Category: 3. Business

Pakistan’s cement sector is expected to post strong growth in the current fiscal year according to a report by brokerage house Topline Securities.

In a note, the firm said it is maintaining its overweight stance on the Pakistan Cement sector in anticipation of the expected recovery on both demand and pricing side.

In our base case, we had assumed domestic dispatches growth of 8 percent in both north and south regions. However, recent trends of Jul and Aug 2025 suggest the actual growth could be much higher. In July 2025, domestic cement sales were up 18 percent YoY, while the first 17 days of August were depicting trend of 28 percent YoY. It said 2MFY26 domestic sales could depict YoY growth of 20-25 percent.

The better-than-expected domestic demand is on the back of multiple factors which includes monetary easing and revival in construction sector and infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the firm expects the same stabilization and thereafter growth in cement prices backed by strong demand.

Historically, July and August sales contributes 7 percent -8 percent each to total annual cement sales, this trend suggest FY26 domestic sales to reach 42-45 million tons, up 13-20 percent. This will take domestic utilization of cement plants to 52-54 percent from FY25 level of 44 percent.

Pakistan domestic cement sales were continuously on falling streak since FY22 year. The peak sales were 48 million tons in FY21, while FY25 domestic sales was 37 million tons.

The firm said it is maintaining its base case volumetric forecast of 8 percent for FY26 for another 1-2 months till it gets further clarity on outlook of growth.

Topline said it has revised its earlier estimates of cement earnings by simple average of 5-7 percent for FY26 due to multiple factors including better than expected domestic demand recovery in FY25, and lower coal costs.

The firm said that the consensus growth forecast of these industry players for FY26 was in range 3-6 percent largely, however, it continued with its assumption of 8 percent. However, recent numbers of 2MFY26 suggests growth percentage can cross 12 percent, in its view.

Topline expects the cement prices are also expected to show recovery in FY26 on the back of improving demand and domestic utilization.

The full report of Topline Securities can be viewed here.

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PSX: PPL) Tuesday announced that it ins increased pro-rata funding commitment for Phase 1 of the Reko Diq copper and gold project, including project financing costs, to $715 million.

In a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company highlighted that it holds an 8.33 percent stake in the Reko Diq copper and gold project, which, when aggregated with the 8.33 percent stakes held by each of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Government Holdings (Private) Limited, comprises a collective 25 percent interest in the Project that is owned by the three Pakistani State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

The SOEs’ interest in the project company, i.e., Reko Diq Mining Company (Private) Limited (RDMC), is held indirectly via Pakistan Minerals (Private) Limited. Twenty-five percent of the shares in RDMC are held by the Government of Balochistan (15 percent on a fully funded basis, which is held indirectly through Balochistan Mineral Resources Limited, and 10 percent on a free-carried basis, which is held directly by the Government of Balochistan). The remaining 50 percent of the shares in RDMC are held (indirectly) by Barrick Mining Corporation (formerly Barrick Gold Corporation), which is the operator of the project.

Based on the updated feasibility study of the project, the Board of Directors of the company, on 25th March 2025, approved the company’s pro-rata funding commitment, including project financing costs, of $627 million (subject to adjustment for actual financing costs and inflation). The Board also granted in-principle approval to obtain project financing. At the time of the Board’s approval, and after accounting for the project financing expected to be obtained by RDMC, the company’s expected shareholder contributions were equal to $349 million. These approvals were granted contingent upon necessary shareholders’ and regulatory approvals.

Since the aforementioned approval, negotiations with the lenders of the project financing have considerably advanced. Furthermore, the Phase 1 development cost of the project has been revised, mainly on account of conservatism built in on the recommendation of the Independent Technical Consultant of the lenders with respect to the delay in commencement of production by six months to 2029 (compared with the earlier plan of 2028) and other cost contingencies. Additionally, financing costs have increased due to revisions in pricing and the rise in the level of project financing to $3,500 million from the previous estimate of $3,000 million. The project remains economically viable based on the revised assumptions.

Accordingly, on 18th August 2025, the Board of Directors of the company approved an increase in the company’s pro-rata funding commitment for Phase 1 of the project, including project financing costs, to $715 million (subject to adjustment for actual financing costs and inflation). After accounting for the project financing expected to be obtained by RDMC, the company’s expected shareholder contributions equal $391 million.

In connection with the project financing to be obtained by RDMC, the Board of Directors has also approved execution of the following agreements by the company, as well as other ancillary agreements and documents that may be necessary: (i) the SOE Completion Agreement; and (ii) the Transfer Restrictions Agreement.

The SOE Completion Agreement provides for a collective guarantee, on a joint and several guarantee basis, from the SOEs of their pro-rata contributory share (equal to 27.7778 percent) of the secured debt obligations of RDMC under the project financing. The guarantee will remain effective until the project achieves financial completion, i.e., the date on which the project satisfies certain criteria to demonstrate a requisite level of commercial operations.

The Transfer Restrictions Agreement provides for, among other things, minimum shareholding requirements for the project’s sponsors (including each of the SOEs), before and after financial completion, until the project debt has been fully repaid.

The above-mentioned approvals are subject to shareholders’ and regulatory approvals in accordance with law, the notice added.

A Japanese convenience store chain has suspended the sale of rice balls, or onigiri, and other deli items at 1,600 stores after it found that staff had faked their expiry dates.

Staff at some stores extended expiry dates by not sticking labels on the dishes until an hour or two after they were prepared. Others relabelled the items with false dates after they were put on sale, Ministop found.

The misconduct was reported at 23 stores across the country, including in major cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

The chain has paused onigiri sales at most of its outlets since 9 August, and on Monday extended the pause to other deli items, for an “emergency investigation”.

“We sincerely apologise for the significant inconvenience caused to our customers who have supported Ministop’s handmade onigiri and handmade bento boxes,” the company said in a statement on Monday.

Customers have not reported any health issues so far, it added.

Convenience stores or konbini are part of daily life in Japan, where people – especially commuters – stop by for affordable and filling meals and last-minute groceries and banking errands.

Onigiri is popular among customers who want grab-and-go meals as the rice balls are easy to carry – wrapped in nori or dried seaweed and filled with protein like tuna salad or cod eggs.

Ministop operates more than 1,800 stores across Japan. Its focus on fresh food – with hot meals prepared on site – sets it apart from the larger chains.