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Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

  • Karachi Chamber assures traders of resolving issues

    Karachi Chamber assures traders of resolving issues

    KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has assured traders of Jodia Bazaar of taking up their issues with the authorities and get them resolved.

    Chairman Businessmen Group (BMG) Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Idrees, after listening to the hardships being faced by traders of Jodia Bazaar,  assured that the Karachi Chamber will take up all issues being faced by the traders/ shopkeepers of Jodia Bazaar with relevant quarters and will try its best to get them amicably resolved so that the traders and shopkeepers, who are an integral part of KCCI, could smoothly carry out their activities without any hassle.

    The assurance was given at a meeting during the visit of a delegation from Jodia Bazaar which was led by Haroon Agar to congratulate the newly elected office bearers. Senior Vice President KCCI Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Hussain and KCCI Managing Committee also attended the meeting whereas Jodia Bazaar delegation comprised of Waseem-ur-Rehman, Hanif Pochi, Najam Chughtai, Arif Lakhani, Asif Haji Karim, Javed Qadri, Aslam Nathani and others.

    While highlighting numerous issues, Leader of Jodia Bazaar delegation Haroon Agar pointed out that skim milk, which was not a luxury item, was subjected to imposition of Sales Tax which is a serious anomaly that raises the cost of this important household products. Hence, the Federal Board of Revenue should be approached with a request to look into the possibility of exempting this product from Sales Tax, he added.

    He further mentioned that due to massive number of Kunda Connection all over Jodia Bazaar, the area frequently undergoes massive load shedding every day which creates a lot of problems even for the legitimate consumers of KE who, despite paying all their outstanding dues, have to suffer badly due to someone else’s misconduct.

    “KCCI must take up this matter with higher authorities at KE so that the utility service provider could be convinced to minimize load shedding and remove all Kunda connections in this area where massive trading activities of up to billions of rupees take place every day.

    He further highlighted the grievances being faced by traders of Jodia Bazaar due to massive smuggling of various products including milk, spices and plastic etc. which were entering Pakistan in bulk quantities from Afghanistan via Chaman, making the legal trade of all these products uncompetitive in the local markets.

    Karachi Chamber appeals subsidizing petroleum prices
  • FBR vows to curb money laundering in real estate

    FBR vows to curb money laundering in real estate

    ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has vowed to continue its efforts to stop money laundering through real estate and precious metals and stones, including gold and jewellery.

    FBR Chairman Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed that FBR will continue implementing the AML/CFT regulations in order to curb the menace of money laundering through real estate and precious metals and stones, including gold and jewellery.

    The chairman issued the statement on the major achievement of completing actions on Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBS) in the FATF action plan I just one reporting cycle and one year ahead of the deadline in September 2022.

    The Chairman FBR Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed congratulated DG DNFBPs, Mr. Mohammad Iqbal, and his team for the tireless efforts to complete the actions on DNFBPs in a short span of three months and one year ahead of the deadlines.

    The FATF plenary in its public statement has noted that Pakistan has now satisfied the requirements of most of its action items under the 2021 action plan, ahead of deadlines and in its first reporting cycle.

    In June 2021, the FATF plenary had approved a seven actions new action plan for Pakistan, focusing on combating money laundering. This action plan contained two actions specific to DNFBPs, in particular, the real estate agents and Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones (DMPS). FBR was already designated as AML/CFT regulatory authority for real estate agents, DPMS and accountants other than those registered with ICAP and ICMAP under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, through amendments made in September 2020.

    Since the designation of FBR as the AML/CFT regulatory authority, FBR issued AML/CFT regulations for its regulated entities and also embarked upon an extensive outreach to educate and facilitate the DNFBPs on implementation of the new AML/CFT regime. A dedicated portal was made available on FBR website, which contains comprehensive guidance documents and other information for the DNFBPs. FBR also launched a customized mobile App for the registration by DNFBPs, screening the lists of proscribed /designated persons and generating Suspicious Transaction Reports (SRTs). A detailed supervisory plan was chalked out for offsite and onsite supervision of the DNFBPs.

    Since June 2021, FBR has carried out onsite inspections of a large number of DNFBPs and imposed a wide range of penalties on the delinquent entities. The real estate associations were also taken on board for the implementation of the AML/CFT obligations.

    FBR warns of action for delaying inquiry reports
  • FATF retains Pakistan in grey list; admits progress

    FATF retains Pakistan in grey list; admits progress

    The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Thursday kept Pakistan in the grey list or increased monitoring list with an acknowledgment of completing almost all the action plans.

    Pakistan has been on the grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018.

    Announcing the decision, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said that Pakistan had to complete two concurrent action plans with a total of 34 items. “It has now addressed or largely addressed 30 of the items,” he said.

    “Its most recent action plan from June this year, which largely focused on money laundering deficiencies, was issued after the FATF’s regional partner — the Asia Pacific Group — identified a number of serious issues.

    “Overall, Pakistan is making good progress on this new action plan. Four out of the seven items are now addressed or largely addressed.”

    He said that this included showing that financial supervisors are conducting on-site and off-site checking on non-financial sector businesses and enacting legislative amendments to improve international cooperation.

    Commenting on the action plan devised in 2018 which focused on terror financing, the FATF president said that Pakistan was still assessed to have largely addressed 26 out of 27 items.

    “Pakistan has taken a number of important steps but needs to further demonstrate that investigations and prosecutions are being pursued against the senior leadership of UN designated terror groups,” he said.

    All these changes are about helping authorities stop corruption, preventing terrorism and organized criminals from benefitting from their crimes, he said, thanking the government for their “continued strong commitment” to the process.

    Responding to a question about whether Pakistan would be blacklisted for its failure to act against those on the UN terrorism list, Dr Pleyer said that the country had completed 30 items out of 34 on two action plans.

    “This shows the clear commitment of the Pakistani government so there is no discussion on blacklisting Pakistan and the FATF urges the country to address the remaining four items,” he said, adding that the government was cooperating with the financial watchdog.

    Pakistan will remain on enhanced follow-up, and will continue to report back to the APG on progress to strengthen its implementation of AML/CFT measures. Pakistan’s fourth progress report is due 1 February 2022.

    Pakistan urges FATF to take action against Indian plot
  • KIBOR rates on October 21, 2021

    KIBOR rates on October 21, 2021

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued the following Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) on October 21, 2021.

     TenorBIDOFFER
    1 – Week7.227.72
    2 – Week7.267.76
    1 – Month7.337.83
    3 – Month8.088.33
    6 – Month8.448.69
    9 – Month8.719.21
    1 – Year8.939.43
    KIBOR rates on October 20, 2021
  • KSE-100 index up 322 points on IMF program hopes

    KSE-100 index up 322 points on IMF program hopes

    KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday gained 322 points on expected resumption of IMF program.

    The KSE-100 index closed at 45,821 points as against previous day’s closing of 45,500 points, showing an increase of 322 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that a clear signal of concluding IMF review and resumption of IMF Package by Shaukat Tarin swayed the index to add a total of 665 points during the session, which has cumulatively added around 3000 points since the near term bottom of 43200 points.

    Bank and E&P stocks contributed the most, whereas selling pressure was witnessed in Technology and Cyclicals (Cement and Steel) sectors.

    After making an intra-day high, Investors resorted to profit booking that brought the net gains to reach 322 points at the end of session.

    Anticipation of interest rate hike by SBP in the coming monetary policy helped the banking sector stocks to stage a rally, and E&P stocks inched up on the prospects of US$100/bbl for international crude oil price.

    Among scrips, BOP topped the volumes with 25.5 million shares, followed by TELE (24.2 million) and HUMNL (23.8 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+220 points), E&P (+97 points), Fertilizer (+80 points), Cement (+31 points) and Chemical (+29 points).

    Volumes increased from 308.1 million shares to 338.3 million shares (+10 per cent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 29 per cent to reach US$ 76.8 million as against US$ 59.7 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, TELE, HUMNL, WTL and UNITY, which formed 34 per cent of total volumes.

    KSE-100 index gains 870 points on IMF talks resumption
  • FBR warns of action for delaying inquiry reports

    FBR warns of action for delaying inquiry reports

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a stern warning to inquiry officers, cautioning them of potential disciplinary action for prolonged delays in submitting inquiry reports.

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  • SBP issues customers exchange rates for October 21

    SBP issues customers exchange rates for October 21

    Karachi, October 21, 2021: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the official exchange rates for Thursday, October 21, 2021.

    (more…)
  • Dollar advances to new high at Rs173.96

    Dollar advances to new high at Rs173.96

    KARACHI: The Pak Rupee (PKR) fell by 49 paisas on Thursday as the dollar advanced to make a new high at Rs173.96.

    The rupee ended at Rs173.96 to the dollar from the previous day’s closing of Rs173.47 in interbank foreign exchange market.

    Currency experts said that volatile situations push the dollar to hit Rs174 during intraday trade.

    The currency dealers said that the massive widening of the current account deficit had also had a negative impact on rupee/dollar parity.

    The current account deficit ballooned to $3.4 billion during July – September 2021 as compared with a surplus of $865 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to the SBP.

    The import bill showed a 66.11 per cent growth to $18.74 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with $11.28 billion in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year.

    Dollar touches new peak at Rs173.47
  • OGDCL discovers huge gas deposits in Balochistan

    OGDCL discovers huge gas deposits in Balochistan

    KARACHI: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on Thursday announced the discovery of huge deposits of gas reserves in the province of Balochistan.

    In a communication shared with Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and London Stock Exchange, the company said that OGDCL, being operator of Jandran West Exploration License with 100 per cent interest, had made a gas discovery over Mughalkot Formation from its exploratory efforts at Jandran West X-1 well which is located in Kohlu District, Balochsitan, Province, Pakistsan.

    Jandran West X-1 well was spudded-in on May 19 2021 as an exploratory well and drilled down to a total depth of 1627m into Parh Formation. Based on the good gas shown during drilling, interpretation of open hole logs data, Drill Stem Test (DST) has been performed in Mughalkot Formation.

    The well flowed at the rate of 2.391 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (MMSCFD) gas with traces of condensate at WellHead Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 455 Pounds per Square Inch (PSI) at 32/64” choke size.

    OGDCL being the leading exploration and Production Company in Pakistan has adopted aggressive exploration strategy which has resulted into Hydrocarbons discovery over Jandran West X-1. This discovery will add to the hydrocarbon reserve base of OGDCL and the of the country.

    OGDCL announces gas discovery in KPK
  • Valuation committees for Afghan, Iran goods to be set up

    Valuation committees for Afghan, Iran goods to be set up

    ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will constitute local valuation committee for customs valuations of goods imported or exported from Afghanistan and Iran.

    Through SRO 1352 (I)/2021 dated October 14, 2021, the FBR issued draft amendments for local valuation committee rules under Section 25A of the Customs Act, 1969.

    The proposed amendments would be applicable for the determination of value of goods of Afghan and Iran origin in order to regulate the Pak-Afghan bilateral trade by discouraging the incidences of under invoicing and smuggling.

    The FBR said that the proposed amendments would be applicable on the Afghan and Iran origin goods, imported from Afghanistan and Iran through land routes. In case, if an item is being imported through sea route in significant quantities from Iran, then, the value of such items shall be determined in consultation with Directorate of Valuation, Karachi.

    According to the draft amendments, the respective collector of customs (appraisement), on his own motion, in his area of jurisdiction may determine the customs values of any goods or category of goods imported in or exported out of Pakistan from or to Afghanistan and Iran through land customs stations through the following valuation committee constituted for the said purpose, members whereof shall be nominated by collector concerned, namely:

    (a) one additional collector of the collectorate (chairman of the committee);

    (b) two deputy or assistant collectors of the collectorate (Members of the committee);

    (c) superintendents of principal appraisers or appraisers or inspectors as required;

    (d) representative of respective chamber of commerce and industry;

    (e) representative of Customs’ clearing agents association;

    (f) All Pakistan Dry Fruits Importer and Exporter Association;

    (g) all Pakistan Fresh Fruits Importers and Exporters Association; and

    (h) any other co-opted member as deemed appropriate by the collector.

    The values so determined by the collector on recommendations of the committee shall be valid for six months.

    FBR assures traders of facilitating Pak-Afghan trade