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Thailand to sign FTA with Pakistan ISLAMABAD
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HAILAND has expressed its intention to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan to further promote trade and economic relations between the two countries. The intention was conveyed by Thailand’s Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul during talks with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in Islamabad on Thursday. The two sides also discussed inauguration of a Pakistan-Thailand Joint business forum to promote bilateral trade and investment. Later, addressing a joint news conference along with her Thai counterpart, Khar said a joint study has already been conducted for the feasibility of the FTA between the two countries. She said both the countries enjoyed excellent relations and trade volume had surpassed the one billion dollars mark last year. She said a joint trade committee had been tasked to speed up work on finalisation of the FTA which would be mutually beneficial for the two countries. She said both countries are committed to institutionalising their relations and in this regard a joint economic commission of the two countries will meet
Pakistan Auto show 2013 begins today KARACHI INP
The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) is holding Pakistan Auto Show 2013 at the Expo Centre, Karachi, from Friday (today), which will showcase the achievements of Pakistan’s automotive industry and auto parts manufacturing sectors. “This mega event will be visited by a large number of visitors and buyers from around the world, while over 150 multinational and national companies will display their products at the exhibition,” said PAAPAM Chairman Munir Bana. He said this exhibition would be a thoroughfare of the true engineering and manufacturing diversity of Pakistani companies, thus providing an opportunity to forge new alliances and business ventures. He also called upon the government to play a part in organising such mega exhibitions, adding that this show had been financed completely by PAAPAM and the automobile industry of the country. Bana strongly urged the government to ensure adequate and exclusive export promotions for the engineering sector. “We expect that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) would support our initiatives, both locally and abroad, for these efforts are geared towards our national interest, with the aim of promoting exports and introducing new technologies,” Bana said. In Pakistan, the local industry assembles cars, motorcycles, tractors, and heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses, and also hosts major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and Massey Ferguson. PAAPAM Vice Chairman Usman Malik further said that Germany, with the collaboration of its government, holds the world’s largest auto exhibition every year in which only a dozen companies from Pakistan participated, while hundreds of firms from our neighbouring countries displayed their products in the show. Malik further said with steady growth in the automotive parts manufacturing industry in the region, the 2013 exhibition in Karachi will play a crucial role in the economic development of Pakistan’s automobile-related market, both locally and internationally. The show will be a perfect place to approach a potential buyer and meet existing customers, he underlined.
Friday, 11 January, 2013
next month. The commission’s meeting will discuss ways and means to further augment bilateral relations in areas of trade, defense and security. Khar said both countries are close to signing two agreements. One relates to the exemption of diplomatic visa while the other will be signed between the foreign services academy of the two countries. She said Pakistan and Thailand
enjoyed historic cultural relations. “There is a dire need to evolve a mechanism for promoting people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and Thailand,” Khar said. She said 56,000 Pakistanis visited Thailand last year as tourists. The foreign minister said Thailand was an important country of ASEAN and Pakistan attached great importance to
becoming a full dialogue member of this organisation. Describing his talks with Pakistani counterpart as fruitful, the Thai foreign minister said he was satisfied with the trade volume with Pakistan and wanted to further speed up the process in the future. He said his government wanted Thai investors to invest in areas of infrastructure development, food processing, gem stones and auto parts development in Pakistan. He said the joint economic commission will meet soon to formulate concrete measures for the enhancement of bilateral economic and trade relations. He said both countries had also agreed to enhance their security and defense cooperation. “We have agreed to enhance cooperation to combat terrorism and other international crimes through increased intelligence sharing,” he said. The Thai foreign minister said Thailand will soon host the third meeting on the security cooperation to discuss issues relating to terrorism and other crimes. Appreciating Pakistan’s constructive role in the region, he said Thailand was ready to work closely with Pakistan for the benefit of the region. He assured that his country will continue to extend support to Pakistan in the social sector development.
Remittances grow by 12.5pc to $7.1b in first half of FY13 KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The Pakistanis working abroad remitted over $7.116 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year, from July to December 2012. A central bank report on Thursday showed an increase of 12.51 percent in this regard compared to the corresponding period of FY 12. The State Bank pointed out that the remittances received through banks amounted to $6.421 billion (90%), through exchange companies $640 million (9%) and through Pakistan Post $56 million (1%). The inflow of remittances during the period under review from Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA, UK, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), and EU countries amounted to $1.960 billion, $1.460 billion, $1.155 billion, $1.005 billion, $811.18 million and $188.77 million, respectively. In FY 12 these figures stood at $1.661 billion, $1.412 billion, $1.150 billion, $726.35 million, $721.19 million and $189.14 million from the respective destinations. The remittances received
from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries during the first half of the current fiscal year (July- December FY13) amounted to $ 534.68 million as against $463.61 million received in the first half of the last fiscal year. The monthly average remittances for July-December 2012 period comes out to $1.186 billion as compared to $1.054 million during the corresponding period last year. An amount of $1.134 billion was remitted by overseas Pakistanis in December, 2012 as against $ 1.085 billion in the same month of the last fiscal year (December 2011) depicting a growth of 4.54%. In December (2012), the inflow of remittances from Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA, UK, GCC countries, and EU countries amounted to $351.17 million, $220.28 million, $161.97 million, $159.15 million, $134.49 million and $27.61 million respectively as compared with an inflow of $297.53 million, $ 245.67 million, $175.12 million, $132.05 million, $121.15 million and $28.88 million respectively in December, 2011. Remittances received from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan
and other countries during the sixth months of the current fiscal year (December FY13) amounted to $79.99 million as against $84.95 million received in the sixth months of the last fiscal year. The central bank attributes this growing trend to the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI). “The continued growth in worker remittances is the result of efforts made by Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) in collaboration with other stakeholders to facilitate both overseas Pakistanis and their families back home,” the regulator said. Since its inception, the PRI had taken a number of steps to enhance the flow of remittances through formal channels which include preparation of national strategies on remittances, taking all necessary steps to implement the overall strategy, playing an advisory role for financial sector in terms of preparing a business case, relationship building with overseas correspondents, creating separate efficient remittance payment highways and becoming a national focal point for overseas Pakistanis through a round the clock callcentre with toll free lines, separate web site etc, the state bank said.
Certain stakeholders have reservations over MFN status to India: foreign secretary ISLAMABAD ONlINE
Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said while the federal cabinet had already agreed on according Most Favorable Nation (MFN) status to India, certain stakeholders in the business fraternity had reservations on this count. “Cabinet has already agreed on giving MFN status to India, though certain stakeholders in Pakistan have expressed reservations on this measure. Commerce secretaries of both Pakistan and India will soon meet to allay these concerns,” he said while talking to the media personnel after a PAC meeting on Thursday. He said bilateral trade ties between Pakistan and India were critical in the perspective of usual trade activities which were gathering momentum each passing day. Bilateral trade volume between the two countries has surpassed 2 billion dollars, he pointed out.
Hafeez invites General Electric to invest in Pakistan ISLAMABAD APP
Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Thursday invited General Electric Company (GE) to invest in Pakistan, particularly in sectors the company had global expertise in- such as aviation, transport, railways, energy and alternate energy. A delegation led by GE Vice Chairman John Rice called on Shaikh and expressed the company’s keen interest for investment in various sectors in Pakistan, in particular supplying locomotives for Pakistan Railways and setting up of a wind energy projects apart from exploring other investment areas. The minister informed the delegation that Pakistan offered a favourable environment for foreign investment and assured full support and facilitation of the government for investment by GE in Pakistan. Rice expressed his gratitude towards the government and in particular the finance minister for providing attractive opportunities of foreign investment in the country. He thanked Shaikh for his continuous support towards the private sector, attracting investment by guiding foreign investors and ensuring a businessfriendly environment.
INDIA MULLS SETTING UP DRY PORT AT ATTARI TO PROMOTE TRADE WITH PAKISTAN AttARI ONlINE
The Indian government is considering setting up a container depot close to the Attari-Wagah border in order to facilitate trade between India and Pakistan, which has the potential to rise by 200 percent within a short span of time. “We have written to the Central Board of Excise and Customs, conveying that there is a demand for container trade through the Attari border. We have suggested setting up of a dry port somewhere near the integrated check post at Attari,” Amritsar Customs Commissioner KK Sharma said. “Finance Ministry has taken up the matter with Commerce Ministry,” he added. Imports from Pakistan through the Attari border land route in the period from April to December, 2012, in value terms stood at Rs 6,300 million- an 87 per-
cent increase over the corresponding period in 2011. Besides, India’s export to Pakistan through this route stands at Rs 12,370 million in the April-December 2012 period, an increase of 54 percent over the corresponding period last year. Container Warehousing Corporation (CWC) could be entrusted with the task of building the storage facility for container trade, Sharma said, adding that if both rail and road routes work to full capacity, trade between the two countries could go up by as much as 200 percent. He said traders preferred the land route for exporting goods to Pakistan. Earlier, trade was allowed through head-load at the border but from October 1, 2007, both the governments have agreed to allow transportation of goods through trucks. At present, the goods coming from Pakistan through trucks are unloaded at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari,
situated at a distance of 32 km from Amritsar and 28 km from Lahore. At the same time, Indian trucks can enter Pakistan and unload near the Wagah border. Sharma said customs officials manually clear around 200 truck loads of goods for Pakistan everyday and the department is in the process of securing a scanner by the end of 2013 for speedier clearance of goods. The Pakistan side has already in-
stalled a scanner at the border to check the trucks. Sharma said setting up a container freight station somewhere between Wagah and Attari border would ensure speedier clearance of goods and facilitate trade between the two neighbours. “We also have to start rail interchange movement again. If both rail and ICP function at full capacity, trade will go up substantially,” he added.
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Business 02 Imported cars outpace locally-manufactured in terms of sales KARACHI
SECP acts against directors, auditors for breaching law
STAFF REPORT
The first half of FY13 saw the sales of locally produced cars, including LCVs, Vans and Jeeps, sliding by 30 percent. According to market observers, car sales during FY13 dipped to 57,540 units from 81,944 units out during the corresponding period in FY12. The official figures for the sales of imported cars, however, are yet to be released. A monthly account shows that the locally manufactured car sales slid to 8,448 units in December (2012), down by 8 percent compared to 9,154 units in November. This shows a 25% decline compared to 11,217 in the same month last year. “Plunge in the sales is on account of high imports of used imported CBU’s prior to restriction on imports, termination of Non EURO-II compliant cars (‘Alto’ and ‘Coure’) and absence of taxi scheme,” said Zeeshan Afzal, an analyst at Topline Research. Among the individual companies, Pak Suzuki’s (PSMC) sales declined by 32% to 34,324 units during the first six months of FY13 compared to 50,718 units last year. However, on a monthly basis, PSMC’s sales picked up to 5,987 units in December, 2012, up by 7%, compared to 5,584 units in November 2012 on account of increased sales of cargo vehicles ‘Bolan’ and ‘Ravi’. Indus Motors’s (INDU) sales came down by 39% to 14,699 units during FY13 as compared to 24,066 units in the first six months of FY12. “Decline in sales is primarily contributed by 38% decline in Corolla sales which stood at 12,429 units in the first half of FY13,” said Afzal. INDU’s sales, on monthly basis, declined to 1,571 units in December, a 26% decrease compared to 2,125 units in November 2012 and 50% decrease as compared to 3,134 units in November 2011.
Major Gainers COMPANY
OPEN
HIGH
Bata (Pak)
1298.99
1335.00 1335.00
1335.00 36.01
400
Exide (PAK)
280.00
290.00
290.00
290.00
10.00
1,400
Clariant Pak
260.33
273.34
259.02
269.49
9.16
183,200
Gillette Pak
102.42
107.54
102.42
107.54
5.12
1,500
Siemens Pakistan 615.00
618.90
606.10
618.90
3.90
650
10000.00 600.00 390.00 211.99 119.10
9952.00 585.00 390.00 201.60 118.75
10000.00 585.47 390.00 203.03 119.04
-80.77 -10.61 -10.00 -6.38 -5.96
520 33,000 100 1,220,000 600
17.20 6.57 15.77 15.05 13.63
16.30 6.31 15.06 14.68 13.14
16.39 6.46 15.31 14.74 13.21
-0.52 0.07 -0.45 -0.31 -0.12
12,157,000 10,854,000 5,198,500 5,082,500 5,050,000
LOW
CLOSE
CHANGE
TURNOVER
Major Losers UniLever Pak Millat Tractors Ltd. Shezan Inter. MCB Bank Ltd. Philip Morris Pak.
10080.77 596.08 400.00 209.41 125.00
Volume Leaders ISLAMABAD
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HE enforcement department of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) penalised a number of companies, their directors and statutory auditors for non compliance with the corporate laws and applicable accounting standards in December 2012. As a part of its mandate to monitor the listed and unlisted companies to safeguard the investors’ interest, the department initiated 39 show-cause proceedings against directors and auditors of listed and unlisted companies that failed to comply with applicable provisions of law. According to a statement from SECP, the enforcement actions were taken in view of the breaches of statutory requirements noticed by the regulatory authority relating to misuse of powers by directors of the companies, misstatements of facts or information in the statutory returns or documents, improper circulation of financial statements and late submission of quarterly accounts. During the month, the department concluded 24 proceedings against companies, either by warn-
ing or by penalising identified defaulters. The department resolved 17 complaints by investors. These complaints pertained to shareholders who were deprived of their statutory rights to receive annual audited accounts, dividend warrants or bonus shares, or unverified transfer deeds. In addition, the SECP during the month allowed a company to change the place of its annual general meeting and issued a designation letter for group taxation to another company for the purpose of taxation benefit. Two listed companies were accorded approval to appoint their cost auditors under the Companies (Audit of Cost Accounts) Rules, 1998. Furthermore, one company was directed to hold its overdue annual general meeting while another company was directed to ensure compliance with certain provisions of applicable reporting standards. With regards to raising capital, a listed company was granted approval for issuance of preference shares. Meanwhile, in three separate requests, companies were facilitated by granting relaxation from the requirements of 1996 Companies (Issue of Capital) Rules, and exemption from preparation of consolidated financial statements.
P.T.C.L.A Fauji Cement Maple Leaf Cement Jah.Sidd. Co. Byco Petroleum
16.91 6.39 15.76 15.05 13.33
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
97.3095 156.0552 1.1039 127.3489
Forex Rates BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Kuwaiti Dinar
98.20 128.51 156.80 1.0999 98.27 12.39 26.58 26.03 344.78
SELL 98.90 130.65 159.35 1.1172 100.52 12.71 26.97 26.41 349.59
CORPORATE CORNER UBL partners with Etisalat to launch internet based acquiring in Pakistan
this regard, our partnership with UBL is important which enables us to authorize transactions in Pakistani markets using UBL as the local acquiring bank. This partnership brings a total of six banks connected to our Payment platform”. PR
LG cinema 3D Smart TV recognized for stability
KARACHI: United Bank Limited (UBL) Pakistan on Thursday announced its partnership with Etisalat, UAE’s premier telecom provider, to receive e-Commerce Payment Gateway platform or EPG services in Pakistan. This partnership with Etisalat marks UBL’s entry into a new market segment, enabling Pakistan-based merchants and corporates to serve their Pakistan based and international clients for e-Commerce transactions, using UBL as the local acquiring bank. This partnership was finalised in an agreement signing ceremony held at Etisalat Tower, Dubai on January 7, 2013. The ceremony was attended by officials from Etisalat’s e-Commerce division, including Mr. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmed, SVP Business, Mr. Faisal M Omar, Manager E-Commerce, Mr. Nabeel Mohd Al Hassan, Sales Manager – Enterprise Sales and Mr. Enrique Beza, Senior Manager – Mobile Commerce. UBL was represented by Mr. Aameer Karachiwalla, Group Executive - Retail Bank, Mr. Najeeb Agrawalla, Group Head – Marketing & Product Management – Retail Bank, Mr. Faisal Qazi, Head – Alternate Delivery Channels and Mr. Haroon Mahmood, Head – Business Development, UBL International. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Aameer Karachiwalla, Group Executive - Retail Bank,
UBL said, “The EPG’s growing popularity and successful track record in the UAE means that Etisalat is well equipped to deal with the challenges that may be presented in other markets, including Pakistan. We are confident that this partnership will benefit both our corporate and individual customers in Pakistan and allow them to conduct e-Commerce transactions securely”. Najeeb Agrawalla, Group Head – Marketing, UBL said, “UBL has always been committed to providing innovative product solutions. We are happy to be partners with Etisalat, which has an impeccable track record of payment solutions in UAE and other region. We are confident that the new Electronic Payment Gateway will provide a robust and secure platform for our customers in Pakistan and will foster e-Commerce and payment systems in the country. “ “The increasing number of transactions made using multiple electronic devices across markets has made it crucial for vendors and payment institutions to be linked using a secure payment gateway that is flexible and versatile,” said Mr. Abdulla Ebrahim Al Ahmad, SVP Business, Etisalat. “The EPG offers a perfect blend of secure and efficient online payment service that merchants can use as a daily (or 24/7) online payment option for their customers. In
NAB arrests BoP defaulters LAHORE: NAB Punjab arrested Javed Iqbal and Abdul Hameed, both directors of Pak Hero Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. in case of willful default of loan of Rs 483.399 million of The Bank of Punjab. M/s Pak Hero Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. was defaulter since 2008 and the State Bank of Pakistan on the complaint of The Bank of Punjab had filed reference against the company and its directors under Section 31-D NAO 1999 with the NAB chairman. PR
LAHORE: Energy Secretary Jehanzeb Khan, Rao Elahi, Farhana Mehmood and other guests at the launch of a solar panel at BNU Campus on Raiwind Road. StaFF Photo LAHORE: LG Electronics (LG) announced that its CINEMA 3D Smart TV’s (55LA6900) Environment Product Declaration (EPD) has been certified by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and has received a Sustainable Product Certification (SPC). An internationally respected technology testing company, UL certifies manufacturer-produced EPDs and products which meet strict environmental performance and sustainability criteria. “LG is proud to have its ongoing efforts to develop and manufacture sustainable products recognized by UL,” said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. “The LA6900 embodies our desire and commitment to create products that protect not only the health of the environment, but the health of the consumer as well. We will continue to deliver market leading products capable of meeting, and in many cases exceeding industry standards.” PR
Guests at the third convocation of Virtual University. PReSS ReleaSe
Friday, 11 January, 2013