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Monday, 2 July, 2012
How to make trade easier Page 02 EU DEAL FOR SPAIN, ITALY BUOYS MARKETS BUT DETAILS SKETCHY
Gracias!
Under pressure to prevent a catastrophic breakup of their single currency, euro zone leaders agreed to let their rescue fund inject aid directly into stricken banks from next year and intervene on bond markets to support troubled member states BRUSSELS
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AGENCIES
HEY also pledged to create a single banking supervisor for euro zone banks based around the European Central Bank in a landmark first step towards a European banking union that could help shore up struggling member Spain. “It is a first step to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns,” European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told a final news conference after talks which stretched right through the night. The deal was widely seen as a political victory for embattled Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and his Spanish counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, over German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had brushed aside any need for such emergency measures earlier this week. ECB President Mario Draghi endorsed the “tangible results”, which sent the euro nearly 2 percent higher and sharply cut Spanish and Italian bond yields. European shares rose, led by banking stocks buoyed by the prospect of moves to backstop the financial system. “I am actually quite pleased with the outcome of the European Council. It showed the long-term commitment to the euro by all member states of the euro area,” Draghi told reporters. Market participants welcomed the outcome as a substantial step to restore confidence in the 17-nation euro zone, which was saluted by a more durable rally
than previous summit outcomes. “It’s inching closer to a banking union, and the closer we get to a banking union would put (the EU) well on the road to a fiscal union,” said Art Hogan, managing director of Lazard Capital Markets in New York. Most economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to cut borrowing costs at its July 5 meeting, which takes place against a darkening economic backdrop. But internal resistance to the central bank reviving its bond-buying program remains high. After 14 hours of tense talks that ended at 4:30 a.m. (0230 GMT), the 17 leaders agreed on a series of short-term steps to shore up their monetary union and bring down the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy, seen as too big to bail out. To that end the euro zone’s temporary EFSF and permanent ESM rescue funds will be used “in a flexible and efficient manner in order to stabilize markets” to support countries that comply with EU budget policy recommendations, a joint statement said. It gave few specifics, but euro zone officials said the funds could buy bonds on both the primary and secondary markets on the basis of a memorandum of understanding signed with the requesting state and up to a funding limit to be agreed. Both Italy and Spain said they did not intend to call on that mechanism to stabilize markets for now, hoping the Brussels agreement will serve as a sufficient deterrent. Washington said it was encouraged
by the progress but White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters travelling with President Barack Obama that “a lot of details” still needed to be worked out, and the euro zone was likely to need to take further steps in the future. The International Monetary Fund said the summit had taken “the right steps toward completing monetary union” while ratings agency Fitch said the deal eased near-term pressure on euro zone sovereign ratings. UNTHINKABLE DECISIONS: In a key concession by EU paymaster Germany, the leaders agreed to waive the ESM’s preferred creditor status on lending for Spanish banks, removing a key deterrent to investors buying Spanish government bonds, who feared having to take the first losses in any debt restructuring. “We have taken decisions that were unthinkable just some months ago,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. Despite the concessions by Berlin allowing euro zone rescue funds to be used more flexibly, questions remained about the terms, size and supervision of any future aid for Spain and Italy. There was also no commitment for now to back up a European bank supervisor with a joint deposit guarantee or a common resolution fund, to avert capital flight and taxpayer losses. However, one EU official said that letting the ESM lend directly to banks once the supervisory body is up and running was a backdoor route to closer fiscal union.
Monti, determined to avoid the political stigma of the bailout terms imposed on Greece, Ireland and Portugal, said countries that complied with EU budget recommendations would not face extra austerity conditions or be subject to intrusive inspections by a “troika” of international lenders. Eager to avoid the impression that she had blinked first, Merkel said strict conditionality would still apply to the use of rescue funds and countries would face stringent monitoring by the EU Commission and the ECB. Asked if she had yielded to pressure, she said: “There is clearly pressure from financial markets. Some countries are in a difficult situation. The high interest rates affect the debt but also the real economy. We had an interest in finding solutions.” Merkel reaffirmed her firm opposition to common euro zone bonds. She later won resounding approval in the lower house of the parliament in Berlin for funding the ESM and for new EU budget rules. A similar vote in the upper house was expected later in the day, though Germany’s constitutional court may still object. The Spanish and Italian leaders had threatened to block a package of measures to promote growth to pressure Merkel to accept measures to ease their borrowing costs, delaying the talks. New French President Francois Hollande backed their calls for bold steps to help the bloc’s third and fourth biggest economies, adding to the pressure on Merkel.
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD
Can EU deal lift stocks for more than a day? NEW YORK AGENCIES
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their best daily percentage gains since December on Friday after an agreement by European leaders to stabilize the region’s troubled banks, a pact that helped remove some of the uncertainty that has plagued markets. “That is the major question. Can this fuel a longerterm rally? It can, but only to some degree if, over the weekend and the course of next week, we don’t see any major push back or headlines that suggest that this deal is not going to happen,” said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial. “But I don’t think this is a major game changer. I do, however, think that this is really the first time we got a relatively immediate answer to what they (the euro-zone leaders) are going to do about the issue.” Under pressure to prevent a catastrophic breakup of their single currency, euro-zone leaders agreed on Friday to let their rescue fund inject aid directly into stricken banks starting next year and intervene in bond markets to support troubled member-states. They also pledged to create a single banking supervisor for eurozone banks based around the European Central Bank in a landmark first step toward a European banking union that could help shore up struggling member Spain. PARTY TIME: Wall Street’s previous reaction to euro-zone bailout packages or other rescue plans had been somewhat muted. Initial gains would quickly disappear by the day’s end as investors realized that there isn’t a quick fix to the region’s problems. On Friday, it was a different story. The three major U.S. stock indexes jumped 1.5 percent to 2 percent shortly after the opening bell on news of the euro-zone agreement. By the close, stocks ended at session highs with the major indexes up between 2 percent and 3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI surged 277.83 points, or 2.20 percent, to end at 12,880.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX jumped 33.12
Stocks finished the first half of the year with a bang as investors welcomed news that the euro zone is a step closer to solving its 30-month-long debt crisis. Now for the question: Is this rally strong enough to last for more than a day? points, or 2.49 percent, to finish at 1,362.16. And the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shot up 85.56 points, or 3.00 percent, to close at 2,935.05. For the week, the Dow rose 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 advanced 2 percent and the Nasdaq gained 1.5 percent. For the month, the Dow added 3.9 percent, the S&P 500 rose 4 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 3.8 percent. But for the second quarter, the Dow dropped 2.5 percent, the S&P 500 slid 3.3 percent and the Nasdaq lost 5.1 percent. Despite the weak second quarter, the three major U.S. stock indexes wrapped up the first half of the year with decent gains: The Dow was up 5.4 percent, the S&P 500 was up 8.3 percent and the Nasdaq was up 12.7 percent. “The next question is whether the ESM/EFSF will have enough capital and assuming they don’t, will the ECB chip in by giving it a bank license, thus leveraging its size. That is yet to be determined,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. “For now, party on and turn that hourglass over as more time has been bought. But only the symptoms are
being fought as the underlying disease of excessive debt and lack of growth still remains.” The leaders of the 17 European Union countries agreed on a series of short-term steps to shore up their monetary union and bring down the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy, seen as too big to bail out. To that end, the euro zone’s temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM) rescue funds will be used “in a flexible and efficient manner in order to stabilize markets” to support countries that comply with EU budget policy recommendations, a joint statement said. Any market reaction to further developments next week could be exaggerated by lighter-than-usual volume. Wall Street trading desks may be more sparsely populated because it will be a short week. The U.S. stock market will be closed on Wednesday, the Fourth of July, in observance of Independence Day. That could break any weekly momentum when Wall Street resumes trading on Thursday. ALL EYES ON THE ECB: The market’s focus shifts to the European Central Bank next week as investors wait to see whether it cuts interest rates to complement the measures taken by EU leaders to shore up banks and bring down borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. Most economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to cut borrowing costs on Thursday, July 5, at its meeting, which takes place against a darkening economic backdrop. But internal resistance to the central bank reviving its bond-buying program remains high. The ECB has already loosened its collateral rules to make it easier for banks in Spain to access its funds. “Investors have to be cautious because the market may be getting ahead of itself. We really don’t have any details. The big question is still what direction the ECB takes next week,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. “It’s (the EU deal) certainly not a silver bullet for the debt crisis, but the market is kind of acting like it is. It may set us up for another push down in the weeks ahead.”
Hollande, who had demanded a renegotiation of the fiscal pact to switch Europe’s focus from austerity to promoting growth, said he had achieved satisfaction at the summit and would now submit the treaty to parliament for ratification. While Hollande could claim a step forward in “solidarity”, Merkel achieved little immediate progress on her demands for EU authorities to be given the power to override national budgets and economic policies. The issue was kicked down the road to October, when top EU officials led by Van Rompuy will deliver a more detailed report. CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM: Economists applauded both the short-term measures to steady markets and the longer-term direction, saying that for once, after 20 summits since the crisis began in early 2010, euro zone leaders had exceeded admittedly low expectations. “I think the ECB being made the banking supervisor is actually the biggest long-term step because it points the way to banking union,” said Megan Greene, analyst at Roubini Global Economics, which is often gloomy about the euro zone’s future. “The move to recapitalize banks directly is a big deal and will help to break the ‘vicious circle’ between banks and sovereigns that has been at the very heart of this crisis,” said ABN AMRO economist Nick Kounis, although he added that the euro zone remained “in a muddling-through scenario”. The ESM’s ability to inject capital directly into banks will come too late to help Spain recapitalize its debt-laden lenders immediately this year, but it should allow Madrid to remove the cleanup from state books next year, euro zone officials said. Merkel said finance ministers would have to work out whether the state or the banks would be legally responsible for repayment of the loans thereafter. Some analysts were more skeptical about the benefits of the deal, given the level of detail left open. Ireland, which had to take an EU/IMF bailout in 2010 after suffering a similar bank meltdown and property bust to Spain, hailed the decisions as a “game changer”, saying it would seek similarly favorable conditions for its own taxpayers.
SECP re-launching amnesty schemes for two months ISLAMABAD ONLINE
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in order to facilitate the corporate sector have decided to re-launch the Companies Regularization Scheme (CRS) and Companies Easy Exit Scheme (CEES) for a period of two months starting from July 2 to August 31, 2012. The purpose of this initiative is to provide both facilities to the companies at the same time, either to get their defaults regularized under CRS by making compliance, or benefit from the exit facility under CEES, if the company is defunct, not doing any business or not in operation and intends to cease its existence. The CRS provides defaulter companies an opportunity to file their overdue statutory returns and annual accounts. This scheme is applicable to all unlisted companies. Initially, in July the overdue documents can be filed with normal filing fee plus one half of the normal filing fee as additional filing fee. However, in August the fees shall increase to normal filing fee plus one time additional filing fee. This scheme also absolves the defaulter companies of penalties imposed on filing of overdue documents. The CEES allows the companies having no assets or liabilities and not doing any business to avail themselves of easy exit facility without undergoing the cumbersome winding up procedure.
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Monday, 2 July, 2012
How to make trade easier PROJECT SYNDICATE RObERT b ZOELLICK, AHMAD M ALMADANI, DONALD KAbERuKA, HARuKIKO KuRODA, THOMAS MIROw, LuIS A MORENO
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HE world is now in the fourth year of the Great Recession. So far, the economies belonging to the World Trade Organization have resisted the kind of widespread protectionism that would make a bad situation much worse. But protectionist pressures are building as weary politicians hear more and more calls for economic nationalism. The WTO’s best defense of open trade is a good offense. A new WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement would benefit all by increasing developing countries’ capacity to trade, strengthening the WTO’s development mandate, and boosting global economic growth. More than a decade after the launch of the Doha Round of global free-trade talks, this agreement could be a down payment on the commitment that WTO members have made to linking trade and development. Developing countries stand to gain the most from improving trade facilitation. The right support would help traders in poorer countries to compete and integrate into global supply chains.
There are rich opportunities for gains. Inefficiencies in processing and clearing goods put traders in developing countries at a competitive disadvantage. Outdated and inefficient border procedures and inadequate infrastructure often mean high transaction costs, long delays, opportunities for corruption, and an additional 10-15% in the cost of getting goods to market – even more in landlocked countries. Research by the World Bank suggests that every dollar of assistance provided to support trade-facilitation reform in developing countries yields a return of up to $70 in economic benefits. When funds are directed at improving border-management systems and procedures – the very issues covered by the trade-facilitation negotiations – the impact is particularly significant. Projects aimed at boosting efficiency and transparency, supported by development banks and bilateral donors, have made a dramatic difference. In East Africa, procedural improvements have reduced the average clearance time for cargo crossing the KenyaUganda border from almost two days to only seven hours. In Cameroon, some of our organizations have worked with the World Customs Organization to help the customs authority reduce corruption and increase collection of rev-
enues – estimated to be more than $25 million a year. On the Laos-Vietnam border, a sub-regional cross-border transport agreement has cut cargo transit times from four hours to just over one hour. A new customs component to a highway project between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City helped increase the total value of trade through the Moc BaiBavet border by 40% over three years. In Peru, some of our banks have worked with international freight forwarders to connect remote villages and small businesses to export markets through national postal services, turning more than 300 small firms into exporters, most for the first time. The outlines of a new WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement are already clear, but some technical differences remain on specific provisions. Developing countries want a credible commitment to support implementation, such as technical assistance and capacity-building. A World Bank study estimates that the costs of implementing the measures likely to be covered by a Trade Facilitation agreement would be relatively modest – $7-11 million in the countries studied, spread out over a number of years – especially when compared to the expected benefits. Capacity-building and financing programs for governments that
want to improve their trade facilitation are available already. Major donor countries and international development organizations have put a priority on, and increased investment in, trade facilitation. According to the OECD, from 2002 to 2010, trade facilitation-related assistance increased ten-fold in real terms, from almost $40 million to nearly $400 million. The African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the World Bank stand ready – alongside the WTO – to assist developing countries through the process of full and effective implementation of the agreement. That means helping countries to assess their trade-facilitation needs on a case-by-case basis, match those needs with the resources required, and broker partnerships between recipient countries and development allies to ensure that support is provided quickly and efficiently. In international negotiations, there is always a way forward if the benefits of an agreement are shared by all. Trade facilitation offers a development dividend for all countries. It is time for WTO members to make progress on issues where there is room to do so. It will be a down payment on a solid investment.
Consumer to bear cost of Euro II NEWS DESK As Pakistan moves toward Euro II regime, consumer will have to bear the additional cost for compliance with the Euro II emissions for Fuel, transportation and cars. A major source of air pollution, namely emissions from road traffic, can be reduced through enforcement of control standards. A standardized evaluation scale was set up by the European Union back in 1992. These standards are generally known as the European Emission Standards (or Euro Standards). They provide limits for exhaust emissions of all new vehicles. The limits are set at various degrees for various types of vehicles. Pakistan now looks forward to omitting the current vehicular emission standards and moving a step ahead towards the European Emission Standards to stand in line with other countries of the region moving towards Euro III and Euro IV. Pakistan is yet to employ these vehicular emission controls in order to create environment-friendly vehicles. Previously, the major barrier in the way of the employment of these emission standards in Pakistan was the cost. Now, the government has decided to apply the Euro Emission Standards in the country with effect from July, 2012. For this reason sessions were conducted by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency with all stake-holders, comprising the Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Environment, oil companies and automobile producers. In these sessions, the quality of the fuel was seriously emphasized as a prime matter of concern. To fulfill the requirements of the Euro II-compliant policy, the oil marketing companies will need to import Euro II fuel while the cost of production of the auto manufacturers will also increase. Public transport also needs to be Euro II-compliant. This will consequently increase the prices of public transport vehicles which will definitely raise fares. These measures will in the end affect the consumer.
To operate in accordance with the standards of Euro II, the oil refineries are required to be up-graded in term of installing desulphurization unit which cost over $ 200mn. This process of up-gradation requires heavy investment. Automobile manufacturers need to produce vehicles complying with Euro II standards. Some are already manufacturing models complying with Euro II and Euro III standards. For instance all high end (1600cc and above) are Euro II compliant. However all small economy cars need major spec change in term of engine and exhaust to be Euro II compliant. All major OEMs are working toward making their product Euro II compliant but they fear that consumer will have to pay the costs of EFI engines, exhaust systems and catalytic converter. Even if OEMs introduce Euro II compliant vehicle the lack of Euro II compliant fuel specially diesel will create problem. Commenting on the situation General Manager Commercial & Corporate Pakistan Refinery Limited, Aftab Hussain, said in an interview that the government is taking steps towards complying with the Euro Emission Standards and that in this regard the specifications of Euro II are being fulfilled for petrol engines. However, for Diesel engines, Diesel hydro-treaters are to be installed to decrease the amount of sulphur particles from the Diesel fuel. As per the government’s Euro II-compliant policy, catalytic converters are to be used that fulfill the requirements of Euro II standard fuel. Basically there are two types of engines. One is the EFI engine and the other is the carburettor engine. EFI stands for Electronic Fuel Injection. The EFI system enhances the performance of the engine and controls emission. Most of the new models are equipped with the EFI system, with a built-in diagnosis system. The carburettor engine system can produce as much horsepower as an EFI engine. The only fac-
tor applied is tuning which makes the carburettor engine more efficient. The EFI system is more easily compatible with the catalytic converter than the carburettor engine. The entire conversion procedure cost would up to $ 300. However, for carburettor engines, it would cost from US $ 500 to $ 2,500, which would consequently raise the prices of vehicles quite substantially. Moreover, as the rupee is depreciating, there will be a notable increase in the prices of these vehicles. The new measure taken by the Government of Pakistan to reduce the amount of pollutant particles from automobiles by implying the Euro Emission Standards i.e. Euro II, would have some major impacts. Since the main aim of the Euro Emission Standards is to decrease the amount of emissions from the fuel, it would definitely have a positive effect on the environment. Euro II would help in enhancing the air quality with minimum presence of smoke, carbon monoxide and other hazardous gases in the atmosphere. Serious air pollution issues occur specifically in the urban areas, forming haze and smog in winter which leads to respiratory diseases as well as economic loss. By the introduction of Euro Emission Standards, these drawbacks would hopefully be reduced in the cities. The introduction of Euro II compliant standards would also help in reducing noise pollution. Since the cost of conversion of the conventional engine systems to catalytic converter is quite high, it would increase the prices of Euro II-compliant vehicles. Therefore, while the introduction of Euro II standards would be advantageous for the environment, car buyers and vendors would be negatively impacted. For this reason, newer strategies need to be formulated by the government. Hence, it is the consumer who basically has to pay to the detriment of saving the environment, which should be considered positive.
Business 02
CORPORATE CORNER
CBC pre-budget meeting for fiscal year 2012-13 KARACHI: The Pre-budget meeting for fiscal year 2012-13 was held at CBC main office, Chaired by President CBC Brig Anis Ahmed. According to details, Cantonment Executive Officer Mumaamd Hayat Mahr briefed PCB about the developed works of CBC in 2011-12 and highlighted the suggestion for the next fiscal budget. Later a monthly board meeting was held, the agenda was presented and approved by the board. Brig Anis Ahmed ordered that all sewerage lines and drain system should be clean and clear before Mansoon rain, and Starts the cleanliness and proper lighting in graveyards for Shab-e-Barat. PCB ordered that the new Identification and Complaint Cell should be operated with immediate effect so that the residents should be benefited with the services provided by the Cell and should further bridge, the communication gap between the board and the residents. PRESS RELEASE
Tetra Pak creates recycling awareness
LAHORE: Tetra Pak, the world leader in food processing and packaging solutions, joined hands with WWF-Pakistan to organise its first environmental advocacy seminar. Over 20 paper industry stakeholders including major paper mill owners in Sindh, beverage carton collectors and civil society organisation representatives, attended the seminar, talked on various industry related issues and learnt of innovative ways to recycle used beverage cartons for greater profitability. The objective of the seminar was to strengthen the relationship between Tetra Pak Pakistan and paper industry stakeholders to drive the recycling rate of beverage cartons in Pakistan. Dirk Herrmann, Cluster Leader Environment, Greater Middle East, Ferid Ekmekcioglu, Cluster Recycling Technical Officer, Kashif Bhatti, Marketing Director and Jawad Ahmed, Environment Manager from Tetra Pak Pakistan, Marriyam Aurangzeb, Manager Corporate Relations WWF - Pakistan spoke at the seminar. PRESS RELEASE
PTCL 3G EVO dongle now a Wi-fi hotspot ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has introduced an innovative new 3G enabled Tenda router, empowering its 3G EVO Wireless Broadband customers to create a dynamic Wi-Fi hotspot virtually anywhere. PTCL’s EVO and Nitro dongles can now be converted into powerful Wi-Fi hotspot using a portable 3G Wi-Fi Tenda router, which provides Internet connectivity to multiple users for multiple Wi-Fi devices at the same time. Allowing any PTCL EVO/Nitro USB to connect up to 5 Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously, the amazing Tenda 3G EVO router is battery powered and offers support for plug-ins of EVO and Nitro USB modems. PRESS RELEASE
Groundbreaking new offers launched by Warid KARACHI: Keeping the tradition of launching consumer-centric promotions, Warid Telecom with the aim to best serve its customers now introduces amazing ‘ Power Pack’ in addition to new exciting SMS Bundles. Power Pack is one of its kind unique offer available in town which includes 5MB of Internet, 5 free on-net minutes, and 100 SMS on any network in just Rs.4.99+t. The new exciting SMS bundles include 500 daily SMS in just Rs. 3.5+t and 1000 weekly SMS in just Rs. 6.99+t for all networks. PRESS RELEASE
Marketing Conference 2012 to be held on 5th KARACHI: Pakistan’s leading conference producers The TerraBiz Group is organizing the Marketing Conference 2012 entitled ‘Inspire & Ignite Marketing Excellence’ on July 05, 2012 at Pearl Continental hotel in Lahore. The conference will feature various top-notch national and international marketing gurus including the bestselling author & world’s renowned speaker on creativity & idea generation Fredrik Härén as the keynote speaker, and R andall Blackford, General Manager Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and Pakistan, KFC. PRESS RELEASE
Millat Tractors sells 32,000 tractors
KARACHI: Karachi Press Club secretary Moosa Kaleem and President Tahir Haasan Khan presenting a shield to CEO of Qubee Jamal Nasir Khan during his visit to Club, Qubee CEO announced that he would provide internet service free of cost to journalists at KPC.
KARACHI: LG Electronics (LG), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, recently announced the launch of its latest 2012 Cinema 3D Smart TV line-up in Pakistan. Picture shows DY Kim, (centre), President of LG Electronics, Gulf EZE along with other officials of LG Electronics at the unveiling ceremony.
LAHORE: Despite of poor economic conditions prevailing in the year 2011-12, Millat Tractors Limited achieved the sale of 32,000 tractors produced in this span. Thus, MTL grabbed 64 percent share in the local tractor industry. During the financial year 2011-12, country’s socio-economic condition went worse, it has particularly affected the sales of tractors. In the first eight months, General Sales Tax was 16 percent which was later reduced to 5 percent. The heavy rains during July and August extremely affected the crop. Furthermore, Agricultural and Commercial banks did not offer facilitating agricultural loans. But MTL tried to serve the industry better throughout. PRESS RELEASE