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AKISTAN and Malaysia have to find new areas of mutual cooperation and try to further boost trade and economic ties, said Muhammad Haroon Agar, president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Wednesday. “Full advantage of Pak-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) needs to be taken to boost bilateral trade volume which still far behind from its existing potential,” he said. “Presently the balance of trade is in favour of Malaysia which requires a narrow-down while increasing the Pak exports to Malaysia,” said Agar during visit of Consul General of Malaysia Abu Bakar Mamat accompanied by Trade Commissioner, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Noraslan Hadi Abdul Kadir to KCCI. The KCCI president stressed the need to address the trade imbalance by diversifying trading products besides palm oil. He suggested that one way of doing this would be to increase the volume of exports of nonbasmati rice, halal food products and frozen seafood to Malaysia given the sizeable demand and the fact that Malaysia imports such products from neighbouring countries. He said there was ample “goodwill for expansion of trade and establishment of joint ventures in various industrial sectors including ship breaking, pharmaceuticals, palm oil refining, food processing, sports goods and construction sectors. Malaysia is also availing the services of large number of Pakistanis highly qualified professionals
PIAF felicitates Nawaz on becoming 3rd time PM LAHORE: Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) on Wednesday congratulated Nawaz Sharif on winning prime minister’s slot for the third time and hoped that the country would soon be on path to economic revival. In a joint statement issued here, PIAF Acting Chairman Khamis Saeed Butt, former chairmen Mian Anjum Nisar, Mian Shafqat Ali, Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Ali Mian, Mian Abuzar Shad, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Engineer Sohail Lashari said Nawaz’s historic victory had not only raised Pakistan’s stature in the comity of nations but also gave boost to economic turnaround. Business community believed that Nawaz Sharif would introduce new economic policies in consultation with private sector that was main stakeholder in the country’s economy, they added. The PIAF leaders said, although there was no quick-fix to energy shortage, once the new government stopped leakages and overcame governance issues, it would be able to curtail power outages by at least 30 percent, which would help bring down unemployment graph and improve law and order situation. While assuring their all out support, they said that Nawaz had made history and his victory was celebrated all over the world and restored the confidence of businessmen. They expressed the optimism that foreign investment would increase while country’s economic relations with outer world in general and regional countries in particular would further strengthen. APP
KCCI sAys PAKIsTAN, MAlAysIA FAr FroM TAKINg Full AdvANTAgE oF FTA
in the field of engineering, health and medicine, he added. Malaysia Special Economic Zone in Karachi will act as cornerstone as the Special Economic Zone law was passed by the government”. Agar articulated that through FTA,
“Pakistan has given market access to Malaysia on basic raw materials, intermediate goods and machinery and consequently Malaysia should provide market access to Pakistan for its core import products like rice, fruits and vegetables,
seafood, beverages, confectionary, gems and jewellery, cotton yarn, cotton fabric, blankets, bed linen, other home textile products medicaments and surgical instruments, etc. Medical tourism is a strong sector in
Dollar slips against yen after Japan PM speech TOKYO APP
The dollar fell against the yen in Asia on Wednesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s speech on his growth strategy for the economy delivered few surprises. The greenback bought 99.72 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade from 99.98 yen in New York late Tuesday, slipping from earlier on the day. The euro also edged down to 130.50 yen from 130.79 yen. It bought $1.3090 against $1.3079 in New York. Abe delivered a speech Wednesday to outline more details on his plans to boost growth in Japan. But analysts said the speech failed to ignite interest, with the main points already well-touted ahead of time. “I don’t think it has had such a strong impact. It had nothing new and was in line with what has been reported,” said Daisuke Karakama, market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. The market already knew that
there would be no drastic measures such as corporate tax cuts, he said. Abe’s policy of active government spending coupled with the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing boosted Tokyo stock prices to multiyear highs, but the market has been prone to wild swings of late.
Wednesday afternoon was no exception, with the Nikkei 225 index dropping more than 3 percent in afternoon trade. In the present febrile atmosphere, utterances from Abe and his ministers are closely watched for cues that can send players rushing to one end of the boat to the other.
SECP, ICMAP hold roundtable conference LAHORE NNI
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in collaboration with the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP) held a roundtable conference of stakeholders in Lahore on the draft Licencing and Corporate Governance Regulations for Associations Not-forProfit, for seeking their feedback and suggestions. The Commission issued draft As-
sociations Not-for-Profit (Licencing and Corporate Governance) Regulations, 2013 on April 9, 2013 to elicit public opinion and the conference was part of the in-depth interaction of the SECP with the stakeholders. Held at Expo Centre Lahore, the roundtable drew a good turnout, including representatives of corporate NGOs, accountants, lawyers and consultants. The participants appreciated the efforts of the SECP and ICMAP in developing better regulatory environment and addressing issues confronting reg-
ulation of the NGOs sector. Speaking at the occasion, Nazir Ahmed Shaheen, executive director of the SECP, expressed his desire to develop a regulatory regime in Pakistan which shall be supportive to the corporate NGOs in enhancing their credibility and public trust while it shall ensure transparency, accountability and good governance. The active participation and feedback of the participants shall help in finalizing the proposed regulations and betterment of the NGO sector in Pakistan.
Malaysia and Pakistan may seek its help to develop this sector in Pakistan. Malaysia has become centre of Islamic Banking and which also gained momentum in Pakistan. Malaysian investment in this sector would be a welcome addition. He also highlighted possibilities of low-cost housing projects in Karachi by Malaysian companies. Agar also stressed on the need of frequent exchange of trade delegations, regular exchange of trade information and organizing single country exhibitions. He informed that Pakistani tourists visited Malaysia in great number whereas the Malaysian tourists were not much interested in visiting Pakistan, so he urged the consul general to play his part to convince the Malaysian tourists to visit Pakistan. Consul General of Malaysia Abu Bakar Mamat appreciated that Pak-Malaysia friendly relations were deep-rooted and fortifying with the passage of time. He recognized KCCI being the largest chamber and Karachi being the commercial and industrial hub of Pakistan which holds significant status and attraction for Malaysia. He conversed that Malaysia desired to centralise its trade with Pakistan and in this connection a high profile business delegation of 30 leading Malaysian companies is visiting Pakistan on the juncture of Expo Pakistan 2013 scheduled in September for B2B and business interactions.
Traders, industrialists welcome PM Nawaz KARACHI: Traders, industrialists and members of business community in this financial hub of the country on Wednesday congratulated newly-elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and welcomed his address to the National Assembly. In statement, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Patron In-Chief SM Muneer, Chairman Mohammad Zubair Chhaya, All Karachi Industrial Alliance President Mian Zahid Hussain and Vice Chairmen Najmul Arfeen and Niaz Ahmed congratulated the PML-N chief on becoming the prime minister for the third time. They said the business and industrial community of Pakistan was optimistic that the newly elected government would perform up to the expectations. The brokers and investors at the Karachi Stock Exchange already have shown their pleasure over the election of a single party, PML-N, gaining majority in the federal government. The investors’ positive sentiments about the new government had resulted into the KSE100share index breaking all the previous records and having crossed the 22,000 points level. STAFF REPORT
Eurozone economy shrinks 0.2 percent in first quarter BRUSSELS: The 17-nation eurozone continued stuck in recession for a sixth consecutive quarter in the first three months of 2013, with the economy shrinking 0.2 percent, official data showed Wednesday. Compared with first quarter 2012, the eurozone economy contracted 1.1 percent, the Eurostat statistics agency said, more than the initial estimate of 1.0 percent. For the 27-member EU, the economy shrank 0.1 percent compared with the last three months of 2012, and 0.7 percent compared with a year earlier, it said. Among the major economies, Germany edged up 0.1 percent in the first quarter compared with the last quarter of 2012, with France down 0.2 percent, and Italy and Spain both off 0.5 percent. Portugal shrank 0.4 percent. Britain grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter. APP
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AusTrAlIAN ECoNoMy grows slowEr ThAN ForECAsT IN Q1 SYDNEY APP
Australia’s economy grew at a slowerthan-expected pace in the first three months of the year as the commoditiespowered nation faces a painful transition away from its reliance on the mining sector. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy expanded 0.6 percent on quarter and 2.5 percent on year — short of the estimated 0.7 percent and 2.7 percent, and showing a decade-long mining investment boom is unwinding. Though a surge in mining exports was one of the key drivers of the March quarter performance as years of spending on projects finally comes online, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the data confirmed investment in the key sector “is near its peak”. “We have an economy in transition, we have a high dollar which is making that transition hard,” Swan told reporters. “But the reality is the Australian economy is in good shape and it is handling these transitions very well.” New private business investment fell 4.3 percent as resources spending slowed and capital imports, covering items such as mining equipment, fell 12.3 percent.
SAN FRANCISCO APP
The French minister of innovation and digital economy was in Silicon Valley on Wednesday to assure Internet giants that France sees them as allies, not enemies. Minister Fleur Pellerin’s visit came as France’s culture minister branded online retailer Amazon a “destroyer” of bookshops in the latest confrontation between the Socialist
Karzai urges Qatar businessmen to invest in Afghanistan KABUL
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FGHAN President Hamid Karzai met a delegation of Qatar’s businessmen in Kabul and urging them to invest in Afghanistan, Karzai’s office said. The Qatari delegation comprised of Sheikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani, Deputy of Qatar Traders Union and cousin to Emir of Qatar, Qatari banker Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Thani Al Thani and Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, Minister of State. The delegation was led by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, one of Qatar’s leading entrepreneurs and Chairman of Qatari Business Association. Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal and the Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industries Anwarul Haq Ahadi were also at the meeting and discussed
about business opportunities including energy and water, banking, hotels, buildings, agriculture and healthcare in Afghanistan with the Qatari businessmen, Karzai’s office said in a statement. “The president interacted with the Qatari businessmen who were willing to invest in Afghanistan,” the statement said. The Qatari delegation said that a technical group will visit Afghanistan after Ramadan to assess business opportunities in the region. This development has happened after the Afghan President’s threeday visit to India in May, during which he called for more Indian investments in Afghanistan. Karzai had called for Indian investment in critical sectors such as healthcare, telecom, agri-business and infrastructure. In an interaction with a group of chief executives of various companies, Karzai spoke about the emerging business opportunities in Afghanistan and asked the Indians to benefit from a business friendly regime and a balanced investment climate.
Major Gainers COMPANY Sanofi-Aventis Fazal Textile MithchellsFruit MCB Bank Ltd.XD Attock Petroleum
OPEN 439.99 281.00 479.98 277.52 519.80
discuss with them the possibilities of partnerships and what synergies we can develop.” Pellerin is scheduled to meet Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg on Wednesday. Other spots on her agenda included Twitter, chip-maker Intel and Airbnb. She also said she would urge Google to channel more venture capital to
LOW 454.99 295.05 476.00 277.01 520.00
CLOSE 454.99 295.05 490.00 287.44 526.28
CHANGE 15.00 14.05 10.02 9.92 6.48
TURNOVER 100 1,300 2,800 2,583,600 224,800
1965.00 6414.00 361.40 1700.00 321.00
1881.00 6414.00 361.40 1620.00 316.35
1881.03 6414.00 361.40 1620.00 316.44
-98.97 -41.00 -18.60 -18.17 -16.54
200 20 2,000 850 7,400
5.90 5.53 14.91 15.88 11.98
5.30 4.56 13.80 14.88 11.45
5.73 5.34 14.61 15.87 11.64
0.69 0.72 0.70 0.99 0.24
97,803,000 48,769,000 40,454,000 34,057,500 25,890,500
Major Losers Colgate Palmolive Nestle Pak. Pak Services Wyeth Pak Ltd Murree Brewery
1980.00 6455.00 380.00 1638.17 332.98
Volume Leaders B.O.Punjab(R) Pace (Pak) Ltd. Jah.Sidd. Co. B.O.Punjab TRG Pakistan Ltd.
5.04 4.62 13.91 14.88 11.40
Interbank Rates USD GBP JPY EURO
PKR 98.5020 PKR 151.2892 PKR 0.9888 PKR 128.7323
Forex BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal
France minister in Silicon Valley seeking allies government in Paris and America’s giants of the digital economy. “We are absolutely not in a crusade against American companies or Americans,” Pellerin said during a press briefing Tuesday in San Francisco. “My purpose here is absolutely not to declare the war to America,” she said. “On the contrary, my purpose is to visit great tech companies and
HIGH 454.99 295.05 490.00 290.99 531.50
France. “I really love America and think we have great things to do together,” Pellerin said. In France, Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti took aim at Seattle-based Amazon.com. “Everyone has had enough of Amazon, which, by dumping, slashes prices to get a foothold in markets only to raise them once they have established a virtual
99.50 128.49 151.29 0.9870 94.56 12.53 26.85 26.35
SELL 99.75 128.74 152.53 0.9990 96.42 12.79 27.15 26.60
monopoly,” Filippetti said. “It is destructive for bookshops,” the minister said at a conference of booksellers in the southwestern city of Bordeaux. Filippetti said that she would be examining measures that could curb Amazon’s growth in France by restricting the company’s ability to combine offers of free deliveries with discounts of up to five percent on cover prices, which is the maximum allowed under legislation designed to protect small booksellers.
CORPORATE CORNER world Environment day: usAId starts tree plantation campaign Pledged in connection with the International Environment Day observed worldwide, the Pakistan Reconstruction Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched tree plantation campaign at every site being reconstructed with USAID funding in almost all provinces of the country. “Trees bring great role to make better environment and reduce the pollution so we need to start a culture of planting trees and let’s pledge for this on the “International Environment Day”. Trees are the world’s single largest source of oxygen. They are under threat, which means we are under threat.” said Zulfiqar Rathore, senior manager for this USAID-funded program. Pakistan Reconstruction Program (PRP) is engaged in reconstruction of seven buildings for departments of education at different universities across all provinces, rehabilitation of flooddamaged schools in Sindh and Balochistan besides reconstruction of earthquake-damaged facilities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. USAID Pakistan attaches great importance to environmental concerns in the country as, under this program; a thorough environment assessment is carried out for every project that may have direct and indirect ecological impact on the populations and the vicinities. After environmental assessment, a site specific Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plan is devised. PR
Korea-Pakistan Business Forum celebrates decades-long relations The year 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between the Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In this three decades long-journey, our two countries have witnessed the continued development of bilateral ties particularly in the
commerce. Today, Korea has not only become one of the top trading partners of Pakistan with two-way trade volume at US $ 1.6 billion annually but also Korea companies like Samsung, LG electronics, Daewoo Express are recognized and trusted brand names in Pakistan. Broad consensus among major stakeholders is that the existing bilateral trade is far below the potential which we have or can have. To capture this huge potential, the embassy under the umbrella of 30th Anniversary of the Diplomatic ties is holding a joint business forum in collaboration with FPCCI & Korean investment and trade promotion agency KOTRA at PC hotel, Karachi on 6 June 2013. The theme of the forum “Missing Trade Links in our Emerging Markets” is intended to find an effective mechanism to expand existing bilateral trade ties by examining the missing links both in demand-supply as well as in business to business matchmaking. PR
Pakistan Navy marks environment day
Pakistan Navy being an environmental conscious service is continuously pursuing effective and concrete actions by all concerned for provision of healthy environment to the people of Pakistan. PN is especially focusing on the maritime domain. Unabated marine pollution in Karachi Harbour has become a menace causing hazards to human health, ecological system and infrastructure. In order to stimulate awareness among public and concerned agencies and departments, PN has celebrated World Environment Day – 2013 with vigor and fervor. A number of activities including harbor and beach cleaning campaigns, lectures on
significance of the day, various competitions and quizzes at PN educational institutes involving PN as well as local populace were conducted. PR
lahore Fort witnesses a novel world Environment day
hEC reaffirms the status of vu as on-line & distance Education Institute The Virtual University of Pakistan announced that the mode of education and charter of the university had been once again acknowledged by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. “A corrigendum issued by HEC on May 28, 2013 has clarified the ambiguity created by some newspapers amongst VU students and general public. HEC has, therefore, reconfirmed the status of the University as on-line and distance education institution of the country.” Furthermore, Higher Education Commission has recently awarded “W” category to Virtual University’s Quality Enhancement Cell. PR
shah-Mir Aizaz receives 2013 space settlement design contest award A 14-year-old talented boy, Shah-Mir Aizaz studying in Class VIII (Karachi), has won the Honorable Mention Certificate in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Space Settlement Design Contest 2013. The International Space Settlement Design Contest is sponsored by NASA Ames Research Centre, and it has been taking place since 1994. This year there were 592 submissions from 1,536 students taught by 168 teachers. Entries came from 20 nations worldwide and 15 different states from US. Students from all over the world submitted a detailed design of the outer atmosphere (space) settlement to NASA Ames Research Centre. Selected entries were awarded with 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention certificates. It was a tremendous opportunity to send his work to NASA and rewarded Honorable Mention Certificate. PR
The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) marked the World Environment Day (WED) by organizing a cleanliness and awareness campaign at historic Lahore Fort. WED walk, led by LWMC Chairman Ahmad Rafay Alam, was conducted from Fort Gate to Deewan e Aam and ended at Masti Gate. LWMC GM Operations Khalid Majeed, GM HR and Admin Shujaaul Hassan, Manager Communication Memoonsa Arslan and Manager Operations Asif Iqbal also participated. Students of Lahore College for Women University, University of Engineering & Technology, Government College University, Punjab University and also joined the activity. Director Lahore Fort Saleemul Haq represented the Archeology Department. Walk participants were holding banners and placards which carried educational and inspirational messages regarding cleanliness and WED. PR
ZONG and Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) signed an agreement per which ZONG will provide PRCS with a short code service enabling ZONG customers to register themselves as blood donors. The picture shows ZONG’s CFO Feng Tuixian, PRCS Director Health and Training Kamran Mushtaq and others at the signing ceremony.