Business

PSX rings in budget week on positive note

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Traders believe market is expected to remain range-bound till budget announcement.
At close, it records an increase of 0.63% to settle at 41,577.21 points.
Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday following a bloodbath last week as the benchmark KSE-100 began the week with a gain of over 250 points.

Initially, the positivity came from the cement sector as prices in the south region have increased by Rs25 per bag (effective from June 6, 2022) where Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement, and Kohat Cement closed higher.

Furthermore, investors’ interest also witnessed exploration and production where Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) closed higher as Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) raised gas prices for SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company by 45% and 44%.

Traders believe the market is expected to remain range-bound until the announcement of the federal budget 2022-23, scheduled for June 10. The outcome of the budget presented will determine the market direction in the future.

The benchmark KSE-100 index opened at 41,577.21 points and at close, it recorded an increase of 262.33 points, or 0.635, to settle at 41,577.21 points.

Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 193 scrips closed in the green, 126 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 189.24 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 225.39 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 33.13 million shares traded, losing Rs0.21 to close at Rs21.07. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 16.29 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs17.46 and TPL Properties with 11.66 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.29 to close at Rs18.55.

Business

Donald Lu visits Finance Minister Aurangzeb at the World Bank headquarters.

Published

5 hours ago

Farwa

Wednesday saw Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb meet US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst.

The finance minister briefed US officials on Pakistan’s reform plan at the World Bank. Meeting both delegations decided to improve bilateral ties.

Meeting topics included alternative energy, agriculture, climate, and tech industry. Boosting the Pakistan-US economic partnership was another finance ministry priority.

With US officials, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb addressed IT, agriculture, and other business potential.

Pakistan would collaborate with the US International Development Finance Corporation and Exim Bank, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb.

His name is Donald Lu.
Over 30 years of US government service for Lu as a foreign service officer.

What Pakistan calls the “cipher” dispute involves the American official. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder claimed that a supposed official letter between Washington and Islamabad proved his ousting as PM was a US conspiracy.

Washington has strongly refuted Khan’s allegations.

The State Department’s top South and Central Asia diplomat is Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state.

Business

Huge investment potential exists in the telecom and IT sectors. Shaza Fatima

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

According to Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication, there are numerous investment prospects in Pakistan’s IT and telecom sectors.

She noted that the current administration is dedicated to fostering foreign investment in the nation, in line with the Prime Minister’s goal.

According to a news release, CEOs Wateen Adil Rashid and Muhammad Shahbaz Khan of Taavun (Pvt) Limited, who paid her a visit on Tuesday, spoke with Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja.

She declared that the private sector would receive complete support because it is essential to growing our exports.

Regarding youngsters, she stated that they are our greatest asset and that efforts are being made to further their growth.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates was thanked by Shaza Fatima for his particular interest in promoting additional investment in Pakistan’s telecom industry.

Business

WB pledges complete support for changes aimed at stabilizing Pakistan’s economy.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, met with President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, according to a press release from the ministry of finance here. During the meeting, the minister discussed Pakistan’s progress under the nine-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) program as well as ongoing reforms in priority areas of taxation, energy, and privatization.

According to the statement, the minister also extended an invitation to the president to visit Pakistan, and both parties acknowledged the necessity of a rolling 10-year country framework plan.

The minister also talked on safeguarding Pakistan’s eligibility for concessional funding and future project pipeline during a meeting with Masatsugu Asakawa, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The chief executive officer of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Scott Nathan, also met with the minister of finance.

They discussed during the conference how DFC may increase its investments in Pakistan after resolving unresolved conflicts in a cooperative manner.

According to the minister, the government is supporting creative financing strategies to maximize PPP potential and private sector participation.

According to the statement, he gave his word that the government will do everything in its power to assist investment projects by both foreign and local businesses in Pakistan.