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Friday, 14 December, 2012
US satisfied with Pakistan’s economic reforms
Trade euphoria with India snubbed by Indian subsidies
Officials tell Dr Hafeez Shaikh CSF would be released soon ISLAMABAD
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S Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Oslan and Senior Adviser to US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Robin Raphel called on Federal Minister for Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Thursday. Oslon and Raphel congratulated the finance minister over his successful visit to United States and expressed satisfaction over the pace of institutionalising economic reforms in Pakistan. Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh informed the US delegation that the economic indicators of the country were on a positive course despite energy scarcity and a deteriorating se-
curity situation. Dr Hafeez informed the US delegation that Pakistan boasts the lowest inflation rate in the region and told that the trade balance deficit of Pakistan was declining. The US assured the finance minis-
ter that Coalition Support Fund amounting to $ 600 million would be released soon. The delegation added that the US would sanction an 80 million dollar Pakistan Investment Fund for SMEs in January 2013.
The US delegation assured the finance minister that active participation of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in development of Pakistan would be ensured. The active participation of OPIC has a potential to increase the monetary support for projects in Pakistan from $ 100 million to $ 1 billion. The visiting US delegation also reaffirmed US commitment for provision of $ 200 million for Diamer Bhasha Dam. Bilateral PAk-US trade was also on the agenda of the meeting and Olson assured Dr Hafeez of facilitating trade between the two allies. Richard Olson said that US would extend optimum cooperation towards development projects in Pakistan apart from the grants already pledged for overcoming the energy crisis and for development of social sector and infrastructure.
ISLAMABAD Online
Dada at helm of commodity exchange KARACHI
SECP takes punitive action against companies’ directors, auditors ISLAMABAD
STAFF RePORT
STAFF RePORT
Shazad G Dada took charge as the chairman of the board of Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX )on Thursday. The board unanimously elected Dada as its new chairman during PMEX’s session of December 5. The SECP appointed Dada, Muhammad Hanif Jakhura and Syed Ali Sultan as independent directors to the PMEX Board. Dada is serving as the chief executive officer of the Barclays Bank PLC, Pakistan since 2010. Dada graduated from University of Pennsylvania and holds Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees. He did his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His prior work assignments include various senior positions in the Deutsche Bank AG, both in Pakistan and the US. Dada has a 23 years experience of financial markets. Dada is also serving as Chairman of the Pakistan Banks Association, Board Member of the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Vice President of The Institute of Bankers Pakistan (IBP) and Chairperson - Finance Committee of IBP. In addition, Dada is associated with various charitable and educational organizations. Meanwhile Muhammad Hanif Jakhura boasts a vast capital market experience of over ten years during which he was enrolled with important capital market institutions. He has been serving as the CEO of the Central Depository Company since 2002 and has also served as the CEO of the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited from 2002 till 2005. Similarly Syed Ali Sultan is a senior professional in the banking arena and has a financial market experience of twenty years. He is currently the Group Head- Treasury, Investments and Financial Institutions - Bank Alfalah Limited. His prior work experience includes senior management and board positions on the State Bank of Pakistan, BNP Paribas Bank, Bahrain and the Standard Chartered Bank.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) drafted regulatory and punitive actions against companies, directors and auditors to safeguard the interests of investors. Addressing the abuse of powers by directors of listed and un-listed companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) issued show-cause notices to 23 companies in the month of November. It was found during the inspection of annual reports and financial statements, that the companies were involved in un-author i z e d inter-corporate financing, irregularities in provident funds, fudged financial statements, improper circulation of financial statements and un-authorized utilization of security deposits. In November, the enforcement department allowed a listed com-
pany to issue of preference shares. The issuance of preferred shares resulted into injunction of capital of Rs2.4 billion in the corporate entity. Relaxation was also allowed to another listed company from the requirements of Companies (Issue of Capital) Rules, 1996. There were four companies that were found unable to organize their
mandatory Annual General Meetings (AGMs) in the given schedule. These companies were directed to conduct their annual general meetings, while two companies were directed to issue addendum to the notice of annual general meeting/extra-ordinary general meeting. Meanwhile, a listed company was also allowed to change the place of its annual general meeting. During the month, the enforcement wing also received 12 complaints from investors mainly related to non-declaration of dividends, non-receipt of annual accounts, non-receipt of dividend warrant and issuance of duplicate shares. The complaints were resolved after initiating necessary actions. The enforcement department also directed four listed companies to place their quarterly accounts on their website for dissemination of information to their shareholders. Furthermore, exemption was granted to two companies from preparation of their consolidated financial statements.
Pakistani farmers are not averse to trade with India but expect to be protected against the highly subsidised mammoth agricultural base of India. Harvest Trading CEO Member Export ICCI Ahmad Jawad on Thursday said that “we believe in trade diplomacy and peace is vital for a long term relationship. It is a matter of satisfaction that both India and Pakistan are moving forward in the right direction through the composite dialogue framework. However Agriculture is the back bone of our economy and Pakistani Farmers are not against trade with India but they expect to be protected against the highly subsidised agriculture products of India”. On average, one agricultural hectare is granted an annual subsidy of $300 in India. This works out to be around Rs 11,900 per acre of subsidy. Indian farmers have a comparative advantage of Rs 400 per 40kg on average. Jawad feared that the balance of trade was tilting towards India and greater people-to-people contacts were essential to channelize bilateral trade in an efficient manner. He hoped that Pakistan would secure GSP Plus in EU by 2014. Currently, the non tariff barriers being faced by Pakistani exporters are creating enormous hurdles in bridging the trust deficit. However, recent measures adopted by the Indian government are encouraging and being lauded in Pakistan. Jawad urged the governments of both countries to provide adequate infrastructure and modern integrated check-posts at the Khokrapar-Monabao border at the earliest to further increase bilateral trade on the pattern of Wagah-Attari border.
PIA no where neAr A fIscAl clIff ISLAMABAD APP
PIA has maintained a healthy financial profile denominated in both Pak rupees and foreign currencies. A PIA spokesman on condition of anonymity told that the airline was managing accounts in Pakistan and abroad and said that “just a single local bank account has enough funds to meet daily operating expenses.” It was also learnt that PIA had significant deposits to its name in a Middle Eastern and a North American Banks. The airline maintains more than two dozen ac-
counts across the globe and the PIA spokesperson told that “no PIA cheque relating to Provident Fund had ever bounced and the Provident fund account has a balance of more than Rs. 26 billion invested for profits. The Salaries of the employees’ are paid at the end of each month directly into the bank accounts of the employees’. The outsourced employees are paid by the Service provider and not by PIA”. The recent spade of ill informed media mongering regarding bankruptcy of PIA damaged the goodwill the National Flag Carrier enjoyed the world over.
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Business 02 Belgians exhibit trade catalogues for ICCI’s consumption
Major Gainers COMPANY Pak.INT.CONT.SD AL-Ghazi Tractors National Fodds UniLever Pak Attock Refinery
OPEN 251.72 236.97 272.72 9900.31 167.94
HIGH 264.30 248.81 283.75 10010.00 172.40
LOW 255.00 238.00 273.00 9900.00 168.26
CLOSE 264.20 248.07 280.83 10000.48 170.79
CHANGE 12.48 11.10 8.11 100.17 2.85
TURNOVER 92,300 93,900 11,000 3,220 1,629,300
1549.00 265.25 360.00 168.77 84.00
1453.50 264.84 355.00 168.77 83.79
1470.00 265.25 355.00 168.77 83.79
-60.00 -13.52 -12.50 -8.88 -4.41
400 200 2,200 200 2,000
11.68 8.00 14.18 54.35 35.99 94.00
10.99 7.67 13.85 53.50 34.26 91.59
11.42 7.83 14.12 54.24 35.99 93.49
0.50 -0.02 0.28 0.83 1.71 1.61
8,792,500 5,637,500 7,721,000 4,155,000 4,063,000 1,777,000
Major Losers ISLAMABAD
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APP
SLAMABAD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in collaboration with the Economic & Commercial Representation Embassy of Belgium organized a Belgian Companies’ Catalogues Exhibition to promote bilateral trade between Pakistan and Belgium on Thursday. The Belgian Business Contact Day consisted of a presentation of the existing trade and the future commercial opportunities between the two countries. Catalogues and trade directories of more than a 100 Belgian companies were exhibited for consultation by the ICCI members. During the inaugural session of the Expo, Ambassador of Belgium in Islamabad, Peter Claes said that Pakistan was the most hospitable nation in the world as well as being a business freindly country as a number of Belgian companies were operating in Pakistan and contributing positively towards the development of Pak-
istan’s economy. He said that there were viable prospects for undertaking joint ventures in Pakistan with the help of Belgian technical experience in a number of fields. He said that the growing importance of Belgium in the wake of its central position and location in the European Union calls for more integrated efforts focus-
ing on exchange of trade delegations, institutional contacts between the Chambers of Commerce and participation in international trade fair. The Ambassdor said that that bilateral trade, between Pakistan and Belgium stood around $800 million. He added that he aimed to break the one billion dollar mark soon.
Speaking on the occasion ICCI President Zafar Bakhtawari lauded the efforts of Belgium in securing a GSP plus status for Pakistan and said that that ICCI was an avid advocate for strengthening economic relations with EU, especially Belgium. He said that Belgian expertise in engineering, automobile sector, chemicals industry, electrical and electronic sector was respected around the globe. Pakistan exports value added textiles, cotton, articles of leather and sport goods to Belgium. Zafar Bakhtawari emphasized on changing the negative perception regarding Pakistan in international community and urged the Ambassador to invite more Belgian Companies to invest in Pakistan, especially in the energy and textiles sectors. Zafar cited the example of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce & Industry which had miraculously turned around the Turkish economy for good. Zafar said that ICCI was well aware of its responsibility to boost the economy of Pakistan and bring political stability in the country.
PPl philanthropy on dice for the 8th consecutive year KARACHI nni
Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) was adjudged as the biggest corporate donor of 2011 at the Corporate Philanthropy Awards hosted by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy in Karachi. The company bagged the award for the eighth consecutive year in the same category., Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro presented the award to PPL’s Deputy Managing Director Moin Raza Khan. The event was attended by leading businessmen, representatives of multinational companies, government officials, civil society represen-
tatives, donor bodies and media entities. Khuhro highlighted the government’s inability and failures in reaching out to disadvantaged segments of the society and commended the corporate sector for
bridging the gap. PPL’s CSR programme is focused on ensuring sustainable social asset creation and maximizing longterm impact of development initiatives through a participatory process
of needs identification, consultation involving all stakeholders, including communities, followed by close monitoring and inspection to extract lessons learned to further improve implementation and delivery.
Bata (Pak) Bhanero Tex. Mithchells Fruit Pak Services Shahtaj Sugar Mills
1530.00 278.77 367.50 177.65 88.20
Volume Leaders Petroleum Lotte PakPTA Maple Leaf Cement D.G.K.Cement Nishat (Chunian) Engro Foods Ltd.
10.92 7.85 13.84 53.41 34.28 91.88
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
97.1912 156.8957 1.1732 126.5429
Dollar East BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
SELL
97.40 126.03 155.83 1.1621 97.81 12.36 26.38 25.87 101.56
97.90 127.47 157.58 1.1751 99.41 12.56 26.65 26.10 104.15
18th amendment influenced economic regimes: NA ISLAMABAD APP
Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Technology Lal Hussain informed the National Assembly on Thursday that 78 items were covered under Compulsory Certification Marks Schemes of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA). Lal Hussain said that out of total 78 items, 37 were edible items including edible oil. To another question, he said that the Ministry had taken various steps for promoting of science and technology in the country during the last four years. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary Farhat Khan told the House that 14 organizations had been transferred to Ministry of National Heritage and Integration after the passage the 18th Amendment. She said that the Ministry was tailoring cultural and heritage issues as per the needs and aspirations of the federation, post 18th Amendment. State Minister for Human Resources Development Chaudhary Ghayas Ahmad informed the House that Employees Old Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) was providing monetary benefits to insured personnel and their spouses.
CORPORATE CORNER
ISLAMABAD: Salman Saeed, Executive Assistant Manager of Islamabad Marriott, receives a souvenir from Dr Muhammad Asif Khan, Program Manager BBA and MBA, at the start of SZABIST University’s Job Fair 2012.
MAGNUS publishes first comprehensive study on Pakistani stocks and bonds KARACHI: The first comprehensive study about returns of stocks and bonds in Pakistan has been recently published by Magnus Investment Advisors Limited (Magnus). The research provides data for equities starting July 1965 and for bonds starting January 2001. The study shows that long term real PKR return (after inflation adjustment) on local equities ranges between 4.82 % to 5.69 %. The treasury bills have provided negative returns. The real return on 5 year and 10 year PIBs is 2.19 % and 3.43 % respectively. The study also provides nominal and USD re-
turns. Issues such as ‘Equity Risk Premium’ and relevance of ‘Purchasing Power Parity’ in the context of local securities market are also dealt with. The study also provides an asset allocation frame-work for local trustees. The most interesting part is the analysis of equity returns in Pakistan with other emerging markets and investment in Pakistani equities from the perspective of foreign investors. The study conclusively demonstrates that Pakistan stocks do not represent any unusual risk in the universe of emerging markets. Pakistani stocks should get one of the highest allocations among emerging markets from the perspective of US investors. The study is not only useful for local trustees of retirement funds and charitable institutions but it also fills a major gap for local business schools where so far graduates had little knowledge and understanding about risks and returns of local capital markets. The study is also a useful read for the Ministry of Finance, SECP and BOI officials who are called upon to promote investment in Pakistan from time to time.
LAHORE: Mr Hai of Samsung Pakistan (standing 1st from left) trains TEVTA mobile phone lab staff.
Summit Bank inaugurates flagship branch at Dolmen Mall
holidays. With the launch of the new bank branch, Summit Bank now boasts of a network of 182 real-time online branches across Pakistan. In a very short span of time, Summit Bank has expanded its network across the country and built a state of the art infrastructure. “Our presence at Dolmen Mall is a step towards strategic expansion whereby we want our financial services available within their business premises and during their hours of operation. Being Karachi’s largest shopping mall, Dolmen Mall attracts a large crowd that needs trusted financial services. It was important for us to be present here and extend our financial services to our valued customers when they need us the most – because we are committed to you,” said Husain Lawai.
KARACHI: Husain Lawai, CEO Summit Bank, and Dolmen Mall CEO Nadeem Riaz inaugurate Summit Bank branch at Dolmen Mall on Thursday. KARACHI: With the inauguration of its flagship branch, Summit Bank continues to increase its footprint in Pakistan. The ribbon cutting ceremony at the new branch was performed by the CEO and Managing Director of Dolmen Group, Nadeem Riaz along with President & CEO of the bank, Husain Lawai in the presence of other senior members of the bank at Dolmen Mall, Clifton. Summit Bank is one of the fastest growing commercial banks of the country. Taking its service quality to the next level, Summit Bank also announced extended hours of operations whereby the branch located at the mall will remain open from 9AM to 11PM, 7 days a week even on public
Marketing Association of Pakistan President Masood Hashmi presents a momento to Arif Habib Corporation Ltd Chairman Arif Habib at MAP meeting on the topic of ‘Investment Opportunities in Pakistan’.
Friday, 14 December, 2012