ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said the United States should channelise disbursement of its financial assistance to Pakistan through the existing mechanism of the government of Pakistan. He underlined the fact that disbursement through NGOs involves out of proportion administrative expenses, sometimes to the extant of 35 - 40% and hence, actual amount spent on the welfare of the public gets drastically reduced. The Prime Minister was talking to the US Deputy Secretary of State for Resources and Management, Jacob J. Lew who accompanied by the Acting Administrator of USAID, Alouso L. Fulgham called on him here at the PM House on Sunday evening. Prime Minister Gilani suggested that the US Deputy Secretary of State should have detailed meetings with the Minister and the Secretary of Finance to work out mutually agreed modalities on the procedure of financial assistance. He pointed out that the Benazir Income Support Programme, Higher Education Commission, the existing basic education and the basic health units in Pakistan should be considered for the US assistance for education, health and poverty alleviation sectors.Monday, September 07, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
GILGIT : The Federal Government would spend Rs 6.5 million on socio-economic uplift of region as it has approved Annual Development Plan (ADP) for 2009-2010, Senior officials of the administration said. The ADP 2009-2010 was approved by the Chairman Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira and accordingly the plan was circulated among all government departments, Secretary Planning and Development, Abdus Sattar told APP by phone. He disclosed some 767 development schemes would be executed this year and out of them 94 were new projects in the ADP. The government is specially focusing on power sector so that the huge water potential is harnessed for the energy production.
Monday, September 07, 2009
KARACHI: The sugar mills owners have expressed their inability to pay off/retire Rs 40 billion loans and advances that they owed to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) due to ongoing crackdown against the millers by the government. Talking to Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Iskandar Khan said due to the crackdown of law enforcement agencies
Japan suspends aid to Third World
Posted by imdurrani Labels: Asia, global finance, pakistan, world financeMonday, September 07, 2009 Visit Finance.KalPoint.Com for latest financial stories...
The channel said that Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project is in jeopardy following the Japanese government decision.
Monday, September 07, 2009 Visit Finance.KalPoint.Com for latest financial stories...
The macroeconomic framework for expenditures between the federation and provinces would also be determined for the next five years along with the NFC award. It is learnt that the meeting discussed growth rate for the future expansion of expenditures as well as vertical distribution formula between the federation and the provinces.
The new macroeconomic framework of provinces for five years would be based on the economic reports of the provinces and their future expenditures would be calculated on these grounds.
Secretary Finance Salman Siddique later talking to media on the sidelines of the launching of World Bank Pakistan Tax Policy Report, said that once the benchmarking of federal and provincial expenditures is completed, a clear macroeconomic picture would be available for determination of federal and provincial governments shares in federal revenues.
The issues before the technical committee are to determine federal and provincial expenditures, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates to be achieved in next five years and as to what should be the base for vertical distribution of resource between federal government and four provinces.
THE RUPEE: dollar gains more
Posted by imdurrani Labels: forex market, Pak Economy, pakistan, Pakistani Rupee, World Currencies, world forexSaturday, September 05, 2009 KARACHI: Persisting demand for dollars did not allow the rupee to shed its losses against the greenback on the currency market on Friday, dealers said. On the interbank market, the rupee shed five paisa against dollar for buying and selling at 82.90 and 82.95, they said. Market sources said that the weaker rupee is good to attract the buyers in the international market, in the meantime, they said that the rupee may trim its losses as a result of easy supply of the US currency. Open Buying Rs 82.70 Open Selling Rs 82.80 Interbank Closing Rates: Interbank Closing Rates For Dollar On Friday. Buying Rs 82.90 Selling Rs 82.95 (BRecorder)
During the final Asian session dollar held steady above this week's seven-week low against yen and kept a firmer tone against euro as investors hunkered down to await US non-farm payrolls later in the day. The market is uncertain how dollar will react to the August non-farm payrolls report due at 1230 GMT, after it lost its toehold above 93.00 yen at the start of this week and hit its lowest since mid-July just above 91.90 on Thursday.
OPEN MARKET RATES: The rupee retained its levels against dollar for the second day for buying and selling at 82.70 and 82.80, dealers said. Meanwhile the rupee gained 20 paisa in terms of euro for buying and selling at Rs 117.55 and Rs 118.05, they said.
Saturday, September 05, 2009 ISLAMABAD: The World Bank believes that the absence of conditions from donors in the last few years has paved the way for Islamabad not to hike electricity tariff in accordance with the generation cost, leading to creation of the monster of circular debt that compromised country s ability to provide uninterrupted power to its consumers. When there were no conditions, the pricing formula to adjust electricity tariff simply disappeared, WB Senior Energy Specialist Rashid Aziz said while expressing his views in a panel discussion organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) on the impact of circular debt at the Auditorium of Planning Commission on Friday. Member Planning Commission Shaukat Hameed pointed out that the tariff of power generation from Basha dam was proposed at 10 to 12 cents in the PC-1 so cheap electricity would not be available now. He criticised the IPPs, saying that the government guaranteed in 1996 to get electricity at 18 cents. It was also pointed out that the issue of circular debt could not be solved by injecting Rs200 billion through loans from the ADB or launching securitisation bond for overseas Pakistanis. Our banking system is not in position to arrange financing of Rs200 billion, so it requires tackling the issue, Federal Secretary Ministry of Textile Dr Waqar Masood said. Referring to an IMF document, he said the tariff is still short by 21 to 41 per cent in accordance with various estimates. The WB expert on energy, citing an example, said it is quite clear that when you go to market for purchasing a dozen eggs with a price of Rs50 but if you pay Rs30 it will not be possible to get a dozen eggs. But the same is not the case in the power sector. When asked to comment on increased level of electricity after installing of expensive Rental Power Plants (RPPs), he said that there was no gas available to fully utilise avenues of power generation.
Oil prices drop after US jobs data
Posted by imdurrani Labels: global economy, Oil prices, world financeSaturday, September 05, 2009
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