PRO 11-12-2012_Layout 1 12/10/2012 11:59 PM Page 1
Tuesday, 11 December, 2012
NBP ups consumer financing limit while others go risk-averse
Jamali conjures food for thought Says growth of food industry necessary for high GDP
More loans available under Advance Salary, Cash in Gold products now g Over Rs 210b disbursed since 2002 among 1.5m govt employees g Disbursements against cash in gold grows beyond Rs 30.578b g NBP exceeds central bank’s Rs 44b farm loans target g Remittances up by 52pc to $ 741m during Jan-Sept 2012 g
KARACHI
T
STaFF RePORT
HE other commercial banks have whereas seen their bad debts against personal loans swelling to new highs during the recent years, the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Monday boasted to have disbursed over Rs 210 billion since 2002 with a negligible 1.6 percent infection ratio. Also, the NBP jubilantly declared to have its disbursements increased beyond Rs 30.578 billion against “Cash in Gold”, another consumer financing the bank offers to the middle class borrowers against the borrowers’ jewelry, “the best friend of women”. Further, the bank also witnessed an increase of 52 percent or $ 254.734 million in its $ 741 million contribution in the national kitty on account of worker remittances the bank channeled during Jan-Sep 2012.
These receipts were against $486.243 million of the same period in 2011. Another milestone the bank claims to have achieved is exceeding the central bank’s Rs 44 billion target on agriculture financing that made the NBP second largest disburser of the farm loans after ZTBL that has disbursed Rs 66 billion. Monday saw the NBP officials, here at a local hotel, announcing to have remodeled and re-launched two of the bank’s flagship consumer banking products named “NBP Advance Salary” and “Cash in Gold” by increasing the volume of financing. According to Adnan Adil Hussain, head of NBP’s consumer and retail banking division, the bank under the remodeled regime had enhanced its financing limit from Rs 490,000 to Rs 1 million and Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 against 10 gram of the deposited gold respectively for the Advance Salary and Cash in Gold products.
Online banking on the up ISLAMABAD: The use of internet banking has remarkably increased in the country with surging number of customers opted for hasslefree and rapid mode of money transactions through their banks. Showing 89 per increase in the service utility with a volume of money grew by 112 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2011-12, Technology Times Reported. “Rs 84.85 billion were transferred through internet banking in Pakistan in Jul-Sep 2011 period, with 1.6 million number of transactions,” shows the State Bank of Pakistan’s “Payment Systems Review”. It explains that the money transferred through mobile-banking services were recorded at Rs 4.27 billion against the transactions of 1.6 million through services of different banks. Similarly, the mobile-banking services were also seen significant growth in utility by the customers, which shows the increasing reliability of the customers on the advanced payment system. The volume and value of overall e-banking transactions in the country during the quarter under review was recorded at 63.7 million and Rs.6.15 trillion respectively, showing a decrease of 3.9 per cent in the volume and 1.34 per cent in value as compared to the previous quarter. aPP
Adil was flanked by other divisional heads including Senior Vice President Farooq Hasan, Ahmed Liaquat, Tariq and others. “We have the accounts of around 1.8 million permanent government employees of which some 1.5 million have so far got loans worth over Rs 200 billion,” he told the well-attended press briefing. “There is no condition of grades (of the employees),” Adil added. The ratio of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) against the bank’s personal loans stands at a nominal 1.6 percent against 15 percent of the market as the repayment mode against Advance Salary loans is based on monthly at-source deductions from the borrowers’ NBP account in 60 “easy” installments. “We don’t ask about the purpose of financing. Unlike other loans, its processing is speedy as if you have the required documents complete the money is transferred in 3 to 4 days,” Adil said.
About Cash in Gold, the NBP official said the product had the non-mark up based one and was introduced viewing the countrymen’s “cultural instinct” of preserving gold ornaments as a sign of tradition. “Gold has always been the best friend of women in our tradition,” Adil said. He said through the product the bank was able to avoid hoarding of the precious metal which is returned to the borrowers, as it is, after complete repayment. Adil told a questioner that the bank was also weighing its options to extend the financing facility to the contractual government employees. “In 2013 we plan to increase financing under Advance Salary by Rs 10 billion. And the facility would also cover the contract employees,” the banker said. Senior Vice President Farooq Hasan said financing limits of the two products was revised upward sensing the pressing needs of the country’s public sector employees.
Asian markets up after positive US, China data HONG KONG:Asian markets rose Monday as dealers cheered an improvement in the US unemployment rate and another batch of figures indicating China’s economy is emerging from a long slowdown. Investors appeared unmoved by figures confirming. Japan’s economy shrank in the three months to September, as traders keep their sights on Sunday’s general election, which is expected to see Yoshihiko Noda’s government ousted. Tokyo rose 0.25 percent by the break, Hong Kong added 0.58 percent, Shanghai was 0.26 percent higher, Sydney gained 0.26 percent and Seoul climbed 0.13 percent. Washington on Friday unveiled figures showing the economy added 146,000 jobs in November, up from a revised 138,000 in October. Expectations had been for just 80,000 jobs to be added. The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent last month, its lowest since December 2008, from 7.9 percent in October. However, the data were tempered by a University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, which declined to 74.5 from November’s five-year-high of 82.7. Traders are also nervous about the lack of progress on Capitol Hill in talks aimed at averting the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect on January 1 and which would likely tip the economy into recession. agenCIeS
LAHORE aPP
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali on Monday said that food industry was the second largest industry and its growth was crucial for a high DGP ratio in the country. He was speaking at the 23rd Food Conference jointly organised by Pakistan Society of Food Scientists and Technologists and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) at PCSIR Lab Complex on Monday. He said it was the need of the hour to strengthen liaison between the researchers and industries so that a quality product could be produced as per the standard of international market. He said that his ministry had undertaken scores of projects to uplift the quality of food which was necessary for a healthy generation. He was of his view that the growth of food industry would not only upgrade the GDP ratio but would also be helpful in poverty alleviation in the country. The minister said that food industry in the country had great potential and there was need to create a linkage among the concerned institutions including researchers. He urged the researchers to visit the flood-hit areas in Balochsitan and make research about the food crepes from sowing to market.Mir Changez Khan Jamali urged the media to highlight the research work of scientists so that a positive message could be conveyed to the society instead of the oft splashing breaking news. He said that media could play a role in developing positive values in the country. He said that there was a good time coming and we should be optimistic about the future. On the occasion, the Minister announced to regularise all the contractual and daily wages employees of the PCSIR and said that their monetary affairs would also be settled down in the current month.
We’ve got power, let’s share it SCCI for mutually beneficial Indo-Pak cross border power transfer LAHORE
Enhanced Indo-Pak economic ties could resolve core issues: ICCI
aPP
SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Monday stressed the need for active pursuit of mutually beneficial power transfer between India-Pakistan, saying it would fully exploit their untapped resources, besides giving a boost to economy in the region. Talking to a high level 15 members delegation from Confederation of Indian Industry, SAARC CCI, VP Pak chapter and veteran trade leader Iftikhar Ali Malik said that given the severe power shortage in Pakistan and open access power transmission possibilities in India, there was a renewed interest in pursuing mutually beneficial cross border power transfer between the two countries. He said that in the late 1990s,Pakistan had surplus power generation mainly in the form of IPP and wanted to export to India through the nearest Dinanath sub station near Lahore ring road to the Patti Sub-station in Indian Punjab. But the aspiration did not materialise into reality due to price offered by India at that time. Malik said that traders of the two countries could fully benefit from open markets of either side for strengthening socio-economic conditions for the welfare of people in the region. “There is vast scope of close co-oper-
ation in food, agriculture, power, engineering, chemical, petroleum, livestock, dairy development, transfer of IT technology, construction industry and communication sectors”, he highlighted. Iftikhar Ali Malik said that SCCI, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and other chambers would facilitate traders from India for joint ventures and establishing business outlets beneficial to the two countries. Managing Director, Braj Binani Group of Industries, India Vinod Juneja
expressed his interest to import cement, glass fibre and zinc products from Pakistan. He will hold meetings with his counterpart to work out the modalities. Meanwhile, other Indian traders Rajan Bedi,MD, and Gaurav Kumar,Director,SSB Enterprise India,said the group was keen to import gypsum,coal,cement and red chillies from Pakistan and discussions on quality of products and prices,commodities were underway. It was learnt that other members of Indian trade delegation representing engineering, construction, chemi-
ISLAMABAD: Peaceful and cordial relations between Pakistan and India are a prerequisite in promoting bilateral trade and economic relations and to exploit the full potential of each other’s comparative fortes in various fields. This was stated by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Zafar Bakhtawari, during his visit to Amritsar, according to a press release received here on Monday. Addressing a gathering of industrialists, traders and media at International Trade Expo PITEX-2012 in Amritsar, Zafar Bakhtawari said Pakistan has been playing due role for peace in the region and want to have good relations with its neighbours. He said that Pakistan would like to see its neighbouring countries as strong, stable and prosperous states as well as growing prosperous Asia and specifically South Asia. Bakhtawari said that India was among the top 10 fastest growing economies and presenting the third world countries, therefore, India should maintain positive and healthy relations with all its neighbours including Pakistan. He said that it was worth mentioning that South Asian countries like Turkey, North Korea and Malaysia were also making progress and would be included in the top growing economies. ICCI president said that improving economic ties between Pakistan and India would help resolve other core issues and bring peace and prosperity in the region. He said that both the countries were endowed with immense human and natural resources and they should establish an atmosphere of mutual trust to harness these resources in order to strengthen their economies and uplift the living standard of their people. aPP cal and petroleum, agriculture, food and home appliances would be meeting Pakistani traders to study the scope of mutual co-operation in their respective sectors.
The visiting Indian delegation would also visit LCCI on December 12 for sector specific meetings with traders, importers and exporters.
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Oil up in Asia on upbeat China manufacturing data SINGAPORE: Oil prices gained in Asia Monday as traders welcomed data indicating a continued economic pick-up in China, the world’s largest energy consumer, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January climbed 29 cents to $86.22 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for January delivery added 39 cents to $107.41.“Oil is up, it’s really reacting to the positive economic news out of China,” said Victor Shum, managing director for downstream energy consulting at IHS Inc. “It looks like China has turned the corner and the economy is recovering with their latest manufacturing data,” he told AFP. The National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday released data showing production at China’s factories, workshops and mines rising 10.1 percent year on year in November. Also on Sunday the statistics bureau said retail sales, China’s main gauge of consumer spending, rose 14.9 percent year-on-year in November. The result, an improvement from October’s gain of 9.6 percent, has led to optimism that the worst of a slowdown in China — the world’s second biggest economy — may be over. agenCIeS
Greek PM eyes debt buy-back success next week MUNICH
G
agenCIeS
REECE’S prime minister said Sunday he was convinced he would soon be able to declare success in his country’s huge debt buy-back plan, as he visited the southern German state of Bavaria. Greek authorities have set a 30-billion-euro ($38.7-billion) target for a complex financial operation to buy back some of the country’s huge debt pile at reduced prices that began on Monday. And speaking after talks with Bavaria’s state premier Horst Seehofer, Antonis Samaras told reporters he was confident of a positive outcome. “I believe or I am firmly convinced that on Monday or Tuesday, we will actually be able to say with certainty that things have gone well,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. The operation aims to cut the national debt by around 20 billion euros and is vital to qualify for more financial aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Samaras also said the debt buy-back scheme would be crucial to get the debt-wracked country back on track and said he wanted to put the past behind him. “The only thing I want to look to is the future. My presence here brings hope to
Antonis Samaras
the Greek people,” he said. Members of Seehofer’s Christian Social Union (CSU), up for re-election in nation-wide polls in September, have been some of the harshest German critics of Greece. At the height of the crisis earlier this year, several CSU members called for Greece to leave the eurozone, often sending markets into a tailspin. The party, a junior coalition partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centreright government, has since toned down its rhetoric as Samaras has pushed through a raft of reforms to unlock vital international aid. And Seehofer stressed that “we now have a situation in which we can work well together”, adding “the future is now set up well”. He said the two leaders had agreed to task their ministers with finding ways to deepen ties between Greece and Bavaria after a traditional regional dinner featuring oxtail soup and apple strudel with Greek yoghurt. The Greek leader had set the tone for the meeting by telling the local Muenchner Merkur on the eve of the talks that he was “coming as a friend”. “We are partners who share the same values and ideals,” he said.
Business 02 Major Gainers OPEn COMPAny Rafhan Maize Prod. 3810.00 Nestle Pakistan Ltd. 4800.00 Colgate Palmolive 1467.09 Millat Tractors Ltd. 541.72 Pak.Int.Cont. SD 218.62
KARACHI: Pir Mazhar ul Haq, Senior Minister, Govt. of Sindh, along with his associates visited the Karachi School for Business & Leadership (KSBL). He was received by Chairman of the Board Mr. Hussain Dawood and Board Members; Mr. Munawar Alam Siddiqui, Mr. Arif Habib, Mr. Sarfaraz Rehman and Mr. Sohail Qureshi, and the Dean KSBL Dr. Shaukat Brah. The Senior Minister was briefed about the Vision and Mission of KSBL, the Board of Directors, the faculty, the student body and the MBA and Executive Educations programmes offered at KSBL. “Our model is very simple; bring in the top faculty, top students will follow and reputation is just a matter of time”, said Dean Shaukat Brah. The Senior Minister inquired about various aspects of the KSBL MBA programme and the instructional facilities available at the KSBL campus.
IBA celebrates legacy of excellence in business education
KARACHI: The convocation, one of the most prestigious and important events on the IBA calendar, recognized the achievements of graduating students. The ceremony took place on Saturday, December 8, 2012, at the IBA Main Campus, University Road, Karachi. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khoro, Speaker of Sindh Assembly, was the chief guest of the ceremony. Mr. Nisar Khoro praised the reliability of the high standard of IBA that had successfully produced exceptional students who are given recognition at home and abroad. He further stated that the new state of the art CED building, other ongoing projects, the illustrious faculty and the recent collaborations with foreign institutions are all physical manifestations of the progress made at IBA which deserves the highest accolades.
KARACHI: Etihad Airways today launched its new “Etihad Wi-Fly” inflight Internet and mobile connectivity service, powered by the Panasonic Avionics Global Communications Suite. The airline’s first aircraft equipped with Panasonic’s communications technology, an Airbus A330-200, took flight today for Brussels, offering high-speed broadband Internet connectivity as well as data and mobile phone services. The A330-200 will be used for long-haul destinations across Etihad Airways’ network, such as Brussels, Dublin, Manchester, Munich, Frankfurt and Milan. James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “’Etihad Wi-Fly’ is a result of the 10-year, US$1 billion agreement we signed with Panasonic Avionics in November 2011. We continue to invest in our product and consider ways to offer our guests the most engaging and dynamic inflight entertainment options. The broadband Internet is high-speed, in line with what our guests would experience at home or at work, so we believe this will be hugely popular.
PSO Restores Khuzdar Depot in Balochistan KARACHI: PSO the nation’s largest oil company has announced today the restoration of the Khuzdar depot in Balochistan. This has been done to provide uninterrupted fuel supplies to Quetta and its surrounding areas and avoid any product dry-out situations at PSO retail outlets in the region. Dedicated to serving all segments of the country in a fair and equitable manner, PSO has reaffirmed its commitment to the development and progress of the Balochistan province. Towards this end, the Company has initiated multiple projects including the upcoming establishment of a new deep sea mooring point and storage facility at Hub. This new facility would provide employment opportunities for the local people and serve to enhance the national oil storage capacity by 10-14 days while reducing congestion at the Fotco
PeSHaWaR: Thai Food promotion at Tai-Pan, inaugurated by Dr. Fawad Khan, Director general Health Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with general Manager Pearl Continental Hotel.
LOW 3850.00 4840.00 1500.00 540.00 213.25
CLOSE CHAngE 3850.00 40.00 4840.00 40.00 1500.00 32.91 561.98 20.26 228.46 9.84
TURnOvER 20 20 150 107,900 37,500
1610.00 169.00 171.75 39.01 115.50
1610.00 168.50 168.00 39.01 112.50
1610.00 168.54 168.00 39.01 113.00
-4.99 -4.56 -2.00 -1.99 -1.91
500 1,000 400 500 9,000
14.26 8.37 6.80 26.30 6.99
12.60 7.90 6.55 24.25 6.69
13.91 7.94 6.58 24.25 6.77
0.48 -0.25 -0.15 -1.27 0.16
28,407,000 16,892,000 12,592,500 11,801,000 11,218,500
Major Losers Bata (Pak) Pak Gum & Chemical Service Industries AKD Capital Limited IGI Insurance
1614.99 173.10 170.00 41.00 114.91
Volume Leaders Maple Leaf Cement Lotte PakPTA Fauji Cement Sui North Gas K.E.S.C.
13.43 8.19 6.73 25.52 6.61
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
96.9301 155.4080 1.1788 125.0301
Dollar East US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
CORPORATE CORNER Mazhar ul Haq visits KSBL campus Etihad Airways launches ‘Etihad Wi-Fly’ connectivity
HIgH 3850.00 4840.00 1500.10 566.00 229.55
and Keamari jetties. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has also been signed with the provincial government for establishment of a 5,000 acre biodiesel plantation located at Uthal, Balochistan.
PTCL holds annual sales conference
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) held its day long Annual Sales Conference 2012 today at a local hotel here in Islamabad. Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) Commercial PTCL, Naveed Saeed and Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP )Human Resources PTCL, Syed Mazhar Hussain led the conference by sharing valuable insights and holding brainstorming sessions, focusing on improving the processes and methodologies determining the customer experience. “Our people empower our business by conceiving ideas, sharing insights, and working together to create solutions with a single minded focus i.e. boosting our customers confidence for the offered products and services”, said Senior Executive Vice President Commercial PTCL, Naveed Saeed, while chairing the conference. “Innovative thinking and out of the box business ideas are vital to remain competitive in the ever changing telecom industry”, he added further.
Ufone: the first to reach one million Facebook fans ISLAMABAD: Social media has become the need for every individual, Facebook started a new revolution in cyber space which has giving new meaning to social media and has ensured that one can remain in touch with any and every one we know no matter where they are. Ufone created its Facebook fan page in July 2009 in order to interact and remain in constant touch with its valued customers. This gave yet another medium to keep all informed about product development and the latest in innovation. Ufone’s popularity on Facebook in the recent past has been overwhelming, in just over three years on the social networking site. Ufone recently accomplished a benchmark of 1 million—the highest among all cellular operators existing in Pakistan. The Ufone Facebook page does not only provide details of new service packages but it also shares valuable content with its fans on different occasions particularly on national days, international days, public awareness messages and customers education on technology and useful utility of cellular phone in their lives.
BUy
SELL
97.10 124.51 154.85 1.1653 97.26 12.31 26.28 25.77 100.73
97.60 125.99 156.65 1.1789 98.89 12.52 26.56 26.01 103.36
Dollar firm in Asia after US jobs data TOKYO agenCIeS
The dollar firmed in Asian trade Monday on the back of better-than-expected US jobs data, while the yen was mixed following poor economic data that has re-ignited central bank easing speculation. The greenback bought 82.56 yen in Tokyo, against 82.46 yen in New York late Friday. The euro slipped to $1.2910 and to 106.59 yen from $1.2928 and 106.64 yen. On Friday, the US Labor Department reported the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent in November from 7.9 percent in October, beating forecasts of a rise to 8.0 percent. The economy spun out a net 146,000 new jobs. However, job creation numbers for the previous two months were revised downward, while the data also showed more people dropped out of the jobs market altogether than got new jobs. The figures came ahead of official data in Japan Monday that confirmed the world’s third-largest economy contracted in the three months to September, stoking recession fears and speculation the Bank of Japan will launch further easing measures to boost growth. The bank issues its key Tankan corporate sentiment survey later this week. “If the Tankan survey shows the economy is worsening, that will add pressure for the BoJ to act,” Yasuo Yamamoto, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute, told Dow Jones Newswires. Japan’s October current account surplus came in better-than-expected on Monday, but the broad measure of its trade with the rest of the world was still down about 30 percent year on year, according to official data. The euro has been weighed by news Germany’s central bank slashed its growth forecast for next year to 0.4 percent from an earlier 1.6 percent estimate, said Masafumi Yamamoto, senior currency analyst at Barclays Capital. The European Central Bank’s downbeat eurozone economic forecast, which cut growth expectations with a prediction of more contraction in 2013, also dragged the euro lower, dealers said.
KaRaCHI: Masood Hashmi, CeO— Orientm McCann, presenting S.H. Hashmi Memorial gold Medal to Javeria Rab Siddiqui. Sabina Mohsin and Mr Talib Karim are also seen in picture at the convocation or IoBM.
Tuesday, 11 December, 2012