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TRADE CHRONICLE
TRADE CHRONICLE
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Vol. 69 Issue Nos. 5 & 6 May - Jun 2022 Mar - Apr Rs. 250/- - 2022
PAKISTAN OLDEST MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF COMMERCE, TRADE, INDUSTRY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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CONTENTS
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EDITORIAL
• The Federal Budget FY23 greatly impacts the public and corporate sectors
• PSX's performed negatively in FY22: But must keep future hopes alive!
• Implement Interest-Free Banking Soonest: Business Community
• Pakistan and Bangladesh's mutual trade relations head in a positive direction
ARTICLE & FEATURE
• Federal Budget 2023 approved with several amendments to Finance Bill 2022
• Punjab govt unveils budget - By Ali Raza & Mansoor Ahmad
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa presents with an outlay of Rs. 1,332 billion budget
• Sindh Chief Minister Murad presents a deficit budget with a Rs 1.71tr outlay
• Balochistan presents a deficit budget with an outlay of Rs 613bn budget
• Budget 2022-23 and the IMF programme - By Waqar Masood Khan
• Loan history of Pakistan under IMF Programs - By Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal
• State of the manufacturing sector - By Mansoor Ahmad
CEMENT INDUSTRY
• Pakistan's cement industry posts mixed financial results in 9MF22
• Pakistan started cement export to the USA
• DG Khan Cement to install a solar power plant in Punjab
• High cost of manufacturing influences cement dispatches in May 2022
• Pakistan seeks a consult to draw feasibility on the cement industry
• Lucky Cement plans renewable energy project
• The Economic Survey reviews the cement industry
• Cement exports from Pakistan show a mixed trend
• Cement dispatches declined by 7.91 percent during fiscal year 2021~22
PORTS, SHIPPING & RAILWAY
• Mathar Niaz, new Secretary of Maritime Affairs
• Pakistan to stop marine pollution, revive marine fisheries and nurture the Ocean
• Fauji Oil Terminal to build 6 storage tanks at Port Qasim
• Hutchison Ports Pakistan to sponsor technical training for the underprivileged youth
• PIBTL plans to bring more efficiency to cargo handling operations
• Ahsan says Gwadar completely neglected in last four years
• Economic survey FY22 reviews maritime sector
• DP World and CDPQ announce US$5 bn investment in strategic assets in the UAE
LEATHER INDUSTRY
• PFMA calls for luxury items import ban to stay for five years
• TDAP to organize conference on Pak-China trade
• The exports of leather tanned grow remarkably in July-March 2022
• PTA budget's suggestion
• Pakistan leather industry exports grow in 10MFY22
• Bangladesh sets export target of $10-12bn for leather industry
• Indian leather exports post 32.35% growth in FY22
REGULAR FEATURES
• Automobile News, Banking & Insurance News, People Events,
• Telecommunication News, Travel World, Steel & Allied Industry
5
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
We begin with the name of Allah the Magnificient
The Federal Budget FY23 greatly impacts
the public and corporate sectors
Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail, while presenting a
Rs 9.502 trillion budget for FY23 with a 4.9 percent deficit, stated that the
real challenge for the government is to achieve growth without the current
account deficit. The coalition government's first budget in National Assembly
passed sans pandemonium as the lone opposition, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf,
continued to boycott, and agitate, drawing massive crowds outside, parliament.
People were pinning hope that the Federal Budget would offer some relief
measures and big austerity drives amid rising back-breaking inflation from the
government during these critical times, but all their expectations went in vain.
On the contrary, the government levied additional taxes that brought the blood
path on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and perturbed corporate sectors and
the public on foot.
From the
editor's
desk
The final node allows GoP to burden taxpayers in lower-income brackets alone,
meeting collection targets, bringing the country closer to successfully reviving
the stalled IMF program and taxing the rich less than the poor. The market
anticipated most of these amendments, so the new document carried little
surprise. Initially, the government had avoided taking unpopular tax measures
but dared skyrocket an increase in energy and fuel prices like petrol, gas, and
electricity despite fear of political backlash.
However, its original budget failed to get the nod from IMF, forcing the
government to roll back several relief measures, including the previous regime's
multi-billion subsidy that had offered cheaper services.
ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI
The proposed 10% super-tax imposition for specified sectors with earnings
above Rs300mn for the tax year 2022 (FY22), especially on 15 selected industries
affected here, including Airlines, Automobiles, Beverages, Cement, Chemicals,
Cigarette & Tobacco, Fertilizer, Iron and Steel, LNG terminal, Oil Marketing, Oil
Refining, Petroleum & Gas exploration and production, Pharmaceuticals, Sugar
and Textiles. This will result in a one-time impact of 14% on FY22 earnings,
though it will not impact the FY23 earnings of companies.
The biggest shock for the public was the approval of revision in the PDL limit
to PkR50/ltr (from PkR30/ltr), one of the major demands by IMF, allowing
the government to meet its collection target of PkR750bn under this head.
Lawmakers also approved a super tax (previously poverty alleviation tax) of 1%
to 4% on annual incomes between PkR150mn to PkR300mn.
Moreover, the 6% "additional super tax" imposition on large-scale industries was
also approved. This will take effective tax rates for corporates to 39% (for banks,
the effective tax rate will be 49%) during the tax year 2022, while the effective tax
rate will likely ease off to 33% (while for banks, the effective tax rate will settle ~
43% ) from the next year.
An estimated 9mn retail shops in Pakistan contribute little to total tax collection,
and the government wanted to bring 2.5m to 3.0m of these retailers into the tax
net through a fixed presumptive tax regime, depending on their level of energy
consumption. A good step, but they defiantly pass on the burden to end-users.
The trade and industry leaders criticized and expressed wonder over the
PDM government's anti-industry steps in various forms, including the least
6
TRADE CHRONICLE
consideration in broadening the
tax net and extracting more from
already heavily taxed entities.
They have sought an immediate
withdrawal of the plan to save the
industry and end-users from its
adverse impact.
FPCCI's Acting President Shabbir
Mansha categorically denounced
the imposition of a 10 % super tax
on large industries, which already
pay a hefty corporate tax of 29
% and generate millions of jobs
countrywide as well. "No country
in the world can charge 39 % tax
to corporations and keep the
economy afloat".
Additionally, he added that
new private-sector and foreign
investments dry up completely
in an uncompetitive market. He
also expressed shock that the
federal budget year 2022–23
Editorial Comments
PSX's performed negatively in FY22:
But must keep future hopes alive!
Pakistan Stock Exchange
(KSE-100 index) has
remained one of the past
best-performing markets in the
region.
However, Pak stocks performed
poorly during FY22 amid deep
uncertainty to close at 41,541
points, down by 12.28% / 5,815
points YoY, which took the USDbased
return to a negative 32.5%.
AHL Research remarked that this
was the worst performing year
after FY19 (-19% return).
Benchmark equity bourse
generated losses on the back
of various exogenous and
macroeconomic indicators
turning red, which changed "the
sentiment of the index."
To recall, the market had
previously posted a return of 38%
during FY21, the highest after
FY14. Narrating the chequered
was announced two weeks back
and mentioned no super tax on
industries. It is a highly abrupt,
unfortunate and anti-industry
measure.
We feared that the supper tax,
for one time, would raise prices
and affect future investments,
expansions and business ventures
in the industry.
It is not a matter of cost or profit
alone, as it would leave an adverse
impact on the existing automobile
industry and its allied ones amid
the job cuts of many people.
We urged that government should
bring into net other untaxed or
under-taxed segments of the
economy, such as agriculture.
It may not be possible for the
government to broaden the tax
history of PSX, the
analysis states that
pressure was exerted
on the bourse by
recurring waves of COVID-19,
pressure on the external account,
rising inflationary reading
exacerbated by commodity super
cycle, changes in the political
leadership of Pakistan, delay
in IMF approval of 6th and 7th
review, and transition from an
emerging market to the frontier
market.
Moreover, foreign exchange
reserves started depleting, with
Pak Rupee losing significant
ground against the USD and
touching an all-time low of 211/
USD in Jun '22.
Whereas State Bank of Pakistan
shifted in policy, resuming
stringent monetary tightening
this year (policy rate highest since
Jun '11 at 13.37% at present) in
place of the aggravated outlook
for Consumer Price Index.
On a negative note, we cite
high international oil prices as
May - Jun - 2022
net overnight, but it is disturbing
that it shies away from making
a move in that direction. It's not
enough to implement a negligible
fixed tax on retailers' incomes or
'rentals' from real estate holdings
of the rich.
The new measures will
significantly squeeze companies'
profits from the super tax, and
many will likely hold their future
investment plans and discourage
documentation.
We hope the government
will consider the industry's
suggestions and broaden the tax
net with new taxpayers.
Impose new duties on raw
materials and encourage
manufacturing that will create
jobs. Let enterprises run.
threatening future economic
growth.
Some measures in the finance bill
for FY23 will translate adversely
into CPI. This will augment
the CAD, build pressure on the
currency and keep inflation sticky.
Now investors are pinning hopes
that the successful completion of
talks with IMF will pave the way
for inflows from other multilateral
and bilateral partners as well as
friendly countries, which should
increase FX reserves and restrict
the drop in PKR/USD parity.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's exit from
FATF's grey list should also open
up new financing avenues at
attractive levels, such as issuing
international bonds, which
should help meet external
financing requirements for FY23.
These developments and no
upward movement in interest rate
would bring investors' confidence,
and PSX would move northward
in days to come: That's about
much of all that is hoped for.
7
TRADE CHRONICLE
Implement Interest-Free Banking
Soonest: Business Community
The State Bank of Pakistan
(SBP) and four private
banks were challenged in
the Supreme Court of Pakistan
based on the decision of the
Federal Shariat Court (FSC) that
declared the present interestbased
banking system be against
the Sharia and directed the
government to switch to an
interest-free economy. The banks
approaching the court drew
strong reactions from the public
and business community who
wanted the Riba free banking
that was also being operated
successfully in other Islamic and
non-Muslim countries.
FPCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh
said the business community
supports transforming Pakistan's
economy and banking system into
a riba-free system. FSC has set
Pakistan and Bangladesh's mutual trade
relations head in a positive direction
Trade relations between
Islamabad and Dhaka
are likely to improve due
to positive developments on
the diplomatic level between
both countries. Pakistan's
Prime Minister Muhammad
Shehbaz Sharif congratulated his
Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh
Hasina Wajid and the Bangladeshi
people on completing the Padma
Bridge.
Padma Multipurpose Bridge is a
two-level road-rail bridge across
the Padma River, Bangladesh's
main distributary of the Ganges
River. It connects Shariatpur and
Madaripur, linking the country's
southwest to the northern and
eastern regions. The bridge was
inaugurated on 25 June 2022 and
became a joyous moment for
Bangladesh.
A rising trend in bilateral trade
can be noticed from the statement
of the High Commissioner of
2027 as the deadline to
implement the interestfree
system. It requires
that government make
necessary regulatory changes to
facilitate and practice an interestfree
financial system.
FPCCI Chief also called upon
transforming
Pakistan's
economy and financial system
into an equitable, asset-based,
risk-sharing and interest-free
economy to avoid those ills and
risks of riba (usury, markup,
interest etc.) that are called "hellfire"
and it is forbidden to give
and take riba in Islam.
Irfan Iqbal Sheikh maintained
that Islamic banking was
enhancing its operations
successfully and prudentially
in Pakistan; the market share
of deposits and assets in the
entire banking industry was
19.4 percent and 18.6 percent,
Bangladesh to
Pakistan, Rahul
Alam Siddique,
who said bilateral
trade between Pakistan and
Bangladesh has been growing
rapidly. He said this milestone
would be celebrated at the
Bangladeshi High Commission
in Islamabad and Deputy High
Commission in Karachi. We hope
this development will bring a
healthy change in trade and
political relations.
Exchanging views at a meeting
during his visit to the Karachi
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (KCCI), the envoy
said the current bilateral trade
volume has increased to around
$900 million and continues to
rise at a faster pace. "Pakistan's
exports to Bangladesh have
risen by 48 percent while exports
from Bangladesh to Pakistan
appreciated by 14 percent," he
said. He hoped that the rising
trend continues for bilateral
benefits in future, which would be
very encouraging for the business
May - Jun - 2022
respectively, during the year 2021.
Additionally, net financing by
Islamic banking institutions rose
by 38.1 percent in 2021, which is
very strong growth in financing by
any standard.
They wisely demanded that the
Ministry of Finance, Ministry
of Law, Banking Council and
other stakeholders join and work
towards making Pakistan a ribafree
country. He added that the
prohibition of riba (interest)
was absolute in all its forms and
manifestations, as per injunctions
of Islam and following Muslim's
Holy Quran and Sunnah.
President KCCI Muhammad
Idrees urged that all stakeholder
groups should be consulted. If
there are genuine concerns, these
should be resolved on a fast-track
basis to pave the way for the timely
implementation of the Islamic
Financial System in Pakistan.
communities of both countries.
General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil
appreciated the Bangladeshi
government's wise efforts
toward improving the trade and
investment ties with Pakistan.
He believed "Pakistan must
learn from the history and
experience of Bangladesh as
it has become a role model for
developing countries." He said
that bureaucratic hurdles were
one of Pakistan's most serious
issues. Hence, he added that we
must learn how Bangladesh dealt
with its bureaucracy and adopt
the same strategy.
Pakistan organized a single
country exhibition in Dhaka in
the early nineties, but no such
event has been held since then.
Pakistan can learn much from
Bangladesh about shipbuilding,
textile, footwear and many other
fields. We urged both nations to
immediately start the exchange
of trade delegations and tapping
of investment opportunities on a
reciprocal basis.
8
TRADE CHRONICLE
Federal Budget 2023 approved with
several amendments to Finance Bill 2022
The National Assembly has
approved the amendment to
Finance Bill 2022 that permits the
government to increase petroleum levy
up to Rs50 per litre. Parliamentarians
have also approved a 10% super tax on
13 high-earning sectors and different
slabs of taxes on a salaried person
making above Rs 600,000 per annum.
• Super tax on specified sectors: The
amended finance bill has proposed
imposition of a one time super tax of
10% for specified sectors with earnings
in excess of Rs300mn for tax year 2022
(FY22). The 15 specified sectors that
will be subject to a one time super tax
of 10% includes Airlines, Automobiles,
Beverages, Cement, Chemicals,
Cigarette & Tobacco, Fertilizer, Iron and
Steel, LNG terminal, Oil Marketing, Oil
Refining, Petroleum & gas exploration
and production, Pharmaceuticals,
Sugar and Textiles.
• Tax rates of 0%-4% under section
4C: The amended bill has proposed
slab wise tax rates for companies under
section 4C of income tax ordinance
and has now been renamed as ‘Super
tax’. Earnings exceeding Rs300mn will
be subject to 4% income tax whereas
earnings below Rs300mn will be taxed
as per the following table from tax year
2022 onwards.
• Capital Gain Tax on Securities:
Government had rationalized tax
rates on capital gains on securities
in budget where CGT rates were
reduced to zero where holding period
exceeded six years encouraging long
term investment. In the amended
finance bill, no change in rates have
been proposed however clarification
is inserted that the reduced rates will
apply only to securities acquired after
July 01, 2022. For securities acquired
on or before 30th June, 2022, rate of tax
shall be 12.5%. Furthermore, rate of tax
for companies in case of Debt will be
subject to 29% tax.
• Tax credit available on Section 63:
Tax credit available under Section
63 for Voluntary Pension scheme
was initially removed from Budget
document which is now been restored.
• Sales tax on APIs reduced to 1%:
The government has reduced sales
tax to 1% from existing 17% on the
import of active
pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs).
This will be positive
for Pharmaceutical industry.
• Minimum Turnover Tax for OMC
reduced to 0.5% from 0.75%:
Minimum Turnover tax on OMCs has
been reduced from 0.75% to 0.50% for
OMCs which will be positive for the
sector.
• CVT on automobiles reduced to 1%
from 2%: The government has reduced
Capital Value Tax (CVT) from 2% to 1%
on automobiles in an amendment to
the Finance Bill 2022. They have also
changed taxable limit of Rs5mn value
of the car to all cars of 1,300cc and
above. This will be negative for sector.
• Tax Rates on Banking Sector: As per
understanding amended finance bill
has levied a one time super tax of 10%
for tax year 2023 (CY2022) for banking
sector. As per the bill, the corporate
tax rate on banks has been set at 39%
instead of the initially proposed 45%
taking total effective.
Earlier, on June 10, Finance Minister
Miftah Ismail presented an Rs9.502
trillion budget in Parliament for the
next fiscal year with an expected 4.9
percent deficit and stated that the
real challenge for the government is
to achieve growth without the current
account deficit. The government also
announced a 15 percent increase in
government employees’ salaries, and
ad-hoc relief is being merged into the
basic pay and decided to establish a
pension fund with an allocation of
Rs10 billion in the first year. However,
later some amendments were made to
meet the conditionality of from IMF.
He outlined the government’s
approach of giving incentives to the
poor instead of the rich and moving on
to inclusive and sustainable growth.
The growth strategy would be based
on an increase in IT and industrial
sector exports and agriculture,
productivity has to be increased, and
export competitiveness has to be an
improvement.
He said that under the austerity
measures, the government has decided
to impose a ban on the purchase of
vehicles, foreign trips unless necessary,
and purchase of furniture and a cut in
petrol by 40 percent.
May - Jun - 2022
The tax deficit would be reduced to 4.9
percent in the next fiscal year from 8.6
percent in the ongoing fiscal year. The
primary debt of 2.4 percent would be
converted into positive by 0.19 percent
in the next fiscal year. The trade deficit
would be reduced to $70 billion and
exports $35 billion. As a result of this
current account deficit, 4.1 percent
of the GDP would be reduced to 2.2
percent, and remittances are projected
at $33.2 billion for the next fiscal year.
The federal outlay for the next fiscal
year is projected at Rs9,502 billion
with debt servicing of Rs3,950 billion,
the PSDP Rs800 billion, whereas,
Rs1,523 billion have been earmarked
for defence, Rs550 billion for running
the civil government, Rs530 billion for
pension and Rs699 billion for targeted
subsidies while Rs1,241 billion have
been allocated for grants including
the BISP, Bait-ul-Mall and other
departments.
The BISP allocation has been increased
to Rs364 billion for the next fiscal year
and Rs12 billion for the USC to provide
subsidies on essential commodities
with Rs5 billion additional for Ramazan
Package.
The minister said that 90 million
households in the next fiscal year
would benefit from cash transfer
under the BISP Kifalat Programme,
for which Rs267 billion have been
allocated, Benazir Wazaif Programme
would be expanded to 10 million
children with the cost of Rs35 billion.
The government has allocated
Rs9 billion for the undergraduate
scholarship, Rs21.5 billion for the
Benazir Nishonama Programme, and
Rs6 billion for the deserving people in
the Baitul Mal.
The government has allocated a
subsidy of 570 billion for the power
sector and Rs70 billion for the gas
9
TRADE CHRONICLE
sector.
He said that for the
HEC, Rs65 billion have
been allocated besides
Rs44 billion have been
earmarked for the
development scheme.
The minister announced
that the student
would be provided 0.1
million laptops in easy
instalments, and Rs21
billion have been allocated
to increase livestock
production. Young men
and women will be offered
interest-free loans up to
Rs5,00,000. Pending Rs4.5
billion DLTL refunds
would be cleared this
month, as well as those of
the pharmaceutical sector
and sales tax refunds.
Work on a new investment
strategy is in the programme, and the
dispute resolution mechanism will be
reformed.
The government has earmarked Rs800
billion public sector development
programme (PSDP) for the next
fiscal year with priorities to utilize
maximum funds for the development
of Baluchistan and less-development
areas to bring them at par with other
areas; therefore, Rs136 billion has
been allocated in for special areas, AJK,
and Gilgit Baltistan. Rs395 billion for
infrastructure projects, Rs73 billion for
electricity production, transmission
and distribution, with Rs12 billion for
Mohmand dam’s early completion
The minister said that big water dam
projects worth Rs100 billion included
in the PSDP, Rs202 billion highways and
motorways, ports, Rs70 billion, and
power and water resources projects are
interlinked for which a total of Rs183
billion have been allocated, social
sector projects under SDGs and Rs40
billion for other social sector-related
schemes. Rs51 billion for the HEC,
Rs24 billion for health and Rs10 billion
for climate change.
Fixed tax on small retailers’ to be
collected along with electricity bills
between Rs3,000 to Rs10,000, and it
would be a final settlement, and the
FBR would not be allowed to ask any
questions in this regard and on account
of initial depreciation for industrial
units 100 per cent adjustment is
proposed in the first year, whereas,
all the taxes at import stage on raw
materials are being offered to be made
adjustable.
Solar panel imports and local supplies
are exempted from taxes. Tractors,
agriculture equipment, wheat canola
etc. rice seeds sale tax is being
withdrawn, and welfare hospitals are
exempted from sale tax on electricity
and local supply.
He said that the customs duty is being
abolished on agriculture machinery;
besides, custom duty and additional
customs duty and regulatory duty
on 400 tariff lines related to the
manufacturing sector are being
rationalized, and duty on 350 items
are being reduced as well as tariff
structure on the thread for the textile
sector has been rationalized, and 30
active pharmaceutical ingredients are
exempted from the customs duty.
All persons who have more than one
immovable property exceeding Rs25
million situated in Pakistan be deemed
to have received rent equal to five per
cent of the fair market value of the
immovable property and shall pay tax
at the rate of one per cent of the market
value of the property except one house
of each individual.
Capital gain on all classes of assets
is now proposed to be taxed at 15
per cent if the holding period of such
property is one year or less. The capital
gain payable on such assets will reduce
10
May - Jun - 2022
to zero after six years,
reducing tax liability by 2.5
per cent each subsequent
year.
Furthermore, the advance
tax rate on the purchase
and sale of property for
filers is proposed to be two
per cent from the current
one per cent.
Moreover, to discourage
the undocumented
economy, the advance
tax rate for buyers of
immovable property who
are non-filers is proposed
to be enhanced to five per
cent. All persons, inclusive
of companies and
associations of persons
earning an annual income
of Rs300 million or more,
are proposed to pay two
per cent tax. Advance tax on motor
vehicles exceeding 1600cc is proposed
to be increased.
The advance tax shall also be collected
at the rate of two per cent of the value
in cases of high-value hybrid and
electric vehicles.
Additionally, the tax rate for non-filers
shall be enhanced to 200 per cent from
the current 100 per cent.
The tax rate on banking companies is
proposed to be enhanced to 45 per cent
from the current 39 per cent, including
super tax. Advance withholding tax
at the rate of one per cent for filers
and two per cent for non-filers shall
be collected from persons remitting
money outside Pakistan through
credit, debit, and prepaid cards.
He said that the FBR revenue
collection for the ongoing fiscal year
would remain at Rs6,000 billion with a
Rs3,512 billion share of the provinces,
leaving net revenue of Rs3,803 billion
for the federal government.
He said that the federal government’s
non-tax collection would be Rs1,315
billion.
He said the government’s total
expenditure would be Rs9,118 billion,
including Rs550 billion PSDP and
Rs3,144 billion debt servicing, etc.
Courtesy - Chronicle, local reports, media
and research houses
TRADE CHRONICLE
Punjab govt unveils budget
By Ali Raza & Mansoor Ahmad
The Punjab government presented
its budget for the 2022-23 fiscal
year during an assembly session
at Aiwan Iqbal, Lahore. Deputy Speaker
Dost Mohammad Mazari chaired
it. Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad
Leghari presented an Rs3,226 billion
tax-free and subsidy-loaded budget
for the financial year 2022-23, with a
development outlay of Rs 683 billion.
The government employees got a
15-30 per cent rise in their salaries,
pensioners got a 15 per cent rise, and
fixed the minimum wage at Rs25,000
per month. The budget has been
increased by Rs 543 billion in line
with the expected increase in its share
from the federal divisible pool. The
development outlay has increased
by Rs 145 billion compared to last
year’s. The percentage that the Punjab
government gets from taxes collected
by the Federal Board of Revenue is
the main source that will finance the
budget.
No new taxes have been imposed,
though tax rates on large luxury houses
have been revised upwards. The stamp
duty rates have increased from 1 per
cent to 2 per cent. Besides reducing the
sales tax on a few services, the tax rate
has not been enhanced on any service.
The development budget of Rs683
billion is the highest development
exercise ever taken in the province.
South Punjab’s share in the
development budget is Rs240 billion,
which is 40pc of the total development
budget.
To facilitate the youth, an amount
of Rs1.5 billion has been reserved
to empower them with laptops. The
Punjab government has allocated
Rs437.87 billion for salaries, Rs312
billion for pensions, and Rs528 billion
for local governments.
The Punjab government also allocated
Rs200 billion for subsidy on wheat
flour. In addition, a sum of Rs142 billion
has been earmarked for providing
other edibles at subsidised
rates, subsidies on public
transport, and fertilisers
to farmers at concessional
rates.
May - Jun - 2022
allocated for the social sector, 24pc for
infrastructure, 6pc for the production
sector, 2pc for services and 28pc for
various other industries.
To improve the jail conditions, an
amount of Rs6 billion has been
allocated, and Rs3.06 billion would
be utilised to revitalise the safe city
project that was neglected during the
past four years.
Allocation for education has been
increased to Rs485 billion, which
is 10pc higher than last year’s, and
Rs56.70 billion of the amount would
come from development allocations.
For the health sector, the total
allocation is Rs470 billion, which is
26pc higher than last year’s.
The total agricultural allocation is
Rs53.19 billion. For irrigation, an
amount of Rs53.32 billion has been
allocated. The development budget
includes Rs80.77 billion for the
construction/ repair of roads and
bridges. The amount would ensure
rehabilitation of over 2000-km long
roads. The Ring Road projects in Sialkot
and Multan would also be initiated
with an allocation of Rs13.50 billion.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa presents with
an outlay of Rs. 1,332 billion budget
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance
Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra
unveiled a Rs 1.33tr budget for
FY23. It includes a Rs 418 billion annual
development programme (ADP).
The provincial government will fund
the development projects with the help
of donors and the federal government
under the Public Sector Development
Programme. The development
outlay also includes a share for local
governments.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister
Mahmood Khan has termed the
provincial budget for the financial year
2022-23 as a pro-poor and the largestever
budget in the history of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. He added that all the
A sum of Rs 15 billion has
been earmarked to give
subsidy on three months’
power bills of consumers
using up to 200 units per
month. About 40pc of the
development budget is
sectors had been
fully focused in
the budget, which
on implementation
would bring about a new era of
development in the province
and bring visible positive
change in the lives of the
masses.
The Chief Minister said that all
possible efforts had been made
to provide significant relief to
the common person in the budget,
adding that over 63000 employees
were being regularized in this budget,
including 58000 teachers, around 700
doctors and project employees of other
departments.
Besides, a total of 31% increase
has been made in the salaries of
government employees, including a
A sum of Rs23.83 billion has been
reserved for industries, out of which
Rs12.53 billion would be spent on
development projects, which include
enhancing the capacity of Tainjin
University and the construction of Mir
Chakar Khan Rind University.
15% Disparity Reduction Allowance
(DRA) given in the march this year.
Similarly, he stated that the tax rate
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was
reduced in the current budget, will
be maintained in the new fiscal year,
whereas more than Rs. 25 billion
would be spent on loans to small-scale
industrialists and youth.
11
TRADE CHRONICLE
Sindh Chief Minister Murad presents
a deficit budget with a Rs 1.71tr outlay
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad
Ali Shah — also the provincial
finance minister presented a
provincial budget for the next fiscal
year with a total outlay of Rs1.714
trillion. Experts called it a “pro-poor”
and “tax-free” deficit budget.
Compared to the Rs1.714tr expense,
the next year’s budget estimates total
revenues of Rs1.68tr, meaning a deficit
of around Rs34 billion.
As for revenues, the province will get
Rs1.055tr in federal transfers, whereas
Rs347.5bn is estimated to come from
tax, including Rs180bn provincial
sales tax on services. Other revenue
resources include non-tax receipts
(Rs27bn), current capital receipts
(Rs51.1bn), other transfers such as
foreign project assistance, federal and
foreign grants (Rs105.6bn), carryover
cash balance (Rs73bn) and net public
accounts of the province (Rs20bn).
In contrast, a large chunk of expenses,
around Rs1.2tr, will go towards current
revenue expenditure, which refers to
short-term costs used immediately or
within a year. Other heads are current
capital expenditure (Rs54.5bn) and
development (Rs459.7bn), which
includes Rs332.2bn provincial annual
development programme (ADP),
Rs91.5bn foreign project assistance
(FPA), Rs6bn other federal grants, and
Balochistan presents a deficit budget
with an outlay of Rs 613bn budget
The Balochistan Finance Minister
Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran
presented a deficit budget
for the next fiscal year with a total
outlay of Rs612.79 billion. With the
provincial income estimated at
Rs540bn, the deficit would stand at
Rs72.8bn or around 12 per cent of the
outlay. The budget sets aside 5.7pc
and 3.7pc higher allocations for nondevelopment
and development heads,
respectively, compared to the original
estimates for the outgoing fiscal year.
In the budget for the outgoing year,
the provincial government indicated
a deficit of Rs84.7bn in its estimated
resources and expenditure, which
projects to curtail the originally
allocated provincial contribution to
the development plan from Rs172.5bn
Rs30bn district ADP.
SOCIAL PROTECTION:
In his budget speech, the
chief minister announced Rs26.85bn
for the social protection and economic
sustainability package.
PAY AND PENSION: He said the ad hoc
relief allowances for 2016, 2017, 2018,
2019 and 2021 at the rates admissible to
employees of the federal government
were being merged.
He also announced an ad hoc relief
allowance of 15pc of basic pay scales
to government servants from July 1,
and an increase of 5pc of net pension
would be paid to Sindh pensioners
from July 1, he said.
RELIEF IN SALES TAX: The tax rate on
commission charges received by food
delivery channels (such as Foodpanda
and Cheetay) from home chefs has
been reduced from 13pc to 8pc for two
years, i.e. until June 30, 2024.
EDUCATION: The chief minister
said the Sindh government kept the
education sector at its top priority by
allocating Rs326.8 billion to the sector,
forming around 19pc of the budget
to Rs91.8bn by the close of
the year on June 30.
Thus, it is safe to assume
that the failure to take in enough
resources to fill the projected
deficit, the province is likely to cut
its development stimulus by a huge
margin next year as well.
In his budget speech, Finance Minister
Khetran said the government had
released Rs92bn for development
projects to complete ongoing and new
schemes during the current fiscal year.
The new budget sets aside Rs26.62bn
non-development funds for the health
sector, while Rs12bn would be spent
on development. Besides, Rs1.5bn has
been allocated for the pension and
support fund, Rs6.6bn has been issued
for providing medicines in all hospitals
of the province, and 524 new posts
May - Jun - 2022
outlay. Of this, the non-development
budget has been raised to Rs292.6bn
for the next fiscal year from Rs268.4bn
during the ongoing year, whereas
Rs34.2bn has been earmarked as the
development budget for the school
education department.
HEALTH: The total outlay of the
health budget for the next fiscal year is
estimated at nearly Rs207bn, covering
primary, secondary and tertiary
healthcare level services.
LAW AND ORDER: The total allocation
for the home department, including
Sindh police and jails, has been
increased to Rs124.9bn from Rs120bn
this year.
IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE:
The budget for irrigation has
been increased from Rs21.23bn
to Rs24.09bn. Allocation for the
agriculture and irrigation department
in ADP is Rs36.2bn.
WATER AND SEWERAGE: The water
and sewerage sector has been allocated
Rs224.7bn.
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT: Under
this head, the provincial government
has increased its budget from Rs8bn
to Rs12bn for the next financial year
and intends to expand the operations
of the Sindh Solid Waste Management
Board to other districts, including
Hyderabad, Qasimabad, Kotri, Sukkur
City and Rohri.
would be created in the health sector.
He announced that the government
had decided to increase the salaries of
the government employees by 15pc on
their basic wages as of 2017, besides
increasing pension by 15pc.
As for education, 103 new primary
schools would be established while
60 high and middle schools would be
upgraded to higher secondary schools,
and 831 recent posts of teachers would
be created.
12
TRADE CHRONICLE
Budget 2022-23 and the IMF programme
By Waqar Masood Khan
There are any number of ways
in which a budget can be
characterized. Terms, such as,
pro-poor, investors’ friendly, growth
oriented or stabilisation are some
such characterisations. Given the
economic conditions, the only term
relevant for consideration is whether
the budget 2022-23 is consistent with
the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) requirements to complete the
7th Review and revive the stalled
program. After a very brief description
of the budget, we would examine its
consistency with Fund requirements.
Total revenues are projected at Rs 9
trillion with FBR taxes estimated at
7 trillion. The share of provinces is
estimated at Rs 4 trillion, leaving a net
revenue of Rs 5 trillion. Against this,
a total expenditure of Rs 9.5 trillion is
budgeted. This means the fiscal deficit
(federal) would be Rs 4.6 trillion or
6.9% of GDP, which would be funded
from external borrowings of Rs 1.7
trillion (37% of deficit), domestic
borrowings (TBs-PIBs) of Rs 2.8 trillion
(61% of deficit) and a meager flow of
privatization proceeds of less than Rs
100 billion (2% of deficit). The overall
deficit would be Rs 3.8 trillion with
provincial surplus pitched at Rs 800
billion or 5.7% of GDP. Besides, the
NEC has approved a growth target of
5% and inflation target of 11.5%.
It is also important to examine how the
Budget 21-22 has fared compared to
the Revised Estimates 2021-22. Briefly,
against an overall revenue target of Rs
8 trillion, the revised estimate is Rs 7.3
trillion, a shortfall of around Rs.700
billion. On the current expenditure
side, against a budget of Rs 7.5 trillion,
revised estimate is Rs 8.5 trillion, an
over-run of Rs 1 trillion. Development
expenditure was budgeted at Rs 900
billion while the revised estimates is Rs
550 billion, a saving of Rs 330 billion.
The excess in federal deficit thus
works out as Rs 1,350 billion, which
was budgeted at nearly Rs 4 trillion.
Thus the revised deficit is Rs 5,340
billion close to what was stated by
finance minister on taking his office.
This amounts nearly to 8% of GDP. We
need one more number, namely the
provincial surplus. This was budgeted
at Rs 575 billion and the revised
number is unchanged. As percentage
of GDP, provincial
surplus is 0.8%,
so the overall
fiscal deficit is 7.2%
We would like to make one comment
on the revised number. Mark-up on
debt has witnessed a less than Rs 100
billion increase in revised estimates
compared to the budget. This appears
out of line with the speed with which
interest rates have increased from
7.25% in September to 13.75% in May.
The effect of rate changes is missing
and hence the actual may be quite
higher.
We now turn to our main objective.
First, let’s look at the deficit target. In
the projections made by the IMF as
part of the 6th Review, the nominal
deficit was set at Rs 2,722 billion, which
is 4.5% of GDP, which is assumed at
about Rs 62 trillion. If we use the rebased
GDP of Rs 67 trillion this would
be 4%. On the face of it, the deficit
target appears significantly at variance
with what the IMF would have asked.
Second, on the revenue side there
are also significant deviations. On
FBR revenues, we see an increase
from 6 trillion to Rs 7 trillion which is
a 16.7% growth. This is only slightly
higher than the nominal GDP growth
of 16.5% (inflation 11.5% and growth
5%). Since the number includes fresh
tax measures also, there seems to no
buoyancy in the overall tax collection
and the new measures would hardly
suffice to raise the overall tax-to-GDP
ratio.
Third, the personal income tax (PIT)
reform has been a standing demand
from the IMF. Justifiably, many in the
government opposed it as it would
have more than doubled the tax
burden for higher income groups while
lowering the burden on low income
groups. What is astounding is to
witness a change in PIT fundamentally
opposed to the IMF demand. Number
of slabs have been reduced as per
Fund requirement but in every single
slab, tax burden for all taxpayers has
been lowered, with a total cost of Rs
47 billion close to 40% of what was
collected under PIT. Potentially, this
would be a big stickler.
Fourth, the government has again
raised the taxable limit to Rs 1.2
million. This was done in 2018 but
partially reversed by the succeeding
May - Jun - 2022
government to Rs 600,000. This would
not have much revenue loss but it
would create a major distortion by
significantly reducing the number of
taxpayers paying any meaningful tax.
As much as one-third of taxpayers file
NIL tax returns, after paying a token
tax of Rs 1000 or Rs 2000, a provision
specifically made to facilitate those
excluded not to become non-filers.
Fifth, the estimate of Rs 750 billion
in Petroleum Levy (PL) is quite
ambitious. Against Rs.600 billion
budgeted last year, government could
mobilize only Rs.135 billion. Apart
from IMF’s apprehensions on the
target, government would be taking
upon itself a humongous target to raise
petroleum prices through levy when
it has found it difficult to recover the
actual cost. Even today both petrol and
diesel are sold at Rs 26/liter and Rs 20/
liter, respectively, less than actual price
with virtually no GST and PL.
Sixth, the tax measure to bring idle
assets in the form of immovable
property is quite novel. In an ingenious
fashion the government has planned
to impose a tax based on the notion of
“deemed rental income” on fair market
value of the property and subjecting
it to 1% income tax. There are serious
issues with this proposal.
First, it runs into jurisdictional issues
of the competent authority for taxing
immovable property, which has
been declared a provincial subject
in the constitution. Second, the
measure amounts to reintroducing,
in a truncated fashion, the wealth tax,
without having the cover of law, as the
erstwhile wealth tax law was repealed
in 1999. Undoubtedly, the measure
would face serious legal challenges.
Evidently, the budget appears to be
falling short of the requirements
which the Fund would be insisting on.
People had presumed that Fund was
worried about petroleum subsidies
and beyond that there were no deal
breakers as much of it was signed
off by the outgoing government and
then reaffirmed in Doha. But the fact
that the staff level agreement was
not reached, the deal still remain
uncertain. Going back on budget
proposals after negotiations would
be embarrassing for the government
while the uncertainty about the future
of the program would continue to
bedevil the economy.
Courtesy - Business Recorder
13
TRADE CHRONICLE
Loan history of Pakistan
under IMF Programs
By Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal
Pakistan has been a member
of IMF program since 11 July
1950. Pakistan's public debt
is estimated to be around PKR 39.9
trillion as of June 2021, accounting
for 83.5 percent of the country's
GDP. Domestic debt totaled PKR 26.2
trillion, while external debt totaled
PKR 13.6 trillion (USD 86.4 billion).
Pakistan Loan History is one of the
leading worldwide actors in loan
organization, writing approximately
$27 billion in loans each year.
Pakistan's economy is a developing
market with great growth potential,
but it has struggled with insufficient
infrastructure and a lack of a stable
administration. The lack of good
education opportunities has also
been a major hindrance to economic
growth.
Pakistan's rapidly expanding
population, rising energy
demand, and reliance on
ageing power facilities are all
contributing to the country's
current economic troubles.
Pakistan's history of approaching
the IMF dates back to 1958, when
that time government led the
country to the IMF and signed a
Standby Agreement to acquire
SDR 25 million.
The funds were never taken out.
Pakistan being brought back to the IMF
on May 18, 1972. the then government
seemed to like the IMF a lot, for
they approached it so many times that
it became practically unstoppable.
Pakistan went to the IMF three times
during the period from 1972 to 1974
Contiuned from 15
our textile industry. But the political
influence of the sugar lobby has
prevailed with the result that Pakistan
must import cotton worth over $2
billion per year to feed its textile
industry. We can fulfill the entire sugar
needs of the country at half the cost (if
no sugar is produced) while our textile
exports register a hefty increase.
Our manufacturing policies have many
such anomalies. Governments grant
huge tax incentives for establishing
industries in underdeveloped regions
to create jobs. Besides income tax, the
and then again in 1977, and withdrew
around SDR 314 million against the
agreed-upon SDR 330 million.
Pakistan entered IMF programs eight
times between 1988 and 1997, under the
experienced and active governments
of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N). Pakistan withdrew SDR 1.64
billion during this time. Five of these
eight schemes were implemented
during the PPP administration, while
three were implemented during the
PML-N administration.
Even during period of 1999 to 2008 the
then government did not hesitate in
reaching out to the IMF, and secured
SDR 1.33 billion in two attempts in
nine years, though on very low interest
rates.
The newly elected administration
went to the IMF in 2008 and received
the largest IMF rescue package in our
history, totaling SDR 4.94 billion.
According to the IMF, Pakistan was
required to execute changes such
as better tax administration, the
elimination of some tax exemptions,
and the establishment of an interest
rate corridor. Macroeconomic policies,
on the other hand, were excessively
expansionary, and fundamental
reforms to address the economy's
waiver from 15-17 percent sales tax
is so lucrative that many a time the
established industries in other regions
relocate their setup to the new area.
Those that fail to relocate, close down.
Thus, jobs are created in an area at the
expense of the other.
Tax incentives should be limited to
the industries that do not exist in
Pakistan. Instead of tax incentives,
the state should provide free of cost
land in industrial estates with a stateof-the-art
infrastructure and assured
availability of utilities.
14
May - Jun - 2022
structural difficulties were not
effectively addressed.
The government and the mission
agreed on a number of policy priorities,
including tighter fiscal policy, a less
accommodating monetary policy
posture, and structural reforms. The
administration at the time realised that
the economy was underperforming
and that an annual gross domestic
product (GDP) was required.
In 2013, the IMF programme was
continued by the newly elected
government, resulting in the second
largest loan of SDR 4.399 billion.
According to the IMF, this threeyear
programme (which ended
in September 2016) improved
macroeconomic resilience. In its
concluding statement, the IMF claims
that this programme enhanced growth,
lowered the fiscal deficit, and restored
foreign currency reserves.
Reforms to the structure were also
initiated. In the year 2019, The
payment is part of a $6 billion
(€5.34 billion) rescue package
that Pakistan received in May
2019 after lengthy negotiations.
The IMF will conduct frequent
inspections of the country's
economic strategy and growth
over the 39-month loan
programme, which is intended
to assist cover substantial budget
shortages.
According to reports in the media,
Pakistan and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed
in principle to prolong the delayed
bailout programme for up to a year
and increase the loan size to $8 billion,
providing markets with much-needed
stability and breathing space for the
incoming government.
After sector-specific long-term policies
(five years and more) have been
announced, tinkering with the rules
goes on. This impacts the business
plans of investors who commit their
resources based on the original policy.
Ideally, there should be a single policy
for all sectors that provides for a levelplaying
field to all. Else, sector specific
policies should come for 10 years
with iron-clad guarantees against any
revisions.
Courtesy - ( The News )
TRADE CHRONICLE
State of the manufacturing sector
By Mansoor Ahmad
New employment opportunities
are mostly created by the
manufacturing sector. In
Pakistan, the sector is not growing.
This is the main reason for widespread
unemployment.
The daily wage workers and those
employed in small/ micro industries
enjoy almost no growth in their
careers. Workers in large and medium
industries alone have a chance to
move up in their careers from machine
helpers to operators; even go on
to become supervisors. They have
permanent jobs. They are rewarded as
and when they improve their skills and
become more productive. They work
for eight hours a day and are eligible
for overtime if they must work extra
hours. They are entitled to yearly and
casual leaves.
The manufacturing sector is a part of the
industrial sector that includes mining
and quarrying, manufacturing, power
and gas production and construction.
The share of manufacturing is the
largest among these four. A decade
ago, the share of the manufacturing
sector in our GDP was 14.51 percent, of
which LSM accounted for 12.2 percent
and small-scale manufacturing for
1.25 percent.
In 2018, the share of manufacturing
declined to 13.02 percent, of which
LSM share was 10.29 percent and smallscale
manufacturing was 1.52 percent.
By 2021, the share of manufacturing
had come down to 12.52 percent.
The share of LSM was 9.54 percent
and small-scale manufacturing 1.68
percent.
Our governments have been
manipulating the statistics. The
manufacturing sector is not in a good
shape. The growth that we show in any
period relates to the production that
was recorded during the corresponding
period the previous year. When
production of cars, for instance, was
completely stalled for some months
during the Covid-19 closures, growth
in the corresponding months next year
was 50-100 percent.
That does not mean that the car
sector is flourishing. The fact is that
production even in the ‘high-growth
months’ was lower than the production
recorded 14 years ago in
2007-08. We have not added
to the capacity in most of
the large-scale manufacturing
sector in the last three decades.
The cement sector is the only exception
where the capacity has increased sixfold.
Basic textile is another subsector
where new investment has been made.
But then more than 120 spinning mills
have been closed over the last decade
due to obsolescence of technology.
The automobile sector has also
enhanced its capacity through the
entry of new global brands. Still, we
are producing fewer cars than were
produced in 2007-08. The high-end
car production has started overtaking
the small car segment. The foreign
exchange consumed on high-end cars
is more than double that used on the
1000 cc or smaller engine cars.
When growth slows, growth in largescale
manufacturing goes down. It can
even record negative growth. When
growth picks up, the LSM growth picks
up, too. The see-saw movement has
been going on for the last 30 years with
almost the same capacity.
We often talk about the plight of the
SMEs. The SMEs are the suppliers
of components and services to the
LSM. They operate on low margins.
In times of growth, the existing SMEs
flourish as supplies to LSM increase.
When the chips are down in LSM the
SME supplies reduce and, in some
cases, the volume of orders is so low
that they operate in red. If the gloom
prolongs, even well-established SMEs
close down. Take, for instance, the fate
of dozens of vendors of tractors that
have closed shop as tractor production
dwindled.
The expansion in the mediumsized
apparel industries has been
impressive in the last two years. These
entrepreneurs mostly started with
low resources but with hard work and
15
May - Jun - 2022
dedication have gradually scaled up.
They are not served well by the banks.
The apparel manufacturers continue
to reinvest what they earn to build
capacity.
At the same time, they provide inhouse
training to their workers to make
up for shortage of skilled apparel staff.
The apparel exporters are the largest
providers of quality skilled jobs in
Pakistan. Unfortunately, the spinners
and weavers that have huge capital
have ignored the apparel sector for
long. They have now started investing
in this sector after seeing small apparel
exporters overtake them in textile
exports.
Currently, the top four exporters from
Pakistan belong to the apparel sector
(readymade garments and knitwear).
Ten years ago, none of them was among
the top 25 exporters. If the moneyed
basic textile tycoons shed their
lethargy, we may see robust growth in
apparel exports and job creation.
Among the large-scale manufacturing
sector, the cement units and sugar
mills are monopolised and protected
sectors. The number of cement units is
almost the same as in 1990 when all of
these were in the public sector. In the
last 32 years hardly an entrepreneur or
two have established new units.
The 24-25 units manage the prices
by manipulating production. They
have expanded the production
capacity manifold. The three leading
manufacturers have almost half of
the total capacity. Sugar mills are
mostly operated by political families
having representation in the national
and provincial assemblies. There is
a complete ban on establishing new
sugar mills, still many mills have
established new units hundreds of
miles away from their original setup
under the garb of balancing and
modernisation.
Only one such expansion was declared
illegal by the courts when the political
family was in power. Sugarcane, a
tropical crop, consumes a lot of water.
Even the World Bank has advised the
government to stop growing sugarcane
on a large scale. But its cultivation area
continues to grow and has encroached
on the cotton cultivation area.
The cotton crop needs much less
water and is the basic raw material for
Contiuned on 14
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
Saima Group & Agha Steel join hands to Launch Pakistan
First Eco Friendly Green Housing Structure Project
International Steels has
posted NPAT of PKR1.1bn
Agha Steel Industries Limited has
signed an agreement with Saima
Group for exclusively providing Green
Electric Arc Furnace Technology steel
rebars to its first of a kind Eco-Friendly
Green Housing Structure Project
“Saima Premium Residency”.
Addressing the occasion Mr Zeeshan
Zaki, Chairman Saima Group said
“We are very excited to launch Saima
Premium Residency as Pakistan’s
first Eco-Friendly Green Housing
Structure project that shall be built
exclusively with the finest and most
technologically advanced rebars
supplied by Agha Steel.
Steel bar prices raised
to Rs236,000 a tonne
According to media reports,
manufacturers further pushed up
steel bar prices to Rs236,000 per tonne
following an increase of Rs5,000, in
Pakistan. In the second week of June,
steel bar makers increased prices by
Rs7,000 per tonne.
According to the rates shared by various
manufacturers, Amreli Steel Limited
(ASL) increased the prices to Rs236,000
per tonne for sizes 9.5-10mm and
12mm and Rs234,000 per tonne for
sizes 16mm and above. The company
cited a continuous and unprecedented
increase in the cost of energy and the
highly volatile rupee-dollar parity.
According to the company, it can
no longer absorb the large price
fluctuations in manufacturing costs.
The same prices have been quoted by
Agha Steel Industries, which attributed
the hike to higher distribution costs
due to increasing diesel prices.
At the signing ceremony Mr Hussain
Agha, CEO Agha Steel, also expressed
his view and noted “We are delighted
to be entering into this agreement
with Saima Group for providing steel
to Pakistan’s First Eco- Friendly Green
Structure Project.
Agha Steel Industries led a Green Steel
Revolution through sustainability
of its energy mix by installing a 2.25
Megawatt solar power project and
signing a term Sheet with Engro Energy
for Renewable Energy.
Agha also stated, “Our State of the art
plant utilizes scrap-based Electric Arc
Furnace (EAF) technology. By
using recycled scrap for our
raw material, we reduce the
need for natural resources.
Our CO2 Scope 1 green-house
gas emissions and energy
consumption intensities are
approximately 7 times less than
the global steel making average,
making the Green Arc Furnace
Technology environmentally
friendly.”
The new rate of steel bars produced by
Faizal Steel is Rs235,000 per tonne for
10mm-12mm size, while the 16mm-
25mm size price is fixed at Rs233,000
per tonne.
Naveena Steel Mills has informed its
business partners about the fixing of
the new rate of steel bars at Rs232,000
per tonne for 16mm-32mm size and
Rs234,000 per tonne for 10-12mm size.
Platinum Steel Mills has announced
a new rate of Rs234,000 per tonne for
sizes 9.5-12mm and Rs232,000 per
tonne for sizes 16-25mm.
16
International Steels Ltd (ISL) has
posted NPAT of PKR1.1bn (EPS:
PKR2.60) in 3QFY22, down a sharp
c.30% qoq and c.50% yoy. The 3Q result
has come broadly in line with our
projected EPS of PKR2.70 higher-thanexpected
revenues have been offset by
lower margins. This takes 9MFY22 EPS
to PKR12.31, down c.22% yoy.
Key takeaways from 3QFY22 results:
Net revenue has clocked in at
PKR27.3bn, up 57% yoy, beating our
expectation of c.PKR20bn by some
distance, amid greater volumetric
offtake and higher CRC prices. The
surge in offtake is attributed to healthy
production volumes from the tractors
and white goods industries, in our
view.
ISL has posted gross margins of c.8.4%
in 3Q, down c.7ppt yoy, significantly
lower than our expectations of 13.5%.
This decline in margins emerged from
moderating inventory gains coupled
with lower than expected CRC-HRC
spreads, during the quarter, in our
view.
Distribution and Administration
expenses have come in at PKR346mn
(up c.35% yoy) and PKR75mn (down
c.43% yoy), respectively. Higher
distribution expenses can be explained
by greater transport costs both locally
and globally (sea freight and local
petrol prices), in our view. We await
availability of quarterly accounts for
further clarity on these items.
Finance cost of at PKR361mn has more
than doubled yoy, largely attributed to
rising borrowing costs (higher Kibor
rate) and exchange losses, in our view.
The effective tax rate clocked in at 18%
in 3Q.
ISL has posted a weak
result despite the
surge in sales, which
was overshadowed
by the sharp decline
in gross margins.
(Courtesy - Intermarket Securities Limited)
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
Pakistan's cement industry posts
mixed financial results in 9MF22
Some major cement industry players
in country have reported Pakistan
Stock Exchange (PSX) a mixed financial
result for the first nine months of the
current financial year (9MFY22) due
to increased fiancé and taxation costs.
In addition, Lucky Cement says that
the average per ton cost of sales of
the companies increased compared
to last year. This was mainly due to
a substantial increase in coal prices
and other input costs, which directly
resulted from the global commodity
supercycle followed by the continuing
conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Industry performance 9MFY22 (July -
March 2022)
According to DG Khan Cement, in
volume terms, the total sales quantity
of the industry (Pakistan) witnessed
a decline of 2.5Mt (5.8 per cent) to
40.8Mt. The North zone registered
negative growth of 1.9Mt (5.9 per cent)
against the South Zone of 0.6Mt (5.4
per cent). Further analysis shows that
negative growth was caused by exports
that declined 2.5Mt (35 per cent) while
local dispatches almost remained the
same at 36.1Mt. Sales utilization of
industry fell to 79 per cent against 84
per cent for the corresponding period
last year. It was largely contributed
by local sales of 70 per cent against
exports sales utilization of 9 per cent.
Outlook
A research house, Topline Securities,
believes that political noise, economic
slowdown and rising cement bag costs
could further influence dispatches
going ahead. Hence, analysts expect
total cement dispatches
to clock in at 54Mt in FY22
(down 6 per cent YoY) and
51Mt in FY23 (down 5 per
cent YoY).
Financial performance in 9MFY22
Lucky Cement (LUCK) has posted an
unconsolidated NPAT of PKR11.30bn
in 9MFY22 compared to PKR11.68bn
earned in the same period last year,
recording a fall of 3 per cent. During
this period, sales jumped to PKR
58.89bn, up 25 per cent YoY, but raw
material costs rose to 39 per cent. The
fiancé’s cost increased by 10 per cent
during this accounting period.
But the good news is that the
expansion of 3.15Mt at Pezu (North) is
going smoothly. Half of the material for
civil, mechanical and electrical works
were delivered to the site. At the same
time, major plant and machinery are
expected at the plant by 1QFY23. Target
COD remains unchanged (Dec’22).
DG Khan Cement Co.
The Company has posted an
unconsolidated NPAT of PKR3.6bn in
9MFY22, up 27 per cent YoY. During
the nine months, net sales of the
Company stood at PKR43.29bn from
PKR32.74bn during this period, which
rose 32 per cent. The administrative
expenses surged to PKR552m from
PKR 467m incurred in the same period
last year. During this period, it incurred
a distribution cost of PKR1.5bn against
PKR1.4bn. An escalation of 10 per cent
and 65 per cent in fiancé and taxation,
respectively, made performance
challenging during this period.
On a happy note, the Company earned
US$50m on exports of clinker
during 9MFY22.
Fauji Cement Company
The Company posts NPAT
of PKR4.1bn for 9MFY22, up
56 per cent YoY. The sales
increased to PKR22.924bn
from PKR17.528bn, up 31 per
cent. The Company posted
good results despite having
higher fiancé and taxation factors.
Kohat Cement
Kohat Cement has posted an NPAT
of PKR4.6bn in 9MFY22, up 83 per
cent YoY. Its sales increased by 32.39
per cent to PKR 23.584bn from
PKR17.81bn during this period. It
incurred a distribution cost of PKR
85m against PKR 58m, whereas the
administrative expenses stood at PKR
257m compared to PKR 233m incurred
in the corresponding period last year.
Taxation jumped by 89 per cent for
nine months period.
The Company says that the greenfield
cement production Line in Khushab,
Punjab, is progressing as scheduled.
The land procurement process is at
its full pace, and negotiation with the
suppliers of plant & machinery is in
moving forward.
Cherat Cement
Cherat Cement (CHCC) has posted
an NPAT of PKR3.4bn in 9MFY22,
reflecting a growth of 55 per cent YoY.
It reports a higher taxation factor of
PKR1.271bn from PKR784bn, rising
62 per cent. The net sales ballooned to
PKR 22.581bn from PKR18.421bn, up
23 per cent during this period.
According to Company, work on BMR
for Cement Line 1 and installing a new
Crusher at the quarry face was affected
due to manufacturing disruptions
and international shipment delays.
Still, Company expects that it will be
completed by September 2022. In
Solar Panels Project, an 11.35 MW
solar power plant was commissioned
in March 2022, and the remaining 1.7
MW is expected to be operational in
the next two months. Land and mining
leases for the Line 4 Project have
been transferred in their name. Initial
groundwork is also underway on this
project. These initiatives will not only
enable the Company to improve its
operational efficiencies but will also
reduce costs.
Gharibwal Cement
Gharibwal Cement Limited incurred a
17
TRADE CHRONICLE
net profit of PKR 1.69bn compared to
PKR 1.17bn earned in the same period
last year. The company sales increased
to PKR11.45bn from PKR8.71bn in the
same previous year. The Company
incurred higher administrative
expenses to PKR 363m in 9MFY22
against PKR281m in the same period
last year.
Maple Leaf Cement
The Company recorded a consolidated
pre-tax profit of PKR5.79bn for the
reporting period against PKR3.65bn
earned in the corresponding period.
The consolidated tax component
amounted to PKR1.46bn for the
reporting period compared to
PKR805m in the corresponding period.
The Company, during the period,
recorded a net consolidated turnover
of PKR34.09bn against PKR26.035bn in
the corresponding period last year. The
Company’s top line increased by 31 per
cent, mainly due to improvement in
selling prices in the local market.
Pakistan started cement
export to the USA
Syedain Raza Zaidi, Chairman, Karachi
Port Trust (KPT), has announced
that bulk carrier Tomini Felicity has
loaded cement at KPT in 1.5t jumbo
bags destined for Houston, Texas
USA. He was speaking at an event to
mark the first-ever shipment to the
USA, attended by officials of DG Khan
Cement and other stakeholders in
Karachi recently.
Chairman KPT added that it is a great
achievement for Pakistani cement
manufacturers to obtain huge orders
in a very competitive environment and
hopefully would benefit Pakistan when
it needs foreign reserves.
The USA delegation recently visited
Karachi Port to review the shipment
facility earlier.
A DG Khan announcement says that
we are gathered in Karachi to celebrate
and announce that we have secured
an order from a Group in the USA to
supply 50,000t of cement every month
for the next twelve months totalling
600,000t. This figure could double if all
goes well.
May - Jun - 2022
The USA presently import cement
from Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, Turkey
and Turkey.
D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited
(DGKCC) is among largest the cement
manufacturers in Pakistan, with a
production capacity of 22,400 tons per
day (6.72Mta). DGKCC has four cement
plants, two located at Dera Ghazi Khan
and one at Khairpur Distt. Chakwal
and one at Hub Lasbela District
(Balochistan). All the plants are based
on the latest Dry Process Technology.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s cement and
clinker exports in the first ten months
of FY21-22 (July 2021 to April 2022)
earned US$203.83m in revenue by
dispatching 5.312Mt of cement and
clinker overseas to US$225.05m from
6.624Mt of exports in the year-ago
period. Consequently, the sector saw
a fall of 9.43 per cent in dollar terms
and reported a double-digit decline
of 19.70 per cent in volume during
the export period. The negative trend
also noted exports valued in Pakistani
rupees, which eroded by 3.05 per cent
to PKR35.241bn during this period.
Pakistan has been exporting clinker
and cement to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Afghanistan, Madagascar, South Africa,
Tanzania, India and now the USA.
The Company’s export volume
decreased by almost 63.36 per cent
to reach 89,225t from 243,493t in the
corresponding period. This decline is
mainly attributable to the Afghanistan
market due to the slow economic
activity post-American departure
from the country, low margins and
banking restrictions. Further, cement
dispatches to the rest of the world are
still not feasible due to high production
costs in Pakistan and increased
shipping rates. The Company has
started its capacity enhancement
project i.e. Line 4 (7000 tpd) at its
existing plant site. The construction
work is in progress at a satisfying pace,
and approximately fourteen shipments
of plant and machinery have arrived at
the construction site to date. The said
project is being financed with a mix
of concessionary debt and internally
generated cash. Management is
targeting to achieve COD in 2Q FY
2023.
A Chronicle report
DG Khan Cement to install a solar
power plant in Punjab
D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited
(DGKC) has informed Pakistan Stock
Exchange (PSX) that it has signed an
agreement and established a Letter of
credit with Reon Energy Limited for the
supply and installation of the On-Grid
Solar Power Plant of 6.952MW at its site
in Khairpur, Distt. Chakwal, Punjab.
The Solar Power Plant is to be financed
100% through the State Bank of Pakistan
Financing Scheme for Renewable
Energy. The project will be completed
in about six months and
replace electricity generated
from fossil fuels/bought from
the national grid. This will help
reduce carbon footprints that align
with our vision and approach to inch
up towards environmentally friendly
production processes.
18
TRADE CHRONICLE
High cost of manufacturing influences
cement dispatches in May 2022
Topline Securities has stated that
Pakistan’s cement sales were affected
in May 2022 mainly due to the Eid
holidays and economic slowdown.
The attrition in exports is on the back
of disruption in the global supply
chain resulting in higher sea freight
charges. The All Pakistan Cement
Manufacturers Association (APCMA)
remarked that the continuous
downfall of the rupee coupled with the
skyrocketing prices of coal, electricity
and petroleum products is badly
affecting the business momentum.
According to the data released by the
APCMA, total local/overseas cement
dispatches during May 2022 declined
by 15.85 per cent to 3.32Mt against
Pakistan seeks a consult to draw
feasibility on the cement industry
Pakistan’s government plans to conduct
research reports on the cement,
automobile and fertilizer sectors in
Pakistan. The feasibility report will
be conducted by Pakistan Industrial
Development Corporation (Pvt.)
Limited (PIDC) with the assistance
of private consultancy firms with
relevant experience and expertise in
conducting research studies especially
related to these sectors in Pakistan are
encouraged.
The research study would cover cost
analysis, challenges, sector review and
performance.
Lucky Cement plans
renewable energy project
Lucky Cement Ltd has informed the
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that the
Board of Directors of Lucky cement, in
its emergent meeting on 11 June 2022,
has authorised the management of
the company to undertake a feasibility
study for a renewable energy project at
its cement plant in Karachi, including
wind and solar power.
General Manager Finance and
Company Secretary of Lucky Cement,
Faisal Mahmood, in a bourse filing,
stated that the Lucky Cement was one
of the earliest cement companies to
install waste heat recovery (WHR) units
at both of its plant sites. Currently, the
share of WHR in the company's total
3.94Mt dispatched
during the same month
of last fiscal year. The
breakdown shows local
were 3.15Mt compared to 3.2Mt in
May 2021, showing a reduction of 1.6
per cent. However, export dispatches
suffered a massive decline of 76.97
per cent as the volumes reduced from
746,550t in May 2021 to 171,915t in
May 2022.
Cumulative dispatches
During the first eleven months of the
current fiscal year (July - May 2022),
total cement dispatches (domestic and
exports) were 47.62Mt, 8.8 per cent
lower than 52.22Mt dispatched during
the corresponding fiscal year. Further
analysis indicates that domestic
uptake reduced by 1.83 per cent to
Interested firms are
requested to submit their
Technical and Financial
Proposals for each work
separately by June 02, 2022.
Capacity/production
Separately, from July-March 2022,
Pakistan’s cement production slipped
by 2.86 per cent YoY to 36.543Mt
compared to 37.619Mt in the same
period a year ago. Last year’s report
of AHCML Research has estimated
that the total installed capacity of
cement in Pakistan is 69Mt, and ~18Mt
of capacity was in the pipeline. This
will take total production capacity
to 87Mt by FY24. Likewise, APCMA
power generation is 25 per
cent, which is environmentally
friendly and results in low-cost
energy.
Keeping up with its
commitment to promoting
renewable energy, the
company is already installing
a 34MW captive solar power
project with a 5.589MWh reflex
energy storage at its plant site
in Pezu, Lakki Marwat.
May - Jun - 2022
42.65Mt from 43.45Mt during July-
May 2021. In contrast, exports during
the same period declined by a massive
43.32 per cent to 4.97Mt from 8.77Mt
during July-May 2021.
APCMA is pining hope that in the
forthcoming federal budget on June
10, the government will relieve the
industry by reducing duties and taxes
and focusing on PSDP and CPEC
projects, which may help kick start the
industry’s revival in the next fiscal year.
data indicates that Pakistan has fifty
production lines of twenty-five plants
catering for the local requirement and
exporting surplus quantity. It includes
19 production lines in Punjab, 9 in
Sindh, 4 in Balochistan and 18 in KPK.
PIBT statement
The Punjab Board of Investment and
Trade (PBIT) has issued dozens of
No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for
setting up cement factories keeping
in view its increasing demand in the
construction industry. The 16 factories
included four in the Mianwali district,
one in Pind Dadan Khan, two each in
Taxila and Dera Ghazi Khan and seven
in other parts of the province.
Subject to the Board's approval of the
feasibility of the renewable energy
project in Karachi, the company's
initiatives for investment in renewable
energy projects will play a key role in
cost-saving and reducing the country's
reliance on imported fuel.
19
TRADE CHRONICLE
The Economic Survey reviews
the cement industry
The Economic Survey was released on
June 09. It has reviewed the cement
industry's performance for July - to
March 22. The survey foresees growth
in the cement industry because of
Punjab’s major initiatives for issuing
NOC(s) to 25 cement companies
for grant of exploration licenses of
limestone for installation of cement
plants.
The cement industry of Pakistan has
remained under pressure since the
beginning of FY2022. This was largely
attributed to a revival in construction
Cement exports from
Pakistan show a mixed trend
Pakistan's cement exports continued
to report mixed trends in the export of
cement and clinker cumulative basis
for eleven months and in May alone
Cement dispatches declined by 7.91
percent during fiscal year 2021~22
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers
Association (APCMA) released
twelve months of local and overseas
dispatch data today. During the fiscal
year July 21 – June 22, total cement
dispatches (domestic and exports)
were 52.89 million tons which are
7.91 percent lower than 57.43 million
tons dispatched during the last fiscal
year. The domestic uptake during July
21 – June 22 reduced by 1 percent to
47.63 million tons from 48.11 million
tons during July 20 -June 21, whereas
exports during the same period
declined by a massive 43.57 percent
to 5.25 million tons from 9.31 million
tons during July 20 – June 21.
Cement dispatches increased by 1.01
percent in June 2022. Total Cement
dispatches during June 2022 were 5.26
activities in the second half of 2020
as COVID-19 lockdowns were eased.
Since then, the demand for cement
has been said to be ‘sluggish’ due to
inflation and high commodity prices.
It also pinned its marked export fall on
political and economic instability in
Afghanistan.
The cement industry showed a decline
of 6.3 per cent in March FY2022 on a
YoY basis due to a massive reduction in
exports. Total cement dispatches stood
at 5.04Mt against 5.38Mt last year.
Domestic consumption grew by 4.02
per cent and reached 4.75Mt compared
to 4.56Mt in March FY2021. The largest
hit was observed by exports which
drastically decreased by 63.8 per cent
of FY 2022, according to the Pakistan
Bureau of Statistics. AKD Research
has attributed this mixed trend to
low export prices and increasing coal
prices, which have made exports
unattractive.
Pakistan's cement and clinker exports
in the first eleven months of FY21-
22 (July 2021 to May 2022) earned
US$211.19m in revenue by dispatching
5.465Mt cement and clinker overseas
compared to US$253.58m from
7.422Mt of exports in the year-ago
period. This leads to the sector seeing
a fall of 16.72 per cent in dollar terms
and 26.56 per cent in volume during
the export period. The negative trend
also noted exports valued in Pakistani
rupees, which eroded by 9.93 per cent
million tons against 5.21
Million Tons dispatched
during the same month of
last fiscal year.
According to the data released by the
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers
Association (APCMA), local cement
dispatches by the industry during June
2022 were 4.97 million tons compared
to 4.66 million tons in June 2021,
an increase of 6.66 percent. Export
dispatches declined by 47.57 percent
as the volumes reduced from 542,622
tons in June 2021 to 284,471 tons in
June 2022.
In June 2022, North-based cement
mills dispatched 4.12 million tons of
cement in domestic markets, showing
an increase of 6.8 percent against 3.85
million tons dispatches in June 2021.
South-based mills despatched 856,863
tons of cement in local markets during
May - Jun - 2022
to 0.30Mt dispatches in March FY2022
as compared to 0.82Mt during the
same period last year. This was largely
attributed to rising international
freight rates, political and economic
instability in Afghanistan and a trade
ban with India.
The cement export declined in
quantity and value by 16.3 per cent
and 5.1 per cent, respectively, during
Jul-Mar FY0222. Increased production
costs, rising international freight rates,
and soaring coal prices are the main
reasons for the reduction in cement
exports. Moreover, Iranian cement
replaced Pakistani cement in the
Bangladeshi market, as the former is
economical due to its low energy cost.
to PKR36.68bn during this period.
But on a positive note, in May 2022
alone, export revenues increased 64.89
per cent, MoM, to US$7.360m on the
shipment of 151,133t, compared to
US$4.464m from 86,449t of exports in
April 2022. The quantity increased by
74.82 per cent during this period. On
the contrary, compared with May 2001
earnings of US$28.52m from 818,471t,
this represents a drop of 74.20 per cent
and 81.53 per cent YoY in value and
quantity, respectively.
Pakistan has been exporting clinker
and cement to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Afghanistan, Madagascar, South Africa,
Tanzania, India and USA.
June 2022, which was 5.98 percent
higher than the dispatches of 808,490
tons during June 2021.
Exports from North-based mills
massively declined by 51.79 percent as
the quantities reduced from 201,540
tons in June 2021 to 97,163 tons in
June 2022. Exports from the South also
decreased by 45.08 percent to 187,308
tons in June 2022 from 341,082 tons
during the same month last year.
North-based Mills dispatched 39.44
million tons of cement domestically
during the fiscal year July 21 – June 22,
showing a reduction of 2.81 percent
than cement dispatches of 40.58
million tons from July 20 -June 21.
Exports from the North declined by
64.52 percent to 910,685 tons from
July 21 – June 22, compared with 2.56
million tons exported during the last
fiscal year.
20
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
Mathar Niaz, new Secretary
of Maritime Affairs
Balochistan's former
Chief Secretary
Mathar Niaz Rana
has been posted as
Secretary Maritime
Affairs Division, Govt
of Pakistan. According
to the official
notification, former Chief Secretary
Balochistan Mathar Niaz Rana, a BPS-
22-grade officer was given charge as
Secretary Maritime Affairs Division
with immediate effect.
Fauji Oil Terminal to build 6
storage tanks at Port Qasim
Fauji Oil Terminal and Distribution
Company (FOTCO) plans to invest in
developing six buffer storage tanks to
address ship traffic congestion at Port
Qasim and handle additional cargoes.
“We have already pitched this plan
to Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority
(OGRA) seeking finalisation of pricing
mechanism,” Adnan Samdani, General
Manager of FOTCO told local media.
“Once it is settled, FOTCO will be able
to finalise the volume of investment
required to build the buffer storage
tanks to handle the fuel ship carrying
50,000 tonnes of fuel in 24 hours.”
Once the proposed six tanks were in
place, the FOTCO would be able to
handle three more fuel ships of 150,000
tonnes.
“Commissioned in 1995 with a total
investment of $100 million, FOTCO is
the state-of-the-art and fully integrated
facility in the country to handle up to
12 million tonnes of fuel per annum.
It has already invested $33 million for
building storage of POL products up
to 108,000 tonnes,” he said. FTTL, a
subsidiary of FOTCO, had also invested
Rs70 million to install headers to do
away with the contamination.
Pakistan to stop marine pollution, revive
marine fisheries and nurture the Ocean
Ministry of
Maritime
Affairs,
Pakistan,
h a d
celebrated
W o r l d
Ocean Day
2022. It
includes
Mangroves
Plantation
Activity, Beach Cleaning Drive,
workshop and roadmap. Pakistan
is taking measures to stop marine
pollution, revive marine fisheries and
nurture the ocean.
Pakistan welcomes the World Bank and
other stakeholders’ role in sustainable
measures in making of Blue Economy
Development Roadmap in the country.
Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs,
Senator Faisal Ali Subzwari, stated
while attending the World Ocean Day.
Event organised by the Ministry of
Maritime Affairs as the Chief Guest in
Karachi. He emphasised more active
and efficient coordination for the
cause of ministry, partners and poor
fishery people associated with the blue
economy.
The Minister announced at the event
that “For the people of Gwadar, we
have promised some 2000 fisherman
to provide the motor boat engines for
Rs. 500m for effective fishing. We will
also provide them with a floating jetty
at Rs. 267m by the end of this year.”
While addressing, he stated that
the purpose of the event is to create
awareness in the people of Pakistan
about the potential
of our ocean as an
important asset
for sustainable
economic growth and to take collective
action to advance the sustainable
utilisation of our ocean.
Furthermore, he assured working
in close coordination with the
Government of Sindh to address the
issues related to fisheries and maritime
sector development.
Additional Secretary Maritime Affairs,
Mr Asad Rafi Chandna, also stressed
taking urgent and immediate actions
to reduce marine pollution, increase
seafood exports, and enhance coastal
tourism to flourish the blue economy
of Pakistan.
The Chairman Karachi Port Trust (KPT),
Mr Syedain Raza Zaidi, Chairman
Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Rear
Admiral (R) Syed Hasan Nasir Shah
HI(M), Chairman Pakistan National
Shipping Corporation (PNSC), Mr
Rizwan Ahmed, MD KoHFA, Principal
Officer Mercantile Marine Department
(MMD), Pakistan Marine Academy
(PMA), GM Ops KPT – Rear Admiral
Zubair Shafique, GM Tech KPT – Rear
Admiral Shahid, DG Port Qasim – R
Adm Javed Iqbal, GM Engineering KPT
– R Admiral Shahid, Country Director
World Bank, and eminent and wellinformed
participants also graced the
occasion with their presence.
After the end of the event, Minister
also attended the Q & A session
of the electronic and print media
journalists and aptly responded to all
the questions raised regarding the Blue
Economy, Marine Pollution and other
issues of Karachi.
The event was followed by
a technical consultative
workshop organised by
the WB. Joint Secretary
Maritime Affairs – Mr
Kamran Ansari presented
his views on blue economy
emerging trends and
coordinated on behalf of
the Ministry of Maritime
Affairs.
A Chronicle report
21
TRADE CHRONICLE
Hutchison Ports Pakistan to sponsor technical
training for the underprivileged youth
Hutchison Ports Pakistan, the country’s
deep-water container terminal, has
partnered with The Hunar Foundation
to support the underprivileged
young students in Pakistan. The
partnership is part of Hutchison
Ports Pakistan’s CSR programme
titled ‘Teach for Tomorrow’, which is
in line with Hutchison Ports’ Dock
School educational initiative and is
designed to provide financial support
and technical training to facilitate the
youth to build their future.
The young aspirant students will
be enrolled in different training
programs, including
Electrical Technology,
Mechanical Technology
(Machinist & Welding),
Heat, Ventilation,
Air Conditioning &
Refrigeration (HVACR)
and Mechatronics
(Robotics and Industrial
Automation). The
training program will
PIBTL plans to bring more efficiency
to cargo handling operations
Pakistan International Bulk Terminal
Limited (PIBT) has released
performance details for the period
ended March 31, 2022. Its revenue
stands at Rs 7.469 billion during nine
months of July - March 2022 whereas
gross profit at Rs 1.930 billion during
this period.
During the period, the Company has
handled 6,171,696 tons of cargo against
7,181,957 tons in the same period last
year, which is in line with the industry
demand for imported coal. The
Company's management focuses on
strategies to bring more efficiency to
cargo handling operations and provide
unparalleled services to its customers.
During the period, the Company
has posted a net loss after taxation
primarily due to the impact of currency
devaluation on USD-denominated
foreign loans.
Going Forward
Corresponding to the business
performance above, which is consistent
with the industry demand, the
last for a total
duration of
six months,
starting from
July till December 2022.
While commenting on this
development, Capt; Syed Rashid Jamil,
Head of Business Unit, Hutchison
Ports Pakistan, said, “Given the current
economic slump and the issues our
country has with low GDP growth
despite a large youth population,
developing competent workforces for
tomorrow can serve as a concrete and
long-term solution. Our partnership
with The Hunar Foundation is in line
with the same objective. Hutchison
Ports Pakistan intends to create a
sustainable change by helping young
Company is committed to
enhancing shareholders'
value while improving
the productivity of cargo
handling operations with an overall
vision to mitigate the environmental
and proficiency concerns at the
country's port infrastructure and
enhance our shareholders' value.
In the end, the Board of Directors of
the Company would like to reiterate
their commitment to operating
efficiently Pakistan's first state-of-theart
mechanized bulk cargo terminal
for the handling of Coal, Clinker &
Cement, compliant with international
standards of excellence, which will
curtail environment pollution and
modernize the port infrastructure of
the country.
The Company entered into a Build
Operate Transfer (BOT) contract
with Port Qasim Authority (PQA)
on November 06, 2010, for the
construction,
development,
operations and management of a coal
and clinker/ cement terminal at Port
Muhammad Bin Qasim for thirty years.
May - Jun - 2022
students’ education as a first step, as
well as improving their livelihoods
through providing work opportunities
at our terminal.”
“Any part of technical training that
might offer a young person the
means to earn a living for their
family is crucial,” Abbas Akberali,
Founding Board Member of The
Hunar Foundation, said during the
collaboration. “I am delighted that
Hutchison Ports Pakistan is partnering
with us to achieve our shared goal
of imparting life and other skills to
produce all-around, excellent human
beings for society”, he added.
Hutchison Ports Pakistan’s initiative
of supporting inclusive and
equitable education
of the students
and later providing
them internship
opportunities at
its terminal in
the Engineering
department is truly a
testament to its longterm
commitment to a
sustainable future.
Ahsan says Gwadar
completely neglected
in last four years
Federal Minister
for Planning
Ahsan Iqbal has
said that Gwadar,
the gateway of
China-Pakistan
E c o n o m i c
Corridor, has
been completely
neglected in the last four years.
He was talking to the media after his
meeting with the Vice-Chancellor
Government College University Lahore
Asghar Zaidi.
He said that due to negligence the
depth of the port was decreased from
18 meters to 11 meters and it is not
possible for a large ship to anchor
at the port. Only small ships were
anchored there. He termed it as a
criminal negligence against CPEC.
Earlier, during his meeting with the
Vice-Chancellor GCU, Ahsan Iqbal
has stressed the need for modernizing
teaching methodologies in the higher
education institutions.
22
TRADE CHRONICLE
Economic survey FY22
reviews maritime sector
Karachi Port Trust
During July-March FY2022, Karachi Port
Trust managed a total cargo container
volume of 39,713 million tonnes (Table
13.6). It recorded 1 percent increase
in total cargo and container handling
over the last year. While import cargo
container decreased by 2 percent and
export increased by 7 percent in the
period under review.
Port
Authority
Qasim
Port Qasim Authority
handled a total cargo
volume of 42.199
million tonnes in
first nine months
of FY2022. Out
of which 35.834
million tonnes were
imported and 6.365
million tonnes
were exported, as
illustrated in Figure1.
Gwadar
Authority
Port
Gwadar City
Development The
development of
Gwadar is a priority
for the Government
of Pakistan (GoP).
The
commercial,
political, socioeconomic,
and
regional connectivity
related benefits
that can be realized
once the port (and
the city) reaches its
full potential. Lying
at the mouth of the
Persian Gulf, Gwadar
is a strategic warm
water deep seaport
being developed
under CPEC.
In the win-win cooperation framework
between China and Pakistan, Gwadar
projects have achieved significant
progress. For a sustainable way
forward, the Federal Government and
Provincial Government of Balochistan
are making all-out efforts to realize the
planned CPEC projects in Gwadar at
the earliest. The master plan of Gwadar
city has been approved in the
FY2020. Also, the land use regulations
notified by GDA and the project for
implementation of the plan is in
progress. Work on NGIA is underway.
Eastbay Expressway project is
substantially completed and it will be
inaugurated in June 2022. Moreover,
Pak-China Vocational & Technical
Institute in Gwadar was inaugurated
in September 2021. Work on Pak-China
Friendship Hospital project at Gwadar
is underway and likely to achieve CoD
by November 2022. Also, projects
related to the provision of drinking
water such as "Necessary Facilities
of Fresh Water Treatment, Water
Supply and Distribution" & "1.2 MGD
Desalination Plant" are in construction
process. Measures are also underway to
expedite Gwadar 300 MW Coal Power
23
May - Jun - 2022
Plant, Construction of breakwater
and dredging of berthing areas and
channels.
Pakistan National Shipping
Corporation (PNSC)
Despite the prevailing unfavorable
macroeconomic condition of the
country, the PNSC Group has managed
to achieve (98 percent) increase in
profit after tax to Rs 2,446 million
as against Rs 1,235 million in the
corresponding period last year. Group
earnings per share
increased to Rs 18.52
million as against
Rs 9.35 million in
the comparable
period last year.
Cumulatively, the
Group achieved a
turnover of Rs 16,223
million (including Rs
6,295 million from
PNSC) as compared
to Rs 9,633 million
(including Rs 1,978
million from PNSC)
for the same period
last year. The major
increase was seen
in the Dry Cargo
segment (including
slot charter) which
was increased by Rs
3,036 million.
The revenue from
Liquid Cargo
segment increased
by Rs 3,543 million
mainly due to
increase of Rs 2,980
million from Foreign
flagged vessels. The
controlled strategies
implemented by
management caused
other expenses at
the group level to
fall by Rs 188 million
(52 percent). During
the nine months of
FY2022, the cost on
long-term financing decreased by Rs 46
million (11 percent). At present, PNSC
fleet comprises of 11 vessels of various
type/size (05 Bulk carriers, 04 Aframax
tankers and 02 LR-1 Clean Product
tankers) with a total deadweight
capacity (cargo carrying capacity) of
831,711 metric tons, i.e. highest ever
carrying capacity since inception of
PNSC.
TRADE CHRONICLE
DP World and CDPQ announce US$5 billion
investment in strategic assets in the UAE
DP World and CDPQ, a global
investment group, announced recently
an investment of US$5 billion (CA$6.3
billion) in three of DP World’s flagship
UAE assets.
CDPQ will invest US$2.5 billion in the
Jebel Ali Port, the Jebel Ali Free Zone and
the National Industries Park through a
new joint venture in which it will hold
a stake of approximately 22%, with the
remainder of the transaction being
financed by debt. Other long-term
investors will have the opportunity to
acquire an additional stake of up to
US$3 billion. The transaction implies a
total enterprise value of approximately
US$23 billion for the three assets.
· Jebel Ali
Port (JAP)
- A leading
international
gateway port and the second largest
outside of Asia, ideally located to serve
the East-West trade corridor through
its connectivity to 150 cities globally
via 180+ shipping lanes.
· Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) - The
largest free zone in the Middle East
and one of the largest in the world.
It is home to companies from 140
countries, including approximately
150 Fortune 500 enterprises.
· National Industries Park (NIP)
- A 21 sq. km area designated for
manufacturing and processing
companies.
May - Jun - 2022
Debt to EBITDA and this has been
achieved despite the challenges of
the pandemic and recent global
economic conditions. The significant
strengthening of our balance sheet, the
continued resilience of our business,
diversity in our portfolio and continued
focus on supply chain solutions will
support our target of achieving a strong
investment-grade rating for the Group.
Overall, we believe this transaction
provides a strong platform for the UAE
assets to meet their long-term growth
objectives, while the stronger balance
sheet supports the Group’s wider endto-end
supply chain solution strategy,
which will drive sustainable value for
all DP World stakeholders."
Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-
President and Head of Infrastructure
at CDPQ, said: "This investment in
The Jebel Ali Port, Free Zone and
National Industries Park together
comprise a best-in-class group of
infrastructure with a solid long-term
track record of growth. Combined,
they form a world-class integrated
ecosystem for the supply and logistics
chains of over 8,700 companies from
around the world, serving more than
3.5 billion people globally. The three
assets generated pro-forma 2021
revenue of US$1.9 billion.
The three assets will remain fully
consolidated businesses within
the DP World Group, and day-today
operations, customers, service
providers and employees will not be
affected.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group
Chairman and CEO, DP World, said:
"We are delighted to announce the
broadening of our partnership with
CDPQ. The DP World and CDPQ
co-investments have been very
successful, thanks to our
complementary expertise
and long-term investment
horizon. We believe this new
partnership will enhance
our assets and allow us
to capture the significant
growth potential of the wider
region. The transaction also
achieves our objective of
reducing DP World’s net
leverage to below 4x Net
24
Jebel Ali is another great illustration
of the partnership between CDPQ
and DP World, which now spans four
continents and eighteen terminals.
Today, we are pleased to deepen our
long-standing relationship with a
world-class logistics and supply chain
operator by investing in this strategic
trade infrastructure, one that will play a
pivotal role in the evolution of the global
economy. DP World is well positioned
to provide innovative solutions to
their customers worldwide, and we
welcome this opportunity to invest in
a best-in-class group of infrastructure
that provides CDPQ with exposure to
new fast-growing markets and trade
routes in Africa and South Asia."
Tranche 1 (US$5 billion) of the
transaction is expected to close in
the second or third quarter of 2022,
and tranche 2 (up to US$3 billion) is
expected to close during the fourth
quarter of 2022.
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
PFMA calls for luxury items
import ban to stay for five years
Chairman
of Pakistan
Footwear
Manufacturers
Association
( P F M A )
Mr Zahid
Hussain, has
said that due
to sustained
growth, the
country’s shoe
export is on
the higher side, and this stability in
the sector is a welcome sign. This is
mainly possible due to the effective
and dynamic trade policy for which
the government lent commendable
support. He said this while addressing
a press briefing at a Lahore hotel
recently.
“The govt decision to impose a ban on
the import of luxury goods is a wise
and right decision. We call upon the
government to sustain this ban for at
least five years so that the industry
could grow and exports could be
increased,” he said, adding that this
measure will also lead to the creation
of 25,000 jobs for engineers, diplomas,
degree holders and skilled workers.
Mr Zahid Hussain said this would
lead to 100 per cent local shoe
manufacturing during the next five
TDAP to organize conference
on Pak-China trade
Pakistan will organize a conference
on the impact of China Pakistan Trade
Agreement (CPFTA) on bilateral trade
and investment in the Mineral Sector,
Leather Sector, Meat and Fishery
Sector, Engineering Sector, Textile and
other Value Added Sectors.
Trade Development Authority of
Pakistan (TDAP), in collaboration with
the China Study Centre, Institute of
Business Administration (IBA)
Karachi and Applied Economics
Centre (AERC), is organizing a
daylong conference on the China
Pakistan Free Trade Agreement
(CPFTA) in Karachi on June 30.
years. “We had set the shoe
export target of USD 1 billion
for the year 2027, but hopefully,
we shall achieve this target by
2026,” he said, adding the component
and shoes-making production had
increased to 20 per cent and crossed
the exports target of USD 180 million.
He said that the PFMA is part of
the government strategy for cluster
development, which will also augment
the shoe manufacturing sector in
Pakistan to become the number in
the region besides competing Brazil,
Vietnam and China.
He requested the government to grant
concession in the taxes, "extension
in Local Taxes and Levies Drawback
(DLTL) scheme so that the sector
could progress and play an effective
part in the income generation,” he
maintained.
The footwear industry faces some
challenges that need the key
policymakers’ attention for immediate
resolution. Some of the most
important ones are the resumption
of the Extension in Local Taxes and
Levies Drawback (DLTL) scheme
for three years at least. It will enable
the industry to position itself in the
international market and waiving off
ACD and RD on all the raw materials
for the footwear industry and put them
in the lowest slab of custom duty to
promote “Made in Pakistan Initiative.”
The conference will provide
a platform for academics and
practitioners to present their
research and ideas on the current
trends in the bilateral trade between
Pakistan and China in the context
of CPFTA. This conference aims to
explore and identify potential areas to
increase the exports from Pakistan to
China. The conference will attempt to
bridge the gap between the researchers
and trade associations and bring
them together to discuss potential
opportunities from CPFTA.
The conference's overall
theme is the impact of China
Pakistan Free Trade Agreement
(CPFTA) on bilateral trade and
investment.
The exports of leather
tanned grow remarkably
in July-March 2022
According to Economic Survey for
FY21, the trend of Pakistan’s export of
major items remains more or less the
same, concentrating on three things:
cotton manufactures, leather and rice.
These three categories account for 69.9
percent of total exports during July-
Mar FY2022.
During this period, the export of
leather tanned grew remarkably in
quantity and value by 49.6 percent and
36.3 percent, respectively. The leather
industry witnessed a steady recovery
because of prudent government
policies and significant relaxations
in lockdown at various export
destinations.
In the case of sports goods, gloves
exports increased in quantity and value
by 132.5 percent and 16.4 percent,
respectively, during July-Mar FY2022.
Gloves exports were recorded at US$
56.7 million. Another major sports
good, football, increased quantity and
value by 37.8 percent and 40.3 percent,
respectively.
The forecast for football exports is
remarkable as FIFA World Cup is
set to commence in Doha, Qatar, in
November 2022. Pakistan has been the
official makers of match-ball since the
1982 FIFA World Cup. The ball named
‘Al-Rihla’ has been manufactured in
Pakistan by Adidas.
The USA is the largest export market
for Pakistan’s products, with a 20
percent share in Pakistan’s total export
in 2020-21. Pakistan’s main exports to
the USA are articles of apparel & home
textiles (78percent), intermediate
textile (6 percent), leather apparel (3
percent), sugar candy, rice, spices etc.
(3 percent), surgical goods (2 percent),
plastics and rubber (2percent), and
furniture & sports goods (2percent).
25
TRADE CHRONICLE
PTA budget's suggestion
Pakistan finished leather exports
continue posting an average growth of
over 30%, and the overall leather sector
with allied commodities 15% for the
last four months on a cumulative basis
from January to April 2022. However,
this growth can take a reverse trend
due to deep apprehension about the
discontinuation of the power tariff
to five export-oriented sectors of the
country, including the leather sector of
Pakistan.
Since the next budget FY23 is scheduled
in June, the Chairman, Pakistan
Tanners Association (PTA) Amanullah
Aftab, has requested the government
resolve pending issues.
Pakistan leather industry
exports grow in 10MFY22
According to data compiled by the
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Govt,
Pakistan's leather industry exports saw
a double-digit growth between July
2021 and April 2022 due to a noticeable
increase in finished leather, garments,
and footwear export. The leather
industry export revenue has surged to
US$818.283 million during this period
compared to $705.583 in 10MFY21, up
15.97 percent YoY.
Bangladesh sets export target
of $10-12bn for leather industry
The Bangladesh leather industry
has recorded tremendous growth
in the export of leather, goods, and
footwear during the first eleven
months of the ongoing financial year
2022. In addition, the government
has tentatively fixed a $10-12-billion
export target for the country's leather
and leather goods by 2030.
According to Bangladesh Export
Promotion Bureau (EPB), the country
Indian leather exports post
32.35% growth in FY22
According to the Indian Council for
Leather Export (CLE), the export
of Leather and Leather Products,
including Non-Leather Footwear had
earned US$ 4.872 billion during the
financial year - from April 2021 to
March 2022 against the acquiring of
$3.681 billion in April-March 2020-21,
recording a growth of 32.35% on YoY
01. Finalization with early issuance
of SRO in supersession of SRO # 711,
which is already expired in June’2021
for DLTL with the inclusion of “finished
leather” @ 4% irrespectively, which
is pending at cabinet for the final
approval for issuance of SRO.
02. Immediate removal of an
anomaly for 5% withholding sales tax
on the purchase of raw hides & skins
whereas the “raw hides & skins” is
already included in recently approved
finance act, 2021 under clause # 46aa as
“agriculture produce item” resultantly
all taxes is now exempted.
03. Request for removal of 100%
cash margin imposition on import
of tanning industry under two H.S.
The breakdown shows that
Pakistan exported 13.242
million sqr. mtr tanned leather
at $172.742 million, compared
to 9.045 million sqr mtr at $129.536
million, thus recording a growth of
46.40 percent and 33.35 percent in
terms of quantity and value dollar,
respectively, over July – April 2021.
Similarly, Pakistan exported leather
manufacturing worth $515.449 million
during this export period; (1.501
million dozen leather garments at
$262.106 million, 8.919 million dozen
earned export revenue of
US$1.115 billion between July
2021 and May 2022, compared
to $846.08 million earned in the
same eleven months of the previous
fiscal year. It translates to a growth of
31.85 on a YoY basis. The export has
surpassed the target of $ 944.78 million
by 18. 08%.
The breakdown shows that Bangladesh
received $139.93 million on exports of
finished leather between July and May
2022 compared to $108.84 million in
the same period last year, which shows
basis.
The breakdown shows that during the
twelve months of 2021-22, finished
leather exports rose in value by 20.59%
to $456.10 million from $378.23
million in the same period last year.
Leather footwear, up 37.80% to $2.047
billion from $ 1.485 billion, and leather
garments by 15.84% to $342.38 million
from $295.56 million during these
twelve months corresponding to last
May - Jun - 2022
codes # 3204.1300 & 3402.1190, which
is imposed.
04. Request for removal of irrational
condition of heath certificate
(quarantine) on import of raw materials
for tanning industry (rawhides & skins,
wet blue & pickled leather of cow,
buffalo, sheep & goatskins) as imposed
recently in import policy-2022.
leather gloves at $237.482 million and
other leather manufacturing $15.860
million) compared to $468.678 million
in July – April 2021. It recorded an
expansion of 9.98 percent.
Pakistan footwear export comprises
15.667 million pairs of shoes at $130.092
million during these ten months (July –
April 2022) of the current financial year
compared to 14.032 million pairs at
$107.369 million July-April 2021. Thus,
export recorded a growth of 11.65
percent in quantity and 21.16 percent
in value on a YoY basis.
a growth of 28.56%.
The exports of leather
products have also
expanded to $302.66
million during these eleven
months from the $225.81 million of the
same months of last year. It translates
to a growth of 34.03% on a YoY basis.
On a more positive development, the
leather footwear exports grew 31.59%
to $672.98 million in July – May 2022
from $511.42 million in the previous
fiscal year.
year.
The leather goods export also increased
by 36.30% to $1.287 billion from
$944.31 million during
this export period.
Similarly, Saddlery
and Harness export
rose to $276.10 million
from $186.18 million,
reflecting a growth of
48.30%.
26
TRADE CHRONICLE
May Nov - Jun Dec - 2022 2021
Mohamed bin Zayed
becomes UAE President
The UAE’s longtime
de facto ruler
Sheikh Mohamed
bin Zayed Al Nahyan
was recently elected
as President of the
country, a day after
the death of former
leader Sheikh Khalifa.
The 61-year-old was unanimously
elected by the Federal Supreme
Council, WAM news agency said,
becoming the ruler of the oil-rich
country founded by his father in 1971.
Sheikh Mohamed, often known as
“MBZ”, met members of the Federal
Supreme Council, made up of rulers
of the UAE’s seven emirates, as the
country enters a period of mourning
for his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa.
Sheikh Mohamed’s ascension, which
was widely expected, formalises his
position as leader of the desert state
of 10 million after years of calling
the shots while Sheikh Khalifa was
sidelined by poor health.
Under his low-key direction, the
United Arab Emirates has put a man
into space, sent a probe to Mars and
opened its first nuclear reactor, while
using its oil-funded clout to develop a
more assertive foreign policy.
Ahad Cheema appointed
advisor to PM
President Arif Alvi recently appointed
Ahad Khan Cheema, a former
bureaucrat, as Advisor to Prime
Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the
establishment.
The official notification for Cheema's
appointment stated that his
designation will be equal to that of a
Federal Minister.
Ambassador
D o n a l d
Bloom has
assumed the
office at the
US Embassy
in Islamabad.
US Ambassador
assumes office
According
to a press
release issued by the US Embassy,
Ambassador Bloom would lead the
ongoing efforts by the US mission
in Pakistan to promote bilateral
relations and work with the incumbent
government for a stable, secure and
prosperous future of this country.
The ambassador has possessed huge
experience and expertise to achieve
the set goals. On the occasion,
Ambassador Bloom said that he is
happy to be in Pakistan and finds it
an opportunity to know this beautiful
country and its people. On the
occasion of the 75th anniversary of the
establishment of relations between the
United States and Pakistan, he said that
he would continue to work for further
strengthening the relations between
the two countries.
Dr Murtaza Syed made
SBP acting governor
Dr Murtaza Syed,
Deputy Governor
of the State Bank
of Pakistan (SBP),
has taken over as
acting Governor
of the central bank
after the federal
government
decided not to extend the tenure of Dr
Reza Baqir after completing his threeyear
tenure.
“As the term of Governor SBP Dr Reza
Baqir has come to an end, as per law
the senior most Deputy Governor takes
over until further orders. Therefore Dr
Murtaza Syed, an eminently qualified
economist with rich IMF experience,
will take over as Governor SBP,” said
Federal Minister for Finance and
Revenue Miftah Ismail on twitter.
27
Ghulam Nabi Memon
appointed Sindh IGP
The federal
government has
approved the
appointment
of Ghulam
Nabi Memon as
Inspector General
(IG) Sindh Police,
local channel reported.
According to details, the federal
government appointed Ghulam Nabi
Memon as IG Sindh on the provincial
government’s recommendation.
Nabi is currently serving as Additional
Inspector General (AIG) in Karachi.
He has also served as AIG in Special
Branch.
It is to be noted that Kamran Afzal was
appointed the IG Sindh a few days
back. However, the Sindh High Court
(SHC) had stopped him from working
after he failed to present Dua Zehra,
who had run away from her home to
Lahore.
Journalist Fahd Husain
appointed SAPM
Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif has
appointed journalist
and political
commentator
Fahd Husain as his
special assistant, it
emerged recently.
The notification for Husain’s
appointment said’ “The Prime
Minister, in terms of rule 4(6) of Rules
of Business, 1973, has been pleased to
appoint Syed Fahd Husain as special
assistant to the Prime Minister with
the status of federal minister, with
immediate effect.”
The notification, issued by the Prime
Minister’s Office, had no details about
the newly appointed aide’s portfolio.
Husain, a senior journalist, has been
writing for various newspapers,
including Dawn and The Express
Tribune. He is also the anchorperson
of TV programme ‘In Focus’.
TRADE CHRONICLE
IFC to invest $25m
in fashion retailer
The International Finance Corporation
(IFC) is investing in Pakistan’s top
fashion retailer to create jobs, promote
gender equality, and support the
country’s crucial textiles sector in the
wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
IFC will invest the equivalent of $25
million in Pakistani rupees for a
minority stake in Khaadi Corporation,
which has 57 retail outlets spread
across Pakistan and also boasts
presence in the UK and GCC countries.
The funding will help the company
First woman police
surgeon appointed
Senior medico-legal officer Dr
Summaiya Syed became the first
woman who has been appointed as the
police surgeon.
Former police surgeon Dr Qarar Ahmed
Abbasi said that after late Prof Farhat
Mirza, Dr Syed was the first female
police surgeon who had expertise in
forensic science.
He said that Dr
Syed had a vast
experience in
medico-legal
cases.
He said it was a long-standing demand
of MLOs that the post of police surgeon
should be given to relevant technical
expert.
Mian Akram Farid becomes
acting EFP president
Mian Akram Farid, Director EFP
Board will serve as acting president
of Employer’s Federation of Pakistan
from June 7 to June 13, 2022.
According to the statement, a threemember
employer’s delegation from
Pakistan led by Zaki
Ahmed Khan, VP
EFP, were attending
the Internal Labour
Conference being
held in Geneva
while Ismail Suttar,
EFP President, was
leaving for US on
June 7.
accelerate its growth by expanding
its retail footprint and online global
sales. It will also indirectly support the
retailer’s suppliers in Pakistan, many of
whom are smaller businesses.
“The textiles and retail industry is a
core part of Pakistan’s economy and a
major employer of women, especially
in the garment sector,” said Zeeshan
‘Sindh opens for investment’
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad
Ali Shah recently said the potential
projects for investment in the province
included a wide variety of sectors
including water and the environment,
education and technology, industrial
zones, eco-tourism, urban ecosystems
and food security, with an estimated
cost of $6 billion.
Speaking at the Sindh Investment
Conference (SIC) in Davos, where
he was the chief guest, Mr Shah
highlighted the strides Sindh has made
over the last few years in achieving
socioeconomic development in sectors
such as health and education as well as
infrastructure and communications.
Mr Shah emphasised the government’s
continuous efforts to develop the
Thar Coal Project, which would be a
mainstay of energy production not only
for Sindh but for the whole country.
National Foods to set up
fifth plant in Faisalabad
National Foods Ltd is setting up its
fifth plant in the M4 Industrial City
of Faisalabad, said a company official
recently.
Briefing a group of journalists at the
Port Qasim factory of the manufacturer
of convenience-based food products,
the official said the 30-acre Faisalabad
plant will be the company’s biggest
production facility upon its completion
by the end of 2022.
Currently, the company operates three
plants in Karachi’s Port Qasim, SITE
and Nooriabad industrial estates and
one plant in Gujranwala. He didn’t
28
May - Jun - 2022
Sheikh, IFC Country Manager for
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Since 1956, IFC has invested over
$1.2 billion in Pakistan, helping to
support smaller businesses and
spur the development of renewable
energy, hydroelectric, and wind energy
projects.
He further highlighted Sindh’s rise in
the ease of doing business rankings
through dedicated efforts, which has
made investment protocols for both
domestic and foreign investors easier.
Mr Shah invited the audience to invest
in the multitude of opportunities being
offered in Sindh through an enabling
environment rooted in comprehensive
legal and institutional mechanisms
to ensure fair practices, transparency,
and attractive economic returns. The
SIC was organised on the occasion of
the World Economic Forum by Path
Finder and Martin Dow Group in
Davos, Switzerland.
share the size of the investment.
The company posted an
unconsolidated profit of Rs725 million
for January-March, up 39.3 per cent
from a year ago. Its quarterly sales grew
23.4pc to Rs8.4 billion.
Exports contributed 6.6pc to the
company’s gross sales in the first nine
months of 2021-22. Exports represent
the sales made to NF DMCC Dubai,
which is a wholly owned subsidiary
that National Foods set up in 2012 to
boost overseas business.
TRADE CHRONICLE
IFC appoints new country
manager for Afghanistan
& Pakistan
IFC has named Zeeshan
Sheikh as its new country
manager for Afghanistan
and Pakistan. Sheikh will
aim to mobilise private
sector investment across
key sectors, building on
IFC’s global expertise and influence as
a partner of choice for both public and
private sector stakeholders.
Sheikh, a British national, joined IFC
in 2010. He has worked extensively
on public-private partnerships and
innovative infrastructure investments
across the Middle East and North
Africa, often in frontier markets like
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan.
Careem partners with TDCP
Tourism Development Corporation
of Punjab (TDCP), the main wing of
Punjab Tourism department aimed
to promote tourism particularly in
Punjab and Pakistan in general, has
joined hands with Pakistan’s renowned
ride-hailing platform Careem. To
increase the magnitude of tourism,
this partnership is launching a new car
type specifically for guided tours called
“Safe and Secure Tourism (SST)” in
Lahore.
In this regard, TDCP and Careem
signed an agreement recently at the
head office of TDCP in Johar Town.
According to the agreement, TDCP will
train 10 Careem Captains to become
certified guides for visitors to the
historical and cultural city of Lahore.
Additionally, Careem will also become
the official partner of TDCP in mobility
to facilitate local and foreign tourists
visiting the country.
Talking on this occasion, Asadullah
Faiz, Managing Director TDCP, said
that, “Three routes have been finalized
for this service initially; the first
includes factual and instructive tours
of Lahore Museum, National history
museum, Lahore Fort, and Badshahi
Masjid. The second route would
facilitate the tourists to experience
the visits of landmarks of Mughal
Architecture like Wazir Khan Masjid,
Shahi Hamam, Shalimar Gardens
where they will get to see the craft
work and traditional skills. The third
route will take the tourists to Wahgah
Border.”
A delegation of Consumer Association
of Pakistan led by Chairman Kaukab
Iqbal called on Sharjeel Inam Memon,
Provincial Minister for Information
General Secretary Businessmen Group
AQ Khalil and Ex-Officio Karachi
Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Shariq Vohra presenting crest to
High Commissioner of Bangladesh
to Pakistan, Rahul Alam Siddique
during his visit to KCCI. Deputy
The United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of
Women (UN Women) and Nishat Mills
Limited (Apparel Division) signed
an agreement to strengthen their
cooperation and promote gender
Denim International Gases, a leading
manufacturer of International
Standard Industrial and Medical gases,
has signed a tender contract with
DOW University of Health Sciences
29
May - Jun - 2022
and Transport. Saleem Khan, Zalif
Haris and Manza Naeem were also
present on the occasion.
High Commissioner of Bangladesh
Mehboob Alam, Former Presidents
Majyd Aziz and Shamim Ahmed Firpo
along with KCCI Managing Committee
Members and others are also seen in
the picture.
equality in the workplace through
capacity building initiatives on
harassment and redressal mechanisms
and gender responsive policies and
procurement, among others.
(DUHS), DOW International Dental
College Hospital and Sindh Infectious
Diseases Hospital & Research Centre
in May 2022 for supply of Liquid and
Compressed Medical Gases.
TRADE CHRONICLE
Moin A. Malik becomes
CEO of TCS Logistics
TCS - Pakistan’s largest logistics
company, appoints Mr Moin A. Malik as
CEO of TCS Logistics Private Limited.
Malik has an illustrious career in the
logistics industry with which he has
been associated for over three decades.
Before joining TCS Logistics he was the
CEO of Agility Pakistan, a company he
led for over 20 years.
Malik’s first tenure at TCS started in
1984 and by the time he left in 1997 he
had held many senior management
positions. Malik is an active member of
ACAAP, PIFFA, and Founder Chairman
of FOAP (Fleet Operators Association
of Pakistan) and is an expert in modern
Areej Khan takes charge as Chief Human
Resource Officer at Telenor Pakistan
Telenor Pakistan
announced that
Areej Khan had been
appointed the chief
human resource
officer. Areej has
been associated with
Telenor Pakistan since the pre-launch
phase over 18 years ago.
Areej was heading the Digital Division
as Vice President in her most recent
role. During her tenure, she helped
Unilever Pakistan recycles plastic waste
Unilever Pakistan has collected and
recycled plastic waste equivalent to
half (50%) of the plastic used in its
operations annually. This has been
achieved in a period of two years, as
part of the ambition of becoming 100%
plastic neutral by 2025.
Amir Paracha, Chairman & CEO,
Unilever Pakistan said on the occasion,
“Protecting the world from the impact
of climate change needs all of us to
work collaboratively. Reducing the
plastic footprint is just one aspect of
this cause and one organization alone
cannot turn the tide. We must work
together to find innovative ways to
amplify the impact of positive climate
logistics and
transportation
networks. With
experience
in express
courier, freight
forwarding, 3PL
Logistics and
Distribution Services, Malik, has
frequently liaised with international
bodies and the Government to resolve
issues related to the logistics industry.
As CEO of TCS Logistics Private Limited,
he will be leading and transforming
Warehousing & Distribution (W&D),
Fleet, Overland and involved in
further development of new business
opportunities in areas such as TIR
(Transports Internationaux Routers),
International Freight Forwarding.
shape Telenor
Pakistan’s digital
strategy while
the company
emphasised growth through industryleading
initiatives, including launching
the biggest esports platform,
GameBird.
In her new role at Telenor Pakistan,
Areej will drive the people policy and
organisational culture, with Employer
Branding, Rewards and Talent
Acquisition falling under her domain.
She will formally assume charge from
August 1 2022.
for everyone.”
actions to create a
greener, cleaner, and
more prosperous world
The announcement was made as part
of celebrations of World Environment
Day 2022, where Unilever Pakistan
announced the results of a recent
partnership, titled ‘Dastan-e-Plastic’
with ISP Environmental Solutions
for the collection of plastic waste in
Lahore. The effort is part of a pilot
project, collecting plastic waste from
5,440 households in Lahore. The
project is expected to become selfsustaining
by the end of 2022, and
provides sustainable employment
for 22 scavengers and 21 informal
recyclers (kabaris).
On the day, Unilever Pakistan also
signed an MoU with Sharmeen
Polymers to use recycled plastic in
the packaging material developed
for Unilever products.
30
May - Jun - 2022
Reon Energy and Artistic
Milliners Announces 8.5 MW
Solar Power Project
Artistic Milliners, and Reon Energy
has announced an 8.5 MW captive
solar power project. The project is set
to be installed across Artistic Milliner’s
7 units located in Korangi, Landhi
and Port Qasim industrial areas in
Karachi. The 8.5 MW solar PV project
is expected to produce approximately
13.5 GWh (Gigawatt hours) annually.
The output energy will be used on-site
resulting in substantial savings for the
company in cost of energy and will
also cut around 8,279 tonnes of CO2
equivalent emissions annually.
Speaking of the project, Omer Ahmed,
Chief Executive Officer, Artistic
Milliners stated “Artistic Milliners has
been a forerunner in the global textile
industry and has spearheaded denim
innovation and sustainability across all
its processes. The 8.5 MW Solar power
project is an additional step towards
our commitment to a sustainable
future.” “The 8.5 MW solar power
project while increasing productivity
in the textile value chain can go a long
way in in accelerating growth in the
industry, increasing its contribution
to the national GDP and supporting
the livelihoods of several people,” said
Mujtaba Khan, Chief Executive Officer,
Reon Energy.
FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan
Limited (FCEPL), HBL, and Sindh
Enterprise Development Fund
(SEDF) collaborate to provide easily
accessible, subsidized financing
to dairy farmers in Pakistan with a
long-term commitment of five years.
The agreement was signed by Ali
Khan, Managing Director, FCEPL,
Muhammad Aurangzeb, President
& CEO – HBL, and Mehboob Ul
Haq, Managing Director, SEDF. Senior
members from both organizations
were also present at the occasion.
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
‘Telecom sector needs
to upgrade’
IT Minister Amin-ul-Haque has said
the telecom sector needed to upgrade
its infrastructure to improve quality
of services in the country. “Telecom
companies should now play their role
for gradation in urban areas as they
are being provided providing 90-95
percent subsidy for provision of mobile
services and broadband in un-served
and under-served areas,” Haque said.
Talking to a delegation of Telenor
Group, Haque said for the process
of digitalisation, it’s essential to
address public grievances and expand
networking while the ministry was
working to remove obstacles and
enhance cooperation with the telecom
sector, he added.
July-May mobile phone imports
soar 4.62pc to $1.946bn
Pakistan imported mobile phones
worth $ 1.946 billion during the first 11
months (July-May) 2021-22 compared
to $ 1.860 billion during the same
period of last year, registering a growth
of 4.62 percent, despite the increase in
local manufacturing, according to the
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The overall telecom imports into
the country during the period under
review (July-May) 2021-22 increased
by 11.15 percent going up from $ 2.337
billion in July-May 2020-21 to $2.597
billion during the same period of last
period.
On a month-on-month basis, imports
of mobile phones into Pakistan
decreased by 35.54 percent during May
2022 and remained $ 137.213 million
when compared to $ 212.881 million
imported in April 2022, the PBS data
He affirmed that the
ministry would put
efforts to reduce
taxes on the sector
and other issues
related to State
Bank of Pakistan
(SBP) and the right
of way (RoW) policy.
“Digital world
needs innovation in
all fields including
e-commerce, daily
routine, without it,
no one can compete with the rapidly
growing needs of the market.”
Speaking on the occasion, Telenor’s
head of Asia and executive vice
president Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup
extended their supports to the
country’s digital journey, saying new
revealed.
The local manufacturing plants
have manufactured/assembled
9.72 million phone handsets during
the first four months (January-April)
of 2022 compared to 0.86 million
imported commercially, the Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
said.
The local manufacturing plants have
manufactured/assembled 2.56 million
mobile phone handsets in April 2022
against 0.25 million commercially
imported. The manufactured/
assembled mobile phone handsets
by local manufacturing plants during
the calendar year 2021 stood at 24.66
million compared to 13.05 million in
2020, i.e. 88 percent increase.
The commercial imports of mobile
phone handsets stood at 10.26 million
in 2021 compared to 24.51 million in
2020, revealed the official data of the
Pakistan’s No.1 Voice and Data Network Ufone 4G
introduces Industry’s ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’
technologies were imperative to bridge
the digital and connectivity divide.
Telenor Pakistan CEO Irfan Wahab
was of the view that connectivity is
the backbone of advancing society,
and stressed for steps to improve the
quality of services in the sector.
PTA.
The locally manufactured/assembled
9.72 million mobile phone handsets
included 5.69 million 2G and 4.03
million smartphones.
Further, as per the PTA data, 53 percent
of mobile devices are smartphones
and 47 percent are 2G on the Pakistan
network. However, despite the
increase in the local production of
mobile phones, mobile phones were
worth $ 1.946 billion during the first
eleven months (July-May) of 2021-22
compared to $ 1.860 billion during the
same period of last year.
Pakistan’s No.1 Voice and Data
Network, Ufone 4G has introduced the
industry’s biggest and most affordable
hybrid bundle, ‘Sab Se Bari Offer’ to
provide its customers with the best
user experience possible. Ufone 4G’s
hybrid bundle offers greater usability,
control, and enablement to its users
so that they stay connected for longer
through the company’s superior voice
and data while they engage in activities
related to work, education, or leisure.
31
TRADE CHRONICLE
Telenor Pakistan helps
businesses scale new heights
Telenor Pakistan
partnered with
Daewoo Adda,
Pakistan's fastest
growing trucking
platform and a
Daewoo Group's
affiliated company -
to provide them with
a tailor-made enterprise resource
planning (ERP) solution to manage
and automate a wide range of business
Reiterating their commitment to
accelerate digital inclusion in the
country, Jazz and UNDP Pakistan
organized a ‘Girls in ICT’ event
highlighting the importance of digital
skills for
women and
promoting
D i g i t a l
G e n d e r
Inclusion
through
enhanced
access to ICTs (Information and
Communications Technology).
According to the GSM Association
(GSMA) there exists a significant
digital gender gap in Pakistan where
approximately 38% of women
are less likely than men to own a
smartphone and 49% do not use
mobile internet. Furthermore, there
are drastic differences in levels of
processes.
Jazz and UNDP commit to accelerate
digital inclusion amongst women
Over one million Nokia feature
phones produced in Pakistan
HMD Global, the home of Nokia
phones, has achieved the milestone
of producing over one million locally
assembled mobile phones in Pakistan
in just 6 months after setting up
the assembly unit in the country.
The company partnered with
Techno Pak Electronics (Private)
Limited last year in setting up the
assembly plant of Nokia phones
in Pakistan which has invested
an amount of $2 million in its
factory & related channels in
2021 which generated over 500
skilled jobs so far. Arif Shafique,
The signing ceremony was also
attended by Ghulam Hasnain Nasir
– VP B2B Telenor, Kamran Tariq -
Country General Manager Daewoo
Adda and Wali Mohammad – Head of
Enterprises Solution Telenor.
ICT access between
different population
groups, particularly the
rural and marginalised
women and girls.
Considering this prevailing scenario,
the event included a panel discussion
on ‘How to
enhance
D i g i t a l
Literacy
amongst
school-going
girls?’ with
chief guest
SAPM on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima
Khawaja, Additional Secretary of
Ministry of IT & Telecommunications
Ayesha Moriani, Director
Communications and Sustainability
at Jazz, Fatima Akhtar, and Founder of
AGAHI and Lecturer at NUST Puruesh
Chaudhary, in participation. Ideas were
exchanged on multi-level solutions
towards ensuring safe and meaningful
access to digital technology and ICTs
for girls.
Country Manager Pakistan HMD
Global, the home of Nokia phones,
said, “Nokia Phones continue to be
a favourite product among different
ages of mobile phone users in Pakistan
for the past many years.
May - Jun - 2022
Askari Bank signs MoU
with Easypaisa
Askari Bank Limited has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with
Easypaisa with an aim to expand its
digital banking offerings.
Askari bank has always been at the
forefront of providing state of the art
digital solutions to its customers. Our
strategic alliance with Easypaisa is yet
another step forward in this direction.
This partnership will enable us to
provide OTP based cash in & Cash out
services, Biometric services for proof of
life for pension accounts and dormant
account activation.
In-return Askari bank will offer
employee banking solution and
retailer payment collections through
branch banking OTC services, which
will be another major revenue stream
for the bank.
The MOU was signed by Atif Riaz
Bokhari, President & CEO, Askari Bank
and M Mudassar Aqil, President & CEO,
Telenor Microfinance Bank / Easypaisa
in the presence of other senior officials
from both organisations.
The demand for our handsets has been
evident in the local market with the
production of over one million units in
a very short span of time.”
The plant capacity is to produce over
half a million mobile phones per month
and our aim is to assemble the
complete range of Nokia phones
from Pakistan.
HMD Global has made a
significant contribution to the
economy through the transfer
of technology to the local level,
tax revenues to the national kitty,
saving of foreign exchange and
most importantly creating of
more local jobs.
32
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
Pakistan Banks’ profitability impacts
15-20% due to propose increased taxation
The government has introduced major
changes in Federal Budget FY23 for the
banking sector, which will significantly
impact the industry’s bottom line.
These changes include 1) an increase
in the corporate tax rate for banks,
2) an additional 2% tax on poverty
alleviation, and 3) an increase in the tax
rate on interest income on government
securities.
As per the Finance Bill, the corporate
tax rate has been increased from 35%
to 45% from the tax year 2023 and
onwards (CY2022 and forward), and
the super tax of 4% has been abolished.
Hence, the tax rate has increased
by 6%, from 39% to 45%, which will
impact earnings from 2022 onwards.
An additional 2% poverty alleviation
tax has been imposed on the banking
sector (banks with earnings of
Rs300mn and above) from the Tax
year 2022 onwards (CY2021 onwards)
as per 7CA of the Seventh Schedule of
Income Tax ordinance. Furthermore,
the tax rate on the interest income
from government securities with banks
NBP signs MoU with PTA
Pakistan
Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) and National Bank of
Pakistan have signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) for provision
of consumer financing facilities to
PTA employees. The MoU is aimed
as mutually beneficial for both
the organisation and it will further
strengthen NBP’s partnership with
PTA. NBP is capitalizing on its large
corporate relationships by offering
specialized priority services and
awareness sessions for the employees
of large corporates like PTA to meet
their personal banking/financing
needs and banking to employees’
workplace for facilitation and better
customer service.
Faisal Ahmed (SEVP & Group Head
– Consumer Assets Group, NBP) and
Muhammad Abdur Rub Khan (Director
– Payroll & Cash, PTA) along with other
senior executives of NBP and PTA were
having an ADR
of 50% or more
is increased from
35% to 45%.
For banks with ADR of 40-50%, the
rate has risen to 49% from 37.5%; for
banks with ADR of less than 40%, it is
increased to 55%. The Finance Bill also
clarifies that this tax will apply on total
income attributable to real investment
in government securities and not on
additional income.
Implementing the said tax rate
increase on a certain ADR threshold
will apply retrospectively from CY2021
onwards (Tax Year 2022 and forth). It
will likely lead to a higher effective tax
rate of around 53% in 2022 and will
settle down to ~48% in 2023.
Since the SBP amendment Act 2021,
the government has to rely mostly
on commercial bank borrowing to
finance its fiscal needs, resulting in
a rise in secondary market yields on
government securities. We believe
that to limit banks from taking undue
advantage of the given situation;
the government has imposed higher
taxation on banks, especially on the
interest income from government
also present to grace the occasion.
Both organisations will also pave the
way for bringing banking to employees’
workplace for facilitation and better
customer service. The arrangement
will further support access to banking
finance for PTA employees.
NBP is presently offering a wide range
of consumer financing products that
inter alia include “Personal Loans”,
“Financing against Gold”, “House
Loans” and “Auto Loans”. The bank
holds lion’s share in the category of
personal loans and is a prominent
player in the industry for provision of
low-cost housing.
securities.
The above-announced measures will
impact the sector’s profitability by
around 20% for 2022 and 15% for 2023.
Banks will now gradually try to shed
high-cost deposits and look to increase
exposure in advances to minimize the
impact of these measures. Banks may
also contest this huge increase in taxes
from relevant authorities.
After these measures, Topline Banking
Universe earnings are expected to grow
by 10% in 2022 and remain flat in 2023.
We maintain our ‘Overweight’ stance
on the banking sector as it trades at
attractive PE of 4.3x and PBV of 0.6x.
Courtesy - Topline Securities
JS Bank offers to open RDA
accounts via WhatsApp
JS Bank has
become 14th
bank to join
the State Bank
of Pakistan’s
Roshan Digital
A c c o u n t
(RDA) initiative, allowing Non-Resident
Pakistanis (NRPs) to open bank accounts
digitally, a statement said recently.
JS Bank is offering NRPs to open their
accounts via WhatsApp, enabling
unmatched convenience for users. This
is part of a multi-channel platform
approach, which includes JS mobile and
internet banking, the bank said. A launch
ceremony to mark the occasion was
held in Karachi. Governor (Acting) SBP
Murtaza Syed was prominent with his
presence along with founder JS Group
Jahangir Siddiqui, president and CEO
JS Bank Basir Shamsie, and business
community and corporate leaders.
33
TRADE CHRONICLE
Loans on collateral basis: NBP starts
facilitating farmers through ‘EWRF’ system
National Bank of
Pakistan (NBP)
has started
facilitating farmers
through Electronic
Warehouse Receipt
Financing.
The NBP is now facilitating farmers
in acquiring loans through Electronic
Warehouse Receipt Financing (EWRF).
The simple process will allow farmers
to open their accounts, provide
collateral and receive a loan up to 70
NBP launches the Aitemaad Islamic
Banking window, Rawalpindi
The Islamic Banking Window of NBP
Aitemaad at Main Branch, Rawalpindi,
was inaugurated by Mr Gul Bahar Khan,
EVP / General Manager – Islamabad
Cluster and Mr Saquib Haider Loan,
Regional Head, AIBR-FEDC. Ms Zahida
Hameed, Regional Head Rawalpindi,
Ms Mahum Tariq, SVP/Chief Branch
Manager Main Branch Rawalpindi, and
PITB and Faysal Bank sign
MoU to facilitate freelancers
In a special ceremony held at Arfa
Technology Park , Punjab Information
Technology Board (PITB) and Faysal
Bank Limited (FBL) signed an MoU to
facilitate freelancers across Pakistan.
The MoU was signed by PITB DG
e-Governance Sajid Latif and FBL
Head CIBG Ali Waqar on behalf of their
respective organizations.
Senior officials from both organizations
including PITB’s JD Freelancing Wing
Pak-Qatar Family Takaful (PQFTL)
signed MOU with WAADA
Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited
(PQFTL) came into an MOU with
WAADA, to promote Takaful products
through the digital medium. WAADA
and PQFTL aim to make Takaful
products, affordable, and accessible
for the major part of the population
currently not being served.
Mr. Azeem Iqbal Pirani (CEO, PQFTL),
Mr. Ishaq Kothawala (CEO, WAADA)
and Mr. Zeeshan Haider (Head of
Alternate distribution & Banca Takaful),
signed the MOU along with senior
percent of the
collateral’s
price.
EWRF system aims to make farmers’
journey easy and profitable from crop
cultivation to sale. The loan facility
can be obtained for a period of up to
6 months by securing an electronic
warehouse receipt as collateral.
To open an account in the electronic
warehouse receipt the farmers can
contact the warehouse operator
of Naymat Collateral Company
Management with their CNIC and
photo.
Mr Muhammad
Farhan, Project
Coordinator
IBW AIBR-FEDC
Islamabad.
The launch of Islamic Banking
windows will allow NBP to
serve its customers with tailormade
financial solutions while
growing its overall position as
the leading Islamic Banking
player in the industry.
Ahmed Islam, State Bank of Pakistan’s
Senior Officer Ali Atta, and Payoneer’s
Country Manager Mohsin Muzaffar
and Partnerships Manager Affaf Noor
were also present.
According to the MoU, PITB and
Faysal Bank would collaborate to
support endeavors and activities of
mutual interest for the facilitation of
freelancers by offering them a “Digital
Freelancer Account”.
In particular, FBL would provide
the Digital Freelancer Account to
officials
of both
companies.
On the occasion, Mr.
Azeem Iqbal Pirani
(CEO, PQFTL) said
“We are delighted
to sign MOU with
WAADA as this will benefit customers
from choosing Shariah-compliant
Takaful products with ease and
upon competitive rates. The world is
moving towards digital medium and
partnership with WAADA will further
enhance our reach and help us spread
awareness about Takaful products.”
May - Jun - 2022
After account opening, farmers can
store their products in the relevant
warehouse, where after confirming the
quality and quantity, the warehouse
receipt will be issued. Farmers can
use this receipt to obtain the loan
from the bank where required support
will be extended to complete the
documentation process to avail loan
facility as per needs.
EWRF also facilitate the applicant to
pay back the dues when the farmers
have a fair price for crops, thus giving
them the advantage to have a return on
their harvest after paying warehouse
rent and Naymat collateral fee.
existing and to-be PITB graduates
as well as sponsor different events
organized by PITB related to digital
technology, youth empowerment,
and freelancing ecosystem. Besides
many other benefits, FBL would also
give laptops to the top performer and
mobile phones to the second and third
top performers of each batch as an
appreciation of emerging freelancers.
Furthermore, FBL would market and
give partner privilege to PITB owing
to the organization’s large freelancers’
base across Pakistan (alumni and
trainees).
Ishaq Kothawala (CEO, WAADA) said,
“Waada aims to make insurance and
Takaful a simple product, affordable
and accessible for the major part of the
population currently not being served.”
He further said that he is quite hopeful
that this new strategic partnership will
bring fruitful results in near future.
34
TRADE CHRONICLE
Pak-Qatar Takaful Group achieved turnover PKR 11bn
Pak-Qatar Takaful Group, which
comprises of Pak-Qatar Family Takaful
Limited and Pak-Qatar General Takaful
Limited, reviewed and approved
the financial statements of both
the Companies for the year ended
December 31, 2021 during the Board
meeting recently. Pak-Qatar Takaful is
Pakistan’s Pioneer and largest Takaful
Group operating for more than a
decade with the largest Takaful branch
network nationwide.
Pak-Qatar Takaful Group achieved
an aggregate turnover of around PKR
11 Billion. The Group Shareholders
HBL partners with PAFLA to enable
Pakistan’s freelance industry
HBL has entered into a strategic
alliance with Pakistan Freelancers
Association (PAFLA), a non-profit
organization founded to empower
Pakistani freelancers. The partnership
will enable the freelancing individuals
and start-ups to become part of the
Banking segment through HBL’s
Freelancer Digital Current Account &
Solutions.
The agreement was signed by Abrar
Ahmed Mir, Chief Innovation &
Financial Inclusion Officer – HBL
and Kazi Rahat Ali, Secretary General
– PAFLA. Muhammad Aurangzeb,
President & CEO – HBL and other
senior leaders from both organizations
were also present at the ceremony.
Fund posted a net consolidated profit
after tax of PKR 207.5 Million; while,
Participant Takaful Fund generated the
net consolidated surplus of PKR 54.8
Million for the year 2021.
Profit before tax of
Pak-Qatar Family
Takaful Limited
(PQFTL) increased
to PKR 225 Million
as compared to PKR
208 Million last year, a growth of 8%
despite all challenges (economic and
political) and the global pandemic
caused by COVID-19. The company
minimum
balance
constraints (Freelance
digital account). This
collaboration will enable
freelancers and start-ups to enjoy a
seamless banking experience and will
also bring them into the fold of the
formal economy of the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Abrar Mir,
Chief Innovation & Financial Inclusion
Officer – HBL, said, “HBL is delighted
to be entering into this partnership
with PAFLA to facilitate freelancers
May - Jun - 2022
has increased its balance sheet footing
through impressive growth in its
investments and financing portfolio.
Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited
(PQGTL) posted the profit before tax of
PKR 46 Million as compared to PKR17
Million last year, a growth of 170%.
Earnings per share (EPS) of Pak-Qatar
Family Takaful Limited was recorded at
PKR 1.34 while PKR 0.64 for Pak-Qatar
General Takaful Limited.
The Board appreciated the
management for their efforts despite
Pandemic on the impressive results of
the Group.
and start-ups to grow their businesses
by using HBL’s digital network.”
Ibrahim Amin, Co-Founder – PAFLA
also lauded HBL’s efforts for this
initiative and said, “We are pleased
to see innovative solutions being
launched by HBL that offer a myriad of
benefits to Freelancers in Pakistan, in
addition to driving digital payments.
Further, the collaboration would help
grow inward remittances and provide a
platform to boost the thriving start-up
ecosystem.”
HBL is committed to encourage
freelancers and start-ups by offering
them online- accounts with no
Meezan Bank attracts
$1bn in RDAs
The acting Governor State Bank of
Pakistan (SBP) Dr Murtaza Syed
recently visited Meezan Bank’s Head
Office in Karachi along with the Deputy
Governor Sima Kamil and the bank’s
senior management. The Governor
inaugurated the Digital Centre, built
purposefully for catering to the needs
of Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA)
customers.
Chairman Meezan Bank’s Board
Riyadh S A A Edrees, Meezan Bank’s
Founding President and CEO Irfan
Siddiqui and the bank’s senior officials
were also present on the occasion.
Irfan Siddiqui thanked the
State Bank for their support
in the RDA initiative and their
patronage in inaugurating
Meezan Roshan Digital
Centre and said that Meezan
Bank has always been fully
committed to supporting
this important initiative.
35
Meezan Bank, Pakistan's leading
Islamic bank, attained Payment Card
Industry Data Security Standard
certification (PCI DSS v3.2.1) by
Payment Card Industry Security
Council (PCI SSC) through PCI QSA
Firm - Risk Associates, a premier global
information technology company.
TRADE CHRONICLE
BankIslami records 34pc
growth in PAT for 1Q22
BankIslami recorded some 34 percent
growth in Profit After Tax for the first
quarter of this year (1Q22).
Underpinned by growth in customer
base, increase in income levels and
improvements in cost efficiency;
BankIslami’s underlying operating
profit before provisioning for 1Q22
registered an increase by 95.8% i.e.
increase from Rs684m recorded during
1Q21 to Rs1,339m during 1Q22.
With respect to its balance sheet,
BankIslami had a robust start to the
year 2022 wherein it continued its
UBL launches “UBL Datathon”
with Habib University
The UBL in collaboration with
Habib University launched the
“UBL Datathon”, the first of its kind
initiative in the Banking industry. The
Datathon used UBL’s market leading
digital capabilities, combined with
the academic excellence of Habib
University to provide a platform to
the best and brightest technology
enthusiasts of Pakistan.
The participants competed to provide
technology-based solutions to real
life challenges faced by the financial
Faysal Bank introduces hotel booking
services in partnership with Ascendant
Faysal Bank Limited, in partnership
with Pakistan’s largest hospitality
technology company - Ascendant, has
launched a hotel booking platform
for its customers that enables
them to conveniently book hotels
online through their website: www.
faysalbank.com.
The website offers 1600+ hotels
and guest houses in 50 cities across
Pakistan. This initiative by Faysal
Islami, a leading Islamic Bank of
strategy to improve its deposit mix
and deployment of liquidity towards
profitable Shariah compliant avenues.
Consequently, Bank’s Current Account
composition improved from 39.0% in
Dec’21 to 40.4% in Mar’22. Likewise,
the Bank diverted its asset mix
towards better yielding corporate and
consumer segments which was in line
with increase in domestic demand.
As a result, the net Islamic Financing
of the Bank grew by 8.2%, whereas a
decline of 23.9% was witnessed in its
treasury placements.
Owing to growth in credit book and
persistent recovery efforts against
delinquent exposures, infection ratio
services industry. Several innovative
business ideas and solutions driven
by Data Analytics and Artificial
Intelligence were submitted by
the participants. These were judged
by global thought leaders including
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, DBS,
Kaggle, Maybank and Commonwealth
Pakistan and winner
of Best Islamic bank
for Transformation
and innovation at
the Global Islamic Finance Awards
(GIFA), marks an integral step towards
the promotion of domestic tourism.
In addition, the bank also plans to
introduce international hotels to this
service to facilitate customers who
wish to travel abroad.
Speaking on the occasion at the launch
ceremony, Aneeq Malik, Group Head
Consumer Finance and Payment
Services Faysal Bank said: “We always
aim to bring the best banking services
to our customers at their fingertips.
CEO of Ascendant, Andre Privateer
said: As the only hospitality tech
provider able to offer real time rates
and availability at more than 80% of
Pakistan’s hotels, we serve the tourism
sector by making the online booking
experience better for the consumer.
reduced from 8.7% in
Dec’21 to 8.1% in Mar’22
with an improved
coverage ratio (including
general provision) of
91.4% in Mar’22 versus
89.6% in Dec’21.
May - Jun - 2022
To improve overall credit risk
profile, the Bank booked additional
provisioning against its existing and
potential delinquencies during the
1Q22. Despite recording additional
provisioning, the Bank posted Profit
After Tax amounted to Rs522m for
the quarter ended March 31, 2022,
depicting a growth of 33.9% from PAT
of Rs390m posted during same period
last year.
Bank.
Shazad G Dada, President & CEO UBL
in his keynote address presented on
the global and domestic trends that are
shaping the financial services industry
and how banks must transform into
Data Driven Organizations.
MMBL: Best Retail Bank
Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited
(MMBL), Pakistan’s largest digital
bank, has been recognized for its
services in offering innovative digital
financial solutions at the 13th Annual
Retail Banker International (RBI), Asia
Trailblazer Awards 2022.
MMBL won the prestigious title of
'Best Retail Bank in Pakistan' along
with an honorable mention of 'Highly
Commended’ for Excellence in Client
Onboarding through its premium
digital financial services application -
MMBL DOST.
36
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
Pakistan Autos May numbers
released, a sharp 46% yoy
In May 2022, automobile industry
sales rose by a sharp 46% yoy (flattish
mom) to c 23,000 units. The Economy
segment continues to drive the robust
yoy growth in industry sales. Thus,
11MFY22 sales clocked in at c 250,000
units (up a strong 50% yoy). Despite
normalized working hours in May
(following Eid festivities during the
first week), volumes remained flattish,
likely due to supply chain issues.
Among INDU models, combined
volumes of the Premium segment cars
(Fortuner and Revo), increased by c
50% yoy, while combined Corolla &
Yaris volumes increased by a relatively
softer 18% yoy. The shift in production
towards the Premium segment (earlier
had been delayed), is likely to have
resulted in the increase in Premium
segment, experts view.
PSMC sales clocked in at a c 12,250
units, up a sharp 47% yoy, led by
handsome growth in Alto and Wagon R
volumes. The recently launched Swift
continued to rake up decent volumes
of c 1,750 units. We believe Swift sales
are likely to support margins of the
company in the coming quarter.
Gauss Auto to establish
EV plant in Karachi
Gauss Auto has announced to establish
an Electric Vehicle (EV) plant in
Pakistan’s Special Economic Zone.
The plan is to enter into a joint venture
(JV) with AKD Group Holdings (Pvt)
Limited and set up the plant near Port
Qasim, Karachi on around 1,000 acres
of land.
HCAR sold 2,910 units in May (below
the 3,000 units level for the fifth
time since July 2021), up 45% yoy,
led by combined Civic & City sales of
2,681 units, on account of rolling out of
both the new City and new Civic. On a
mom basis, overall volumes increased
by 11%.
Tractor sales rose by 17% yoy at 4,906
units. Volumes of AGTL increased by a
sharp 85% yoy to c 2,400 units (down
8% mom), while that of MTL decreased
by 14% yoy (up 12% mom). The decline
in MTL sales is likely due to reduced
exports, in our view. We expect tractor
sales to continue the uptrend in the
coming months amid elevated farmer
income and abolishment of GST in the
recently announced budget, experts
view.
Auto sales continued the handsome
yoy growth in May, despite measures
taken by both the government and SBP
to moderate growth in auto sales, as
the OEMs are likely delivering orders
booked at least 3-4mths prior.
Going forward, industry growth is
likely to retract in 2HCY22 due to (i)
measures aimed at reducing autofinancing
(including higher interest
rates), (ii) recent increase in prices,
(iii) longer delivery lead times on
account of supply-chain issues (parts
and container issues), and (iv) increase
in advance tax and possible austerity
measures to reduce government
expenditures on car purchasing.
Lockdowns in China due to Covid and
the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict
are likely to exacerbate supply chain
constraints.
Courtesy – Intermarket Securities Limited
Gauss Auto is an enterprise focusing
on the innovation and development
of automobiles and the integration
of resources. It is registered in Silicon
Valley, California, and operates in
Shanghai, China.
A delegation led by Chen Feng, CEO
Gauss Auto Group and CEO AKD
Group Holding, Nasir Rizwan visited
the BoI recently and held a detailed
Pakistan Auto Sector Update
According to latest development, State
bank of Pakistan (SBP) has tightened
consumer lending rules to trim loan
growth in auto sector.
Under new regulations, the maximum
tenure of auto finance has been
reduced from five years to three years
for cars above +1000cc while maximum
tenure of auto finance for cars upto
1000cc has been reduced from seven
years to five years. These changes in
regulations are applicable to both
imported vehicles and manufactured/
assembled vehicles.
According to a research house, 30-
40% of the cars sold are purchased
on consumer financing. Further,
company wise this varies; 40-50% of
PSMC sales are on financing, ~30% for
INDU and ~30-40% for HCAR (before
rate hike this was ~40-50%)
To note, previously
SBP has imposed
restriction of overall
auto financing
limits availed by
one person will not
exceed Rs3mn at any point in time.
This has allowed PSMC to gain higher
share in the auto financing because
they deal in the small car segment.
Despite the rising trend in KIBOR
and tightening of auto-financing, we
expect local car sales to remain strong
because of pent-up demand as evident
from car delivery period. Currently
delivery period of PSMC is 3-7 months,
INDU 3-6 months and HCAR 3-11
months which are expected to keep
yearly volume assumptions intact.
meeting with Federal Minister BoI
Chaudhry Salik Hussain and Secretary
BoI Fareena Mazhar.
37
TRADE CHRONICLE
Indus Motor stamps a landmark
1 million vehicles production
Indus Motor Company (IMC) had
announced a landmark achievement of
having produced one million vehicles
in may since it began mass production
back in 1993.
The one millionth unit, a Toyota Corolla
Grande, was lined off at the company’s
plant at Karachi, amidst much fanfare.
The celebration was attended by over
4,000 employees and representatives
from Toyota, which included Yoshiki
Konishi, current Executive Advisor
& President-elect, Toyota Daihatsu
Engineering & Manufacturing, (TDEM)
from June 2022.
Since commencement of commercial
production, the company has to date,
Country’s first EV charging
station opened in Karachi
Pakistan’s first ultra-rapid DC charging
station for electric vehicles has been
inaugurated in Karachi. The Audi,
in collaboration with SIEMENS has
unveiled Pakistan’s first and only Ultra-
Rapid DC charging station equipped
with Siemens SICHARGE D series
chargers with power up to 160kW in
Karachi.
Speaking as the chief guest on the
occasion, Administrator Karachi
Barrister Murtaza Wahab said, “I am
happy to have inaugurated along with
the German Ambassador, Pakistan’s
first ultra-rapid EV charging station in
Karachi.”
“I am particularly pleased to be
present today at the inauguration of
this example of brand new German
innovation. The future is electric - we
are learning that more and more today
in times of climate change and global
warming. However, electro-based
mobility also requires a corresponding
infrastructure. I am pleased that
another step in this direction is being
cumulatively produced
761,700 Corolla, 45,400 Yaris,
111,900 Hilux and Fortuner,
under the Toyota badge whilst
81,000 Cuore with the Daihatsu badge.
Expressing himself, the company’s
Chairman, Mohamedali R Habib said,
“Toyota & Japan have remained the
most committed partners for Pakistan
and very recently, we celebrated the
70th anniversary of the establishment
of the country’s diplomatic relations
with Japan.
We value our relationship and send
our warmest wishes to the people of
Japan. The level of localization we
have achieved would not have been
possible without the constant support
and endeavors of our partners.
taken here today.” said
Germany’s Ambassador
to Pakistan Hon Bernhard
Schlagheck.
CEO of Premier Systems
Syed Arshad Raza said,
“As announced, 2020
marked the start of
Audi in Pakistan’s major
electric offensive. We
successfully launched
the e-Tron model range
and are already following
that up with the next
model, the dynamic and fascinating
e-Tron GT. We can proudly say that
Audi is the number #1 brand of any car
manufacturer in Pakistan leading this
transformation. Audi is also making an
important contribution to the urgently
needed expansion of the charging
infrastructure, and the LIBRA Charging
Hub is the first step in achieving this
goal.”
Commenting on the launch of LIBRA
Charging Hub, CEO of Siemens
Pakistan Markus Strohmeier said
"We need significantly more charging
points in Pakistan to cater to the
growing requirements of electric
May - Jun - 2022
PSMC expects decline
in sale in FY23
Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC)
conducted its 1Q2022 analyst briefing
recently where the management
discussed financial results of the
company and its future outlook.
Company expect 5-10% decline in
volumetric sales in FY23 amid higher
car prices, increase in interest rates and
reduction in consumer finance tenure.
To highlight, PSMC’s 35% of total sales
are from consumer financing.
Out of the total sales of the company,
around 40% of the sales is in rural areas
whereas the remaining 60% of the sales
is in urban areas.
Gross margins of the
company declined in
1Q2022 to 2.8% from
3.6% in 4Q2021 on the back of currency
devaluation, higher inflation and
shortages of shipping containers that
led to an increase in freight costs as
company still uses air freight. However,
it is anticipated that this impact will
reduce in the upcoming months.
vehicles. For that reason, stakeholders
including policymakers, investors, and
power utilities must continue their
efforts in the coming years."
Needless to mention, the country has
now National Electric Vehicles Policy,
with targets and incentives aimed at
seeing electric vehicles capture 30
percent of all the passenger vehicle
and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030
and 90 percent by 2040. It sets even
more ambitious goals for two- and
three-wheelers and buses; 50 percent
of new sales by 2030 and 90 percent by
2040. The world is now moving toward
electric vehicles and Pakistan would
follow suit.
38
TRADE CHRONICLE
May - Jun - 2022
PIA reports operating
profit of Rs 2.5 billion
The Pakistan International Airlines
(PIA) has reported an operating profit
of Rs 2.5 billion. The annual report was
presented by the Acting CEO of PIA
Amir Hayat to the PIA shareholders
in the sixth annual meeting of PIA
Corporation Limited held in Karachi.
According to the details, the airlines
revenue has decreased in 2021 as
compared to 2020 due
to the closure of 60
percent of PIA routes.
However, as soon
as the routes were
restored in the last
quarter, PIA’s revenue
has also increased,
showing an operating profit of Rs 2.5
billion. The reasons for the decline in
revenue were a significant reduction in
air connectivity, travel restrictions, and
the global financial crisis.
Experience the best summer holiday in
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before, offering customers free entry
to some of the UAE’s most popular
attractions plus many more exciting
offers, while the city’s marquee event –
The Dubai Summer Surprises – returns
with a full calendar of entertainment,
culture and family activities. Whether
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In 2021, the PIA has also operated
charter flights and cargo flights but was
still deprived of the revenue, obtained
from its important Umrah and Hajj
operations due to the Covid-19
restrictions.
He further said the PIA had not only
introduced several new routes in the
last 12 months but also increased the
frequency of flights and added that
the airline is gradually expanding
its fleet as one more
A320 aircraft has been
inducted while three
more aircraft will be
added to the fleet in
the coming weeks.
He said that after a
comprehensive reform
plan implemented
in PIA last year, the airline has also
drafted a five-year business plan with
the assistance of IATA consultants and
submitted it to the government for
approval.
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are for admission from 30 June to 30
September 2022.
The Dubai Fountains Boardwalk
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of water, music and light from a floating
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Louvre Abu Dhabi: Immerse
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the hundreds of antique
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most iconic cultural
attractions.
Hashoo Hotels & Resorts
to launch ‘PC Legacy’
in Lahore
Located in the bustling city of Lahore,
it will be the third hotel by Hashoo
Hotels in its recently introduced brand
of hotels by the name of PC Legacy,
following PC Legacy Nasirabad.
The brand “PC Legacy” is a new chain
of four-star hotels by Hashoo Hotels
who already own and operate Pearl-
Continental, Marriott and Hotel One
across the country. PC Legacy-Airport
Lahore will bridge the gap for travellers
between the five-star and the select
service hotels.
In this connection, an agreement
was signed by Murtaza Hashwani,
Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Hashoo Group, and
Muhammad Ayub Sheikh, Chairman
of Royal Residencia (Pvt) Ltd and Royal
Hospitality.
SriLankan Airlines loses
Rs170bn in 2021
State-run SriLankan Airlines had lost
170 billion rupees in 2021 and its
accumulated losses had risen to 542
billion rupees, a Finance Ministry
report said despite the national career
improving its performance in the last
quarter. SriLankan Airline’s revenue
fell to 71 billion rupees in 2020 in the
Coronavirus pandemic triggering a 45
billion rupee loss.
In 2021 revenues grew to 134.6 billion
rupees as foreign travel was gradually
relaxed. But the airline had been hit
by high finance costs and currency
depreciation as the island’s softpegged
central bank triggered the
worst currency crises in its history.
39
TRADE CHRONICLE
Gerry’s dnata recognised for high
safety standards in Pakistan
Gerry’s dnata, Pakistan’s leading
ground services provider, continues
to be recognised for achieving
the highest safety standards. The
company obtained IATA Safety Audit
for Ground Operations (ISAGO)
Station Accreditation at Islamabad
International Airport (ISB), following
the successful completion of a
comprehensive audit of its ground
handling operations at the airport.
Syed Haris Raza, Vice President of
Gerry’s dnata, said: “Safety continues
to be at the heart of everything we
do. The achievement of the ISAGO
accreditation demonstrates our team’s
commitment and ability to consistently
deliver excellence in safety. I thank my
colleagues for their hard work and
dedication.”
Pay with Visa, fly with Qatar Airways
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Visa cardholders in UAE, Kuwait and
Oman, are being rewarded with the
chance to win special savings and
prizes, including a fantastic FIFA World
Cup Qatar 2022 package thanks to
Visa and Qatar Airways. The package
includes match tickets along with 3-4
nights of hotel accommodation in
Qatar. Some of the packages offered
as prizes include airline tickets to /
from Qatar. In time for making travel
plans for this summer, the promotion
also gives Visa card holders up to 12%
discount for flight tickets booked from
Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, UAE and
Pakistan.
The offer will be valid for online bookings
completed through www.qatarairways.
com using the promotional code
VISA22, payment made with Visa cards
and travel starting within the campaign
In recent years,
Gerry’s dnata
has significantly
enhanced its
operations and services
to deliver the highest level
of quality and safety and
help airline customers
safely transport passengers
and precious cargo to and
from Pakistan. It made
significant investments in
infrastructure, technology
and equipment, including
the opening of a new, stateof-the-art
cargo facility in Lahore
which doubled the company’s cargo
handling capacity at the airport.
period. The
promotion
will be
offered for all
Qatar Airways-operated
destinations subject to
certain exclusions.
Qatar Airways VP Sales
– Middle East, Levant,
Caucasus and Pakistan, Mr.
Dersenish Aresandiran, said:
“The FIFA World Cup coming
to Qatar this year is a major
draw for passengers from all
over the World. As the World’s
Best Airline, we are delighted to be able
to work with Visa to offer passengers
the opportunity to join us here in Qatar
for this extraordinary event.”
Madhur Mehra, Visa’s Head of
Merchant Sales and Acquiring for
MENA, said: “As travel continues to
reopen post-pandemic, this promotion
is a great way to reward Qatar Airways
passengers when they use their Visa
card to book their travel.
Qatar Airways is providing incredible
travel options during Summer 2022
with flights operating daily from
the World’s Best Airport, Hamad
International, to its global network
with a huge number of leisure choices.
Whether passengers are seeking
summer vacations including tranquil
beach gateways, energetic city breaks,
bold adventure destinations or
May - Jun - 2022
In addition, Gerry’s dnata obtained
Maintenance Organization Approval
from the Pakistan Civil Aviation
Authority to provide aircraft line
maintenance services to airline
customers, and now offers a one-stopshop
of ground handling, cargo and
technical services at the airports of
Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
Gerry’s dnata serves more than 20
airline customers at seven Pakistani
airports. The company’s team consists
of over 2,500 dedicated aviation
professionals who assist more than
seven million passengers and handle
150,000 tons of cargo annually.
incredible family and friend escapes,
there is something for everyone.
A multiple award-winning airline,
Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s
Best Airline’ in the latest World Airline
Awards, managed by the international
air transport rating organisation
Skytrax. The airline’s hub, HIA, was
recently recognised as the ‘Best Airport
in the World 2021’, ranking at number
one in the Skytrax World Airport
Awards 2021.
In addition to this, Qatar Airways
has become the first global airline in
the world to achieve the prestigious
5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating
by Skytrax. This follows the success of
Hamad International Airport (HIA) as
the first airport in the Middle East and
Asia to be awarded a Skytrax 5-Star
COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating.
40
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