Pakistan, Japan urged to boost trade
ISLAMABAD (APP): Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwala Wednesday in a meeting with Japanese Ambassador said that Pakistan and Japan needed to take bilateral business activities to a higher level and increase its volume to the level of Japanese trade with Sri Lanka and Malaysia.Japanese Ambassador Takashi Kurai made a courtesy call to Deputy Chairman Senate in his chamber at the Parliament House, said a press release received here. Senator Saleem Mandviwala observed that Pakistan was striving to achieve a good working environment for business investors adding “We are hopeful that Senate of Pakistan will do more than it was doing previously to make the environment more conducive and to attract more businessmen and companies from Japan.” Japanese Ambassador presented a few queries to the Deputy Chairman regarding new taxation policies and concerns of Japanese businessmen. Deputy Chairman Senate assured the Ambassador that Senate of Pakistan would take the matter up with the government and would do as much as it could resolve the issues.
The Deputy Chairman Senate stressed the need for exchanges between Committee of Parliaments of both countries.
Tractors assembling grew by 44.69pc
ISLAMABAD (APP): Tractor manufacturing in the country during eight months of current financial year grew by 44.69 percent as compared to the production of corresponding period of last year. During the period from July-February, 2017-18, about 45,576 tractors were assembled in the country as compared the 31,502 tractors of the same period of last year, according the Provisional Quantum Index Numbers of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. During the period under review, the over-all output of LSMI increased by 6.24 percent as compared the corresponding period of last year, it added. Meanwhile, on month on month basis, the tractor production also grew by 16.55 percent as about 6,543 tractors were manufactured in month of February, 2018 as compared the 5,519 tractors of same month of last year, it added. In last eight months local production of trucks were recorded at 6,081as compared the 4,888 trucks of same period last year, which was up by 24.41 percent.
Trucks production increased by 39.82 percent in month of February and it was recorded at 703 trucks as compared the production of trucks 502 trucks of same month of last year.
In last eight months 154,732 jeeps and cars were locally assembled as compared the assembling of 125,502 jeeps and cars in the same period of last year, which was up by 23.29 percent, where as 18,573 jeeps and cars were were produced on month on month basis in February as compared to the production of 17,223 of same period last year.
During the period from July-February, domestic production of motorcycles also grew by 14.15 percent as 1,865,434 motor cycles were manufactured in the country as against 1,634,210 motor cycles of same period last year, the data revealed.
Services sector exports go down 3.79pc
ISLAMABAD (APP): The exports of services from the country witnessed decrease of 3.79 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year against the same period of last year. According to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the exports of services sector were recorded at $3.439 billion during July-February (2017-18) against the exports of $3.574 billion during July-February (2016-17), showing decline of 3.79 percent. The imports into the country during the period under review increased by 10.03 percent, by going up from $6.334 billion last year to $4.970 billion during the current fiscal year. Based on the figures, the services trade deficit during the first eight months of the current fiscal year increased by 27.94 percent by going up from deficit of $2.759 billion last year to $3.530 billion during the current year, the data revealed. Meanwhile, the exports of services on year-on-year basis witnessed decline of 43.07 percent during February 2017 compared to the same month of the last year.
The exports of services during February 2018 were recorded at $0.407 billion against the exports of $0.715 billion last year.
The imports into the country also increased from $0.789 billion last year to $838 billion during the current year, showing growth of 6.22 percent.
On month-on-month basis, the exports from the country increased by 0.38 percent by going up from $0.405 billion in January 2018 to $0.407 in February 2018.
The imports also increased by 0.83 percent by going up from $0.831 billion in January 2017 to $0.838 billion in February 2018.
Decision to put CPFTA-II on hold welcomed
KARACHI (APP): FPCCI President Ghanzanfar Bilour and Senior Vice President Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir have expressed their gratitude to Federal Commerce and Textile Minister Pervaiz Malik and Prime Minister's Advisor on Revenue Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan for deferring finalization of second phase of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA-II). The non-signing of CPFTA-II has been welcomed by trade and industry sectors of the country, a statement issued by Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry said here on Wednesday. FPCCI leaders elaborated that Pakistan was a developing country and its industrial base was very thin as compared to China. Therefore, it was need of the hour to protect domestic industry which was already suffering from many problems including the high cost of production and doing business. They maintained that since signing of first FTA with China in November 2006, Pakistan trade balance with the latter had big jump in favour of China. The bilateral trade increased to dollars 19 billion in fiscal year 2015-16.
The imports from China figured $16.5 billion and export to China was only $2.5 billion showing a trade deficit of $14 billion. It was almost half of Pakistan's total trade deficit of $16.7 billion.