Business

Rupee breaks losing streak against dollar

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Pakistani rupee closes at 239.65 against US dollar.
Rupee’s losing streak breaks after 15 consecutive sessions.
Analyst cites correction in market for rupee’s strength.

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee on Friday broke its losing streak against the dollar after continuously depreciating for 15 consecutive sessions as the economy suffers following catastrophic floods.

At the closing of the interbank market’s trade, the rupee gained Rs0.06 to reach 239.65, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), up in value from the previous session’s close of 239.71 — just 0.23 short of an all-time low.

Arif Habib Limited’s Head of Research Tahir Abbas told Geo.tv that the rupee’s strength came after a correction following the expected inflow of funds from multilateral money lenders.

Abbas said that the market responded to the news of the World Bank (WB) planning to provide $1.7 billion to Pakistan in terms of flood relief.

The analyst mentioned that the government being in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for relaxing the conditions of the current programme was also a positive indicator for the market.

Analyst Yousuf Rahman at KASB Securities told The News that debt servicing was one of the reasons behind the rupee’s consistent decline as gross financing needs for the year are estimated at $32 billion.

Rahman also noted that floods have forced the government to import vegetables, grains, and cotton to replace damaged crops — increasing the pressure on the rupee.

After recent floods added to the country’s financial crisis, the Financial Times, citing a UN policy memo, reported that Pakistan should suspend international debt repayments and restructure loans with creditors.

The memorandum, which the UN Development Programme will share with Pakistan’s government this week, states that the country’s creditors should consider debt relief so that policymakers can prioritise financing its disaster response over loan repayment, the newspaper said.

Floods have affected 33 million Pakistanis, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and killed over 1,500 people — creating concern that Pakistan will not meet its debts. Pakistan earlier estimated damage at $30 billion, and both the government and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have blamed the flooding on climate change.

The memo further proposed debt restructuring or swaps, where creditors would let go of repayments in exchange for Pakistan agreeing to invest in climate change-resilient infrastructure, FT said.

In line with the dominant trend over the last several weeks, the country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also declined by 3.21% to $8,346.4 million as of September 16.

Business

Pakistan’s lunar mission ‘ICUBE-Q’ reaches the moon orbit.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

Pakistan’s lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) entered orbit around the moon on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s historic lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) launched from Hainan, China, on Friday aboard China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft.

According to the IST, the satellite ICUBE-Q was planned and developed in partnership with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

The ICUBE-Q orbiter is equipped with two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after successfully qualifying and testing it.

Chang’e6 is the sixth lunar exploration mission launched by China.

The launch event was streamed live on the IST website and social media platforms. Chang’6, China’s Lunar Mission, will land on the Moon’s far side to collect surface samples before returning to Earth for further research.

Business

The FIA and KE have launched 13 successful operations against power theft.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

In March 2024, operations were performed in collaboration with the FIA, targeting locations such as Marora Goth, Peer Abad, Ellahi Colony Metroville, Merchant Navy Housing Society, Johar Colony, Willayatabad, and Architects Society, among others. As a result of these collaborative efforts, six FIRs regarding power theft have been filed. Furthermore, four people were caught, with three being remanded to jail and one being released after paying the fines. To enforce governance and maintain accountability, a total fine of PKR 44.33 million was issued. Additionally, in partnership with FIA Balochistan, KE has conducted anti-theft operations in Hub, where teams from KE and FIA thoroughly investigated places including as markets, retail plazas, residential and commercial properties.

Regular actions against illicit power use are part of KE’s everyday activities to prevent line losses and protect the safety and security of the electrical infrastructure. Since the start of the fiscal year (FY 2023-24), over 24,000 kunda removal drives have been performed, resulting in the elimination of over 190,000 unlawful connections and the recovery of over 260,000 kgs of illegal kunda wires.
Ongoing raids involving law enforcement personnel and other agencies have resulted in the registration of around 994 FIRs against various individuals throughout Karachi. Since the launch of the nationwide power theft campaign in September 2023, more over 100,000 incidences of theft of 180 million units of electrical power have been identified in KE’s service zone.

In response to KE’s anti-theft initiatives, a KE spokesperson stated that “71% of KE’s feeder network is loadshed-free. However, 29% of the KE network remains difficult, with electricity theft and nonpayment of bills still key issues. Serious theft cases have been found in Baldia, Surjani, Korangi, Orangi, Liaqatabad, Landhi, and Lyari, among other places. Highlighting the repercussions of electricity theft, which may jeopardize the safety standards of the power network, the KE Spokesperson noted that PKR 117 million has been recovered.

Recognizing the challenges faced by current macroeconomic conditions, especially high inflation, KE is taking proactive steps to assist customers by establishing facilitation camps throughout the city. Since July 2023, approximately 240 recovery camps have been hosted around KE’s operational zone to help customers resolve billing concerns, including supporting payment plans with manageable installments.

Business

Budget 2024–25: The government intends to abolish tax exemptions.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

According to the specifics, the federal government plans to phase out existing tax breaks for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) regions in the upcoming fiscal year.

The decision to eliminate tax breaks in the FATA/PATA region is estimated to produce Rs 100 billion in annual revenue for the national government.

According to sources close to the issue, the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has already created a preliminary proposal for the next fiscal year’s budget, and the FBR head has also informed the finance minister on it.

Currently, the federal government provides tax breaks of Rs 1,200 billion to various industries; however, the IMF has instructed Pakistan to phase out these tax breaks in the next budget.

Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, passed the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 last week in accordance with Article 75 of the constitution.

According to a President House News release, the bill proposes amending legislation governing taxes and duties.

The bill’s revisions include changes to sections 30DDD, 43, 45B, 46, and 47 of the Sales Tax Act of 1990.

Similarly, the amendment bill amended sections 29, 33, 34, and 38 of the Federal Excise Act 2005, as well as sections 122A, 124, 126A, 130, 131, 132, 133, and 134A of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.