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April, 28(E. A Report) — Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan announced further extending plant shutdown till May 15, 2023.In its notice issued here Friday company says, “further to our letter dated April 13, 2023, and considering the current economic situation of Pakistan whereby the government resorted to stringent measures including restricting opening of LCs for import of CKD kits, raw materials and halting foreign payments, the company’s supply chain has also been severely disrupted by such measures”.“As a result, the company is not in a position to continue with its production and ultimately has continued to shut down its plant from May 1, 2023 to May 15, 2023.”Company has been observing a plant shutdown since March 9, 2023.It plann...

April 28, 2023 at 7:22 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 28(E. A Report) — Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against US dollar by settling with an appreciation of 0.03% during week end session on Friday.According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Rupee closed at 283.84 with an increase of Re0.08. Whereas Rupee sustained a loss against US dollar on Thursday, settling at 283.92 in the inter-bank market, a decrease of Re0.53.In a key development, United States called on Pakistan to move ahead on stalled reforms sought by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), promising technical help as the world’s fifth most populous nation weathers an economic crisis.“The reform(s) that Pakistan and the IMF agreed to are not easy, but it’s crucial that Pakistan take these actions to bring t...

April 28, 2023 at 7:20 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 28(E. A Report) ——Liaison with business community, facilitation to the exporters and well consulted policies are the key tools to achieve the economic goals and to put the country on the path of economic development of the country.These views were expressed by the LCCI President Kashif Anwar while addressing newly recruited Appraisers/Inspectors and Intelligence Officers of Pakistan Customs Academy at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Coordinator of the delegation Mohsin Ali Tahir and former LCCI Executive Committee Member Haji Muhammad Asif Sehar also spoke on the occasion.LCCI President answered various questions of the participants in detail and shed light on the ongoing economic scenario in the country.Kashif Anwar...

April 28, 2023 at 5:58 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 28(E. A Report) —National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) operational expenses have reached to 21.2 billion in first quarter, which are 26.3% higher as compared to Rs. 16.8 billion last year.According to Bank’s filing, in addition to operating expenses of the Bank, “Other” operating expenses increased to Rs. 3.2 billion depicting a 26.1% hike for the period under review.According to Bank’s filing, HR cost that constitutes around 67.7% of the total operating expenses, amounted to Rs. 14.3 billion against Rs. 11.6 billion in March last year. This increase reflects the impact of annual pay increase, charge for defined benefit plans and other HR related provisions. While property related expenses amounted to Rs. 2.4 billion against Rs....

April 28, 2023 at 5:56 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 28(E. A Report) — TRG Pakistan Limited reported profit of Rupees 25.7 billion for the nine-month, chiefly on exchange gains.According to company filing, chief profit increase attributed to be driven both by profit from their associate as well as exchange gain on our investment due to a weaker PKR to USD exchange rate.Most significant item on TRG Pakistan balance sheet is value of company’s share in its associate The Resource Group International Limited (TRGIL), their sole operating asset.Compony showed value of share in TRGIL as Rs 87.1 billion, representing an increase of Rs.30.4 billion compared to Rs. 56.7 billion on June last year. That increase attributed to be driven both by profit from their associate as well as exchange ...

April 28, 2023 at 12:08 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 28(Agencies)— Oil prices with little dip on Friday are set for their second weekly drop as disappointing US economic and uncertainty on further interest rate hikes raised concerns about future fuel demand.Brent crude futures for June have been trading at $78.53 a barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.2%, as of 0156 GMT.That contract expires on Friday and the more active July contract was up 21 cents, or 0.3% at 78.43 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 23 cents, or 0.3%, at $74.99 a barrel.Brent is set to decline this week by 3.8% and is down 9.1% in the past two weeks.WTI is on a path to drop 3.8% this week, taking its two-week decline to 9.4%.US economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, although job...

April 28, 2023 at 11:18 am | Economic Affairs

April, 28(Agencies)— US dollar got on track for a second straight monthly loss on Friday with mounting expectations of Federal Reserve could soon end its aggressive rate-hike cycle, whereas Yen steadied near a one-week high ahead of a pivotal central bank decision.Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) monetary policy decision on Friday takes centre stage in Asia, where expectations are for new BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda to keep monetary settings ultra-loose at his debut policy meeting.Focus will also be on Ueda’s tone, with investors closely looking out for any tweak in forward guidance.Ahead of the decision, the Japanese yen was roughly 0.1% higher at 133.84 per US dollar, and similarly gained more than 0.1% against the British pound.“I don’t expe...

April 28, 2023 at 11:17 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) — State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $30 million, clocking in at $4.46 billion as of April 21, data released on Thursday showed.Number still stands at a critical level of around a month of import cover whereas total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $10.02 billion in addition of net foreign reserves held by commercial banks clocked in at $5.56 billion. “During the week ended on April 20, 2023, SBP reserves increased by $30 million to $4,462.8 million,” said a statement from SBP.Last week, SBP’s reserves increased by $394 million.Finance Minister Ishaq Dar notified earlier receipt of $300 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (IC...

April 28, 2023 at 8:41 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) —Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) reporting above expected earnings of Rs10.7Bn, 161% up on year on respectively.However, Bank did not announce an interim dividend where Net Interest Income (NII) increased by a massive 96% to Rs 27.9 billion in fist quarter aided by NIMs accretion, robust CA ratio and hefty balance sheet growth.Operating expenses of the bank increased by a sizable 44% to Rs 15.0 billion on the back of the management’s ongoing investment in the brick and mortar model, higher remuneration charges, IT related expenditure and inflation.Bank’s well profiled investments book with greater exposure in short term paper and floating rate bonds has enabled the sizable top-line growth. Going forward, there are ...

April 28, 2023 at 8:39 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) —United Arab Emirates based Nasser Abdulla Hussain Lootah acquired a controlling stakes of Summit Bank.State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, and Competition Commission of Pakistan have approved this banking sector acquisition where investor subscribed to 3.98 billion new shares of the Bank at Rs 2.51 per share, Rs 10 billion has already been injected into the Bank in January 2023 through an advance payment for the proposed share issuance.Summit Bank is well-positioned to become a market leader in the banking industry with the Investor’s acquisition and a renewed focus on Islamic finance principles.President of Summit Bank, Jawad Majid Khan, emphasized that the Bank’s revival in...

April 28, 2023 at 8:37 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) — Habib Bank Limited (HBL) printed earnings of Rs 13.3 billion, registering a 23% increase.Announcing its first quarter results Thursday along with the result, the bank announced an interim dividend of Rs 1.5/sh.Administration expenses jacked up sharply to Rs 40 billion in first quarter, registering an increase of 29% YoY which are to be triggered by the impact of high inflation, rupee devaluation, investment in IT infrastructure and higher compensation expense.Bank registered net Interest Income shot up by a sizeable 54% yearly led by NIMs expansion as asset books of the bank re-priced.Balance sheet expansion and the bank’s CA ratio of 40% also cushioned the top-line growth.On a sequential basis, the surge was r...

April 28, 2023 at 8:34 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(Agencies)—Chinese Yuan firmed on Thursday after a largely directionless morning session, as a smaller decline in the profits of country’s industrial firms and weakness in US dollar helped the currency regain some ground lost earlier this week.Yuan has weakened by 0.45% against the US dollar so far this week, as investors continued to search for clearer evidence that growth in the world’s second-biggest economy could completely recover from the fallout of the past three years of strict COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.Profits at China’s industrial firms fell 21% in the first quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday. While the decline provided a reminder that the country’s economic recovery remains slow...

April 28, 2023 at 8:31 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) —State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) asked banks to keep all of their authorised branches open on April 29 and 30, (Saturday and Sunday) to observe extended working hours in facilitating taxes collection.In a Wednesday notification, SBP informed all banks of decision to stay open on Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)request.SBP notification says all branches of banks including authorised branches of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP-BSC) shall remain open on April 29 and 30 in order to facilitate the taxpayers in payment of Government duties and taxes.Notification further says such branches would also observe extended working hours till 06:00 p.m. to facilitate the coll...

April 28, 2023 at 8:30 am | Economic Affairs

April, 27(E. A Report) — Pakistan State Oil Company third quarter turned the company into profit for nine month period by reporting Rs. 13.6 billion gain.Interim financial statements announcement pushed share price up 88 paisa to trade at Rs.116.1 around 11 at Pakistan Stock Exchange.Board of Management announced the condensed unconsolidated and consolidated interim financial statements of the company for nine-months ended March 31, 2022.Petroleum industry witnessed a significant decline in consumption of all products, mainly due to flash floods, slowdown in economic activities and plummeting real purchasing power of individuals.During the period, industry volumes declined by 21% in white oil – a dip of 16% in motor gasoline and 25% in...

April 27, 2023 at 3:09 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 27(Agencies)—Most Asian currencies edged higher against a broadly weaker US dollar on Thursday where Thai baht benefitting from encouraging trade data.Indonesian rupiah, Asia’s best performing currency so far this year, rose 0.5%, having been supported by portfolio investment inflows for several days.Chinese yuan firmed after China’s industrial firms’ profits shrank at a slightly slower pace in January-March. But the decline remained in the double-digits as the economy struggled to fully recover despite the country’s exit from its zero-COVID policy.The Indian rupee gained 0.1%, and the Thai baht firmed 0.2%.Investors globally remained uncertain how much longer the US Federal Reserve will keep interests high though Fed fund...

April 27, 2023 at 3:07 pm | Economic Affairs

April, 27(Agencies)—Euro hovered near a one-year high versus the dollar on Thursday, as Europe’s resilient economy contrasted with banking contagion risks in the United States, the debt ceiling standoff and a potential recession.The risk-sensitive Aussie struggled to stay above the key 66 cent mark, while leading cryptocurrency bitcoin found its footing around $29,400 following wild swings in the previous session.Yen was in a holding pattern as the Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting, the first under new governor Kazuo Ueda.Europe’s single currency ticked up 0.05% to $1.10415, edging back toward the overnight peak at $1.1096, the highest since April of last year.The dollar index - which measures the greenback against six maj...

April 27, 2023 at 3:04 pm | Economic Affairs