31 Enterprises Up For Sale
The
government directed the Privatization Commission on Thursday to immediately start
the process for
sale of 31 Public
Sector Entities (PSEs) through initial
and secondary public
offering and transfer
of 26 per
cent shares, along with management control, to the private sector. The
decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet
Committee on Privatization, presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, to comply with a structural benchmark agreed
to under the IMF programmed. The companies
cleared for divestment include the Oil
and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Mari
Gas, Pak-Arab Refinery, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas
Company Limited, Sui Northern
Gas Pipelines Limited, Pakistan International
Airlines, PIA-Roosevelt
Hotel, New York, Pakistan Railways, Gujranwala Electric Power Company,
Lahore Electric Supply Company, Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Faisalabad
Electric Supply Company, Northern Electric
Generation Company, Pakistan
Steel Mills, National
Power Construction Company
and Pakistan National
Shipping Corporation. The financial sector entities selected for sale
in the first phase include National Bank of
Pakistan, First Women Bank,
Small and Medium
Enterprises Bank, National Investment Trust Limited, National
Insurance Company Limited, Pakistan
Reinsurance Company Limited,
State Life Insurance
Corporation and House Building
Finance Corporation. The
Civil Aviation Authority,
Karachi Port Trust, Port
Qasim Authority and
National Highway Authority
are also on the list.
3G, 4G, LTE Up For Grabs
The government has finalized the
policy guidelines for auction of the “next generation technology spectrum”,
signifying its departure from 3G range while offering a technology neutral band
to investors. Headed by Finance Minister
Ishaq Dar, an Advisory Committee on Auction of telecom spectrum discussed
at length the recommendations submitted by the Ministry of Information Technology regarding policy directives to
introduce next generation Mobile
Services In Pakistan. It was
the first meeting
of the advisory committee for the
auction of next
generation telecom spectrums, marking the beginning of a process
that had remained controversial in the past. The previous Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government too had approved a policy directive, and
even issued an
information memorandum and
auction calendar, but the
process became controversial. The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government
had included Rs120 billion as non-tax revenue
income on the
account of auction
of 3G licenses
in the Federal
Budget 2013-14 and wants to complete the process before the close of the current
financial year on June 30, 2014. In a significant policy shift, the new government decided
to keep the
spectrum technology neutral
and has named it
“next generation technology
spectrum”, which offers
a range of opportunities to the investors who could
provide 3G, 4G or Linear Technology.
NEPRA Cuts Power Tariff For KESC
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday reduced
the electricity rates of Karachi
Electric Supply Company (KESC) by 97 paisa and Rs1.63 per unit for October
and November, respectively. According to a notification issued by the power
regulator, the reduction in tariff was
necessitated by lower oil prices in
the international market in
the month of April, May
and June this year
and improvement in Karachi
Electric Supply Company’s
energy mix. It said the decision for tariff reduction
under monthly fuel price adjustment was taken after a public hearing in Karachi on Aug 15. Under the
notification, the NEPRA approved a
reduction of 27 paisa and 72 paisa per unit reduction for the month April and
May. As a result, the consumer tariff would be lower by 97 paisa per unit
against reference fuel price during the billing month of October 2013.
Users Of 200 Units To Get Rs 167
Billion Subsidy
Finance Minister
Ishaq Dar has
informed the Prime
Minister that Rs
167 billion subsidy
would be provided
to protect the domestic users using up to 200 units of
electricity in the current fiscal year. The Finance Minister called on Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday and briefed him about the cost of subsidy
on the budget and recent increase in electricity tariff by the government
that evoked criticism
and landed the
matter in the Supreme
Court. He informed the
Prime Minister that almost 70
percent electricity is
produced from furnace
oil, which is
very expensive and
only 30 percent
is produced from hydel.
The Prime Minister stressed that low income groups must be protected at all
costs. The government has earmarked a subsidy of Rs 165 billion for Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO)
on account of Inter-Disco Tariff
Differential and Rs 55 billion for Karachi
Electric Supply Company (KESC) for the current fiscal year.
First Gas Delivery Pipeline At
Latif Field Inaugurated
In a major development on energy
front, Pakistan made headway in integrated gas supply chain, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated
the first 47 kms gas delivery pipeline connecting four wells of Latif Field Development with Sawan Processing Plant. This iconic
project led by OMV will result in 100 mmcfd targeted supply of gas to SSGCL and SNGPL. The inaugural ceremony of the project was simultaneously
held at Sawan Central Processing Plant, Sindh and the Prime Minister House in Islamabad.
The US $150 million project is contributing a precious three percent into the
national gas grid to help meet the country's growing domestic and industrial requirement. the project has been
completed in record time of 15 months
only due to tireless
efforts of the
entire project team.
He appreciated OMV
for immense contribution
to Pakistan's Economy since commencement
of its operations
in 1990, with
its major hydrocarbon discoveries
like Sawan, Miano
and Latif Gas Fields, which are currently producing
over 360 million cubic feet of
gas per day.
The Prime Minister said supply of indigenous gas was a major component
of total energy mix and mainstay of economy.
Forex Reserves Fall By $287.3
Million
The country's liquid foreign exchange
reserves posted a decline of $287.3 million during last week because of debt
payment. The State Bank of Pakistan Thursday reported that the country's total
forex reserves fell to $9.923 billion as on September 27, 2013. Previously it stood at $10.21 billion a week earlier.
Reserves held by SBP posted a declining trend, while banks' reserves witnessed
some surge during the period under review. Reserves held by SBP dropped by
$326.3 million to $4.602 billion down from $4.928 billion. Similarly, reserves
held by banks mounted by $39 million to $5.321billion as September 27, 2013 as
compared to $5.282 billion as on September 20, 2013.
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