News Bulletin: (22/07/2014) Fiscal Year 2014 current account balance posts $2.9 billion deficit (BR): The current account balance posted a deficit of some $2.9 billion during the last fiscal year (FY14), mainly due to rising imports of goods, services and income sector. Although, the CA deficit is slightly higher than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections, it is in line with the annual target of $2.9 billion set by the federal government. The IMFs forecast was $2.3 billion and the State Bank projected around 1 percent of GDP or $2.5 billion for FY14. Government mulling winding up Besos (BR): The government is likely to wind up Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme (BESOS), which offers a 12 percent share in public sector enterprises (PSEs) to their employees, though a notification to that effect has not been issued by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation yet, an official of Privatization Commission (PC) told Business Recorder. However, internally, the PC board is not in favour of continuing the scheme, an initiative of Pakistan Peoples Party government. Cotton growers likely to achieve 10.5 million bales target (BR): Growers in Punjab have brought 5.61 million acres of land under cotton sowing this year out of which it is expected to achieve the target of 10.5 million bales. This was stated by Punjab Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed while chairing the meeting of the Cotton Crop Management Croup which was also attended by the Secretary Agriculture Punjab Ali Tahir, Cotton Commissioner Dr Khalid Abdullah, Director General Agriculture (Extension & AR) Dr Anjum Ali and other high-ups. FY14: Car imports dented, plunge 51% (Tribune): Car imports in Pakistan plunged massively by 51% in fiscal year (FY) 2013-14 compared to the previous year, data revealed. This was the second consecutive year when the country saw a decline in the import of cars. Pakistan imported just 22,220 units in FY14 compared to 45,378 units in FY13. Power tariff on tube wells likely to rise (Tribune): The federal government, in a bid to reduce subsidy on farmers, is expected to increase electricity price by Rs2 per unit for tube wells used for watering crops. Restructuring package: PSM receives Rs2.85b (Tribune): The Ministry of Finance has released a sum of Rs2.85 billion to the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). The amount is the third installment of the first tranche of the approved restructuring package of Rs18.5 billion from the government. 20pc decline in export of services (Dawn): In absolute terms, export of services fell to $4.947 billion in July-May 2014 as against $6.249bn over the corresponding period of the preceding year, showed Pak¬istan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Monday. Allocations for PSDP not adequate: top official tells Senate body (BR): A parliamentary panel was told that the budgetary allocation of Rs 525 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of fiscal year 2014-15 was not enough to cater to the needs of 190 million people. Secretary Planning and Development Commission Hassan Nawaz Tarrar told the Senate Standing Committee on Communication that several resources and responsibilities were transferred to provinces subsequent to the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment and now modest development projects were the responsibility of provinces. Nandipur Power & Metro Bus projects: opposition members express concerns (BR): The members of opposition parties in the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms expressed their serious concerns over Nandipur Power Project and Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Service Project and submitted a requisition to discuss these projects in detail. Opposition members said that more than Rs 60 billion had been spent on Nandipur Power Project but it was not producing even a single megawatt. They said the government was not running the project due to price of diesel.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 05:27:58 +0000