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  • Foreign exchange reserves up by $12 million

    Foreign exchange reserves up by $12 million

    KARACHI: The liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country increased by $12 million to $18.747 billion by week ended February 14, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves were at $18.735 billion by week ended February 7, 2020.

    The official foreign exchange reserves of the SBP increased by $74 million to $12.505 billion by week ended February 14, 2020 as against $12.431 billion a week ago.

    The foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks however fell by $62 million to $6.242 billion by week ended February 14, 2020 as against $6.304 billion a week ago.

  • ECC allows import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers

    ECC allows import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers

    The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, has permitted the import of controlled chemicals through commercial importers. This decision, made on Wednesday, is aimed at easing the availability of essential chemicals for various industrial applications.

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  • Foreign direct investment increases by 66% in July – January

    Foreign direct investment increases by 66% in July – January

    KARACHI: The inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Pakistan has increased by 66 percent during first seven months (July – January) of 2019/2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday.

    The inflows of FDI during the period under review increased to $1.56 billion as compared with $944 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The total foreign private investment during July – January 2019/2020 registered 196 percent growth. The foreign private investment increased to $1.58 billion as compared with $535 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    The flow of portfolio investment into the capital market increased by 105 percent during the period under review. The capital market witnessed inflows of $21.5 million during July – January 2019/2020 as compared with outflow of $409 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The total inflows of foreign investment has been recorded at $3.42 billion during the period under review. The main source of this investment can be attributed to foreign investment in debt securities.

    The inflow of debt securities during first seven months of current fiscal year was at $1.84 billion.

  • Textile exports increase by 3.68% in seven months

    Textile exports increase by 3.68% in seven months

    KARACHI: The exports of textile products have recorded increase of 3.68 percent during first seven months (July – January) 2019/2020 on the back of improvement in readymade garments and knitwear.

    The exports of textile group were at $8.1 billion during first seven months of current fiscal year as compared with 7.81 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday.

    The textile sector was facing several issues pertaining to fuel prices and payment of tax refunds.

    On the other hand the government allowed many incentives to export sector for encouraging the exporters. The government allowed zero rated of sales tax which is only available to the exporters.

    The exports of readymade garments recorded 11 percent increase during the period under review. The exports readymade garments increased to $1.68 billion during first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $1.516 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    The exports of knitwear recorded 6.27 percent increase to $1.83 billion during July – January 2019/2020 as compared with $1.72 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The exports of bed wear recorded 2.77 percent growth to $1.39 billion during first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $1.35 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

    However, the exports of cotton cloths fell by 3.62 percent to $1.19 billion during the period under review as compared with $1.23 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The exports of towels registered nominal decline to $444 million during first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $446.45 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

    The export of cotton yarn was also registered flat growth to $640 million during first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $635 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

  • Fiscal reforms to help Pakistan generate funding to meet SDGs targets: IMF official

    Fiscal reforms to help Pakistan generate funding to meet SDGs targets: IMF official

    KARACHI: The ongoing fiscal reform in Pakistan will help the country to generate funding to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets under the UN 2030 agenda, said Athanasios Arvanitis, Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Referring to the IMF program with Pakistan, Arvanitis remarked that it is important for the government to focus on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

    He noted that ongoing fiscal reforms will not only put Pakistan’s public debt path on a sustainable footing but also build the foundation for providing crucial funding to meet these targets.

    He was addressing a seminar on ‘Managing Crises in Emerging Markets’ hosted by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) a day earlier, a press statement issued on Saturday.

    Athanasios Arvanitis highlighted some of the main similarities of crises across emerging markets, notably the role typically played by elevated levels of debt, high public and external deficits, inflexible exchange rates, lack of competitiveness, low saving and investment, and maturity and currency mismatches.

    Despite these similarities, he emphasized that there was no one-size-fits-all model for managing crises. Instead, the IMF focuses on different dimensions while assisting a country in developing a homegrown stabilization program.

    The approach emphasizes the need to diagnose the roots of a country’s crisis, trends and developments in the balance sheets of various economic agents and their interconnectedness, and country-specific dynamics that affect the political economy of reforms. In terms of designing stabilization programs, Arvanitis stressed the importance of country ownership and measures to provide support for vulnerable segments of the population.

    He also drew parallels for Pakistan from the experiences of managing crises in other emerging countries.

    Referring to the IMF program with Pakistan, Arvanitis remarked that it is important for the government to focus on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the UN’s 2030 Agenda. He noted that ongoing fiscal reforms will not only put Pakistan’s public debt path on a sustainable footing but also build the foundation for providing crucial funding to meet these targets.

    In his welcoming remarks, the Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir, stated that the objective of holding the seminar was two-fold. First, to demonstrate that, in addition to its mandate of formulating monetary, exchange rate and financial stability policies, SBP endeavors to facilitate constructive debate on economic issues and is open to diverse points of view. Second, to highlight that Pakistan is not unique and there are many other emerging economies that have also faced economic crises and undergone difficult adjustments.

  • Fiscal deficit narrows at 2.3% in first half 2019/2020

    Fiscal deficit narrows at 2.3% in first half 2019/2020

    KARACHI: The ministry of finance on Friday said that the fiscal deficit narrowed at 2.3 percent of the GDP during first half (July – December) 2019/2020 as compared with 2.7 percent in the corresponding half of the last fiscal year.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said importantly though, the primary balance during the period clocked in at 0.7 percent of GDP (last year was -0.3 percent of GDP), within the target of 0.6 percent set by the IMF.

    In the second quarter of 2019/2020, the fiscal deficit came in at 1.6 percent of GDP compared to first quarter of current fiscal year deficit of 0.7 percent of GDP.

    All the four provinces recorded a budgetary surplus during the first half and second quarter of the current fiscal year.

    During the first half of 2019/2020, total revenues increased by 39 percent YoY, where the improvement was led by 18 percent YoY higher tax revenues (however less than targeted) and 213 percent YoY higher non-tax revenues.

    Looking into further breakup of revenues, government collected 17 percent YoY higher Direct taxes, 24 percent YoY higher Sales Tax and 68 percent YoY higher Petroleum Levy during first half of the current fiscal year.

    The government hugely benefited from 575 percent YoY higher profits from State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in the first half of the current fiscal year (also 31 percent QoQ higher in the second quarter of the current fiscal year), which is around 0.8 percent of GDP.

    The fees fetched through the auction of telecom licenses (PTA profits: 607 percent YoY higher in the first half of the current fiscal year) also helped the government achieve the primary balance target.

    On the expenditures front, total expenses increased by 26 percent YoY. Current expenditures increased by 25 percent YoY, where Mark-up Payments were up 46 percent YoY and Defense expenses were up 10 percent YoY. Excluding these items, government’s own expenses increased by 17 percent YoY during the first half of the current fiscal year (also up 49 percent QoQ in second quarter of the current fiscal year).

    _ The development expenditure remained healthy, where growth of 28 percent YoY was witnessed in 1HFY20 and 122 percent QoQ in 2QFY20.

  • Pak-Turkey joint working group finalizes MoUs on trade facilitation

    Pak-Turkey joint working group finalizes MoUs on trade facilitation

    ISLAMABAD: The Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment of Pakistan and Turkey was held here on Thursday under the 6th HLSCC.

    Both sides reviewed the existing bilateral trade and agreed to increase the level of economic engagement to mobilize the untapped potential for increasing trade and investment.

    Two MoUs have been finalized by the Joint Working Group: one on Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation, and the other to reinforce cooperation in the field of Halal Accreditation.

    Both sides agreed to explore the possibilities of enhancing bilateral trade by mutually beneficial market access and trade facilitation.

    Both sides also agreed to encourage their businessmen to establish Joint Ventures in Industrial Sectors and cooperate in the field of E-Commerce.

    The Ministry of Commerce and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) organised Pakistan-Turkey Business-to-Business (B2B) networking Session on 13th February, 2020 at Islamabad.

    The event was formally inaugurated by Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce.

    The Secretary welcomed the delegates and emphasized that the warm bilateral relations need to be translated into economic gains for both countries. Later, Prime Minister’s Advisor for Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood, also visited the venue and met each Turkish delegate.

    He assured them of Ministry of Commerce’s full support for in working in Pakistan and with Pakistani companies.

    The B2B meetings were held in the Engineering, Energy, Tourism, Construction, Defence, Automotive, Chemicals and IT sectors. Around 450 fruitful B2B Meetings were conducted between the visiting Turkish Companies and their Pakistani business counterparts.

  • Pakistan’s forex reserves increase by $91 million

    Pakistan’s forex reserves increase by $91 million

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s liquid foreign exchange reserves have increased by $91 million to $18.735 billion by week ended February 07, 2020, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.

    The foreign exchange reserves were at $18.644 billion by week ended January 31, 2020.

    The foreign exchange reserves of the central bank increased by $157 million to $12.431 billion by week ended February 07, 2020 as compared with $12.274 billion a week ago.

    However, the foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks fell by $66 million to $6.304 billion by week ended February 07, 2020 as compared with $6.37 billion a week ago.