KARACHI: Pakistan’s equities witnessed a bearish trend on Monday as KSE 100 index declined by 2.9 percent due to global oil prices and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech wherein he criticized the European Union for asking his government to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine, traders and analysts said.
KSE 100 index closed the trading at 43,259.86 after shedding 1,291 points or 2.9 percent mainly due to panic selling after Brent Crude moved above $123.9 per barrel against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine.
The Pakistani prime minister also responded to a letter written by European Union representatives in which they asked Islamabad to condemn Russia’s “unprovoked attack,” asking them if they had written a similar letter to India as well.
“Pakistan’s equity market opened on a negative note mainly due to the oil prices and the speech of PM Khan,” Muhammad Sohail, chief executive officer of Topline Securities, told Arab News.
Pakistani analysts urged the government not to take sides in the ongoing war in Eastern Europe and focus on its own economic interests.
“We should be careful while making speeches or siding with any country,” Khurram Schehzad, chief executive officer of Alpha Beta Core, a financial advisory firm, told Arab News. “Economic interest should supersede everything else.”
Brent Crude, which was trading above $130 per barrel in the morning session, had declined to $123.9 per barrel with gain of 4.86 percent in the international market by the evening. The crude is continuously increasing since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24, 2022.
“Brent Crude on Monday morning was trading at about $135 per barrel which is the highest level since 2008,” Samiullah Tariq, director research at the Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company, told Arab News.
“Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, commodity prices have come under pressure,” he added. “The commodities are trading at a higher level with upward pressure.”
Pakistan stocks plummet on surging global oil prices, PM’s speech criticizing EU
https://arab.news/n42tx
Pakistan stocks plummet on surging global oil prices, PM’s speech criticizing EU
- Brent Crude rises above $123 per barrel against backdrop of Russian invasion of Ukraine
- PM Khan had criticized EU representatives for demanding Pakistan condemn Russian actions
Pakistan increases Reko Diq investment to $244 million as Barrick reviews project
- State-owned PPL injects $50.2 million more in special purpose vehicle formed to manage Islamabad’s 25 percent stake in copper-gold mine
- Canadian operator Barrick Mining Corporation this month ordered project’s review following deadly separatist attacks in Balochistan province
KARACHI: The state-run Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has invested an additional Rs14 billion ($50.2 million) equity in the multi-billion-dollar Reko Diq copper-gold mine, the company said in its latest financial report on Thursday, as the project’s Canadian operator reviews the project following recently deadly attacks.
Canada’s Barrick Mining Corporation owns a 50 percent share in Reko Diq in the southwestern Balochistan province, along with three Pakistani federal state-owned enterprises including PPL that own 25 percent, while the Balochistan government has the remaining 25 percent share in the project.
The Canadian company announced earlier this month it planned to “immediately” begin a comprehensive review of all aspects of the Reko Diq project following coordinated attacks in Balochistan on Jan. 30-31 that killed 36 civilians and 22 security forces personnel.
“With respect to the Reko Diq project, the company has made further equity investment in Pakistan Minerals Private Limited (PMPL) during the period amounting to Rs14,025 million ($50.2m),” PPL told its shareholders in its financial statement for the half year ending at Dec. 31.
The additional equity has increased PPL’s total cost of investment in the PMPL to Rs68.1 billion ($243.6 million), it added.
The PMPL is a special purpose vehicle formed to manage the federal government’s 25 percent stake in the Reko Diq project. It is a consortium of three state-owned enterprises (SOEs) namely the PPL, the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) which is responsible for handling financing, equity contributions and strategic, legal or technical dealings with partners like Barrick.
“The project continued to advance site works during the period (July-December FY26),” the PPL said. “The operator (Barrick) is undertaking a review of all aspects of the project, including with respect to the project’s security arrangements, development timetable and capital budget.”
This week, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti assured investors that Pakistan has the “capacity and capability” to secure the Reko Diq project amid surging militancy.
The PPL explores, drills, and produces oil and natural gas. Its current portfolio, together with its subsidiaries and associates, consists of 47 exploratory blocks that include one offshore Block-5 in Abu Dhabi and one onshore block in Yemen.
In December, PPL signed a strategic Deed of Assignment under which it assigned 25 percent of its participating interest (PI) and operatorship of Eastern Offshore Indus C block to Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company, a unit of state-owned Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı.
Assigning 20 percent PI each to OGDCL and Mari Energies Limited, the company has retained the remaining 35 percent PI to play a key role in the block’s development.
