Islamic
Development Bank offers $500m for TAPI pipeline
The
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) – an international Islamic financial institution
based in Saudi Arabia – has offered $500 million in loans finance the
Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (Tapi) gas pipeline project,
which will meet growing energy needs of three countries, an official says.
Turkmenistan will contribute 85% of the pipeline cost estimated at $10 billion
whereas Afghanistan, Pakistan and India will have a 5% share each in investments.
This cost is in addition to the $15 billion capital injection required for
developing a gas field from where Turkmenistan will supply gas to the three
countries.
Tractor
industry: Govt asked to clear refunds of Rs3b:
he
piling up of sales tax refunds has become a major concern for tractor
manufacturers as it continues to nullify the impact of supportive measures
taken by the government to improve financial health of the farming community,
said Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) director general in
an appeal to the government on Thursday. “Currently, the tractor industry’s
outstanding and genuine refunds are hovering around Rs3 billion, leading to
huge operational challenges as the cost of doing business is increasing with
the rise in refund claims,” a statement quoted Pama Director General Abdul
Waheed as saying.
Reserves
down:
Pakistan’s
total liquid foreign exchange reserves amounted to $24.15 billion on November
4, down 0.15 per cent from a week ago, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on
Thursday. According to a statement released by the central bank, the decrease
in reserves was due to payments on account of external debt servicing. SBP’s
liquid foreign exchange reserves decreased 0.3pc week-on-week to $19bn. Net
foreign exchange reserves held by commercial banks amounted to $5bn on Nov 4,
registering a nominal increase over the preceding week.
‘EU,
Pakistan to sign 5-year strategic partnership’:
European
Union Ambassador to Pakistan Jean Francois Cautain on Thursday disclosed that
the EU is planning to enter into a five-year strategic partnership with
Pakistan. In a meeting with the members of the All Pakistan Textile Mills
Association (Aptma), the ambassador stated the current relationship between the
EU and Pakistan has reached a mature level and needs to be strengthened
further. He also appreciated the efforts of the government to fight terrorism
and assured his full cooperation in portraying the soft image of Pakistan in EU
countries.
Remittances
declined 3.8pc in July-Oct:
Record
growth in remittances in the last many years seems to be over. Inflows have
instead started recording a year-on-year decline as they fell 3.83 per cent in
the first four months of 2016-17. Remittances grew 5.2pc during the four months
of the preceding fiscal year. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on
Thursday remittances from all important destinations declined in July-October.
It indicates the fall may continue in coming months given the deteriorating
economic conditions in oil-rich countries along with poor growth in the United
Kingdom and the United States. Remittances in July-Oct amounted to $6.258
billion compared to $6.507bn in the same period of the last fiscal year.
15
development projects worth Rs30bn approved:
The
Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday cleared 15 development
projects at an estimated cost of Rs29.3 billion. The meeting presided over by
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal was attended by
representatives concerned of the federal and provincial governments. The
meeting technically cleared three development projects worth Rs16.7bn and
recommended them to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council
(Ecnec) for approval because of their costs beyond CDWP’s financial powers.
Trade
deficit widens 22pc to $9.3bn:
Pakistan’s
trade deficit rose nearly 22 per cent year-on-year to $9.3019 billion in the
first four months of this fiscal year, mainly because of falling exports
coupled with a single-digit increase in imports. The deficit stood at $2.27bn
in October, a rise of 4.5pc from $2.172bn recorded in the same month of the
last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. The widening of
trade deficit along with fall in remittances has contributed to the rising
current account deficit in the first three months of the current fiscal year.
‘Pakistan
Development Update’: World Bank projects economy will grow at 5%, miss govt
target:
The
World Bank has projected Pakistan’s economy to grow at 5% in the ongoing fiscal
year, which means that the country will miss the government-set target of 5.4%.
The Washington-based lender added that the country’s economy could see a growth
of 5.4% in FY18 on the back of continued mushroom growth in the services
sector, recovery of agriculture and uptick in infrastructure investment.
7,500MW
add’l power from private sector by ’18:
Electricity
generation from private sector in Pakistan constitutes around 47 percent of the
total installed capacity and 31 IPPs of 9048MW are currently supplying power to
the national grid. This was disclosed by Private Power and Infrastructure Board
(PPIB) Managing Director Shah Jahan Mirza while briefing Abid Sher Ali,
Minister of State for Water and Power, at Board’s office here Thursday. On the
occasion, the minister said that the government is utilizing all its resources
for power generation in order to eliminate loadshedding by 2018.
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