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ARY NEWS

Anjum Wahab

  • SBP announces to provide more relief to businesses to avoid layoffs

    SBP announces to provide more relief to businesses to avoid layoffs

    KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to provide more relief to the various companies for payment of wages and salaries to their workers and employees and to prevent layoffs as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

    Banks have sanctioned more than Rs23 billion in concessional loans to various companies for payment of wages and salaries to their employees, till May 8.

    According to the SBP’s announcement, now the owners of the businesses, who have already paid salaries to their workers, can also avail the refinancing facility from the banks.

    Read more: SBP introduces new refinance scheme to avoid layoff of workers

    The State Bank of Pakistan on April 11 launched a refinancing scheme to save hundreds and thousands of jobs in the private sector by providing cheaper loans to businesses at 4 to 5 per cent for payment of wages and salaries.

    The SBP said the scheme has been designed to benefit small- and medium- sized enterprises.

    “Businesses with a three-month wage and salary expense of up to Rs200 million will be able to avail the full amount of their expense in financing while those with a three-month wage and salary expenses of greater than Rs500m will be able to avail up to 50pc of expense,” said the State Bank of Pakistan.

  • SBP shows increase in remittances during FY 2019-20

    SBP shows increase in remittances during FY 2019-20

    KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said that an increase is being witnessed in the workers remittances during the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20, ARY NEWS reported.

    According to details provided by the state bank, the Workers’ Remittances received during July – April of the ongoing fiscal year amounted to United States Dollar (USD) 18,781.6 million recording an increase of US$ 980.6 million or 5.5 percent over remittances received during the same period of the previous year that was $ 17,801.0 million.

    It said that the foreign currency inflow during April 2020 amounted to US $ 1,790.0 million recording a decrease of $ 104.4 million or 5.5 percent over remittance received during previous month (March 2020, US $ 1,894.4 million).

    The remittances during April 2020 increased by $ 19.8 million or 1.1 percent over remittance received during corresponding month of FY 19 (US $ 1,770.2 million).

    The SBP said that during April 2020, larger amounts of money are received from Saudi Arabia (US$ 451.4 million), United States (US$ 401.9 million), United Arab Emirates (US$ 353.8 million) and United Kingdom (US$ 226.6 million).

    On March 18, a State Bank of Pakistan report showed that the current account and trade deficits witnessed a massive decline during the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 as compared to the same period of the previous year.

    According to the details, the current account deficit witnessed a 71 percent decline during the first eight months and stood at US$2.84 billion.

    Read More: Foreign Investment jumps 512 percent during 2019-20: SBP

    “A current account deficit of US$210 million was recorded during the month of February 2020,” the SBP report showed.

    The trade deficit has also witnessed a 33 percent decline during the eight months of the 2019-20 and stood at US$13.21 billion.

    The remittances from overseas Pakistanis, however, witnessed a five percent increase in the first eight months and jumped to US$15.12 billion.

  • Talks between Sindh govt, traders remain inconclusive

    Talks between Sindh govt, traders remain inconclusive

    KARACHI: The Sindh Minister for Labour Saeed Ghani said on Friday that the provincial government decided to allow reopening of some businesses in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) designed by the Centre, ARY News reported.

    The statement came forth after the provincial lawmakers held meetings with traders and Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders at the office of Sindh local government department.

    “We are aware of the impact on businesses due to lockdown and limited business activities were allowed to reopen after holding consultations with all provinces during the National Coordination Committee (NCC) session. Big markets, shopping malls and stores were not permitted to reopen so far.”

    He added that the provincial authorities will compile a list of all markets across Sindh on Saturday to categorise markets. It will be decided later to allow the trade activities in the markets.

    Ghani said that electric and hardware businesses were allowed to resume activities, however, the provincial authorities will take further steps to reopen other markets as well.

    However, the talks between the Sindh government, MQM-P and traders remained inconclusive.

    A trade leader Ilyas Memon said that the government summoned a list of markets from the traders on Monday which would be sent to the Prime Minister Imran Khan for final approval to resume their activities.

    He urged Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to consult the premier on Saturday to finalise the decision.

    Saeed Ghani, Murtaza Wahab and Imtiaz Shaikh represented the provincial government in the meeting. The meeting was also attended by MQM-P leaders including Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Khawaja Izharul Hassan and Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, as well as representatives of traders including Ateeq Mir, Sharjeel Goplani, Rizwan Irfan, Habib Shaikh, Jameel Paracha, Hammad Punawala and others.

    Read: MQM-P delegation meets Sindh CM

    After holding consultation with the traders, Saeed Ghani hinted allowance to the resumption of ‘specific businesses’ in Sindh after easing lockdown measures against COVID-19.

    During the meeting, MQM-P’s Kanwar Naveed Jameel said that agreement was made for reopening all trade centres. Khawaja Izharul Hassan said that they were writing a letter with the Sindh government to the Centre regarding the decisions.

    Mayor Karachi Waseem Akhtar asked traders to show patience.

    On the other hand, all traders have insisted to reopen all markets from Monday (May 9) across Sindh.

    They said that all trade bodies were complying with the government’s orders from the first day of lockdown continued for two months.

    Read: Sindh to ease lockdown from Monday: CM Murad

    They assured to strictly follow the SOPs issued by the higher authorities. They also agreed to implement the precautionary measures under the monitoring of the deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners of their respective areas.

    Another trade leader Rizwan Irfan urged the provincial government to formally announce the resumption of business activities from Monday.

    They also insisted to reopen all markets without any discrimination for the type of businesses as the traders have already faced serious troubles due to the lockdown situation.

    Read: Saeed Ghani calls upon businessmen, traders in wake of decision to ease lockdown

    Earlier in the day, in the wake of the federal government’s decision to end the countrywide lockdown in phases starting Saturday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced that the province will ease the lockdown from Monday.

    Speaking at a media briefing, the chief minister said there will be a “100% lockdown” on Saturdays and Sundays. He said industries related to the constructions sector will operate as per the SOPs.

    The Sindh CM explained shops will stay open from Fajr (early morning) till 5pm and selected outpatient departments (OPDs) in hospitals will also open. He said the provincial government has already allowed 660 factories to resume operations on the Centre’s instruction.

    He said neighbourhood shops, except shopping centres and departmental stores, will be allowed to do business.

    Murad said the Centre and the provincial government are working together despite some differences.

  • SBP foreign reserves increase by $259 million

    SBP foreign reserves increase by $259 million

    KARACHI: Foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have witnessed an increase of United States Dollar (USD) 259 million during the week ending on April 30, ARY NEWS reported.

    Sharing details of the foreign reserves held by the country, the SBP in its statement said that the total liquid foreign reserves of the country stood at US$ 18,755.1 million on 30 April.

    Giving its breakup, it said that the SBP currently held the foreign reserves of upto $12,329.4 million and $ 6,425.7 million reserves held by the commercial banks.

    Meanwhile, in view of coronavirus outbreak, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday announced that it will not issue fresh currency notes for Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

    Read More: SBP directs banks to provide disinfected cash to people

    In a notification, the central bank clarified that new currency notes will not be issued on the eve of Eid this year amid COVID-19 pandemic.

    Sources said that SBP’s COID-19 committee head has imposed ban on issuance of fresh notes on Eid.  The decision has been taken as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

  • Petrol, diesel sales drop in April due to lockdown: report

    Petrol, diesel sales drop in April due to lockdown: report

    KARACHI: Pakistan has witnessed a major reduction in petrol and diesel sales in April due to ongoing lockdown in wake of coronavirus pandemic, stated an industrial report on petroleum consumption, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

    According to the report, the consumption of petrol stood at 440,000 tonnes, recording a reduction of 36 per cent in April 2020. The petrol consumption in April 2019 was 680,000 tonnes, the report said.

    Moreover, the sales of diesel cut down up to 16 per cent as it stood 550,000 tonnes in April 2020 if compared with the data of April 19 recorded the consumption of 650,000 tonnes.

    Overall sales of petroleum products reduced up to 35 per cent in the country in April due to lockdown measures. The last year’s sale record shows consumption of 1.65 million tonnes against the April 2020’s data up to 1.07 million tonnes.

    The fall of sales remained 13 per cent during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, standing at 13.35 million tonnes, stated the petroleum industry report.

  • Pakistan’s trade deficit witnesses upto 26 percent decline, shows PBS  

    Pakistan’s trade deficit witnesses upto 26 percent decline, shows PBS  

    KARACHI: Pakistan’s trade deficit witnessed a decline of around 26 percent during first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 as compared to the previous year, ARY NEWS reported citing data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    The volume of the trade deficit remained at United States Dollar (USD) 19.5 billion during the first 10 months of the ongoing year as compared to $26.2 in the previous year of 2018-19.

    The imports witnessed a 16.5 percent decline during the first 10 months of the ongoing year, standing at US$37.9 billion this year as compared to $45.3 billion in 2018-19.

    The exports also witnessed a slight decrease of around four percent in the first 10 months-mainly due to coronavirus lockdown, standing at $18.4 billion as compared to $19.1 billion in the previous year.

    The trade deficit witnessed a decline of 19 percent in the month of April, standing at $2.131 billion in the ongoing year as compared to the same month of the previous year.

    The exports also witnessed a 54 percent decline in the month of April in the ongoing year with $957 million exports this year as compared to $2.089 billion exports in April of the previous year.

    The imports also stood at $3.08 this year as compared to $4.7 billion the previous year, showing 34 percent decline.

    It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s exports witnessed an over 15 percent decline in the month of March, plunging to United States Dollar (USD) 1.8 billion as compared to $2.14 in February 2020 amid coronavirus outbreak.

    The imports also witnessed a 21 percent decline during March 2020, and fell from $4.18 billion in February to $3.29 billion in the previous month.

  • 14 FBR staffers test positive for coronavirus in Quetta    

    14 FBR staffers test positive for coronavirus in Quetta    

    KARACHI: Overall 14 staffers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) serving at the regional tax office in Quetta tested positive for coronavirus, ARY NEWS reported on Tuesday.

    The Regional Tax Office (RTO) in Quetta has been closed after the virus cases popped up from the office, said the officials as disinfection spray would be carried out at the office.

    The FBR officials said that they have taken emergency decisions in the wake of the spread of coronavirus at the tax authority’s offices.

    “It has been decided to conduct coronavirus testing of employees at the Large Taxpayer Unit in Karachi,” they said adding that no one would be allowed to visit the office before virus test reports clear them of the infection.

    On April 14, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) decided to shun use of paper-related work at its offices over fears of coronavirus spread.

    Read More: Confirmed coronavirus cases reach 14,079 in Pakistan, 301 dead

    In a series of messages posted on tax-collection body’s official Twitter account, it said that in view of the prevailing Corona virus outbreak, the FBR has taken necessary precautions to limit the spread of the virus.

    “For this reason, FBR has limited the use of paper-based correspondence and utilizing email and fax instead as means of communication,” the message read.

    It also shared contact details of the FBR offices across the country for any correspondence.

  • Sindh grants permission to 86 industrial units amid COVID-19 lockdown

    Sindh grants permission to 86 industrial units amid COVID-19 lockdown

    KARACHI: The Sindh government has granted permission to 86 more industrial units to resume operations amid COVID-19 lockdown, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

    A notification has been released by the Sindh home department for allowing the 86 industrial units to restart operations.

    The latest order stated that the units were permitted to resume operations in accordance with the undertaking for complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) finalised by the provincial authorities.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh authorities had allowed 151 export units to resume work in order to complete their orders. All factories being allowed to resume activities will be bound to follow the SOPs set by the government.

    Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the provincial government is willing to design standard operating procedures (SOPs) for smart policy response against coronavirus pandemic.

    Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting for holding consultations over policy response regarding the coronavirus pandemic which was attended by experts through video link.

    The chief minister said that he has remained in contact with all experts to contain the disease in Sindh and followed the instructions. The government wants to design SOPs for smart policy response to fight COVID-19 in order to reach every suspected patient.

  • FBR to directly transfer tax refund to taxpayers’ bank accounts

    FBR to directly transfer tax refund to taxpayers’ bank accounts

    KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established a central system to transfer tax refunds directly to the taxpayers’ bank accounts, ARY NEWS reported.

    According to details provided at the tax collection body’s Twitter account, the tax refund for sales and income taxes and federal excise duty would be directly transferred to the taxpayers account.

    “All taxpayers are directed to update their IRIS profile and provide IBAN number along with other details of the bank accounts,” the FBR spokesman said.

    The tax refund cheques will directly be transferred to the taxpayers’ accounts.

    The spokesman said that they have also developed a central system to facilitate exporters for online payment of customs duty drawback into their bank accounts. The exporters were also directed to update their profiles with proper details of the bank accounts along with the IBAN numbers.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the FBR yesterday said that lowering fuel prices in the country would increase revenue losses as fuel consumption has gone down to 50 percent.

    The FBR spokesman said that there was a consumption of 2000 million litres of fuel in the country, however, due to coronavirus lockdown, it witnessed a drastic decline of upto 50 percent.

    “We have suffered revenue losses of around Rs 45 billion,” he said and added that the government was lowering the fuel prices to facilitate the masses.

    He further said that the tax collection has also suffered due to the pandemic and the income tax collection during March dropped from Rs 500 billion to Rs 300 billion.

    The income tax collection in the ongoing month will further decrease and remain at Rs 200 billion, he said.

  • COVID-19 lockdown: Karachi traders threaten to launch ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

    COVID-19 lockdown: Karachi traders threaten to launch ‘Jail Bharo’ movement

    KARACHI: Karachi traders on Wednesday threatened to launch a jail bharo (fill the jails) movement if their demand to resume businesses in the metropolis during COVID-19 lockdown is not accepted, ARY NEWS reported.

    “If our demands are not accepted, we will be launching a jail bharo (fill the jails) movement,” said that Sindh Tajir Ittehad leader Jameel Paracha during a joint presser of different trade organizations.

    He said that the traders would reopen their shops from the first day of the Ramazan. “We will not meet any negotiating team or minister of the provincial government,” he said.

    Electronic Dealers Association leader Rizwan Irfan said that Sindh government was only trying to buy some time by trying to engage the traders in talks.

    “They have no sympathy towards the miserable condition traders and labourers are going through at this time,” he said.

    Another trade leader Illyas Memon said that both the federal and provincial governments want to cripple the businesses. “Thousands of labourers have become unemployed due to closure of shops,” he said adding that they were in no position to pay their utility bills and taxes.

    Read More: Karachi traders irked as deadline to resume businesses expires

    It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the day, President All City Tajir Ittehad was taken into custody by local police on Wednesday over allegations of defying coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

    The police took President All City Tajir Ittehad Hammad Poonawala into custody along with four others.

    The traders had forcibly opened shops disregarding government orders, the police therefore took action and ‘Iron Market’ area of the metropolis was completely shut down.

    All City Tajir Ittehad members have claimed that the police roughed them up and forced them to shut down shops.