Wednesday, June 07 2023

Stocks jump 255 points on likely dividend tax relief
The Pak­istan Stock Exchange (PSX) observed a third consecutive bullish session on Tuesday, with the representative index breaking the psychological barrier of 42,000 points in intraday trading. Topline Securities said news reports about the likely tax relief on inter-corporate dividends, which are pay-outs that one company receives for holding shares in another company, in the upcoming budget kept the blue-chip firms in the limelight throughout the day. However, investors opted for some profit-taking in the latter half of the trading session, which brought the KSE-100 index down from its intraday high last seen on May 17. Arif Habib Ltd said investor activity remained strong as the whispers about a favourable budget for the capital markets supported share prices. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,923.46 points, up 255.52 points or 0.61 per cent from the preceding session. The overall trading volume increased 65.9pc to 240.8 million shares. The traded value went up 51.1pc to $24.9m on a day-on-day basis.
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Budget: With or without IMF?
Peek-a-boo between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is almost as old as the country. Both sides appease their audience and the recent exchange of statements by the two has to be seen in this light. IMF’s Mission Chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter, responding to some questions, said: “We take note of the recent political developments, and while we do not comment on domestic politics, we do hope that a peaceful way forward is found in line with the Constitution and rule of law.” Ideally, the IMF should have avoided this statement as it does not serve any purpose, especially if getting the programme back on track is the goal. A government already under pressure on economic and political fronts was bound to respond to it. And so, it did. Overall, these statements from both sides have no meaning in terms of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) outcomes — the ninth review was handcuffed by external financing gaps five months before these jibes were exchanged. And so it remains. This statement, however, can strengthen the already widely accepted and deep-rooted perception that the global lender is influenced by political factors while setting conditionalities and implementing programmes.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

More of the same, or worse? What economists expect from upcoming budget
Last year we thought the government was going to announce ‘one of the toughest budgets yet’, and yet, here we are once again, at the same point, but worse. The coalition government is set to announce the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024 on June 9. Since the beginning of the year, each month seems to compete with the last to climb the inflation ladder, reaching a record 38 per cent in May. In the midst of political chaos, the watchful eye of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (which has requested to review the budget), Pakistan’s debt servicing obligations, and an election year, Dawn.com asked economic experts what they expect from the upcoming budget. Dr Aqdas Afzal This budget will be presented against the backdrop of the most challenging political and economic environment this country has witnessed since 1971. Where Pakistani people are facing the highest-ever inflation at almost 38pc, poverty and unemployment have been steadily increasing.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

Shift away from fossil fuel-based economy: Akhtar
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Chair­person Dr Shamshad Akhtar has said the country’s “extreme dependence” on fossil fuels to achieve gro­wth has ruined the environment at a high economic cost. Speaking at a seminar on the role of business in protecting the environment organised jointly by the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG), Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Indus­try (OICCI) and Unilever Pakistan Ltd, Dr Akhtar said the economic bill of climate change is so huge that accounting for it would double the country’s annual external financing requirements of around $29 billion. Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country in terms of its vulnerability to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. The OICCI estimates the country has incurred $3.79bn in economic losses in 20 years while losing nearly 10,000 lives to climate-related disasters between 1998 and 2018.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

PM backs fixed tax on IT sector
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday supported the idea of a fixed tax regime for the IT sector in the upcoming budget and also constituted a committee in this regard. Chairing a meeting, which was attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IT Minister Syed Amin-ul Haque, the prime minister also approved a $4.5 billion IT export target for 2023-24. Among others, the meeting was also participated by the State Bank governor, Federal Board of Rev­enue chairman, P@SHA chairman Muhammad Zoh­aib Khan, PTCL President and CEO Hatem Bamatraf and the senior executives of Jazz and Telenor. The meeting also accorded a principle app­roval for providing special incentives to new startups and special concessions for the promotion of business and trade through modern technology.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators tech-comm