Category: Industry

The government of Balochistan has identified seven new sites in Gwadar for the establishment of tourist resorts.

Official sources told Propakistani that Balochistan authorities briefed the committee on the development of Gwadar held at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.

The government of Balochistan further informed that planning is underway to built new petrol pumps on the coastal highway in Gwadar. The authorities briefed that seven sites have been identified for tourist resorts. Tenders have been awarded for two sites, while the rest of the contracts would be awarded in the next few months.

Sources said that the Chinese government will also be requested to encourage investors to relocate industry to Gwadar. In this regard, the Gwadar Port Master Plan would be restored and acquisition of land be carried out on a priority basis.

The meeting also discussed the implementation of policies and procedures which will lead to more efficient transshipment and transit. Transshipment and Transit Trade Rules would be notified including China and CARs.

Pakistan will ascertain the route from China to Uzbekistan as well as from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan to open trade with CARs as Uzbekistan shares a border with all other CAR’s countries.

It has been agreed that the One Window Act has been passed and now all customs and related clearing and processing would be integrated through one window system to speed up the movement of cargo from port premises.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production was held under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari here at the Parliament.

The members of the committee received a comprehensive briefing from the Secretary, Ministry of Industries & Production on how the Industries and Production Division aims to facilitate industrial growth in the country.

Ministry officials apprised the committee members that mobile handset industry giant Samsung is also poised to enter the local market. Samsung has short-listed two companies for local manufacturing after obtaining the authorization certificate.

He informed the Parliamentary Panel that two companies, Kia and Ibrahim Sons have been shortlisted.

The secretary further apprised the committee members that R&D allowance of 3% is given to local manufacturers as an incentive for encouraging exports of mobile phones. Locally assembled/manufactured phones are also exempted from 4% withholding tax on domestic sales.

Senator Walid Iqbal termed this initiative as a success story on the part of the Ministry of Industries and Production.

It was further informed that 85% of the total mobile phones in the country are imported every year. 21 new companies have been authorized to start local manufacturing/Assembly (vivo, Airlink, Inovi, telecom, OPPO), boosting the local industry of the mobile handsets for domestic market and exports.

The committee also discussed the future plans and programs of the Ministry and its attached departments.

EVs & Charging Stations

The committee participants also discussed in detail the Electric Vehicle Policy. Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman raised the question of the energy consumption of electric vehicles. The committee was informed that there is ample capacity in terms of energy. The Chairman Committee sought comprehensive reports and a survey regarding the charging stations and energy consumption by electric vehicles.

The chairman committee added that different divisions should work in collaboration and in a conducive environment for such developmental initiatives. The committee was further informed that the EV policy approved by the Cabinet is for four-wheelers, HCV’s and 2 and 3 wheelers.

9 models of 2 and 3 wheelers have been approved for manufacturing.

The committee was also briefed in detail on the Auto Development Policy. The committee was apprised that Greenfield is being granted to twenty-one new investors with 10 % Customs Duty on non-localized parts and 25% Customs Duty on localized parts for five years. Expected investment under this policy was more than $1 billion, of which $504 million have already been invested.

The total capacity of the auto industry has been enhanced from 358,000 units in 2016 to 470,000 units in 2021.

The issue of “Own Money” exploitation in car sales was also raised by the attendees of the meeting. The officials of the Ministry debated that Own Money is primarily the issue of supply and demand benefiting the dealers only.

The Ministry officials informed that basic reform has been introduced in the booking and registration process of the car sales and additional WHT of Rs. 50,000 on the engine capacity up to 1000cc, Rs. 100,000 on up to 2000cc and Rs. 200,000 on above 2000cc has been imposed. This measure has been introduced as a deterrent to the practice of ‘Own Money’.

Senator Fida Muhammad, while discussing the SME policy, raised the question of the role of the Ministry of Industries and production in the field of Agriculture. “Pakistan is an Agricultural State and I don’t see any development plan for the agriculture sector,” he commented.

Replying to the question of Senator Fida Muhammad, the officials of the Ministry said

Agriculture is the domain of Ministry of National Food Security and Research, however the officials of Ministry of Industries and Production informed that 90% tractors parts are been manufactured locally. And the rate of duty is decreased by 20% for 2 years if any Industry introduces new model of tractors

The committee was apprised that an amount of Rs. 60 Billion has been granted over a period of 3 years for National SME Action Plan. Simplified Taxation Regime for SME’s has also been announced; 0.25% of gross turnover where annual business turnover does not exceed Rupees 100 million, and 0.5 % of gross turn over where annual business exceeds rupees 100 million but does not exceed rupees 250 million.

A detailed discussion took place on the Utility Stores Corporation’s Financial Performance. The officials of the Ministry apprised the committee that there are a total of 4,000 utility stores in the country and 900 franchises. The Ministry informed that we are making efforts to double this figure by 9,000 through the franchise system in the near future.

It was also informed that there was a significant increase in sales of USC from 10 Billion in 2019 to 114 Billion rupees in 2021.

A committee was briefed in detail by the CEO of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). The committee was informed that 35% of the fruits were consumed by animals, therefore a model project for Fruit Dehydration Unit (FDU) in Swat has been completed for utilization of surplus fruit by the SMEDA. The total cost of this project is 59.9 Million Rupees.

The meeting was attended by Senators Walid Iqbal, Fida Muhammad, Faisal Saleem Rehman, Muhammad Abdul Qadir, , Saifuallah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, Hidayat Ullah and Senator Imamuddin Shouqeen, Senior officials from the Ministry of Industries and Production and attached departments.

Source: Pro Pakistani

In an exciting new development for the region’s ever-evolving startup ecosystem, Jordan-based edtech leader Abwaab has acquired Pakistan-based Edmatrix, said a press release by the Amman-headquartered company today.

The terms of the acquisition haven’t been disclosed at this point in time, however, it was learned that both companies are being run by former Uber management and employees. Added to this, the Jordan-based Abwaab will now begin operations in Pakistan, which is the world’s 5th most populous country with more than 50 million students who demand quality education at affordable rates.

Founded in 2019, Abwaab aims to offer online school education to the greater Middle Eastern region and parts of North Africa through visualized learning plans, regular assessments and feedback for students.

With the underlined acquisition of Edmatrix in Pakistan now complete, Abwaab’s top brass plans to tailor its resources “to change the way students learn” in the wider Asia market.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) resumed its losing streak against the US Dollar (USD) in the interbank currency market yesterday, after posting gains for one day on Friday last week. PKR has constantly been posting losses against the USD since the beginning of the current fiscal year.

Within the past one week, PKR went from trading under Rs. 158 to the USD to trading over Rs. 159 to the USD.

On Monday (yesterday), PKR lost 19 paisas to the USD. Today (July 13), PKR closed at Rs. 159.50 to the USD with a loss of 14 paisas over yesterday’s (July 12) exchange rate of Rs. 159.36 to the USD.

The PKR has lost nearly two rupees to the USD since July 1 due to higher demand from importers and oil payments.

Asad Rizvi, the former Treasury Head at the Chase Manhattan Bank, said earlier in the day, “USD will continue to flirt with PKR parity until payment position gets back to normal.”

He said, “[Eid-ul-Azha] flows will start drying up soon that may not help in the later weeks. Without strong support from exporters, the pressure could mount. Next quarter could be tough.”

Repeating yesterday’s trend, the PKR also posted blanket losses against other major currencies in the interbank currency market today, except against the Euro. PKR posted gains of 19 paisas against the Euro today.

Against other currencies, PKR lost 14 paisas against the Pound Sterling (GBP), 30 paisas against the Australian Dollar (AUD), and 26 paisas against the Canadian Dollar (CAD).

PKR also eroded by 3.9 paisas against the UAE Dirham (AED) and by 4.1 paisas against the Saudi Riyal (SAR) in the interbank currency market today.

Source: Pro Pakistani

A CDWP meeting presided over by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, cleared two development projects with a cost of Rs. 3.37 billion, and recommended three projects worth Rs. 402.305 billion to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration.

Senior officials from Planning Commission and Federal Ministries/Divisions also participated in the meeting while representatives from Provincial Governments participated through video conferences.

Projects related to Governance, Physical Planning & Housing, Transport & Communications, and Education were considered in the meeting.

A project related to Governance was presented in the meeting, namely “Establishment of Public Financial Management Unit (PFMU) and Program Support Unit (PSU) in Finance Department and Planning and Development (P&D) Board respectively under Punjab Resources Improvement and Digital Effectiveness (PRIDE) Program,” worth Rs. 86,784.88 million, which was then recommended to ECNEC for further approval.

The program aims to increase own sources revenue and improve the reliability of resources allocations and access to digital services for people and firms in the Province.

The program primarily addresses three challenges:

(a) fiscal risk management

(b) revenue mobilization

(c) expenditure management through better use of information system.

A project related to Physical Planning & Housing was presented in the meeting, namely “1.2 MGD R.O.D Plant (Chinese Grant),” worth Rs. 2,123.986 million, which was approved by the CDWP forum.

Two projects related to Transport & Communication presented in the meeting, namely “Construction of Dir Motorway,” worth Rs. 38,991.382 million, and “Peshawar D.I Khan Motorway (360 KM),” worth Rs. 276,529.496 million. The projects were referred to ECNEC for further approval. Both roads will considerably reduce the traffic congestion and delays issues on the said routes and will provide the fastest route for the people moving with the region and beyond.

A project related to the Education sector was presented in the meeting, namely “Establishment of Directorate General of Religious Education,” worth Rs. 1,253.420 million, was approved in the forum.

The main objective of the project is to mainstream religious education in Pakistan by registering all Madaris of Pakistan with the M/o FE&PT, Islamabad, and facilitate them to introduce the contemporary subjects from SSC/HSSC in the next 5 years.

CDWP also approved one position paper, namely “Pandemic Response Effectiveness Project for COVID-19,” worth Rs. 810.396 million.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Chairperson, Rahat Kunain, is reportedly facing accusations of conflict of interest, as she was not allowed to take part in proceedings against Foodpanda, Business Recorder reported on Monday.

The news report added that last week, the Commission’s members held an internal meeting to verify the credibility of a formal complaint filed against her by the All Pakistan Restaurant Association (APRA).

APRA wrote a letter to the Chairperson on July 1, 2021, saying that it recently filed a formal complaint against R-SC Interest Services Private Limited (Foodpanda Pakistan) for anti-competitive business practices in violation of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2010, which is pending before the CCP.

The letter further said that APRA has come to know that Foodpanda has an active attorney-client relationship with a law firm named Kaunain Nafees (HKN). Considering that the chairperson was a partner of HKN until she was appointed CCP chairperson in July 2020 and considering that her husband still holds the position of a senior partner at HKN, the association deems it to be a conflict of interest.

The association said that despite HKN being counsels for Foodpanda, the chairperson is actively involved in overseeing proceedings. She has also not disclosed her conflict of interest during the meetings or otherwise, nor has she made any attempt to recuse and distance herself from the proceedings, the letter said.

Section 25 of the Competition act 2010 comprehensively deals with disclosure of interest by the Members of the Commission, including the chairperson, and therefore it was the responsibility of other members of the Commission to ensure that the affairs of the Commission are being run transparently to save the reputation of the Commission as an institution.

As a result, the CCP members held an internal meeting last week to discuss the matter and conduct of the chairperson.

It had also issued a press release informing that it has started an investigation against Foodpanda on the complaint of APRA.

In response to questions regarding the complaints against the chairperson, the Commission told the media, that “All accusations are false and baseless and have been denied by the Chairperson in her statement in relation to the conflict of interest issue,” the newspaper report added.

Source: Pro Pakistani