Pkrevenue.com

Author: Faisal Shahnawaz

  • FX reserves reach all-time high at $27.227 billion

    FX reserves reach all-time high at $27.227 billion

    KARACHI: The country’s liquid foreign exchange (FX) reserves have reached a historic high of $27.228 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021.

    The foreign exchange reserves have increased by $2.609 billion during the week under review.

    The total liquid exchange reserves of the county were $24.619 billion by the week ended August 20, 2021, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The official reserves of the SBP also reached a historic high of $20.146 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021.

    The SBP said that during the week ended Aug 27, 2021, the central bank received proceeds of IMF SDR allocation amounting to US$ 2.752 billion. After accounting for external debt payments, the reserves have increased by $ 2.567 billion to $20.146 billion.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks increased nominally to $7.082 billion by the week ended August 27, 2021 as against $7.040 billion a week ago.

  • KSE-100 index plunges by 510 points on profit-booking

    KSE-100 index plunges by 510 points on profit-booking

    KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell by 510 points on Thursday. The index fell owing to profit booking during the day.

    The index closed at 46,903 points as against the previous day’s closing of 47,413 points, showing a decline of 510 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw a draw-down of 539 points during the session, which came in the backdrop of depreciating rupee, rising costs of commodities (particularly coal for Cement) and redemption calls at mutual funds end.

    The cement sector saw significant selling pressure followed by Banks and Technology stocks due to cost pressures and limited flexibility to pass on the costs.

    Weak investor sentiment as evident from longer than anticipated consolidation of the KSE-100 benchmark made even the depreciating rupee a negative factor for Technology, Textile, and E&P stocks, which would otherwise benefit.

    Among scrips, GGL topped the volumes with 57.9 million shares, followed by WTL (53.3 million) and ANL (42.1 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-138 points), Cement (-125 points), Fertilizer (-43 points), E&P (-38 points) and Technology (-32 points).

    Volumes increased from 536.6 million shares to 544.4 million shares (+1 percent DoD). The average traded value also increased by 12 percent to reach US$ 96.2 million as against US$ 8.1 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include GGL, WTL, ANL, SERFR, and TELE, which formed 41 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include NRL (+8 points), PSX (+7 points), ATRL (+7 points), BYCO (+6 points), and MARI (+4 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include UBL (-41 points), HBL (-40 points), LUCK (-36 points), MCB (-30 points) and CHCC (-25 points).

  • SBP issues house financing guidelines

    SBP issues house financing guidelines

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued guidelines for financing the housing units in under-construction projects.

    The SBP said that builders/developers are developing and marketing a number of multistorey projects of housing units across the country.

    Although these under-construction projects are exposed to project completion risk and performance risk of builders/developers, many individuals are attracted to book housing units in these projects owing to their affordability and option of payments through installments.

    However, the banks/DFIs have traditionally shied away from financing the housing units in under-construction projects due to issues in the availability of legally enforceable title documents and registration of mortgages as per requirements of Prudential Regulations (PR) for Housing Finance.

    It may be noted that banks/DFIs extend project financing to builders/developers for the construction of multistorey housing projects after adequately securing their project and builder risks through mortgage of project land and other securities.

    Utilizing these already established security arrangements with the builders/developers, the banks/DFIs may also extend housing finance against housing units in multistorey housing projects.

    This will expand options of affordable housing to individual borrowers. This will also facilitate banks/DFIs in ensuring repayment/ settlement of their project financing through conversion of the same in housing finance.

    In view of the above considerations, State Bank has decided to issue guidelines to encourage banks/DFIs to extend housing finance to the housing units in under-construction projects for which they have already entered into arrangements of project financing with builders/developers.

    These Guidelines for Financing of Housing Units in Under-construction Projects have been developed considering current market norms of buying/selling of housing units in under-construction projects by addressing issues of legally enforceable rights and responsibilities.

    While guidelines comprehensively cover various aspects, it may be noted that all payments to the builder/developer for completion of construction/project shall be routed through an escrow account maintained by the bank/lead bank of the consortium.

    The builder’s/developer’s equity and purchasers’ equity contribution and subsequent payments of the purchasers through mortgage financing shall be routed through the same account.

    Accordingly, the State Bank has decided to exempt banks/DFIs extending housing finance for under-construction housing units from requirements as specified under Regulation HF 8: Creation of Mortgage for Housing Finance.

    This exemption will be available till the arrangement of the completion certificate, NOCs, approvals, utility connections, and registered title deed between builder/developer and buyers of housing units. In order to avail of this exemption, the banks/DFIs will, however, be required to meticulously comply with provisions of Guidelines for Financing of Housing Units in Under-construction Projects.

  • KIBOR rates on September 02, 2021

    KIBOR rates on September 02, 2021

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday issued the following Karachi Interbank Offered Rates (KIBOR) on September 02, 2021.

     TenorBIDOFFER
    1 – Week6.917.41
    2 – Week6.957.45
    1 – Month7.017.51
    3 – Month7.137.38
    6 – Month7.307.55
    9 – Month7.397.89
    1 – Year7.508.00
    KIBOR rates on September 01, 2021
  • SBP issues customers exchange rates on September 02

    SBP issues customers exchange rates on September 02

    Karachi, September 02, 2021 – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued the exchange rates for customers on Thursday, September 02, 2021.

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  • Engro, BOP make arrangements for agri financing

    Engro, BOP make arrangements for agri financing

     KARACHI: Engro Fertilizers Limited and The Bank of Punjab (BOP) have made arrangements to provide financing to farmers through the bank’s branch network across Pakistan, a statement said on Thursday.

    Under this arrangement, progressive farmers under Engro Fertilizers Limited’s Shandaar Kissan program will be able to avail financing on easy terms and concessional markup rates from the BOP. These farmers will avail of this facility to invest in their infrastructure, mechanization, and working capital for yield improvements.

    This financing arrangement will help farmers to improve farm economics through better production and, thus, increase their income levels as well.

    The MoU signing ceremony, held at Engro Fertilizers Limited’s Head Office in Karachi, was attended by Amir Iqbal – Chief Commercial Officer and Imran Ahmed – Chief Financial Officer of Engro Fertilizers Limited, whilst the BOP was represented by Farid Ahmed Khan – Group Chief Corporate Investment Banking and  Asif Riaz – Group Head Retail & Priority Sectors Lending.

    In a joint statement, Amir Iqbal (Chief Commercial Officer, Engro Fertilizers Limited) and Mr. Asif Riaz (Group Head Retail & Priority Sector Lending, The Bank of Punjab) shared that, “Prioritizing financial inclusion and well-being of farmers is key to develop the agricultural sector, which in turn results in the progress of Pakistan. We are excited to partner on this initiative that has the potential to transform the country’s agricultural landscape by promoting improved agri practices, thereby, enabling better crop yields and food security for the nation.”

    This initiative is yet another milestone for both organizations in their journey to create a meaningful impact in the agri landscape of Pakistan. Last year, Engro Fertilizers Limited and the BOP had also partnered to deliver accessible warehouse receipt financing to farmers, traders, and processors, for the winter maize and basmati rice crop.

    Under the Shandaar Kissan program, Engro Fertilizers Limited has registered more than 2500 selected farmers and provided them Seed to Harvest solutions to improve their farm productivity. On the other hand, the BOP continues to provide financial assistance under its vast range of agri products and SBP schemes.

  • Pakistan oil sales jump up by 26% in August

    Pakistan oil sales jump up by 26% in August

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s domestic oil sales have jumped up by 26 percent to 1.97 million tons, which is the highest since May 2018.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that oil sales are also up 1 percent Month on Month (MoM), whereas oil sales during the first two months of the fiscal year 2021/2022 clocked in at 3.9 million tons, up 22 percent YoY. 

    Furnace oil sales improved by 63 percent YoY to 0.5 million tons in Aug-2021 primarily led by rising LNG prices and shortage in world LNG supply which is an alternative fuel for FO.

    Growth in oil sales is also fueled by economic recovery as last year’s sales were mainly impacted by lockdowns and economic slowdown.

    Consequently, MOGAS (MS) and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) sales are up 6 percent YoY and 32 percent YoY, respectively. Strong auto sales have also led to growth in these categories during the period under review.

    Company-wise data shows that Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Attock Petroleum (APL) and Shell Pakistan (SHEL) have gained in terms of their market share.

    PSO posted growth of 36 percent YoY as its oil sales clocked in at 1.0 million tons. PSO’s FO sales have jumped by 80 percent YoY as its market share in this segment improved to 66 percent in Aug-2021 vs. 60 percent in Aug-2020.

    APL’s oil sales also improved by 56 percent YoY to 0.2 million tons, whereas SHEL’s sales are up 28 percent YoY to 0.1 million tons.

    HASCOL witnessed a decline of 76 percent YoY in Aug-2021 as it continues to lose its market share as it stands at just 1 percent compared to 10 percent 3-years back.

  • Dollar climbs up to Rs166.98 in interbank

    Dollar climbs up to Rs166.98 in interbank

    The US dollar has continued its upward trajectory against the Pakistani Rupee (PKR), reaching a year high of Rs166.98 in the interbank foreign exchange market on Thursday.

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  • Pak Rupee to UAE Dirham on September 2, 2021

    Pak Rupee to UAE Dirham on September 2, 2021

    KARACHI: Following are the rates of buying and selling of one UAE Dirham (AED) in Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in the open market on September 2, 2021:

    Buying: Rs 45.40 to the UAE Dirham

    Selling: Rs 46.00 to the UAE Dirham

    We update rates hourly so we can offer you the best AED to PKR.

    The UAE Dirham /PKR parity depends on open market rates, they are set by the market forces based on foreign currency demand.

    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.

    Pak Rupee to UAE Dirham on September 1, 2021
  • Pak Rupee to US Dollar on September 2, 2021

    Pak Rupee to US Dollar on September 2, 2021

    KARACHI: Following are the rates of buying and selling of one US dollar (USD) in Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in the open market on September 2, 2021:

    Buying: Rs 167.50 to the Dollar

    Selling: Rs 168.50 to the Dollar

    We update rates hourly so we can offer you the best USD to PKR.

    The US Dollar /PKR parity depends on open market rates, they are set by the market forces based on foreign currency demand.

    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.