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SECP, experts for new strategy to combat fraudulent businesses ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
A high level meeting was held at the SECP office today. The representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, State Bank of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, Financial Monitoring Unit and the federal and provincial police agreed to devise a comprehensive strategy to combat illegal business activities, including Ponzi and pyramid schemes, carried out by companies and unregistered entities. “The effects of fraudulent busi-
Pharmaceutical export increases 0.37% in last five months ISLAMABAD: The export of pharmaceutical products from the country during the last five months of current financial year witnessed growth of 0.37 percent as compared to same period of last year. During the period from July-November 2012 about 6,989 metric tons of pharmaceutical products worth US$ 58.715 million exported as compared to 8,324 metric tons of US$ 58.500 million same period of last financial year. According the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the export of fertilizers manufactured in dollar term grew by 432.35 percent during the period under review as about 348 metric tons of fertilizers worth US$ 0.126 million exported as against the 65 metric tons valuing US$ 0.022 million during in same period last year. Meanwhile,the export of cutlery posted 0.63 percent growth as country earned US$ 34.647 million by exporting the cutlery products as against US$ 34.249 million during same period last year. During the period from July-November 2012, country earned US$ 4.169 million by exporting the Onyx manufactured which was up by 9.94 percent as compared with the first five months of last financial. However, the export of surgical goods and medical instruments decreased by 2.86 percent as it came down from US$ 123.42 million last year's to US$ 119.89 million of current financial year. APP
nesses can be devastating, robbing people of their hard-earned money. Through our collective and sincere efforts, we need to create a society that has zero tolerance for fraudulent businesses. In order to achieve this objective, we urgently need to have a new strategy. While emphasized the need for developing a national anti-fraud strategy, he said that the coordination mechanism should be institutionalized by setting up an all-encompassing anti-fraud body like the National Fraud Authority of the UK. Mr. Tahir Mahmood, the SECP Commissioner, said on the occasion.
The SECP Executive Director, made a comprehensive presentation on ‘Combating Fraudulent Businesses Together’. He elaborated on various frauds encountered in near past such as forex companies, multi-level marketing, illegal deposit taking, prize schemes etc. He emphasized the need for developing a whistle-blowers’ hotline and rapid proactive approach. Spot it—stop it, should be the slogan of this strategy, he said. The participants of the meeting deliberated on ways of preventing illegal business activities, including Ponzi and pyramid schemes. They unani-
mously agreed on the need for a new strategy to combat all kinds of business scams. Some participants said that in addition to amending old laws, there was a need for a new law to deal with fraudulent businesses. The meeting was organized to achieve synergy to prevent fraudulent business activities aimed at cheating the public. It agreed on sharing of information to identify and prevent business scams. It identified various areas of common interest, including intelligence sharing, and training of investigators. The participants suggested media anchors should also be made part of
Pakistan’s inflation lowest amongst regional countries ISLAMABAD APP
Pakistan has managed to contain inflation rate within single digit during last year, which is lower than the regional countries, including India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan's year on year inflation rate or Consumer Price Index (CPI) registered an increase of 7.9 per cent in December 2012 as compared to that of the last year. The CPI in India was 9.2 per cent followed by 9.2 per cent in Sri Lanka. However, it increased by 7.2 per cent in Bangladesh, official sources told APP. The price comparison of essential consumer items, such as wheat, wheat flour, rice, sugar and red chillies as on December 27, 2012 shows that their prices were lower in Pakistan than those in the neighbouring countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The price of wheat flour in Islamabad as on date is Rs 34.5 per kilogram while it is being sold at Rs 37.6, Rs 49.6, Rs 132.5 and Rs 54 per kilogram in in New Delhi (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Kabul (Afghanistan) respectively. The rate of sugar in Islamabad, New Delhi, Dhaka, Colombo and Kabul is Rs 58.8, Rs 71.2, Rs 68.5, Rs
89 and Rs 90 per kg respectively. Similarly rice is being sold at Rs 114.1, Rs 163, Rs 188.8, Rs 132.5 and Rs 171 per kg in Islamabad, New Delhi, Dhaka, Colombo and Kabul respectively. The prices of mutton and beef in Islamabad, New Delhi, Dhaka, Colombo and Kabul are Rs 565 and Rs 280, Rs 543 and Rs 273, Rs 531 and Rs 318, Rs 883 and Rs 412 and Rs 679 and Rs 540 respectively. The sources added that the petrol price in Pakistan is lower than that in India and Bangladesh as the commodity is being sold at Rs 102.65, Rs
120.07 and Rs 108.85 respectively in Pakistan India and Bangladesh. The price of diesel in Pakistan, however, is higher that in the regional countries. Its price is Rs 109.77, Rs 84.2 and Rs 74.61 in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh respectively. According to the sources, the government has constituted the National Price Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary Finance to review the price and supply position of essential items and suggest remedial measures in consultation with provincial governments and federal ministries and divisions concerned.
Wheat sowing witnesses 1% increase in Sindh ISLAMABAD APP
The wheat sowing in Sindh Province was increased by 1 percent as compared to the sowing of the same period last year as about 0.98 million hectare of land has been put under the crop so far as against the 0.97 million hectare of last year. Wheat crop has been cultivated on over 8 million hectare of land across the country during the current Rabi season to cater the domestic demand and for export purpose, said an official in the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MinNF&R). Talking to APP here Tuesday, he said that wheat sowing in the country during same period of last year was
Wednesday, 9 January, 2013
recorded at 8.1 million hectare. He further informed that crop sowing across the wheat producing areas of the country was satisfactory due to timely rains in rain-fed areas and cultivation got momentum in arid areas due to increase in wheat support price and availability of other inputs. In Punjab wheat crop has been cultivated over 5.30 million hectare as compared to 6.30 million hectares of last year showing a decrease of about 1 percent, he added. Meanwhile, other provinces including Balochistan and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa have cultivate wheat over 0.234 million hectare and 1 million hectare respectively, he added. The official said that last and final figures would be received by the end of next month which would reveal the actual wheat sowing position in the country adding that it is also expected that more acres would come under the crop cultivation as sowing usually continues till the mid of January in some areas in the country. The MinNFS&R was coordinating with the provinces to increase per acre crop output to produce bumper crop as the country harvested bumper wheat crop in last four consecutive years.
committee. A participant expressed the view that NADRA should also be involved in this effort. It was decided that the SECP would request various law enforcing and investigating agencies to nominate focal persons for coordination. It may be added here that in 2003, the SECP had received many complaints regarding fraudulent businesses. Consequently, it formed a committee comprising of representatives of the SECP, State Bank and NAB. Now more stakeholders such as the FIA, FMU and police have been made part of this initiative.
Oil prices fall amid weak US energy demand LONDON: Oil prices retreated slightly on Monday as weak energy demand and concerns over more fiscal battles in Washington tempered news of growth in the US jobs market, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February shed 11 cents to $92.98 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February dropped 30 cents to $111.01 in late London deals. Official data on Friday showed that the US economy generated 155,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate held at 7.8 percent. However, a separate US government report last week showing softer fuel demand outweighed that news, Phillip Futures said in a market commentary. Weaker US energy demand "added to bearish concerns about oil markets, which have been closely monitoring economic data for signals about consumption, which is under pressure because of the struggling economy", the broker added. The United States is the world's biggest oil consuming nation and the health of its economy is a key influence on crude prices. Other analysts said that markets remained concerned over more brinkmanship in the US Congress after last week's 11th-hour deal that averted the fiscal cliff of tax rises and spending cuts which threatened to tip the economy into recession. While the lawmakers put off the huge tax rises on many wage earners, an agreement on spending cuts was put off until the end of February, when they must also hammer out a deal to raise the country's borrowing limit. Iran revealed that its oil exports had slumped by 40 percent in the past nine months because of tough Western sanctions. "There has been a 40 percent decrease in oil sales and a 45 percent decrease in repatriating oil money," Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi was quoted as saying, in a reversal of his previous denials of any decline at all. Qasemi made his comments to the Iranian parliament's budget commission, according to the ISNA news agency citing MPs. The minister said the final figures for the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March 2013, would show "a significant decrease" in crude export revenues, but he did not provide any numbers. The admission by Qasemi was significant, given that he was one of the officials who up to now had been most adamant in claiming that Iran's crucial oil exports were entirely unaffected by US and EU sanctions. The international sanctions targeting Iran are intended to choke the country's revenues used for its disputed nuclear programme, and to force it to the negotiating table. Iran insists the programme is for purely peaceful purposes, and denies Western and Israeli allegations that it wants to manufacture nuclear weapons. It is forging on with uranium enrichment and says it will survive the Western pressure. AGENCIES
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Sindh cuts down per kg flour price to Rs 33.50 KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The Sindh government Tuesday revised downward the prices of wheat for the flourmills that the provincial government warned must reflect positively on the prices of wheat flour (Atta) on the retail market. The provincial food department, through issuing a notification on Tuesday, slashed the prices of 100kilogram wheat bag by Rs 50 to Rs 2,800 from Rs 2,850. Tuesday’s cut automatically set the ex-mill price of wheat flour at Rs 32 per kilogram and its retail price at Rs 33.50. The food department directed the concerned officials to ensure availability of “Atta” to the consumers at the revised rate. The provincial government asked its field staff to keep a vigilant eye on the prices of wheat flour ensuring that the flourmills were selling the daily-use kitchen item at the newly-fixed prices. “Any laxity in the regard would not be tolerated and strict action would be taken against the concerned staff,” warned the notification issued.
That’s one fat burger! g
Fatburger partners with BIL Foods to embark on Rs 800m venture in Pakistan KARACHI
F
Business 02 Major Gainers OPEN
HIGH
LOW
CLOSE
CHANGE
TURNOVER
Millat Tractors Ltd. 575.00
603.75
572.00
603.75
28.75
232,900
UniLever Pak
9974.99
10000.00 9800.01
10000.00 25.01
400
Sapphire Textile
220.78
230.00
220.78
230.00
9.22
700
AL-Ghazi Tractors 234.99
246.70
238.00
242.36
7.37
10,500
Gum & Chemical
160.00
158.00
160.00
7.00
1,500
615.00 231.85 103.30 282.00 162.90
615.00 214.00 103.29 276.00 160.00
615.00 215.19 103.29 276.90 162.20
-7.10 -5.62 -5.43 -3.10 -2.78
50 51,900 2,900 4,900 7,500
15.59 18.84 13.91 15.20 35.99
14.75 17.84 13.62 14.92 34.37
15.50 18.84 13.71 15.11 35.66
0.83 1.00 0.24 0.23 1.38
19,974,500 6,517,500 4,935,000 4,757,000 3,805,500
COMPANY
STAFF REPORT
ATBURgER, an international Hollywood celebrity-driven brand, has entered into Pakistan’s 200 million consumer market by embarking on a joint venture (JV) with its local operator
BIL Foods. With Fatburger contributing its brand, the BIL Foods would invest about Rs 800 million by setting up five Fatburger stores in various urban centers of Pakistan over next three years. On January 4, last Friday, the Fatburger and BIL Foods, launched its first food outlet in one of the largest shopping centers of this metropolis. The ceremony among others was attended by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fatburger Andrew A. Wiederhorn and CEO BIL Foods Samiullah Mohabbat. A handout distributed to the media quoted Andrew as saying that the JV would initially develop five stores in the country. He said while the Karachi outlet was opened it would be followed within next 90 days by Fatburger’s flagship store in Lahore. The Karachi store, he said, had a capacity for at least 135 diners, while that of Lahore would have the space for more than 200 people. Islamabad happens to be next destination for a third Fatburger’s food outlet. On the occasion, CEO BIL Foods Samiullah Mohabbat said Friday’s launching was the start of a three-year project in which his firm would be investing about Rs 800 million to open five more stores across Pakistan. The project, he said, would generate at least 300 employments in the country. Asked about his view of Pakistan’s uncertain security situation, Andrew said security being prime concern of every investor was important. He said regions across the world were braving severe social and politico-economic crises. But, he said, despite all odds the people still cold not rid them-
153.00
Major Losers Siemens Pakistan XD Pak.Int.Cont. SD J.D.W.Sugar National Foods Service Industries
622.10 220.81 108.72 280.00 164.98
Volume Leaders Maple Leaf Cement Askari Bank Byco Petroleum Jah.Sidd. Co. Nishat (Chunian) selves of the pressing need to eat quality food. About Fatburger’s quality standard, Samiullah said the company would import beef for being used in its burgers from the United States while the yellow onions would come from Spain. To a question on using Pakistani meat, he said there was no organized livestock farming in the country that could provide Fatburger with lean meat of the grass-fed animals the company uses in its burgers. Andrew also dispelled the impression that Fatburger’s food items must have a lot of fat saying the lean beef used by the firm had fat next to zero. He said Fatburger never used frozen meat or other stuff be it the beef or other ingredients is used in our burgers. Everything we have is fresh,” said he. The Fatburger chairman said his side was bringing the world’s best-rated quality burgers to Pakistan. “I am firm that the consumers would come to find a new standard for what a quality burger is,” he hoped.
14.67 17.84 13.47 14.88 34.28
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
97.4675 156.7863 1.1144 127.8482
Dollar East BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Kuwaiti Dinar
98.20 127.36 156.27 1.1131 98.21 12.40 26.60 26.05 345.03
SELL 98.90 129.44 158.76 1.1301 100.42 12.71 26.98 26.42 349.72
CORPORATE CORNER PTCL, Meezan Bank sign agreement for PTCL Wireless Broadband services
KARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) and Meezan Bank have today signed an agreement for provision of PTCL Wireless Broadband services. As part of this partnership, Meezan Bank customers can now enjoys exclusive PTCL 3g EVO Wireless Broadband services along with the services offered by the bank.. The agreement was signed by Furqan Habib Qureshi, PTCL Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) Business Zone South and Ariful Islam, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director, Meezan Bank at an impressive ceremony held at Meezan Bank Head Office in Karachi. Sajid Shabir Mangrio, PTCL general Manager, Consumer Business South; Bashir Phulphoto, PTCL Senior Manager, Consumer Business Karachi and Muhammad Raza, Executive Vice President, Meezan Bank were also present at the occasion. Furqan Habib Qureshi, PTCL Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) Business Zone South while speaking on the occasion said “We are delighted to partner with Meezan Bank. PTCL Wireless Internet services offer convenience and ease of onthe-go internet connectivity and create new possibilities for our customers. Through this partnership and others like it, we are enhancing access to the latest ICT applications through our vast infrastructure.” PTCL 3g EVO Wireless Broadband is Pakistan’s fastest growing Wireless Internet network accessible nationwide. With 3g EVO Dongle, 3g EVO Wingle and 3g Nitro Cloud devices, PTCL is simplifying access to information and online services.
Etihad Airways sets new record for busiest day KARACHI: Etihad Airways has started the New Year by setting a record for the number of passen-
gers carried across its worldwide network in a single day. The record was set on Saturday 5 January 2013 when 33,802 passengers flew with the Abu Dhabibased airline, beating the previous record of 33,766 set on Saturday 14 July 2012. Etihad Airways capped an impressive festive holiday season with Thursday 3 and Friday 4 January 2013 also entering the airlines top 10 ranking for busiest ever days, with 32,622 and 32,918 flying each day respectively. Two dates in January have also entered Etihad Airways’ top 10 for highest ever load factors. Flights across the airline’s network were 89.2 per cent full on Saturday 5 January (#4 in the top 10) and 88.1 per cent full on Friday 4 January (#9 in the top 10). James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “It has been a busy start to 2013 for Etihad Airways and it is highly satisfying to beat our previous record for passengers carried in a single day.” Last week Etihad Airways announced it had flown total of 10.29 million in 2012, an increase of 1.88 million passengers from 2011.
forms and join Alliance founders Lg Electronics, TP Vision and Toshiba, as well as YuMe, Obigo and Qualcomm, in creating a non-proprietary ecosystem for application develop-ers to create attractive, platform-independent services. “Smart TV Alliance members are repairing a fragmented market opportunity for app developers and TV manufacturers, creating the best Smart TV experience for consumers,” said Richard Choi, president of Smart TV Alliance from founding member Lg Electronics. “Now app developers can concentrate on doing what they do best. Instead of chasing down each manufacturer’s individual requirements and compli-ance process, they can make the most out of their creative energy by developing innovative applications and services.” The upcoming SDK captures the latest trends and features available to app developers so they will be able to deliver the most current and exciting apps for 2013 Smart TVs from Lg, TP Vision and Toshiba. The new SDK features include:
International Women Leaders Summit on 29th
Smart TV Alliance introduces 5 new members, updated SDK
LAHORE: Smart TV Alliance announced today that six new industry-leading manufac-turers and solution providers joined the Alliance to stimulate cross-platform Smart TV applications and services. Consumers will enjoy a richer Smart TV experience with 3D video, the highest quality video and audio, and the greatest variety of content with applications created from a new software development kit (SDK) for 2013 TVs from global manufacturers. New Smart TV Alliance members include manufacturers Panasonic, ABOX42, and TechniSat, and solution providers IBM and Specific Media. They recognize the need for and value in being able to develop and provide apps across multiple plat-
KARACHI: As part of the 5th WIBCON (Women in Business Conference) for professional women, the ‘International Women Leaders Summit’ is being organized on Tuesday, 29th January 2013 at Karachi, Pakistan. This was announced by Aamir Niazi, President, Pakistan Society for Training & Development. PSTD is a non-profit and non-governmental organization, committed to the promotion of professional Human Resource Development through organizing training programmes and conferences. The learning opportunities and networking are aimed to assist professionals in achieving excellence in today's competitive environment. PSTD is managed by an honorary
Board of governors comprising leading corporate CEOs and Directors, currently led by Aamir Niazi, Chief Operating Officer, International Textile Limited. The main theme of this conference is to share the life stories of global icons in building bridges across borders and connecting professional women across cultures. The driving force of this event is to make women draw inspiration from global and Pakistani leaders to overcome the stereotypical barriers which restrict their growth, while maintaining a work-life balance. The conference keynote international speakers include Nasra Hassan from Austria who has worked for 25 years with United Nations in Peacekeeping, refugee and humanitarian affairs, social development, public information and communication, gulsun Bilgehen, a senior Member of Turkish Parliament, and former fashion supermodel Bibi Russell from Bangladesh, who played a key role in reviving the Bangladeshi crafts industry through pioneering ethical fashion in the world. Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the US Ambassador for global Women Issues will also speak through video address. Key local speakers include Dean IBA Dr Ishrat Husain and Pakistan’s 1st Oscar Award winner Ms. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. Panel guests include first elected woman Board of Director on the Islamabad Stock Exchange Ms. Ayla Majid, Shamama Arbab from Sarhad Chamber, Peshawar and more. This conference will be attended by professionals in Pakistan and South Asia, as they face similar challenges in terms of culture, religion and gender biases.
KARACHI: Kalim-ur-Rahman, President and CEO of JS Bank and Khalid Jamil Shamsi, CEO Computer Research (Pvt) Ltd. (CRPL) along with management teams from JS Bank and CRPL at the Cash Management Solution project sign off ceremony..
Wednesday, 9 January, 2013