Pakistan has witnessed a four per cent decrease in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first quarter (July – September) of the fiscal year 2021/2022 (Q1FY22), as per data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday.
(more…)Author: Hamza Shahnawaz
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PKR derails to make record low at Rs172.78 to dollar
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) derailed against dollar on Monday and fell to a new all-time low of Rs172.78 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
The rupee fell by Rs1.6 to end at Rs178.78 to a dollar from last Friday’s closing of Rs171.18 in the interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency experts said that the market was opened after two days holidays. Further a public holiday on October 19, 2021 put pressure on dollar demand.
They said that huge import bill during first quarter of the current fiscal year pushed up the dollar demand. The import bill of the country recorded an increase of 66.11 per cent during first quarter (July – September) 2021. The country has spent foreign exchange to the tune of $18.75 billion during first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
The oil import bill is the major reason for the massive depreciation in the local currency. The oil import bill registered a phenomenal growth of 97 per cent to $4.59 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $2.33 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.
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Weekly Review: Stock market likely to move positive
KARACHI: The stock market likely to move positive during next week on hope of resumption of IMF program.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to move positive as we get closer to resuming the IMF program and receiving a $1 billion tranche.
Whereas recent bouts of selling at the index has once again opened up valuations; we advise investors to cherry-pick blue chip stocks with a long term focus, they said.
Key short term risks include: regional volatility and the ensuing security concerns, together with PKR depreciation.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 5.2x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 14.7x while offering a dividend yield of 8.1 per cent versus 2.2 per cent offered by the region.
The benchmark equity bourse closed in green after four weeks of bleeding. During the early part of the week investors resorted to panic selling amid lack of clarity on continuation of the IMF package as well as delay in the process to appoint a new Director General of the ISI (DG ISI).
Albeit, with Finance Minister assuring that the government would soon address concerns of the global lender and resume the IMF’s EFF, as well as PM’s statement allaying any rumors of a military-political divide, the KSE-100 index posted two swift back to back bull runs. The market closed at 44,821 points, (gaining 344 points / up by 0.8 per cent WoW).
Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (393 points), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (136 points), iii) Fertilizer (123 points), iv) Cement (98 points), and v) Pharmaceuticals (28 points). Whereas, sectors which contributed negatively were i) Technology & Communication (342 points), and ii) Food & Personal Care Products (50 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were HBL (153 points), PPL (87 points), UBL (67 points), LUCK (59 points) and OGDC (42 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution came from TRG (260 points), SYS (70 points) and PAKT (27 points).
Foreign selling continued this week, clocking-in at USD 13.3 million compared to a net sell of USD 3.7 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in Fertilizer Sectors (USD 12.1 million), Commercial Banks (USD 7.8 million) and Cement (USD 3.11 million). On the local front, buying was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 12.2 million) followed by Mutual Funds (USD 3.4 million). Average volumes clocked-in at 342 million shares (up by 29 per cent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 71 million (up by 20 per cent WoW).
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Only 2.6M returns amid putting taxpayers’ money on ads
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan has faced a shortfall in tax return submissions for the tax year 2021, despite significant spending on advertising and media campaigns aimed at encouraging taxpayers.
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Petrol price goes up to record high at Rs137.79/liter
ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday increased the price of petrol to a record high at Rs137.79 per liter. The government announced to increase prices of all petroleum products with effect from October 15, 2021.
The price of petrol has been increased by Rs10.49 to Rs137.79 from Rs127.30 per liter. The price of High Speed Diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs12.44 to Rs134.48 from Rs122.04 per liter. The price of kerosene oil has been enhanced by Rs10.95 to Rs110.26 from Rs99.31 per liter. Similarly, the price of light diesel oil has been increased by Rs8.48 to Rs108.35 from Rs99.51 per liter.
A notification issued by the Finance Division said at present, oil prices have risen around $85 a barrel, which is the highest since October 2018.
Importantly, entire energy chain prices have witnessed a strong surge in the past couple of months due to higher demand for energy inputs and supply bottlenecks.
In the current scenario, the government has absorbed the pressure and provided maximum relief to the consumers by keeping petroleum levy and sales tax to a minimum level. Therefore, prices worked out by OGRA have been approved, according to the statement.
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Exchange rates in PKR vs foreign currencies on Oct 16
KARACHI: Following are the exchange rates of foreign currencies in Pak Rupee (PKR) on October 16, 2021 (The rates are updated at 10:24 AM):
Currency Buying Selling Australian Dollar 124.85 126.35 Bahrain Dinar 386.75 388.50 Canadian Dollar 136.10 138.10 China Yuan 23.75 23.90 Danish Krone 23.45 23.75 Euro 197.20 199.20 Hong Kong Dollar 16.70 16.95 Indian Rupee 2.03 2.10 Japanese Yen 1.41 1.44 Kuwaiti Dinar 481.70 484.20 Malaysian Ringgit 36.45 36.80 NewZealand $ 96.45 97.15 Norwegians Krone 17.50 17.75 Omani Riyal 392.70 394.70 Qatari Riyal 39.90 40.50 Saudi Riyal 45.45 46.05 Singapore Dollar 124.50 126 Swedish Korona 18.35 18.60 Swiss Franc 159.90 160.80 Thai Bhat 4.80 4.90 U.A.E Dirham 46.65 47.25 UK Pound Sterling 233.60 236.10 US Dollar 171.60 172.60 Disclaimer: Team PKRevenue.com provides the available rates of the open market, which are subject to change every hour. Team PKRevenue.com provides the available exchange rates at the time of posting the story. So the team is not responsible for any inaccuracy of the data.
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Stocks gain 488 points on positive sentiments
The Pakistan stocks experienced a bullish trend on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 index soared by 488 points, closing at 44,822 points. This marked a significant increase from the previous day’s closing of 44,334 points, reflecting a rise of 1.1 percent.
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Hopes for further return filing date extension
ISLAMABAD: Today October 15, 2021 is the last date for filing return or income for tax year 2021. However, a large number persons still require to file their returns. They hope the FBR may further extend the last date beyond October 15, 2021.
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GST exemption on various goods may be withdrawn
Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue is likely to withdraw exemption and concession of general sales tax (GST) granted on many consumable items.
The consumption tax may be withdrawan on the supply of goods to generate an estimated revenue of Rs334 billion, news reports suggested.
The exemption of GST may be withdrawn on supplies of various local and imported goods. The exemption and concession of consumption tax may continue on basic food items.
The report suggested that Personal Income Tax (PIT), there are 11 slabs and one proposal under consideration is to bring down slabs to 6 or 7 where the minimum taxable ceiling of Rs0.6 million might be adjusted upward while the rate of higher-income brackets might be increased.
The hike in power tariff to the tune of Rs1.40 per unit might be notified after the agreement with the IMF.
Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin is expected to hold a meeting with the IMF’s Managing Director (MD) Kristalina Georgieva on October 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. However, things are still unclear whether Pakistan and the IMF will be able to strike a staff-level agreement or not. The review talks may be extended if both sides remained unable to strike any staff-level agreement on the completion of the sixth and seventh reviews under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Sources said that the IMF was advising stringent taxation measures but Pakistani authorities were making last-ditch efforts to convince the IMF for delaying taxation measures on account of withdrawal of sales tax exemptions and adjustment into Personal Income Tax till the announcement of the next budget 2022-23 or implementation of these steps in a staggered manner.
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Exchange rates in PKR vs foreign currencies on Oct 15
KARACHI: Following are the exchange rates of foreign currencies in Pak Rupee (PKR) on October 15, 2021 (The rates are updated at 08:58 AM):
Currency Buying Selling Australian Dollar 124.75 126.25 Bahrain Dinar 386.75 388.50 Canadian Dollar 136 138 China Yuan 23.75 23.90 Danish Krone 23.45 23.75 Euro 197 199 Hong Kong Dollar 16.65 16.90 Indian Rupee 2.03 2.10 Japanese Yen 1.41 1.44 Kuwaiti Dinar 481.60 484.10 Malaysian Ringgit 36.45 36.80 NewZealand $ 96.35 97.05 Norwegians Krone 17.50 17.75 Omani Riyal 392.70 394.70 Qatari Riyal 39.80 40.40 Saudi Riyal 45.40 46 Singapore Dollar 124.50 126 Swedish Korona 18.30 18.55 Swiss Franc 159.80 160.70 Thai Bhat 4.80 4.90 U.A.E Dirham 46.60 47.20 UK Pound Sterling 233.50 236 US Dollar 171.50 172.50 Disclaimer: Team PKRevenue.com provides the available rates of the open market, which are subject to change every hour. Team PKRevenue.com provides the available exchange rates at the time of posting the story. So the team is not responsible for any inaccuracy of the data.