Thursday, March 27 2025

Shares at PSX surge 1,100 points after IMF agreement
Bulls dominated the trade floor on Wednesday as shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged more than 1,100 points after a successful review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 1,390.46 points, or 1.19 per cent to stand at 118,023.62 from the previous close of 116,633.16 at 9:22am. Finally, the index closed at 117,772.31, up by 1,139.15 or 0.98pc, from the last close. Topline Securities, a brokerage firm in Karachi, noted market gains were primarily driven by UBL, OGDC, PPL, MEBL, and MARI, which contributed 883 points to the index. “A total of 355m shares were traded, with a turnover of Rs 37bn,” it said, adding that PAEL led the volume chart, with 29m shares exchanged. Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, stated that the “major trigger” behind the bull run was the federal government reaching a deal with the IMF for a new $1.3 billion arrangement, along with the first review of the ongoing 37-month bailout programme.
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Fleecing lambs
One was to send the changes to the net metering policy back to the energy ministry for reconsideration. And the other was to reinstate a tax rebate allowed to researchers and teachers in higher education institutions which everyone was told suddenly in December 2024 had been withdrawn in the budget announced in June 2022. In both instances, we had a story that was rather typical of how things are done in Pakistan, and how it presents us with a problem to be solved. In the case of the solar policy, the energy ministry literally took the explosive success of their last net metering policy and presented it as a failure, arguing that all the beneficiaries of that policy were “elites” who had become a burden on the power system, and carrying this burden was the main reason that electricity bills had become so expensive.
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Some progress
THE finalisation of a deal between Pakistan and the IMF on the first Extended Fund Facility programme review and a new arrangement that will enable Islamabad to access additional funds under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility is a much-needed shot in arm for a wobbly economy. It should also put an end to speculations engendered by departure of the IMF team without signing the customary staff-level agreement. The statement issued by the IMF mission chief after the staff-level agreement shows that the lender is satisfied with the progress Pakistan has made on the benchmark programme targets. “Over the past 18 months, Pakistan has made significant progress in restoring macroeconomic stability and rebuilding confidence despite a challenging global environment. While economic growth remains moderate, inflation has declined to its lowest level since 2015, financial conditions have improved, sovereign spreads have narrowed significantly, and external balances are stronger,” the statement elaborates.
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Public Accounts Committee summons top bureaucrats on sugar crisis
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday voiced displeasure over the non-submission of a report on sugar crisis and called the secretaries of industries, commerce and food security ministries for a briefing on it PAC Chairman Junaid Akbar Khan reminded officials that a report had been requested but was yet to be presented. Consequently, the committee summoned the secretaries of three ministries to provide details about sugar prices, imports and exports. The committee also scrutinised funds allocated to the ministry of housing and works that lapsed at the end of the fiscal year due to delays in their release. The secretary of housing and works attributed delays to the late release of final grants.
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Study confirms over $60bn copper and gold reserves at Reko Diq
As a formal feasibility study confirmed more than $60 billion worth of copper and gold reserves at the Reko Diq project in Balochistan at prevailing prices, three state-owned energy sisters have more than doubled their funding commitment close to $1.9bn. Three SOEs — Oil and Gas Development Com­pany Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) and Government Holdings (Pvt) Ltd (GHPL) — had originally committed about $300 million each to the project that has now been increased to $627m each. The trio’s total funding has thus increased to about $1.88bn from about $900m initially planned, informed sources told Dawn. “Based on existing reserves, the Reko Diq project is expected to yield production of 13.1 million tonnes of copper and 17.9 million ounces of gold over the life of the mine (100pc basis),” announced the state-run OGDCL.
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