PRO 15-06-2012_Layout 1 6/15/2012 1:26 AM Page 1
Chew your own tobacco!
profit.com.pk
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Friday, 15 June, 2012
sbp hankers after economic solutions
Get your lazy backsides out of the box! The guv’nor tells regional central bankers that the box that has been the butt of their neuron exercise is empty; hence, they need to think out of it. He also told them they had a better chance of solving the national economic problems if they actually understood them. The man might have a point… KARACHI
G
STAFF REPORT
OvERNOR State Bank of Pakistan Yaseen Anwar has called upon the regional central bankers to fully understand the nature of their economies and go beyond the textbook approaches to tackle today’s economic problems. Inaugurating a three-day SAARCFINANCE Regional Seminar on ‘Monetary Policy Frameworks in the SAARC Region’ at the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), Islamabad on Thursday, he stressed upon the participants to check the validity of basic assumptions while developing models for economic forecasts in view of the possibility of a breakdown in relationships between key variables in the backdrop of emerging economic realities. “We also need to keep a close watch on the pulse of the economy, considering it is a living and ever evolving organism,” he added. Anwar said that a comprehensive understanding of the economy is necessary in order to correctly calibrate monetary policy, which may then achieve the objectives of price stability and economic growth. Anwar said sharing ideas and experiences at a regional forum will help central bankers better understand the nature of their economies. He urged them to explore the ways by which monetary policy frameworks may be improved through mutual and collaborative efforts. SBP Governor said the targets set by central banks have an effect on the real economy and implications for price stability. However, central banks’ policies are more effective when they are independent of fiscal influence, have market
freedom and are time-consistent, he said, adding that the absence of these conditions may reduce the efficacy of their (central banks’) policies. ‘The complexities of today’s world have created challenges for monetary policy and we must occasionally toss conventional pre-
rupee depreciation puts textile industry in hot waters KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The current rupee depreciation against the dollar is expected to bode well for the margins for local textile manufacturers during the outgoing FY12, observed the analysts at InvestCap Research. However, they said, compared to regional textile exporting countries' currency depreciation, the Pakistani textile companies were facing a soarthroat competition in margins term. With PKR depreciation of 4.1%YoY against USD during FY12, Bangladeshi Taka has depreciated by massive 11%YoY while Indian Rupee also declined by 10%YoY against USD. “On the international front, comparatively low depreciation of PKR against USD pose bit steady picture but yet still fall on uncompetitive side for local textile industry,” viewed Abdul Azeem, an analyst at InvestCap. On both local and international fronts, cotton prices have declined by 35%YoY and 32%YoY, respectively. The decline in prices at large will intend to keep the gross margins of tex-
tile margins stable at 16% this fiscal year. However as far as cotton production is concerned, local bumper cotton crop of 14.8mn bales has kept the cotton prices below Rs6000/maund in local markets during FY12. While on international front, cotton production is estimated to be at 123mn bales (1 bale = 480lb), increased by 5.7%YoY till May 12 estimates according to U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, during the FY13, USDA has estimated the cotton production to decline by 5%YoY to 116.7mn bales; however with 4 years high ending stock of 66.9mn bales this year, cotton prices on international front are expected to remain stable during FY13. With the stable margins going forward we recommend buy on NCL and NML with the target price for Dec-12 Rs26/share and Rs62/share respectively. The NCL is trading at PE multiple of 4.2x with dividend yield of 8.9% for FY13 similarly, NML is trading at PE multiple of 4.7x with dividend yield of 4.5% for FY13.
scriptions aside and seek customized solutions,’ he added. Sharing his understanding on working of different channels of monetary policy, Mr. Anwar disclosed that the real interest rate channel in Pakistan is found to be extremely weak during the times of
frequent price changes and high inflation. Quoting a recent study of SBP’s Research Department, he said that prices are revised roughly every quarter in the economy. ‘Coupled with the fact that Pakistan’s economy has experienced double-digit inflation during the last 4
years, prices are very quick to adjust to changes in monetary policy,’ he said adding that a large part of inflation persistence in the country is due to sustained period of high inflation, which has allowed inflationary expectations to incubate. Mr. Anwar pointed out that the lending channel appears to be quite robust and is the key channel through which monetary policy is transmitted to the real economy in Pakistan. Similarly, the role of exchange rate channel has also gained importance over time due to liberalization of the foreign exchange market in the country. SBP monitors the forex market very closely while considering the impact of changes in the exchange rate, he added. He observed that monetary policy may also influence inflation through expectations channel. SBP Governor said the transition from understanding these channels to developing the proper mechanisms to impact our objectives may not be smooth. ‘After all, we should concede that there are some things that we have absolutely no control over in the shortrun,’ he said, adding that policy making has become a difficult task in recent times. He observed that the complexity and the uniqueness of our economy only emphasize the need to develop a thorough grass-root understanding of the economy, and a customized toolbox to deal with the multiple challenges along the way. ‘We have moved towards a better understanding of our economy and we’ve made some significant progress towards discovering the impact that our monetary policy has on the real economy,’ Anwar added.
That awkward moment when Planning Commission spoils all the planning Planning Commission proves itself to be a bit of a pain in the Petroleum Ministry’s backside by refusing to take back its concerns regarding LNG imports in a ministerial meeting. Dr Asim Hussain kept reminding one and all that countering gas shortages is in fact pretty important, but none of the attendees seemed to care – probably because it was a hurriedly called meeting. And so the ministerial committee shall meet again on Saturday to resolve the issue ISLAMABAD AMER SIAL
A hurriedly called ministerial meeting to finalise plans for the import of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on government to government (G2G) basis ended inconclusively due to the refusal of the Planning Commission (PC) to withdraw its objections and absence of some of the members on Thursday. An official source said the convener of the committee and Minister for IT Raja Pervez Ashraf pointed out at the outset that since some of members of the committee were not present they could not discuss the agenda. Two important federal secretaries of finance and law were not present in the meeting. The meeting was convened on a short notice by the Petroleum Ministry instead of its convener. The committee was constituted by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on May 15 with Raja Pervez Ashraf as convener to look into modalities of LNG import. The committee had held three meetings during which the finance ministry refused to extend sovereign guarantees for LNG import, while PC recommended hiring an independent consultant to assess the feasibility of the project and Special Advisor to Prime Minister Kamal Majeed Ullah asked for shifting the project from Karachi port to Gwadar Port. Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain said the proposal was important one to counter the gas shortages in the country and stressed they could not afford to linger on with the issue. On his proposal it was decided that the committee will be again meeting on June 16. It was decided that all the members will be directed to
ensure their presence on Saturday. Petroleum Ministry, the source said is bent upon to get an expeditious approval of the project from the committee without any reservations. However, PC refused to accept the demand of the Petroleum Minister for withdrawing from the record its demand to hire an independent consultant. PC has refused to extend blind support to the project saying that there are many flaws in the integrated LNG import programme including a terminal and gas supplies. It is of the view that acceptance of bids of two firms for one project would violate PPRA rules and the relaxation in rules would favour some private firms involved in import. After failure of the private sector to expedite LNG imports, the Petroleum Ministry had floated proposal under which two companies could be given permission to import LNG on a deal to be signed on G2G basis. It was proposed that the base load volume of RLNG will be 800 mmcfd, spread over 2 separate LNG developers, 400 mmcfd each, at delivery point under 10 years contractual arrangement. It is seeking approval to allow two selected private parties to make spot purchases of LNG from Algeria, Qatar, South Korea and Malaysia on G2G basis. Pakistan is faced with a severe gas shortage exceeding 2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) as the local production is unable to keep pace with the requirements of the country. Petroleum Ministry is stressing importing LNG to mitigate the crisis. Imported LNG will be received, stored and re-gasified and delivered through connecting pipelines to the existing transmission pipeline network as Regasified LNG (RLNG). The RLNG price will be factored in the Weighted Average Cost of Gas (WACOG).
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Friday, 15 June, 2012
news
eu springs into action g
launches project for sustainable cotton production SUKKUR APP
The European Union (EU) has launched a new project funded under its regional initiative Switch Asia for Pakistan for "Sustainable Cotton Production for Pakistan's Ginning SMEs" (SPRING), said a press release here on Thursday. The project is being implemented by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan. The project was started in March 2012 in Sukkur and two other districts of Pakistan. In this regard WWF-P Sukkur arranged a four-week Cotton Selector Training Course with collaboration of Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute (PCSI) for SA-Spring ginners (18 ginners) under Capacity building workshop on Cotton selection and grading for STEP-I ginners at SWITCH Asia-SPRING project office, Sukkur. Some 33 candidates successfully completed the training and out of them 18 candidates were sponsored by SA-Spring Sukkur to enable them for selection and grading of seed cotton as well as lint cotton. Local PCGA Representative and innovative ginner of Sukkur Ludo Mal, was chief guest at the ceremony of certificate distribution among the successful candidates. He briefed the participants that PCGA is playing an important role in the cotton sector of Pakistan with its more than 1000 ginners in the country.
lcci has a turkish chum LAHORE APP
ASKON and the LCCI have agreed to work in unison to develop trade and economic cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan. It was decided in a meeting between a 37-member LCCI delegation and ASKON, an Association of Anatolian Businessmen here on Thursday. The LCCI delegation was led by its President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh while ASKON was represented by Mustafa Koca, the President of the Association. The ASKON President offered LCCI businessmen collaboration in textile, construction, automotive-spare parts, machine-spare parts, consumer durables, electrics-electronics, leather-shoes, finance, jewelery, sanitary and healt products, metalchemistry, iron-steel, press, packing, tourism, foreign trade, enviromental service, consultancy, and other service sectors. He said Turkey has a variety of advantages in many areas and is ready to share these potentials with Pakistani businessmen therefore they should come forward and join hands with their Turkish counterparts to avail these unique opportunities. LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said in Pakistan, there are a lot of investment opportunities for Turkish businessmen in various sectors like telecommunications, information technology, financial services, petrochemicals, livestock, dairy, consumer goods, food processing, pharmaceuticals, minerals, and particularly in energy sectors. He said exchange of trade delegations between the two countries can prove to be an effective strategy for boosting the level of bilateral trade.
chew your own tobacco! g
ptc-farmers tug of war is likely to end soon as the latter realise that they were being the marionettes of ‘vested interests’ ISLAMABAD
T
APP
HE tug of war between a handful of farmers and the Pakistan Tobacco Board is likely to end in the coming few days as farmers are realizing that they are playing in the hands of `vested interests'. This was stated by Fazal Ilahi, Member Pakistan Tobacco Board and representative of growers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while talking to media persons here on Thursday. Fazal Ilahi said that some misguided farmers unknowingly had become a tool of others' ambitions. He said that now there was realization among the growers that ultimately they will be the ones to suffer should the dangerous trend of wrong projections about tobacco price were not stopped forthwith. He said that some cigarette manufacturers are supporting farmers on the issue of higher prices but that is understandable as local industry is highly unregulated and tax evasion is rampant. It is pertinent to mention here PTB has fixed a price of Rs 117 per kg but that price was rejected by farmers' representatives. Only a couple of weeks ago a joint meeting of Pakistan Tobacco Board, representatives of agriculture department and representatives of tobacco farmers' association was held at Agriculture Information Centre in Peshawar in which some Farmers' representatives rejected Rs 117 kg tobacco price that had been fixed by Pakistan Tobacco Board and demanded a minimum rate of Rs 200 /kg. He said that the meeting also demanded the federal government to give control of Rs 60
g
billion excise duty to the provincial agriculture department. The meeting, through a joint resolution, also requested the provincial government to pass a resolution in the provincial assembly in this regard. Fazal Ilahi said the Pakistan Tobacco Board working under the Ministry of Commerce, has written to Ministry of Food Security and Research not to interfere in the process of working out the cost of production of tobacco crop in the area of Mardan and Swabi as it was the sole prerogative of Pakistan Tobacco Board. It may be recalled here PTB Ordinance ,1968 clearly gives the responsibility of price fixing to PTB that has already announced indicative minimum prices for tobacco based on Cost of Production exercise carried out in November last year. Experts maintain Ministry of Food & Security clearly lacks clarity on its mandate and that's why it often resorts to such controversies. He said that experts believe increase in tobacco price would lead to squeezing local farmers out of global competition especially after giving MFN status to India,factory owners will import cheaper tobacco from India As Pakistan is moving swiftly to declare India as Most Favorite Nation (MFN) by the yearend, the Commerce Ministry has issued the Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) to implement the cabinet decision to switch to the Negative List. He said that arbitrary increase in tobacco price would also threaten government revenue from cigarette excise as proposed leaf price revision will, in fact impact consumer cigarette pricing same way and magnitude as recently adopted excise increase which is likely to further the cause of cheap illicit offerings in the market.
ICCI feels investors lack motivation g
ONLINE
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged the Government should setup export processing zones in all major cities and give incentives to make the products competitive in the international market. Asad Farid, Acting President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a meeting with Zahid Iqbal, vice Chairman, Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) of Pakistan. He underlined the need of establishing Islamabad Export Processing Zone and assures full support of ICCI to EPZA that would enable the exporters of Federal Capital to increase their exports up to desired level. Acting President ICCI said that foreign investors should be motivated to invest in EPZs so that the exports from Pakistan could be increased as the country at the moment was in dire need of foreign exchange. He said that EPZA needs to be more proactive to boost industrialization and augment country's export by creating facilities for investors to enable them in setup
KARACHI ZAIN ALI
Karachi Fish Harbour shall remain close for landing facilities of all catches of inland and marine seafood. This was decided in a meeting held at Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KFHA). Presiding over the meeting Abdul Ghani Jokhio, Managing Director, KFHA said that during the last couple of months we altogether had number of meetings on implementation of law on illegal nets and observe ban on catch in July. Finally he added Government had issued two Notifications one for relaxation in mandatory seasonal ban on fishing in the month of June thus in July catch shall be strictly prohibited and only 55 mm mesh size for fish and 25 mm for shrimps shall be allowed. Mr. Jokhio thanked MFD, FCS, STOFA, MSA, Coast
g
fish harbour shall remain closed for landing facilities of all catches of inland and marine seafood
Guards, Moleholders, bonafied fishermen for their gracious support and courage to work out a policy. Shaukat Hussain, Director General, MFD informed the meeting that in fact this achievement is a great service to the fishermen and in the national interest once we succeed in its objective, the current and future generation will reap the benefits. According to decisions taken in the meeting, customs authorities would not issue Port Clear-
ance to any fishing boat during ban season. No stakeholder will sell or buy fish / shrimp during the ban season, otherwise catch shall be confiscated and penalty shall be imposed besides cancellation of fishing license, registration of boat and export registration. Seafood processors shall ensure that they would not buy any fishery product from 1st to 31st July. They shall also declare stock stored in their respective Chill rooms as on 30th
KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Pakistani exhibitors at the 20th Kunming International Trade Fair and 5th South Asian Countries Trade Fair made a history by selling out local products worth over Rs 300 million. According to preliminary estimates of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), about 90 percent of Pakistani exhibitors sold their entire products they had taken along to the fair. The TDAP in a statement issued from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province of China, termed it “a big success”. One of the important sale in the fair was an extra large Pakistani hand knitted carpet, which was one of the largest carpets in the world and famous as “Farsh-e-Azam”. This carpet was sold to the Chinese provincial government for use in the Kunming Exhibition Center. Other than carpets, the quality products from Pakistan like leather products, textile and textile garments, furniture, cutlery, herbal products, handicrafts of wood, marble and brass were appreciated by the visitors and all were sold. Another important feature of the fair was the introduction and promotion of Pakistani rice in Yunnan province. The 10-member delegation of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) marketed the local rice well during the event and also distributed complimentary Biryani. Chinese appreciated the taste and aroma of Pakistani rice.
fpcci invites the doc for post-budget discussion APP
export oriented units which could create job opportunities, bring in new technology and know-how, and attract foreign investment. Asad Farid was of the view that Pakistan being the agrarian country needs to establish more agricultural export processing zones as establishment of such export processing zones would not only increase the export of farm products, which will be processed in accordance to world standards, manifold but also help exporters to fetch good price. Speaking on the occasion, Zahid Iqbal said that the EPZA offers the intending investors an excellent, amiable, market-friendly and secure atmosphere in its processing zones. The relevant operative procedures are simple, hassle-free, easy to understand and time-saving. The cost of doing business is competitive in all EPZs as compared to other zones in the region, especially for manufacturing. He said that EPZA is pursuing an extensive program to create a network of export processing zones in Pakistan. He said that Islamabad EPZ could be established with support and close cooperation of ICCI.
Here’s a fish tale
record over rs300m sale of pakistani products at china trade fair
KARACHI
icci, epza to collaborate for establishing islamabad export processing zone ISLAMABAD
as you sow so shall you reap
The leadership of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) has invited Federal Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to FPCCI Headquarters here to discus in detail the positive and negative aspects of the Annual Federal Budget 2012-13. During a post-budget press conference here at the Federation House on Thursday, President FPCCI Haji Fazal Kadir Khan Sherani and former president FPCCI Tariq Sayeed complained that the Government had sidelined the most of their recommendations while making the Annual Federal Budget. "Had our proposals dully accommodated, the budget would have been very supportive for trade and industry,for the common man," they remarked adding that non-traditional steps were required to be taken through this budget for a positive change in social and economic sectors. Both the leaders said that through this press conference, they were extending invitation to the Federal Finance Minister to have a session with FPCCI leadership and the members for thoroughly discussing the budget 2012-13.
June 2012, by 4th July 2012 to the MFD and KFHA. To implement the operation on seasonal ban and banned net, joint inspection teams consisting Fisheries Department, KFHA, MSA, Coast Guards, STOFA and representative of fishermen would monitor the activities and work round the clock. The code-end net will be available for fishermen in the next fishing season starting from August 2012 and only fishing boats carrying approved net shall be allowed for fishing. The cost of code-end net initially will be borne by KFHA, FCS & Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association and to be recovered from boat owners upon their return from fishing. The meeting was attended by Director General, MFD, Deputy Director MSA, MLO Coast Guards, Deputy Director Sindh Fisheries, Representatives of Pakistan Customs, FCS, STOFA, Moleholders, bonafied fishermen.
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Friday, 15 June, 2012
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news
German bonds gain ahead of italian debt sale LONDON
red raG: a flaG with fifty stars
bulls go bananas g
bulls erase the recent bear dominance at kse with a 287-point mad dash, courtesy renewed hope of improvement in pak-us ties
AGENCIES
Safe-haven German bond prices rose and gold firmed on Wednesday after Spain's credit rating was cut to one notch above "junk" ahead of a crucial Italian bond sale, and weak U.S. data fuelled concerns that the euro zone crisis was hitting global growth. "We are fast approaching the point where both Spain and Italy may have to be removed from the market," said Gary Jenkins, director of Swordfish Research. Despite the rating cut, the euro ticked up slightly against the dollar and European shares prices only inched lower as many investors were sidelined ahead of Sunday's cliffhanger election in Greece, which could see the country exit the currency bloc. Gold traded up 0.15 percent to $1,620 an ounce, having already gained over 1 percent this week, and, after two days of heavy selling, German government 10-year bond prices rose to push the yield down four basis points to 1.46 percent. The euro traded around $1.2565, well within its recent range between a near two-year low on June 1 of $1.2288 and Monday's threeweek high of $1.2672. The FTSE Eurofirst index of top European shares and the blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 opened down 0.3 percent, while the MSCI world equity index dipped 0.2 percent to 300.79 points. Italy's borrowing costs are expected to rise sharply at a bond auction of up to 4.5 billion euros of new debt later, but the small size of the sale should ensure its success.
KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
AKISTAN stocks closed bullish on foreign interest and institutional support in oversold market on positive statements by US senator amid hopes for improvement in Pak-US relations as talks continue over resumption of Nato supply lines. This was viewed by Ahsan Mehanti, Director at Arif Habib Investments Limited. The Karachi Stock Exchange-KSE benchmark 100-share index went up by 287.31 points on Thursday and ended the session at 13,656.20 points. The KMI-30 index gained 478.91 points as market closed at the level of 23,636.51 points on Thursday as against 23,157.60 points, the closing figure of the previous session. The trading session remained positive as index witnessed volumes of 114.327 million shares on Thursday against 77.658 million shares traded in the previous session. The trading value increased to Rs 4.303 billion compared to Rs 3.464 billion of the previous session. The intraday high and low, respectively, stood at 13, 689.31 and 13,368.89 points. Mehanti added that the World Bank forecast on firm recovery in Pak Economic growth, EU trade concessions on Pak exports played a catalyst role in bullish senti-
ments in stocks across the board despite concerns for fall in global stocks and commodities. The market capitalization grew modestly and increased to Rs 3.615 trillion from Rs 3.574 trillion a day earlier. Of the total 379 traded scrips, 234 gained, 88 lost and 57 finished as unchanged. The free-float KSE-30 index also gained 300.97 points to close at 11,800.47 points against the previous 11,499.50 points. The KSE all-share index closed with a gained of 196.21 points to 9,618.54 points as against 9,422.33 points. P.T.C.L.A was the day’s volume leader counting its traded shares at 16.452 million with the opening and closing rates standing at Rs 13.84 and Rs 14.60, followed by D.G.K Cement, Lucky Cement, Jahangir Siddiqui Company, Engro Corporation and Hub Power Company with turnover of 8.252 million, 7.053 million, 6.639 million and 5.243 million shares respectively. On the future market, the turnover recovered remarkably by over three million shares to 12.949 million against 9.673 million shares of pervious day. The Rafhan Maize Prod and Colgate Palmolive, up Rs 123.38 and Rs 24.99, led highest price gainers while, Nestle Pakistan Limited and Mehmood Tex, down Rs 34.41 and Rs 2.26 respectively, led the losers.
CORPORATE CORNER lG electronics (lG) announces deal with incredible miracle (im) of Global starcraft ii league (Gsl) KARACHI: The IM Team boasts some of the world’s best GSL gamers, including Jong-hyun Jung (Starcraft II ID: IMMvp) and Jae-duk Im (Starcraft II ID: IMNes Tea). Jung held one of the best records of any GSL gamer last year, picking up big wins at events such as the BlizzCon Invitational, Sony Ericsson GSL (January), MLG Anaheim and the Pepsi GSL, among others. GSL matches are regularly watched by more than two hundred thousand people and on average, more than 1.7 million viewers per day tune in to watch big tournaments from nearly every country around the world.
omore buzz to promote underground youth talent ISLAMABAD: Omore Buzz – the new ice-cream brand from Engro Foods – has pledged to promote the local talent of Pakistan specifically focusing on the youth of the country. The brand has come up with the concept of a magazine show targeting the talented youth of Pakistan who continue to reflect the Pakistani spirit and bring positive light to the country. The show titled “The No Shashka Show” resonates well with the brand concept of simple enjoyment. In a time when youth is being bombarded with multiple messages from various fronts and tasked with the burden to make important decisions, the brand promises to offer a simple yet addictive flavor without any superficial feelings or grandeur. The No Shashka Show is being hosted by the celebrity RJ and media personality – Khalid Malik who hosts a popular morning radio program and has a strong following in the urban teenage and youth population. Commenting on the program Khalid said: “In my interactions with the youth of Pakistan I have come across numerous individuals who are doing wonders in the fields of education, music, art, IT, livelihoods, etc. The basic concept of the show is to collaborate with a brand that represents the youth market and also offers them a platform to showcase their raw talent. The country is full of potential and it only needs an opportunity to represent the true face of Pakistan. The No Shashka show focuses on providing that opportunity to the youth and tells the world that we are a country full of diverse flavors and ‘chaskas’.” The program will showcase a multitude of talented individuals which include Asfandyar – a beat boxer; Hina Hazrat – Founder of Youth Republic in Pakistan; Bushra Siddqui – youngest blogger of Pakistan; Anhar Ashar – home based confectioner; Xehra Qadir – wall designer & glass-engraving expert; Shams Javaid – young puppeteer and mascot maker; Ruqaya Fareed – professional glass painter; and Zohaib Iqbal – from Team Pakistan that fabricated a car to reduce fuel consumption to give a mileage of 80 kms from 1-litre of fuel. The show also features original and cover performances by up-coming bands and artists.
kasb bank appoints boaJk as moneyGram agent KARACHI: KASB Bank as a Super-Agent of MoneyGram International has appointed Bank of Azad Jammu & Kashmir as an Agent for MoneyGram International in Pakistan. MoneyGram International is a leading global money transfer company based in the United States. It operates via an agent network of around 267,000 locations in 192 countries and territories worldwide. The agency agreement was signed between KASB Bank and Bank of Azad Jammu & Kashmir on June 11, 2012. The agreement empowers BoAJK to handle and process inward remittances routed via MoneyGram International from around the globe. The signing of this agency agreement will allow KASB Bank and BoAJK to better serve the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, both here in Pakistan and abroad.
spectrum y&r holds 34th annual workshop KARACHI: On June 6, 2012, leading ad agency Spectrum Y&R held its 34th annual Workshop/Playshop in the Ballroom of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi under the banner of "Celebrating Change". The agenda included a recap of the year’s major changes, a presentation on the latest digital media trends and Spectrum’s own Ad of the Year awards, awarding the people behind the agency’s best work throughout the past year, judged by an external jury of creative and media professionals.
cathay pacific releases combined traffic figures for may KARACHI: Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for May 2012 that show a yearon-year growth in passenger numbers alongside a significant drop in cargo and mail tonnage. Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,358,171 passengers in May – an increase of 6.8% on the same month in 2011 – while the passenger load factor rose by 0.2 percentage points to 78.5%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by 4.2%. For the year to date, passenger numbers have risen by 9.1% compared to a capacity increase of 7.6%. The two airlines carried 123,403 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 10.6% compared to May 2011. The cargo and mail load factor was down by 5.9 percentage points to 62.3%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, decreased by 7.3%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown dropped by 15.3%. For year to date, tonnage has declined by 10.7% against a capacity drop of 4.1%. Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “Demand on the passenger side remained robust throughout May, boosted by the enhancement of both Cathay Pacific and Dragonair’s regional services. Dragonair added four new destinations to its network in May. We continued to see a decline in yield in the Economy Class cabin on most routes. Business in the premium cabins is now being affected by a fall in yield and a lack of growth in volumes.”Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "Demand once again remained soft out of the key Hong Kong and Mainland China markets in May. Demand was down on long-haul routes, particularly to Europe, though traffic within the Asia Pacific region held up well. We continue to manage capacity in line with demand, at the same time as developing new markets where possible. In May we launched a new freighter service to Hyderabad in India following on from the launch of services to Zhengzhou in Central China in late March.”
Major Gainers Company
Open
High
Low
Close
Change
Turnover
Rafhan Maize Prod. Colgate Palmolive Wyeth Pak Limited Philip Morris Pak. Clariant Pak
3126.71 949.01 820.40 165.80 163.87
3283.00 974.00 844.00 174.09 171.99
3126.00 950.00 835.00 173.00 164.99
3250.09 974.00 839.09 173.57 171.52
123.38 24.99 18.69 7.77 7.65
801 151 264 5,781 20,395
Major Losers Nestle Pakistan Ltd. Mehmood Tex Exide (PAK) Shell Pakistan Ltd. Searle PakistanXD
4052.69 104.26 190.80 130.03 48.83
4069.00 102.00 191.50 130.50 48.83
4003.00 99.05 189.00 128.10 47.61
4016.28 102.00 189.16 128.39 47.65
-36.41 -2.26 -1.64 -1.64 -1.18
34 193 2,900 49,002 1,205
Volume Leaders P.T.C.L.A D.G.K.Cement Lucky Cement Jah.Sidd. Co. Engro Corporation
13.84 39.75 115.72 13.77 102.13
14.75 41.73 118.88 14.38 107.18
13.16 39.99 116.25 13.77 102.75
14.60 41.63 118.05 14.01 106.62
0.76 16,452,107 1.88 8,252,706 2.33 7,053,555 0.24 6,639,752 4.49 5,243,247
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
94.4126 146.5661 1.1892 118.6388
Dollar East US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
Buy
Sell
95.50 118.32 147.36 1.1850 91.96 12.12 25.82 25.32 93.87
96.20 119.52 148.82 1.1966 93.38 12.28 26.05 25.51 96.26
shares slip on weak us data, italy debt sale eyed TOKYO AGENCIES
Asian shares slipped on Thursday as weak U.S. retail sales data raised concerns about sluggish economic growth, while an Italian debt auction later will test market confidence in whether Rome can avoid becoming the next victim of the euro zone crisis. Traders expected market activity to slow approaching a cliffhanger Sunday election in Greece, which could precipitate the country's exit from the euro zone. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 percent, with China and Australia leading the decline, while Japan's Nikkei average shed 0.7 percent. "I would expect low volume in today's session with risk aversion dominating the mind-set of investors leading up to the Greek election on Sunday," said Miguel Audencial, trader at CMC Markets in Sydney, where stocks fell 0.5 percent. European shares and Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday, while the dollar fell, after data showed U.S. retail sales hit their worst level in two years in May. Safe haven gold rose. The report could fuel speculation the Federal Reserve may take further stimulus measures at its policy meeting next week to support the U.S. economy, after a weak May jobs report added to fears about the euro zone and sparked a broad market sell-off earlier this month. EURO STEADY: The euro was steady around $1.2562, caught in the middle of recent highs and lows - well above the near two-year low touched on June 1 at $1.2288, but below a three-week high reached on Monday at $1.2672. The euro's relative stability after a sharp downgrade in Spain's credit rating by Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday was seen as an indication of the extremely bearish stance already taken by investors before the Greek election. "It tells you much about how bearish market expectations are when a 3 notch downgrade of Spain pushes EUR/USD 15 pips lower," said Sebastian Galy, strategist at Societe General. "Asia will not be happy with poor U.S. GDP growth, leading to some nervousness in these (equities) markets. The fear should peak with the Italian bond auction," he said, noting that the disappointing retail sales could lead to lower GDP forecasts. U.S. crude fell 0.1 percent at $82.58 a barrel and Brent crude futures eased 0.3 percent at $96.88. Activity was subdued in Asian credit markets, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investmentgrade index, or the cost of insuring against corporate and sovereign defaults in Asia, widening by 1 basis point.
pak-iran trade gate closed for indefinite time QUETTA ONLINE
Zero Point, Trade gate, at Pak-Iran border has been closed for indefinite time. According to media reports, the Iranian authorities have closed the Zero Point without any prior intimation. Due to this closure the local traders are suffering millions of rupees losses. On the other hand Public circle said that the Zero Point has been closed due to the three day Khatm-e-Albukhari conference being held in Iranian city of Zahiddan, which starts on Friday.