“The exports of Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, Dairy products, Chemicals, Electrical equipment, Machinery, Paper & Paperboard have contributed to this increase. We continue to encourage legal, secure, transparent, consistent & reliable trade with Afghanistan. Exporters are urged to aggressively market their exports to Afghanistan. We also commend the efforts of MOC’s Trade & Investment Counsellor & urge him to provide even greater facilitation to our exporters,”
“The previous Afghan government imposed higher taxes on Pakistani goods but the main cause of the decline in the exports is the collapse of the banking system in the war-torn country,” he added, saying that with the US withdrawal in April the Pakistani exports of goods via Torkhan reduced by 50 per cent.
“Around 70 per cent exports are of cement because the construction industry is a large one in Afghanistan which was brought to a standstill by the Taliban take over. This is what traders are telling us. Let’s see what happens in the next few weeks,” he said.
Traders said that majority of the share in exports was of Punjab province but local traders and middle men were also benefiting from it in Peshawar.
“The transporters and truck owners are majority Pakhtuns while the middlemen are also from Peshawar. Local traders are involved in exports too but on small scale like jaggary is exported from Peshawar which is in great demand in Afghanistan and tribal belt,” they said.
A local customs clearance agent and trader Mujib Shiwari said that the competition Pakistani traders faced in Afghanistan from Iran and India had almost disappeared and this was a golden opportunity but the new regime in Kabul should reduce taxes on Pakistani goods and ensure security for Pakistani vehicles.
“Security is a major concern and the new government could facilitate Pakistani traders in this regard but another problem was the banking system in Afghanistan which is non-functional after the fall of Kabul and transaction are not possible for traders via banks,” he informed, saying that in the past there were heavy taxes on Pakistani goods in Afghanistan and officials were also corrupt.
Most other traders are worried that the lack of US funding for the new government would push the country’s economy into recession and the purchase powers of the local would drop dramatically as in the past two decades Afghan traders demanded the best food items and other goods which will no more be the case due to declining economy.
“Still we have to supply them with flour, rice and vegetables as well as ghee and oil and Afghanistan is a promising market to a great degree,”
Monetary policy involves central banks’ use of instruments to influence interest rates and/or money supply in the economy with the objective to keep overall prices and financial markets stable. Monetary policy is essentially a stabilization or demand management policy that cannot impact long-term growth potential of an economy. Preamble to SBP Act, 1956 envisages monetary policy to secure monetary stability and attain fuller utilization of economy’s productive resources. In SBP’s view, the best way to achieve these objectives on a sustainable basis is to keep inflation low and stable.
Low and stable inflation provides favorable conditions for sustainable growth and employment generation over time. It reduces uncertainties about future prices of goods and services and helps households and businesses to make economically important decisions such as consumption, savings and investments with more confidence. This, in turn, facilitates higher growth and creates employment opportunities over the medium term leading to overall economic well-being in the country.
In practice, SBP’s monetary policy strives to strike a balance among multiple and often competing considerations. These include: controlling inflation, ensuring payment system and financial stability, preserving foreign exchange reserves, and supporting private investment.
How does Monetary Policy Work? SBP signals its monetary policy stance through adjustments in the policy rate; that is, the SBP Target Rate for the overnight money market repo rate. Changes in the policy rate impact demand in the economy through several channels and with a lag. In the first place, changes in policy rate influence the interest rates determined in the interbank market at which financial institutions lend or borrow from each other. The market interest rates are also influenced by central bank interventions in money and foreign exchange markets as well as by its communication.
The changes in market interest rates influence the borrowing cost for consumers and businesses as well as the return on deposits for the savers. Generally, lower interest rates encourage people to save less and consume/invest more, and vice versa. Changes in the policy rate also influence the value of financial and real assets, impacting people’s wealth and thus their spending. The adjustment in demand finally affects the general price level and thus inflation in the economy.
The preamble of the SBP Act, 1956 envisages these objectives as ‘whereas it is necessary to provide for the constitution of a State Bank to regulate the monetary and credit system of Pakistan and to foster its growth in the best national interest with a view to securing monetary stability and fuller utilization of the country’s productive resources.’SBP focuses on achieving monetary stability by controlling inflation close to its annual and medium-term targets set by the government. At the same time, SBP also aims to ensure financial stability, particularly the smooth functioning of the financial market and the payments system. Consensus in literature as well as country experiences suggests that price and financial stability facilitate the achievement of sustained economic growth in the long-run.
Monetary Policy Committee is responsible and fully empowered to decide the monetary policy stance. Section 9E of the SBP Act 1956 lays out the powers and functions of the Monetary Policy Committee that have been mainly identified as to:
(a) formulate, support and recommend the monetary policy, including, as appropriate, decisions relating to intermediate monetary objectives, key interest rates and the supply of reserves in Pakistan and may make regulations for their implementation;
(b) approve and issue the monetary policy statement and other monetary policy measures.
Pakistani telecom company, Ufone has been awarded Next Generation Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as a result of recently held spectrum auction. The company won the spectrum in a bid to enhance 4G customer experience across the country.
Federal Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Aminul Haq along with Secretary IT & Telecom, Dr Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Chairman PTA, Major General Amir Azeem Bajwa (Retd.) HI (M), senior officials from the ministry and PTCL Group attended the event. DG Licensing PTA, Brig. Amer Shahzad (Retd.) and President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf signed the contract.
The company plans to use the spectrum to introduce new innovative products and services and enhance its customer experience by providing high quality internet as well as to expand its existing network to unserved and underserved regions of the country.
Sharing his thoughts on spectrum acquisition, President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf said: “It is a historic day for Ufone, as we have acquired additional 4G Spectrum in order to fully optimize our mobile data services. This will enable us to further enhance our users’ experience, expand the existing network to serve the unserved areas. Improved data experience will enable a digital transformation in education, health care, agriculture, banking and ecommerce ecosystems to name a few.” “We appreciate Government of Pakistan for executing the spectrum auction process in a seamless and transparent manner”, he further added.
The relief will benefit approximately 12,300 individuals who have already deposited Rs2.6 billion in taxes to the FBR on their declared assets in the year 2019. The total amount that was legalised has not been disclosed. The FBR system has been enabled for this purpose and all taxpayers can now file their declarations between Sept 10 and 25.
As many as 2,125 projects worth Rs350bn have been registered with the FBR’s online system by 1,321 persons. Out of these, 1,775 are new projects and 350 existing ones.
The builders and developers are required to get their projects registered on FBR’s computer-based IRIS software on or before June 30 this year and the projects should be completed before Sept 30, 2023.
The salient features of the package include fixed tax for builders and developers, immunity from probe and concessions from withholding of taxes. The FBR has provided all the required facilities to the beneficiaries of the package which include the establishment of a dedicated web page, dedicated email to address inquiries and an online step-by-step guide for the builders and developers.
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