Chinese firm to buy 30pc stake in PRL
State-run oil marketing company Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has agreed to sell its over 30 percent shareholding in Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) to a Chinese firm in a bid to attract an investment of $1.5 billion to double the refining capacity.
PRL, in which PSO is a major shareholder with a 63.6 percent stake, has inked an agreement with the United Energy Group (UEG) of China to embark on a transformative journey with plant expansion and upgrade.
The Chinese firm will invest $1.5 billion in increasing PRL’s production capacity by 100 percent. Against this capital injection, PSO is likely to offer a 30-35 percent shareholding to the Chinese company.
At Present, PRL has a refining capacity of 50,000 barrels per day (bpd), which will be enhanced to 100,000 bpd following the Chinese investment.
More than 10,000 FBR officials fail to file tax returns
Over 10,000 employees of Pakistan’s top tax authority have been identified as non-filers of income tax returns in the last two years, sources recorded.
This raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of efforts to document the economy and broaden the tax base particularly when the tax authority itself struggles to ensure its employees are on the tax roll in the tax years — 2022 and 2023.
The Trend of non-filing is particularly prevalent among officials below the grade-17 level across the country. Despite the high incidence of this issue, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has yet to take action against these non-compliant employees.
Agenda of Privatisation
The Caretaker government and the Privatisation Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad are trying to privatise some state-owned enterprises, particularly PIA. Mr Fawad, possibly the most competent bureaucrat of his generation, was persecuted by one side and felt abandoned by the other, in the ever-changing sides that is our politics.
Those Opposed to the privatisation of PIA are casting aspersions that the privatisation minister and the caretaker government have some hidden agenda with regard to PIA’s privatisation. What agenda can they have? Let’s review some numbers.
There are five airlines in Pakistan, four of them private. All charge about the same fare and provide the same level of service. Yet the four private airlines earn money and pay taxes. PIA, on the other hand, lost Rs88 billion last year on sales of Rs172bn.
Toyota rolls out first HEVs
Federal Secretary Industries and Production Asad Rehman Gilani has said that while embarking on this journey with locally manufactured hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) on our roads, let’s keep in mind, that the country must expedite exports to reduce the trade deficit.
“I see no better partner to support this goal, than our long-term standing partner, Toyota,” he said while gracing the rolling out of much awaited 4th generation Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Vehicle at the manufacturing facility of Indus Motor Company (IMC).
Finance Ministry opposes latest energy sector management proposal
The Finance Ministry has not supported an official proposal to appoint senior armed forces officers as heads of new Performance Management Units (PMUs) in the rotten power distribution companies to improve their management.
But the finance ministry backed the original decision of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to give a role to the armed forces in an ongoing anti-electricity theft campaign.
ADB accepts $659mn financing for Pakistan
Days after Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar declared public debt as “unsustainable”, Pakistan secured an expensive $300 million loan at market rates from the Asian Development Bank to improve tax compliance, showing a glaring contrast between the government’s actions and words.
The Loan has not been obtained for any development purposes; rather the proceeds would be utilised for budget financing purposes in the name of bringing reforms in Pakistan’s revenue and expenditure frameworks.
The Manila-based lending agency on Wednesday approved a $659 million financing package for Pakistan under three different loans. These include $300 million for improving domestic resource mobilisation; $275 million for rehabilitating schools damaged by the devastating August 2022 floods; and $80 million for enhancing agricultural productivity to improve food security, according to an announcement by the ADB on Wednesday.
State Bank offers P2M under Raast
Pakistan’s central bank has formally launched the person-to-merchant (P2M) online payment option on its indigenous and instant payment system; Raast, a leapfrog step towards reducing the use of cash and digitalising and documenting the domestic economy.
P2M enables people to pay directly to merchants for shopping, dining and pay monthly utility bills through the quick response (QR) code. In a notification to all the regulated entities (REs) including scheduled banks, microfinance banks (MFBs), electronic money institutions (EMIs), payment system operators (PSOs) and payment service providers (PSPs), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said, “The P2M service will enable payment acceptance by businesses using quick response (QR) codes, Raast Alias, IBAN and request to pay (RTP).”
Sui Southern Gas Company plans IPO for LPG subsidiary
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has announced plans to list its subsidiary, SSGC LPG, on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in the future. This move aims to facilitate new financing for ongoing and upcoming projects by offering shares to the general public.
In a notification to the PSX, the gas utility firm stated that the board of directors of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) has approved “the conversion of the status of SSGC LPG (Private) Limited from Private Limited to a Public Limited Company.” This approval is granted to initiate the process of issuing 33.33 million ordinary shares of the converted company through an initial public offer (IPO) at an opportune time in the future.