Day: December 23, 2021

Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in his meeting with the Chairman of Shura Council of Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged the Saudi businessmen to take advantage of the investment-friendly opportunities in Pakistan.

A high-profile parliamentary delegation of Saudi Arabia, led by the Chairman of Shura Council of the Kingdom, Dr Abdullah Mohammad Bin Sheikh met with Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani in Islamabad. Chairman Senate was accompanied by Senators Naseebullah Bazai, Hafiz Abdul Karim, Faiz Muhammad, Faisal Saleem and Secretary Senate Muhammad Qasim Samad Khan.

Chairman Senate stressed the need to further enhance the trade volume between the two countries. The environment for investment in Pakistan is safe and conducive which could benefit Saudi investors, he added.

During the meeting, both sides reiterated their desire to take the existing relations to new heights in all areas of mutual interest and underlined the need to further strengthen parliamentary cooperation between the two brotherly countries.

The Chairman Senate apprised the delegation of the situation in Afghanistan and the steps being taken to help the Afghan people. He thanked Saudi Arabia for support in convening the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

“Saudi Arabia’s unflinching support for Pakistan in its difficult and testing time is commendable”, said Sanjrani. He also extended best wishes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prince Muhammad bin Salman.

“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Saudi people have heartfelt sympathy for Pakistan. Relations between the two countries had been further boosted by the exchange of delegations between the two fraternal countries”, noted Chairman Shura Council of Saudi Arabia.

Chairman Senate also exalted the effective role of Saudi Arabia in uniting the Islamic world. Apart from the Pakistani government, its people also want to maintain good relations with the Kingdom, he remarked.

The chairman of the Shura Council of Saudi Arabia also extended an invitation to the chairman Senate to attend the inaugural ceremony of the new parliamentary year of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which he accepted.

The Chairman Senate also appreciated the sincere efforts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for enriching relations with Qatar and other neighboring countries.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has stated that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is the appropriate authority to investigate illegal transactions in cryptocurrencies.

Responding to queries raised by ProPakistani, an SBP spokesperson said in case any illegal transaction in cryptocurrencies was discovered, FIA was the appropriate authority to investigate. He made it clear that it was not the central bank’s prerogative to examine any individual if he or she is engaged in the aforenamed illegal activity.

Referring to the recent FIA seizure of over 1,000 bank accounts for crypto transactions, the spokesperson said the central bank had issued a clear directive to the banking sector with regard to the illegality of dealing in cryptocurrency.

To a question, the spokesperson mentioned SBP was conducting internal studies on cryptocurrencies as part of its future monetary strategies in the country. He said, “the case for cryptocurrencies in Pakistan is currently sub judice,” meaning that there should be no public discussions on the said subject.

It is worth considering that despite hopes of a regulatory shift toward adopting digital assets as legal tender, the situation is now incredibly uncertain to determine whether the country will see digital assets regularized in the next few years. So far, the sale and purchase of virtual assets are prohibited under the SBP’s Circular No. 3 of the Banking Policy and Regulation Department (BPRD) dated 6 April 2018.

Earlier this week, FIA seized bank accounts of 1,064 individuals who had carried out 2,923 transactions worth a whopping Rs. 51 million through numerous online exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, and Coinmama. Moreover, the bank accounts of individuals who had been using Binance P2P to buy or sell cryptocurrencies were also frozen.

Pakistan is among the top 15 in the world for digital currency adoption as of July 2021. According to the President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Pakistanis currently possess cryptocurrencies worth $20 billion.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin held a meeting with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on E-Commerce Senator Aun Abass Buppi at Finance Division on Thursday.

Senator Buppi extended congratulations to the adviser on being elected as a member of the Senate. He further apprised the adviser on the progress being made on the establishment of the Federal Government Properties Management Authority (FGPMA).

The adviser said FGPMA has been mandated to ensure getting the best value for money for the government’s assets and properties. He stressed the need to make FGPMA fully functional at the earliest for the best utilization of government’s assets. He also extended his full support and cooperation in this regard.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted customs duty on the import of nine items including coal, marble, sulphur and containers from Afghanistan.

The FBR has also exempted regulatory duty on the import of marble and reduced regulatory duty on import of ground nuts from 20 percent to 10 percent from Afghanistan. The FBR has issued two notifications in this regard.

According to the notification, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 19 of the Customs Act, 1969, the federal government has exempted customs duty on the import into Pakistan from Afghanistan of the following goods. The items included coal, Bituminous coal, talc, marble (crude or roughly trimmed), plants & parts of plants (including seed & fruit), seeds of cumin neither crushed nor grounded; sulphur of all kinds, other than sublimed sulphur; yams (dioscorea spp.) and containers (including containers for the transport of fluids). The notification will be effective till June 30, 2022.

Through another notification S.R.0.1610(1)/2021, the FBR has amended Notification No. S.R.O. 840(1)/2021, dated the 30th June, 2021.

As per new notification, the regulatory duty on import of marble (crude or roughly trimmed) falling under PCT code 2515.1100 shall be exempted and regulatory duty on import of ground nuts in shell falling under PCT code 1202.4100 shall be reduced from 20 percent to 10 percent, if imported from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. This notification shall be effective till June 30, 2022.

The FBR has also exempted Additional Customs Duty (ADC) on the import of goods falling under the Pakistan Customs Tariff (PCT) codes 0714.3000, 0909.3100, 1211.9000, 2503.0000, 2526.1010, 2515.1100, 2701.1200, 2701.1900 and 8609.0000, if imported from Afghanistan.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell week-over-week by $415 million (2.2 percent) to $18.15 billion, mainly due to external debt repayments.

According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign exchange reserves decreased to $18.15 billion in the week.

The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $24.63 billion, down by $395 million, as of 17 December 2021. During the week, the foreign exchange reserves of commercial banks stood at $6.47 billion.

In retrospect, the Pakistani Rupee is struggling to stay resolute against the US dollar. Although the local unit managed to halt the exchange spillover as various economic indicators consolidated in the past 24 hours, the weight of expectations suggests that pressure will persist for the next few months due to little movement in commodity prices.

Moreover, if the current account deficit remains between the $1.5-2 billion bracket during the period in question, the exchange rate could go through more hoops of fire, and so will the reserves held with the central bank.

Historically, SBP’s reserves soared to a record high of $20.15 billion in August after the International Monetary Fund directed Special Drawing Rights worth $2,751.8 million to the former. However, the SBP’s reserves began to decline steadily during the same month, which it attributed to the fulfillment of debt repayments and other related regulations.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) voiced its concerns regarding the Finance Ministry’s briefing on the Rs. 1,240 billion COVID-19 relief package, on Wednesday, after the ministry reportedly failed to satisfy the committee.

During an audit briefing of the Finance Division, the committee expressed its concern that only Rs. 186 billion of the principal amount of Rs. 500 billion promised by Prime Minister Imran Khan for citizen relief has been released so far and was surprised that the remaining Rs. 334 billion has not been made available yet.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Rs. 334 billion was spent on COVID-19 in 2019-20, Rs. 187.89 billion in 2020-21, and Rs. 352 billion so far this financial year, while $2.6 billion was received in external financing for budget assistance, project funding, and grants during the pandemic.

Officials from the Finance Ministry told the committee that the Rs. 1,240 billion relief program was an overall package rather than a one-year deal, adding that out of the total funds, Rs. 365 billion in non-cash aid and Rs. 875 billion in cash aid were initially planned. Officials explained to the committee that Rs. 334 billion was issued from additional sources in the fiscal year 2019-20.

It was informed that during COVID-19, the prime minister proposed a package worth Rs. 200 billion to provide assistance to daily wage employees, for which a supplementary grant of Rs. 16 billion was released and Rs. 184 billion was still pending.

Funds totaling Rs. 150 billion were declared for vulnerable families, with Rs. 145 billion in extra grants allocated for those without shelter. Additionally, Rs. 50 billion was announced for Utility Stores, but only Rs. 10 billion was granted. Moreover, while an Rs. 100 billion subsidy for electricity and gas was announced, the committee complained that a supplemental grant to the tune of only Rs. 15 billion had been provided thus far.

In extension, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) got Rs. 168 billion between March 2020 and December 2021, of which, Rs. 144 billion was spent against COVID-19 and a fund of Rs. 17.4 billion was available, according to the authority’s chairman. He told the committee that China has approved a grant of Rs. 404 million for anti-corona measures and remarked that a few objections of the audit were unrelated to the NDMA.

In response to a question on the source of funding for the Rs. 1,240 billion relief package, officials from the Finance Ministry stated that no external funds were used in the first year of 2019-20. The committee was dissatisfied with the finance ministry officials’ briefing, and the PAC chairman instructed the officials to come prepared next time.

Source: Pro Pakistani