Category: Affairs

The prices of sugar available at Utility Stores is likely to increase in the coming weeks as the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has received costly bids for provision of sugar.

According to sources, the USC had floated a tender for the purchase of 45,000 metric ton sugar, the minimum bid received by the corporation has offered sugar at the rate of Rs. 141.20 per kg. The bid is for provision of 10,000 metric ton sugar.

If other expenses are added, the price will surge to Rs. 156 per kg. This would be Rs. 1 per kg higher than the current price of sugar at the utility stores.

Currently, utility stores are offering sugar at Rs. 155 per kg for the general public while for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries, sugar is provided at Rs. 109 per kg.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has convened a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet with 18 points agenda items today (Tuesday).

The ECC meeting, to be presided over by the finance minister, will take up Ministry of Defence Production’s request for approval of a technical supplementary grant (TSG) of Rs. 200 million and TSG of Rs. 5,898.287 million for the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

The ECC will also take up the Finance Division’s proposal regarding rupee cover for World Bank Funded Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure Project (FIIP) through TSG, and grant of a special relief package for daily wage workers on the Chaman Border.

The ECC is also likely approve the Ministry of Housing and Works’ demand of additional funds for the repair and maintenance of public buildings in Islamabad, the Ministry of Industries and Production’s urea fertilizer requirement for Kharif 2024, and measures to meet the requirement of urea fertilizer for Kharif 2024
as well as approval for disbursement of salary of PSM employees from January 2024 to June 2024 for the financial year 2023-24.

The ECC will also take up IT ministry’s proposal for revision in the composition of the advisory committee on the release of IMT Spectrum for improvement of next-generation mobile broadband services in Pakistan and the Ministry of Interior’s proposals with regard to approval of TSG for FATA TDP-ERP Project NADRA and TSG to HQs to frontier corps Interior.

The meeting also has on agenda, Interior Ministry’s proposal for the release of maintenance Fund – Formed Police Interior Unit (FPU) for deployment in the UN Mission and the Ministry of National Food Security’s request to increase in the wheat procurement target 2024 for PASSCO from 1.4 to 1.8 MMT.

The ECC meeting will also take up National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s proposal for the recoupment of funds deposited by the NAB.

The ECC will consider the Power Division’s request for the release of Rs. 70 billion advance subsidy in
respect of K-Electric’s arrears and TSG of Rs. 2.5 billion in favor of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and the release of Rs. 55 billion in respect of AJK-TDS arrears.

The ECC is also likely to approve TSG of Rs. 4,861.558 million for the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana has linked the revenue shortfall suffered by FBR to the recent large-scale transfers and postings.

Speaking to media persons in Islamabad on Monday, Tiawana said that FBR is working to meet the revenue target for the current month. He mentioned that during the current fiscal year, FBR has paid higher refunds compared to the previous fiscal year.

He said that no new taxes are under consideration as of now to meet the revenue shortfall.

It is pertinent to mention here that FBR suffered a revenue shortfall of Rs. 53 billion during the month of April 2024. The FBR has provisionally collected Rs. 654 billion in April 2024 against the assigned target of Rs. 707 billion. The FBR has collected Rs. 7,366 billion during July-April (2023-24) against the assigned revenue collection target of Rs. 7,414 billion, reflecting a shortfall of Rs. 48 billion.

Last week, the office bearers of the associations of Pakistan Customs Service (PCS) and interim commi
ttee of the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) met with the FBR chairman to convey the concerns of both services regarding the non-transparent and arbitrary method adopted for recent profiling and placing of the senior most officers of both services on the Admin Pool of FBR.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The price of gold in Pakistan rose on Monday after dropping by Rs. 6,400 per tola last week.

According to data issued by the Karachi Sarafa Association, the price of gold (24 carats) increased by Rs. 2,500 per tola to Rs. 240,500, while the price of 10 grams registered an increase of Rs. 2,143 to Rs. 206,190.

The price of gold in the local market fell by Rs. 6,400 per tola last week while the decline during the last two weeks was Rs. 14,200 per tola. The decline in price was mainly due to falling international prices.

In the international market, spot gold was up 0.8 percent at $2,320.33 per ounce today, while the US gold futures rose 0.9 percent to $2,329.10.

Source: Pro Pakistani

President Asian Development Bank (ADB) Masatsugu Asakawa in his meeting with the Pakistan delegation led by Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, reaffirmed ADB’s continued support for Pakistan.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 57th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors.

President ADB reposed his trust in Pakistan’s reform agenda and appreciated the required tough stabilization measures taken by the Government to bring about macroeconomic stability in the country. President ADB assured Pakistan of its continued support in the areas of Public Private Partnership, climate and disaster resilience enhancement, Domestic Resource Mobilization, promoting Women Inclusive Finance and Energy Sector reforms.

The ADB Annual Meeting brings together senior leadership from the member countries to discuss the emerging issues of global concern including food security, climate change and dealing with external shocks. The central theme of the 57th meeting is ‘Bridge to the Future’.

While
appreciating ADB’s long-standing and generous support to Pakistan, Minister Ahad Cheema briefed the President on a series of reforms introduced by the Government. The key reforms include enhancing tax revenues, improving the financial sustainability of the energy sector, reducing untargeted subsidies, and scaling up social protection.

Minister Ahad Cheema appreciated ADB’s ongoing institutional and capital reforms, successful completion of the Capital Adequacy Framework review and unlocking of $ 100 billion in additional financing over the next 10 years to support developing member countries. He urged ADB to deploy additional resources towards high-impact interventions including climate actions in the most vulnerable countries.

Minister Ahad Cheema on behalf of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, extended an invitation to President ADB to visit Pakistan which he accepted.

Earlier, speaking during the business session of the ADB’s Board of Governors, Minister Ahad Cheema highlighted the Government of Pakistan’s
firm commitment to a wide-ranging program to unlock Pakistan’s economic growth potential. As a result of the reforms, ‘the economy is now on the consolidation path with improvements in inflation and some recovery of economic growth’, stated the Minister. He underscored the need for ADB’s stronger support in the areas of climate change, domestic resource mobilization, human capital development and food security.

Minister Ahad Cheema also held meetings with the senior leadership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and European Investment Bank to discuss their ongoing development portfolios in Pakistan and priority areas for future support. He also held meetings with bilateral development partners including the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in key priority areas of the Government of Pakistan including end-to-end digitalization of the taxation system, energy infrastructure, and climate change.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday said the private sector has a big responsibility to take the country forward.

Speaking at the Pak-Saudi Investment Conference, the finance minister emphasized the need for private business owners to take the lead, suggesting they occupy front-row seats while ministers and bureaucrats assume a supportive role in the background.

He expressed optimism for further recovery and projected that the current account deficit for the current fiscal year would be less than $1 billion.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recalled several economic developments witnessed in the past 10 months. He said the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was growing remarkably while the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) remained stable in the period so far.

Aurangzeb announced that discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan program will commence in the coming days. He said the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and outsourcing of the Islamabad Airport will be
completed by June-July 2024.

He emphasized a long-term solution to economic challenges, asserting the government’s clear strategy in addressing them. He attributed the ongoing stability to the federal government’s economic policies.

Source: Pro Pakistani

An investigation by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has provisionally concluded that Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited’s (PTCL) proposed acquisition of Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited (TP) and Orion Towers Private Limited (OT) could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the telecom industry.

Pakistan Mobile Telecommunications Limited acquisition of Warid Telecom (Private) Limited reduced the number of network operators in 2016. Through the proposed merger, one out of remaining four players would also be eliminated from the industry.

The CCP is concerned that this lessening of competition may result in higher prices or a reduction in choice or quality for customers hence, the transaction will be referred for an in-depth Phase 2 analysis.

PTCL is a public-listed company and specializes in providing various telecommunication services such as cellular mobile telephony service, Wireless Local Loop service, Direct-to-Home television service and financial services through its
subsidiaries across Pakistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited and Orion Towers Private Limited are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Telenor Pakistan BV (TPBV) and are engaged in providing cellular mobile and allied services in Pakistan, AJK and GB.

PTCL, which was founded in 1995, has already been declared as a Significant Market Power (SMP) Operator in Wholesale Domestic Leased Lines, Wholesale IP Bandwidth and Retail LDI Fixed-Line Telecommunication market by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). With existing overlaps, the CCP found that, should the deal go ahead, the merger is likely to reduce choice, options, and competition in markets where there are only very few competitors and could lead to worse outcomes for the customers.

CCP said it aims to provide better services and products to the consumers of Pakistan by increasing competition in the telecom industry.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A delegation of International Investors called on Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to delve into the economic dynamics and investment prospects of Pakistan at the Finance Division today.

The meeting, organized by Standard Chartered Bank, was attended by Chief IR Ops. FBR Ijaz Hussain, Special Secretary Finance, and other senior officers from the Finance Division. Senior officials from the bank were also present in the meeting.

The minister assured the delegation that the present government has taken all pragmatic measures to facilitate the business environment in Pakistan. He also highlighted the macroeconomic stability in terms of reduced inflation and a surge in the stock market signaling burgeoning investor confidence.

Moreover, he shed light on the government’s tax initiatives, emphasizing the agenda to broaden the tax base and expedite the digitalization process of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). He shared that Pakistan is gradually moving toward economic stability and it is high time to inves
t in Pakistan. He stressed the potential of the IT and agriculture sectors in Pakistan and the need for local as well as international investment in these sectors to boost the country’s economy.

Investors held a comprehensive discussion with the finance minister regarding the IMF program, upcoming budget targets, market perception, and outlook, as well as the situation of foreign reserves.

Reaffirming the commitment to fostering economic growth, the minister pledged to streamline processes, provide necessary incentives, and ensure a stable regulatory framework.

Source: Pro Pakistani