NAYA PAKISTAN HOUSING SCHEME REGISTERATION

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is inaugurating five million housing scheme registration today.

The registration process will continue for three months and one person from each family can apply for this.

Registration forms can be downloaded from NADRA website and can be obtained from NADRA e-Salhulat franchises too.

The Prime Minister has decided to monitor the scheme himself.He has said that this project is part of the manifesto of PTI and it will not only solve the dearth of houses in the country but also provide employment to several hundred thousand people too.

In general Pakistan Housing Authority will monitor the project and the houses will be constructed across all Pakistan including Gilgit-Baltistan phase wise. Initially seven big cities of Pakistan have been selected for this and the scheme will be started from Islamabad.

The project has been named "Mera Ghar" Project. The project will be carried out on public private partnership. The provincial governments will also select one district each for the initial phase.

US GDP GROWTH 2019

1st Quarter 2019:

The US economy expanded by an annualized 3.10% in the 1st quarter of 2019, unrevised from the second estimate issued last month and following a 2.20% expansion in the previous  3 months. Upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment, exports, state and local government spending, and residential fixed investment were offset by downward revisions to personal consumption expenditures and inventory investment and an upward revision to imports.

 GDP Growth Rate in the US averaged 3.22 percent from 1947 to 2019, reaching an all time high of 16.70 percent in the first quarter of 1950 and a record low of -10 percent in the first quarter of 1958.

2nd Quarter 2019:

At this point, using data published to date,
 it appears that the US is headed for a 
period of slower growth.

The economy is expected to grow by 1.80%
 in 2nd quarter based on the median for a
 set of GDP estimates compiled by 
The Capital Spectator.

Aside from GDP estimates, one thing that is
 affecting economic expectations is the 
deepening inversion of the Treasury 
yield curve, which is widely viewed as
 an indicator of elevated recession risk.

Looking beyond the yield curve, however,
 suggests that US recession risk remains
 low.

Economic growth remains on track for a slower
 growth in the second quarter vs. the first one,
 based on a set of now-casts. Although the 
current estimates suggest that the economy
 has low risk to fall into a recession in the
 immediate future, output for the April to June
 period seems to be at risk of decelerating to
 the softest pace in more than two years.

The economy is expected to expand 1.80% in Q2 2019, based on the median for a set of GDP estimates compiled by "The Capital Spectator".  If today's median Q2 estimate is correct, the growth will show a substantially   softer gain compared with 1st Quarter's strong 3.20 percent increase.

Aside from GDP estimates,  Treasury yield curve is being widely viewed as an indicator of elevated recession risk. This spread ticked deeper into negative territory on  May 28, when the 3-months Treasury yield exceeded the 10 year yield by 12 basis points , the deepest negative spread since the year 2007.

"The drop of the US Treasury yield is an indicator of growing uncertainty," Lena Komileva, chief economist at G Plus Economics,  told Bloomberg. "It's quite clear now that we are past that cyclical peak for earnings and the cyclical trough in credit spreads." She added that Treasuries are "going to be very well-supported here."

Looking beyond the yield curve, however, suggests that US recession risk remains low. Perhaps the leading risk factor at the moment is the escalating US-China trade conflict.

 Wednesday's revised point forecast anticipates that the year over year rate of growth will decelerate for several quarters.

The crucial question in the days and weeks ahead: Will incoming data materially change the outlook? Based on estimates and the previous data, these updates are expected to show that recession risk remains quite low. But as growth slows down, any downside surprises will surely negative effects on coming quarters too. The US, in short, seems heading towards a challenging 2nd half in 2019.

GRADE 17 SALARY IN PAKISTAN

PAY AND ALLOWANCES OF EMPLOYEES OF BS-17
Since 1st July, 2019:


Basic pay                              Rs. 32670
House rent allowance 45%     Rs. 66650
Convey allowance 2005         Rs. 5000
Medical allowance 15%          Rs. 1847
Adhoc relief 2016 , 10%         Rs. 2544
Adhoc relief 2017 , 10%         Rs. 3267
Adhoc relief 2018 , 10%         Rs. 3267
Adhoc relief 2019 , 05%         Rs. 1633


DEDUCTIONS:

GPF subscription                    Rs. 4270
Group insurance                     Rs. 409
Professional tax                      Rs. 200
Benevolent fund                     Rs. 768
Income tax                             Rs. 669
TOTAL=                                  Rs. 6316

GROSS PAY                           Rs. 63378
NET PAY                              Rs. 57062

SUZUKI VEHICLES LATEST PRICES AFTER BUDGET 2019

From first July, 2019 the following prices will be applicable:

Note: According to the company notification the retail prices are inclusive of ex-factory product prices per unit, including 17% sales tax, 2.5% FED as per finance bill 2019 on all versions of Mehran, WagonR, Cultus, Ravi and Bolan, 5% FED on all versions of Swift, Ciaz, Jimny, APV, Mega Carry and Vitara and freight charges borne on vehicle to reach the dealership business premises. 

    PRODUCT           OLD PRICE      NEW PRICE

 Suzuki Mehran VX  Rs799,000   Rs839,000

Suzuki Mehran VXR Rs880,000  Rs923,000 

Cultus VXR,   Rs1.440m         Rs1.745 million

Cultus VXL     Rs1.551m            Rs1.85m 

Cultus VXL AGS  Rs1.668m    Rs1.975m 

Swift DLX NAV Rs. 1.585m    Rs. 1.975m

Swift AT NAV Rs. 1.721m       Rs. 2.050m

WagonR VXR  Rs1.264m           Rs1.540m

WagonR VXL  Rs1.344m          Rs1.625m

Bolan    Rs874,000                  Rs1.050m

 Bolan Cargo Van Rs840,000  Rs1.005m

Ciaz GL MT Rs2.160m        Rs2.3m

Ciaz GL AT  Rs2.300m        Rs2.5m 

Suzuki Vitara GLX Rs4.090m  Rs4.295m.

CAPITAL GAIN TAX ON SALE OF PROPERTY BUDGET 2019

From 1st July, 2019 capital gain tax will be levied as per following rates as passed in finance bill 2019-20.

CAPITAL GAIN AMOUNT                             UPTO    5 Million         5%
CAPITAL GAIN AMOUNT ABOVE   5  Million  UPTO  10 Million       10%
CAPITAL GAIN AMOUNT ABOVE  10 Million  UPTO  15 Million       15%
CAPITAL GAIN AMOUNT ABOVE  15 Million  UPTO  20 Million       20%

Furthermore, in case of open plot where the holding period is up to one year, the full gain will be taxed.Where the holding period is between 1-10 years, 75% of the gain shall be taxed.There will be no tax in case the holding period is more than 08 years.

In case of gain on sale of constructed property is to be fully taxed where the holding period is up to one year and 75 % of the gain will be taxed where the holding period is between 1-4 years.Where the holding period is above four years no gains shall be taxed.

NAB TO FILE REFERENCE IN EDEN HOUSING FRAUD

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to file reference before accountability court against son-in-law MR. Murtaza Amjad of ex-chief justice MR. Iftikhar Muhammad Choudry and other co-owners of Eden housing projects. The reference will be of 19 billion rupees. This has been decided by NAB after having failed to reach plea bargain with the owners. The owners have already fled the country in order to avoid any proceedings against them and NAB has blamed interior ministry for failure to place these people on Exit Control List in time despite specific request by NAB. NAB has said in this regard that it had requested interior ministry to place Dr. Amjad and his sons Murtaza Amjad and Mustafa Amjad to be placed on exit control list but interior ministry failed to do so and all of them fled to Canada. NAB has now decided in its regional board to file reference against Murtaza Amjad, Dr. Amjad, Anjum Amjad and Mustafa Amjad.

GAWADAR OIL CITY AND PETRO CHEMICAL CHAIN

Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms has said that around 8 billion dollars investment is expected in the proposed Gwadar oil city project and the petrochemical chain to be developed under CPEC.

Briefing Senate Special Committee on CPEC he said that huge investment is coming to Pakistan’s oil sector being very lucrative.

He said that the government was exploring different avenues for investment in the ML-1 project and inviting the third party including Japan or Germany to invest in Karachi to Peshawar railway track.

The Senate Special Committee on CPEC was informed that besides Saudi Arabia, UAE and Korea has also shown interest in investing in the oil city in Gwadar. The government is currently negotiating with Saudi state oil company ARAMCO to set up an oil refinery in Gwadar, the minister revealed.

“Both UAE and Korea want to set up oil refineries in the port city,” he said. The minister further informed the committee that free trade agreement with China would be finalized/renegotiated during 2019.

Members of the committee raised questions over including the third party in CPEC. Khusro Bakhtiar has said that CPEC was a strategic bilateral legal framework agreement between Pakistan and China and no third country could become the partner in the framework. However, he said that any investment in the CPEC projects by any third country would be done after prior approval of the two countries. The committee also showed concern over the issues of the missing portion of CPEC Western Route and directed the federal government to complete the portion from Dera Ismail Khan to Zob, from Zob to Quetta and from Quetta to Sohrab on a priority basis. Senator Usman Kakar said that work on the project was pending for the long and previous government had shown least interest in the project.

The planning minister said that the Western Route was an integral part of CPEC and the government is giving high priority to the western route.

The committee was informed that the D.I. Khan-Zhob part of Western Route was being constructed under CPEC and it was on the agenda of JCC on CPEC to be held in Beijing this month. The minister assured the committee that remaining parts of the route which were not under CPEC will be included in the PSDP and work on these projects will be initiated very soon.

The minister said that the present government has established new joint working groups on CPEC in agriculture and socio-economic sectors to increase cooperation in these sectors. The minister said that these two sectors would be on the agenda of the upcoming JCC meeting.

Gawadar port is going to be the hub of trade in the region very soon and those who are investing right now are expected to reap huge returns in the future.

SALARY OF CAPTAIN IN PAKISTAN ARMY

Normally a captain gets 45-50 thousand salary excluding other benefits.
He has to pay mess bill from his own pocket.
If  unmarried he will get a free room in the BOQs (Bachelor Officers Quarters).
If  married, his salary would be about 7-8 thousand higher than that of a bachelor's and  is entitled to get a free govt house inside cantt area.
He is promoted to major after about five years.

SAAD ALI

 Saad Ali  now a professional race car driver learnt to drive at the age of 17 and got his racing license at 19. Saad participated in the Formula BMW race series in 2006-7 and in the Formula Gulf 1000 championship in 2014 in which he stood third. He also took part in F3 Testing and has won local carting competitions.

His father is a retired  Air Force officer and wanted him to take up flying like his brother but 28 year old Saad believes open wheel racing is just as exhilarating as flying a fighter plane.

Dawn interviewed him about the challenges faced by professional race car drivers and how driving on public roads can be improved.

Q: What inspired you to become a race car driver and what are the challenges in this profession?

Answer: The feeling of sitting in a race car and  adrenaline rush are unbelievable feelings. We are given one life which we should spent doing what we always dreamt of doing.

The biggest challenge a race car driver faces is funding. A driver needs at least US $300000 a year to participate in a race. It is very difficult to find a sponsor in a country like Pakistan because people don’t know what open wheel racing is about. My father paid for my expenses so I could participate in races. Other than cricketers, sportsmen and athletes do not have much support, which is one of the reasons A1 racing failed to gain popularity in Pakistan.

Q: How do you drive on public roads?

Answer: I feel safer in a racing car. I check my seat belt a few times to make sure it is fastened on before I get onto a public road. I do have an urge to just floor the accelerator, but road safety comes first.

We need to have more racing tracks where young people, can race and this will also make public roads a lot safer.

Q: How can the driving experience on our roads be improved?

Answer: I think the whole system needs to be over hauled. All licenses should be cancelled and everyone should be asked  to take a fresh driving test. They should be issued another license only after they clear the test.

Since this is a bit harder to accomplish, I guess the police should be more vigilant and clear road markings and signs should be put up.

PIA PRIVITIZATION

PIA is the national carrier of Pakistan and has about 15,000 employees.
            
Most of the airports in Pakistan are witnessing a travel chaos these days as protesting employees of the PIA blocked operations in protest against proposed privatization of the organisation. Situation took an ugly turn a day before yesterday when three protester employees were killed in a shooting incident, which they blamed on security officials but the rangers and police denied opening fire and told that butts found on spot were not that of security forces' guns.

PIA which was one of the world’s leading airlines until the 1970s now suffers from frequent cancellations and delays and has been involved in numerous controversies over the years, including the arrest of a drunk pilot in Britain in 2013. PIA has also faced problems acquiring security clearances to the European Union for cargo flights. The airline has also traditionally handed  thousands of free tickets each year contributing to its big losses.

PIA’s financial statements reveals that the airline has suffered losses worth Rs.119.84 billion over the last ten year. Flight delays and cancellation has become the norm of the airline as its flight delay ratio is more than 35% which is very high and especially due to this reason its passengers are now shifting to other airlines.

The government claims that it has increased the fleet size from 18 to 38 which has brought down its losses significantly but still the employees to plane ratio is 390 which is still very high as  compared to global average ratio of 120. The other major problem is huge loans of more than 250 billion rupees so the finance cost is very high which erodes its trading profits.

However the government has made it clear that neither any employee will be sacked nor their facilities withdrawn but it has  warned the protesting employees that the government would use its authority against all those elements who had locked the airline offices without any reason.Many flights were delayed and passengers could not get their boarding passes. Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq dar on Sunday said that the government would not privatize the airlines but would get a "strategic partner" which would have 26 percent shares. the government has given a fresh commitment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), promising it will sell the national carrier to a strategic investor by March next year.

“The timelines to sell a minimum 26% of PIA shares were discussed during the on-going eighth review of the $6.60 billion IMF programme,” said Privatisation Commission Chairman Mohammad Zubair.

PIA’s cumulative losses were Rs 227 billion ($2.2 billion) as of June 2014. The government has to inject Rs 12 to Rs 15 billion annually to keep the airline alive and pay employees.According to the audited financial statement for January-March period of 2015, the accumulative losses of the airline increased to Rs228.7 billion – a net addition of Rs2.1 billion in three months. The total liabilities grew to Rs329.7 billion as of March 2015 while its assets were recorded at Rs186.7 billion.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Captain (Rtd.) Shujat Azeem is said to be in opposition to the privatization.He is in favor of restructuring and revival of the entity and under the same strategy, PIA is in the process of acquiring ten narrow-body aircraft, five ATRs and two wide body aircraft on lease. Few of these planes have already joined the fleet.

PIA has yet not been converted into a public limited company despite the National Assembly having passed the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) Bill, 2015...it is a must to hold the first board of directors meeting of the airlines to convert it into a public limited company.  

The government has invoked the Essential Services Act of 1952 to break the strike of PIA unions against the proposed privatization plan appeared to be an act of panic but it also shows that the government is determined to privatize the organisation as promised to IMF. IMF has now allowed 10 more months for the completion of the task.

The whole nation has to bear losses of badly run public sector businesses.Privatization is necessary as it is evident from empirical data that it is government intervention that causes economic inefficiencies which are removed in private hands. It is no rocket science to conclude that incapable, incompetent and corrupt person if appointed to head any public corporation, would result into losses and bankruptcy of that organization as has been done in most of the public companies. Private administration safeguarded its interests and runs the organisations profitability as it is their own money they invest to acquire any entity. 

Better late than never.

LEASING COMPANIES IN PAKISTAN SIZE AND NUMBER

As opposed to traditional modes of bank lending or financing, leasing companies offers an asset-based financing model in which a property or asset is rented to another without any kind collateral.

All but especially Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) can particularly benefit from this sector, as financing is based on a pay-as-you-earn model of cash flows of the business entity.

There are 9 leasing companies in Pakistan, with total assets amounting to Rs.  40 billion. Their share in the non-banking finance sector was about 5% at the end of the last fiscal year. The asset size of leasing companies went up around 11% or Rs.  4 billion over 2014-15.

CRUDE OIL COST OF PRODUCTION

COST OF PRODUCTION PER BARREL OF OIL (Country Wise).

• United Kingdom,UK —– $52.50
  • Brazil ——————     $48.80
  • Canada — ————     $41.00
  • United States,US ——- $36.20
  • Norway ————–       $36.10
  • Angola —————-     $35.40
  • Colombia ————      $35.30
  • Nigeria —————-     $31.60
  • China —————-       $29.90
  • Mexico ————–       $29.10
  • Kazakhstan ——–        $27.80
  • Libya —————-       $23.80
  • Venezuela ———        $23.50
  • Algeria ————         $20.40
  • Russia —————       $17.20
  • Iran ——————       $12.60
  • Iraq —————–         $10.70
  • Saudi Arabia ——          $9.90     2nd cheapest.
  • Kuwait —————        $8.50    The cheapest.

NOTE: These findings are from Rystad Energy’s UCube database, which has information from roughly 65,000 oil and gas fields around the globe.

CHILD BRIDES

 The Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act 2013 has determined the lawful marriageable age at 18 years and treats the violation as a severe criminal offence but the law remains silent about the validity of the nikah of the underage brides and grooms.

Such a marriage can only be dissolved through proper divorce and khula proceedings as under normal circumstances and proceedings.

The Sindh Marriage Restraint Act 2013 is a step forward of the Child Marriage Act of 1929 as the recent law has set the minimum age of marriage for both boys and girls at 18 years. There is contradiction about the laws that where on one hand a sexual intercourse with a child below the age of 18 is considered rape while, on the other, the marriage remains legal even when this crime is addressed. This issue must be addressed by the legislature at the earliest to remove this contradiction because in such a scenario the marriage is still considered lawful where divorce and khula have to be obtained under normal proceedings..

Read: Marital matters: Underage marriage [Nikkah] not un-Islamic: CII

The law not only makes this offence a non-bailable one but also non-compoundable which means that the issue cannot be compromised and solved within concerned parties. Furthermore in the case of child marriages, section 365 (b) for kidnapping a girl is also applied. Issues like these used to be brought to family courts but this law is dealt with by the judicial magistrate of every locality.The law allows the court to review its own proceedings and the perpetrators can be left with no means to escape. As for as the determination of age is concerned it can be done with the help of registration number at the time of birth, NADRA B-Form and CNIC of the spouses.

Child marriages are criticized by the civil society due to the reasons that it does not only deteriorates the health of the girls and their children but also have social, economic and severe psychological problems for the underage girls, many of whom also are subjected to violence and abuse.

APPLE WATCH

Apple aims  at its first new product category since 2010 with its wearable technology smart watch with a strong emphasis on health and fitness of the users.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has revealed little about the sophisticated the watch but  said that he can’t live without it.Apple intends to start shipping in April. 

Apple has entered a market that already has a number of players Samsung, LG, Sony, Pebble ,Motorola and Huawei introduced its version at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.

Analysts expect Apple to lift the market by integrating the watch with the iPhone and its software ecosystem, and its range of apps and sensors for health and fitness.How Apple creates a cohesive value proposition integrating hardware with software and services is as always the key says one analyst.The three main areas of wellness data and services, Apple Pay and creating an intelligent and differentiated relationship between the watch and the smartphone must be the foundations of the Apple Watch proposition.

Apple intends the introductory price would be $349 in the US with two different sizes would be available in three collections, including the “Apple Watch Edition,” featuring 18-karat gold cases in yellow or rose, sapphire crystal and finely crafted bands and closures.

The watch is also expected to include map software that guides people to destinations with gentle “taps” on the wrist.

Fitness apps on the Apple Watch and its rivals could create trouble for manufacturers of fitness bands.

One researcher Jan Dawson at  said Apple must find a fine balance for the new device — giving people alerts and notifications when they need them without bombarding them.

“One of the criticisms of some of the other watches out there is that notifications are something of an all-or-nothing phenomenon: either you get utterly bombarded with notifications or you get none, but its been tough to get granular control,” Dawson has said.

Apple reportedly had to scale back health tracking features on the watch after some of the sensors were found not properly responding to the challenge.

POVERTY IN PAKISTAN

According to the World Bank’s Poverty Head Count Analysis for 2014, if income per adult in Pakistan is taken as $1.25 per day, then 21 % of the population lives below the poverty line (according to year 2008 population estimates) but if the poverty line is raised to $2 per day in line with international standards for middle income countries, then 60 % of the population falls below the poverty line.

PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF PAKISTAN STEEL MILLS

The production of Pakistan Steel Mills had been increased from 1.40% of the capacity in April 2014 to 30% in December 2014 with the help of the financial restructuring package of Rs. 18.50 billion by the government.

With the current package, the production capacity will reach 77% and in order to sustain and boost the production to 100%, which is 1.10 million tons, an additional amount of Rs13 billion has been requested from the government

STUDY IN AUSTRALIA

A large number of students from Pakistan wishing to pursue higher education overseas attended an expo at a local hotel participated by 15 Australian universities and colleges.

The expo is part of the Australian Education Roadshow organised by the Australian Education Office (AEO) Pakistan, which has planned to move along  06 cities of which Lahore and Islamabad have been visited, while Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad are the remaining destinations.

The Islamabad expo on Wednesday was the second  of the visits.

Representatives from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, Griffith University, Curtin University, Canberra Institute of Technology, La Trobe, Deakin University and University of Wollongong were present at the event.

Majority of students were interested to seek information about universities that offer scholarships or funded programmes. “I have visited desks of several institutes but options offering scholarships are almost close to none,” said Adeel Atif, a business administration student from Bahria University.

Hammad, a representative at the UNSW desk, explained that the Australian government did not offer funded programmes for course work (graduate, undergraduate) but for research programmes (PhD). He said that most students inquired about programmes such as engineering, management sciences and business administration.

Haripur, Quetta, Nowshera students barred

Misbah Urooj, representative from University of Canberra, said the Australian government had officially disallowed admission to students from areas such as Haripur, Quetta and Nowshera.

CEO and Resident Director of AEO Pakistan Saad Mahmood elaborated that the Australian government and universities encouraged students who wanted to study only and not get involved in other businesses.

“People from the certain areas have been prohibited as they were found  indulging in activities other than the purpose of study in Australia,” he said, adding students were required to sit in a Genuine Temporary Entrant assessment which helped ensure they were serious to pursue their studies.

Zahid Saleem, a student from National University of Science and Technology, said the expo provided an opportunity to meet officials of various universities face-to-face that helped answered question and clear confusions which could not be sorted out online. “That is why I am here,” he remarked.

Time scheduled for Karachi is January 31 at the Marriot, Multan  January 31 as well at Ramada Hotel, Faisalabad on February 1 at Hotel One and lastly to Peshawar at PC Hotel on of February 1 too.

ELECTRICITY COST OF PRODUCTION

PAKISTAN MERI JAN
During December, 2014, power generation through furnace oil cost Rs 12.38 per unit, high-speed diesel cost Rs 19.00 per unit, coal Rs 4.49 per unit, gas Rs 3.57 per unit and nuclear power Rs 1.18 per unit. Imported electricity from Iran came at Rs 10.20 per unit.

AZB SNIPER RIFLE PAKISTAN

Pakistan has developed a special weapon to fight hidden terrorists. Pakistan army has successfully conducted operation Zar-b-Azb and this sniper rifle will remind of those successes. This rifle has been developed by Pakistan Ordinance Factories.
Chairman POF Lt.Gen. Ahsan Mehmood told the media that this rifle M. R. Azb will be introduced and exhibited in defense exhibition IDEAS 2014 which will be held in the first week of  December in Karachi.
He said that our sniper rifle is better than other such rifles in the world and it has capability to hit the enemy whether he is hiding in crowd or a cave or in the cover of walls and buildings. It an hit him while keeping other people safe and sound.

EASIEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

A very famous magazine of medical science POST MEDICAL JOURNAL has recently published its research in which it says that instead of counting our calories we should eat vegetables, fruit, olive oil and dry fruit instead of fast foods and other unhealthy diets. This not only helps us reduces the chances of heart diseases and stroke but also controls our weight. According to this research this type of diet  reduces our weight fast as compared to low fat diets. The editorial also warns about the danger of fasting as it causes malnutrition . Diet rich in fruits and vegetables is full of anti-oxidants which help to be young, active and healthy.
The research reveals that vegetables, fruit, olive oil and nuts not only reduces weight but lowers cholesterol three times faster than cholesterol lowering medicines and such diet helps in reducing weight faster. Scientists have urged British Health ministry to provide these foods in hospitals.