Business

Markup rates for export financing raised to 13%

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

SBP raises export financing markup rates by 200 basis points.
Decides to reduce gap between policy rate and EFS, LTFF to 3%.
This will come into effect from December 30, 2022.

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has raised the export financing markup rates by 200 basis points in line with the key policy rate, The News reported Friday.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the central bank decided to reduce the gap between the policy rate and Export Finance Scheme (EFS) and the Long-term Financing Facility (LTFF) from the existing 5% to 3%.

“Accordingly, markup rates for financing under EFS (Part-I & Part-II) and LTFF are increased from the existing 11% per annum to 13% per annum each with effect from December 30, 2022.”

In the future with any change in the SBP policy rate, markup rates for EFS and LTFF would be revised automatically so that the gap between the policy rate and EFS and LTFF rates was maintained at 3%, the central bank added.

With the fresh SBP move, the interest rates on working capital financing and plant machinery have been increased.

The rates on EFS and LTFF schemes were fixed at 3-5% until March 2022. On July 7, 2022, the SBP linked the rates of EFS and LTFF with its policy rate.

The SBP hiked the policy rate by 100 basis points to 16% last month to prudently strike a balance between maintaining growth post-floods and managing inflation. The central bank is set to announce the upcoming interest rate decision on January 23.

Analysts expect the SBP to maintain a tight monetary stance in the second half of this fiscal year as inflation remains elevated. The policy rate is likely to be raised by 100 bps to 17% in the first quarter of 2023.

The rise in the cost of borrowing is expected to affect exports and the private sector credit growth.

In line with the slowdown in economic activity, private sector credit continued to moderate, increasing only by Rs86.2 billion during the first quarter compared to Rs226.4 billion during the same period last year, the SBP said in its last monetary policy statement.

This deceleration was mainly due to a significant decline in working capital loans to wholesale and retail trade services as well as to the textile sector in the wake of lower domestic cotton output, and a slowdown in consumer finance, it added.

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

24 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

24 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.