Gas
prices for power sector slashed by 35 percent:
The government has
slashed gas prices for the power sector by about 35 per cent to Rs 400 per
MMBTU from Rs 613 per MMBTU aimed at eliminating price disparity and reduce
electricity generation cost. the ECC in its meeting on November 25, 2016 while
considering its summary regarding "revision in gas sale prices" took
the following decisions:(i) a reduction in gas sale price for industrial sector
and captive power from Rs 600/MMBTU to Rs 400/MMBTU; (ii) in accordance with
Fertilizer Policy 2001, the industrial sector gas sale price will also be
applicable to fertilizer sector (fuel stock); and (iii) General Sales Tax would
be charged @ Rs 100 per MMBTU on the gas sale price for the aforesaid
consumers.Presently, the generation cost of electricity through gas-fired power
plants was around Rs 5.5 per unit, which would further reduce the cost of
electricity. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, sources said,
recently informed a high-level meeting presided over by the Finance Minster
that due to a shortage of gas in the country especially on SNGPL system, the
decision had created a disparity between the consumers of SSGC system and SNGPL
system.
Fertiliser
sales in November jump 20% year-on-year:
Total fertiliser
sales jumped to 1.58 million tons in November 2016 compared with 1.32 million
tons in the same month of the previous year (up 20% year-on-year and 68%
month-on-month), according to figures released by the National Fertilizer
Development Centre (NFDC).Following its previous month performance, fertiliser
off-take remained promising in November 2016 as well on the arrival of Rabi
season coupled with continued support from the subsidy package announced in the
budget for fiscal year 2017.
LESCO
to introduce online system for new connections:
2017 would be the
year of happiness for the industrial and domestic users of the Lahore Electric
Supply Company (LESCO) as they would be given huge relief in many counts.
Online application system is being introduced for new connections. On the
occasion, the LESCO CEO said that online application system for new connections
would not only make all the process very convenient but human links would also
be abolished. He said that mobile meter reading has helped reduce line losses.
Soon big consumers would also come in this setup and a new software is being
introduced in this regard, he informed.He said that LESCO is contributing 25
percent in the total revenue generation of the distributions companies. He said
that 0.7 million new meters are being purchased and 1.80 lakh out-of-order
meters would be replaced with the new ones. He said that power transmission
system is being upgraded to avoid untoward incidents. He said that SDOs of all
divisions have been given the task to identify and rectify points where system
needed to be repaired. He said that transformers of heavy capacity have been
installed to get rid of the overloading issue.
Chinese
Consortium signs $85m deal to buy 40pc of PSX:
Chinese-led
Consortium has signed $85 million deal to purchase 40 percent stake in the
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The group includes three Chinese exchanges and
two Pakistani financial institutions. Both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange are involved in the deal. The three Chinese exchanges
will hold a combined 30 percent stake, while their Pakistani partners will own
10 percent. The Pakistan Stock Exchange has been one of the best-performing
markets in Asia in 2016, with its benchmark KSE 100-stock index gaining more
than 40 percent this year. Pakistan has seen major Chinese investment in recent
months under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Auction
for PIBs: government rejects all bids as banks seek higher margin:
The federal
government Wednesday rejected all the bids in the auction for Pakistan
Investment Bonds (PIBs). Analysts said most of the bids for the long-term
investment bonds were submitted with higher margin compared to previous
auction. Therefore, the government decided not to borrow and hence rejected all
the bids. This was the third auction in a row for long-term bonds, which was
rejected by the federal government.Mainly, the government conducts one auction
for PIBs every month and previously, the federal government did not borrow in
October and November through the auction for PIBs, they added. The State Bank
of Pakistan (SBP) Wednesday conducted the auction for PIBs for 3-, 5-, 10-, and
20-year maturity to raise some Rs 50 billion for the federal government to meet
its increasing financial requirements.
ECC permits export of
225,000MT sugar:
The Economic
Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday decided to export
225,000 metric tons of sugar despite commodity price has recorded increase in
the country. The ECC under the chair of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has
allowed exporting 225,000MT of sugar after ascertaining that there would be
1.23 million metric tons of surplus sugar available in the country. ECC also
decided that the Ministry of Commerce should ensure that there are adequate
checks and balances available to maintain the price stability in the domestic
market at the current level. In case the domestic price stability is disturbed,
the commerce ministry would bring summary to consider canceling the export
permission to sugar exporters.
JCC meeting begins
today:
The 6th
Pakistan-China Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) will meet in Beijing on
Thursday to review progress on the ongoing corridor-related projects and
identify new ones. A strong Pakistan delegation which includes chief ministers
of four provinces will represent at the committee meeting. Planning and
Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal will lead the delegation. Vice Chairman of
National Development and Reforms will head the Chinese side. Working groups
formed by the two countries on Gwadar, transport and industrial cooperation
would submit their recommendations to the committee meeting. It is learnt that
the Chinese government is expected to announce financing of $1 billion for the
completion of three projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to officials, the amount would be spent on the construction of three
additional highways related to the western route of CPEC.
ECC
Approves Supply of 50 MMCFD Gas to Guddu Power Station:
Economic Coordination
Committee (ECC) Wednesday approved a proposal of ministry of petroleum and
natural resources regarding allocation of additional 50 MMCFD available gas
from Habib Rahi Limestone (HRL) reservoir to Thermal Power Station
Guddu.Federal Minister for Finance Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the
meeting of the ECC of the Cabinet here at the Prime Minister's office.The
proposal of ECC is approved subject to installation of compression plant by
Thermal Power Station Guddu and allocation of additional upto 26 MMCFD
available gas from HRL reservoir to M/s Engro Fertilizer Ltd's old plant for
continuation of the plant.
SNGPL
announces profit of Rs1.4b for quarter ended Sept 30:
Sui Northern Gas
Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) announced a net profit of Rs1.4 billion for the
quarter ended on September 30 compared to a loss of Rs548 million in the same
period last year, according to a company notice sent to the Pakistan Stock
Exchange (PSX). The result was in line with expectations, stated a Topline
Securities report. Gross sales of the company increased by 21% year-on-year to
Rs72 billion in first quarter of fiscal year 2017 (1QFY17) led by higher
revenues on account of LNG sales. Gross profits of the company also improved to
Rs3.9 billion in 1QFY17 compared to Rs554 million in 1QFY16. We attribute this
to higher sales and lower Unaccounted for Gas (UFG) losses during the quarter,
stated the notification.
No comments:
Post a Comment