Pakistan stocks remain under pressure on uncertainty over US tariffs

ISLAMABAD: US companies are seeking to invest in Pakistan’s largely untapped minerals sector that boasts one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits, the Pakistani government said Wednesday.
Eric Meyer, Senior Bureau Official for the State Department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, conveyed that interest directly to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during meeting in Islamabad, according to a government statement.
The meeting came a day after Meyer attended the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, an international summit aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country’s mining sector. Apart from gold and copper, Pakistan is also rich in lithium used to make batteries, as well as other minerals.
The summit has drawn participation from major international companies, including Canada-based Barrick Gold, as well as government officials from the United States, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, and other nations.
Pakistan’s massive copper and gold deposits are located in Reko Diq, a district in restive Balochistan, which has witnessed a surge in attacks by Baloch separatists in recent years. Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir had told foreign companies and investors at the summit that the military would ensure their security.
The statement said Meyer “acknowledged the potential of Pakistan’s mineral sector,” adding that American companies are interested in exploring investment opportunities.
He reaffirmed Washington’s interest in expanding bilateral cooperation, including in such sectors as trade, investment, and counterterrorism, the statement said. Sharif said Pakistan’s minerals sector offered “immense opportunities” and encouraged US companies to take advantage of the investment potential.
Sharif expressed Islamabad’s desire to strengthen ties with the Trump administration. Meyer’s visit marks the first by a Trump administration official since the US imposed a 29 percent tariff on Pakistani exports as part of his trade war.
Sharif’s office said in a statement later Wednesday that the Pakistani prime minister will dispatch a high-level delegation to Washington to negotiate with Trump administration officials over the tariffs issue and to discuss how to enhance bilateral trade.

RIYADH: A group of companies affiliated with Egypt’s Armed Forces National Service Projects Organization will undergo restructuring and management changes through a new agreement with the country’s sovereign fund.

The deals, signed with several specialized local and international consulting firms, are part of efforts by relevant state agencies to implement the government’s offering program. 

This initiative involves transferring management and operations of several state-owned companies to private sector institutions, which is in line with the State Ownership Policy, according to a statement.

This falls in line with the aim of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt to foster private sector partnerships and help foreign investments flow into state-owned companies.

It also aligns with Investment Minister Hassan El-Khatib’s comments in February, in which he outlined Egypt’s plan to transfer management of state-owned enterprises to the country’s sovereign wealth fund to maximize returns on state assets.

The newly released statement revealed that these agreements also include the offering of a group of firms from the Armed Forces National Service Projects Organization, including the National Petroleum Co., Shell Outlet, and Silo Foods, as well as Safi and the National Roads Co., through a group of specialized local and international consulting firms.

Under the deals, the offering of some of these companies is set to be completed in 2025, with the remainder scheduled for completion in 2026.

In March, Egypt secured a $1.2 billion disbursement from the International Monetary Fund following the completion of the fourth review of its economic reform program. 

This disbursement, approved at the time by the IMF’s Executive Board under the Extended Fund Facility, brings Egypt’s total funding under the program to around $3.2 billion. 

In addition, the IMF also approved at the time a $1.3 billion arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility to support Egypt’s climate-related reforms. 

The 46-month EFF arrangement, which was initially approved in December 2022, was designed to promote macroeconomic stability and drive structural reforms to support sustainable growth.

At the time, the IMF acknowledged Egypt’s progress in stabilizing its economy, despite external challenges such as regional conflicts and trade disruptions.