SUNRISE CAPITAL (PVT) LTD | 29 November 2016 | TAKE OFF

Textile industry protest on Dec 6:

Textile associations on Monday announced that December 6 will be observed as black day against the gas price disparity that has been affecting the entire industrial chain in Punjab.The announcement came at a joint press conference of office-bearers representing Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstery Manufacturers Association, All Pakistan Textile Sizing Industries Association, All Pakistan Cotton Power Looms Association (APCPLA) and Council of Loom Owners.The representatives said industries in Sindh are using low priced gas for their needs whereas Punjab-based industries are compelled to use costly Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) for their production process.

Dollar crosses Rs108 in open market:

The dollar crushed the local currency on Monday as its price crossed Rs108 in the open market, shifting up to 70 per cent of the remittances business to the hawala system that offered Rs109 per dollar, currency dealers said.Despite several meetings with currency dealers in the recent past, the central bank has yet to come up with a plan to stop the rupee from sinking further against the greenback.“The dollar touched as high as Rs108.40 in the open market and could go further up since its supply has hit the bottom,” said Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan Secretary General Zafar Paracha.

Trans-Asia likely to set up 100,000bpd refinery:

Trans-Asia Refinery Limited (TRL), a private sector petroleum company, is going to set up a refinery having capacity to develop 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), followed by the Byco that established the country’s largest production unit in Balochistan in June last year.“The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract is expected to be awarded by December 2016, subject to the Project Financial Close. After award of the EPC contract, the construction will take approximately 30 months,” official sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told APP. Trans-Asia Refinery Limited (TRL), in collaboration with Dubai, was undertaking a project of relocating an oil refinery from Italy to Karachi with the capacity to refine 100,000 bpd (4.5 million tons per annum) of crude oil, they added.

ADB okays $100m loan for Sindh:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $100 million loan to strengthen the standards in the development and delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) projects and help bridge the infrastructure investment gap in Sindh.The government of the United Kingdom, through the Department for International Development, is also co-financing the project, contributing $19.23 million as grant and $4.75 million as technical assistance, both of which will be managed by the ADB. The total cost of the project is $188.98 million in which the Sindh government will be contributing $65 million.“Sindh province continues to have large infrastructure and social service needs which PPPs can assist in addressing,” said ADB’s Country Director to Pakistan Werner Liepach. “The project will strengthen the provincial government’s capacity to identify, develop, and implement PPPs as well as boost private sector participation.”

PTCL offers separation scheme to half of its workforce:

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on Monday offered Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) to half of its workforce – the fourth scheme since its privatisation – in a bid to compete effectively with players in the telecom industry.A decline in fixed landline business – once its mainstay – and digitisation of services have reduced the workforce requirement.PTCL has offered VSS to 9,000 employees, which is half of its workforce of 18,000, announced Syed Mazhar Hussain, Chief Human Resource Officer of PTCL at a press conference.This is the fourth scheme since 2008 – the year when the company offered VSS to 35,000 employees, out of which 30,000 opted for it.