Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates

Economic and Business Updates - June 01 to June 07, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Private sector credit growth declines to a six year low of three per cent by the end of april 9 due to low de- mand for working capital ahead of slow economic activi- ties and high interest rate, says third quarterly report of state bank.
Weakness in domestic de- mand, power shortages and de- terioration in law and order sit- uation have shrunk the large scale manufacturing growth, says state bank of pakistan’s third quarterly report.
Dow jones indexes, a lead- ing global index provider, and the federation of euro-asian stock exchanges plan to launch the dow jones feas indexes, which will include the karachi stock exchange.
The federal cabinet accords approval to the signing gas sale purchase agreement on iran-pakistan gas pipeline project.
The commerce ministry is facing stiff resistance from local industry over its reported move to allow afghanistan to import goods from india through wagha border.
The national economic council approves Rs. 621 billion allocations for public sector development programme 2009-10 having Rs. 421 billion federal and Rs. 200 billion pro- vincial components.
The state bank of pakistan indicates that the impending economic slowdown and do- mestic securities issue may dampen the growth of the banking system in coming months.
The federal board of revenue collected a revenue of Rs989 billion in july-may (2008-09), registering a growth of 15.50 per cent over the corre- sponding period of the last fiscal year.
Monetary expansion jumps up by almost four per cent in a month as the govern- ment gears up borrowings from all possible resources which push its budgetary sup- port borrowing even higher than in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.
Prime minister yousuf raza gilani constitutes a cabi- net committee to evaluate the proposed textile policy, envi- saging specific initiatives, for achieving an export target of $25 billion and creating 2.9 million jobs over next five years.
Banks post a massive decline of 23 per cent in profita- bility during the first quarter of the calendar year 2009 due to slow credit off-take amid poor economic activities.
Furnace oil prices go up by Rs2,559 per ton due to rising demand and low supply, say dealers.
The punjab government may formally end wheat pro- curement drive by mid june, as daily arrival drops to 8,000 tons as its earlier dateline of may 31 has passed. mean- while, the department stocks have reached 5.72 million tons and at the current rate of ar- rival might reach between 5.8 and 5.85 million tons.
Government borrowing for commodity operations goes skyrocketing by mid may 2009. at its level on may16, 2009, it showed an increase of Rs152.5 billion over the level achieved in fy 2008.