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Index ends flat after topsy-turvy day Page 3
profit.com.pk
Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
CCP moves against banks for charging uncompetitive ATM charges g
CCP conducts search and inspection of Pakistan Banks’ Association g PBA found guilty of enabling members to collusively determine uniform ATM charges KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
HE Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), moving under section 34 of the Competition act 2010, on tuesday conducted search and inspection of Pakistan Banks’ association (PBa) in this metropolis to impound proofs of the association’s suspected role in providing a platform to its member banks for collusively determining uniform atM charges. the collusive activities are prohibited under section 4 of the Competition act, said the CCP tuesday.
the Commission had earlier conducted search and inspection of 1-link, as the banks charging uniform atM charges are members of and 11 major banks constitute the board of directors of 1-link, and it was possibly playing role in this collusive activity of fixing atM charges. the CCP took notice of atM cash withdrawal charges implemented by banks in Pakistan as majority of banks, i.e. 26 banks, were charging uniform amount of rs15 for atM cash withdrawal transactions. In the absence of any guideline from the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP), chargeability of atM cash withdrawal services in
a similar manner raised a suspicion of collusion among banks. It has come to the Commission’s notice that atM cash withdrawal service is provided by two atM networks/switch namely, 1-link and Mnet. the state Bank has mandated that all foreign and domestic commercial banks have to become members of one or the other switch to provide atM services to their own customers as well as customers of other banks. the 1-link is a consortium of major banks, totalling 31, and owned by the consortium of 11 major banks that own and operate the largest representative
shared financial services network of country, while Mnet switch has approximately 15 members. during the enquiry in progress, sBP informed CCP that the state Bank does not monitor and regulate banks at such micro level, but it is discretion of banks to charge customers on atM cash withdrawal services. suspicion of collusion was strengthened by the fact that 31 banks are member of 1-link which may provide them a forum to discuss and agree on atM charges. since the banks can be differentiated in terms of atMs installed and transactions carried out on their atMs, therefore,
Industrialists grill Indian commerce minister KARACHI
I
WAQAR HAMZA
ndustrIal tycoons of Pakistan have grilled the Indian Commerce Minister anand sharma in a meeting on Monday in lahore over the cautious stance of India related to the non tariff barriers under Most Favoured nation (MFn) status. sources informed Profit, Bashir ali Mohammad of Gul ahmed Group voiced his concerns that despite their group’s importing cotton of $16m from India they still don’t get visa from India, which shows that India is not to make the Pakistani trader feel the benefits of liberalisation of bilateral trade under MFn cover. similarly, Muhammad ali tabba, Chief Executive Officer of lucky Cement, told the Indian minister that India quite happily imports clinker from them but doesn’t give relax to the restrictions on cement imports from Pakistan, sources added. syed Babar ali of nestle Pakistan said that ntBs are the major hindrance in the growth of trade between both the countries, sources said; adding that this grilling of Indian minister makes it clear that the Pakistani business community is not happy with the way Ministry of Commerce is handling MFn business. In addition to this, secretary Ministry of Commerce Zafar Mahmood in a secret summary sent to the cabinet on MFn issue on February 10 proposed that the Ministry be allowed to progressively phase out the negative list in three installments on quarterly basis after approval of the cabinet with quarters ending on June 30, september 30, and december 31 of the year 2012. the summary says that for the normalisation of trade the proposed negative list must be ultimately phased out, and the justification of it is that India specific negative list would be violation of article 17 of the saFta agreement which clearly restricts countries from adopting any measures that diminishes or nullifies any concessions already agreed. ‘there was no need of any negative
list. and if this is to be made a reality, why the Ministry of Commerce phasing it out by the end of this year is beyond understanding,’ sources questioned. they added that it is not clear that what would make the local industry to become so competitive to the Indian market in such a short span of time, which has never been able to compete the Indian market and the balance of trade is still in the favor of India. the industry is deeply perturbed, and had already lodged their protest against earlier decision to eliminate negative list in 10 months (by dec 2012), as it did not allow the government to establish trade defence measures against flooding of India’s goods in the Pakistan market. this new approach is not understandable as this leaves no time at all for establishing infrastructures for a level playing field for trade with India, sources added. regrettably, none of the key industries were taken into confidence, neither in the initial decision of eliminating negative list in december 2012 nor in the current proposal for quarterly phasing out of the negative list. In this regard, the spokesman of Pakistan automotive Manufacturers association (PaMa) said: “the industry fails to understand how the rationale for protecting local industry would change from one quarter to the next quarter.” Instead of negotiating a long term phase out plan in the interest of the local industry, the government has tried to take short cuts and have practically sold out the national interests, he added. He further said that all the actions and measures have been taken by the government without consultation with the stakeholders, who hold the government fully responsible for the consequences of their decisions; therefore, this latest of the developments will have severe adverse long term impacts for the country’s industry as well as the long term economic growth of our nation. It is to be noted that the sectors and respective number of 636 items included in the proposed negative
list are: food and agriculture 16; minerals 3; chemical 4; pharmaceutical 32; plastics 74; rubber 24; paper and wood 55; textile and clothing 77; iron and steel 25; and auto sectors 311. Moreover, according to the statistics of Federal Board of revenue Pakistan and the annual report of state Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan’s exports to India in the year 2010-11 stood at $193m while the imports from India stood at $860m. the value of total trade between both the countries in the said period was $1053m. Pakistan witnessed the highest trade value with India in the year 2006-07 when it had total trade of $3098m with 22 per cent exports.
their atM charges should also vary from each other under competitive conditions. the Enquiry Committee of the Commission while examining the impounded documents from 1-link has found evidence suggesting that PBa, prima facie, has role in terms of discussion on pricing policy of banks in respect of atM cash withdrawal charges. Important data has been confiscated by the authorised officials of CCP, which will be scrutinised by the Commission. as reported by the authorised officers of the Commission, the officials of PBa provided full access to all the documents and records available in PBa’s office.
Pak-Iran agree to expedite power import projects ISLAMABD STAFF REPORT
P
akIstan and Iran have agreed to expedite finalisation of the power tariff to speed up import of three power projects to enhance bilateral trade in the energy sector. ambassador of Iran ali reza Highighlian called on the Minister for Water and Power syed naveed Qamar and discussed various matters of bilateral cooperation. at present three projects of importing electricity from Iran for Balochistan province are under negotiation between the two countries. Both sides have agreed to enhance the current import of 35 MW to 70 MW, which is likely to be commissioned during the current month. the two countries have also signed agreement to import 100 MW. the project is ready for ground breaking but the delay in the finalization of performance guarantee was delaying the project. Both the countries are also discussing import of 1000 MW power project, which would be used in the Balochistan province. all issues have been finalized except tariff which is under advance negotiation stage. the minister said that all the three projects will help resolving electricity crises. He said Pakistan is also encouraging Iranian investors to invest in infrastructure projects. He said cooperation in various fields of economy will further enhance bilateral relations. Iranian envoy said Iran gives importance to its relations with Pakistan and was keen to invest in various projects. He stressed early completion of the power import projects. He said that various new projects will be finalized during the visit of Iranian President to Pakistan which will enhance the economic ties between the two countries. ambassador of tajikistan Zubaidullu Zabaidov also called on the Minister for Water and Power. the minister said Pakistan is moving forward on import of 1000 MW from Central asia and soon a video conference of power ministers of Pakistan, tajikistan and afghanistan will be held to expedite the project. tajik ambassador stressed the need for direct flights from Pakistan to tajikistan to boost bilateral trade and tourism between the two countries. He also invited the Minister to participate in the regional Economic Conference for afghanistan to be held next month.
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Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
news
Traders, industrialists doubt India still following protectionist policies towards Pakistan KARACHI
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ISMAIL DILAWAR
akIstan is all set to confer the Most Favoured nation (MFn) status to the traditional arch rival India in line with World trade Organisation’s (WtO) principles that call for nondiscriminatory trade relations between the member countries. acting in accordance with a bilateral agreement with new delhi in 6th round of november 14-16 commerce secretary-level talks, Islamabad has completed the required home work to phase out its negative list, containing 636 tradable items, to make its trade arrangements with the Eastern neighbor non-discriminatory. Having got the federal cabinet’s approval to complete the process of
granting the long-denied MFn status to India, the Ministry of Commerce is now awaiting the nod of the former to proceed with the phasing out, envisaged by the two countries by this month (February 2012), of the negative list. the local industrialists, however, are concerned and don’t see reciprocity on the part of new delhi in this bilateral trade normalisation process which, they fear is one-sided. “We are granting the MFn status to India which continues to observe protectionism when it comes to the opening of Indian markets for Pakistani goods,” noted local traders and industrialists with concern. declaring the current trade normalisation process as a positive move, the traders recalled that India, despite granting the MFn status to Pakistan 16 years ago, was yet to remove innu-
Indian commerce minister visits Karachi KARACHI
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GHULAM ABBAS
ndIa seeks opening up of Monabao-khokhara Par land route on the sindh border to enhance trade with Pakistan. the issue is included in the current talks with Islamabad. this was said by the Indian Commerce Minister anand sharma during his first visit to karachi at the city’s airport while addressing a press conference. the land route issue at Mona Bao has already been taken up with the concerned authorities of Pakistan, he added. It is worth mentioning here that the two countries have already agreed to open a second gate at the attari-Wagah border, which was expected to increase the number of trucks crossing the border to 500600 daily from 150-200 at present. Pakistan has agreed to remove restrictions on the number of commodities traded by the land
route once the infrastructure in Wagah is ready, while both countries have agreed to avoid arbitrary stoppage of goods at ports. according to the Indian minister the tow countries needed to step forward for strengthening economic relationship which is vital to improve the life of citizens on both sides. “the challenges you faced here are the same in our country and to minimise the sufferings of people joint efforts are needed,” he said. there was no way for the two south asian neighbours, but to come to closure on economic front. “We had also unresolved issues with China, but the two neighbors have now focused on trade,” he said adding that resource mobility and economic engagement should be the primary objectives. to a question, he said, the work on opening of banking channels on both sides of border were on final stages. He said the state Bank of Pakistan and reserve Bank of India were in touch in this regard.
merable tariff and other trade related barriers in its trade arrangement with Pakistan. “India, despite being one of the world’s largest economies, is a protectionist country unlike Pakistan which is opening up its markets for Indian products without protecting its already-troubled trade and industry,” the traders said. the stakeholders, traders and industrialists, smell a rate in the intentions of concerned authorities in Islamabad which, they believe, were showing an unprecedented quickness in this particular matter. “the government officials even tend to bypass the industrialists and other stakeholders in their haste to proceed with the MFn issue,” said an industrialist adding, “and to be honest, we feel being bypassed in some matters.” there are some quarters
who believe that Islamabad was following the policy of conciliation towards India which in contrast had always been containing Pakistan on each and every front. “WtO principles equally apply on India which is unwary of the same. the point is whether or not new delhi has the political will to behave in line with the WtO rules,” said a critique. In addition to it, he said, Pakistan must keep in mind a very fragile state of its trade and industry which were plagued by longstanding problems like that of energy crises. “Besides crippling our ailing economy, these problems are playing havoc with the competitiveness of our trade and industry that would find it hard to compete with Indian goods in the post-MFn status regime,” the critique expressed the concern.
LPG sales drop by 30pc LAHORE
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STAFF REPORT
PG marketing companies have reported a sharp reduction in their sales for the month of February. sales have slowed down by as much as 30 per cent due to the imposition of the petroleum levy, with has reduced off take. Earlier in the month, state owned lPG producers that account for 70 per cent of the country’s production had increased their ex plant price by rs20,000 per tonne after including the petroleum levy. the levy has been imposed on local production in order to equate its price with imports. “the impact of the petroleum levy has lead to a sharp reduction in sales as lPG has lost its competitiveness to other fuels,” said Belal Jabbar, the spokesman for lPG association of Pakistan. lPG companies and consumers had challenged the notification of the petroleum levy imposed on local lPG production in the lahore High Court on the grounds that ‘it is based on malafide, inasmuch as,
in the garb of the said notification, protection is being extended to the importers of lPG by enhancing price of the locally manufactured lPG’. they had further contended that the impugned petroleum levy is being imposed discriminately as the imported lPG is not being taxed. the court admitted the petition and issued notices to the secretary petroleum and deputy attorney general to file their comments before the next date of hearing which has been fixed for 27th February, 2012. the court further stated “secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural resources shall depute a senior officer to attend to this court on the next date of hearing along with a summary prepared by the ministry which forms the basis of the impugned notification dated 16.1.2012 in order to establish the reasons behind the imposition of the petroleum levy.” Pressure is mounting on local lPG producers to reduce prices as companies are unable to lift their allotted quantity. at least one lPG producer has begun selling lPG to companies that are not its allottees in an effort to clear its stock.
Foreign investors concerned over ban on CNG kits import
‘Farmers getting fertilisers at high prices despite subsidies’
FBR reviews NCCPL’s system to collect CGT
ISLAMABAD: Foreign investors have expressed serious concerns over the government’s outright ban on the import of CnG kits and cylinders which they term could jeopardise any future investment in the entire gas sector. after holding a meeting with CEOs of foreign companies of Italy, argentina, Japan and China, which have made investment in the sector, Chairman all Pakistan CnG association (aPCnGa) Ghias abdullah Paracha demanded immediate lifting of the ban as otherwise it could derail the entire plan of the government to restructure the gas sector. talking to reporters after the meeting, Paracha said that the foreign investors have serious concerns over the import ban, as it was affecting their whole investment. He said due to the ban not only the CnG equipment manufacturers but even the motor companies were facing pressures. He said the ban would ward off any future investment in the entire gas sector including CnG, lnG and lPG in the country. Pakistan has emerged as the leading CnG user after the government introduced the natural gas as an alternate vehicle fuel. More than 3.5 million ply on the fuel. due to the electricity shortages of 5,000 MW in the country, most of the industrial sector has shifted their power generation to natural gas. this has created a deficiency of 1 bcfd gas even during the hot summer, in which domestic consumers don’t require gas for their heating requirements. the government estimates that the use of CnG has increased 35 percent during the last ten years. the CnG sector uses 310 mmcfd. the government plans to replace CnG with lPG as auto fuel and is gradually increasing the price of CnG to bring it closer to petrol and diesel prices. STAFF REPORT
LAHORE: Farmers associates Pakistan (FaP) Chairman shah Mahmood Qureshi has said billions of rupees are being spent on subsidy and fertiliser import, but farmers are still getting fertilisers at an exorbitantly high price. Middlemen are making millions of rupees through profiteering, but rulers are determinedly trying to save their chairs. He was speaking to the media after chairing FaP’s 119th Extra Ordinary General Body meeting held here on tuesday. Qureshi underscored that middlemen, in connivance with the state machinery were involved in huge profiteering, whereas, the government was busy in contempt case and memo scandal. nobody was paying heed to the problems of the farming community that constituted around 70 per cent of the total population. He underscored that the farmers and farming sector of the country were in real crises. sugarcane growers were being exploited by sugar millers and cotton or rice farmers were worried owing to low prices. He pointed out that farmers got some rs5,000 per maund for cotton crop last year, while they had to sell their produce at rs2,000 to rs2,500 per maund, this year. similarly, he indicated, rice prices also dropped in comparison to the previous year, while the cost of farming was multiplied. the government had announced diesel price of rs105 per litre that was beyond the reach of a common farmer. He underscored that farming had become unviable in the present circumstance. Qureshi further stated fertiliser off take had been dropping continuously, because fertiliser prices had gone beyond farmers’ reach, which was against the national interest. STAFF REPORT
KARACHI: a senior official of Federal Board of revenue (FBr) visited national Clearing Company of Pakistan limited (nCCPl) to study the company’s system and mechanism being deployed for the computation and deduction of Capital Gains tax (CGt). the visit has been a consequent step to the finance minister’s approval to the sECP proposal on revamping CGt that was submitted to FBr last month. In terms of the proposal to provide ease of calculation and documentation to individual investors, nCCPl will act as a withholding agent to deduct and deposit CGt from investors’ transactions. nCCPl, sECP, FBr and other relevant capital market service providers are working out the exact details so that necessary legal and operational changes are made by the target date of april 1, 2012. nCCPl during its presentation, briefed FBr on its operational and legal infrastructure and capabilities to undertake the envisaged role. nCCPl’s It-intensive set-up will allow system based computation of CGt without human involvement. under the proposed mechanism, nCCPl will compute and deduct CGt for every investor by constructing an inventory portfolio based on its unique identification number. Both market-based transactions executed through stock exchanges and in the Central depository system will be used for computation of CGt liability in accordance with the Income tax Ordinance and rules. It is expected that during the coming week, nCCPl will forward its proposal to FBr in relation to the required regulatory amendments to give effect to the overall CGt scheme. STAFF REPORT
Bank Alfalah replaces Nishat Chunian as KSE-30 benchmark recomposes KARACHI: karachi stock Exchange Monday recomposed the ksE-30 index that marked the only change and that is the replacement of nishat (Chunian) limited with the Bank alfalah limited. according to ksE management, the re-composition for the review period, ranging form July 1 to december 31, 2011, has been carried out in view of the pre-requisite/criteria of selection of the benchmark companies. “Only one company would be affected i.e. Bank alfalah limited and it will be included in the index in place of nishat (Chunian) limited,” said a ksE notice issued on Monday. the new benchmark is based on the prices of december 31, 2011, and would take effect from February 15, 2012, the exchange said. ISMAIL DILAWAR
DG Khan Cement Ltd qualifies for carbon credits KARACHI: as per the notice issued by dG khan Cement Company limited (dGkC) in the karachi stock Exchange (ksE), the company has qualified for the carbon credits under the united nations framework convention on climate changes. these carbon credits will be earned through its Waste Heat recovery (WHr) plant situated at dera Ghazi khan. the company is expected to generate 33,845 tonnes of CEr per annum. STAFF REPORT
Engro Awards honour leading Pakistanis KARACHI: Engro Corporation held a ceremony to celebrate and recognise the accomplishments of three eminent Pakistanis chosen as the recipients of the Engro Excellence awards 2012. these awards have been developed as annual awards for the people of Pakistan, and the recipients of this year’s awards were dr adeeb rizvi of sIut for social and Humanitarian services, dr Hafeez a Pasha for social sciences and shahid sajjad for arts. dr Ishrat Husain, Chairman of the Jury highlighted, “I am extremely delighted that Engro Corp has taken this noble initiative to recognise the services of eminent Pakistanis who have excelled and made outstanding contributions in their respective fields.” the recipients were selected on the basis of their lifetime accomplishments and excellence in their respective fields. they were presented an Engro Excellence Medallion as well as a cash prize of rs5 million, each. STAFF REPORT
Sindh Economic Survey 2009–2011 KARACHI: sindh Economic survey 2009–2011 is scheduled to be launched at the Management Excellence Centre (MEC), Institute of Business Management (IoBM) at 4:00 pm sharp on thursday, February 16, 2012, says an announcement of the IoBM Public affairs section. syed Murad ali shah, sindh Finance Minister is going to be the Chief Guest on this occasion. this survey seeks to analyse developments in the provincial economy during 2009– 2011. such areas have been comprehensively covered as those pertaining to agriculture, manufacturing, construction, education, manpower, health, transport and communication. the project leader of this survey is Professor M ashraf Janjua, advisor to President, IoBM and former deputy Governor of the state Bank of Pakistan. While Co-Project leader of this survey is Professor dr Javed akbar ansari, dean, College of Business Management, IoBM, a team of worthy and dedicated IoBM faculty and researchers meticulously supported this project. STAFF REPORT
Textile gas distribution policy from March 1 LAHORE: sui northern Gas Pipelines limited (snGPl) Managing director arif Hameed has said twozone gas distribution policy for the textile industry will be followed from the 1st of March. addressing the all Pakistan textile Mills association (aPtMa) executive committee members here on tuesday, snGPl Md said increase in natural gas supply to textile industry during the current month was subject to its availability. However, snGPl would revert to original two-zone gas distribution policy, against four-zone policy at present, for gas distribution to textile industry in Punjab, he maintained. He disclosed negotiations with Qatar were underway to import natural gas for meeting the national requirements. STAFF REPORT
Special monitoring for sugarcane growers LAHORE: special assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Food, Manshaullah Butt has said in order to safeguard interests of cane growers and ensure timely payment of their dues, instructions have been issued to cane commissioner Punjab for special monitoring. He is visiting all sugar mills of the province to resolve the problems being faced by the cultivators. Manshaullah Butt said besides wheat growers, food department is also safeguarding the interests of cane growers and all hurdles in the payment of their due returns will be removed. He said food department staff showing good performance will be encouraged, while no leniency will be shown towards negligent officials. a special monitoring cell headed by the cane commissioner is already working for sugarcane growers and they can contact the cell for complaints regarding dues and weighing of their produce, he added. STAFF REPORT
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Wednesday, 15 February, 2012
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news
Utility StoreS Corp ups white refined sugar price KARACHI ZAIN ALI
tIlIty stores Corporation (usC) of Pakistan has increased the price of white refined sugar by rs3 to rs45 per kg, whereas, the local price of commodity market is rs48; offsetting advantage of subsidised commodity to poor consumers, it is learnt on tuesday. the white refined sugar was the only commodity on which government was offering any kind of rebate to help mitigate financial woes of
U
underprivileged segment of the population, but the withdrawal of the facility is likely to overburden the monthly expenditure of buyers. Currently, white refine sugar is priced at rs45 per kg in usC outlets, which is rs3 per kg higher compared to pervious rate of rs42 per kg. a declining trend was registered in prices of sugar during the last six months in the open market and it was available in the wholesale markets at around rs45.60 to rs46 per kg and rs48 to rs49 per kg, at retail level. sugar is one of the fastest selling items at all usC outlets, mainly owing to its lower price com-
pared to open market in wake of subsidy offered by the government. at usC outlets situated in Mehmoodabad, Malir and sadder, karachi, buyers have been reacting strongly to the fresh increase in prices of the commodity, terming it as unjustified decision and against the interest of buyers. since the majority of the buyers belong to a lower segment of the population. "I always prefer purchase most of the commodities, including ghee, cooking oil and sugar, in the hope of saving some amount, but the newly enhanced prices would be a blow on my meager financial resources," clamed a buyers. usC was established with the sole objective of providing financial relief to poor masses, but over the period of time, it has transformed into a profit making organisation. It is not interested in the welfare of the society. While talking to Profit, karachi Zonal Manager usC, Bashir Baber termed the fresh increase as a decision carried only on orders of high officials of the department based in Islamabad. We are anticipating repercussions, he added. He said according to ECC formula, usC fixed the price of sugar rs5 per kg, which is less than the open market.
index ends flat after topsy-turvy day
K
umes staying firm above the 100mn share mark, the ksE-100 index remains range bound as investors eagerly await the issuance of the CGt amendment srO. the intra day market trend depicted a strong bull run in the first half as the index shot up to a 97 point gain before gradually receded due to profit taking. aBl announced its Cy11
open 5553.47 699.00 821.78 705.00 700.00
High 5600.00 733.95 840.00 718.00 705.00
low 5450.00 665.00 818.00 700.00 705.00
Close 5589.20 727.72 835.60 710.00 705.00
Change 35.73 28.72 13.82 5.00 5.00
turnover 101 117 50 725 70
3299.90 1750.00 105.10 184.75 105.99
3226.00 1700.00 101.78 178.10 98.80
3247.28 1722.11 101.78 178.78 100.92
-40.48 -27.89 -5.35 -3.22 -3.07
29 21 18,947 531 22,056
8.42 5.60 13.65 2.00 1.67
8.52 5.73 12.75 2.19 1.79
0.05 -0.20 13.23 0.20 0.19
Major Losers Nestle pakistanXD Unilever pak Foods pak.int.Con. SD Al-Ghazi tractors Abbott laboratories
3287.76 1750.00 107.13 182.00 103.99
Volume Leaders Jah.Sidd. Co. Azgard Nine Cherat Cement SilkBank limited pace (pak) ltd.
8.47 8.95 5.93 6.15 12.79 1.99 2.28 1.60 1.88
US Dollar UK pound Japanese yen euro
KARACHI
staggering volumes of 26 million shares & remained the volumes leader followed by other second tier names. Market activity was centered around third-tier stocks in today’s session as strong investor interest was witnessed in anl, CHCC, and sIlk, which combined for close to 20per cent of the total shares traded. despite market vol-
Company Unilever pak ltd. Bata (pak) ltd. Siemens pakistan Colgate palmolive Wyeth pak limited
26,141,280 12,651,898 0.44 8,013,028 7,912,415 7,093,729
Interbank Rates
STAFF REPORT
sE-100 index closed up 12 points with second tier stocks witnessing bulk of the volumes, while major blue chips closed with clipped gains. Oil stocks continued to remain out of favor which was evident from dismal volumes in Major E&Ps & OMCs, while among banks nBP showed some initial promise but received massive battering to close flattish. Fertilizer stocks witnessed decent volumes and remained highly sought after as both FFC and EnGrO advanced 0.6per cent and 14.3per cent respectively. JsCl once again witnessed
Major Gainers
results today which were in line with consensus estimates but the announcement failed to ignite a rally in the script. ‘We expect the market to continue its range bound pattern in the near term with a potential tremor from the political side as the Prime Minister’s fate is decided by the supreme Court,’ said ali Hussain at HMFs.
90.8692 142.8373 1.1633 119.6293 Buy
Sell
US Dollar
90.50
91.00
euro
118.46
119.78
Great Britain pound
141.43
142.92
Japanese yen
1.1500
1.1616
Canadian Dollar
89.71
91.29
Hong Kong Dollar
11.46
11.73
UAe Dirham
24.58
24.80
Saudi riyal
24.08
24.27
Australian Dollar
95.91
98.50
CORPORATE CORNER Pearl Continental Muzaffarabad hosts grand musical evening
MUZAFFARABAD: a grand musical evening was held at the Pearl Continental Muzaffarabad. It was a joint collaboration of sonic Peacemakers and the hotel. large number of families and elites who attended the show appreciated the superb arrangements made by the hotel followed by lavish Hi-tea. the performers of the evening were todd shea and Farhan saeed who made the youngsters dance to their melodious songs. Mr. amir kazi, the General Manger of the hotel, thanked the audience and promised to treat the citizens of Muzaffarabad with many more entertaining programmes. PC is the only 5 star hotel in the area equipped with elegant halls for all occasions, and also offers budget friendly diverse hygienic cuisines in an ambiance which has no parallel, said the GM. PRESS RELEASE
Karachi Atrium Cinemas reignite alien world fantasy KARACHI: the popular saga of light sabers and intergalactic space-fightshas made its way back to the big screen, this time in 3d. the premiere of star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace in 3d was held at karachi atrium Cinemas where leading celebrities of the tinsel town made red carpet appearance. star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace is a 1999 american epic space opera film written and directed by George lucas. the film follows the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (neeson) and his apprentice Obi-Wan kenobi (McGregor), who escort and protect Queen amidala (Portman) in traveling from the planet naboo to the planet Coruscant in the hope of
finding a peaceful end to a large-scale interplanetary trade dispute. they also encounter Jar JarBinks (Best), a goofy, lizardlike creature who has been banished from his underwater world for his clumsiness. the film also features a young anakin skywalker (lloyd)before he became a Jedi, introduced as a young slave boy who seems to be unusually strong with nascent powers of the Force, and must contend with the mysterious return of the sith. When the trade Federation launches an attack on naboo, the queen and her allies must battle hordes of robot troopers while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against the sinister darth Maul. PRESS RELEASE
the nation, Pakistan telecommunication Company limited (PtCl) has brought to its customers a fascinating ‘Jadoo Box’ – a novelty device that gives uninterrupted connectivity on wired dsl as well as backup wireless. Introduced in three attractive packages, the exciting new ‘Jadoo Box’ gives commercial and residential customers unlimited and uninterrupted Internet connectivity through a winning combination of dsl and EVO nitro bundled together. topping it all is unlimited voice connectivity that customers can enjoy through this magic device. PRESS RELEASE
LG brings new super ultrabook series and more industry
EU hands over Sindh Education Reform-Technical project to Sindh
LAHORE: lG Electronics (lG) will showcase four new notebook models and an all-in-one PC at the Consumer Electronics show (CEs) 2012 in las Vegas. lG’s brand new super ultrabook™ series, the Z330 and the Z430, offer powerful performance and sleek design unseen in ordinary ultrabooks, while the P535 and the a540 establish a new standard for 3d notebooks. lastly, the V300 is the ideal 23-inch all-in-one PC for entertainment, thanks to its immersive 3d display and In-Plane switching (IPs) -enabled wide viewing angle. PRESS RELEASE
PTCL creates ‘Jadoo Box’ for endless connectivity ISLAMABAD: Following its tradition of providing state-of-the-art telecom services to
KARACHI: the European union's funded sindh Education reform - technical assistance project, (sEr-ta) managed by the British Council, was completed and handed over to the Government of sindh at an impressive ceremony here in karachi today. this €4.6 million project has contributed to the eradication and alleviation of poverty throughout the province, through accelerating progress and reforms in achieving its goal of “Education for all”. PRESS RELEASE
the Chinese new year effect, while cargo and mail tonnage showed another significant year-on-year decline. Cathay Pacific and dragonair carried a total of 2,511,043 passengers in January – a year-on-year rise of 11.9 per cent – while the passenger load factor rose by 0.6 percentage points to 81.9 per cent. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (asks), was up by 8.7 per cent. a total of 116,250 tonnes of cargo and mail was carried by the two airlines last month, a drop of 19.5 per cent compared to the same month in 2011. the cargo and mail load factor was down by 7.9 percentage points to 59.9 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, fell by 6.7 per cent, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown saw a decline of 17.6 per cent. PRESS RELEASE
Mr Hasan Jamil, Head of Marketing, Dawlance along with Dawlance Karachi dealers and their respective sons at an event where the dealers’ sons paid tribute to their father and expressed their affection. PRESS RELEASE
Cathay Pacific releases combined traffic figures for January 2012 KARACHI: Cathay Pacific airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and dragonair traffic figures for January 2012 that show growth in passenger numbers compared to the same month last year due to
LAHORE: Prof Sohail Afzal, Executive Director, Punjab Group of Colleges and Allied Schools signed partnership for Teachers’ Training with Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan. PRESS RELEASE