LAHORE: In a major step toward advancing digital education in Pakistan, Pearson-Edexcel and the Beaconhouse School System signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to provide world-class assessment services and international academic qualifications to Pakistani students.
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Pakistan petroleum sales climb up by 16 per cent in FY22
KARACHI: The domestic sales of petroleum products in Pakistan have jumped up by 16 per cent to 22,595 metric tons in fiscal year 2021/2022 when compared with the preceding year, a report said on Monday.
However, Pakistan oil sales declined by 11 per cent MoM to 1.9 million in June 2022 which is mainly driven by 14 per cent MoM dipped in MOGAS and High Speed Diesel (HSD) sales.
READ MORE: Dealers threaten shutting down petrol pumps from July 18
“This was due to sharp increase in MOGAS and HSD prices by 31 per cent and 51 per cent in June 2022, respectively,” said analysts at Topline Securities Research.
This led to reduced demand of petroleum products and rise in usage of public transport/car pooling, they added.
On YoY basis, oil sales remained flat during the month of June 2022.
READ MORE: NA approves levy on petroleum products up to Rs50/liter
MOGAS and HSD sales were down 12 per cent and 16 per cent on MoM basis to 702k tons and 713k tons, respectively. Excluding Furnace Oil (FO), overall petroleum sales volume stood at 1.48 million tons in June 2022, down 13 per cent MoM and 7 per cent YoY.
“In FY22, Pakistan’s oil sales clocked in at 22.6 million tons, up 16 per cent YoY, which was much better than the last 10-year growth rate,” the analysts said.
This was mainly led by higher than expected growth in Furnace Oil (FO) sales which reached 4 million tons (highest since FY18) due to high demand in power plants amidst non-availability of RLNG along with low hydel generation.
READ MORE: New prices of petroleum products in Pakistan from July 01, 2022
Excluding FO, oil sales were up 13 per cent YoY in FY22 due to uptick in MOGAS and HSD sales.
Motor Gasoline (MOGAS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD) volumes witnessed jump of 9 per cent YoY and 15 per cent YoY to 8.9 million tons each in FY22. This was driven by (i) strong economic growth including growth in Agriculture sector, and (ii) increase in auto sales.
Pakistan State Oil (PSO) sales outperformed the sector growing by 29 per cent whereas Attock Petroleum (APL) sales improved by 22 per cent in FY22. Shell Pakistan (SHEL) and Hascol Petroleum (HASCOL) underperformed the market during FY22.
READ MORE: Petroleum levy to generate Rs750 billion
Moving forward, we expect oil sales to decline by around 15 per cent YoY in the current fiscal year to due to (i) expected decline in auto sales in FY23, (ii) low growth estimated in agriculture sector (2.5 per cent for FY23F vs. 4.4 per cent in FY22), and (iii) sharp increase in petrol/diesel prices.
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Pakistan allows duty exemption on coal import from Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has allowed exemption of customs duty on import of coal from Afghanistan.
The country’s apex revenue authority i.e. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued SRO 968(I)/2022 to exempt customs duty on import of certain items, including coal from Afghanistan.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif approved the import of super-critical quality coal from Afghanistan in Pakistani rupee instead of dollars to help generate low-cost electricity in the country.
READ MORE: Govt. may exempt customs duty in emergency situation
The prime minister, chairing a meeting to improve the mechanism for transportation of Afghan coal, expressed concerns over the rising price of coal in the international market.
He said the rise in coal price was also one of the reasons behind the generation of expensive electricity by the coal power plants operating in the country.
He viewed that the import of Afghan coal in Pakistani currency would save the foreign exchange.
The prime minister was told that the import of Afghan coal – initially for Sahiwal and Hub power plants – would save around $2.2 billion annually.
READ MORE: Rate of customs duty in Pakistan on imports
The FBR allowed duty exemption on import of following goods: Description (Pakistan Customs Tariff)
Other Coal (2701.1900)
Bituminous coal (2701.1200)
Talc (2526.1010)
Marble (Crude or roughly trimmed) (2515.1100)
Plants & parts of plants (including seed & fruit) (1211.9000)
Seeds of cumin neither crushed nor grounded (0909.3100)
Sulphur of all kinds, other than sublimed sulphur (2503.0000)
Yams (Dioscorea spp.) (0714.3000)
Containers (including containers for the transport of fluids) (8609 0000)
The FBR said that the SRO would take effect from July 01, 2022.
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GIZ Pakistan organizes certificate award ceremony
LAHORE: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Pakistan has organized certificate award and showcasing programme achievements ceremony under clean power purchasing development project.
A certificate award ceremony for Master Trainers in Entrepreneurial Skills trained at the Professional Development Center of National University of Science & Technology (NUST) Islamabad under the Clean Power Purchasing Development project. The project is being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as part of the DeveloPPP.de Programme of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development (BMZ).
Chief Operating Officer TEVTA Punjab, Zaheer Abbas was the chief guest at the occasion who distributed the certificates to the master trainers along with Ms. Iris Cordelia Rotzoll, Head of Programme TVET Sector Support Programme GIZ, Muhammad Ishaq Bhatti, Chairperson Solar Quality Foundation (SQF), Faisal Mahmood, Regional Coordinator (Punjab) and DV Clean Power Purchasing Development Project, and Haseeb Saadat CEO Allied Solar Private Limited & local partner of Power One for One Germany. Other senior officials and heads of institutes from Punjab TEVTA were also present at the occasion.
The DV Clean Power Purchasing Development Project, Faisal Mahmood presented the programme achievements over the last three years. The project has trained 37 Master Trainers on technical skills related to design, installation, O&M of solar PV plants, 30 Assessors in CBT&A to support implementation of National Vocational Qualification in Solar PV, and 40 TVET Professionals from TEVTA Punjab and PVTC on Entrepreneurial Skills to promote entrepreneurship in the Solar PV sector. A 10-kW grid-connected pilot solar PV plant was installed with the support of project partner Power One for One at TEVTA Government Technical Training Institute, Gulberg Lahore for education purpose.
Addressing to the participants, the Head of TVET Sector Support Programme GIZ, Ms. Iris Cordelia Rotzoll, stated that all these efforts not only lead to a new beginning and small steps toward sustainable energy generation and management, but also open avenues to promote the trend of green skills in Pakistan. The master trainers, trainers and assessors trained in Solar PV technology will create a pathway for internal and external buy-in among more and more TVET trainers and managers.
Speaking at the ceremony Zaheer Abbas appreciated the role of German cooperation for promotion of clean energy in Pakistan through DeveloPPP Programme. He highlighted the fact that promotion of green skills is inevitable to fight the global climate change and save the environment while also conserving the natural resources. He expressed his resolve that master trainers trained under the project will be utilized to support implementation of solar PV training courses in Punjab and increase the quality & access to trained human resource for solar companies.
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Govt urged to minimize reliance on LNG import
ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan is facing with severe natural gas shortage for the last couple of years, it has started relying heavily on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), however, the government needs to explore other energy sources to save environment as well as financial spending on the LNG import.
There are other green energy options like solar and wind that can provide cheap environment-friendly energy sources and the country needs go for these options.
This was the crux of one of the two reports “Gas Monitor – Pakistan” & “Tabeer LNG Terminal, Socio-Economic & Environmental Analysis” launched by the Indus Consortium held about the gas provision as an energy source in the country at a ceremony here on Friday.
The reports launch was attended by representatives of academic institutions, member of GROW Green Network, which is an umbrella of environmental organizations of Pakistan working for the promotion of renewable energy, independent researchers, member of Renewable Energy coalition Pakistan and alliance for climate Justice and clean energy.
Sharing findings of the Gas Monitor – Pakistan report, Dr. Amanullah Mahar, Director, and Center for Environmental Sciences, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, said that since LNG, fossil gas is a very high carbon intensive fuel and cannot be called “transition” fuel source to a cleaner energy system.
He explained that fossil gas (methane) can be leaked from the re-gasification, transport, and consumption and processing of it. After carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas and responsible for 20% of worldwide atmospheric emissions. The methane is 25 times more potent than CO2 at absorbing atmospheric heat.
While presenting findings of another report on “Tabeer LNG Terminal, Socio-Economic & Environmental Analysis”, an independent sustainability consultant Fatima Fasih said that keeping the global LNG markets and their volatility in consideration, it is clear that LNG is no longer a financially-viable source of fuel.
She said, “Instead of focusing on short-term monetary gains and quick gains in energy for the economy, public and private institutions should focus on building stronger energy security within Pakistan and develop a greener economy through a just and equitable energy transition towards renewable energy.”
She suggested that solar and wind power have shown remarkable success in Pakistan from an economic perspective and should be invested in to increase their ratios within the country’s energy mix and help the country transition towards a just and sustainable energy transition.
Iqbal Hyder, Board member of Indus Consortium and Executive Director Laar Humanitarian Development Program (LHDP), while concluding his remarks, said that the livelihood of population inhabiting along the coastal areas is directly dependent on mangrove forests.
He said cautioned that any additional construction or industrial operations in these areas will exacerbate the declining socio-economic conditions of the local communities. “We need to recognize the valuable indigenous knowledge for local fishing and rejuvenate the current worsening fishing populations.”
The Gas Monitor – Pakistan report focuses on the case of the development of Pakistan’s gas sector, especially LNG. It discusses how increasing reliance on LNG is posing challenges to the country’s economy on one hand and the release of methane gas emissions is deteriorating the environment on the other.
The monitor also comes up with a set of recommendations that present a potential way out of this entrenched dependence and its associated impacts.
An analysis of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the Tabeer LNG terminal, Port Qasim, Karachi, investigates the Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and explores the Corporate Social Responsibility criterion with a set of recommendations.
Indus Consortium is an umbrella organization of over 60 civil society organizations across Pakistan, working on DRR, climate change, green development, and green finance. It also envisions a democratic and equitable society where all citizens enjoy equal economic, cultural, and political rights, with a mission to work for local communities to enhance their resilience and participation in green development.
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Pakistan slaps super tax on industries, individuals
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday imposed a 10 per cent super tax on earnings of certain industrial sectors and on income of high net worth individuals.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced to impose the 10 percent super tax on over 12 large industries and also on affluent persons with more than Rs 150 million annual income with a rate up to four percent.
Addressing the members of his economic team, he said the imposed taxes would be the “first step towards the country’s financial self-reliance”.
READ MORE: Key tax measures taken through Finance Bill 2022
The prime minister said the 10 percent tax aimed at poverty alleviation would be imposed on industries and sectors including cement, fertilizers, steel, sugar, textile, oil and gas, LNG terminals, banking sector, cigarette, chemicals and beverages.
He said the individuals earning over Rs 150 million a year would pay one percent tax; those earning Rs 200 million will pay two percent, those over Rs 250 million income to pay three percent and the ones earning above Rs 300 million will pay four percent tax.
The prime minister said he had formed teams to boost tax collection with the help of organs of State institutions and through digital means.
READ MORE: FPCCI identifies tax anomalies in budget 2022-2023
He said the step would help the country attain economic stability and push it out of the shakles of loans.
PM Sharif pointed out that every year, an amount of around Rs 2,000 billion in the country was misappropriated through tax evasion.
He mentioned that 60 percent of the formal sector was paying taxes, however the rest of 40 percent economy needed to be brought into tax net.
He said the collected tax would be diverted towards the projects of health, education, skilled training and information technology.
For the first time in country’s history, he said, a budget had been presented to provide relief to common man, orphans, widows and poor.
READ MORE: Pakistan announces massive tax reduction for salaried persons
The prime minister hoped that with hard work and faith in Allah Almighty, the things would ease up.
The measures taken in the budget will enable the poor overcome their financial challenges, he added.
PM Sharif said the history was evident that the poor always sacrificed while facing challenges, but now it was the moral obligation upon the affluent to come forward and contribute.
He expressed confidence that the measures would take Pakistan forward on the path of prosperity, progress and economic stability.
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Pakistan to stay on FATF grey list till onsite visit
BERLIN: Pakistan will stay on the grey list despite making compliance to all the action plans set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). An onsite visit to Pakistan is required to verify the implementation of the country, a statement issued on Friday by the watchdog said.
However, Pakistan has not been officially removed from the FATF’s grey list.
READ MORE: FATF retains Pakistan in grey list; admits progress
The watchdog said that FATF will “monitor the COVID-19 situation and conduct an on-site visit at the earliest possible date”.
The FATF officials will hold a press briefing shortly on the outcomes of the four-day plenary session of the watchdog that reviewed Pakistan’s action plans.
READ MORE: Pakistan urges FATF to take action against Indian plot
A government official had earlier said in a conversation with the BBC that matters will take seven to eight months to settle even after Pakistan has made its way out of the watch list as the FATF team will visit Pakistan for an inspection.
READ MORE: Pakistan likely to exit from FATF’s grey list
Pakistan had launched a massive diplomatic effort to get off the FATF grey list. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee, is leading the Pakistan delegation at the plenary meeting that started on June 14, 2022.
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What are new petroleum prices in Pakistan?
KARACHI: The government is likely to revise the prices of petroleum products today June 15, 2022 for next fortnight. Recently, the petrol prices have been increased up to Rs60 per liter during May 27 to June 02.
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Indonesia resumes palm oil shipment to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Indonesia has started palm oil shipment to Pakistan after promulgation of new export regulation, a statement said on Tuesday.
On the request of Pakistan, Indonesian minister assured that after completing the necessary formalities, the first shipment of palm oil to Pakistan was expected to sail within 24 hours.
The minister further stated that he would ensure that the first shipment leaves the Indonesian port by the next day. The minister also assured that Pakistan would be the first country to which the commodity will be exported, after the promulgation of new export regulations.
READ MORE: Tarin orders release refunds to edible oil importers
Upon the special instruction of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmud led a delegation to Jakarta from 12- 14 June 2022.
The objective of the visit was to minimize the impact of the recent decision of the Government of Indonesia to ban the export of Palm oil on Pakistan’s economy and ensure the steady flow of the commodity in the Pakistani market, Pakistan is the third-largest importer of Indonesian Palm Oil.
In 2021, Pakistan had imported 2.78 million tonnes of Palm oil from Indonesia. During the visit, Minister Syed Murtaza Mahmud met with the Indonesian Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, and Minister of Industries, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.
Representatives of the largest Palm oil exporters to Pakistan and the Chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association also called on the Minister.
In his interaction with the Indonesian Minister of Trade, while highlighting the strong historical and brotherly relations between Pakistan and Indonesia, Minister Mahmud underscored that Pakistan, being the third – largest market for Indonesian palm oil, was heavily dependent on Indonesian palm oil.
He sensitized the Indonesian minister of the situation of edible oil in Pakistan and mentioned that Indonesia’s decision to ban palm oil export for a month had adversely affected the stocks of edible oil in Pakistan. Even after the ban had been lifted on 23 May 2022, the exporters are still facing regulatory and logistical bottlenecks.
He urged his Indonesian interlocutor to facilitate the earliest possible resumption of palm oil shipments to Pakistan by removing the bottlenecks.
In response, the Indonesian Minister assured that Indonesia attached great importance to its relations with Pakistan and was ready to ensure an uninterrupted flow of Indonesian Palm Oil to Pakistan.
He further stated that after completing the necessary formalities, the first shipment of palm oil to Pakistan was expected to sail within 24 hours.
The Minister further stated that he would ensure that the first shipment leaves the Indonesian port by the next day.
The Minister also assured that Pakistan would be the first country to which the commodity will be exported, after the promulgation of new export regulations.
Both the ministers discussed bilateral economic and trade relations. Minister Mahmud underscored the urgency of bridging the huge trade imbalance between the two countries.
The two Ministers identified SMEs, agriculture, tourism, industrial joint ventures, and other non – traditional sectors as possible areas of collaboration.
Minister Lutfi agreed to visit Pakistan to discuss these issues with his Pakistani counterpart. During his meeting with Coordination Minister Luhut Binsar Panjaitan who has been assigned by President Jokowi to coordinate local distribution and export of Palm oil, Minister Mahmad underscored the need to ensure uninterrupted delivery of the commodity to Pakistan.
Minister Luhut promised to make sure that the delivery of Palm Oil to Pakistan in resumed at the earliest. He further stated that he has directed to ensure steady flow to the commodity in the future.
Minister Mahmud and his Indonesian counterpart, Agus Chumiwang Kartasasmita exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the industrial sectors, particularly in the production of e-vehicles, cell phones, electronics, and agro – based Industries.
The Minister highlighted the potential of investment in Pakistan in various sectors, and opportunities emerging from SEZa and invited the Indonesian businessmen and entrepreneurs to invest in Pakistan.
The Minister also invited his Indonesian counterpart to visit Pakistan, which was accepted.
The visit of Minister Mahmud was timely to secure the resumption of the export of Indonesian Palm Oil to Pakistan and avoid a shortage of the commodity in the market.
Due to the Minister’s personal intervention, two shipments of Palm Oil carrying 30,000 and 27,000 would leave for Pakistan today.
Another 8 shipments are expected to reach Karachi before the end of June 2022 14 June 2022, says a press released received here today from Jakarta on 14 June 2022.
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Per capita income in Pakistan rises to $1,798 in 2021-22
ISLAMABAD: The per capita income in Pakistan has increased to $1,798 during fiscal year 2021/2022, according to Economic Survey of Pakistan.
The Economic Survey of Pakistan 2021/2022 launched on Thursday. According to the survey the per capita income of the country improved to $1,798 during the fiscal year 2021/2022 as compared with $1,676 in the last fiscal year.
READ MORE: Pakistan achieves 5.97% GDP growth in 2021/2022: Economic Survey
Regarding per capita income in terms of dollar, there was a rebound seen in 2020-2021 which continued in 2021-2022, the survey said.
“In the outgoing fiscal year, per capita income was recorded at $1,798 which reflects an improvement in prosperity due to the fact that economic growth per person improved,” the survey added.
READ MORE: Pakistan may increase normal sales tax rate to 18%
According to the survey though economy recovered from the pandemic (a 0.94 percent drop in FY2020) and maintained V-Shaped recovery by posting real GDP growth of 5.97 percent in the fiscal year 2022. This high growth, however, is unsustainable and has resulted in financial and macroeconomic imbalances.”
READ MORE: PM Shehbaz assures favorable measures on CNIC requirement
The economic survey highlighted that political instability in the country also led to a huge increase in economic uncertainty. Uncertainty at individual, firm, and government levels is negatively affecting the economy. Political stability can reduce uncertainty by making clear policy statements to build the trust of domestic as well as foreign investors and the business community.
READ MORE: New tax measures likely in budget 2022-2023
The survey highlighted that the higher high growth, however, is also accompanied by external and internal imbalances, as has been the case historically with Pakistan’s economy. However, external circumstances also played a critical role this time.