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BUSINESS Friday, 15 February, 2013
PM chairs 2nd session of the 30th meeting of usf ISLAMABAD: The 2nd session of the 30th meeting of the Board of Directors of Universal Service Fund (USF) was held today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf here Thursday. The Prime Minister was apprised of the tremendous progress made by the USF during the last five and a half years by providing basic telephony and data services in more than three thousand and six hundred (3600) muzas. The Prime Minister was also informed that broadband services have been provided in two hundred and sixty (260) 2nd and 3rd tiers cities and towns and that more than 4250 km of optic fiber cable has been laid to connect unserviced tehsils and towns under the optic fiber programme. The Board approved a special project for expansion and addition of Telemedicine Network which involves providing health-care facilities in rural areas of the country by connecting them to main hospitals in cities. Health-care services related to fields of Cardiology, Dermatology, Pathology, ENT, Radiology and Gynecology are already being provided through this project, the meeting briefed the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf directed USF to extend connectivity in the remote areas of Baluchistan in order to bring them at par with other developed areas of the country. The Prime Minister emphasized on the need to use the fund efficiently for developing connectivity in rural areas and benefit of telecom sector. All the concerned high-ranking officials of IT Ministry and the telecom sector attended the meeting. NNI
sBP invites complaints against exchangers exceeding 25 ps limit
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday advised the general public that they may lodge their complaints with it (SBP), if the difference between buying and selling rates, charged by an exchange company exceeds the prescribed limit of 25 paisas and/or exchange rates of different currencies are not displayed in the premises prominently. General public may also lodge a complaint with SBP, if an exchange company refuses to sell foreign exchange on the pretext of shortages or nonavailability of currency notes for otherwise bonafide permissible transactions or transacts at other than displayed rates. The complainants may lodge complaints by providing the name, address of the exchange company outlet, date and time of transaction through Fax No. 99212527, or by post to the Director, Exchange Policy Department, SBP. The complaints, it said, must be accompanied by a copy of CNIC of the complainant, purpose of transaction and other related details. STAFF REPORT
Construction of mega water and power projects is the government’s top priority to meet the future requirements. – Water and Power Minister Ahmed Mukhtar
President urged to stoP illegal trading of used cars KARACHI
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PPI
RESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari should order immediate stoppage of the illegal trading of used cars by local dealers which is not only damaging the reputation of the country eating up its revenue resources and destroying the billion dollar industry and livelihood of thousands of skilled workers, said Iqbal Hussain Shah, Vice Chairman Pakistan Automobile Manufacturers Assemblers Dealers Association (PAMADA) in a statement here Thursday. Iqbal Shah said that dealers of the used cars have turned the policy for overseas Pakistani into commercial import policy, which is the first violation of the laws and paving the way towards corruption in the government departments. Firstly, the facility meant for those, who have given their sweat and blood to earn foreign exchange for the country, is abused by the trader mafia giving them peanuts in return besides promoting corruption at different levels by illegally importing more than the allowed age of used cars. He said this is evident from the fact that more than 65,000 cars were imported from Japan in FY 2011-12, whereas esti-
mated Pakistani population in Japan is around 10-15,000. Secondly, the statement said that nowhere in the region used car import is allowed, not even in the bigger economies like India and Thailand. Therefore, the Govt should only allow brand new cars so that the competition remains on level playing field. The trader mafia opposes this move knowing that local auto industry is producing cheaper cars than anywhere in the region and that is exactly why they are afraid of piling up stocks of new cars as the consumers will easily choose locally made cars because of the huge price difference. Moreover, he added, the trader mafia is still importing 5 years old cars although the age limit of used cars had been reduced to 3 years by the government in November last year. VC PAMADA said that customs authorities have clear knowledge of this fact but have turned a
blind eye towards the situation for reasons best known to them. He said that during last 7 years, international car prices have been jacked up due to currency depreciation but the used car dealers are not passing any benefit to consumer while huge 60% depreciation allowance that eases down imported cars’ prices has not benefited the consumer either. “If the same rebate is given to local car industry, the consumers can have cheaper brand new ‘Made in Pakistan’ cars with warranty and availability of quality spare parts at comparably lower rates,” he added. He said that according to the law, the Import Tariff Prices (ITP) rate should be set as per the prices of new model of any car and then rebate in terms of depreciation is given, while the same is being done as per car prices of 2005. The benefit again is siphoned off by dealers and both the overseas Pakistani whose papers were used and poor buyer of the car are both deprived of these benefits.
Absence of debt market hinders robust economic growth Bank alfalah eyes Rs 5B thRough tfCs to impRove Capital adequaCy Ratio KARACHI ISMAIL DILAWAR
Even if the economic managers somehow manage to accelerate the current, rather persisting, three percent economic growth, the country’s financial market would fall short of providing the required liquidity to finance big projects, especially, those related to infrastructure development. This is because of the absence of a strong debt capital and equity market in Pakistan. This wakeup call was made by Atif Bajwa, Chief Executive Officer of Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL), while announcing the launch of 5th rated, unsecured, subordinated and listed Term Finance Certificates (TFCs) at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Thursday. Through fresh TFCs, the bank would be raising Rs 5 billion of which Rs 3.750 billion would be raised from institutions and Rs 1.250 billion through Initial Public Offering (IPO) to be commenced on the Karachi bourse from Feb 19-20. The Rs
1.25 billion IPO would be issued as an 8year floating rate instrument sans any floor or cap. BAFL’s treasury group head Ali Sultan was happy to reveal that by December 28 last year the institutional investors, mostly from non-banking sector, had oversubscribed the Rs 3.750 billion TFCs. “We, however, have engaged certain banks to play as market makers,” he said. Arif Habib Limited would be working as a listing agent or market maker for the certificates the credit spread for which has been set at KIBOR+1.25, lower than the bank’s previous four TFCs. While Ali Sultan attributed this decrease in spread to the investors’ increased confidence in the bank, Arif Habib, the chairman of Arif Habib Group, boasted about his weight as a listing agent behind the offer. The business tycoon said the Rs300 million reserves to support the secondary market would woo individual investors. Besides these Rs300 million reserves, Sultan added, his side would make available a financial backup of up to Rs 1 billion to hedge against market risks. The move is aimed at improving the BAFL’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) that, Bajwa said, was the only negative head on the bank’s balance sheet because its increased advances that, compared to industry’s 3-4 percent, had grown by 9 percent up to September 2012. “A
well-developed and vibrant corporate debt market plays a pivotal role in the economic development of a country,” he said. Earlier, dwelling on his bank’s key achievements, BAFL CEO Atif Bajwa told the well-attended investor briefing that in the absence of a supportive debt capital and equity market most of the country’s leading banks were unable to keep pace with 6-7 percent economic growth that would require them to finance big projects related mostly to infrastructure development. “We would have to see how we can further bolster our capital. As if the economy started growing at 6-7 percent most of our banks would have no liquidity to cater the need,” the BAFL chief executive said. Later, he told Pakistan Today that the banks would find it difficult to provide fiancés if they fronted a couple of projects each valuing Rs 12 billion. “We need to establish the debt capital and equity market to enable our financial sector to cater that growing demand,” Bajwa explained. In his speech, he said a number of steps were underway to reduce “intelligently” the operational cost of Bank Alfalah the countrywide branch network of which had increased from three in 1997 to 471. BAFL’s Ali Sultan said the proceeds of the TFC issue shall be eligible for BAFL’s Tier-II Supplementary Capital as per the guidelines set by the State Bank.
He said that very cleverly the dealers have been trumpeting about price increase of locally made cars but they themselves have increased prices of imported junk several times without any value addition that could justify the price increase due to rupee depreciation. He said that if ITP is calculated properly as per the current prices of new car and then giving 60% allowance for depreciation, duties and taxes on Daihatsu Mira (800 cc) should be $4994 whereas the government is collecting only $1760 on the same due to tariff anomalies as the importers misquote the car prices. Similarly, for Toyota Vitz (801-1000c) the duties and taxes should be $6,686 on used vehicle but only $2,200 ae being added to the national kitty, making the government incur the loss of $4,486 on one unit. Iqbal was of the opinion that the government can double its revenue if the custom tariffs are updated because years old Import Trade Prices (ITPs) already denied the government its due share in the segment of imported cars. ‘The government has lost billion of rupees on the import of used cars in last 18 months by dint of anomalies in duty structure,’ he added. The local automobile industry generates Rs 65 billion revenue for the government in terms of taxes and duties whereas the imported cars contribute merely Rs 21 billion per year with massive tax evasion, Shah said.
ecc approves monthly review of Pol prices ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved on Thursday the monthly price review of POL products. The meeting of the ECC headed by Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naek was held in Islamabad during which the decision to approve monthly POL price review was taken. Sources said that the new prices would be enforced on the first of every month. The Ministry of Petroleum had sent the ECC a request for a weekly price review on POL products which was rejected by the committee. The Ministry of Petroleum had stopped the weekly price review on POL products after the Supreme Court had ordered against it in October last year. INP
NA body recommends corruption case against OGDCL MD ogdCl Chief aCCused of puRChasing Rs 50 Billion faulty dRilling equipment ISLAMABAD INP
The National Assembly Standing Committee has directed the Secretary Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Resources to forward a case to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Managing Director, OGDCL and other responsible officers for the purchase of faulty drilling machinery worth Rs50 billion. A meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Engineer Tariq Khattak. Convener of a sub committee Rana Afzal presented its report in which it has been recommended that action be taken against ODGCL for purchasing faulty machinery of drilling worth about Rs50 billion. It also pointed out other cor-
rupt practices by the OGDCL management. Advisor on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain said OGRA gave 450 CNG stations connections in haste after temporary lifting of ban on new connections and put the very survival of Sui Northern and Sui Southern companies at stake. Jamshed Dasti, MNA, said that CNG station owners were crying howl but the government was not ready to listen to their demands. Another member Asghar Ali Jat said if the government cannot provide gas
to CNG stations, then it should return the investment of billions of rupees to the owners. Dr Asim Hussain cautioned that After June, 2013 it would be difficult for SNGPL and SSGCL to remain functional. He said the gas companies can identify the theft but the recovery of dues is the responsibility of OGRA but it is not doing the same. He said SNGPL gave a list of 63 CNG stations involved in theft of gas but OGRA neither cancelled a single licence nor gave approval to disconnect their connections.
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The Petroleum Ministry identified 163 cases of gas theft to OGRA but it did not take appropriate action. – Adviser to Prime Minister Dr Asim Hussain
sBP to auction govt securities online KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday announced that the auction of treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) would be conducted online via Bloomberg Auction system (Ticker: AUPD) from February 20. This decision has been taken by SBP to automate and bring more efficiency in the primary auction process which will not only reduce operational risk in manual auction process but also bring Pakistan at par with other countries that have already implemented an automated electronic auction system. The online auction system has been customized to the needs of Pakistan market, which has enabled SBP to implement the straight through processing of accepted bids in auction. Hence, the process of auction from bid submission to settlement of accepted bids has been completely automated. The bid reports of auction will now be available on SBP website after announcement of the auction results at the following links: PIB Auction Bid Report: http://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/PIB-BID.pdf MTB Auction Bid Report: http://www.sbp.org.pk/ecodata/MTB-BID.pdf The State Bank has issued detailed instructions and guidelines in this regard to the Presidents/Chief Executives of all Primary Dealers through a Circular (DMMD Circular No.3 dated February 14) which is available on SBP website. It may be mentioned here that the secondary market trading of Government of Pakistan (GOP) securities is already being done on Electronic Bond Trading Platform (EBND) since January 2010, which has enhanced the visibility and price discovery of government securities.STAFF REPORT
86% decisions go in favour of tax payers: fto
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ISLAMABAD ONLINE
EDERAL Tax Ombudsman Shoaib Saddle has said that 86 per cent decisions went in favour of tax payers that show maladministration in Federal Board of Revenue. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday he said that during 2012 FTO decided 1597 cases in which 86 per cent given in favor of tax payers while only 15 per cent were given in favor of FBR. He said that last year 1689 complaints were registered that is highest no of the complaints. The FTO said that the amount refunded in 2012 is five times the total amount refunded in 2009 while in 2012 under FTO’s suo motu jurisdiction 23,250 duty draw back customs cases involving a refund of Rs 8.83 billion were settled up. He said that during current fiscal year Rs 9.79 billion has been refunded due to effective steps of FTO while in 2011 this amount was 7.89 billion and Rs 7.08 billion in 2010. Average amount in 2000 to 2009 was Rs 200 million, Shoaib Saddle added. Shoaib Saddle further informed that in 2012 the average time taken to decide a complaint was brought down to 48 days from 60 days in 2011, 67 days in 2010 and 117 days in 2009. He admitted that maladministration within our tax infrastructure is deep rooted but the FTO has fast
emerged as an effective and an efficient instrument of good governance. Further disclosing about the implementation of decisions of Federal Tax Ombudsman Shoaib Saddle told the media men that 1420 cases implemented that are highest ever, adding that, during last two years more than 90 Chairman cases have been cleared. The FTO said in refunded amount ha showed growth of 44 Chairman more than initial years and if we determined then this ratio would be increased to much more. Talking about the issue of ISAF containers Shoaib Saddle said that after the effective policies of FTO 60 Chairman smuggling reduced and local industry showed improved. Answering a question Federal Tax Ombudsman Shoaib Saddle said, “Our major phenomenon is right accountability if once top officials were brought to justice then system would be developed.” He said that to facilitate afghan transit trade a separate Director General has been appointed and a new SRO has been issued for tracking system of containers. To another query of fake refund from FBR, Shoaib Saddle said that there are gaps in the system and widespread corruption, lack of effective accountability are the major reasons behind fake refunds. He said that fake refunds are not possible without involvement of officials of FBR and this culture should be changed for the welfare of the country.
02
BUSINESS B Friday, 15 February, 2013
Major Gainers COMPANY unilever pak national foods sanofi-aventis pak atlas Battery ltd. packages ltd.
OPEN 10275.00 308.62 320.00 245.93 174.77
HIGH 10380.00 324.05 336.00 255.00 183.50
LOW 10200.00 313.00 332.99 245.93 178.00
CLOSE 10380.00 324.05 334.57 255.00 183.50
CHANGE 105.00 15.43 14.57 9.07 8.73
TURNOVER 440 25,300 700 4,200 80,500
570.85 237.50 605.11 240.00 226.04
517.00 237.50 605.10 230.00 219.00
546.73 237.50 605.10 230.79 220.00
3.06 -12.50 -11.90 -7.64 -6.04
1,100 200 150 18,100 12,500
5.65 21.10 26.18 4.01 3.79
4.79 20.10 25.24 3.65 3.57
5.60 21.10 25.30 3.98 3.75
0.95 1.00 -0.16 0.44 0.24
40,496,500 32,580,500 22,366,500 18,102,000 16,443,500
Major Losers indus dyeing sapphire textile siemens pakistan Xd al-ghazi tractors abbott lab.
543.67 250.00 617.00 238.43 226.04
Volume Leaders telecard limited 4.65 p.t.C.l.a 20.10 sui north gas 25.46 Wateen telecom ltd 3.54 WorldCall telecom 3.51
Interbank Rates usd gBp Jpy euRo
pkR 98.0626 pkR 152.1637 pkR 1.0481 pkR 131.1489
Forex BUY us dollar euro great Britain pound Japanese yen Canadian dollar hong kong dollar uae dirham saudi Riyal
99.25 130.99 152.43 1.0456 97.60 12.49 26.80 26.30
SELL 99.50 131.22 152.68 1.0564 99.31 12.74 27.05 26.54
CORPORATE CORNER giKi students head to us to attend aircraft building competition LAHORE: Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh presents ‘Brand of the Year’ Award 2011/2013” to Jamshaid Sabir, Country Manager LG for LG 3D Smart TV. PR
LAHORE: Team AVROCAR is a group of students of GIKI from different disciplines of engineering sharing common interest in the field of aeronautics. Among Pakistani students AVROCAR is definitely a story of success to struggle. It all started almost a year ago when AVROCAR participated in the local Design, Build and Fly competition 2011 which was held under the platform of Higher Education Commission Pakistan and AIAA GIKI Chapter. AVROCAR secured first rank among teams from different universities from all across the country. Success story didn’t end here. Later on during the same year team AVROCAR was shortlisted to compete in AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition which was held in Wichita U.S from 13 to 15th of April 2012. This was the very first time in the history that any Pakistani team participated in this prestige event. Definitely, it was a great experience for all of us to be a part of this event and we learned a lot from this as it gave us a chance to ponder over the fact that why does our nation lack behind others in Sciences and Technology. We managed to clear our tech inspection but unfortunately we could not get a chance to fly our aircraft because the contest site was closed due to tornados. Keeping in view that our team was the junior most team of the event and with the limited resources we had, we are proud of what we achieved last year and are motivated to participate in the next year’s event with even higher goals. Next IDBFC is scheduled to be held in April 2013 in United States. As always every competing team is required to build up remote controlled aircraft which definitely requires a large funding and team cannot carry expenses of the whole manufacturing process along with visa and travelling on its own. We have really high hopes for this event and we definitely aspire to earn a good name for our country by trying to be among the top ten positions. PR
countries. More than 20,000 people are expected to throng the venue over the 3 days and participate in a rich variety of activities that include book readings, lectures, workshops, talks, book launch, a children’s literature festival and a book fair. Speaking about the Company’s support to KLF, General Manager of The Coca-Cola Export Corporation, Pakistan & Afghanistan, Rizwan U. Khan stated, “We are really honoured to partner with the Karachi Literature Festival, which is undoubtedly an exceptional initiative to promote public interest in the written word. PR
nit’s sales promotion kiosk at life styles exhibition ends successfully
Jcr-Vis upgrades rating of Pak Qatar family takaful KARACHI: JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (JCR-VIS) has upgraded the IFS rating of Pak Qatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL) from ‘A-’ (Single A Minus) to ‘A’ (Single A). Outlook on the rating is ‘Stable’. The upgrade reflects PQFTL’s increasing presence in the Family Takaful (Life Insurance) market. PQFTL has witnessed significant growth in contributions through distribution of unit linked Individual Family products. Business generated through the Bancatakaful channel has been another key driver of growth in contributions. Productivity indicators of dedicated agency sales force have improved significantly. PQFTL’s underwriting performance has improved over time. With growth in volumes, expense ratio has more than halved over the course of the last three years. PR
HBl and MePco sign agreement KARACHI: Nisar Ahmed Khoro, Speaker Sindh Assembly along with Dr. Abdul Basit, Chancellor Preston University, Dr Ibrahim Shah Bukhari Vice Chancellor, Asif Farooqui Director General and a graduating student at the 14th convocation of Preston University. PR
KARACHI: Consul General of Japan in Karachi Mr. Akira Ouchi, Consul General of Japan, and Mr Javed Hussain (Executive Director Sindh Community Foundation) shake hands after signing a grant contract at Japan Information and Culture Centre. PR
coca-cola to sponsor Karachi literary festival KARACHI: Coca-Cola Pakistan has come forward to extend sponsorship support to the Karachi Literature Festival, being held in the city from February 15 to 17, 2013. The KLF, now in its fourth year, is the country’s biggest literary event and this year will host about 200 writers, authors, poets and other literati from Pakistan and several other
ISLAMABAD: Two days kiosk was organized by NIT at Convention Centre, Islamabad recently to familiarize public about the opportunities of profit by investment in NIT funds. A heavy turnout of the visitors was witnessed at NIT stall. A very useful database of perspective customers has been compiled during the event days to help NIT marketing force to explore further. Chairman/MD NIT Mr. Wazir Ali Khoja appreciated the teamwork of NIT-Islamabad deputed at NIT kiosk. PR
PHd to gamify the way it works SINGAPORE: PHD, part of Omnicom Media Group, is set to gamify the way it works with the launch of a new global operating system called Source. Source has been constructed using game mechanics - with the objective of fostering high-levels of collaboration. The system functions as a strategy framework that allows everyone within PHD to work together in real-time, effectively functioning as what’s known as an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game. The thousands of people within PHD will be able to see how they are performing on a real-time global leader-board. Mark Holden, worldwide strategy and planning director of PHD said, “Source is our attempt to allow everyone within PHD to be able to tap into the PHD mind. PR
KARACHI: HBL and MEPCO signed an agreement to facilitate electronic billing to its customers. The ceremony took place at Ramada Hotel Multan and was attended by CEO MEPCO - Mr. Mohammad Shakeel Chaudry, Finance Director MEPCO - Mr. Syed Mushtaq Hussain Bukhari, Head Payment Services HBL - Mr. Faiq Sadiq, Deputy General Manager Branchless Banking HBL - Mr. Azfar Jamal and the senior executives of both organizations. This alliance will enable the customers to use HBL’s Alternate Delivery Channels to pay their MEPCO bills. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Faiq Sadiq - Head, Payment Services, said that “HBL, Pakistan’s leading bank, has always been at the forefront in delivering innovative banking products and services. PR
roots takes lead in cambridge exams ISLAMABAD: Students from the Roots Millennium Schools, I-9/3, Islamabad on Wednesday were declared high achievers and this honor was bestowed upon them by the Cambridge International Examination system. In total, according to a press release issued by the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) Roots Millennium Schools stands 1st in terms of the number of high achievers. PR