PSX Divestment deal
finalized at PKR 28/share: Chinese consortium wins bid for 40% stake
A Chinese consortium won the bid for a 40% stake in the
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with an amount of Rs8.96 billion or roughly $85.5
million, translating to Rs28 per share. The consortium comprises the Shanghai
Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Chinese Financial Futures Exchange
Company Limited, Pak-China Investment Company and Habib Bank Limited. The
development, which means management control of the stock exchange’s core
operations goes to the strategic investors, was confirmed by the PSX divestment
committee chairman Shehzad Chamdia Thursday.
Oil prices fall on
profit taking, strong dollar
Oil prices slipped on Friday in thin Asian trade ahead of
the Christmas and New Year holidays, wiping out some of the gains in the
previous session as traders took profits. A strong dollar also weighed on
sentiment. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 31 cents to $52.64 a barrel
as of 0127 GMT after settling 46 cents, or 0.9 percent, up in the previous
session. Brent futures for February delivery dropped 30 cents to $54.75 a
barrel after ending the previous session up 59 cents, or 1.1 percent.
Profit repatriation
surpasses FDI by 28%:
The repatriation of foreign exchange in the form of profits
and dividends on foreign direct investment (FDI) surpassed the net FDI inflow
by 28 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Data
released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday shows that the outflow
in the form of profits and dividends on FDI was $591 million in July-Nov. The
country received a total FDI of $460m during the same five months, which shows
the outflow was higher than the inflow by $131m or 28pc. FDI fell 45pc
year-on-year in the five months, putting pressure on the government that is
already facing rising debt servicing and declining foreign exchange inflows.
Reserves dip $163m:
Pakistan’s total liquid foreign exchange reserves amounted
to $23.1 billion on December 16, down $163 million or 0.7 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 SBP’s reserves also decreased $133
million to $18,190m. The decrease in SBP’s reserves was due to external debt
servicing and other official payments, it said. Net foreign exchange reserves
held by commercial banks amounted to $4.9bn on Dec 9, registering a nominal
decrease over the preceding week.
Mobilink, Warid
merger deal:
VimpelCom, Global Telecom Holding (GTH), together with Warid
Telecom Pakistan and Bank Alfalah (Dhabi Group shareholders), on Thursday
received the approvals from Islamabad High Court to merge Pakistan Mobile
Communications Limited (Mobilink) and Warid Telecom (Warid), said a press
release. Earlier this year Mobilink and Warid had received approvals from
Pakistan Telecom Authority, Competition Commission of Pakistan, SECP, local and
international creditors and SBP.
Governments end
bickering ahead of CPEC Beijing meeting:
The federal and provincial governments have decided to take
up the case of Pakistan jointly and effectively during the forthcoming meeting
of Joint Co-ordination Committee (JCC) on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC) scheduled for December 29 in Beijing. "Consensus was reached
between the federal and provincial governments to make China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC) a success for the brighter and prosperous future of the
country. The 6th meeting of the Joint Co-operation Committee (JCC) between
Pakistan and China is scheduled to be held in Beijing on December 29 this year.
Ministers, senior officials and experts from both countries would review
progress on the ongoing projects under CPEC framework on this occasion,"
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal told media
after a consultative meeting of Pak-China Joint Co-operation Committee in
Islamabad on Thursday.
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