FPCCI, PBIT ink MoU to boost trade

LAHORE (Staff Reporter): The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pledge a closer working relationship between the two institutions and for the promotion of trade activities. The MoU was signed on behalf of FPCCI Regional Chairman and Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz and PBIT CEO Muhammad Haroon Shaukat. While speaking on the occasion, Shaukat said, “We are looking forward to set a frame work with FPCCI for trade stimulation and joining hands with each other to make a ground for progressive economic growth.” He said China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of projects amounting $46 billion mainly focused on four pillars: Gwadar port, communication infrastructure, energy infrastructure and industrial zones. “Apparently, there is still no proper industrial plan to capture investment of CPEC, while a lot of investment is being made in infrastructure and energy sector under CPEC,” he added.
He said business community should upraise their sectors for industrial Joint Venture to cater the opportunities of CPEC.

Rs279.57b released for uplift projects

ISLAMABAD (APP): The government has released Rs279.57 billion for different social sector developmental projects so far under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2016-17 as against total allocation of Rs800 billion. According to the latest data released by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, Rs9.41 billion has been released for different projects of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission against its total allocation of Rs27.690 billion for fiscal year 2016-17. In order to improve and modernise the road infrastructure, the government has released Rs79.86 billion for different developmental projects under National Highway Authority (NHA) against the total allocations of Rs188 billion for current year's development programme. The government has also released Rs13.992 billion for uplift and development of Pakistan Railways in order to improve the performance and service delivery of Railways as against the total allocation of Rs41 billion for the current financial year.
Under PSDP 2016-17, development programme, an amount of Rs8.548 billion has released for different projects of Higher Education Commission in order to promote higher education as against the total allocations of Rs21.486 billion.

Processing plant installed at KPD gas field

ISLAMABAD (APP): The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has completed installation of a processing plant at its Kunnar Pasakhi Deep (KPD) gas field in Sindh, which was in pending for last 10 years. "It (plant) will provide an additional 80mmcfd of gas, 400 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 4,000 barrels per day (bpd) in winter this year," official sources told APP here on Monday. They said natural gas consumers would get additional gas in sufficient quantity during this winter after the govt succeeded to produce more gas from exploratory wells and injection of RLNG in the transmission network. The current government in last three years, they said, had so far added 944mmcfd gas in the system out of which 466mmcfd came from new discoveries and 478mmcfd gas from existing wells. The sources said the government encouraged local as well as foreign oil and gas companies to accelerate exploration and production activities to meet ever-increasing energy needs of the country that resulted in drilling of 319 wells and discovery of 91 oil and gas reserves.

PFC initiates facilitation centre for investors

ISLAMABAD (APP): The Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) has set up a special facilitation center to provide all the necessary information to local and foreign investors to boost local furniture industry globally. This centre will play the role of a bridge between local and foreign investors to ensure that businesses are as sustainable as possible by using a systematic approach to help the organisation to achieve more efficient results, said PFC Chief Executive Officer Mian Kashif Ashfaq. Nearly over 4000 firms and companies are associated directly and indirectly with furniture sector and some of them are also doing business with their foreign counterparts, he added. He said PFC General Manager Hamid Mahmood would head the centre, while PFC Business Manager Adnan Afzal had been appointed as focal person for close coordination with all aspirant local and foreign investors. He said PFC was focusing on marketing activities in key markets (USA, Japan, European Union and Gulf) and foreign buyers were also being invited to visit Pakistan and see made in Pakistan furniture items.