PreMCQ

  Govt has no intention to sell Roosevelt Hotel: minister No proposal is under consideration to selling the PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Monday. “All reports circulating in the media are nothing more than speculation and political point-scoring,” he added. The minister said the hotel’s management had taken out a loan of USD160mn from JP Morgan bank and was making regular payments from its own revenue stream. The balance outstanding at the moment is USD105mn. However, the hotel ran into financial trouble after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, giving the lender a pretext to sell off its liabilities to another company. Source:  https://www.dawn.com/news/ 1584733/govt-has-no-intention- to-sell-roosevelt-hotel- minister  

  Power tariff up by PKR2.89 per unit for KE consumers The federal government Monday notified up to PKR2.89 per unit hike in power tariff for K-Electric consumers effective from September 1. The Power Division notified the increase from PKR1.09 to PKR2.89 per unit. The K-Electric will increase the power price from September 1. The notification states, “In pursuance of sub-section (7) of Section 31 of the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997, the federal government is pleased to notify as under the adjustment approved on account of quarterly adjustments wef September 1, 2020, as determined as recommended by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) vided decision of dated December 31, 2019, in respect of K-Electric Limited,” the Power Division said in a notification.” Source:  https://www.thenews.com.pk/ print/728810-power-tariff-up- by-rs2-89-per-unit-for-ke- consumers

  Housing finance: SBP announces PKR33bn govt markup subsidy The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday announced the government of Pakistan’s markup subsidy of PKR33bn for affordable housing finance. Under this scheme, the government is providing a markup subsidy for housing finance to provide financing at a minimum of 5 and a maximum 9% interest rate. All men/women holding CNIC and the first-time homeowners can avail of financing under this scheme. One individual can have a subsidized house loan facility under this scheme only once and financing will be provided only for construction and first purchase of newly constructed affordable housing units. In line with its vision of providing affordable housing to the masses, the Government of Pakistan will be providing a markup subsidy facility for the construction and purchase of new houses. Source:  https://epaper.brecorder.com/ 2020/10/13/1-page/854586-news. html

  IDB to give Pakistan PKR63.23bn for oil, LNG import Pakistan and the International Trade Finance Corporation of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) signed a financing agreement amounting to USUSD386mn (PKR63.23bn) for the import of oil and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), foreign media reported on Monday. The facility will be utilized by Pakistan State Oil Company Limited, Pakistan Arab Refinery Limited, and Pakistan LNG Limited. The Pakistani side emphasized the importance of this agreement and its role in promoting economic and social development. Source:  https://www.thenews.com.pk/ print/728809-idb-to-give- pakistan-rs63-23-bn-for-oil- lng-import

  Pakistan unlikely to avail USD4.5bn ITFC facility Pakistan is unlikely to fully benefit from the USD4.5bn financing package it secured about two and years ago from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) owing to market limitations of the Jeddah-based agency. Pakistan and the ITFC on Monday signed about USD400mn worth of two facilities to finance oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by December this year. Another USD100mn facility is expected to be arranged by December. In addition, Islamabad has given a mandate of an additional USD500mn for six months after December. Source:  https://www.dawn.com/news/ 1584755/pakistan-unlikely-to- avail-45bn-itfc-facility