Kuwait Fund Signing A Loan Agreement with Pakistan
November 26, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
A Loan Agreement was signed today in Islamabad between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development whereby the Fund will extend a loan of Kuwaiti Dinars twelve million (KD.12,000,000/-) (i.e. equivalent of 40.8 million US$) to help finance the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-Power Project. A Project Agreement relating to the said Loan was also signed between the Kuwait Fund and the Neelum-Jhelum Hydro-Power Company (NJHPC).
The Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan by Mr. Sibtain Fazal Halim, Secretary Economic Affairs Division, and on behalf of the Fund by Mr. Hesham Al-Waqayan, Deputy General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
The Project aims at developing the (a) national power generation system to meet the increasing electricity demand in the country, (b) indigenous renewable energy resources namely the hydro resources.
The Project consists of the construction of a hydropower scheme, utilizing a gross head of about 420 meters by diverting the Neelum River water from Nauseri to the lower line of Jhelum River, capable of developing about 969 MW of electric power to produce about 5,150 GWh a year. It comprises a diversion dam and its related structures at Nauseri about 41 km east of Muzaffarabad on the Neelum River, a 32.5 km tunnel system to convey the water to the power house near Chattar Kalas about 22 km south of Muzaffarabad and a tail race to discharge the water at the lowest reach of the Jhelum River at Zaminabad. The Project implementation started in the second quarter of 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
The total cost of the Project is estimated at about 130 billion Pakistan Rupee equivalent to about KD. 463 million, of which the foreign currency is equivalent to about 60 billion Pakistan Rupee equivalent to about KD. 219 million which represents about 15.6% of the total cost of the Project. The Fund’s Loan will cover about 46% of the costs of the Project.
The Loan will be for a period of 26 years including 6 years grace period, and will be amortized in 40 semi-annual installments, the first of which will be due on 1st date on which any interest or other charge on the Loan shall fall due after the elapse of the above mentioned grace period.
The Loan bears an interest rate at 1.5% per annum, in addition to 0.5% per annum to cover administrative costs and other expenses incurred in the implementation of the Loan Agreement.
By concluding this agreement, it will be the 16th loan that the Fund provided to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, where the Fund previously provided 15 loans amounting to about 109 million Kuwaiti Dinars equivalent to about 372 million U.S. dollars for financing projects in various sectors.
BoP scam seems to be worth far beyond Rs9b: CJ
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) sought reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the proposal regarding giving the investigations into Bank of Punjab scandal to the former chief of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Tariq Khosa, Geo News reported Thursday.
The court said in its remarks that the loan scandal is not worth just Rs9 billion; it is worth far beyond the mentioned amount.
A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday heard the case.
As the hearing began, the apex court scolded Hamesh Khan’s counsel Mehmood Sheikh for giving media statements regarding the case.
The CJ said in his remarks that Tariq Khosa, the former DG FIA could be made to lead the team investigating the case. The court demanded the NAB Chairman to submit his reply in this connection.
On an occasion, the CJ Chaudhry said the Law Minister also was implicated in the loan scandal and name of Finance Secretary Salman Siddique also appeared in the newspapers on the same count; accordingly, the matter needed to be taken seriously.
The CJP urged the investigations to be so transparent that no one has any chance to furrow the doubtful brows over them.
A significant development was achieved when a plea was filed pleading the court that State Minister Raees Muneer in era of Former President Gen (rtd) Pervez Musharraf borrowed Rs120 million from the BoP.
Musharraf Says His Return Depends on Pak’s Internal Situation
Pakistan News: Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that his return to Pakistan depends on the internal situation of the country, and ruled out his involvement in Dr Afia’s extradition to the US, saying that he heard her name on media only.
During an interview with a UK based site, Musharraf said that he would consider the ground realities before forming any new party or joining the already established ones of the country.
He added that the politicians have their own importance, and added that they have to reach to masses to play their due role.
Acknowledging the political and democratic system, he said that before returning to the country, he would see whether the people want him back or whether he could do anything for them or not.
He noted that the youth could play a major role in his return and as such they be motivated, If people want him back in the country.
Replying to a question regarding the loan writes-off, Musharraf said he never got the loan of any influential waived, and added that an investigation should be initiated in the loans writes- off through influence.
US Bank Loan Approvals Dropping
WASHINGTON: Leading US banks are not lending as much as bankers and borrowers refrain from taking risks in the uncertain economy.
An analysis by the Journal showed the total loans held by 15 large US banks shrank by 2.8 percent in the second quarter, and that more than half of the loan volume in April and May came from refinancing mortgages and renewing credit to businesses and not fresh loans.
The banks surveyed include financial giants such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup as well as regional banks such as Fifth Third Bancorp, based in Cincinnati, and Regions Financial Corp. of Birmingham, Alabama.
The 15 banks hold 47 percent of federally insured deposits and got 182.5 billion dollars in taxpayer-funded capital infusions through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the report said.
As of June 30, the banks had 4.2 trillion dollars of loans on their balance sheets, down from 4.3 trillion dollars on March 31.
Loan portfolios shrank at 13 of the big banks, with the steepest decline at Comerica Inc., Dallas, where the loan total was down 4.3 percent to 46.6 billion dollars in the latest quarter, the paper noted.
Bank of America reported its loan portfolio slipped 3.6 percent to 942.2 billion dollars in the second quarter, the report said.
A spokesman for the largest US bank by assets said the decrease reflected higher loan losses and lower loan demand as borrowers pay off outstanding debts.
“There were fewer opportunities to make high-quality loans because of the recession,” he said.
The 15 banks reported about 803 billion dollars in loan volume in the second quarter, up 12.7 percent from the first quarter, The Journal said.
But nearly 60 percent of the increase in April and May came from refinancing mortgages and renewing business loans, according to the report. In contrast, new home purchases accounted for just 23 percent of all mortgage loans.
On a year-to-year basis, total loans held by the 15 big banks rose 17 percent from 3.6 trillion dollars in the second quarter of last year, the paper reported.
But the increase was skewed by the impact of acquisitions that included J.P. Morgan’s takeover of the banking operations of Washington Mutual and Wachovia’s purchase by Wells Fargo Bank, it said.
Excluding purchases, loan portfolios shrank by about 10 percent as of June 30 from a year earlier, according to the report.
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US Bank Loan Approvals Dropping
Oil Higher in Asian Trade
SINGAPORE: Oil rose in Asian trade on Monday, with investor mood upbeat that the global economy was over the worst of the slump, analysts said.
In particular, a stronger-than-expected set of US corporate earnings has fuelled hopes that the world’s largest economy was on the mend from a recession that started late last year, they said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, put on 39 cents to 68.44 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for September delivery was 38 cents firmer at 70.70 dollars.
“People concluded that Asia seems to have turned the corner — now the US is also thought to be recovering,” said Tony Nunan, a Tokyo-based manager with Mitsubishi Corp’s international petroleum business unit.
In Asia, a strong 7.9 percent surge in second quarter growth from China’s economy has bolstered hopes that the region is also starting to shake off the US-led global slump.
After the United States, China is the number two energy user in the world.
Crude prices have surged about 10 dollars in New York over the past two weeks, energised by strong US corporate earnings and economic data suggesting the US and other key economies are starting to recover.
However, Phil Flynn of PFG Best Research cautioned that the rise in oil prices was not supported by economic fundamentals.
“Oil has ignored bearish supply and demand fundamentals as the fundamentals of expectations of an improving economy seem to be a bit more exciting,” Flynn said.
“After this pop, oil will fall hard.”
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Oil Higher in Asian Trade
