institute of Policy Reforms (IPR titled “Pakistan’s debt and debt servicing is cause for concern”. The report underlined that in FY20 alone, Pakistan added a total of PKR 4.3Tn to its debt and liabilities, equal to 10.4% of GDP. In two years, total debt and liabilities have grown by a massive PKR 14.7Tn showing weak fiscal management. Tribune. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT 20-Oct 20-Oct PKR PKR 162.28 163.40 -0.06% 0.31% KSE-100 index FIPI 20-Oct 20-Oct Pts. $ Mn 40,957 0.96 1.53% NM** Crude (AP'19) 20-Oct $/bbl 40.92 -0.20% Gold (MA'19) 20-Oct $/oz 1,902.2 0.00% Gold (10g) Local 20-Oct PKR 99,110 -0.17% Silver (MA'19) 20-Oct $/oz 24.48 0.89% Cotton(KHI)-40 kg 20-Oct PKR 10,610 1.02% Kibor-6M 20-Oct % 7.35 0.00% 9-Oct $ Bn 19.02 WoW -1.73% Remittances Jul-Sep 20 $ Bn 7.15 31.08% Exports* Jul-Sep 20 $ Bn 5.46 -0.94% Imports* Jul-Sep 20 $ Bn 11.26 0.56% Trade Balance* Jul-Sep 20 $ Bn -5.80 -2.02% Current Account Foreign Direct Inv. Jul-Aug 20 Jul-Sep 20 $ Bn $ Bn 0.81 0.42 166.31% -23.79% Forex Reserves YoY Jul-Aug 20 LSM Growth* % 3.66 % 8.84 Jul-Sep 20 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 235 225 GBP, 20-Oct-20, 210.1 215 205 195 EUR, 20-Oct-20, 191.5 185 175 165 155 USD, 20-Oct-20, 162.2 145 Oct-19 Jan-20 USD GBP Apr-20 Jul-20 Oct-20 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com EUR Quote of the Day “Patience is a key element of success.” Bill Gates GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX SCORES BY 2020 GHI RANK (18th) Russia 5.2 (35th)Saudia Arabia 7.5 (39th)Iran 7.9 (48th)Thailand 10.2 (65th)Iraq 17.1 (70th)Indonesia 19.1 (75th)Bangladesh 20.4 (88th)Pakistan 24.6 (94th)India 27.2 (99th)Afghanistan 30.3 0 10 20 30 * Higher the score out of 100, worse the Hunger situation in the country 40 Source: KCCI Research; GHI Trade Inquiries Members interested in establishing links with Russian companies in the following sectors are requested to contact res@kcci.com.pk with company details including KCCI membership number. 1)A leading locomotive company in the area of digital signaling and rail traffic 2)A leading peat extraction and processing company.