ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed relevant authorities to expand a list of banned import items by adding more luxury goods to it, reported the local media on Tuesday, as Pakistan faces a growing current account deficit which has triggered serious financial challenges.
The country’s commerce ministry issued a list of 38 items, including mobile phones, cosmetics and pet food, in May while prohibiting their import. The government took the decision to reduce the import bill at a time when Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves were declining and its currency was fast losing its value against the US dollar.
As the government prepares to present the next federal budget on Friday, it plans to take more measures to protect its forex reserves from unnecessary consumption.
“The prime minister has given instructions to Ministry of Commerce, FBR [Federal Board of Revenue], and other budget makers to identify items for purpose of banning and slapping RDs [regulatory duties] in a bid to decrease import bills,” The News reported while quoting an unnamed official privy to the matter. “Number of items that will be added to the RD list or banned list have not been decided yet.”
The official said the government was trying to curtail imports by $6 billion in the coming budget, adding that it already expected to save about $3 billion on the import of COVID-19 vaccines along with reduced shipping costs and rents of about $2 billion.
“The government is considering measures to curtail imports by $1 billion through different tariff and nontariff barriers,” he continued.
Apart from banning luxury items, Pakistan also plans to control the import of goods by imposing or adjusting regulatory duties on a large number of goods.
Pakistan to expand list of banned import items amid mounting current account deficit — media
https://arab.news/cpgqe
Pakistan to expand list of banned import items amid mounting current account deficit — media
- Government prohibited the import of 38 luxury goods in May due to declining forex reserves
- Officials say Pakistan seeks to curtail imports by $6 billion in the coming fiscal year
Pakistan eye third victory in Azlan Shah hockey tournament against Japan today
- Pakistan beat hosts Malaysia and South Korea 5-4, 4-0 respectively last week
- 30th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is being played in Malaysia from May 4-11
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan men’s field hockey team will face Japan today, Tuesday, in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup clash in Ipoh, state-run media reported, as the green shirts eye a third victory in the tournament.
Pakistan have already won the two matches they have played in the tournament so far against hosts Malaysia, and South Korea. Pakistan beat a strong Malaysian side 5-4 on Saturday to win their opening contest of the cup before thrashing South Korea 4-0 on Sunday.
“In the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup, Pakistan in their third match will play against Japan at Ipoh in Malaysia today,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported, adding that the match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Pakistani players Abdul Hanan Shahid, Arshad Liaqat, Ghazanfar Ali and Sufiyan Khan scored goals against South Korea to ensure the national team dominated the match on Sunday. Pakistan’s defense did an impressive job to contain the Korean hockey team, thwarting their efforts to score a single goal.
The 30th edition of the prestigious field hockey tournament is being played in Ipoh, Malaysia from 4-11 May. The cup will be contested between six teams, namely Canada, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Korea.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 will see a round-robin stage at first where all six participating teams will play against each other once, followed by positional playoffs.
The teams finishing in the bottom two places of the league stage will contest in a fifth-place classification match. Teams finishing in third and fourth place in the pool stage will compete for bronze, while the top two teams will play in the final for the title.
All participating teams, except Japan, will be heading to Gniezno in Poland shortly after the tournament to participate in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup. There the title and an opportunity to be promoted to the FIH Hockey Pro League will be at stake.
Pakistan Cricket Board launches national team’s kit for T20 World Cup 2024
- Pakistan will take part in T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to kick off in United States on June 2
- Green shirts will play separate T20I series against Ireland, England this month to prepare for mega event
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this week launched the national team’s kit for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to kick off next month in the United States and West Indies.
Cricket boards launch their national team’s kit before mega tournaments such as the World Cup. At a ceremony held in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Monday night, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi launched the Pakistan team’s “Matrix Jersey” at the Qaddafi Stadium.
“Unveiled the new kit of Pakistan Cricket team!” Naqvi wrote on social media platform X. “Team Pakistan’s Green Matrix jersey is more than just a uniform; it’s a symbol of unity, representing every culture, and individual that makes up the rich fabric of our nation.”
The PCB chairman uploaded a video with his post in which star cricketers Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah can be seen with the PCB chairman checking out the new jerseys.
Skipper Azam and his squad have left for Dubai from where they will travel to Ireland and England to play two separate T20I series. Pakistan will play three T20Is against Ireland in Dublin from May 12-14 before they take on 2022 World Champions England from May 22-30 in a four-match series.
The series will be an important one for Pakistan as the team prepares for the T20 World Cup scheduled to kick off from June 2 in the US and West Indies.
Pakistan have a strong bowling line-up in the form of fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who played in two T20s against New Zealand after ending his retirement, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi.
Under Babar, Pakistan has done well in the last two T20 World Cups, reaching the semifinals in 2021 at the United Arab Emirates and losing to England in the final at the 2022 tournament in Australia.
Naqvi has promised a cash award of $100,000 to every player if the team wins the tournament.
Saudi, Pakistani businesses to continue investment talks on second day of Islamabad conference
- High-level Saudi business delegation led by Kingdom’s assistant minister for investment arrived in Pakistan on Sunday
- 30 Saudi firms from IT, telecos, energy, aviation, building, mining, agriculture are visiting, will meet 125 Pakistani companies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Saudi Arabia will hold business-to-business talks today, Tuesday, as part of a Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference being held in Islamabad amid a push by the South Asian nation to secure foreign financing.
A 50-member delegation led by the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to attend a two-day investment conference, with representatives of some 30 Saudi firms from the fields of IT, telecom, energy, aviation, construction, mining, agriculture and human resource development, among others.
The conference comes as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been working closely to increase bilateral trade and investment deals after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month and the two leaders reaffirmed a commitment to expedite a previously discussed investment package of $5 billion.
Since then there have been a flurry of meetings and high-level visits, including of the Saudi foreign minister to Pakistan and of Sharif for a second time to Riyadh followed by the Saudi business delegation’s ongoing visit to Islamabad.
“B2B [business to business] interactions have been most productive,” Sharif said in his address at a dinner hosted for the Saudi delegates on Monday evening.
“I want to make it very clear that it is not the business of the government to do business. Our job is to offer policy frameworks. Our job is to act as a catalyst to make things happen and remove hurdles in the way for speedy achievement of our targets.”
At a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said 125 Pakistani companies would be meeting and negotiating with the Saudi companies who were visiting Islamabad.
“First, there were government-to-government agreements during the visit of the Saudi foreign minister [last month] and now there will be business-to-business agreements,” he said. “To facilitate the visiting Saudi companies, the Pakistani commerce ministry has affiliated one focal person with each Saudi company.”
INVESTMENT PUSH
The Saudi business delegation’s visit comes on the heels of one by Sharif to Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
On the sidelines of the WEF conference, the Pakistani PM met and discussed bilateral investment and economic partnerships with the crown prince and the Saudi ministers of finance, industries, investment, energy, climate, and economy and planning, the adviser of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council and the presidents of the Saudi central bank and Islamic Development Bank.
This was Sharif’s second meeting with the crown prince in a month. Before that, he also met him when he traveled to the Kingdom on April 6-8. The Saudi foreign minister was also in Pakistan last month, a trip during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately requires foreign investment as it tries to navigate an economic crisis that has resulted in a chronic balance of payments crisis.
The South Asian country is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new bailout deal, for which it needs to signal that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing which has been a key demand in previous loan packages.
Pakistan’s technical expertise, Saudi markets could combine for ‘valuable’ investments — IT minister
Pakistan’s technical expertise, Saudi markets could combine for ‘valuable’ investments — IT minister
- In 2023, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed MoU to bolster bilateral cooperation in information technology
- Saudi Arabia has said it will set up dedicated desk to streamline registration of Pakistani IT companies in the Kingdom
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Information Technology (IT) Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Monday Pakistan’s technical expertise and Saudi Arabia’s market needs could combine for “valuable” investments in the IT and telecoms sector.
Khawaja said this at a meeting with Saudi tech companies who are part of a large delegation of Saudi investors and companies that arrived in Islamabad on Sunday for a two-day investment conference.
“We are dedicated to offering a stable and supportive framework … We encourage all Saudi companies to explore opportunities for partnerships and joint ventures,” Pakistani news agency APP reported, quoting Khawaja who urged the Saudi delegation to “capitalize on the synergies between Pakistani technical proficiency and the access to the Saudi market, accompanied by the potential for valuable investments.”
In 2023, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Riyadh to bolster bilateral cooperation in information technology with a focus on accelerating digital transformation, fostering innovation and advancing digital infrastructure. Pakistan’s IT ministry at the time said Saudi Arabia would also create a dedicated desk to streamline the registration of Pakistani IT companies seeking to establish themselves in the Kingdom.
The LEAP 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia generated $9 billion in IT business and Pakistani companies developed leads worth upwards of $100 million on the sidelines in business-to-business matchmaking, according to the Pakistan Software Houses Association.
Pakistan’s market for computer software has seen steady growth for the past several years, with the total size of the software sector at approximately $3.2 billion.
The US is Pakistan’s largest market for IT, accounting for 54.5 percent in the 2023 financial year, according to the International Trade Administration.
Pakistan’s IT sector consists primarily of software development and IT-enabled services for data centers, technical service/call centers, and telecom services, with 60 percent of ITeS serving international customers. Much of the growth is driven by the work of freelancers and tech start-ups.
Saudi Manara Minerals’ team in Pakistan for talks on Reko Diq mine stake, document shows
- Reko Diq in southwestern Pakistan is considered one of world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas
- Manara officials are part of large delegation of Saudi investors, companies that arrived in Islamabad on Sunday
ISLAMABAD: Executives from Saudi Arabian mining company Manara Minerals are in Islamabad to continue talks about buying a stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq gold and copper mine, a Pakistan government document showed on Monday.
The mine, located in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, is considered one of the world’s largest underdeveloped copper-gold areas by global mining company Barrick Gold Corp, which owns the project jointly with Pakistan.
The Manara officials are part of a large delegation of Saudi investors and companies that arrived in Islamabad on Sunday, according to a document seen by Reuters listing officials in the delegation.
The document listed Manara Minerals’ general manager as wanting to “continue the negotiations on the Reko Diq project.”
Barrick has said it will invest up to $10 billion to develop the project.
Manara Minerals, a joint venture between state-owned Saudi miner Ma’aden and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), declined to comment.
Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik and Commerce Minister Jam Kamal said on Monday that the Saudi delegation, representing three dozen investors and companies, will meet Pakistani companies to explore investment in sectors including agriculture, mining, aviation and livestock.
They did not name the Saudi companies.
Manara’s acting CEO Robert Wilt told Reuters in an interview in January that the company was in talks to potentially buy a stake in the Reko Diq mine.
Bloomberg has reported that Manara was initially interested in investing $1 billion to take a minority share in the copper mine.
Malik, the petroleum minister, who was also appointed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as a focal person for Saudi investments, did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
The Saudi delegation’s trip to Islamabad follows Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah’s visit to Islamabad last month, when he was briefed by Pakistani authorities on various avenues to invest in the country.
Pakistan, which is trying to navigate a path to economic recovery after securing an IMF bailout, desperately needs foreign investment to help fight a chronic balance of payments crisis.
