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Int’l vendors see immense growth potential in Pakistan Page 03
profit.com.pk
Friday, 02 March, 2012
Pakistan holds enormous potential for growth: Yaseen LAHORE
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STAFF REPORT
tate Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Yaseen anwar has said Pakistan holds enormous potential for economic growth. ‘I am personally optimistic about the country’s future, and confident that our economic managers – who have steered the country through much choppier seas – will guide this resilient economy to the path of stability and prosperity,’ he added. Delivering his key-note address on ‘the state of Pakistan’s economy’ at a seminar organised by the Management association of Pakistan (MaP) at a local hotel, he emphasised that our economy’s resilience may well be unparalleled as we have survived two major floods; one catastrophic earthquake; a war on one border and a balance of payments crisis – all in the past decade. ‘this only goes to show the enormous potential for growth that the country holds,’ he added. He said while Pakistan’s economy is going through some testing times, the challenge in front of us can scarcely be classified as daunting. ‘Our twin deficits are, in my opinion, the most significant challenges at the moment. even then, it is not the size that’s the problem; it’s the situation. and unlike the problems that engulf the economies of the West, we know precisely what needs to be done. In that regard, we are extremely fortunate,’ SBP Governor added. anwar said, ‘We know our problems. Unlike many other countries, the solutions to our problems are straightforward. all that is required is a good measure of willpower and determination to make reforms through these interesting and challenging times.’ He said despite the fiscal deficit, the country’s debt to GDP ratio has not increased substantially; in fact, it has declined in the last three years. ‘to put this in perspective, Pakistan’s debt to GDP ratio is half that of most european countries and one-third that of Japan, he said, adding that most of the country’s debt is denominated in rupees and the external debt is long-term in nature. thus, I believe there is absolutely no chance that Pakistan will be facing a Greece-like debt crisis anytime in the near future,’ Mr anwar added that.SBP Governor said the resilience of the economy manifested itself in the pace of recovery that was witnessed after the flooding in Sindh in the early part of FY12. the improvement in food supplies has already dampened food inflation, which has been edging down continuously, he said, adding this is especially good
news for the lower strata of society, which spends roughly half of its income on food. ‘Headline inflation has followed suit and fell to less than 10 per cent for the first time in two years,’ he said. anwar said our textile and sugar industries are expected to do well this year and added that construction activity has also picked up with support from the rise in remittances; a growing population and initiation of public sector development projects. He pointed out growth across the real sector has been constrained significantly by our energy problems. However, the government is very well informed about the energy situation and has been taking steps to alleviate the problem, he said, adding that such step was the debt swap that was recently conducted to free up liquidity for companies across the energy sector, increase power generation and reduce the level of circular debt in the energy sector. SBP Governor said all stakeholders are conscious about the challenges that the economy faces at present, and discussions have been extremely frank and straightforward. to help manage the deficit without too much of an impact on economic growth,
the State Bank has ramped up efforts to broaden and deepen financial markets – both primary and secondary, he said and added ‘We have undertaken an initiative with SeCP to develop debt markets in Pakistan, and we believe that this will go a long way towards mitigating the negative effects on the economy of government borrowing from commercial banks. anwar said we are working towards the development of the corporate debt market that would lead to a secondary market, thereby creating ample liquidity to absorb the circular debt as a long term remedy. ‘the depth and breadth of the market comprising both institutional and individual investors, would also alleviate government borrowing from SBP and the commercial banks, he said, adding that naturally monetary policy would then become more effective in managing inflation. He said SMe, agriculture and housing finance are engines of growth. Our banking structure currently is not performing its key role as a financial intermediary as none of these sectors have been adequately penetrated; he said and added that we are working to develop the corporate debt market to facilitate financing. SBP Governor said it is financing of the current account deficit that will remain a challenge this year. ‘Net financial inflows have slowed down to only $1.9 billion in FY11 after peaking at $8.7 billion in FY07. to manage the situation, the Bank (SBP) has entered into currency swap agreements with turkey and China in order to mitigate the pressure of any adverse development in the developed world on our external accounts and reserves,’ he said, adding that other such arrangements are in the pipeline with other countries that could relieve pressure on our external accounts. ‘aside from the currency swaps, the largest bank in the world, Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened its branches in 2011 in Karachi and Islamabad. Soon I will be announcing another foreign bank’s entry into Pakistan that reflects offshore investor confidence improving. Clearly, there is much to be optimistic about,’ he added. SBP Governor said our reserve management policies are transparent and the State Bank has not experienced any substantial pressure on its reserves yet – despite the recent repayment of a $400 million installment to the IMF as we start paying our loans. ‘the foreign exchange market did not react adversely to this large outflow, reflecting the confidence it places in SBP’s policies and procedures,’ he said, adding the State Bank successfully managed market expectations and avoided any untoward movements in the exchange rate.
QuiCk edit
Progress on Balochistan
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eRe’S how to begin proper, progressive forward movement on the Balochistan issue. It didn’t take much to get the additional 70mw power supply from Iran, and making the province’s coastal division ‘loadshedding free’ will bring multiple gains. One, it signals the right kind of attention from the centre, that the people’s basic issues are very much on the agenda in Islamabad. two, the success of the present exercise will bring more such projects, in turn generating related economic activity and employment. two more projects citing import of 1100MW are already in the pipeline. three, employment generation and energy availability can, under the right patronage, stimulate entrepreneurship and consumerism, a phenomenon that can help the neglected province in an unprecedented manner. threats from extremist tendencies, be they of nationalistic or sectarian persuasion, are best countered by progressive treatment of genuine grievances. Balochistan has suffered in more ways than one, though the economic aspect stands out the most. and even if its claims of long years of political and financial isolation remain disputed, there can be no two views about the pressure it has faced as the natural waste-pool of the war on terror spillover. Its rehabilitation is essential, both financial and political, and in exactly that order. It is also essential to keep the Baloch economically engaged in the province’s uplift, and not just for an ultimate politically correct posture. Once the locals increase earning and spending in the local market place, they will engineer the multiplier, and there are few better ways of turning minds from extremist bias.
Budget Review Committee formed to determine budget needs ISLAMABAD
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AMER SIAL
He National assembly Standing Committee on Finance was informed on thursday that the government has constituted a five member Budget Review Committee under the chairmanship of the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission to review and determine the budget needs of the federal ministries and divisions for the next fiscal year. Secretary Finance Wajid Rana assured the committee which met under Fauzia Wahab in the chair that there would be no irrational increase in the budget of the federal ministries and divisions for the next fiscal year. the committee was informed that the agriculture growth is expected to increase to 3.8 per cent against the downward revised target 2.5 per cent is to help achieve Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target of 4 per cent during the ongoing fiscal year 2011-12. Secretary Finance informed that the directives of the federal cabinet, MoF has notified a five member committee under Dr Nadeem-ul-Haq which will have two members from government and two
private sector. explaining the reasons for re-emergence of the circular debt, he said that the main reason was tariff determination by the National electric Power Regulatory authority and its notification by the government. the government had been notifying power tariff 54 per cent lower than the tariff determined by NePRa. at present the notified power tariff is 20 per cent lower than the determined tariff. Secretary Finance said during the July-January period total expenditure was targeted at 58 per cent of the total budget, however, due to the austerity measures the expenditure had remained at 53 per cent of the total budget with a saving of 5 per cent. about the utilization of Public Sector Development Program, he said no cut had been made in the development budget and the government had released Rs221 billion for the development projects. explaining the demand of IFIs for imposition of RGSt, he said even friendly donor countries were also demanding to expand the revenue base by bringing the rich in the tax net. He said RGSt was essential for documentation of economy and for increasing tax collection in coming years. He said handsome increase in
revenues was made due to the withdrawal of GSt exemptions announced on March 15, 2011. He said the GDP growth for FY 12 was projected to 4.2 per cent due to 3.4 per cent growth in agriculture, 2 per cent growth in LSM and 5 per cent in services sectors. torrential rains in Sindh during august 2011 compelled the government to revise its GDP growth target to 3.6 per cent from 4.2 per cent on the basis of 2.5 per cent growth in agriculture, 1.5 per cent in LSM, and 4.4 per cent growth in services sector. the recent data of crop arrivals suggests that cotton production of 13 million bales as the cotton arrival have already reached at 12.5 million bales and positive growth in LSM sector indicates that the better crops production in Punjab particularly cotton
has compensated losses in Sindh resultantly agriculture growth as well as LSM and services sector would be adjusted upward and GDP would be close to 4 per cent. the LSM data for the period July to December FY12 suggests that its output is increased by 0.83 per cent as compared to decline of 1.8 per cent in the corresponding period of the last year. the inflation recorded in January 2011 increased to 10.1 per cent. this was primarily on account of adjustment of energy and gas prices; however, the food inflation remained at single digit 9.2 per cent. the fiscal deficit was projected 4 per cent of GDP. this was estimated to be financed through net external borrowing of Rs135 billion, non bank borrowing Rs412 billion and bank borrowing Rs304 billion. However, during
the course of the period the projection for fiscal deficit has been revised to 4.7 per cent. For the period July-December FY 12, overall fiscal deficit was Rs.533 billion or 2.5 per cent of GDP, while total expenditure in first half of the current fiscal year was only 45 per cent of total planned expenditure. the trade deficit witnessed a deterioration of 38.7 per cent as it increased from $6.5 billion in July-January FY11 to $9.05 billion in FY12. Substantial increase of 17.7 per cent in imports surpassed a healthy growth of 7.2 per cent in exports during the period under review. the current account deficit has increased to $2.633 billion during first seven months of FY12 against the deficit of $96 million in the comparable period of last year. the foreign direct investment during July-January FY12 fell 41 per cent to $597 million as compared with $1 billion in the comparable period of the last year. the worker’s remittances during July-December FY12 reached to $6.3 billion against $5.3 billion in FY11, showing an increase of 19.5 per cent. However, during July-January FY12 it increased to $7.4 billion as against $6.1 billion in the comparable period of last year showing an increase of 21.5 per cent.
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Friday, 02 March, 2012
news
FBR upbeat on achieving revenue target for current FY ISLAMABAD
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AMER SIAL
atIONaL assembly Standing Committee on Finance was informed on thursday that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would manage to surpass the revenue collection target of Rs1,952 billion for the current fiscal year. Briefing the committee Chairman FBR Mumtaz Haider Rizvi said the next federal budget would not have any new taxes and there would be no increase in the rate of tax, as new budget would be growth-oriented and focused on simplification of tax systems, cleansing of the statutory regulatory orders (SROs) and phasing out of federal excise duties. He said the budget would focus on the government policy of moving towards three taxes income tax, sales tax and customs duty. tax authorities informed the committee that FBR was seriously considering a budget proposal to enhance the rate of withholding tax on the purchase of luxury vehicles. the tax is al-
ready applicable on the purchase of new vehicles; however, purchasers were not properly paying withholding tax. the proposal seeks collection of tax at the time of booking of the car. Chairman FBR said that the tax authorities have been able to maintain growth of 27 per cent in tax collection despite slowdown in the economic activity. Currently FBR is ahead of target and expectations were that by the end of current fiscal year FBR would cross the tax collection target. FBR has provisionally collected Rs131.5 billion during the month of February 2012. Sharing data of July-January period of the current fiscal year Rizvi said FBR has achieved a growth of 27 per cent and as against the budgeted target of Rs770 billion the actual revenue collection stood at Rs975 billion during first seven months of the current fiscal year. the required growth during February-June period would be 24 per cent. FBR has to collect Rs977 billion in the remaining months of current fiscal. He said the direct taxes collection stood at Rs351 billion during July-January against Rs278 billion in the same period last fiscal,
eu shows interest in financing Munda dam
ing the tax-base has resulted in collection of Rs1 billion. the improvement in collection through proper regulation of the afghan transit trade has improved collection of Rs6 billion. the recovery of Rs1 billion has been made from illegal input tax adjustments. FBR has been able to collect Rs5 billion from income tax surcharge. the improved valuation of imports resulted in collection of Rs3 billion whereas improved appraisement of imports through WeBOC has realized revenue of Rs1 billion. the recovery of arrears has been able to help the tax department to generate an additional amount of Rs9 billion. FBR is targeting to collect Rs50 billion from the administrative and enforcement actions during FebruaryJune period. Out of this amount, the BtB campaign would help in collection of Rs5 billion, recovery of illegal input tax adjustments Rs10 billion, withholding audit Rs22 billion, stuckup arrears Rs8 billion and additional revenue of Rs5 billion is expected from administrative and enforcement actions on the customs side in the remaining period of current fiscal.
SeCP gets chosen as vice-chair iOSCO ISLAMABAD
ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
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reflecting an increase of 26 per cent. Sales tax collection was Rs445 billion against Rs329 billion, showing an increase of 35 per cent. the withdrawal of zero-rating facility and imposition of sales tax on plant, machinery and equipments and withdrawal of sales tax exemptions through SROs has improved sales tax collection. another factor responsible for increasing in sales tax collection is the increase in the prices of importable items which also subsequently raised the incidence of sales tax at the import stage. He said that the collection of federal excise duty (FeD) was Rs68 billion during the period under review against Rs68 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal. the customs duty collection was Rs111 billion during July-January (201112) against Rs95 billion in the same period last fiscal, reflecting an increase of 17 per cent. FBR has been able to collect over Rs41 billion with the help of administrative and enforcement efforts. During July-January FBR has recovered an amount of Rs7 billion from audit of withholding tax agents. the broaden-
N a major development, european Union (eU) has shown interest to finance Munda Dam project and to establish micro hydro power projects in various parts of the country. ambassador of eU Lars Gunnar Weigmark on thursday called on the Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar. He said eU is keen to invest in the power sector to help resolve the energy crisis particularly in the far flung areas. Some of the countries under eU commission are already funding various water and power and energy conservation projects individually or with the collaboration of donors in Pakistan. He briefed the Minister on eU country programme for Pakistan and said that rural development, good governance and better use of water are their priority areas under the programme. He said that they have planned to establish community based hydro projects in 1000 union councils of Malakand, small hydro plants in northern areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. eU has also granted 70 million euros for rehabilitation and upgradation of two power plants in Multan and Faisalabad while 30 million euros have been allocated for small hydro plants in northern areas.
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STAFF REPORT
eCURItIeS and exchange Commission of Pakistan (SeCP) has been elected as vicechair of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Committee on Regulation of Market Intermediaries for 2013-14. SeCP had applied for IOSCO committee on market intermediaries both for leadership as vice-chair and membership, which were both accepted. Korea will be the vice–chair of the committee for 2012-2013. Under IOSCO New Strategic Direction, many jurisdictions applied for membership and leadership positions of the IOSCO forthcoming committees. SeCP will now form an integral part of IOSCO’s new committee on the regulation of
market intermediaries alongside international counterparts from jurisdictions such as US, UK, Brazil, China, Japan, France, Germany and India. the committee chaired by Hong Kong will consist of about 30 member jurisdictions and will begin its functions in May 2012 after IOSCO’s annual conference. Chairman SeCP Muhammad ali said being vice-chair of IOSCO committee will enable the SeCP to contribute to the policy and standard setting work of IOSCO and give it an opportunity to benefit from the experience and developments taking place in securities markets of other IOSCO membership jurisdictions. “It is a sign of the SeCP’s commitment and dedication to the IOSCO’s work and recognition of our past contributions, which will go a long way not only in improving the country’s image, but also in paving the way for im-
plementation of best international practices in the country’s capital market. IOSCO is a global standard setter for securities markets regulation and an international forum for cooperation amongst securities regulators, having objectives to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets and mitigate systemic risks. SeCP has been a member of IOSCO since 1998. Currently, IOSCO has over 199 members from 114 countries that have committed to implementing the international standards of regulatory oversight and to develop strong cooperation in enforcement action against misconduct. In order to effectively implement the international securities regulatory principles, the IOSCO is strengthening its role in the international financial community and aligning its strategic direction with the evolving financial regulatory landscape.
Malaysia looks forward to importing more Pakistani rice, mangoes KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
aKIStaN and Malaysia have agreed to increase bilateral trade and work together to narrow down the trade gap currently heavily tilted in favour of Malaysia due to $2 billion worth of palm oil that Pakistan is importing from Malaysia to meet 95 per cent of its domestic requirements. the understanding to work progressively towards balancing the trade gap and increasing import of better quality Pakistani products, especially rice and food products, by Malaysia was reached during a series of meetings held between the Malaysian officials and the Pakistani delegation headed by tariq Iqbal Puri, Chairman of trade Development authority of Pakistan (tDaP), currently visiting Malaysia to explore ways for increasing the bilateral trade and forging business match-making and mutually beneficial partnerships. the Pakistani delegation
accompanied by Masood Khalid, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, held separate meetings with heads of various government and business organisations as well as senior government officials and ministers, including Minister of agriculture and agro-based Industry Malaysia Datuk Seri Noh Bin Omar and Minister for Plantation, Industries and Commodities, tan Sri Bernard Dompok. a number of issues and proposals aimed at strengthening the bilateral relations and increasing bilateral trade, especially in the fields of agriculture, construction, livestock and dairy, energy, education, It and Halal industry were discussed. During the meetings, Puri told the Malaysian officials Pakistan was the world’s third largest importer of palm oil importing nearly 2.2 million Mt every year of which 95 per cent came from Malaysia. “Palm oil alone makes up nearly 79 per cent of our $2.55 billion imports from Malaysia which has swung the balance of trade massively in favour of Malaysia,” he said, adding that it
would like to narrow down the gap by exporting to such products as rice and mangoes which were already selling all over the world for their better quality and competitive prices and could grab greater share in the Malaysian market if the countryspecific quota in respect of Pakistani products, especially rice, was enhanced. Puri said Pakistan produced the best quality rice and it was not only the 12th largest producer of rice but also the 4th largest exporter of rice yielding $2.5 billion exports for the country only last year. “Pakistan has fully liberalised the import and export of rice which should allow the Malaysian importers greater ease to import more Pakistani rice to Malaysia to meet its domestic requirement of 1 million Mt of rice,” he said. tDaP Chairman also urged the Malaysian government to consider importing processed Pakistani meat, especially beef and chicken, to meet its domestic requirements and those of its armed Forces. He also advocated for greater penetration of Pakistani mangoes in
the Malaysian market given the fact that they were accorded preferential market access under the Fta between Pakistan and Malaysia and was available in Pakistan also in the processed form after the installation of two Mango-pulp plants in Pakistan for production of betterquality end-products. During the meetings, the Malaysian Ministers agreed to promote the bilateral trade and assured to explore ways for increasing the import of Pakistani rice and other products. they said Malaysia had already signed an agreement with Vietnam to import 800,000 Mt of rice annually but for the remaining 200,000 Mt required to meet the domestic demand; it was prepared to look at the possibility of enhancing import of the commodity from Pakistan. tariq Puri thanked the Malaysian government for its support to Pakistan and invited both the agriculture and Plantation ministers to lead a delegation of businessmen and entrepreneurs to Pakistan to attend the expo Pakistan 2012 due later this year.
experts find conditions not conducive for privatisation ISLAMABAD: experts have said that the current internal as well as the international situation was not conducive for the out right privatisation of the loss making public sector enterprises and the best options before the government were to either to appoint professional management or pursue the public private partnership course. the Pakistan Institute of Development economics (PIDe) organised a seminar under the theme of Privatisation: New Imperatives, where a book titled “the Impact of Privatization in Pakistan” by Dr akhtar Hasan Khan was launched. Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor, PIDe, Dr Rashid amjad said policy stances which reflect our best economic interests and take into account the political economic dimensions. Pakistan’s experience clearly shows that public sector has not delivered and the real challenge now is to find ways of increasing efficiency and productivity of loss making enterprises. STAFF REPORT
LCCi castigates govt for electricity tariff increase LAHORE: While severely criticising 39 per cent per unit increase in electricity tariff under the monthly fuel adjustment formula, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry thursday urged the government to withdraw this hike and direct the National electric Power Regulatory authority (NePRa) to freeze the tariff at least for one year for the sake of the economy. In a statement issued here, the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the government in collaboration with the private sector would have to evolve a mechanism to cap the electricity prices for a term or a period so that the industrial consumers could calculate the cost of their finished products. STAFF REPORT
Netherlands shows interest in agriculture, food processing investment ISLAMABAD: as Pakistan gears up for regional trade, Netherlands has shown interest for investment in the agriculture and food processing sectors and has sought removal of hurdles in the import of cows and cattle. ambassador of Netherlands Scheltema called on Commerce Minister Makhdoom Fahim on thursday and discussed bilateral trade relations between the two countries. Dutch envoy said that the embassy of Netherlands not only supports activities to enhance Dutch trade to Pakistan but also supports Pakistani business people who seek to export to the Netherlands. He informed that their Center for Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries is working actively in educating Pakistani exporters for improvement of their products to export level quality. STAFF REPORT
Manufacturers eye termination of CNG kit import ban ISLAMABAD: the abrupt ban imposed on the import of CNG kits and cylinders has started creating its repercussions as investors in the automobile and kits manufacturing sectors have started pushing for the lifting of the ban which is jeopardising their investment. a delegation of the representatives of Pak Suzuki, Indus Motor Company, Landi Renzo, tesla, BRC meeting with the Secretary Ministry of Industries aziz ahmad Bilour and apprised him about the difficulties faced by OeMs and the CNG kit manufacturers after the imposition of ban on the import and installation of CNG kits on December 15, 2011. Representative of Pak Suzuki informed that they were badly affected by the decision and sales have plummeted. STAFF REPORT
trade, industry condemn frequent hikes in POL, CNG prices KARACHI: trade and industry stakeholders have strongly condemned the frequent and unabated increase in petroleum and CNG prices by the government. Patron In-Chief Korangi association of trade and Industry (KatI) SM Muneer, Chairman ehtesham Uddin, Vice Chairmen, Hasham a Razzak, tariq Malik and former Chairman, Mian Zahid Hussain, rejecting another major increase in petroleum products, said it would hit trade and industry hard besides raising inflation. they demanded withdrawal of POL and CNG price increases, saying the rise would devastate the industrial sector by increasing cost of production. STAFF REPORT
inflation expected to fall below 12pc KARACHI: Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation in the country increased to 11.05 per cent during the month of February against 10.10 per cent of last month, January (2012).the numbers culminate into 8MFY12 average CPI of 10.79 per cent as against 14.07 per cent in the same period last year, while on Month-on-month (MoM) basis, the inflation number clocked at 0.3 per cent. “though the complete break-up of the number is not available, we believe the primary reason behind an up-tick in the recent number is increase in inflationary pressure in the food group as evident by the leading indicator SPI and reducing base effect,” said Nauman Khan, an analyst at topline Securities. STAFF REPORT
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news 3G LiCeNCeS
Int’l vendors see immense growth potential in Pakistan ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
S the government plans to launch three licences for offering third generation (3G) telecom services in the country, international vendors are seeing immense investment and growth potential in Pakistan. an official source said the international vendors were making a beeline for Pakistan as three new licences means a lot of investment and growth opportunities. He said during the last few years Chinese vendors have ousted majority of european and North american vendors from the market but 3G licences have attracted them back to the country. He said a leading vendor of dynamic Operations Support System (OSS) software, Comptel Corporation, is looking to
set up its operations in the country realising the immense growth potential of telecom sector in Pakistan. 3G licences will open up multiple opportunities towards providing newer and more innovative services to the customers as well as to the commercial and industrial sector in the country. Comptel is a world leader in mediation and facilitates the entire order management process within the operators business. It is focused on helping communications service providers better engage with their customers in order to enhance subscribers’ satisfaction and loyalty and
maximize revenue opportunities. Recently, it acquired a company Xtract, which gives it a unique capability to offer customers with real time customer experience solutions. Such kind of services will be required by the telcos when they start providing high quality data services to the customers, he said. Recently, Kuwaiti operator Wataniya telecom has deployed Comptel Dynamic SIM Management to give its customers the ability to self-activate their subscriptions using their handsets. With Wataniya’s premium first use experience, Super SIM, each user is now able to dynamically choose their numbers and the packages they want in real time. the solution enables the operator to monetise vanity numbers and to manage them, all in real time. It allows subscribers to select their numbers and services with an interactive dialogue the first time they use their SIM cards.
dollar reserves decline by $221m to $16.424b KARACHI STAFF REPORT
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He country’s dollar reserves continue to move northward and contracted by 1.3 per cent or $221 million during the week that ended February 24. Last week too saw the country’s foreign exchange reserves dipping by $123 million up to February 17. according to State Bank, during the week under review, the country’s holdings of the greenback shrank to $16.424 billion as against $16.645 billion of the previous week. During the week, the central bank’s reserves declined by $150 million or 1.2 per cent to $12.062 billion from the previous week’s $12.212 billion. the commercial banks are also witnessing their dollar holdings depleting for last two consecutive weeks with the current week seeing a contraction of 1.6 per cent or $71 million as opposed to the previous week when the banks’ reserves had declined by $49 million. the banks, during the review week, slid to $4.362 billion against $4.433 billion of last week. after hitting the record $18.31 billion mark in July last year, the country’s dollar reserves are constantly going down because of what the central bank says repayment of foreign loans. the State Bank of Pakistan repaid at least $399 million to the International Monetary Fund at the end of last month (February), with the economic managers reportedly having said that the repayment of $1.1 billion IMF repayments by June 2012 were already budgeted, thus would have no impact on the fragile economy.
Major Gainers Company
Open
High
Low
Close
Change
Nestle PakistanXD Wyeth Pak Limited Colgate Palmolive Shezan Inter. Atlas Battery Ltd.
3340.39 763.33 784.80 112.16 182.05
3507.40 780.00 800.00 117.76 187.00
3364.99 768.00 755.00 114.90 183.90
3500.46 779.96 797.25 117.75 186.99
160.07 652 16.63 309 12.45 820 5.59 1,300 4.94 1,813
Turnover
Major Losers Bata (Pak) Ltd. Service Industries MCB Bank Ltd Biafo Ind. Pak Gum & Chemicals
679.23 198.90 179.67 59.05 53.11
679.98 197.98 181.47 56.10 50.51
646.00 193.00 176.00 56.10 50.46
8.90 10.09 53.19 4.54 2.92
7.93 9.52 51.10 4.18 2.50
8.90 9.58 51.39 4.45 2.70
649.59 193.89 176.62 56.10 50.46
-29.64 255 -5.01 592 -3.05 623,727 -2.95 1,005 -2.65 1,107
Volume Leaders Lotte PakPTA Jah.Sidd. Co. National Bank Fauji Cement TRG Pakistan Ltd.
7.90 10.01 52.11 4.20 2.48
1.00 25,728,451 -0.43 12,986,149 -0.72 10,914,841 0.25 10,830,303 0.22 9,478,634
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
90.9570 144.8945 1.1289 122.4282
Buy
Sell
US Dollar
90.60
91.10
Euro
121.31
122.35
Great Britain Pound
143.84
144.99
Japanese Yen
1.1196
1.1282
Canadian Dollar
91.00
92.35
Hong Kong Dollar
11.49
11.73
UAE Dirham
24.63
24.79
Saudi Riyal
24.13
24.26
Australian Dollar
97.36
99.69
CORPORATE CORNER Silkbank announces Rs1.359 billion profit for 2011
bank will also accept customer requests for fund transfers, cheque books, pay orders, demand drafts, phone banking and internet banking. PRESS RELEASE
KARACHI: Silkbank approved and announced its annual accounts for the period ended December 31, 2011 at a meeting held at the head office in Karachi. the Bank has made a remarkable turnaround by declaring a profit before tax of Rs1.359 billion which is a phenomenal increase of 210 per cent compared to last year’s figures. Similarly, profit after tax increased 161 per cent with respect to last year’s figures. the total deposits reflected a strong growth of Rs8.4 billion for the year, outpacing the banking industry growth to close at Rs64.1 billion. the concentration of large deposits was also significantly reduced from 18 per cent in 2010 to 15.7 per cent in 2011. Huge influx of deposits in CaSa accounts helped to improve the CaSa ratio by over 8 per cent to as high as 49 per cent.
PtC bags ‘2012 Best Wireless Broadband’ award
Burj Bank launches evening Banking Services
KARACHI: Burj Bank has announced the launch of its evening Banking Services from March 01, 2012. From now on the bank will offer nonstop banking services from 9am to 8pm at selected branches in Karachi, including Sir Syed Road Branch (PeCHS), Zamzama Boulevard, Zaib-UnNisa Street and Clifton. In the extended hours, customers can avail most banking services including cash deposit and cheque deposit for clearing. the
the invitation of State department. Salim was the only Pakistani businessman invited to attend the global business conference. He got opportunity of meeting US Vice President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in the conference. He apprised the global business leaders of positive economic trends in Pakistan indicating stability and improvement in confidence. Salim said he has highlighted in his address to global business conference that overall depressing global economic situation has impacted negatively the growth in textile exports from Pakistan. PRESS RELEASE
dr Phillips to conduct programme for kSBL
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan telecommunication Company Limited (PtCL) won the 2012 Consumer Choice award as the ‘Best Wireless Broadband’ Internet service provider. Organised last week by the Consumers association of Pakistan’s (CaP) in Karachi, the 7th annual Consumer Choice awards honoured PtCL eVO as the ‘2012 Best Wireless Broadband’ brand of Pakistan. PtCL stood tall amongst 85 business awards presented in various commercial categories ranging from financial services to FMCG to telecommunications. In a glittering ceremony attended by representatives of Pakistan’s leading national and international brands, Sindh Minister for Information technology, Mr Raza Haroon, presented the award to PtCL Senior executive Vice President Business Zone South, Mr Furqan Habib Qureshi. PRESS RELEASE
ABF President returns after attending Global Business Conference LAHORE: President american Business Forum (aBF) Salim Ghauri has returned from the US after attending Global Business Conference on
KARACHI: Dr Nelson Phillips will conduct a two-day executive education Programme for Karachi School for Business and Leadership (KSBL), on “High Impact Leadership”, on the 6th and 7th of March, in Karachi. the course has been designed for top and Middle Management executives across all industry sectors whether they belong to manufacturing, services or social enterprise. Dr Nelson Phillips is Head of the Organisation and Management Group and Director of executive education at Imperial College Business School in London. His areas of expertise include technology strategy, knowledge management, organizational forgetting, and entrepreneurship and family business. PRESS RELEASE
15.5 per cent YoY was compounded by heavy government borrowings mainly due to fiscal expansion. this was followed by the decision of the government to increase the discount rate thrice. Rising NPLs and increases in provisioning expenses were especially detrimental to small banks which do not have the capacity to sustain profitability amidst such growing concerns. as at December 31, 2010, the combined NPLs of all banks and DFIs stood at Rs548 billion, as compared to Rs446 billion at December 31, 2009 – an increase of 22.8 per cent. PRESS RELEASE
NBP leads in agri credit financing KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan is among top five banks of Pakistan. While it offers complete range of commercial banking services, one of the key areas is lending to farmers. For the financial year 2011-12 the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has fixed an indicate lending target of Rs280 billion out of this NBP has been assigned the maximum share, a specialised institution created to cater the needs of farmers. NBP takes pride in having disbursed even more than the target assigned last year and aims at offering even better services to the farmers due to its greater outreach. PRESS RELEASE
JS Bank set to thrive in highly competitive phase of banking industry KARACHI: the last few years have been characterised by qualms and trepidation for the banking industry worldwide. With the eurozone debt crisis looming on the global forefront in 2011, our local banking industry too has been treading dangerous waters amidst growing militant concerns, sluggish GDP growth, worsening law and order situation, fuel and energy crises, growing fiscal and current deficits and uncertainty of monetary policy. In CY10, inflationary pressure of about
LAHORE: Mr Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, President Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries, inaugurated the 10th edition of MEGATECH-2012, (International Machinery Exhibition of Garment and Textile Technology), at Expo Centre Lahore. Also seen in the picture are Mr Aamer Khanzada, Managing Director, Pegasus Consultancy and organisers of the event. PRESS RELEASE