Pakistan Daily Economy Update - 8 February

Transcription

1. Feb . 8, 2017 KCCI - eBulletin Pakistan's economy is a pleasant surprise: Bloomberg report Describing the country "a clear winner" of this year in terms of the world's most underrated economies, a report carried by Bloomberg said Pakistan is one of the world's most pleasant surprises as its stock market has put in a good performance, rising 46% over the last year, with GDP growth hovering in the range of 4% and may reach 5% in future while Since 2002, the rate of poverty has fallen by half. However, debt-to-GDP ratio is high at more than 60%, but the country has graduated from its IMF adjustment program and appears to be in a stable fiscal state. BR. CPEC initiative: Xinjiang to inject over PKR 24Bn on building highway network The Chinese govt. has decided putting in huge amount on laying highway network for improved connectivity between Pakistan and China. In this connection, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will inject record funding of 170Bn yuan (PKR 24.8Bn) into building new roads in 2017 so it can better serve as China’s trade hub linking countries along the Silk Road economic belt. The region plans to start construction this year on 6,096Km of highways. New infrastructure projects are also expected to bring more job opportunities for locals. The News. BoI sets up CPEC-SEZ cell The Board of Investment (BoI) has established a CPEC-SEZ Cell to help stakeholders on matters relating to the CPEC and Special Economic Zones. The BoI has been assigned the lead role under the CPEC for industrial cooperation and also the custodian of SEZ Act 2012. Dawn. Questions raised over growing Chinese ‘ingress’ Commerce Ministry and TDAP engaged in a fracas on incentives given to China under CPEC and Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In this regard, Chief Executive TDAP said that FTA with China is massively flawed which is hurting Pakistan's industry and that it should be revisited as soon as possible. He also expressed concern at the Chinese influx in Pakistan. However, Joint Secretary of Commerce Ministry defended FTA saying that China has given special concessions to Pakistan's bank i.e. HBL which has opened its business in China, adding that Pakistan would earn around $ 5Bn per annum from banking services.BR. Pakistan, ADB sign $ 325Mn loan deal for clean power supply Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed an agreement for a $ 325Mn loan to provide electricity to off-grid communities in KPK and Punjab as almost half of Pakistan’s rural population remains deprived of electricity. With the signing of the agreement, Pakistan will be eligible to draw the money, subject to progress on the Access to Clean Energy Investment Programme. The project will be implemented over a period of 5 years from 2017 to 2021. The project will also ensure that 30% of solar facilities are installed in the girls-designated schools in each province. Tribune. UK, ADB extend support to Pakistan Pakistan govt. has kicked-off a two-year project to formulate a “National Transport Policy” which will cover railways, roads, ports and shipping, aviation and logistics services in Balochistan, KPK and Punjab. In this regard, UK govt. through its Department for International Development (DFID) is funding the project under its Pakistan Economic Corridors Program (PECP) which will be administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The DFID and the ADB are also supporting Sindh and Punjab to develop more commercially viable public-private partnerships to meet Pakistan’s infrastructure needs. The Nation. Govt. has been accused of devouring 90% liquidity of banks The govt. has accused of borrowing 90% liquidity of the commercial banks and leaving nothing for disbursement to agriculture and other sectors after the issue of high mark-up on agriculture sector despite low policy rate. In this regard, Finance Standing Committee has said that mark-up on production loan for agriculture sector has been increased to 14.5% from 12% last year. BR. CDWP approves 258% increase in cost of Kachhi Canal project The govt. has approved a further increase in the cost of Kachhi Canal project to PKR 80.5Bn, up a whopping 258%, despite admitting that the scheme is plagued by several technical shortcomings and an illustration of lacklustre implementation and ill-planning. The CDWP also approved almost 25% increase in the cost of Chashma Nuclear Power Plants III and IV. The revised cost of the power plants is now PKR 233.9Bn, up PKR 44Bn. The 630MW Chashma III has already become operational while Chashma IV, having a similar generation capacity, will start running by Oct’17. Tribune. Economic Indicators List of Indicators Date / Period Unit Value Change Daily Crude (FE'17) Gold (JA'16) Gold (10g) Local Silver (JA'17) Cotton(KHI)-40 kg Kibor-6M 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb 7-Feb PKR PKR Pts. $ Mn $/bbl $/oz PKR $/oz PKR % 104.80 107.70 49,859 -2.15 52.18 1,234 43,114 17.70 7,218 6.13% Forex Reserves 27-Jan $ Bn 22.44 -0.01% 0.00% 0.46% NM** -3.07% 1.19% 0.20% -0.26% 0.00% -0.01% WoW -3.49% YoY -2.27% -3.82% 10.10% -22.20% -92.23% USD-Interbank USD-Open MKT KSE-100 index FIPI Jul-Dec 16 Remittances $ Bn 9.46 Jul-Dec 16 Exports* $ Bn 9.91 Jul-Dec 16 Imports* $ Bn 24.40 Jul-Dec 16 Trade Balance* $ Bn -14.49 Jul-Dec 16 Current Account $ Mn -3,585 % 3.85 Avg. CPI-FY17* Jul-Jan 17 Jan-17 Discount Rate % 5.75 Sources: KCCI Research, PMEX , NCCPL, KSE, SBP, PBS* ** Not Meaningful WoW= week on week; YoY=Year on Year Major Currencies 175 165 155 145 135 125 115 105 95 85 75 Feb-16 USD GBP, 7-Feb-17, 130.4 EUR, 7-Feb-17, 112.1 USD, 7-Feb-17, 105.0 May-16 GBP Aug-16 EUR Nov-16 Feb-17 Source: KCCI Research ; Oanda.com Quote of the Day “Execution is a specific set of behaviors and techniques that companies need to master in order to have competitive advantage. It’s a discipline of its own.” Larry Bossidy Chart of the Day Cement Sales of Pakistan 3.930 3.92 3.925 3.920 3.915 Governor stresses need to boost economic activities in Karachi Sindh Governor Mr. Zubair has stressed the need for increasing economic activities in Karachi to restore its identity as the jugular vein of the country’s economy. Highlighting the need for solving problems confronted by the people on priority basis, the governor said people could be provided relief by early completion of the ongoing development projects. Dawn. 3.910 Qatar Petroleum joins consortium to develop LNG project State-owned Energy Company Qatar Petroleum (QP) has joined an international consortium of major U.S., European and Japanese energy companies to develop a LNG import project in Pakistan. The consortium, which includes U.S. ExxonMobil, France's Total, Japan's Mitsubishi, and Norway's Hoegh, will develop a project that includes a floating storage and regasification Unit, a jetty and a pipeline to shore to provide natural gas supply to Pakistan. BR. 3.885 3.905 3.900 3.90 3.895 3.890 3.880 Dec'16 Dec'15 Value in Mn tons Source: KCCI Research, APCMA Disclaimer IGP wants 1861 law replaced Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, A.D. Khowaja while addressing businessmen at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that the Police Act, 1861 is the root cause of poor performance of police force, which needed better and updated laws. He said that Police Act, 1861 was enforced by the British to suppress the people but this law was still prevailing in Pakistan. Dawn. 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