The cement industry in Pakistan has welcomed the federal government decision to release PKR298bn (42.5 per cent), including PKR61.75bn (US$1.29bn) of foreign aid (48.13 per cent) for various ongoing and new development projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2019-20 against the total budgeted allocation of PKR701bn.
 
This positive news has pushed up the prices of cement scripts in Karachi Stock Exchange on 16 December in the short term and is expected to create demand for cement in the long term.
 
Intermarket Securities Ltd, while reviewing the stock exchange performance has stated that the KSE-100 had a strong day today, gaining 728 points (+1.8 per cent) to close at 41,645 points with 222m shares exchanging hands. Positive news on the external front due to expectations of strong multilateral flows continued buying in the heavyweight E&P sector, and buoyancy in cements on positive news related to development spending led to the market extending its rally.