Day: September 15, 2021

Roadshow with international investors continued for the third consecutive day. Renowned national and international investors showed interest in the revival of Pakistan’s mega industrial corporation.

Ministry of Privatisation started conducting roadshows from September 13 with international investment companies from China, Russia, and Korea, etc. These investment companies showed keen interest in investing in Pakistan Steel Mills due to its sheer potential and importance in the economy of the country.

Today, on the third consecutive day of the roadshow, a leading Chinese consortium was briefed about the future prospect of this venture and other relevant details regarding the sale of shares in the newly formed subsidiary of PSM through the Scheme of Arrangement (SoA). Federal Minister and Secretary for Privatisation responded to their queries along with the financial advisors, senior legal consultants, and senior officers of the Ministry.

Federal Minister told the investors that the response mechanism from the Ministry of Privatisation would be swift, effective, and investor-friendly, and all the relevant information would be provided up to the satisfaction of the potential investors.

The roadshow will last till the 21st of this month, and the participation of investment companies from other countries is also expected in the coming days.

Federal Minister also chaired a review meeting today, where he was briefed about the current status of various transactions and expected dates of completion. In the review meeting, a detailed plan for the DISCOs was also discussed.

The transactions of Jinnah Convention Center (JCC) and Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) are at an advanced level. Federal Minister said that it is so encouraging that Prime Minister himself has taken a keen interest in the developments made in the privatization program and assured in a one-on-one meeting that he will assist to resolve the issues/ difficulties faced by the Ministry at various levels/forums.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has announced that the wheat issue price for release to mills has been fixed at Rs. 1,950 per 40-kg to help reduce the price of wheat flour in the consumer market.

Addressing a news conference on the rising inflation and public debt on Wednesday, the Minister explained that keeping the release price at Rs. 1,475 per 40-kg was not affordable for the government since it came at the cost of a massive subsidy. With the new release price, the provincial governments will still be able to provide over Rs. 100 per 40kg in the shape of targetted tax relief to the masses, he added.

Mr. Tarin stated that the government increased the support price to Rs. 1,800 as a hedge against scarcity of domestic wheat production. He underlined that the government also intended to give targeted subsidies on wheat flour, sugar, ghee, and pulses to 40 percent of the population by “increasing income and affordability” at the best possible level.

The funds to give targeted subsidies will be processed through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), he informed. In this regard, a BISP official was quoted to have said that a proposal was being reviewed to grant additional cash to almost five million people.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Food Security Jamshed Iqbal Cheema said that Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed to lift the subsidy on wheat flour and increase the release price by more than 32 percent. The decision to fix the new release price of wheat was made in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister last week, and the representatives of relevant provincial governments also attended the meeting, he added.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the average cost to purchase a 20-kg bag of wheat flour was Rs. 1,220, indicating a per-year increase of 20% in less than 12 months.

The Finance Minister argued that limited efforts were being made to control prices at the provincial level. He explained, “the previous government kept the wheat support price unchanged at Rs. 1,250 per 40-kg and as a result there was no increase in yield of the crop during the past 5 years.”

Separately, the Finance Minister explained that the public debt had increased manyfold due to restricted economic growth, IMF policies, and the COVID-19 pandemic. “The PTI government in 2018 had to go to IMF, which led to the devaluation of rupee from Rs. 104 to Rs. 168 and an increase in the discount rate to 13.25%,” explained Tarin. He also mentioned that a fraction of the debt was used to support the country’s forex reserves, and “nearly $4 billion to $5 billion foreign exchange reserves were built through loans.”

At present, Tarin remarked, Pakistan’s debt stands at Rs. 39.9 trillion against Rs. 25 trillion in 2018. Explosive interest rates of 13.25% and “increased debt servicing from Rs. 1.5 trillion to Rs. 2.9 trillion within a year” greatly impacted the public debt, he said.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced on Wednesday a new link (URL) for overseas Pakistanis to file their income tax returns.

According to a tweet of FBR spokesperson, FBR, considering the problems faced by overseas Pakistanis to access IRIS, has developed the following link for their facilitation to file their income tax returns: iiris.fbr.gov.pk

The spokesperson’s tweet reads: “We are engaging National Heroes, Social Influencers and Public Celebrities to promote our Income Tax Returns filing campaign for tax year 2020-21. Sohail Ahmed Azizi is acting as Brand Ambassador for #FBR.

The FBR website now displays two different links for return filers. One, income tax return filing for users within Pakistan, and second, income tax return filing for users outside Pakistan.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Mr. Shaukat Tarin, presided over the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet held at the Finance Division today.

The ECC considered and approved a summary tabled by the Aviation Division for GOP cash support as required by PIAC. The airline has experienced a significant dip in revenues and cash flows due to the pandemic and unprecedented travel bans/lockdowns imposed by various countries.

The ECC also approved the enhancement of the existing approved guarantee enabling PIAC to overcome its financial challenges.

Ministry of Industries and Production presented a summary requesting for the provision of RLNG to SNGPL based plants (Agritech and Fatima Fertilizer) during Rabi season 2021-22. The ECC approved the provision of 70 MMG RLNG with the direction to hold a consultative session with the representatives of fertilizer manufacturers to work out the overall demand for urea in the country. The ECC was further directed to consider the possibility to import urea (if needed) to maintain buffer stocks.

The ECC approved Rs. 3860 million in favor of the Revenue Division (FBR) as a bridge financing facility to upgrade IT infrastructure in view of increased frequency and severity of cyberattacks to ensure elimination of risk to taxpayers data.

Ministry of Commerce presented a summary regarding the revocation of the conditions of Minimum Export Price (MEP) on the export of surgical instruments with the exception of “single-use” surgical instruments. After due deliberation, the ECC approved that the necessary amendments be made in Export Policy Order, 2020, to revoke the condition of MEP in order to make our exports competitive in the global market.

Ministry of National Food Security and Research submitted a summary before the forum for the provision of wheat to AJ&K, out of PASSCO stock, for the financial year 2021-22. The ECC approved the provision of 300,000 MT of wheat (in total) to AJ&K at the ratio of 80/20 as a mixture of local/imported stock.

Federal Finance Minister, as a Chairman of ECC, stated that the Government is firmly committed to stabilize prices of wheat and ensure its smooth supply at affordable prices across the country

Among others, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research (NFS&R) Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Zaidi, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, MOS on Information Farrukh Habib, SAPM on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar, Federal Secretaries, Chairman FBR, Deputy Chairman Planning and other senior officers participated in the meeting. Governor SBP Dr. Reza Baqir also participated through a video link.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Murtaza Ali Kalas, CEO of Graymatter Communication Advertising Agency, filed a complaint against Pakistan Post for the unjust delay in payment of outstanding dues.

He stated that several advertisements of the Ministry of Postal Services were published through Press Information Department, but after the lapse of more than three years, the Agency has failed to make payments, hence approached the office of Federal Ombudsman for the resolution of his grievances.

The Agency stated that some discrepancies had been found in the invoices of the complainant by non-observance of 25 percent prescribed quota for publication for regional newspapers, otherwise, the claim is more than the prescribed quota. The Pakistan Post referred the matter to the Ministry.

During the hearing proceedings, the representative of the Ministry of Communications was asked to resolve the issue with a week. Later, in the second hearing proceedings, the representative of the Ministry of Communication informed that the Secretary as Principal Accounting Officer(PAO) approved the payment, which would be paid to the Agency.

Later, the complainant informed that he had received a cheque of Rs. 8,792,657 and thanked the Federal Ombudsman for the resolution of his grievances.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan State Oil saved approximately $295 million on LNG imports by taking a number of cost-cutting actions in 2021.

In a statement, the state-owned oil company said, “Through prudent planning and strategic thinking, PSO has enabled considerable savings and created value for end-users”.

PSO scrapped the spot tender for October 22 and October 23, and replaced it with cargo under a long-term contract with Qatar Gas, using contractual provisions and prudent rescheduling.

In addition, PSO arranged 28 cargoes instead of 20 under long-term contracts for use in the months of January and February, and November and December.

The company did this to avoid high spot prices during these months, so it could meet demand during the winter months at the lowest possible rates, which allowed PSO to save $295 million.

PSO also made additional savings by reducing the number of spot cargoes to four from 12 in 2021, using contractual provisions, while increasing long-term cargoes through contracts to 7o from 60.

The company also managed to reduce the scheduled suspension period of LNG supply caused by the FSRU [Floating Storage Regasification Unit] Exquisite’s dry-docking period. It cut the suspension period to approximately 60 hours from 90 hours, by bringing the FSRU laden with cargo under a long-term contract with Qatar Gas.

PSO stated that this curtailed downtime for the industry and allowed the economy to save on costs.

Pakistan has been struggling with a sharp surge in global LNG prices, with PSO forced to cancel a number of cargo tenders as the bid prices it received were too expensive.

A report by S&P Global reads, “A tight global gas market – triggered by a cold, long winter, competition between Asia and Europe for LNG cargoes, low storage levels, and constrained Russian gas flows to Europe – has pushed prices across the globe to record highs.”

S&P Global Platts Analytics projects that Pakistan’s LNG imports will fall about 10 percent year-over-year this winter.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance has passed amendments to three significant bills that pertain to banking services, commercial and industrial agriculture, and secure transactions of financial institutions.

The Committee members reviewed, in detail, the amendments proposed to the SBP Pakistan Banking Services Corporation Amendment Bill 2021, Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Purposes Amendment Bill 2021, and Financial Institutions (Secure Transactions) Amendment Bill 2021.

With regard to the Banking Services Corporation Amendment Bill 2021, the Deputy Governor SBP briefed the Standing Committee on the key objectives of the bill. He said the amendments were proposed to further strengthen the law. The Committee reviewed the amendment bill in detail and unanimously passed it.

Reviewing the amendment bill regarding loans for agricultural commodities and industrial purposes, the Senate body was informed that these amendments were aimed to further support the 1973 Act. The Committee was informed that farmers used to hold a passbook to secure loans from the bank, however, modern technology was now adopted to get e-passbooks issued.

It was further told that there was no legal cover, so these amendments were proposed to facilitate the farmers. The bill was unanimously passed.

The proposed amendments to the Financial Institutions (Secure Transactions) Amendment Bill 2021 were reviewed and were unanimously approved to the bill.

Chairman Senator Talha Mahmood said some information was sought from the Auditor General of Pakistan and this information was related to the details of institutions that refused the audit.

These institutions, he added, include: the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Labor Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ministry of Defense Production (POF Welfare Trust Fund), Ministry of Energy (Parco, Mari Gas Company, MOL Thal Block), PTCL, Telecom Foundation, Pak-China Investment Company, Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, Pak-Oman Investment Company, Saudi-Pak Industrial and Agriculture Company, Wah Noble Limited, Pak-Iran Investment Company, Pak-Brunei Investment Company, Pak-Libya Holding Company, Pak-Qatar Investment Company, Pak-Bahrain Investment Company, Pakistan Telecommunication Employees Trust, Ministry of Water Resources, Pakistan Railways, People’s Primary Health Initiative, Balochistan, KPOGDCL, National Bank of Pakistan, and DHA Karachi etc. The Chairman said that further details will be included in the agenda of the next meeting.

Senator Mohsin Aziz remarked that it was better for these institutions to consult and inform the Standing Committee. Senator Saleem Mandviwala said that after each budget, the Ministry of Finance, SBP, and FBR provided a report on how much the recommendations were implemented, how many have been included and how many have been rejected. Chairman Committee Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood said that a report was given in the last meeting on which the members of the committee had expressed reservations. A report should also be provided on the reasons for the rejection of the budget recommendations.

Regarding the hacking of the FBR system, the Standing Committee decided to call the IT head of FBR and have a briefing.

The matter with reference to the political exposure persons was also reviewed in detail. The Chairman and members expressed their displeasure and said that a bank account of a common man was opened in a week but there were problems for the parliamentarians. The Chairman said the Ministry of Law should make suggestions for improvement in this regard and present them to the Committee.

FBR officials told the Committee that notices were issued on time and the notices issued were to be decided within 120 days. The Chairman directed the FBR officials concerned to issue notices on merit. He said that people should not be harassed and details of the last two years should be provided to the Committee.

Expressing concerns over the rising value of the dollar against the Pakistani rupee, Senator Sherry Rehman said the authorities concerned should inform the Standing Committee as to why the Pakistani currency was depreciating day by day. Mr. Talha Mahmood said that the idea, when Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin took charge, was to increase the value of the rupee and the value of the dollar but now the situation was reversing. “Is it due to the changing situation in Afghanistan or is there some other reason? [This needs] to be informed in detail.”

Senator Mohsin Aziz said this was a very sensitive issue and should be discussed in an in-camera meeting.

The Senate panel held its meeting with Senator Talha Mahmood in the chair at the Parliament House on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Senators Saleem Mandviwala, Sherry Rehman, Mohsin Aziz, Kamil Ali Agha, Sadia Abbasi, Faisal Saleem Rehman, and Abdul Qadir, along with Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Shaukat Hussain, Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr. Murtaza Syed, Chief Income Tax Policy (ITP), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.

Source: Pro Pakistani