Pakistan Economy: News & Discussion

[The Juggernaut]

From Dawn:

Pakistan told to pay $5.9bn to mining firm in Reko Diq case

ISLAMABAD: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), one of the five organisations of the World Bank Group, has announced a huge award of $5.976 billion against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case.

Read: World Bank tribunal rules against Pakistan in Reko Diq project case

The international tribunal which provides facilities for conciliation and arbitration of international investment disputes, rendered its judgement on Friday — a 700-page ruling against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case.

The ICSID awarded a $4.08bn penalty and $1.87bn in interest. The full details of the case are yet to be released by the tribunal.

Special assistant to the prime minister on information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan when contacted said the law ministry and the attorney general were looking into the matter in light of international laws. She expressed the hope that the government would come up with a formal reaction on Sunday (today). “This is what I can say right now,” she said.

The management of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had claimed $11.43bn in damages. The company had filed claims for international arbitration before the ICSID in 2012 after the Balochistan government rejected a leasing request from the company.

PM’s aide Firdous says law ministry and attorney general are looking into the matter in the light of international laws

The case between the Pakistani government and the international company continued for at least seven years.

The TCC lodged the case against Pakistan on January 12, 2012, and the ICSID constituted the tribunal on July 12, 2012.

Klaus Sachs of Germany headed the tribunal while Stanimir A. Alexandrov of Bulgaria represented the claimants and Leonard Hoffmann of United Kingdom represented Pakistan.

Reko Diq mine is famous because of its vast gold and copper reserves and is believed to have the world’s fifth largest gold deposit. Reko Diq, which means sandy peak in the Balochi language, is a small town in Chagai district in Balochistan. It is located in a desert area, 70km north-west of Naukundi, close to the border with Iran and Afghanistan. The area is located in the Tethyan belt that stretches all the way from Turkey and Iran into Pakistan.

Read: Magic mountains: The Reko Diq gold and copper mining project

The deposit at Reko Diq is a large low grade copper porphyry, with total mineral resources of 5.9bn tonnes of ore with an average copper grade of 0.41 per cent and gold grade of 0.22 g/tonne. From this, the economically mineable portion of the deposit has been calculated at 2.2bn tonnes, with an average copper grade of 0.53pc and gold grade of 0.30 g/ton, with an annual production estimated at 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold contained in 600,000 tons of concentrate.

According to the extensive technical and financial studies undertaken to secure optimal ‘economies of scale’ efficiencies, and lower mining and processing costs, a large scale, state-of-the-art mining and processing unit is required at Reko Diq.

The TCC completed an extensive and detailed bankable feasibility study establishing the basis for mine development at Reko Diq during August 2010 and submitted a mining lease application in February 2011, along with an environmental and social impact assessment report. Progress on the project came to a standstill in November 2011, when the government of Balochistan summarily rejected the application by the TCC’s local operating subsidiary for a mining lease in respect of Reko Diq.

The TCC was of the view that under the Chagai Hills Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJWA) between the company and the Balochistan government, as well as under the Balochistan Mineral Rules 2002, the TCC Pakistan was legally entitled to the mining lease subject only to ‘routine’ government requirements.

To protect its legal rights, in November 2011 the TCC commenced international arbitration proceedings at two forums: one against the Pakistan government with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, asserting breaches of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Australia (where the TCC is incorporated) and Pakistan, and another against the Balochistan government with the International Chamber of Commerce, asserting breaches of the CHEJVA.

Reuters adds: The TCC said it had invested more than $220 million by the time Pakistan’s government, in 2011, unexpectedly refused to grant them the mining lease needed to keep operating.

The ICSID ruled against Pakistan in 2017, but until now had yet to determine the damages owed to the TCC.

Tethyan board chair William Hayes said in a statement the company was still “willing to strike a deal with Pakistan,” but added that “it would continue protecting its commercial and legal interests until the dispute was over.”

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2019

 

[Mikesingh]

Yes ,they are lucky , without gulfies they would have been bankrupt till now

This is only a temporary reprieve. The Pakis will be well on the road to damnation when they have to return the dosh with interest. There are no free lunches!

 

[Aaj ka hero]

This is only a temporary reprieve. The Pakis will be well on the road to damnation when they have to return the dosh with interest. There are no free lunches!

WHEN will that interest come?
Has not seen repay since pakistan inception.
Bastards have too many friends in need.

 

[aarav]

WHEN will that interest come?
Has not seen repay since pakistan inception.
Bastards have too many friends in need.

They have interest in keep pakis alive , especially US,UK,China and ummah but the later the paki balkanisation ,the more horrific will be pakjabis fate will be ,this time we'll not repeat the mistake of 71 and come under pressure from US or USSR back in the day

 

[DMZ_dazzle]

WHEN will that interest come?
Has not seen repay since pakistan inception.
Bastards have too many friends in need.

Pakistan will never die unless crushed. It's like a cockroach. They're ready to sell themselves to anyone who is solvent enough. This is the very reason why they support Taliban in Afghanistan. As soon as there's peace in that region (including Iran) and common Pakistani citizens stop hating Hindus, Pakistan will lose the reason for it's existence. That is why they support Islamic radicalization and international terrorism. Most kids of these PA generals live a lavish life abroad. Technically, Western culture is the most harami thing in Islam. Still, this medivial cult helps them batten on common Pakistanis who live a miserable life in their own country. Well, I guess that's what you get for following a desert cult. Same happens in Kashimir valley.

 

[DMZ_dazzle]

They have interest in keep pakis alive , especially US,UK,China and ummah but the later the paki balkanisation ,the more horrific will be pakjabis fate will be ,this time we'll not repeat the mistake of 71 and come under pressure from US or USSR back in the day

Next thing they will do is start instigating indian Muslims against the majority. They'll try to break up India from within. Those who fall far this will finance Pakistan. Pakistan will be bailed out by Indian Muslims in the future. Drug culture will be made to look cool by Bollywood songs and drugs will be supplied from pakjab. Brothelwood will do randi rona Aman ki asha. We need to unearth this brothelwood finance network and keep an eye on wahabism coming from indian workers in gulf.

 

[Darth Malgus]

From Dawn:

Pakistan told to pay $5.9bn to mining firm in Reko Diq case

ISLAMABAD: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), one of the five organisations of the World Bank Group, has announced a huge award of $5.976 billion against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case.

Read: World Bank tribunal rules against Pakistan in Reko Diq project case

The international tribunal which provides facilities for conciliation and arbitration of international investment disputes, rendered its judgement on Friday — a 700-page ruling against Pakistan in the Reko Diq case.

The ICSID awarded a $4.08bn penalty and $1.87bn in interest. The full details of the case are yet to be released by the tribunal.

Special assistant to the prime minister on information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan when contacted said the law ministry and the attorney general were looking into the matter in light of international laws. She expressed the hope that the government would come up with a formal reaction on Sunday (today). “This is what I can say right now,” she said.

The management of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) had claimed $11.43bn in damages. The company had filed claims for international arbitration before the ICSID in 2012 after the Balochistan government rejected a leasing request from the company.

PM’s aide Firdous says law ministry and attorney general are looking into the matter in the light of international laws

The case between the Pakistani government and the international company continued for at least seven years.

The TCC lodged the case against Pakistan on January 12, 2012, and the ICSID constituted the tribunal on July 12, 2012.

Klaus Sachs of Germany headed the tribunal while Stanimir A. Alexandrov of Bulgaria represented the claimants and Leonard Hoffmann of United Kingdom represented Pakistan.

Reko Diq mine is famous because of its vast gold and copper reserves and is believed to have the world’s fifth largest gold deposit. Reko Diq, which means sandy peak in the Balochi language, is a small town in Chagai district in Balochistan. It is located in a desert area, 70km north-west of Naukundi, close to the border with Iran and Afghanistan. The area is located in the Tethyan belt that stretches all the way from Turkey and Iran into Pakistan.

Read: Magic mountains: The Reko Diq gold and copper mining project

The deposit at Reko Diq is a large low grade copper porphyry, with total mineral resources of 5.9bn tonnes of ore with an average copper grade of 0.41 per cent and gold grade of 0.22 g/tonne. From this, the economically mineable portion of the deposit has been calculated at 2.2bn tonnes, with an average copper grade of 0.53pc and gold grade of 0.30 g/ton, with an annual production estimated at 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold contained in 600,000 tons of concentrate.

According to the extensive technical and financial studies undertaken to secure optimal ‘economies of scale’ efficiencies, and lower mining and processing costs, a large scale, state-of-the-art mining and processing unit is required at Reko Diq.

The TCC completed an extensive and detailed bankable feasibility study establishing the basis for mine development at Reko Diq during August 2010 and submitted a mining lease application in February 2011, along with an environmental and social impact assessment report. Progress on the project came to a standstill in November 2011, when the government of Balochistan summarily rejected the application by the TCC’s local operating subsidiary for a mining lease in respect of Reko Diq.

The TCC was of the view that under the Chagai Hills Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJWA) between the company and the Balochistan government, as well as under the Balochistan Mineral Rules 2002, the TCC Pakistan was legally entitled to the mining lease subject only to ‘routine’ government requirements.

To protect its legal rights, in November 2011 the TCC commenced international arbitration proceedings at two forums: one against the Pakistan government with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, asserting breaches of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Australia (where the TCC is incorporated) and Pakistan, and another against the Balochistan government with the International Chamber of Commerce, asserting breaches of the CHEJVA.

Reuters adds: The TCC said it had invested more than $220 million by the time Pakistan’s government, in 2011, unexpectedly refused to grant them the mining lease needed to keep operating.

The ICSID ruled against Pakistan in 2017, but until now had yet to determine the damages owed to the TCC.

Tethyan board chair William Hayes said in a statement the company was still “willing to strike a deal with Pakistan,” but added that “it would continue protecting its commercial and legal interests until the dispute was over.”

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2019

There will be an out of court settlement, Pakistan will allow Tethyan Copper Company to take majority of the profits from the mine. Some say the mine is worth $500 Billion, which means the company could take 100s of billions worth of resources.

I bet the entire thing was planned from the very beginning by the company. They paid the right politicians and signed a contract which Pakis could not full fill. or Paid the right people to get it cancelled. Impose a large fine with a court settlement. Use that as a leverage to get considerable share of the profits.

 

[Deathstar]

There will be an out of court settlement, Pakistan will allow Tethyan Copper Company to take majority of the profits from the mine. Some say the mine is worth $500 Billion, which means the company could take 100s of billions worth of resources.

I bet the entire thing was planned from the very beginning by the company. They paid the right politicians and signed a contract which Pakis could not full fill. or Paid the right people to get it cancelled. Impose a large fine with a court settlement. Use that as a leverage to get considerable share of the profits.

Chief justice Iftikhar was probably bought off by the company , he suo moto cancelled the deal lol

 

[HariPrasad-1]

Bankrupt porkies are served Rat meat. They are getting what they deserve.

 

[sorcerer]

Bankrupt porkies are served Rat meat. They are getting what they deserve.

chinese wont be happy..
paki rats are also collateral for the loans..and hence they are chinese assets.

 

[aarav]

Next thing they will do is start instigating indian Muslims against the majority. They'll try to break up India from within. Those who fall far this will finance Pakistan. Pakistan will be bailed out by Indian Muslims in the future. Drug culture will be made to look cool by Bollywood songs and drugs will be supplied from pakjab. Brothelwood will do randi rona Aman ki asha. We need to unearth this brothelwood finance network and keep an eye on wahabism coming from indian workers in gulf.

Promotion of regional cinema has already dented the pakiwood, pak pasand films or films with an agenda are more or less very few ,d company and pakiwood connections were out in open in the previous decade ,I think indian muslims don't have capacity,means or intentions to fund pakis ,hawala network already has taken pakis into FATF grey list they wouldn't want to get blacklisted in october , india 's main objective should be keep the pressure gradually growing on pakis on LoC, diplomatically , Balochistan and PTM ,they are already in fatigue ,they did pulwama to get rid of Modi but again 5 years of Modi have really withered the will of pakis and they fear the inevitable

 

[HariPrasad-1]

chinese wont be happy..
paki rats are also collateral for the loans..and hence they are chinese assets.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha¡!!!!!!!!!!

Naturally, Chinese have first right on rats.

 

[Chinmoy]

There will be an out of court settlement, Pakistan will allow Tethyan Copper Company to take majority of the profits from the mine. Some say the mine is worth $500 Billion, which means the company could take 100s of billions worth of resources.

I bet the entire thing was planned from the very beginning by the company. They paid the right politicians and signed a contract which Pakis could not full fill. or Paid the right people to get it cancelled. Impose a large fine with a court settlement. Use that as a leverage to get considerable share of the profits.

Actually Pakis were provided 6 months time prior to hearing for out of court settlement. But they did nothing and then came this bomb. Now they have got $ 6 billion as loan from friends out of which they have to pay 5.9 billion to Tethyan. The original case was for $16 Bn which has been cut down to meager $5.9 Bn.

Now Tethyan has given a olive branch to Pakistan where they have agreed to renegotiate the deal. But looking at the current political scenario of Pakistan, PTI govt would have a very hard time to save face. They had won the election on basis of anti corruption campaign, but if they agree on the deal, they would have to bring the ex chief justice of Pakistan into book. Now this would not go into favour of PTI govt as it would open up a can of worm, or should I say Gallon of Worm.

PTI and Naya Pakistan is at a crossroad now.

 

[Mikesingh]

WHEN will that interest come?
Has not seen repay since pakistan inception.
Bastards have too many friends in need.

At least the Chinks will not spare them! They owe billions to their masters and that's what the Chinks want as they know the Pakis will be unable to pay. So they'll take over parts of Balochistan to exploit its mineral wealth.

 

[nongaddarliberal]

Does anyone really think that Pak will comply with the ICSID penalty imposed on them? Not a chance and no one can do a fig about it if the refuse to pay.

IMF can simply transfer their 6 billion dollar bailout to the world bank.

 

[nongaddarliberal]

Does anyone really think that Pak will comply with the ICSID penalty imposed on them? Not a chance and no one can do a fig about it if the refuse to pay.

If they don't comply, the IMF can simply transfer 5.9 billion dollars out of the 6 billion dollar bailout for this case. Pakis will be left with 0.1 billion dollars and still owe the IMF 6 billion.

 

[Vijyes]

If they don't comply, the IMF can simply transfer 5.9 billion dollars out of the 6 billion dollar bailout for this case. Pakis will be left with 0.1 billion dollars and still owe the IMF 6 billion.

IMF doesn't have the right to transfer money to some company when the loan is meant for Pakistan. IMF is not the guarantor of the company's rights

 

[tsunami]

Isn't not paying penalty will be violation of WTO rules??

 

[Darth Malgus]

Chief justice Iftikhar was probably bought off by the company , he suo moto cancelled the deal lol

Yes, back then all moron Pakis were celebrating for showing middle finger to foreign company.

 

[sorcerer]

Pakistan faces UK aid cut as pressures grow

Britain's aid to Pakistan could reduce significantly by next year as pressure on the government grows to cut foreign aid to all countries amidst Brexit crisis, rise in poverty at home and a parliamentary inquiry into aid for Pakistan reviewing aid from 2013 to 2018, Geo News has reported.

A source in the International Development Committee (IDC) of the British Parliament said that its inquiry into the Department for International Development (DFID)'s aid programme for Pakistan will be looking at the general spending of aid in Pakistan but confirmed that pressure on the government had increased to either drop aid to several countries, including Pakistan, or cut it significantly.

According to the GEO News report, UK's aid to Pakistan for 2019/20 is already down to £302 million from £325 million in 2018/19.
The official said that it was becoming increasingly difficult for the British government to dedicate aid to growing economies and confirmed "several new issues related to Pakistan" have surfaced putting the whole perspective of aid into doubt.


http://www.theweekendleader.com/Headlines/32199/pakistan-faces-uk-aid-cut-as-pressures-grow.html