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  • Country’s weekly FX reserves ease by $311 million

    Country’s weekly FX reserves ease by $311 million

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange of reserves of the country fell by $311 million to $20.241 billion by week ended November 27, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves were at $20.552 billion by week ended November 20, 2020.

    The official reserves of the SBP fell by $305 million to $13.11 billion by week ended November 27, 2020 as compared with $13.415 billion a week ago.

    The SBP attributed the decline in official reserves to scheduled external debt payment by the government.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks also eased by $6 million to $7.131 billion by week ended November 27, 2020 as compared with $7.137 billion a week ago.

  • ECC withdraws regulatory duty on cotton yarn import

    ECC withdraws regulatory duty on cotton yarn import

    ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday approval removal of 5 percent regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn.

    The Ministry of Commerce presented a proposal before the ECC regarding removal of 5 percent regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn till June 30, 2021. After detailed discussion, the chair approved the removal of regulatory duty on import of cotton yarn to enhance value-added exports.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh chaired the meeting of the ECC of the Cabinet in Islamabad.

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for Production and Industries Hammad Azhar, Minister for Privatization Muhammad Mian Soomro, Adviser to the PM on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, SAPM on Revenue Dr. Waqar Masood and Adviser to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain also participated in the meeting. Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Reza Baqir joined the meeting through video link.

    The Ministry of Commerce submitted another summary to re-consider the earlier decision taken by ECC dated October 19, 2020 regarding procedure for registration under concessionary regime of electricity, RLNG and Gas in export oriented sectors (erstwhile zero-rated sectors). After due deliberation, the chair directed to maintain status quo with a condition that FBR may register new manufacturers or exporters in five export oriented sectors (erstwhile five zero-rated sectors) in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce till June, 2021.

    Communication Division requested ECC for conversion of National Highways Authority loans into Government Grant or grant a waive-off for a much needed fiscal space. A detailed presentation was made before the forum to remodel NHA as a self-sustaining and performance based organization. ECC directed to constitute a sub-committee under the Chairmanship of Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and would include SAPM Nadeem Babar, Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Secretary Finance and Secretary Communications to prepare a holistic proposal suggesting revenue generation roadmap for NHA within a month.

    NHA was also granted a one-month moratorium to work out details and present recommendations regarding financial viability of NHA before the forum.

    The ECC recommended a summary presented by the Industries and Production Division to approve release of funds to PSM for payment in lieu of gas supply to SSGC through a Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG).

    ECC approved allocation of upto 9.5 MMCFD gas from M/s PPL’s Benari X-I discovery to SSGCL. Similarly, allocation of 10 MMCFD gas from PPL’s Hadaf X-I to SSGCL was also approved during the meeting. Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs raised the matter of priority berthing for wheat and sugar.

    The ECC directed the Logistics Committee to ensure berthing of wheat and sugar vessels on priority, keeping in view, that other imports are not affected.

    The ECC also accorded approval for allocation of additional funds for maintenance of Islamabad High Court Building and Judges Residences through TSG as requested by the Ministry of Housing and Works.

    The agenda item on Karachi Transformation Plan, presented by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives was deferred to the next ECC meeting for a detailed discussion.

  • Headline inflation contracts at 8.3 percent in November

    Headline inflation contracts at 8.3 percent in November

    ISLAMABAD: The headline inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Pakistan witnessed a contraction of 8.3 percent on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis in November 2020, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday.

    (more…)
  • Rising coronavirus cases may impact revenue collection in second quarter

    Rising coronavirus cases may impact revenue collection in second quarter

    ISLAMABAD: The ministry of finance has said that the rising cases of coronavirus may slowdown economic activities and adversely impact revenue collection in second quarter (October – December) of the current fiscal year.

    (more…)
  • Country’s weekly foreign exchange reserves increase by $467 million

    Country’s weekly foreign exchange reserves increase by $467 million

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country have increased by $467 million to $20.552 billion by week ended November 20, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country were at $20.085 billion by week ended November 13, 2020.

    The official reserves of the SBP increased by $484 million to $13.415 billion by week ended November 20, 2020 as against $12.931 billion a week ago.

    The SBP attributed the increase to official government inflows.

    The reserves held by commercial banks eased by $17 million to $7.137 billion by week ended November 20, 2020 as against $7.154 billion a week ago.

  • Minimum wage for unskilled laborers fixed at Rs17,500

    Minimum wage for unskilled laborers fixed at Rs17,500

    KARACHI: Sindh government has fixed minimum wage for unskilled laborers at Rs17,500, a statement said on Wednesday.

    According to the notification issued by Zahid Hussain Khemtio, Chairman, Minimum Wages Board, the Sindh government has fixed  minimum wages of Rs. 17,500 per month for unskilled workers and under the Sindh Minimum Wages Act 2015, all industrial and commercial establishments across the province are  bound to pay the fixed wages.

    Chairman Sindh Minimum Wages Board Zahid Hussain Khemtio  said in a statement that if anyone has a complaint in this regard, one should call  these numbers and can lodge one’s complaint on 021-99211344 and 03003013110 and action will be taken against the institution which does not comply with the Act on receipt of the complaint. He further said that the said law is effective from July 1, 2019.

  • CCP conducts search of APCMA chairman, vice offices; impounds record

    CCP conducts search of APCMA chairman, vice offices; impounds record

    ISLAMABAD: Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has conducted a raid on the office of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) and impounded relevant records. The raid was conducted on possible anti-competitive activities, a statement said on Thursday.

    The CCP said that exercising its powers under Section 34 of the Competition Act 2010, as part of an enquiry launched in May 2020 to investigate the possible anti-competitive activities by the cement manufacturers, carried out a search and inspection of the offices of Chairman and Vice Chairman of APCMA located in Karachi on Thursday.

    Two different teams entered and searched the offices of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of APCMA located in Karachi and impounded the relevant record.

    The enquiry in cement sector was started based on the information gathered through various media reports, and concerns and complaints expressed regarding a concurrent increase in cement prices, particularly during the month of April 2020.

    The reports indicated that an increase ranging between Rs. 45 – Rs55 per cement bag was apparently collectively decided in a meeting of the cement manufacturers held under the umbrella of APCMA.

    On September 24, 2020, the CCP had conducted search and inspection of the APCMA main office and the office of Senior Vice Chairman of the APCMA’s Executive Committee; a senior employee of a major cement company in Lahore.

    Moreover, the impounded record, including Whatsapp messages and emails, warranted conducting search and inspection in the South Zone as well for obtaining evidence relating to anticompetitive practices.

    The evidence suggests possibility of a cartel/collusive arrangement between the cement manufacturers.

    It is pertinent to mention that various factors among others lower demand of cement in the first two quarters of 2020, and almost parallel increase in cement prices and data collected from Pakistan Bureau Statistics and the cement companies, became the basis of CCP’s enquiry and the earlier search.

    Sudden rise in price by the cement manufacturers at a time when there is low demand compared to the installed capacity of the manufactures and considering that input fuel cost (coal and oil), transportation and interest rate have declined raises suspicion of a collective rise in price by cement companies.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the cement sector has a history of collusive activities and they have been penalized in the past to an amount of collectively more than Rs. 6.3 billion on account of forming a cartel and involvement in the prohibited agreements in violation of Section 04 of the Act.

    In 2012 the Commission again initiated enquiry against cement companies, however the same could not be proceeded and concluded due to stay order granted to cement companies by the Lahore High Court. The current enquiry was initiated in 2020.

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  • Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves cross $20 billion

    Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves cross $20 billion

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country have crossed over $20 billion by week ended November 13, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the country increased by $178 million to $20.085 billion by week ended November 13, 2020 as compared with $19.907 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the central bank increased by $190 million to $12.931 billion by week ended November 20, 2020 as compared with $12.741 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks fell by $12 million to $7.154 billion by week ended November 13, 2020 as against $7.166 billion a week ago.

    FBR extends date for filing income tax returns up to November 30
  • Textile exports increase to $4.76bn in four months

    Textile exports increase to $4.76bn in four months

    ISLAMABAD: The exports of textile products have increased by 3.78 percent to $4.76 billion during first four months (July – October) of 2020/2021, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday.

    The exports of textile products were $4.58 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The textile exports were able to post positive growth due to better performance in knitwear, bedwear, towels and readymade garments.

    The export of knitwear registered 12.3 percent growth to $1.18 billion during the first four months of current fiscal year as compared with $1.05 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The export of bedwear posted a 10 percent increase to $899 million during July – October of the current fiscal year as compared with $818 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    The export of towels increased by 12.35 percent to $283 million during the period under review as compared with $252 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The export of readymade garments registered an increase of 4.66 percent to $947 million during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared with $905 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    The export of raw cotton and cotton this year posted negative growth of 95.72 percent and 40.56 percent, respectively during the two periods under review.

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