Pakistan is grappling with a significant surge in inflation as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded a staggering 14.6 percent increase on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in January 2020.
(more…)Author: Mrs. Anjum Shahnawaz
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Weekly Review: Market likely range bound on IMF talks
KARACHI: The trading activities at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) likely range bound during the next week over talks between IMF and the Pakistan authorities for release of third tranche.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market appears range bound in the mid-term with IMF commencing talks with the Pakistani team next week over release of its third tranche under the $6 billion EFF.
Moreover, local investors await final verdict of the FATF next month whereby decision over Pakistan’s status (White, Grey or Black) will be taken.
With that said, long term prospects appear upbeat given improvement in the external account and stable PKR-USD parity.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the PSX is currently trading at a PER of 7.2x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 11.9x and while offering DY of ~6.6 percent versus ~2.8 percent offered by the region.
With fear of contagion of the Chinese Corona virus across the world, global equities staged a slide with the local equity bourse following suit.
This was primarily marked by lower crude prices at the beginning of the week, which kept the index-heavy E&P stocks under pressure. In addition, the SBP kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged in the latest monetary policy statement which triggered select Cement and Steel (leveraged) scrips to tumble during mid-week.
Finally, concerns over rising inflationary readings and political pressure has also kept the index dull. The KSE-100 Index closed at 41,631 points (down by 1,002 points; 2.4 percent WoW).
Sector-wise negative contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (-431ts), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (-303 points), iii) Power Generation & Distribution (-113 points), iv) Cement (-66 points), and v) Fertilizer (-41 points). Scrip-wise negative contributions were led by MCB (-126 points), PLL (-108 points), UBL (-97 points), HBL (-96 points) and HUBC (-95 points).
Foreign selling this week clocking-in at USD 8.0 million compared to a net buy of USD 4.8 million last week. Selling was witnessed in Cement (USD 4.2 million) and Textile composite (USD 1.3 million).
On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Individuals (USD 9.8 million) and Broker Proprietary Trading (USD 2.0 million). Average Volumes settled at 188 million shares (down by 1 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 46 million (down by 7 percent WoW).
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Shazad Dada elected as OICCI president
KARACHI: Shazad Dada has been elected as president of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) for the term 2020.
This was announced at the 160th Annual General Meeting of the OICCI held at the Chamber on Friday, January 31, 2020.
Haroon Rashid, Managing Director Shell Pakistan Limited, was elected unopposed as the Vice President.
The other elected members of the OICCI Managing Committee for 2020 are as follows:
1. SYED ANIS AHMED, ABBOTT LABORATORIES (PAKISTAN) LIMITED
2. IMRAN AHMAD KHAN, BAYER PAKISTAN (PVT) LIMITED
3. GHIASUDDIN KHAN, ENGRO CORPORATION LIMITED
4. IRFAN SIDDIQUI, MEEZAN BANK LIMITED
5. MAREK ANDZEJ MINKIEWICZ, METRO PAKISTAN (PVT) LTD
6. ASTUSHI FUJII, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION
7. SAMER CHEDID, NESTLE PAKISTAN LIMITED
8. DR. IMRAN RASHEED, NOVARTIS PHARMA (PAKISTAN) LIMITED
The Incoming OICCI President Shazad Dada in his message to the members said that he strongly believes that Pakistan offers considerable growth potential for existing foreign investors and attractive opportunities for new investors.
He said his conviction is supported by OICCI members who invested over US$ 13 billion in new capital expenditure in the last seven years.
He opined that the current dip in the economic cycle of the country will soon revert back to a positive growth trend.
He lauded the role of OICCI for promoting Pakistan to potential foreign investors during the Chamber’s regular interaction with foreign business and governmental delegations and senior diplomats based in and outside Pakistan.
Shazad also appreciated the quality of OICCI business climate/perception surveys, the Chamber’s focused and continuing advocacy efforts for streamlining the taxation system, giving practical policy input for increasing the efficiency of energy sector, initiatives on women empowerment and gender equality, the Chamber’s role in improving the security environment, and in taking the Intellectual Property Rights regime in Pakistan to a higher level, which included the publication of a comprehensive IPR manual for the benefit of all innovators and brand owners.
Shazad Dada is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. He graduated with honours from University of Pennsylvania with Bachelors of Science and Bachelors of Arts degrees, and also has an MBA from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
He is a seasoned banker and a prominent capital markets professional, with over 26 years of diverse experience with renowned financial institutions in the United States and Pakistan.Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he was the CEO of Barclays Pakistan. Shazad has also worked at the Deutsche Bank Securities Inc in New York for over 15 years in various capacities before moving back to Pakistan as Managing Director Deutsche Bank AG Pakistan
Shazad is the Chairman of the Board of Trustee of Developments in Literacy (DIL) Pakistan, member of Board of Directors British Business Centre Pakistan.
He is also a Council member of Institute of Bankers Pakistan. Shazad was recently recognised as the sixth top Advocate Executive globally by the HERoes Women Role Model Lists 2019 supported by Yahoo Finance for his achievements in promoting gender diversity at workplace.
He is an avid golfer with a keen interest in a number of other sports.
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Customs clearance of used cloth, shoes without banned
KARACHI: The Central Health Department of the federal government has advised the customs authorities not to clear imported used cloths and used shoes without proper fumigation in the wake of coronavirus threat.
The collectorates of Pakistan Customs have been informed through the fresh advisory on Saturday about the Pneumonia outbreak due to Novel CoronaVirus.
According to the advisory, the customs stations have been asked that second hand clothings, used shoes and other worn articles should not be cleared without fumigation under the supervision of Port Health Establishment, Karachi till further orders.
However, the department has no objection to clear other consignments.
Earlier, on January 27, 2020 the Port Health Establishment in a letter to customs collectorates that cargo imported from affected areas in China should not be cleared without proper fumigation.
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Petroleum prices kept unchanged
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to keep the prices of petroleum products unchanged for the month of February 2020.
A statement said on Friday that the government decided to keep POL prices at the level of prices applied for January 2020.
For the month of January 2020 the prices were increased as:
The price of kerosene (SKO) has been increased by Rs3.10 per liter to Rs99.45 to from Rs96.35.
The price of petrol has been increased by Rs2.61 per liter to Rs116.60 from Rs113.99.
The rate of High Speed Diesel (HSD) has been increased by Rs2.25 per liter to Rs127.26 from Rs125.01.
The price of Light Diesel Oil (LDO) has been increased by Rs2.08 to Rs84.51 from Rs82.43.
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FBR reshuffles senior customs officers in BS-20-22
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday reshuffled senior officers of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) and notified transfers and postings with immediate effect and until further orders.
Notification of following officers has been issued:
01. Javed Ghani (PCS/BS-22), who is currently Member (Customs Policy), FBR (HQ), Islamabad, has been assigned additional charge of Member Customs (Operations), FBR (HQ), Islamabad.
02. Jawwad Uwais Agha (PCS/BS-21) has been transferred and posted as Member FBR (HQ) Islamabad from the post of Member (Customs Operations),FBR (HQ) Islamabad.
03. Muhammad Saleem (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, MCC (Appraisement), Peshawar from the post of Collector, MCC (Preventive), Multan.
04. Khaleel Ibrahim Yuousfani (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector MCC (Preventive), Peshawar from the post of Collector, Collectorate of Customs (Appeals), Karachi.
05. Muhammad Yaqoob Mako (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, MCC (Preventive) Quetta from the post of Collector, MCC, Gawadar. He will also look after the charge of the Collector MCC, Gawadar.
06.Irfan-ur-Rehman (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector, MCC (Appraisement), Quetta from the post of Director, Directorate of Transit, Trade, Quetta. He will also look after the charge of Directorate of Transit Trade, Quetta
07. Fayyaz Anwar (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Collector MCC (Preventive), Multan from the post of Director, Directorate of I&I Gawadar.
08. Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh (PCS/BS-20), who is current posted as Collector, MCC (Export) Karachi. He will also look after the charge of MCC (Export) PMBQ, Karachi.
09. Irfan Javed (PCS/BS-20), who is currently posted as Director, Directorate of I&I Karachi. He will also look after the charge of the post of Director, Directorate of I&I Gawadar.
10. Asif Saeed Khan Lughmani (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, FBR (HQ), Islamabad from the post of Collector MCC (Preventive) Peshawar.
11. Ihsan Ali Shah (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, FBR (HQ), Islamabad from the post of Collector, MCC (Appraisement), Peshawar.
12. Mr. Iftikhar Ahmed (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, FBR (HQ), Islamabad from the post of Collector, MCC (Preventive), Quetta.
13. Raza (PCS/BS-20) has been transferred and posted as Chief, FBR (HQ), Islamabad from the post of Collector, MCC (Appraisement), Quetta.
The FBR said that the officers who are drawing performance allowance prior to issuance of this notification shall continue to draw this allowance on the new place of posting.
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Stock market ends down by 273 points on selling pressure in energy scrips
KARACHI: The stock market fell by 273 points on Friday as selling pressure seen in energy scrips. The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 41,631 points as against 41,904 points showing a decline of 273 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in a range today between +234 points and -345 points and closed the session -273 points.
Despite slight recovery in international crude oil prices, Oil & gas chain remained subdued with E&P stocks declining further by approximately 2 percent on average. Similarly, PSO showed selling pressure.
Fertilizer Companies, EFERT and FFC are said to announce a cut in Price of Urea by Rs150/bag and Rs. 300/bag respectively and caused selling in Fertilizer scrips.
Technology sector posted 33.3 million trading volume, followed by O&GMCs (27.6 million) and Vanaspati (24 million). Among scrips, UNITY led the table with 24 million shares, followed by HASCOL (23.5 million) and TRG (12.4 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-120 points), E&P (-100 points), Cement (-46 points), Tobacco (+32 points) and Technology (+13 points).
Volumes increased from 162.3 million shares to 193.4 million shares (+19 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 15 percent to reach US$ 51 million as against 44.3 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, HASCOL, TRG, AVN and BOP, which formed 42 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include PAKT (+28 points), HASCOL (+12 points), SYS (+12 points), MUREB (+10 points) and ISL (+5 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-38 points), UBL (-31 points), LUCK (-30 points), OGDC (-28 points), and HBL (-27 points).
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FBR extends return filing date up to February 28
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday granted sixth consecutive extension for filing income tax return for tax year 2019 up to February 28, 2020.
The FBR issued Income Tax Circular No. 18 of 2019 for extension in date of filing income tax returns/statements for tax year 2019.
The FBR said that the date of filing of return of total income / statements of final taxation for individuals and associations of persons for the tax year 2019 which was due on September 30, 2019 and extended up to December 31, 2019 has been extended up to February 28, 2020.
The FBR further said that the date of filing of return of total income/statements of final taxation for companies for the tax year 2019, which was due on September 30, 2019 and extended up to December 31, 2019, in respect of those companies who have paid 90 percent of the admitted tax liability on or before September 30, 2019, has been allowed further extension up to February 28, 2020.
The date of filing of return of total income/statements of final taxation for companies for tax year 2019, which was due on December 31, 2019 has also been extended up to February 28, 2020.
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Engro Fertilizers reduces urea prices by Rs160
KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers has announced reduction of urea prices by Rs160 per bag effective from February 01, 2020.
A statement on Friday said that Engro Fertilizers welcomed the decision of the government to reduce Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on urea.
In line with the decision and to support the valued farmers of the country, Engro Fertilizers has decided to fully pass on the benefit of change in GIDC rates by announcing a 160/bag reduction in urea prices, effective February 1, 2020.
It is worth highlighting that the impact of reduction in GIDC varies for different fertilizer manufacturers. Engro Fertilizers is passing on the full impact of the government decision, given the particular mix of gases being received by the company.
Engro Fertilizers has been a trusted partner of Pakistani farmers for over 50 years and is committed to their well-being by promoting improved farm economics.
In continuation of its past commitment, Engro Fertilizers has taken the lead in urea price reduction to support the farmer-friendly decision of the government.
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Rupee eases by two paisas ahead weekly holidays
KARACHI: The Pak Rupee eased by two paisas against dollar on Friday owing to demand of the foreign currency ahead of two weekly holidays.
The rupee ended Rs154.49 to the dollar from last day’s closing of Rs154.47 in interbank foreign exchange market.
Currency dealers said that the market was remained flat. However, advance buying was witnessed ahead of to two weekly holidays.
The foreign currency market was initiated at the range between Rs154.44 and Rs154.47. The market recorded day high of Rs154.49 and low of Rs154.47 and closed at Rs154.49.
The exchange rate in open market however witnessed significant gain in local currency value.
The buying and selling of the dollar was recorded at Rs154.30/Rs154.60 from previous day’s closing of Rs154.50/Rs154.80 in cash ready market.