1. Market performance.
2. Important news
1.According to the State Bank of Pakistan (central bank) on February 12, in January 2024, the amount of Pakistani remittances was US$2.4 billion, up 26% year-on-year and 1% month-on-month. Among them, the largest remittance country is Saudi Arabia, with an amount of 5$8.7 billion, up 43% year-on-year. The increase in remittances in January and previous months was helped by the crackdown on illegal and informal exchange channels. As exchange rate fluctuations and the widening gap between interbank rates and open market rates, the crackdown on informal channels has intensified.
2.According to the State Bank of Pakistan (Central Bank) on February 13, Pakistan's exports to Middle Eastern countries reached 15 percent in the first half of fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) (July-December 2023).0.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3233%。Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait saw a surge in demand for Pakistani products, while Qatar and Bahrain saw slight declines. Following Pakistan's initial freedom** agreement with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) in September 2023, Pakistan's exports to the region are expected to further expand.
3.Pakistan's total IT exports have increased by a record 32 percent in the past 60 days, according to Pakistan's caretaker Information Technology Minister Umar Saif said on February 14, thanks to timely decisions made by the Special Investment Promotion Council (SIFC) based on the advice of the Ministry of Information. On this occasion, Umar Saif issued 8A cash award of 2.5 billion Pakistani rupees, and said that if the IT industry maintains its current growth trend, Pakistan will soon achieve its IT export target of US$10.
4.In December 2023, Pakistan's Mass Manufacturing (LSM) Provisional Volume Index (QIM) reached 132, driven by the agriculture, petroleum products, clothing and pharmaceutical industries, as disclosed by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on February 1587, an increase of 343%, an increase of 1569%, the highest level in 21 months, indicates a gradual improvement in the economic performance of Pakistan in fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024). According to the analysis of professionals, the improvement of large-scale manufacturing is mainly due to the strategy of gradually reopening the domestic economy.
5.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) of Pakistan issued the consolidated Articles of Association 2024 on February 15, covering regulations on company registration, post-registration compliance and reporting, issuance of licenses under Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017, further issuance of share capital, group registration, simple deregistration of companies, buybacks, intermediary registration, etc. The charter aims to improve the business environment for domestic and foreign companies in Pakistan and is effective immediately.
6.As of Feb. 9, the central bank's foreign exchange reserves increased by US$13 million to 80., according to the State Bank of Pakistan (RBB) on Feb. 15$5.7 billion. The net foreign exchange reserves held by the Brazilian commercial banks increased by US$39 million to 50$9.3 billion. Pakistan's total liquid foreign exchange reserves are 131$4.9 billion.
7.According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on February 16, in January 2024, Pakistan's textile and apparel exports reached 14500 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 1010%, up 333%。This is the second consecutive month of positive growth, but there is uncertainty about whether it will be able to sustain its upward trend in the coming months. For the first seven months of fiscal year 2024 (July 2023 to June 2024) (July 2023 to January 2024), the value of textile and apparel exports was 97300 million US dollars, down 299%。The decline in exports was due to higher energy costs and higher production costs due to liquidity crunches.
China Economic Net Data Center
February 19, 2024.
*: China Economic Net.