Economy

State Bank of Pakistan's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to hold on to the SBP's policy rate to 6% for the next two months. It has decided on the fact that inflation in the country would remain benign for the remaining months of the current finance year. Meanwhile, oil prices will likely to remain subdued, leaving urbanites with more disposable income might result in a gradual increase in consumer prices, going forward. (SCPL Research)
China and Pakistan have agreed to establish a joint working group tasked to formulate a 5-year plan of cooperation and partnership between various sectors including industrial cooperation, energy to energy, technology to technology and business to business connectivity between Xingiang and Pakistan. (BR)

The government decided to withdraw tax exemptions over PkR100bn, amounting to 0.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), in the budget 2016-17 with the aim to bring the deficit down. In the first two phases, exemptions worth PkR225bn, granted through statutory regulatory orders (SROs) have been withdrawn to improve tax collection. (Dawn)

Weekly inflation for combined income group, measured through the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), slightly decreased by 0.01% for the week ended April 7 as compared to the previous week. For the lowest income group earning up to PkR8,000, the SPI declined by 0.07% over the previous week, and inflation for the top income group (PkR35,000 and above) was down by 0.05%. The items which registered increase in their prices are tomatoes 21.43%, pulse gram 1.76%, mash (pulse) 1.36%, vegetable ghee 0.75%, red-chilli powder 0.41%, gur 0.35%, mustard oil 0.25%, sugar 0.09% and mutton 0.17%. In non-food items, petrol prices increased by 2.25%, LPG cylinder 11-kg 2.39%; match box 2.01% and high-speed diesel 1.99%. (Dawn)

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has challenged the fixing of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) price at PkR900 per cylinder as desired by the petroleum ministry against 27% cheaper product available in the market. It believed that the pricing mechanism desired by the ministry was fundamentally flawed and without any justification, and could create an upheaval in the country. In a letter on March 24, the petroleum ministry asked Ogra to fix the price of 11.8kg cylinder of LPG at PkR895 for domestic and commercial consumers and reported that the LPG policy had been cleared by the CCI. (Dawn)

Market
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has held a consultative roundtable in an attempt to seek feedback on the Draft Employees Provident Fund (Investment in Listed Securities) Rules 2016 from market participants. The rules are aimed at regulating the investment being made from the employee’s provident fund by the companies and institutions and are important to safeguard the savings of employees, says an SECP statement. In another note, SECP has issued the draft Private Placement of Securities Rules 2016 for regulating issuance of securities through private placement. The draft relates to securities issued through private placement include companies that manage public funds such as mutual funds, pension funds, employees’ funds, listed companies, banks, etc. (Dawn, ET)

Oil & Gas
Shareholders of Tapi Pipeline Company Limited have signed an investment agreement that will pave the way for delivery of long-term natural gas supplies, helping address energy shortages. The investment agreement provides an initial budget of over US$200mn to fund the next phase of the Tapi natural gas pipeline. (Tribune)

Oil prices jumped on Friday to cap a week of gains, helped by more indicators of slowing US output and hopes for an output freeze at the coming producers’ gathering in Doha. New York benchmark WTI for delivery in May gained 6.6% to US$39.72 a barrel. In London Brent North Sea crude for June surged 6.4% to US$41.94 a barrel. (Tribune)


Regards
Shajar Research