ISLAMABAD - Finance Ministry said here on Sunday that the cash deposit and oil on deferred payment facility in these tough times speak of the strong brotherly relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Referring to a news item titled “Cabinet approves $4.2b Saudi loan package” published in a section of press, the ministry said in a statement that the interest rate for cash deposits would be 4 percent whereas that of the oil facility would be 3.8 percent.
Since the above is demand deposit, the right to call deposits is with depositor, the ministry said adding every deposit usually have this clause.
Lastly, it added, in every Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) there is dispute resolution clause, which refer to territorial laws applicable. This does not mean that the stated country’s sovereignty is compromised.
“We are grateful to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for helping us once again in our hour of need,” it concluded.
Sports goods’ export surges 20.73 percent
The exports of sports goods witnessed an increase of 20.73 percent during the first four months of current financial year (2021-22) as compared to the exports of corresponding period of last year.
Pakistan exported sport goods worth $105.120 million during July-October (2021-22) against the exports of $87.070 million during July-October (2020-21), showing growth of 20.73 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Among the sports products, the exports of footballs increased by 17.22 percent as these surge from $42.780 million last year to $50.148 million during the current year.
The gloves’ exports rose by 6 percent by going up from $23.163 million last year to $24.552 million during the current year, the PBS data revealed. Likewise, the exports of all other sports goods increased by 43.99 percent from $21.127 million last year to $30.420 million during the current year.
Meanwhile, year-on-year basis, the sports goods’ export witnessed an increase of 33.55 percent in October 2021 as compared with the export of the same month of last year. The sport goods exports in October 2021 were recorded at $27.228 million against exports of $20.388 million in October 2020.
During the period under review, the exports of footballs, gloves and other sports products increased by 25.45 percent, 18.92 percent and 69.58 percent respectively.
However, on month-on-month basis, the exports of sports goods decreased by 1.78 percent during October 2021, as compared to the exports of $27.335 million in September 2021, the PBS data revealed. On month-on-month basis, the exports of gloves and other sports commodities increased by 9.27 percent and 7.47 percent respectively while the exports of footballs declined by 6.45 percent.
It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s total merchandise exports surged by 24.94 during the first four month of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The exports during July-October (2021-22) were recorded at $9.462 billion against the exports of $7.573 billion during July-October (2020-21). On the other hand, the imports into the country also surged by 65.40 percent by growing from $15.176 billion last year to $25.101 billion during the current fiscal year, the PBS data added.