China
willing to finance Pakistan’s portion of IP pipeline
With Iran
coming out of decades-long global economic isolation, China has offered
Pakistan that it was willing to finance the un-built portion of a
multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project. Officials told The Express Tribune
that the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) – currently engaged with the
$1.4 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG terminal and pipeline project – was keen to
work on the remaining portion of the gas pipeline from Gwadar to the Iranian
border to implement the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. Other countries
pull out, China increases investment in Pakistan. China was providing 85% of
the total financing for the LNG pipeline project and wanted to emulate the same
model for building the remaining portion of the pipeline from Gwadar up to the
Iranian border. The IP gas pipeline project had been stalled due to
international curbs against Tehran. But soon after lifting of the sanctions,
the United States had imposed certain sanctions against Tehran that were
hindering the implementation of the IP gas pipeline project.
Fed
holds rates steady, sets stage for December hike:
he
Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday in its last policy
decision before the U.S. election, but signalled it could hike in December as
the economy gathers momentum and inflation picks up. The U.S. central bank's
rate-setting committee said the economy had gained steam and job gains remained
solid. Fed policymakers also expressed more optimism that inflation was moving
toward their 2 percent target. "The committee judges that the case for an
increase in the federal funds rate has continued to strengthen but decided, for
the time being, to wait for some further evidence of continued progress toward
its objectives," the Fed said in a statement following a two-day policy
meeting.
Collusive
activities: CCP issues show cause notice to Pharma Bureau
The
pharmaceutical sector has come under scrutiny of the anti-trust watchdog as a
comprehensive inquiry has been completed and the Pharma Bureau has been served
with show cause notice by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for
prima facie engaging in collusive activities. Sources told Business Recorder
here on Wednesday that a search and inspection of the Pharma Bureau had also
been carried out by the CCP early this year wherein the Bureau fully
co-operated with the inspection team and handed over the relevant record to the
CCP for examination. Pharma Bureau is part of the Overseas Investors Chamber of
Commerce & Industry and represents the multinational pharmaceutical
companies in Pakistan.
K-Electric
divestment deal: Ministry still in the dark:
inistry
of Water and Power is reportedly still in the dark on the agreement signed
between the Abraaj Group and Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) of China to acquire
66.4 percent stake in K-Electric for $1.77 billion. Well informed sources told
Business Recorder that the two private parties have signed definitive (initial)
agreement and the government has nothing to do with this agreement. The new
buyers have sought support from the government however the government will only
extend support when their agreement or business plan will have provisions to
facilitate consumers including a commitment to upgrade the system. "The
government will review the investment and business plan minutely prior to
committing any support to the new buyers," the sources continued.
OGDCL-related
matters: NAB begins investigation:
The
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started probing various corruption
related matters in the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), it is
learnt. In a letter NAB has requested information from the Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Resources as "complaint verification is under
process in NAB regarding corruption and corrupt practices in OGDCL".
The
Bureau has started investigating the following cases:
(i)
Corruption in hiring of vehicles on oil fields of OGDCL and
pilferage of High Speed Diesel (HSD) through these vehicles;
(ii)
unjustified, unallocated funds of Rs 600 million in civil and
engineering support services in the department during tenure of Raja Arshad
Sultan as an acting General Manager (GM);
(iii)
involvement of officers in corruption in civil and mechanical
project/bidding by not following proper procedure for drilling of wells and
hiring of consultants especially in wells of Quadirpur;
(iv)
appointment of Tariq Mahmood Mirza as manager civil in spite of
lack of qualification and experience required for the job of civil engineering;
(v)
involvement of Habib ur Rehman Private Secretary (PS) to
Managing director (MD) in exaggerated estimates for pre drilling works and
making of fudge bills claims of contractor;
(vi)
awarding a contract of mechanical engineering and pipelines
without following Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules;
(vii)
illegal construction of 18 private houses for the officers of
civil and engineering supply services through m/s Taj & Company (A
contractor of OGDCL).
(viii)
Huge difference in estimated and sublets amount of BANJARO
pipelines and its allied civil works.
OGDC’s
crude oil production reaches new height:
The
crude oil production of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) has touched its
highest level – 48,767 barrels per day (bpd) – and the organisation earned a
profit of over Rs14 billion in the first quarter (Jul-Sept) of the current
financial year. “The company’s net sales revenue amounted to Rs39.565 billion
and profit after tax stood at Rs14.631 billion, translating into earnings per
share of Rs3.40 in the first quarter for the year 2016-17,” officials told APP.
The OGDCL Board of Directors, they said, also announced the first interim cash
dividend of Rs1.50 per share, adding that the dividend would be paid to the
shareholders whose names would appear in the Register of Members on December
12, 2016.
Plan
developed to enhance exports to Azerbaijan to $500m:
The
Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Defence Production has developed a joint
action plan to enhance Pakistan’s exports to Azerbaijan up to $500 million in
the next five years. An official in the Ministry of Commerce shared that
following Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Azerbaijan last month, an
Inter-Ministerial Working Group meeting took the decision to enhance exports to
Azerbaijan to $500 million from the existing value of $60 million.
THE
RUPEE: firm trend:
he
rupee showed steadier trend against the dollar on the money market on Wednesday
in the process of trading, dealers said. INTER-BANK MARKET RATES: The rupee was
almost unchanged versus the dollar for buying and selling at Rs 104.80 and Rs
104.82 respectively, they said. In the third Asian trade, the dollar was on the
back foot against the euro and yen on Wednesday as the possibility the US
presidential election could be too close to call jangled investor nerves. The
greenback slumped to a three-week low against the euro and lost ground versus
the yen overnight, as some polls showed Republican Donald Trump ahead after the
FBI said it was probing newly-found emails related to Democrat Hillary
Clinton's use of a private server. The euro was steady at $1.1057 after rising
about 0.7 percent to $1.1069 the previous day, its highest since Oct. 11.
Govt
plans to borrow Rs1.6tr in Nov-Jan:
The
government plans to borrow Rs1.6 trillion by auctioning securities in the next
three months (November to January), the State Bank of Pakistan said on
Wednesday. Such a large borrowing reflects growing need for liquidity and
increasing fiscal gap. And as the government’s borrowing pattern has changed
over the previous year and it now relies heavily on short-term papers, most of the
amount during the three-month period will be raised through market treasury
bills (T-bills). Borrowing through long-term Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs)
will be restricted to Rs150 billion.
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