Profit 3rd February, 2012
3
Pages: 03 profit.com.pk Friday, 03 February, 2012 PIAF conjures up 7-point economy reviving plan Page 03 LAHORE STAFF REPORT P RiME Minister syed Yousaf Raza gillani will inaugurate the Business Express, the first non-stop train to run between the provincial capitals of Punjab and sindh with its passenger facilitation by the private sector, today. Pakistan Railways and four Brothers international had inked an agreement on August 18 last year to operate the train between Lahore and Karachi as a joint venture under public- private partnership. the train was to start running between Lahore City and Karachi Cantt within 120 days of signing the agreement, but its inauguration had to be postponed because its coaches could not be renovated and upgraded according to the standard of the private company in time. Comprising nine AC coaches, two power and one luggage vans and a dining car, the up train will leave Karachi City at 3:30 pm and reach Lahore at 9:35 am the next day, while the down special will leave Lahore at 3:30pm to arrive at Karachi City at 10am the next day, after having technical stoppages at Khanewal and Rohri. Under the agreement, the company will invest Rs 225.786 million to bring value adding ‘substantive changes’ to the passenger services, including ticketing, luggage care, bedding and food service etc. it will pay Rs 1.573 million per single train journey and Rs 1.148 billion per annum to railways at the rate of 88 per cent of carrying capacity of the train. the agreement will be valid for five years and can be extended for another term with the consent of both the parties. KARACHI ISMAIL DILAWAR i n the current recessionary climate the banking sector stands out to be one of the most resilient and ever-flourishing industry in Pakistan. But, despite pocketing huge profits at the end of every year, the country’s commercial banks are not rewarding the savers, the accomplished banker husain Lawai complains. Lawai, president and chief executive officer of summit Bank, is also critical of his counterparts in the commercial banks for investing around 35 to 40 per cent of their deposits in the risk-free and heavily-weighted government securities, including t-bills, PiBs and ijara sukuk, instead of 19 per cent prescribed by the banking regulations. further, the experienced banker also wants the country’s present snail-paced judicial process to be made faster so to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of recovery suits pending in banking courts for years. Lawai believes that the banking industry in Pakistan is resilient and would remain so in the foreseeable future as is evident from a good spread and relatively better regulatory framework. “it is, however, the most unfortunate fact that banks are not rewarding to savers despite making handsome profits,” the outspoken banker lamented while talking to Profit during an exclusive interview here in his office. SBP, GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGING BANKS TO INVEST: Asked for his take on the present risk-averse behavior of the commercial banks, the banker said the government and the central bank were responsible for encouraging the profit-conscious banks to invest in the heavily-weighted government securities that had left little or no finances for the growth-oriented private sector in the banking system. the banker said when the sovereign borrower (government) was happily paying a heavy interest rate of KiBOR+3 to the banks, why would the latter take the risk to finance the private businesses in the current recessionary environment. RESTRICT BANKS’ LOANS TO NON-PRODUCTIVE PUBLIC SECTOR: the summit Bank chief wants the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP) to restrict the banks’ massive lending to the cash-strapped government, which from July 1 to January 20 of fY12 borrowed over Rs770 billion from the banking system. Lawai proposes an increase in the prevailing income tax rate to deter the banks from extending excessive advances to the public sector, which uses the borrowed money for non- productive purposes like running of the government. BANKS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SBP’S DISCOUNTING SCHEME: Also, the banker appeared critical of the central bank’s scheme that provides the banks with a window to borrow money from the regulator against the government securities they hold. this window, he said, was enabling the banks to save a handsome amount without lifting a finger. “the state Bank after every two months announces its discount rate. We call it discounting, means whenever the banks need they can go to the window and borrow money against the treasury Bills and PiBs they hold,” Lawai said adding “the banks take advantage of that. it’s a sort of cycle that keeps running.” the instrument, he deems as most important, is that the regulators at sBP must prescribe “a certain limit” for the banks investment in government papers. BANKS VIOLATING SLR REGULARTIONS: “By regulatory laws we have to invest 19 per cent (in government securities). We call it sLR (statutory Liquidity Ratio). Like of the total deposits, the banks have to maintain an sLR of 19 per cent in government securities,” he said. “But what we are doing is to investing 35 to 40 per cent instead of the required 19 per cent, so i would suggest the state Bank not to allow 40 per cent investment and restrict them to 25 per cent,” Lawai said. “Why would i, as a banker, lend to an industry at 2.5 or 3 per cent mark-up rate when the government of Pakistan is giving me (KiBOR plus) 2.75,” he replied to a query on banks’ depleting loans to the private borrowers. NO ECONOMIC GROWTH SANS CREDIT TO PRIVATE SECTOR: Asked to dwell on the ultimate implications, the banker said the private sector investment would go down that would reflect adversely on the already slow-paced economic growth in the poverty-stricken country. “Unavailability of credit would render the private investors unable to install industries, increase exports and conducting trading activities,” the banker said. According to banking experts, an increase in sLR restricts the banks’ leverage position to pump more money into the economy. Rs620 BILLION NON-PERFORMING LOANS: REASONS, REMIDEIS: About bad debts of the banking industry, he said the current classified volume of the nPLs was totaling Rs 620 billion, 17 per cent of the banks’ Rs 3.5 trillion total advances. Elaborating on major reasons for the ever-bourgeoning bank defaults in the country, the experienced banker underlined both external as well as internal factors. globally, he referred to a recessionary climate in the economy while domestically, Lawai said, an uncertain law and order situation, energy crises and frequent changes in the government policies were crippling the borrowers’ capacity to repay the borrowed money. OVER 0.15-0.75 MILLION RECOVERY SUITS PENIDNG IN BANKING COURTS: Asked for an effective remedy to check the rising nPs, the banker said the country’s judicial process be quickened. the existing laws to decide a recovery suit within 90 days be followed strictly. “But during my 40-year banking experience i never saw this happen. it takes 10 to 15 years at least. so if we make this judicial process faster, you would see the size of nPLs reduced by half within next six months,” said he. Lawai said at present some 0.15 to 0.75 million cases pertaining to recovery of the bad debts were pending in various banking courts of the country that needed to be decided at the earliest. GO AFTER WILFULL DEFAULTERS: further, he said the banks should separate the willful defaulters from the genuine ones. “One should go after the willful defaulters, while the cases of genuine defaults be settled through negotiations.” the nPLs of his bank, summit Bank, were also higher as the sum was a total of the three banks, namely Arif habib Bank, My Bank and Atlas Bank, which had merged to become the summit Bank, respectively, in June 2009, Dec 2010 and June 2011. “nPLs of the three banks accumulated to Rs20 billion, but we have done full provisioning to avoid a loss,” he said. DON’T TIE INTEREST RATE WITH INFLATION: Lawai is also opposed to the tagging of interest rate with inflation saying the practice had little or no precedence in the developed world. “in the UK the inflation rate is 4.2 per cent but the interest rate stands at 0.5 per cent only,” he illustrated. Linking the discount rate with inflation in a country like Pakistan where the supply chain was completely “distorted” was incorrect, said the banker. CUT INFLATION RATE TO SINGLE-DIGIT : the senior banker views that the central bank should bring the inflation rate down to single-digit, by 8 to 9 per cent, with a single stroke of the pen. “Only this would ensure economic growth as 15 per cent interest margin is very high,” he said. SUMMIT BANK BUSINESS STRATEGY: Our business strategy focuses more on the trade financing as consumer banking has still not developed in Pakistan and the people need to be educated on the same. he said his bank, though nominally, was providing personal loans to corporate firms, their employees and those individuals having the capacity and resources to repay the loan. summit Advantage Account, Lawai said, was the unique product his bank had launched to enable its account holders borrow money by 70 per cent against their one-year deposits. family saving Account is another special product the bank offers to the family members, including spouses and children, of its account holders by depositing only Rs 5000. “We pay 9 per cent interest rate against the normal 5 per cent. this is to promote family values,” Lawai said. to a query on the possibility of further acquisitions or mergers, the summit Bank CEO responded in negative saying the bank was focusing more on “organic growth” and would this year add up 35 more branches to its 166 countrywide branch network. he said summit Bank’ total advances and deposits amounted to Rs 66 billion and Rs 90 billion, respectively. Banks not rewarding savers: Lawai g Investing 40 per cent against 19 per cent SLR in government papers g Central bank should bring inflation rate down to single-digit PM to inaugurate Business Express ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT A fghAnistAn on thursday briefed Pakistan on its security plan for $7.6 billion turkmenistan Afghanistan Pak- istan and india (tAPi) pipeline project, initia- tion of which hinges on the fool proof security steps through the war ravaged country. Afghan Deputy Minister of finance Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor called on Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim hussain along with Afghan Deputy Minister for Policy and Mines Mir Ahmad Jawid sadat. Both sides also agreed that transit fee for the tAPi pipeline should be realistic and agreed to hold a detailed session to have an un- derstanding. Afghan Deputy finance Minister apprised the minister about the Afghan govern- ment’s commitment on the implementation of tAPi pipeline project to help meet regional en- ergy demands. the Afghan delegation provided an update on the security situation for tAPi pipeline portion that will pass through Afghanistan. he informed that Afghan govern- ment is planning to hold road shows in major cities of Pakistan to promote investment in Afghanistan. Petroleum Minister said Afghanistan is an important strategic partner and bilateral relations between the two coun- tries need to be further strengthened. he em- phasized that economic linkages were the key to strengthening of bilateral relations which are imperative for the development of both the countries. he informed the Afghan delegation regarding positive discussions with india on tAPi pipeline project and proposed that a tri- lateral meeting should be held to discuss the is- sues related to project. he said Pakistan is willing to explore the possibility of establish- ment of PsO retail outlets in Afghanistan. Afghanistan briefs Pakistan on security measures for TAPI pipeline PRO 03-02-2012_Layout 1 2/3/2012 4:04 AM Page 1
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Pakistantoday
Transcript of Profit 3rd February, 2012
Pages: 03 profit.com.pk Friday, 03 February, 2012
PIAF conjures up 7-point economyreviving plan Page 03
LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
P RiME Minister syedYousaf Raza gillaniwill inaugurate theBusiness Express, the
first non-stop train to run betweenthe provincial capitals of Punjaband sindh with its passenger
facilitation by the private sector,today. Pakistan Railways and four
Brothers international had inked anagreement on August 18 last year to
operate the train between Lahore andKarachi as a joint venture under public-
private partnership. the train wasto start running between Lahore
City and Karachi Cantt within120 days of signing theagreement, but itsinauguration had to be
postponed because its coaches could not berenovated and upgraded according to thestandard of the private company in time.Comprising nine AC coaches, two power andone luggage vans and a dining car, the uptrain will leave Karachi City at 3:30 pm andreach Lahore at 9:35 am the next day, whilethe down special will leave Lahore at3:30pm to arrive at Karachi City at 10amthe next day, after having technicalstoppages at Khanewal and Rohri. Underthe agreement, the company will invest Rs225.786 million to bring value adding‘substantive changes’ to the passengerservices, including ticketing, luggage care,bedding and food service etc. it will pay Rs1.573 million per single train journey and Rs1.148 billion per annum to railways at therate of 88 per cent of carrying capacity ofthe train. the agreement will be valid forfive years and can be extended for anotherterm with the consent of both the parties.
KARACHI
ISMAIL DILAWAR
in the current recessionary climate thebanking sector stands out to be one of themost resilient and ever-flourishingindustry in Pakistan. But, despite
pocketing huge profits at the end of every year,the country’s commercial banks are notrewarding the savers, the accomplished bankerhusain Lawai complains.Lawai, president and chief executive officer ofsummit Bank, is also critical of his counterparts inthe commercial banks for investing around 35 to40 per cent of their deposits in the risk-free andheavily-weighted government securities, includingt-bills, PiBs and ijara sukuk, instead of 19 percent prescribed by the banking regulations.further, the experienced banker also wants thecountry’s present snail-paced judicial process to bemade faster so to decide the fate of hundreds ofthousands of recovery suits pending in bankingcourts for years. Lawai believes that the bankingindustry in Pakistan is resilient and would remainso in the foreseeable future as is evident from agood spread and relatively better regulatoryframework. “it is, however, the most unfortunatefact that banks are not rewarding to savers despitemaking handsome profits,” the outspoken bankerlamented while talking to Profit during anexclusive interview here in his office.SBP, GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGINGBANKS TO INVEST: Asked for his take on thepresent risk-averse behavior of the commercial banks,the banker said the government and the central bankwere responsible for encouraging the profit-consciousbanks to invest in the heavily-weighted governmentsecurities that had left little or no finances for thegrowth-oriented private sector in the banking system.the banker said when the sovereign borrower(government) was happily paying a heavy interestrate of KiBOR+3 to the banks, why would the lattertake the risk to finance the private businesses in thecurrent recessionary environment.RESTRICT BANKS’ LOANS TO NON-PRODUCTIVE PUBLIC SECTOR: thesummit Bank chief wants the state Bank of Pakistan(sBP) to restrict the banks’ massive lending to thecash-strapped government, which from July 1 toJanuary 20 of fY12 borrowed over Rs770 billionfrom the banking system. Lawai proposes an increasein the prevailing income tax rate to deter the banksfrom extending excessive advances to the publicsector, which uses the borrowed money for non-productive purposes like running of the government.BANKS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SBP’SDISCOUNTING SCHEME: Also, the bankerappeared critical of the central bank’s scheme thatprovides the banks with a window to borrow moneyfrom the regulator against the government
securities they hold. this window, he said, wasenabling the banks to save a handsome amountwithout lifting a finger. “the state Bank after everytwo months announces its discount rate. We call itdiscounting, means whenever the banks need theycan go to the window and borrow money against thetreasury Bills and PiBs they hold,” Lawai saidadding “the banks take advantage of that. it’s a sortof cycle that keeps running.” the instrument, hedeems as most important, is that the regulators atsBP must prescribe “a certain limit” for the banksinvestment in government papers.BANKS VIOLATING SLR REGULARTIONS:“By regulatory laws we have to invest 19 per cent(in government securities). We call it sLR(statutory Liquidity Ratio). Like of the totaldeposits, the banks have to maintain an sLR of 19per cent in government securities,” he said. “Butwhat we are doing is to investing 35 to 40 per centinstead of the required 19 per cent, so i wouldsuggest the state Bank not to allow 40 per centinvestment and restrict them to 25 per cent,”Lawai said. “Why would i, as a banker, lend to anindustry at 2.5 or 3 per cent mark-up rate whenthe government of Pakistan is giving me (KiBORplus) 2.75,” he replied to a query on banks’depleting loans to the private borrowers.NO ECONOMIC GROWTH SANS CREDIT TOPRIVATE SECTOR: Asked to dwell on theultimate implications, the banker said the privatesector investment would go down that would reflectadversely on the already slow-paced economicgrowth in the poverty-stricken country.“Unavailability of credit would render the privateinvestors unable to install industries, increaseexports and conducting trading activities,” thebanker said. According to banking experts, anincrease in sLR restricts the banks’ leverageposition to pump more money into the economy.Rs620 BILLION NON-PERFORMINGLOANS: REASONS, REMIDEIS: About baddebts of the banking industry, he said the currentclassified volume of the nPLs was totaling Rs 620billion, 17 per cent of the banks’ Rs 3.5 trillion totaladvances. Elaborating on major reasons for theever-bourgeoning bank defaults in the country, theexperienced banker underlined both external aswell as internal factors. globally, he referred to arecessionary climate in the economy whiledomestically, Lawai said, an uncertain law andorder situation, energy crises and frequent changesin the government policies were crippling theborrowers’ capacity to repay the borrowed money.OVER 0.15-0.75 MILLION RECOVERY SUITSPENIDNG IN BANKING COURTS: Asked foran effective remedy to check the rising nPs, thebanker said the country’s judicial process bequickened. the existing laws to decide a recoverysuit within 90 days be followed strictly. “But duringmy 40-year banking experience i never saw this
happen. it takes 10 to 15 years at least. so if we makethis judicial process faster, you would see the size ofnPLs reduced by half within next six months,” saidhe. Lawai said at present some 0.15 to 0.75 millioncases pertaining to recovery of the bad debts werepending in various banking courts of the countrythat needed to be decided at the earliest.GO AFTER WILFULL DEFAULTERS:further, he said the banks should separate thewillful defaulters from the genuine ones. “Oneshould go after the willful defaulters, while thecases of genuine defaults be settled throughnegotiations.” the nPLs of his bank, summitBank, were also higher as the sum was a total ofthe three banks, namely Arif habib Bank, My Bankand Atlas Bank, which had merged to become thesummit Bank, respectively, in June 2009, Dec2010 and June 2011. “nPLs of the three banksaccumulated to Rs20 billion, but we have done fullprovisioning to avoid a loss,” he said.DON’T TIE INTEREST RATE WITHINFLATION: Lawai is also opposed to the tagging ofinterest rate with inflation saying the practice hadlittle or no precedence in the developed world. “in theUK the inflation rate is 4.2 per cent but the interestrate stands at 0.5 per cent only,” he illustrated.Linking the discount rate with inflation in a countrylike Pakistan where the supply chain was completely“distorted” was incorrect, said the banker.CUT INFLATION RATE TO SINGLE-DIGIT :the senior banker views that the centralbank should bring the inflationrate down to single-digit, by 8to 9 per cent, with a singlestroke of the pen. “Only thiswould ensure economicgrowth as 15 per centinterest margin is veryhigh,” he said.SUMMIT BANKBUSINESSSTRATEGY: Ourbusiness strategyfocuses more onthe tradefinancing asconsumerbanking has stillnot developed inPakistan and thepeople need tobe educated onthe same. hesaid his bank,though nominally,was providing personalloans to corporate firms,their employees andthose individualshaving the
capacity and resources to repay the loan. summitAdvantage Account, Lawai said, was the uniqueproduct his bank had launched to enable itsaccount holders borrow money by 70 per centagainst their one-year deposits. family savingAccount is another special product the bank offersto the family members, including spouses andchildren, of its account holders by depositing onlyRs 5000. “We pay 9 per cent interest rate againstthe normal 5 per cent. this is to promote familyvalues,” Lawai said. to a query on the possibility offurther acquisitions or mergers, the summit BankCEO responded in negative saying the bank was
focusing more on “organicgrowth” and would this
year add up 35 morebranches to its 166countrywidebranch network.
he saidsummit Bank’total advancesand depositsamounted toRs 66 billionand Rs 90billion,respectively.
Banks not rewarding savers: Lawaig Investing 40 per cent against 19 per cent SLR in government papers g Central bank should bring inflation rate down to single-digit
PM to inaugurate Business Express
ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
AfghAnistAn on thursday briefedPakistan on its security plan for $7.6billion turkmenistan Afghanistan Pak-
istan and india (tAPi) pipeline project, initia-tion of which hinges on the fool proof securitysteps through the war ravaged country. AfghanDeputy Minister of finance MohammadMustafa Mastoor called on Petroleum MinisterDr. Asim hussain along with Afghan DeputyMinister for Policy and Mines Mir AhmadJawid sadat. Both sides also agreed that transitfee for the tAPi pipeline should be realistic andagreed to hold a detailed session to have an un-derstanding. Afghan Deputy finance Ministerapprised the minister about the Afghan govern-ment’s commitment on the implementation oftAPi pipeline project to help meet regional en-
ergy demands. the Afghan delegation providedan update on the security situation for tAPipipeline portion that will pass throughAfghanistan. he informed that Afghan govern-ment is planning to hold road shows in majorcities of Pakistan to promote investment inAfghanistan. Petroleum Minister saidAfghanistan is an important strategic partnerand bilateral relations between the two coun-tries need to be further strengthened. he em-phasized that economic linkages were the keyto strengthening of bilateral relations which areimperative for the development of both thecountries. he informed the Afghan delegationregarding positive discussions with india ontAPi pipeline project and proposed that a tri-lateral meeting should be held to discuss the is-sues related to project. he said Pakistan iswilling to explore the possibility of establish-ment of PsO retail outlets in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan briefs Pakistan on security measures for TAPI pipeline
PRO 03-02-2012_Layout 1 2/3/2012 4:04 AM Page 1
news02Friday, 03 February, 2012
LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
LAhORE Chamber of Commerce andindustry thursday, while calling formarket diversification, has urged thebusinessmen to make inroads in Eastern
Europe which is an untapped market and has ahuge potential for Pakistani goods. LCCiPresident irfan Qaiser sheikh was talking toAmbassador-designate to Bulgaria Jamshediftikhar here at the Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and industry. LCCi senior VicePresident Kashif Younis Meher, Vice Presidentsaeeda nazar, former President Mian MuzaffarAli and former senior Vice President tahir JavedMalik also attended the meeting and spoke on asto how the trade relations with Bulgaria could befurther strengthened. LCCi President said thatPakistani merchandise are best of the best in theworld but only because of lack of information itcould not be able to reach a number of goodinternational markets. he said that Bulgaria is agateway to Europe with cheaper labour as
compared to Europe; therefore, it could help wina number of European destinations. irfan Qaisersheikh said that Pakistani business communitywants to develop good trade and economicrelations with Bulgarian businessmen and in thisregard the role of Pakistan Embassy is of primeimportance. he said that both Pakistan andBulgaria were loosing their share in two waytrade. imports and exports are dropping year byyear and it is causing a downward trend in overalltrade. Pakistan’s exports to Bulgaria were to thetune of $15.3 million in 2008 which dropped by22.2 per cent and 14.3 per cent in 2009 and 2010respectively. similarly Pakistan’s imports fromBulgaria stood at $187 million in 2008 which fellby 71 per cent in 2009 and reached at $20.3million in 2010 registering another decrease of 63per cent. the bilateral trade has come down to$30.5 million in 2010 which touched the peak of$202.3 million in 2008. All these figures stronglysuggest taking some serious steps to regain theprior level of trade which was much better.Pakistan’s major exports to Bulgaria comprisecotton, manmade staple fibres, plastics and
articles thereof, articles of apparel, cereals,optical, photo, technical, medical, etc apparatus.We mostly export raw or semi finished goods toBulgaria which fetch much little price. We need tostudy Bulgarian market with special focus onexploring opportunities to export finished goods.Pakistan imports ships, boats, manmade staplefibres, inorganic chemicals, precious metalcompound, isotopes, tobacco and manufacturedtobacco substitutes, machinery etc from Bulgaria.Market intelligence Reports are serving as a goodtool to know about the potential areas wherePakistan can try to take some share. he urged theambassador to market Pakistan as a lucrativeplace for Bulgarian investors who can use it as abase for access to Chinese and indian markets.Moreover, Pakistan offers great opportunities toBulgarian businessmen to invest in thedeveloping every sector and infrastructure ofPakistan. Bulgaria has very important seaportcalled Varna. We need to study the opportunitiesavailable for us to access the landlocked countriesof Europe which are situated in the neighbours ofBulgaria like serbia and hungary.
LCCI eyes East European market
Punjab Board of Revenue startscomputerisation of land recordsLAHOREL: Punjab Board of Revenue’s Land RecordManagement and information service Centre (LRMis) hasstarted computerisation of land records in Jehlum. thespokesman of Punjab Board of Revenue said that afterestablishment of five service centres in tehsil Lahore,Kasur, hafizabad, Pindi Bhattian and Lodhran, theprogram had been rolled out in tehsil Jehlum. Currentlyland records of two villages (Rukh Beli Peera ghalib andBeli Balian) of tehsil Jehlum had been computerised andservices of issuance of computerised fard and Attestationof mutations were provided at service centre. the rightholders will get efficient and transparent land recordsservices through this service centre. Whereas, data entry ofrest of the villages in Jehlum was underway which would becompleted very soon thereby extending the computerisedland records services throughout the district. STAFF REPORT
EU stresses strengthening of IPRs in PakistanISLAMABAD: European Union (EU) has said with thestrengthening of protection of intellectual property rights(iPR) and improvement of service delivery system Pakistancan restore the confidence of investors as well as the localbusiness community. A delegation of EU experts led bythierry novelle discussed the progress on the ongoing tradeRelated technical Assistance programme relating toautomation and capacity building of iP experts with theDirector general iPO- Pakistan sajjad Ahmad Bhutta. thepurpose of delegation’s visit is to review the trade needsassessment for EU. Dg iPO said a comprehensiveprogramme was under implementation to create awarenessabout the protection of iP rights besides developing linkagesbetween inventors and industry to promote creations andinnovations. he said that service delivery system with regardto registration of iP rights could be further improved afterstudying successful iP models of different countries. he saidprojects were also being implemented for capacity buildingand training of enforcement partners. EU delegation termedthe implementation on tRtA programme satisfactory andappreciated the integrated iP management system in thecountry, which has provided better facilities to the iP rightowners. they said that protection of iP rights was directlylinked with economic development. STAFF REPORT
Dollar reserves inch up to $16.870bnKARACHI: the country’s foreign exchange reserves inchedup by 0.4 per cent or $ 68 million during the week ended onJanuary 27. the slight increase in the country’s dollarholdings is attributable to an upsurge in the commercialbanks’ reserves. the state Bank of Pakistan thursdayreported that during the week under review the country’sdollar reserves increased to $ 16.870 billion against $ 16.802billion of the previous week that ended on January 20. thereview period saw the state Bank’s foreign exchange reservesdeclining by $ 30 million to $ 12.523 billion compared to lastweek’s $ 12.553 billion. however, the commercial banks helddollars more than they did last week as their reservesclimbed by 2.3 per cent or $ 99 million to $ 4.347 billionagainst $ 4.248 billion of a week earlier. the analystsattribute the current downward trend in country’s dollarreserves to mainly the increasing import payments plus theretirement of external debts that, according to sBP, haveaccumulated to over $ 60 billion. STAFF REPORT
SMEDA, German ministry division sign MoULAHORE: small and Medium Enterprises DevelopmentAuthority (sMEDA) and international Division of germanfederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment have signed an MoU for their Cooperation inthe area of industrial Energy Efficiency improvement andgreen Productivity in small and Medium Enterprises(sMEs) of Pakistan. Mr. Yousaf naseem Khokhar, ChiefExecutive Officer, sMEDA and Mr. Werner Lindig, Directorand head of international Division, “bfz ggmbh”, germanysinged the MOU on behalf of their respective organizationsat a ceremony held at sMEDA head office today. CEOsMEDA Mr Yousaf naseem Khokhar while exchanging hisviews on this occasion was confident that the partnership ofPakistan and germany under the MOU would optimizeenergy efficiency by introducing latest tools & techniques insME sector of Pakistan enabling the local industry workmore efficiently and ecologically in a sustainable manner. hehoped that the initiatives to be taken under this MOU wouldultimately reflect positive impact on sustainable economicand social development of Pakistan. this is notable thatunder the aegis of MoU, both the organizations will jointlyconduct detailed energy audits and implement energymanagement system and perform green Productivity Auditswith active participation of concerned industrialAssociations in Pakistan. STAFF REPORT
Punjab govt issues wheat sale notificationLAHORE: secretary food Punjab irfan Ali has said that inorder to provide flour to the masses at cheaper rates andstabilise its prices in the open market Punjab governmentunder flour Milling Act 2011-12 issued a notificationregarding sale of wheat of year 2010-11 stored in the open atthe rate of Rs960 per 40 kg. he said that the policy willremain effective for 30 days. secretary food further informedthat the sale of the wheat will also result in availability ofmore space for the storage of wheat. STAFF REPORT
KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
PAKistAn Business Councilin a statement welcomed theWtO waiver for EU conces-sions granted to certain tex-
tile exports from Pakistan post the2010 floods. PBC in its statement re-called that the move to request the EUfor a short time market access cameabout at a meeting that the PBC hadwith the President of Pakistan in Au-gust 2010 which was held to reviewpost flood rehabilitation measures.
At the request of the President ofPakistan, a PBC team comprising itsmembers; namely Mr. Bashir Ali Mo-hammad and Mr. shabbir Diwan ac-companied the then foreign Ministerand Mr. Zafar Mahmood, secretaryCommerce to the major EuropeanCapitals and Brussels in september2010 to plead Pakistan’s case. thePBC in its statement has noted that
though it had taken nearly 18 monthsfor the concessions to materialize it inno way demeans the sustained effortsof the President of Pakistan, as well asthose of the foreign Minister Ms.hina Rabbani Khar, the Minister ofCommerce Makhdoom Amin fahim,the secretary foreign Affairs Mr.salman Bashir, the secretary Com-merce Mr. Zafar Mahmood, Mr. tariqPuri Chairman of tDAP as well as thePBC members led by Mr. Bashir AliMohammad. the PBC also acknowl-edges the support that was extendedby Pakistan’s friends in the EU Parlia-ment especially Mr. sajjad Karim,Member European Parliament for li-aising between the various EU parlia-mentarians and the PBC/gOP togarner and maintain continued sup-port for this concession.
Mr. Asad Umar Chairman PBChoped that the working relationshipdeveloped between the PBC & thegOP on trade will continue as Pak-
istan strives for gsP Plus status for itsexports to the EU.
Meanwhile, the value-added tex-tile sector also hailed the economicpackage offered by European Union(EU) terming it as a good omen to theailing textile industry.
the Central and Zonal Chairmenof Pakistan Readymade garmentsManufacturers and Exporters Associ-ation (PRgMEA) shehzad salim andAtiq Kochra while taking sigh of reliefon allowing duty free access of 75products to EU said that Pakistan’svalue-added textile industry espe-cially garments exports were badlysuffering due to various factors andEU’s package which was long awaitedby exporters would bring a little lifeinto garment and apparel industry.
they said that EU package for 2years, extendable for 3rd year, was of-fered last year, out of which 65 are textileproducts to support our economy af-fected with devastated floods but india
at WtO objected followed byBangladesh and some other countries tothe said trade concession to Pakistan.“As the indian government has with-drawn their objection followed by settle-ment with the other complainantcountries and finally WtO has givennOC to EU in their Wednesday’s meet-ing in Brussels for the said trade conces-sion may bring a life into ailing garmentsindustry of Pakistan”, commented she-hzad salim. the PRgMEA leaders ap-preciated the efforts of CommerceMinister, Amin faheem, secretaryCommerce Zafar Mehmood and tDAP’sCE, tariq Puri for their tireless efforts forsaid market access to EU. they hopedthat after EU foreign Minister’s ap-proval and WtO nOC to the approvedtrade concession the bill will now go toEU Councils of Ministers for passing thelaw which may take about few weeks toget implemented. they said that Pak-istan should also make strenuous effortsto get gsP Plus in January 2014.
LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
ChiEf Minister Punjab Mian shah-baz sharif inaugurated Rahim YarKhan industrial Estate, onWednesday. this 500 Acres indus-
trial estate is located on n-5 high way midof Bhahdurpur chowk, sadiqabad. the areais at the junction of 3 provinces most suitedfor industrial growth.
the Chairman Punjab industrial EstatesDevelopment and Management CompanysM tanveer said on this occasion that RahimYar Khan industrial Estate would provide60000 jobs and help eradicating poverty notonly from this area but from south Punjab.
Being a project of Punjab industrial Es-tates Development and Management Com-pany, the estate is promised to be ofinternational standards. this company al-ready has state of the art sundar industrialEstate to its credit.
Mr. sM tanveer while talking to localmembers of Chamber of Commerce re-itrated that the government led by ChiefMinister of Punjab Mian shahbaz sharif de-sire to develop south Punjab and bring it atpar with other parts of province. Locals ofarea have highly appreciated this project as itwould lead to growth and job creation.
the PiE Chairman said that planningand development of nine others industrialestates in the province was also underway.he said these industrial estates would beestablished in Kasur tannery Park, gujrat,Vehari, Bahawalpur, D g Khan, WazirabadCutlery Cluster, Jhang, Okara, sahiwal andRawalpindi. he said the PiE was workingunder the vision of Punjab Chief MinisterMuhammad shahbaz shairf to make thePunjab an industrial hub in the countrywith all modern facilities. he said 100 acreeach halal Park would also be establishedin Rahim Yar Khan and Multan industrialEstates to promote the halal Product ofPakistan and get its share from world halalfood market.
he said PiEDMC made the Public Pri-vate Partnership concept successful andcompleting its project without support ofany government institution. he said thePunjab government had given Rs one bil-lion only at time of PiEDMC establishedand now it is Rs 15 billion worth Companywith all positive repute.
he said for Rahim Yar Khan industrialEstate PiE is providing Rs 240 million whileMaster Plan of Bahlwal industrial Estate wascompleted and litigations in Multan indus-trial Estate was finished so that work onPhase-ii of this estate was started.
PBC, PRGMEA welcome WTOwaiver for EU concession
KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
fEDERALgovernmentinstitutions related
to the ports and shippingindustry earned a profit ofover Rs 12 billion duringfY11 despite the lingeringglobal economic downturn.this was stated by federalMinister for Ports andshipping senator Babarghauri while announcingthe regularization of some223 daily wagers andcontractual employees inthe Karachi Port trusthere at the KPt head officethursday.Attributing theachievement to “goodgovernance”, the federalminister said the KPt andthe Pakistan nationalshipping Corporation(PnsC) had made aremarkable earning of Rs11 billion and Rs 1 billion,respectively, during thelast financial year. “the
Port Qasim and gwadarPort are also on the sameprofitable path,” he toldthe ceremony titled“Regularization ofContractual/Daily WagersEmployees of KPt”.“All institutions fallingunder my ministry areprofitable and progressing well,” theMQM leader said.On the occasion, thesenator also announcedthe regularization of KPt’s113 sportsmen working onstipend and pledged thatthe laborers from KarachiDock Labor Board (KDLB)would also soon be hearinggood news. Also, he saidthe KPt board hadapproved Rs 2.7 millionfor the sports activities.Earlier, KPt ChairmanAslam hayat welcomed thefederal minister at KPtsaying his job, as a civil servant, was noneother than implementingthe government’s policieson ground.
CM inaugurates RahimYar Khan Industrial Estate
Federal ports, shipping agencies earn Rs12bn in FY11
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news
Friday, 03 February, 2012
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Honourable Sheikh Abdul Qadir AlShaibi, key holder of Khana-e-Kaaba
MAKKAH: saudi Arabia visited PiA head Officeand met Managing Director PiA, Mr nadeemKhan Yousufzai and other senior officials; Prayedfor the prosperity and progress of Pakistan andthe national flag Carrier. honourable iman Binhussain Bin Ali Zainul Abidin Khadim-e-RozaRazool (sAW) Madinah-tul-Munawara and hisassistant Ahmed Ali Yasin also visited PiA headOffice before their departure to Madinah by PiAflight. MD PiA and other senior officials bid themfarewell at Jinnah international Airport. Both thehonourable guests were presented with PiAaircraft model. Also seen in the picture are Mrhaider Jalal, Advisor Marketing PiA and MianMohammad Rasheed, Managing DirectorMadinah group of industries. PRESS RELEASE
Deadline for computerisationof arms licenses extendedISLAMABAD: On the directives of Ministry forinterior, nADRA has extended deadline for thecomputerization of Arms Licenses till 29 february2012, nADRA spokesman stated this in a
statement issued here today. he said that theMinistry of interior ordered to extend deadlinefrom January 31, 2011 to february 29, 2012. thisdeadline encompasses all Pakistan for renewal ofArms Licenses specifically issued by Ministry ofinterior. he said that nADRA’s designated 158Centers across the country have a separatecounter to facilitate citizens and revalidate theirarms licenses. PRESS RELEASE
Wateen Telecom Tops PTA’s QoSSurvey for Broadband OperatorsISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading convergedcommunications service provider, Wateen telecom, hasbeen ranked the number one wireless broadband serviceprovider in the country by PtA. in a survey for quality ofservice for all broadband service providers, Wateen wasranked first in the overall standings for all wirelessbroadband operators in the country. in pursuance ofPtA’s role to safeguard of consumer interests andgrowth of quality broadband services, PtA carried outthe second nationwide Broadband Quality of service(Qos) survey of all wireless and wireline serviceproviders throughout the country. the survey wasconducted during third and fourth quarter of 2011. it isworthwhile to note that Qos generally determines thestanding and status of country’s telecom services;therefore, special emphasis is exerted to keep the Qos ofbroadband companies at a satisfactory level. PtA hasdevised Qos standards/Key Performance indicators(KPis) in line with best international practices and inconsultation with service providers. PRESS RELEASE
75pc CEOs admit there is room forimprovement in value measurementKARACHI: in the wake of the financial crisis,
three-quarters of the world’s CEOs say moreemphasis should be placed on measuring thevalue of non-financial assets such as intellectualcapital and customer relationships to drive long-term performance, according to research from theAmerican institute of CPAs (AiCPA) andChartered institute of Management Accountants(CiMA). But just 51 per cent of nearly 300 CEOssurveyed in 21 countries say their organisationscurrently measure the value of non-financialassets well or very well. And only 12 per cent nowturn to their finance teams for help with the task.AiCPA and CiMA are releasing these findingstoday at simultaneous events in new York,London and Karachi launching the Charteredglobal Management Accountant (CgMA)designation. PRESS RELEASE
Bill Gates outlines stark choiceKARACHI: fourth annual letter highlightsprogress in developing countries, outlines newapproaches to help poorest build self-sufficienc --Bill gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda gatesfoundation, challenged global leaders today in hisfourth annual letter to invest in innovations thatare accelerating progress against poverty, or risk afuture in which millions needlessly starve. the letter describes remarkable progress in thedeveloping world and makes the case to continueinvesting in efforts that have made a difference formillions of the world’s poorest people. Over thepast 50 years, for example, the percentage of thepopulation living in poverty has fallen from 40percent to 15 percent, or about 1 billion people.gates believes it is possible to continue theprogress, but only with innovative investments inareas like helping small farmers grow more food,which is the best way to fight hunger and povertyamong the poor. PRESS RELEASE
NIBGE organises Basmati DNA workshopLAHORE
STAFF REPORT
N AtiOnAL institute forBiotechnology and geneticEngineering (niBgE) or-ganised a workshop to high-light the need of Basmati
DnA testing and up-gradation of the fa-cility to regulate certification process inline with international standards. One-day workshop discussed issues relatedto importance of rice trade in Pakistan,successful development and implemen-tation of national plans of action andpolicies to achieve rice export targetsand facilities available in public sectorinstitutions to meet various WtO stan-dards, says a spokesman of the Rice Ex-porters Association of Pakistan (REAP)here on thursday.
Dr Yusuf Zafar, Director general,Agriculture and Biotechnology, PAEC,highlighted the potential issues of superBasmati exports to European Union. hestated that fsA (UK) has made DnA test-
ing mandatory since 2003. he discussedabout certification authorities, i.e. isO,WtO, CBD, and nsA, and rules formu-lated for across the border trades.niBgE in collaboration of REAP andtDAP has established DnA testing facil-ities to benefit rice exporters in order tocomply with rules and regulation of inter-national market, especially EuropeanUnion, which allows very low (7%) ad-mixture level in super Basmati labeledproducts, he added. he highlighted theneed to take serious measures for foodauthenticity and traceability standards inPakistan to meet challenge of global tradeand universalisation.
Rice Exporters Association of Pak-istan (REAP) Chairman Javed islamAgha highlighted major rice industryachievements like better export policiesfor rice trade, Upgraded DnA certifica-tion facilities to check adulteration insuper Basmati products, and brand trustin international market. he greatly ap-preciated the role of niBgE in provisionof high standards testing services at very
cheap price. he also discussed majorchallenges faced by rice industry that in-cludes high market price, strong competi-tors, degradation of product quality andquantity over time, demand of manda-tory gMO detection and toxins (Aflo-toxin, Mycotoxin) testing in rice. hesuggested to up-grade facilities in Pak-istan according to international require-ments and jointly working on all forumsto overcome these problems. he assuredhis support in all research programs.
Dr Muhammad Arif, Principal scien-tist and in charge of Basmati DnA testinglab, in his talk highlighted importance ofpurity testing involving certification forcustomers, international rice trade and toqualify for zero import duty. he de-scribed major facilities available atniBgE for certification of Basmati Riceand their up-gradation through geneticanalyzer (Beckman Coulter CEQ 8000).this facility will allow accurate and high-precision sizing of the amplified frag-ments and will help to detect very lowadmixture level.
PHMA protestsagainst bhatta mafiaLAHORE: Pakistan hardware MerchantsAssociation (PhMA) has condemned theharassment incident of PhMA members bybhatta mafia in Karachi. PhMA called anemergent meeting at its central office to reviewthe law and order situation, which was jointlychaired by the PhMA Central Chairmansardar Usman ghani and Central ViceChairman syed tariq Rasheed and attendedby large number of members. PhMAleadership strongly condemned activities ofbhatta mafia, especially the Liqatabadincident, in which mafia after refusal frombhatta attacked the shops of PhMA memberswith crackers to create harassment. hardwareassociation strongly protests this act of terrorand demand of federal interior MinisterRehman Malik to take immediate actionagainst these elements and protect thebusinessmen attached with hardware sector,which were not only providing jobs to peopleand also contributing to the nationalexchequer a huge amount of money in shapeof taxes and duties. STAFF REPORT
LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
PAKistAn industrialand traders Associa-tions front (PiAf) haspresented a seven-point action plan to re-
vive the economy.in a statement issued here
thursday, the PiAf Chairman Engi-neer sohail Lashari said that politicalharmony, a ten-year energy plan,Methodology to end corruption, Planto enhance Agricultural yield, mini-mum dependence of foreign, domes-tic loans, lowering of markup for thesake of industrialization in the coun-
try and a plan to improve law andorder situation are the features of thePiAf Economic Revival Agenda andthe government should immediatelyinitiate work on these points to getrid of economic ills being faced bythe trade and industry.
the PiAf Chairman said thatpolitical uncertainty has causedundue damage to the economy as itwas not only the foreign investorswho stayed away but at the domesticfront there was hardly any invest-ment. he said that due to wrong eco-nomic policies the graph ofunemployment was going up withevery passing day.
Engineer sohail Lashari said
that it is high time that the govern-ment should prepare a ten year en-ergy plan so that the businesscommunity could be able to continuetheir businesses with peace of mind.he said that only because of massivefluctuations in electricity rates thebusinessmen avoided to take anyforeign orders. he said that recentincrease in petroleum prices wouldhit the business activities hard as itis going to make Pakistani merchan-dise uncompetitive in the worldmarket. he said that the governmentshould immediately evolve amethodology to win consensus onKalabagh Dam that is the only solu-tion to cheaper electricity.
PiAf Chairman said that anannouncement of the methodologyto end corruption would help revivethe government reputation that hasplunged in the recent years due tomultiple reasons. he said that cor-ruption in rental power projectshad sent a very wrong signal to theinternational community. Engineersohail Lashari said that if rightmeasures are not taken with imme-diate effect, the farming commu-nity would suffer heavily in nearfuture. he said that governmentheavy dependence on domestic andforeign loans is also earning a badname for the government thereforethe government should curtail its
non-development funds to meet itsday-to-day expenditures. Overmarkup rate, the PiAf Chairmansaid that in Pakistan the process ofindustrialization has come to acomplete halt as the markup rate isthe highest in the region and the
steps are direly needed to bring it tosingle digit. Last but not the least,Engineer sohail Lashari said thatall the provincial governmentwould have to form liaison commit-tees to control law and order situa-tion in the country.
KARACHI: Mr. Arif Suleman, honorary Trade Advisorof Thai government had a meeting with Khadim-e-Roza e Rasool (S.A.W.W.) Imam bin Hassan bin AliZain ul Abideen and Ahmed Ali Yasin during therecent visit at Karachi. PRESS RELEASE
Habib Oil Mills organised Mehfil - e - Milad inkarachi Umaima Adil, Dilshad Mirza, Samina Kamal,Tabinda Lari, Sajida Saleem, Hooria Faheem, FarheenQaiser, Uzma Zaidi, Naila Seemi, and ShereenShehzad are present in the photo. PRESS RELEASE
ZONG’s CSC Manager presenting a return airticket for Thailand to the lucky winner of thecampaign. PRESS RELEASE
‘Flour millers onprofiteering spree’LAHORE: Agri forum Pakistan ChairmanMuhammad ibrahim Mughal has estimatedthat flour millers are earning 42 per centprofit by buying wheat at Rs 24 per kilogramand selling flour at Rs 34 per kilogram. ‘AttaChakki owners are selling flour at Rs 34 perkilogram whereas flour millers are sellingflour at Rs 29 per kilogram but afterextracting fine, semolina and otherexpensive ingredients,’ he claimed whileaddressing an association of the flourconsumers here on thursday. Agri forumPakistan Chairman stated that consumersfrom Lahore only paying Rs 600 million asprofit to flour sellers while consumers frombig cities such as Karachi, Lahore,Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta,gujranwala, faisalabad and others werepaying Rs 20 to 25 billion per annum asprofit to flour millers. he further stated thatwheat growers were selling wheat to themillers at Rs 21 per kilogram and accordingto an estimate two million tons of wheat wasavailable with the flour millers. STAFF REPORT
PIAF conjures up 7-point
economy reviving plan
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