Business

Russian delegation in Pakistan to finalise oil import deal

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Delegation is here to finalise agreement, including payment mode.
Once deal is done, Pakistan will place order for crude oil purchase.
Russian ship will arrive in 26 days, most probably by mid-May.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan moved a step closer to sealing its loan deal with Russia as the team has arrived in Karachi to fine-tune the deal on crude oil with counterparts in Pakistan State Oil (PSO), The News reported citing a senior official privy to the development.

“This time, we are expecting all the hurdles will be removed in importing crude oil from Russia,” the official said. However, the Energy Ministry is tight-lipped over the mode of payment and discount on crude oil prices.

It should be noted that last month the technical teams of the Operational Services Centre (PSC) — a Russian state-owned entity — held talks for two days on March 21-22 with the PSO team, which ended without progress on the constitution of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) responsible not only for importing the crude but also for the payments.

“The Russian delegation is here now to finalise the government-to-government agreement, including the mode of payment. Russia is currently asking for payment in China’s Yuan or Ruble, but Pakistan wants to pay in rupee,” the official told the publication.

According to inside sources, once the deal is done, Pakistan will place the order to Russia for crude oil purchase.

“The Russian ship will arrive in 26 days, most probably by mid-May. The current Brent price in the international market hovers at $85.16 per barrel whereas the Russian oil is available at $47-48 per barrel.”

At the same time, according to top officials, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is asking some local banks, including the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), to open letters of credit for importing Russian oil but they are hesitant to do so mainly because of the G7 countries’ regulations of following the price cap of $60 per barrel or below it and making the payments under Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) arrangement.

The officials said that PSO had never imported crude oil as it only imports finished petroleum products from various sources and diesel from KPC (Kuwait Petroleum Company).

Refineries have been importing crude under long-term agreements from ADNOC and Saudi Aramco. But in the case of Russian crude, refineries will not be involved in the import, but it will be SPV with representatives from PSO and PSC.

“Pakistan may get Russian crude price with a discount close to $50 per barrel, $10 per barrel below the cap price imposed by G7 countries on Russian oil in the wake of the war on Ukraine,” relevant officials hinted.

However, one of the top guns in the coalition government said that the decision to import the Russian crude under the government-to-government agreement at a 30% discount may not provide the required relief as 26 days of transposition from the Russian port to Pakistan port will incur the per barrel shipping cost at $15 per barrel and $ 10 per barrel refining cost will erode the maximum discount.

On top of that, Pakistan refineries will only be able to extract just 10% MS out of Ural crude and 50% furnace oil.

The refineries are already facing the ullage of furnace oil. The only consumption of furnace oil in Pakistan depends upon running the RFO-based power plants.

The industrial sources suggest the government conduct a commercial analysis if the import of Russian oil will benefit Pakistan’s economy or not and, if yes, to what extent.

Business

With its second-largest surge ever, PSX approaches 114,000 points.

Published

10 hours ago

Farwa

Driven by renewed activity from both private and government financial institutions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw its second-largest rally in history on Monday.

The market regained many important levels in a single trading session as it rose with previously unheard-of momentum.

Intraday trading saw a top increase of 4,676 points, and the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 4,411 points to settle at 113,924 points. This impressive rebound demonstrated significant investor confidence by reestablishing the 100,000, 111,000, 112,000, and 113,000-point levels.

The market also saw the 114,000-point limit reestablished during the trading session.

The positive tendency was reflected when the market’s heavyweight shares touched its upper circuits. Among the most busiest trading sessions in recent memory, an astounding 85.78 billion shares worth a total of Rs55 billion were exchanged.

Experts credited the spike to heightened institutional investor activity and hope for macroeconomic recovery. Considered a major market recovery, the rally demonstrated the market’s tenacity and development potential.

Business

In interbank trade, the Pakistani rupee beats the US dollar.

Published

1 week ago

Farwa

In the international exchange market, the US dollar has continued to weaken in relation to the Pakistani rupee.

The dollar fell to Rs278.10 from Rs278.17 at the beginning of interbank trading, according to currency dealers, a seven paisa loss.

In the meantime, there was a lot of turbulence in the stock market, but it recovered and moved into the positive zone. The KSE-100 index recovered momentum and reached 116,000 points after soaring 1,300 points.

Both currency and stock market swings, according to analysts, are a reflection of ongoing market adjustments and economic uncertainty.

Business

Phase II of CPEC: China-Pakistan Partnership Enters a New Era

Published

1 week ago

Farwa

The cornerstone of economic cooperation between the two brothers and all-weather friends is still the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the initiative’s flagship project.

In contrast to reports of a slowdown, recent events indicate a renewed vigour and strategic emphasis on pushing the second phase of CPEC, known as CPEC Phase-2, according to the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives.

According to the statement, this crucial stage seeks to reshape the foundation of bilateral ties via increased cooperation, cutting-edge technology transfer, and revolutionary socioeconomic initiatives.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal is leading Pakistan’s participation in a number of high-profile gatherings in China, such as the 3rd Forum on China-Indian Ocean Region Development Cooperation in Kunming and the High-Level Seminar on CPEC-2 in Beijing.

His involvement demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to reviving CPEC, resolving outstanding concerns, and developing a strong phase-2 roadmap that considers both countries’ long-term prosperity.

At the core of these interactions is China’s steadfast determination to turn CPEC into a strategic alliance that promotes development, progress, and connectivity.

Instead of being marginalised, CPEC is developing into a multifaceted framework with five main thematic corridors: the Opening-Up/Regional Connectivity Corridor, the Innovation Corridor, the Green Corridor, the Growth Corridor, and the Livelihood-Enhancing Corridor.

With the help of projects like these, the two countries will fortify their partnership, and CPEC phase-2 will become a model of global economic integration and collaboration that benefits not just China and Pakistan but the entire region.