Toshakhana reference: Imran, wife Bushra sentenced 14-year jail time

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An accountability court awarded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi 14 years of rigorous jail time each in the Tohsakhana reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs1.5 billion on the couple and disqualified the former premier from holding public office for 10 years.

During the previous hearing, which was also held at Adiala jail, the court recorded Bushra Bibi’s statement under Section 342.

Khan told the court that his wife had nothing to do with the case and was being humiliated by being forcibly dragged into it.

At the outset of the hearing today, Judge Bashir asked Khan if he recorded his statement. To this, the former premier said that he would submit his statement once his lawyers came.

“I have been deceived as I was only called to mark my attendance for the hearing,” said the PTI founder.

Following the verdict, Bushra Bibi, who was not present in court when the sentence was announced, arrived at the Adiala jail and surrendered before the authorities.

SAZEW records Profit of Rs1.4bn in 1HFY24

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Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (PSX: SAZEW) has announced the Earning for 1HFY24, wherein the profit after tax clocked in at Rs1.41 billion [EPS: Rs23.4] compared to a profit of Rs79.11Mn [EPS: Rs1.31] in the same period last year (SPLY).

Going by the results, the company’s turnover surged by 3.04 YoY to Rs14.53bn as compared to Rs4.78bn in SPLY.

Likewise, the cost of sales grew by 2.67x YoY. However, the growth in sales outpaced the rise in costs, leading to a significant improvement in gross profit by 517.14% YoY, reaching Rs3.12bn in 1HFY24.

On the expense side, the company observed an increase in Distribution and marketing expenses and other expenses to clock in at Rs556.03m and Rs173.49m respectively during the review period.

Similarly, the burden of administrative expenses increased by 60.16% YoY to Rs158.02, in 1HFY24.

However, SAZEW’s earnings during this period were significantly supported by its other income which stood at Rs186.46m in 1HFY24 as compared to just Rs3.77m in SPLY, reflecting a massive growth.

Additional benefits were realized through eased financing, as the company’s finance costs contracted by 21.38% YoY, amounting to Rs71.35m compared to Rs90.76m in 1HFY23.

On the tax front, the company paid a substantially higher tax worth Rs931.41m against the Rs19.51m paid in the corresponding period of last year.

In addition to the financial results, the Board of Directors of the company in their meeting held today has approved the purchase of a piece of land measuring nearly 20 kanals, valued at approximately Rs165 million (subject to actual land measurement).

Gold price in Pakistan drops by Rs4,500 per tola in January

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Domestic bullion has started 2024 on a negative note as the price of 24-karat gold has dropped by Rs4,500 per tola to Rs215,500 in January.

The move lower comes amid a drop in international prices and the continuous strengthening of the Pakistani rupee (PKR).

In today’s session, domestic gold snapped its two-day winning streak, with the 24-karat gold witnessing a decline of Rs600 per tola.

The Karachi Sarafa Association reported that 10-gram 24-karat gold was being sold at Rs184,756, showing a rise of Rs515 from the previous day.

While the price of 10-gram 22-karat gold was reported at Rs169,360.

Meanwhile, silver prices remained stable in the domestic market, with 24-karat silver being sold at Rs2,600 per tola and Rs2,229.08 per 10-gram.

International spot gold is currently trading at $2,040.19 [1:44pm PST], up by 0.16% compared to the previous session’s closing.

However, the rate reported by the association stood at $2,055, down by $2 compared to the previous day’s rate.

It is important to mention that the international spot rate is currently down by 1.11% this month driven by expectations of a rate cut by the U.S. Fed.

However, with escalating tensions in the Middle East and diminishing hopes of rate cut, the appeal for safe-haven assets has risen, signaling a bullish trend for gold.

Govt jacks up Petrol price by Rs13.55 per litre

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The caretaker government on Wednesday hiked the price of petrol by Rs13.55 per litre for the next fortnight.

The new price of petrol is now Rs272.89 per litre from the previous price of Rs259.34, according to a notification from the Finance Division.

The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was increased by Rs2.75 to Rs278.96 per litre.

IMF’s review mission expected to visit Pakistan after Feb 8 polls

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A review mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to be dispatched to conduct talks with Islamabad after Pakistan’s much anticipated general elections, scheduled to be held on February 8.

The review mission is set to visit Pakistan for talks regarding the $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA) programme, The News reported.

According to a confirmation received by The News from top official sources, the “Fund has not yet confirmed the exact schedule for conducting the second review, so the upcoming review talks are expected to be held after the general elections”.

In its latest staff report, the IMF also hinted that the date of the second review was revised at the time of the signing of the SBA agreement in July 2023. The second review for the end of December 2023 was planned for March 1, 2024.

Now the Pakistani side proposed the review schedule for March 15, 2024, indicating that the review completion date was changed with the possibility that talks for a second review might be held after the February 8, 2024 elections.

The existing SBA programme of the IMF is scheduled to be accomplished on April 12, 2024. In case the second review is completed till mid of March, then the Fund’s Executive Board would have sufficient time to approve the last tranche of $1.1 billion for Pakistan by the second of April 2024.

It is not known how the transition from the SBA to another medium-term programme would happen when there would be a political transition in Pakistan.

Earlier, there were reports that the mainstream political parties had asked to accomplish the second review during the tenure of the caretaker setup. There are still chances that the Fund review might be done before the formation of the new government.

Many insiders believe that after the general elections, the formation of the new government was expected to be accomplished by the end of February, so the IMF review mission might visit Islamabad before the formation of the new government and complete the second review.

In April 2024, the IMF will again be visiting Pakistan to strike a broader agreement on the fresh medium-term loan programme based on which the next budget for 2024-25 will be formulated. It will be up to the next government whether it will be able to sign the fresh IMF programme before the announcement of the budget or it might be done till the approval of the budget from the upcoming elected parliament.

Pakistan Gold Imports Decline 6% In First Half of Fiscal Year 2024

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The imports of gold decreased by 6.02 percent for Pakistan during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The gold imports during the July-December (2023-24) were recorded at $ 13.562 million as compared to the imports of $14.431 million during July-December (2022-23), according to PBS data.
In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 240 kilograms of gold during the period under review as compared to the imports of 239 kilograms last year, showing increase of 0.54 percent.

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On year-on-year basis, the gold imports decreased by 76.06 percent in December as compared to the same month of last year. The gold imports during December 2023 were recorded at $0.780 compared to imports of $3.259 million.

In terms of quantity, the gold imports declined by 75 percent to 12 kilograms in December 2023 as compared to the imports of 48 kilogram during December 2022 2023.

On month-on-month basis, the gold imports during December 2023 decreased by 79.99 percent when compared to the imports of $3.899 million in November 2023.

In terms of quantity, the gold imports declined by 80 percent when compared to the imports of 60 kilogram during November 2023.

Nawaz seeking 4th time in office via backdoor: Bilawal

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Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman and former foreign minister, has cast aspersions over PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s bid to become the country’s premier fourth time, saying he is seeking to return to power via backdoor.

“He’s certainly giving the impression that he is relying on something other than the people of Pakistan to become prime minister for the fourth time,” Bilawal told UK-based Reuters news agency when asked if he thought the establishment backed the PML-N founder.

Since Nawaz’s return to Pakistan in October last year, the PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have alleged that the former three-time premier was being given preferential treatment while other political parties were being denied level-playing field ahead of the February 8 polls.

A day earlier, Bilawal said Nawaz would harm the country via his “habitual revenge politics” if he came to power once again.

“Mian sahib is habitual of [taking] revenge. He would take revenge which no one can think of if he becomes the [country’s] prime minister for the fourth time,” he had said while addressing a political gathering in Chiniot, Punjab.

Banking Sector spread inched up by 1.4% on YoY basis in Dec

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As per the data released by the SBP the Banking sector spread for the month of December 2023 has decreased by 1 basis points (bps) MoM to 7.62% as compared to a spread of 7.63% in November 2023.

On a yearly basis, the banking sector spread has increased by 1.35% YoY as compared to a spread of 6.27% in December 2022.

The lending rate for all banks went up by 7bps MoM, while up by 4.63% YoY to stand at 19.34% in December 2023.

Moreover, the deposit rate jumped to 11.72%, 8bps higher than the previous month and 3.29% higher than the previous year.

SBP has sold T-bills worth Rs185bn and yields drop by up to 62bps

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The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) conducted an auction on Wednesday in which it sold Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) worth Rs184.66 billion for 3,6 and 12 months against a target of Rs225bn.

Cut-off yields for 3, 6, and 12 months were 20.4997%, 20.4000%, and 20.2298%, depicting a fall of 50bps, 56bps, and 62bps in 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month papers, respectively.

Pakistan’s economy to grow by 2-2.5% this FY: Shamshad

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Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar projected on Saturday that the country’s economic growth will rebound by 2-2.5% in the current fiscal year.

Virtually addressing the ‘IPO Summit 2024’, organized by Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Dr Akhtar estimated the agriculture sector to grow by 5.6% and industrial sector by 2.5% in the year.

She stood optimistic on collection of revenue in taxes, saying the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would most probably collect Rs10 trillion in FY24 compared to the set target of Rs9.4 trillion for the year.

Shamshad said the country’s foreign exchange reserves have recently hit a high of $9.1 billion from $4 billion at the start of her term being the minister.

The finance minister said the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) was cognizant that the benchmark policy rate needs to come down, from current record high of 22%, to support economic activities .