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LCCI concerns over visa suspension by India SAARC CCI demands revival of visa on arrival in India LAHORE APP
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AHORE Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday expressed its concern over Indian Army Chief’s remarks against Pakistan and suspension of day-old new visa regime by India and termed them a blow to trade normalisation process being pursued by the business community. In a joint statement issued here, LCCI Senior Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, Vice President Mian Abuzar Shad and Executive Committee members said that Pakistani business community was continuously working for improved trade relations with the entire world, especially
Alfalah & UnionPay join hands for a strategic cards alliance KARACHI: The Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) has signed an agreement with UnionPay International (UPI) to accept UnionPay cards in Pakistan. An announcement here yesterday said that this partnership was a major milestone for both companies and also marks a breakthrough in forging business links between financial institutions in China and Pakistan. It said that the Bank Alfalah was aiming to implement the acceptance of UnionPay Cards on POS terminals in Pakistan in early 2013 followed by acceptance of UnionPay Cards on ATMs thereafter. To date, the total number of the UnionPay Card issued had exceeded 3.4 billion. The UnionPay Card’s network had been extended to all the cities and rural areas in China as well as 135 countries and regions, it was further stated. Bank Alfalah’s President and CEO Atif Bajwa expressed pleasure to be entering into an alliance with UnionPay International to facilitate the acceptance of their cards in Pakistan. He was optimistic that “our widespread presence and footprint, with over 21,600 POS terminals countrywide, will go a long way in assisting UnionPay Card holders to conduct their transactions with enhanced efficiency, convenience and ease.” APP
China now world’s top Smartphone producer BEIJING: Chinese shipments of Smart phones totalled 224 million units in 2012, making the country the world’s largest smartphone producer, official data showed Wednesday. In 2012, over 730,000 Chinese apps were launched on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms, and the number of apps in China Mobile’s online Mobile Market approached 150,000, according to a statement from the China Academy of Telecommunication Research under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Beijing-based research firm, Analysts International predicted that China’s mobile Internet market will reach 429.6 billion yuan in 2015, a news agency reported APP
Thursday, 17 January, 2013
neighbouring countries, but it would never compromise on national sovereignty, dignity and interests. They expressed deep concern at the abrupt action taken by the India in suspending the dayold new visa regime, adding that Indian decision would damage the process of bringing South Asian countries closer together for establishing peace and economic prosperity in the region. They said, “We have worked hard during the last two years by way of enhanced interaction and coordination on different fronts including diplomatic one, and frequent visit of delegations by both government functionaries and private sector, which has suffered a serious blow because of statements by various Indian government functionaries.”
SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an apex body of chambers in the region, yesterday demanded the revival of facility of visa on arrival in India to boost socio economic prosperity in the south asian countries which possess 24 per cent of global natural resources. Tracing the history while commenting on the suspension of visa on arrival to Pakistanis by the Indian government, SAARC CCI Vice President Pak chapter and veteran trade leader Iftikhar Ali Malik said that for promotion of economic co-operation in South Asia, free movement of businessperson in the region is crucial and India-Pakistan agreement on flexible visa policy will allow multiple-entry on reciprocal basis. He said that India and Pakistan two most powerful members of the SAARC region must come to enter a suitable trade regime. He said we all have seen that times have changed the concept and the economic prosperity and member countries have taken the lead which was much needed so that we all could take full benefits of the regional power to eliminate the poverty and bring self reliance and prosperity in the region like other
global blocs of the world. He said that every SAARC country had its unique characteristics as India is the 4th largest economy, Pakistan was hub of textiles, Bangladesh was centre of garments industry Nepal,Maldives and Sri Lanka were emerging destination of tourists from all over the world. He said that SAARC Charter demands firm resolve to work towards making it more meaningful for our people, sincere efforts to end political confrontation and
Slight recovery in Pakistani stocks following steep fall KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The Pakistani stock market closed higher on Wednesday after a steep fall the previous day. Investors bought cautiously although uncertainty remained over the resolution of a anti-corruption demonstration in the capital. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.46 per cent, or 73.58 points, higher at 16,181.47. Investors who bought stocks in oil, cement and fertilizer helped the index to gain 73 points. Volumes remained low with activity remained confined towards mid cap stocks, said dealer Samar Iqbal at Topline Securities. “We expect the market to be politically driven in the upcoming days and better than expected results in the upcoming result season should also provide support to the
index,” said a dealer at JS Global Capital Ltd. Fauji Cement rose 1.8 per cent to 6.78 per share while Byco Petroleum was up 3.67 per cent to 12.99 per share. Maple Leaf Cement dropped 0.28 per cent to 14.28 per share and Askari Bank fell 0.34 per cent to 17.76 per share. Over Rs130 billion had been wiped out from market capitalisation on Tuesday when the KSE-100 fell by 525 points — the worst single-day decline in over four years since May 2008. In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended weaker at 97.58/97.64 against the dollar, compared to Tuesday’s close of 97.40/97.45. Overnight rates in the money market remained flat at 9.40 per cent.
act for socio economic prosperity work in unison to safeguard rich heritage and also to rise to face future challenges. Iftikhar Ali Malik said that it was unfortunate that the world development indicators present bleak picture of the region on global economic fronts despite having enormous potential, the contribution of SAARC countries in global GDP was less than 2 % and its share in export is only 1.5 % which does not reflect our potential.
OGRA raises wellhead gas prices
KARACHI: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has announced wellhead gas prices for all the fields raising the purchase prices in the range of 0.57 % to 9.49 %, effective from July2012. According to market sources here yesterday, the rise in the gas prices will improve profitability and share prices of PPL, OGDC and POL. KASB Research Senior Analyst Hussain Yasar said that highest increase of 9.49 percent was recorded in the wellhead price of Sui gas field, rising from Rs 195.50 per million British Thermal Unit (mmbtu) to Rs 214.06 per mmbtu, followed by Kandhkot field with 9.03 percent rise. APP
PAKISTAN POSTS INCREASE IN VEHICLE PRODUCTION ISLAMABAD APP
Tractors and trucks production during last five months of current financial year registered growth of 83.50 percent and 15.47 percent respectively. About 21,550 tractors were produced during first five months of current financial year as compared to 11,744 tractors during same period last year. According to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics about 732 trucks were produced in first five months of current financial year as compared to the 866 trucks production of same period last year. Meanwhile, 257 buses and 45376 jeeps produced during the period from JulyNovember 2012-13 as compared to the same period of last year.
The data revealed that 6165 numbers of light commercial vehicles were
produced in first five months of current financial year as compared to the same period of last year.
About 688492 numbers of motorcycles were produced during the period under review as compared to the 691818 num-
bers production of same period last year. During the month of November 2012, about 4777 numbers of tractors Were produced as compared to 4017 numbers of tractors production in November 2011 where as 108 numbers trucks were produced as compared to 134 numbers production same month of last year. About 35 buses produced in month of November 2012 as compared to the production of 48 buses of same month of last year. Jeeps and car production was recorded at 8009 during the months of November 2012 as compared to the 10030 cars and jeeps produced in November 2011. Motorcycles production during the month of November 2012 was recorded at 142497 as against the production of 137825 motor cycles produced in the month of November 2011.
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Business 02 TUSDEC joins hands with CNP-WCCI ISLAMABAD APP
Capitalising on its vision of empowering women through their socio-economic ascension, TUSDEC (Technology Upgradation and Skills Development Company) has joined hands with the Central and North Punjab Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The collaboration has been substantiated in an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed recently binding both parties to cooperate on the issues of women empowerment by arranging for their vocational trainings and formal employment opportunities” said a statement issued by the company here. The MoU signing ceremony was held at TUSDEC Head Office in Lahore. TUSDEC CEO Basit Maqsood Abbasi apprised the guest congregation about the various interventions made by TUSDEC in the sphere of technology up gradation and skills development. CNP-WCCI President Qaisra Shiekh highlighted the soaring need of imparting industry demand driven trainings to the women belonging to marginalised communities in order to enable formal earning prospects for them. According to a company spokesperson, TUSDEC will be imparting free of cost trainings to the marginalised women of Punjab in various conventional and unconventional areas identified by CNPWCCI. The company spokesperson further shared that TUSDEC had also joined hands with Dar ul Aman Lahore, Sialkot and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Centre for Women Development in order to identify the target beneficiaries for the vocational training courses. The MoU also seeks collation of both parties for the mentoring of modest women thereby encouraging them to effectively participate in the country’s economic oscillation. According to a senior official of TUSDEC, various paid employment opportunities will also be identified for the skilled women or they may be linked with microfinance institutions to consummate their potentials of self-employment.
SBP governor calls upon banks to develop robust strategy for SMEs ISLAMABAD
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TATE Bank of Pakistan Governor Yaseen Anwar has impressed upon the top management of banks to develop a more robust and focused strategy for meeting the banking needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). “This will lead to better and improved banking solutions for SME customers”, he said this while delivering his keynote address at the Roundtable on `SME Banking’ organized by the State Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) at SBP Learning Resource Centre yesterday. He said: “I hope that when you walk out after this roundtable, a voluntary commitment to increase lending to this sector will be forthcoming. This prudent decision will be in the interest of both the banking sector and the economy”.
The SME development plays a key role in the economic development of a country, he said, adding that the SME sector in Pakistan contributes 30 percent towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employs more than 70 percent of the non-agricultural workforce and generates 25 percent in export earnings. “The sector has huge potential in generating employment and poverty alleviation in the country. Therefore, SBP is actively promoting SME finance under the broader agenda of increasing Financial Inclusion in Pakistan”, Mr. Anwar added. Both SBP and commercial banks need to play a proactive role in improving access to finance for SMEs, he said, adding that the State Bank had already taken a number of important initiatives for improving access to credit for SME sector. “These measures include provision of specialised Prudential Regulations (PRs) for SMEs, Refinance Schemes for SMEs, Credit Guarantee Scheme for Small and Rural Enterprises and cluster development surveys”, he added. Anwar further said that SBP had been assisting banks through a holistic IFC technical assistance and capacity building initiative encompassing areas of Strategy Formulation, Product Development, Risk Management and HR Development etc. for SME lending. “Presently, Bank Alfalah Ltd. is being supported for capacity building to boost SME banking, while many other mid-tier banks are being considered for similar IFC technical assistance. IFC is in direct dialogue with a number of banks. We hope that the project will revitalise SME lending by participating financial institutions and will be a prototype for other financial institutions which could see financing to SMEs as profitable business ventures”, he added. The SBP governor said that despite the immense significance of the SME sector in Pakistan, it remains largely financially excluded, as reflected from the declining trend in SME finance over the years, constituting only 8% of the banks’ total advances as of June 2012, down from 16% in June 2007.
Major Gainers COMPANY
OPEN
HIGH
LOW
CLOSE
CHANGE TURNOVER
Abbott Lab.
198.23
208.14
206.00
207.43
9.20
1,100
Siemens Pakistan 603.00
610.00
609.95
610.00
7.00
400
Attock Petroleum 483.20
497.00
480.00
489.80
6.60
2,800
UniLever Pak
9993.46 10000.00 10000.00 10000.00 6.54
60
Ismail Industr
140.00
145.98
145.98
145.98
5.98
500
1270.00 149.00 154.00 590.00 124.41
1260.00 149.00 147.37 590.00 120.00
1260.00 149.00 149.55 590.00 120.00
-10.00 -5.90 -5.57 -5.56 -4.41
100 500 3,300 400 1,500
6.37 6.89 14.40 13.10 14.65
5.80 6.65 14.00 12.60 14.06
6.27 6.74 14.11 12.98 14.30
0.36 0.08 -0.02 0.45 -0.02
8,041,000 7,437,000 6,616,500 6,513,500 4,710,000
Major Losers Bata (Pak) Gatron Ind. Pak Gum & Chemical Indus Dyeing Gillette Pak
1270.00 154.90 155.12 595.56 124.41
Volume Leaders TRG Pakistan Ltd. Fauji Cement Jah.Sidd. Co. Byco Petroleum Maple Leaf Cement
5.91 6.66 14.13 12.53 14.32
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
97.6352 156.4116 1.1092 129.6791
Forex Rates BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
98.90 130.17 156.72 1.1059 99.01 12.48 26.77 26.22 103.00
SELL 99.60 132.22 159.14 1.1223 101.19 12.79 27.14 26.58 106.07
CORPORATE CORNER Centaurus Luxury Mall set to throw its gates open
fered for a period of 1 Year (13 Months) at a rate of 12% and 2 years (24 Months) at a rate of 12.50%, with a monthly profit payment mechanism. The TFC aimed to raise PKR 1 billion (Rupees one Billion) and has been partially secured through the Microfinance Credit Guarantee Facility provided by the State Bank of Pakistan. TFC 1 (1 Year) and TFC 2 (2 Years), has an issue of PKR 500 Million (Rupees Five Hundred Million) each respectively and has been assigned a Rating of “‘A”‘ by JCRVIS, which denotes very high credit quality. PR
(HED), Government of Punjab (GoP) for conducting trainings and implementing the Entrepreneurship Basics Course for the students in the province of Punjab. Under this pilot, Intel Pakistan aspires to train 2,000 students till December 2013, of the institutions under HED, GoP. The Intel® Youth Enterprise: Entrepreneurship Basics program is a training program targeted at unemployed youths and adults who are interested in setting up their own businesses but are lacking most of the basic skills required by an entrepreneur. The overall objective of this training program is to provide the student entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and knowledge to allow them to identify a business opportunity and to then set up and successfully manage a business. The curriculum aims to deliver a wide range of skills including developing a business plan, improving communication and negotiation skills, and the use of technology in business. This training program is designed to be delivered through a blended learning approach, with instructor-led and elearning components. PR
Servis Sales Corporation Head of Communications Shahzad Khalid hands over the trophy to Pakistani contestant Nabeel Shaukat Ali who was crowned the winner of the Indo-Pak musical contest — Sur Kshetra. PR
ISLAMABAD: The Centaurus Mall, Pakistan’s mega shopping and entertainment destination, is all set to open its doors by the middle of next month, says a press release. “We are all set to make a soft launch. Quite a few brands have confirmed their readiness by the date we have communicated to them, and others are working day in and day out to make sure they don’t miss out on this opportunity,” the release stated. The Centaurus Mall, located at the heart of federal capital, is a multi-facility complex featuring a deluxe mega shopping mall (covering 400,000 sq. ft), 5-screen Cineplex, a state-of-the-art kids entertainment area, and food court offering a variety of cuisines. PR
Etihad Airways to launch Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam flights
Tameer Bank strikes the Gong at KSE
KARACHI: With a goal to dramatically accelerate the pace and scale of entrepreneurship in the country, Intel Pakistan is piloting a new initiative, titled Intel Youth Enterprise under its Intel Entrepreneurship program umbrella. This was signed in an MoU with Higher Education Department
KARACHI: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will launch daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The new EY77 and EY78 services will begin on Wednesday, 15 May 2013, and carry the KL code of Dutch national carrier, KLM. The daily flights will complement KLM’s current service between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi which will increase to daily from the summer and carry Etihad Airways’ EY code, ensuring that the two airlines can offer a combined double daily service. James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways said: “We are delighted that Amsterdam will become a part Etihad Airways’ global network from 15 May. The Dutch capital joins a group of 17 leading European cities that Etihad Airways flies to including Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London and Paris. The double daily service between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi will benefit passengers looking to travel from the Netherlands to Abu Dhabi and beyond to destinations like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia.” PR
KARACHI: Tameer Microfinance Bank Limited (TMFB) announced the successful listing of its Term Finance Certificate (TFC) by the name of “Tameer Sarmaya Certificate (TSC)” on the Karachi Stock Exchange. Tameer Sarmaya Certificate is the first of its kind retail Micro Finance TFC to be launched in the Pakistan Market with a minimum investment ticket of PKR 5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand only), with purchase of certificate in Multiples of PKR 5,000. The TFC has been of-
KARACHI: Consul General of Switzerland Dibier inaugurates Move N Pick Ice Cream parlour in Defence. MD Move N Pick Imran Jofa and Nadia Hussain are also seen in the picture. Staff Photo
Intel Pakistan signs MoU with HED to train 2,000 students
Thursday, 17 January, 2013