The Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) has decided to screen all customers of national savings schemes.
(more…)Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz
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MCC Preventive Peshawar announces auction of used cars on Dec 16
ISLAMABAD: Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Preventive Peshawar announced public auction of used cars on December 16, 2019 at state warehouses of Peshawar, Frontier Corps, Nowshera, Mardan and Abbotabad.
Following are the list of cars and location of auction:
STATE WARE HOUSE, PESHAWAR
01. Mercedes Benz (Bullet Proof) Model 1982, Chassis No. WDB-12603312037551
02. Toyota Hilux Pick Up Model 2007, Chassis No. MROCS12G400043443
03. Toyota Land Cruiser Model 2004, Chassis No. LTERB71J800020686
04. Toyota Camry Car Model 2014 (as per Website), 6T1BF3FK-40X056581
05. Toyota Land Cruiser, Model 1993, Chassis No. KZJ78-0007642
STATE WARE HOUSE, MARDAN
01. Daihatsu Mira Car (Avy), Model 2003, (as per website), Chassis No. L250S-1014196
STATE WARE HOUSE, ABBOTTABAD
01. Toyota Mark-X Car, Model 2006, Chassis No. GRX120-0009539
STATE WARE HOUSE, FRONTIER CORPS
01. Mark-1 Motor Car Model Nil, Chassis No. LA3VS-216474
02. Motor Car, Model 1978, Chassis No. M-430-300918
03. Toyota Corolla Car, Model 2003 (as per Website), Chassis No. NZE120-6005014
04. Toyota Corolla Car Model 1992 (as per Website), Chassis No. CE100-3020027
05. Toyota Mark-II Car Model 2001 (as per Website), Chassis No. JZX110-6022047
06. Toyota Corolla Saloon Car Model 2004 (as per Website), Chassis No. ZZE121-9010983
07. Toyota Corolla Car Model 2001 (as per Website), Chassis No. CE100-9020816
08. Toyota Corolla Car Model 2000 (as per Website), Chassis No. CE100-9013329
09. Toyota Corolla Car Model 1993 (as per Website), Chassis No. CE100-3029431
10. Toyota Corolla Car Model 1991 (as per Website), Chassis No. EE90-5665542
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K-Electric warns of crisis on non-payment of dues by Sindh departments
KARACHI: K-Electric – the power generation and distribution company – has demanded the Sindh government to pay the dues on urgent basis as non-payment will result into potential crisis for Karachi city.
In a letter to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah the power utility requested for support in expediting the release of outstanding dues of different department of the provincial government.
The K-Electric said it was facing severe cashflow issues due to the non-payment of dues by the government of Sindh. The company is working tirelessly to manage its routine operations and maintainance along with the purchase of power for the smooth functioning of the operations and to supply safe and reliable power to Karachi and its adjoining area.
“However, this has been communicated to your office time and again that with large amount pending in the form of receivable from the government departments, KE is facing severe constraints in running its day to day operations and ensuring seamless supply of power to the city.”
The power utility said that its receivable from different departments of the Sindh government had increased to Rs19.2 billion, of which Rs4.5 billion had been reconciled.
In addition, Rs33.09 billion is also receivable on account of KW&SB out of which Rs28.5 billion in dues have been fully reconciled.
In its summary to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Sindh government agreed to devise a payment plan for the reconciled amount, which was also made part of the apex court’s order.
However, there have been notable delays in the payment against the mentioned reconciled amount and a payment plan is still awaited.
As a result, K-Electric’s borrowing has increased substantially, and the situation is not sustainable for the company. Moreover, the capacity of banks to finance KE has been exhausted, inadvertently effecting KE’s working capital and long-term expansion plan.
The KE said that it was not a defaulter of current payments to any of its fuel suppliers since 2012, despite the cashflow situation. However, to be able to continue to make payments to the suppliers and ensure smooth operations, it is essential that the release of outstanding dues is expedited.
“… the non-payment of these dues will result into potential crisis for the city and the sustainability of KE’s operations,” it said.
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Gwadar Port starts exports operation: Razak Dawood
KARACHI: Gwadar Port has become operational for exports as a vessel loaded with three containers of seafood left for Far Eastern ports, said adviser to prime minister.
Abdul Razak Dawood, in his tweet on Saturday made this announcement about the exports through Gwadar Port.
“Gawadar becomes operational for Exports! Seafood export, in reefer containers, using WeBOC system, started on 19 Nov 2019 through COSCO’s KGS service.”
“The vessel loaded 3 containers of fish for Far Eastern ports.”
The adviser said that average value of cargo was $50,000/container.
This would reduce time taken for trading across borders and also reduce port congestion at Karachi.
Gwadar is Pakistan’s largest infrastructural project since independence.
After the completion of the first phase of Gwadar port, billions of dollars have been invested in Gwadar and in the next one or two years the investment can cross the figure of trillions.
China is a major investor in Gwadar, and has spent $248 million in the first phase of Gwadar port, according to official website of Gwadar Port Authority.
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Iranian delegation urges Pakistan for reducing customs duties for promoting formal trade
KARACHI: Iranian trade delegation has urged Pakistani authorities to bring down customs duties in order to encourage formal trade between the two countries.
Talking to the members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Morad Nemati, leader of the Iranian delegation said that in order to improve the trade relations between Pakistan and Iran, it was really essential that steps have to be taken to deal with the barriers hindering smooth trade between the two brotherly countries while the high custom duties need to be brought down to encourage legal trade and discourage smuggling.
Morad Nemati added that in addition to bringing down the high custom duties, formal banking channel between the two countries has to be activated which was widely being demanded by the business communities of the two countries since quite some time now.
Commercial Attaché of the Iranian Consulate in Karachi Mahmoud Hajy Yousefi Pour, Vice President Shahid Ismail, Former Vice President Asif Sheikh Javaid, KCCI Managing Committee Members and members of the Iranian delegation from different sectors of the economy were also present on the occasion.
While referring to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Morad Nemati said that this essential project was going to open up huge opportunities not just for Pakistan but also for Iran and they (Iran) want to become part of this project which would surely ensure prosperity in the entire region.
He also underscored that that the business communities of the two countries will have to meet more frequently and improve their contacts, besides holding Single Country Exhibitions which would certainly improve trade and investment in both the brotherly countries.
Morad Nemati, who has also discharged his service as Commercial Attaché of the Iranian Consulate in Karachi, assured full support and cooperation to the business community so that trade could improve further and they collectively explore new avenues trade cooperation.
Earlier, Vice President KCCI Shahid Ismail, while welcoming the Iranian delegation, stated that despite being brotherly countries, trade remains low hence, Pakistan and Iran must make collective efforts to explore new avenues. It has always been KCCI’s struggle to promote bilateral trade and the Chamber has a very positive approach towards improving trade ties particularly with neighboring countries.
He pointed out that the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran was much less than the potential as Pakistan exports stood at a mere $330.2 million while the imports were around $1.247 billion during 2018.
Shahid Ismail noted that the negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are underway as both the countries have shared their desire of upgrading Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for which initial drafts have already been shared while the State Bank of Pakistan has also shared draft of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for signing its Banking Paying Arrangement (BPA) with Iran’s Iranian Bank Markazi Jomhouri. Both countries have already signed MoU through which channels would be opened in the central banks of both the countries for trade transactions that would reduce the usage of dollar account for Letter of Credit (LC) clearance.
He hoped that the desperately needed proper banking channel between Pakistan and Iran becomes a reality soon which would surely boost the existing trade ties.
Shahid Ismail underscored the need to sort out infrastructural constraints to enhance bilateral trade via Quetta-Taftan land route whereas regular operation of ECO container train will lend impetus to cargo and transit facilities between the two countries. While underscoring the need for a realistic approach, Vice President KCCI said that KCCI was keen to strengthen trade ties with their counterparts in Iran.
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Individuals falling under final tax not required to file annual returns
KARACHI: Individuals or companies falling under final tax are not required to file annual income tax returns and their statement will be treated as assessment.
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SBP directs banks to ensure liquidity for rupee
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed to ensure sufficient liquidity for settlement of rupee forward maturities.
In a circular issued to all president and chief executives of the banks, the central bank issued instructions related to settlement of Pak Rupee forward maturities.
The SBP said that as per existing practice, the Pak Rupee maturities in respect of forward leg of foreign exchange interbank contracts (PKR forward maturities) are settled on End-of-Day (EOD) basis.
Apart from not being in line with international best practice, the EOD basis also carries associated risk of unjustified intraday float.
“In view of above, it has been decided that PKR forward maturities would be settled on Start-of-Day (SOD) basis effective December 23, 2019 and onwards.”
The banks shall ensure sufficient liquidity in their respective Pak Rupee accounts maintained with SBPBSC-Karachi Office on the settlement date of PKR forward maturities in order to avoid intraday liquidity shortages.
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Weekly Review: stock market likely to maintain buoyancy
KARACHI: The stock market likely to maintain its buoyancy during next week owing to economic improvement.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that index will continue it’s upward journey as the economy depicts signs of resurrection.
Improvement on the external front together with stability in the Pak Rupee is expected to reassure foreign investors.
Meanwhile inflationary readings are set to touch peak in January 2020 and with an imminent interest rate cut to follow, domestic investors remain jubilant as well.
The KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 7.2x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.6x and while offering DY of ~7.8 percent versus ~2.6 percent offered by the region.
The domestic equity bourse breached the 41,000 level this week (last seen in February 2019) albeit, settling at 40,917 points (up by 184 points and 0.45 percent WoW).
This marks the highest index return in terms of percentage generated in seven consecutive weeks (+21.6 percent) in the past 10 years, last observed in September 2009.
Although some profit-taking was witnessed throughout the week, a swift rally at the index on the last day reflects continued investor confidence on the back of improving macros (trade deficit narrowed by 33 percent during 5MFY20 and reserves held by the SBP jumped up to USD 9.23bn), and lower bond yields (under 11 percent for 10-year PIBs as per latest auction), which further opens up valuations.
Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Oil & Gas Exploration (273 points) as Pakistan invites Russia to acquire governments share in OGDC and PPL, ii) Chemical (54 points), iii) Food and personal care (47 points), iv) Fertilizer (42 points), and v) Tobacco (38 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by OGDC (101 points), PPL (84 points), MARI (52 points), NESTLE (43 points) and POL (36 points).
Foreign selling was witnessed this week clocking-in at USD 9.1 million compared to a net buy of USD 1.1 million last week. Selling was witnessed in E&P (USD 5.4 million) and Commercial Banks (USD 3.5 million).
On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Individuals (USD 7.4 million) and Mutual Funds (USD 7.6 million). Average Volumes settled at 276 million shares (down by 41 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 67 million (down by 36 percent WoW).
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PTBA suggests return filing date extension up to December 31
LAHORE: The Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) has advised the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the deadline for filing income tax returns to December 31, 2019. This recommendation was made in a letter addressed to the FBR chairman on Friday, citing several challenges faced by taxpayers and consultants.
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Stock market gains 402 points as buying seen in major scrips
KARACHI: The stock exchange gained 402 points on Friday owing to buying seen in major blue chip scrips.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,917 points as against 40,514 points showing an increase of 402 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today and took cue from higher international oil prices that caused PPL to hit upper circuit and OGDC to trade near upper circuit.
Buying activity was mainly observed in Oil & Gas chain. Besides E&P stocks, SSGC and SNGP among O&GMCs also closed on upper circuits.
Autos, Cement and Steel were generally among the laggards. Banking sector led the volumes with 37.9 million shares, followed by Vanaspati (28.2 million) and Technology (27.3 million).
Among scrips, UNITY led the volumes with 28.2 million shares followed by BOP (14.8 million) and FFL (13.5 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+168 points), Banks (+77 points), O&GMCs (+55 points), Textile (+28 points), Inv Banks (+14 points).
Volumes increased from 227 million shares to 270.7 million shares (+19 percent DoD).
Average traded value also increased by 39 percent to reach US$ 75.3 million as against US$ 54.3 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, BOP, FFL, AVN and OGDC, which formed 30 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include PPL (+92 points), OGDC (+77 points), HBL (+34 points), PSO (+26 points) and SNGP (+20 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include FFC (-9 points), THALL (-8 points), ENGRO (-8 points), MLCF (-6 points), and MARI (-5 points).