Pkrevenue.com

Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz

  • Commission issues notice to Hyundai Nishat Motors for deceptive marketing

    Commission issues notice to Hyundai Nishat Motors for deceptive marketing

    ISLAMABAD: Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has issued a show cause notice to M/s. Hyundai Nisha Motors Pvt Limited for explaining deceptive marketing practice for sale of its new Hyundai Tucson.

    The CCP in a statement issued on Tuesday said that it had taken a suo moto notice of the advertisement published in print media and on various social media platforms publicizing the introductory price of Hyundai Tucson with a disclaimer, ‘for a limited period only.’ In these advertisements, though the introductory price was visibly printed in large font size, yet the disclaimer was not easily noticeable as it was printed much smaller font size.

    Moreover, it was also brought to the CCP;s notice that the initial booking period for Hyundai Tucson with the introductory price lasted for less than 24 hours, and then the price was raised by Rs200,000. Within 24 hours of initial bookings, the company declared that all units of Tucson at the introductory price were booked and the introductory price list was removed from its website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

    The CCP’s Office of Fair Trade (OFT) in its inquiry found that advertisement to be problematic in the position of the disclaimer could potentially mislead the consumers. Moreover, the advertisement left the overall impression that the company did not clearly indicate to consumers: (i) the period in which the introductory pries would apply, and (ii) the number of vehicles that were available at the price point, thereby, prima facie, violating provisions of Section 10 of the Competition Act.

    On the enquiry’s recommendations, a show cause notice has been served on M/s. Hyundai Nishat Motor (Pvt) Limited company and the company has been given 14 days to respond.

    CCP is mandated under the Competition Act to ensure fair competition in all spheres of commercial and economic activity to enhance economic efficiency and to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices.

  • KSE-100 index falls 828 points on risk of high inflation

    KSE-100 index falls 828 points on risk of high inflation

    KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell by 828 points on Tuesday as high inflation and political uncertainty kept investors upset during the day.

    The index closed at 44,223 points as against previous day’s closing of 45,051 points, showing a decline of 828 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market got another thrashing from investors on the back of rising inflation and political uncertainty.

    Institutional investors are known to face redemptions from investors, which resulted in offloading of recently bought positions, especially in Cement and Steel sectors.

    Expectation of an increase in inflation leading to a hike in monetary policy has recently caused havoc among investors looking for safe haven stocks.

    Resultantly, Power sector saw gradual accumulation particularly KAPCO & HUBC. Banking sector also saw brisk buying with limited price gains.

    Cement, Steel, Technology, O&GMC and E&P sectors saw major price reduction. Among scrips, GGL led the volumes with 41.2 million shares, followed by UNITY (33.3 million) and TRG (25.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-192 points), Technology (-146 points), E&P (-73 points), Textile (-71 points), O&GMCs (-62 points) and Banks (+20 points).

    Volumes increased from 459.8 million shares to 492.3 million shares (+7 percent DoD). Average traded value declined by 5 percent to reach US$ 149.2 million as against US$ 157.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include GGL, UNITY, TRG, WTL and PRL, which formed 28 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include UBL (+23 points), MCB (+8 points), MARI (+8 points), HBL (+8 points) and BAHL (+8 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG (-93 points), SYS (-50 points), DGKC (-47 points), LUCK (-43 points) and PSO (-39 points).

  • APTMA condemns lobbying for Indian yarn import

    APTMA condemns lobbying for Indian yarn import

    KARACHI: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has strongly condemned vested interests for fake claims of shortage and lobbying for import of yarn from India.

    Asif Inam, Chairman – APTMA Sindh-Balochistan Region strongly condemned mala-fide propaganda of shortage and unavailability of yarn despite yarn import is allowed from all over the world except India in response of their restriction on import of Pakistani products.

    In a statement issued to the press and electronic media, Asif Inam said that as per Customs data yarn is already imported from 59 countries.

    Their love for India despite the hostile attitude for Pakistani products is not understandable and the data is strangely fabricated to portray gloom and doom situation of slight decline in exports by comparing exports of 28 days February of 2021 with 29 days February of 2020 which was the leap year.

    Asif Inam further said that the downstream industry is creating hue and cry of unavailability of cotton yarn even though they are availing all facilities which are not provided to the exporters of yarn including subsidized Export Refinance Facility, Duty Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL), etc.

    Moreover they are also allowed to import duty free cotton yarn under DTRE, Export Oriented and Manufacturing Bond Schemes if they find the local yarn expensive.

    On the one hand downstream industry is claiming and pushing the government for long term policies and at the same time would like government interference to rescue them from any bad decision of forward selling of foreign exchange, not selling of foreign exchange and higher commodity prices all over the world due to relentless money printing by developed countries during COVID-19 which everybody has to dealt with.

    Asif Inam urged the government not to allow import of cotton yarn, etc. from India until they restore normalization in trade with Pakistan.

  • Rupee makes four paisas gain against dollar

    Rupee makes four paisas gain against dollar

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained four paisas against the dollar on Tuesday owing to sufficient supply of the foreign currency to meet payment demand.

    The rupee ended Rs157.04 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs157.08 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that the market witnessed supply of the dollar during the day which was sufficient to meet payment for import and corporate demand.

    They said that the market was remained optimistic and hopes of inflows in shape of workers’ remittances and export receipts the rupee likely to make more gain in coming days.

  • FBR adds 116,801 names to active taxpayers list

    FBR adds 116,801 names to active taxpayers list

    ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has added around 116,801 taxpayers to the updated Active Taxpayers List (ATL) for tax year 2020 issued on Monday.

    The FBR updates the ATL on every Monday on a weekly basis. The revenue body issued new ATL for tax year 2020 on March 01, 2021. The recent list is the first update to the new ATL.

    The total number of active taxpayers in the new ATL – 2020 issued a week was 2,178,463. The weekly updated ATL issued on March 08, 2021 is carrying names of around 2,295,264 active taxpayers.

    The appearance of taxpayers’ name on the ATL guarantees exemption from withholding tax on various transactions and reduction of withholding tax rate.

    The FBR includes names of only those taxpayers, who file their annual returns within due date or it was extended by commissioner appeals on the basis of request filed by the taxpayers.

    However, late filers can also enlist their names on the ATL after payment of surcharge.

  • National Bank pays Rs310.29 million as penalties for regulatory violations

    National Bank pays Rs310.29 million as penalties for regulatory violations

    KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has paid an amount of Rs310.29 million as penalty to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for violating regulatory provisions.

    According to the financial results of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2020, the SBP imposed Rs310.59 million as penalties during the year, which was paid by the NBP.

    The SBP imposed penalty on the bank for procedural violations in the areas of Customer Due Diligence (CDD)/Know Your Customer (KYC), Asset Quality, Foreign Exchange Operations.

    The imposition of penalties by the SBP on the National Bank increased by 120 percent in the year 2020 as the penal amount on the NBP was Rs141 million in the preceding year.

    The SBP from July 2019 started public disclosure of penal action against banks. “Enforcement actions are an integral part of regulatory regime which involves imposition of monetary penalties and other actions against institutions and individuals for violations of laws, rules, regulations, guidelines or directives issued by SBP from time to time,” according to a circular issued by the central bank.

    In order to bring more transparency and strengthen market discipline, SBP has decided to publicly disclose significant enforcement actions.

    The total amount of penalties paid by the NBP was Rs316.44 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared with Rs150.58 million in the preceding year.

    An amount of Rs4.72 million was also imposed by central bank of international branches on the National Bank of Pakistan.

  • Share market plunges 786 points on high inflation risk, political uncertainty

    Share market plunges 786 points on high inflation risk, political uncertainty

    KARACHI: The share market plunged by 786 points on Monday owing to high inflation risk following rise in international oil prices and political uncertainty on possible change in Punjab setup.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,051 points as against last Friday’s closing of 45,837 points, showing a decline of 786 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that in the aftermath of PM’s vote of confidence from the Parliament, the market saw a heavy draw down with an oscillation of 1583 points posting an increase of 595 points in the early part of the session and dropping by 988 points during the session. The Index closed 786 points.

    Political uncertainty emanating from possible change in Punjab’s political setup perturbed investors, at the same time recent rapid upsurge in inflation (primarily international crude oil prices) also caused Investors to think twice about upcoming monetary policy and impact thereof on cyclicals.

    Resultantly, cement, steel, O&GMCs saw major attrition today. Over the weekend increase in international crude oil prices helped E&P stocks to stay afloat, however, selling pressure in other stocks also brought pressure in OGDC and PPL as well. Among scrips, ANL topped the volumes with 48.2 million shares, followed by UNITY (45.4 million) and TRG (35.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-205 points), Banks (-104 points), Power (-67 points), Autos (-49 points) and Pharma (-46 points).

    Volumes increased from 317.2 million shares to 459.8 million shares (+45 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 55 percent to reach US$ 157.5 million as against US$ 101.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include ANL, UNITY, TRG, PRL and BYCO, which formed 37 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include PAKT (+10 points), POL (+10 points), ANL (+7 points), MEBL (+3 points) and FCEPL (+2 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-85 points), HUBC (-48 points), HBL (-39 points), DGKC (-36 points) and INDU (-24 points).

  • EFU Life Assurance’s death, disability claim payment increases by 23 percent

    EFU Life Assurance’s death, disability claim payment increases by 23 percent

    KARACHI: EFU Life Assurance Limited has settled death and disability claims of Rs3.86 billion in the year 2020, which is 23 percent higher than the preceding year, according to the financial report of the company.

    It said that timely and efficient claims settlement is at the heart of the company’s business.

    In 2020, the company settled total death and disability claims of Rs. 3.86 billion (2019: 3.14 billion), an increase of 23 percent.

    Out of this, Individual Life claims were Rs1.32 billion and Group Life claims amounted to Rs. 2.54 billion.

    Both lines of business have been impacted by death claims due to COVID-19, however the incremental claims are within the mortality fluctuation tolerance levels set by the company.

    The company has appropriate and adequate reinsurance arrangements in place to mitigate the impact of these additional pandemic related claims.

    According to the results, the company achieved a gross premium (including Takaful contributions) of Rs32.55 billion (2019: 31.75 billion), a slight growth of 2.5 percent.

    The gross premium composition was as follows:

    Individual Life regular premiums (including Takaful contributions) grew by 4.6 percent, achieving a total premium of Rs.28.72 billion (2019: Rs. 27.45 billion).

    Individual life New Business was impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns during which our distribution channels were unable to reach out to retail clients.

    The new business premium contracted to Rs6.21 billion (2019: 6.99 billion).

    Bancassurance was impacted to a greater degree due to limited banking activities during the second and third quarter of the year, while the Agency Sales force was able to make a positive recovery towards the end of the year.

    Renewal premium is a critical indicator of customer satisfaction and grew to Rs. 22.5 billion (2019: Rs. 20.45 billion), a modest increase of 10 percent. Persistency is in the

    DNA of the Company and client retention activities continued throughout the year in parallel to the pandemic when various segments of clients found it to challenging to continue their policies.

    These retention activities, for both Sale Force and Bancassurance, yielded positive results and both channels, towards end of the year, were able to improve their respective persistency levels.

    Group Benefits gross premium, including Takaful contributions, contracted to Rs. 3.23 billion (2019: Rs 3.58 billion).

    The Window Takaful Operations of the Company, Hemayah, are in their sixth year of operations and have continued to show good growth.

    The increase in demand for Islamic financial products over the years has also benefited the Company’s takaful line of business. During 2020, the Company achieved a gross takaful contribution of Rs. 5.42 billion (2019: Rs. 4.21 billion), registering an impressive growth of 29 percent.

    The Individual Family takaful new business was Rs. 2.04 billion (2019: 1.77 billion), a growth of 15 percent. Renewal contribution was Rs. 2.83 billion (2019: Rs. 1.94 billion), recording a high growth of 46 percent.

    For Group Family Takaful, the Company achieved a business of Rs. 309 million. (2019: 326 million). Overall the company expects its Takaful line of business to continue its growth trajectory during 2021.

  • Hubco acquires Eni operations in Pakistan

    Hubco acquires Eni operations in Pakistan

    KARACHI: The Hub Power Holding Limited on Monday announced to acquire all upstream operations of Eni in Pakistan.

    In an information shared by the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the it said that the Hub Power Company Limited (HUBCO) together with ENI’s local employees (in a 50:50 joint venture) has executed definitive agreements to acquire all upstream operations in Pakistan of Eni and renewable energy assets owned by Eni in Pakistan.

    By way of background, Eni is global energy company, which has been operating in Pakistan since the year 2000 in the exploration and production sector.

    The company said that the transactions is subject to requisite compliance with applicable legal and regulatory processes and approval from competent authorities.

  • Rupee gains four paisas as positive sentiments

    Rupee gains four paisas as positive sentiments

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee gained four paisas against the dollar on Monday owing to positive sentiments prevailed in the foreign exchange market.

    The rupee ended Rs157.08 to the dollar from previous day’s closing of Rs157.12 in the interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency dealers said that foreign inflows of workers’ remittances and export receipts helped the rupee to make gain despite demand for import and corporate payments.

    The dealers said that the optimism prevailed on economic growth after confidence vote win by the prime minister in the parliament.