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
April,20(E. A Report) — Pakistani rupee stayed broadly stable against the US dollar, settling with an appreciation of 0.03% on Wednesday at opening after a five-day gap owing to Eid holidaysAccording to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), local currency settled at 283.39, an increase of Re0.08. It had depreciated during the early hours of trading before clawing back to finish positive.Rupee regained its upward momentum against the US dollar on Thursday last week, settling at 283.47 in inter-bank market where market participants continued to await resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which has been stalled since last year.Finance Minister Ishaq Dar once again said the government has met all the c...
April 26, 2023 at 10:05 pm | Economic Affairs
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate