Pakistan

PSX suffers losses as SBP keeps tight policy | The Express Tribune

Published

5 مہینے ago

مئی 1, 2024

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KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday suffered significant losses near the end of the corporate earnings season as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained a tight monetary policy amid inflation concerns, geopolitical risks and pending fiscal measures.

In the morning, trading began on a positive note as the KSE-100 index moved north and reached its intra-day high of 72,119.65 points immediately after mid-day. However, from that point onwards, the market swiftly reversed course.

The index began to decline rapidly due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s condition of pursuing structural reforms in the energy sector. Additionally, lower-than-expected earnings in oil, cement and auto sectors further pulled the index down.

As a result, the market hit its intra-day low of 71,059.62 points just before the end of trading. Cement, steel and technology sectors were adversely impacted in the absence of the policy rate cut and due to dismal result announcements.

Despite recording substantial losses, the index managed to close above the 71,000 mark.

“Stocks closed bearish near the end of earnings season after the SBP maintained its tight monetary policy, keeping the policy rate unchanged owing to inflation, geopolitical risks and pending fiscal measures,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.

“IMF’s condition to pursue structural reforms in the energy sector and falling earnings in oil, cement and auto sectors played the role of catalysts in bearish close at the PSX.”

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted losses of 592.49 points, or 0.83%, and settled at 71,102.55.

Topline Securities, in its report, said that a range-bound session was observed at the stock exchange. “Pressure was noted during the latter part of the day as result announcements depicted a decline in earnings,” it said. Systems Limited, United Bank, TRG Pakistan, Dawood Hercules and Engro Fertilisers lost ground, dragging down the index by 309 points, Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its commentary, wrote that the SBP maintained its policy rate at 22%, which showed that there had been the status quo since June 2023, though some market participants were anticipating a rate cut.

Some 28 shares rose while 66 fell with Pakistan Petroleum (+2.55%), Bank Alfalah (+1.48%) and Fauji Fertiliser Co (+0.64%) being the biggest contributors to the gains, it said, adding that Systems Ltd (-3.75%), United Bank (-2.64%) and TRG Pakistan (-7.06%) were the biggest drags.

JS Global analyst Muhammad Shuja Qureshi said “selling pressure continued for the second consecutive day and the KSE-100 index lost 592 points.”

Cement, steel and technology sectors were the hardest hit as the expected rate cut did not materialise and some corporate announcements also fell short of expectations. “Investors should avail of dips to accumulate value stocks,” the analyst added.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 560.55 million shares against Monday’s tally of 613.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs25.7 billion.

Shares of 384 companies were traded. Of these, 113 stocks closed higher, 244 dropped and 27 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 47.7 million shares, losing Rs0.05 to close at Rs1.28. It was followed by Pace (Pak) Limited with 27.1 million shares, losing Rs0.2 to close at Rs3.29 and Pakistan Petroleum with 23.2 million shares, gaining Rs2.86 to close at Rs114.91. Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs824.8 million, according to NCCPL.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2024.

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Pakistan

Pakistan, Russia plan to establish new steel mill in Karachi – Pakistan Observer

Published

18 گھنٹے ago

ستمبر 19, 2024

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ISLAMABAD – The government is considering a proposal to establish a new steel mill in Karachi with Russian cooperation and the both countries agreed to form working groups to move forward on the project.

In this regard, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Russian Federation Aleksei Gruzdev met with Minister for Industries, Production and National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain.

The minister informed that the government has earmarked 700 acres land of Pakistan Steel Mills for establishing a new steel mill. He said despite being blessed with considerable reserves of iron ore (estimated reserves of 1887 million tons), Pakistan is forced to import around $2.7 billion of iron and steel.

There is perpetual gap between domestic production and demand of iron and steel. For the last year, the gap is estimated at 3.1 million tons, he added.

Pakistan’s per capita steel consumption level is below even those of developing countries indicating significant growth potential over medium and long term.

He said efficiency of Pakistan’s steel industry is limited as it segmented (600 small units) and based on old inefficient technology.

The proposed site is located at Karachi and in closed to Port Qasim that reduces cost of transportation of raw materials.

Pakistan’s industrial and agricultural experts are set to visit Russia, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties between the two nations. During the meeting, they emphasized on balance trade between both countries.

Rana Tanveer stressed the need for modern agricultural machinery to boost crop yields and enhance agricultural productivity.

He said the government will provides all the facilities to the Russian investor in the country. Aleksei Gruzdev said that his country will provide modern agricultural machinery to Pakistan in order to boost crop yields and enhance agricultural productivity across the country.

The meeting was attended by deputy trade representative of the Russian Federation in Pakistan Denis Nevzorov, secretary for industries and production Saif Anjum, secretary national food security and research Ali Tahir, additional secretary national food security Amir Mohyudin, deputy chief industries and production Abdul Samad and Executive Engineer PSM Engr. Muhammad Shoaib.

Pakistan

Anti-money laundering watchdog urges India to speed up prosecutions

Published

19 گھنٹے ago

ستمبر 19, 2024

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A customer hands Indian currency notes to an attendant at a fuel station in Mumbai, India on August 13, 2018. — Reuters

NEW DELHI: Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog, urged India on Thursday to accelerate its prosecutions in financial fraud cases.

FATF, a 40-member task force, in a report has rated India “moderately” effective on its parameter of “money laundering investigation and prosecution”, further adding that the country was compliant in most areas.

The task force sets global standards for national authorities cracking down on illicit funds generated through drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, cyber fraud and other serious crimes.

India became a member in 2010. In its report the task force said the country was “compliant” and “largely compliant” on 37 out of 40 parameters evaluated as part of its assessment.

The number of money laundering convictions over the last five years has been impacted by a series of constitutional challenges and by the saturation of the court system, the global watchdog said in its report on India, released on Thursday. India’s courts have huge backlogs of cases, with many left pending for years.

The Enforcement Directorate, India’s anti-money laundering agency, has seized assets of suspected financial criminals amounting to 9.3 billion euros ($10.4 billion) over the last five years but confiscation based on convictions amounted to less than $5 million, the report said.

“It is critical India addresses these issues in view of accused persons waiting for cases to be tried and prosecutions to be concluded,” it said.

The three areas in which there is partial compliance include bank scrutiny of political figures’ source of wealth and oversight of the finances of non-profit organisations and non-financial businesses and professionals.

The watchdog also noted that India faced financing threats from groups active in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) region and money laundering from illegal activities related to corruption, drug trafficking and cyber crime.

The statement added that India needs to focus on concluding the prosecutions and properly sanction such financiers.

Pakistan

Pakistan, Russia plan free Trade Agreement with Eurasian Economic Union – Pakistan Observer

Published

20 گھنٹے ago

ستمبر 19, 2024

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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and Russia mulled stern measures to boost economic ties with new trade and energy initiatives, as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister arrived in Islamabad to discuss several key areas of collaboration.

In a press conference with Pakistan’s Deputy PM Dar Ishaq Dar, both sides decide to explore bilateral trade between two countries reached $1 billion last year and highlighted the need to address logistical and other challenges to further enhance trade relations.

Dar stressed that energy cooperation with Russia holds significant promise and expressed Islamabad’s interest to explore more avenues. He underscored importance of developing connectivity projects, including rail and road networks, to strengthen economic ties not just between Pakistan and Russia but extending to other regions as well.

Deputy PM emphasized Pakistan’s view of Russia as a crucial player in West, South, and Central Asia, and reaffirmed that strengthening ties with Russia remains a top priority in Pakistan’s foreign policy. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to working with Russia to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In his remarks, he revealed discussions about potential collaboration between Pakistan and the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Caucasia, and Russia. The two sides explored the possibilities for implementing a free trade agreement involving these five countries and plan to continue discussions to finalize the agreement.

Russian Minister also pointed out that the upcoming inter-governmental commission meeting in Russia will serve as a platform to further enhance trade and economic relations. He further highlighted that both nations share aligned goals within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including in areas such as connectivity, climate action, food security, and energy transition.

Pakistan

Easypaisa introduces Rs99 fee for Biometric, and account upgradation? – Pakistan Observer

Published

22 گھنٹے ago

ستمبر 19, 2024

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EasyPaisa, mobile wallet used by over 9.5 million Pakistanis, lately added Rs99 charges for failed biometric verification with NADRA and account upgradation a fee that lacks clear regulatory justification. Users reported multiple deductions from their accounts after unsuccessful attempts to match their fingerprints.

A recent notification received by Easypaisa users said “Your fingerprints could not be matched with your ID Card from NADRA records”, asking the person to scan fingerprints.

It mentioned you can get your account biometrically verified at your nearest retailer, and that a fee of Rs. 99 will be charges from your account for biometric verfication.

Easypaisa Introduces Rs99 Fee For Biometric And Account Upgradation

The recent move raised question and Easypaisa is yet to share an official statement on the mettter of introducing new charges.

In 2023, the mobile wallet company imposed a monthly SMS alert fee of Rs15, which raised concerns among its vast users. for the unversed, Pakistan’s central bank directed all banks and microbanks to share free SMS and email alerts.