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Blue chip stocks provide much needed impetus to bourse Page 03
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profit.com.pk
Wednesday, 18 January, 2012
Coal Gasification to meet country’s energy demands UCG able to generate 2200MMCFT gas from Thar in a couple of years g Underground gasification project successfully starts generating gas g First phase of gasifiers to generate 100 MW power by next year g No need to have gas supply from Iran or Central Asia g
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GHULAM ABBAS
He country can easily meet the expected demands of around 2200 MMCFT gas by 2015 through the “Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Project” through the investment of only over $1 billion. The project, which has successfully started producing gas recently, has proved to be the only solution to bridge the gap between demand and supply of gas in the country on a short term basis by utilising indigenous resources at lower costs. during a visit to the UCG project at Tharparker, Sindh recently, Profit observed that the government funded pilot project, started under the supervision of the renowned scientist dr Samar Mubarakmand, was successfully producing gas as it has almost completed the first gasifier at Thar, which is enriched with the reserves of 175 billion tonnes of coal. The only Block-5 (64
Sqkm) of Thar allocated for the gasification project could meet the energy demands of the country for over 30 years as it has the reserves of 1.4 billion tonnes. The pilot project, initially aimed to generate gas for producing 100 megawatts, is now being planned to be extended from the approved 18 to 84 gasifiers. The needed $1.2 billion fund for the proposed 84 gasifiers is likely to be approved by the government as the matter, according to sources, is scheduled to be discussed soon. Talking about the recent developments at the project, dr Muhammad Shabbir Managing director of UCG project said that despite much criticism and hue and cry over the gasification project, the team led by dr Samar Mubarakmand has succeeded to produce gas through the indigenously designed project without any foreign funding. “as mining needs heavy investment besides the technical and processing hindrances in the area, the UCG was a better alternative to explore the huge reserves of coal”, he said. according to the Md, a gasifier could easily produce the required gas for at least 10 years while the whole setup could be relocated in the area with less expenditure, besides the project has no
environmental implications as compared to mining. Through the produced gas, the government was going to purchase some engines of 1.5 MW each to use the gas for generating power and the project was expected to be able to generate at least 100 MW by the mid of next year. Besides the immediate and ensured supply of gas through the project, he informed, the power generated by the underground gasification would be much cheaper as the electricity through the process would be available at $16 per megawatt as compared to $77/MW and $69/MW produced through Integrated Gas Combined Cycle and Natural Gas Combined Cycle respectively according to Muhammad Shabbir, the demand of gas in the country was expected to be 2200 MMCFT by 2015 as compared to the current demands of 1500 MMCFT against 5500 MMCFT. To meet the expected demand almost 84 gasifier were needed to be established at the side as a gasifier was estimated to produce at least 26.5 MMCFT gas. Currently only one gasifier has started producing gas while another 17 units are in the pipeline. He informed that at least 49 to 50 gasifiers would be established in 1 Sq km of the Block-5 which was stretched over 64 Sq km. One gasifier was being built at the cost of rs1.2 billion making the total cost of 84 units rs101
billion or $1.12 billion. almost 150 personnel were currently working at UCG project out of which 62 employees were from Sindh and 30 to 32 workers belonged to Tharparkar. Talking about the benefits of the project for the locals, he said that maximum job opportunities were being given to the locals while they would also be given preference for supply of water, gas and electricity through the project. In reply to query, he rejected all concerns shown from various corners over the project saying that there were no human or environmental hazards in the project. To another question, he said, the present government was serious about the project as it has provided the required facilities to UCG. It is worth mentioning here that the first test burn at the underground coal gasification project was made in december 2011 after completing the first gasifier and civil works with the availability of $9.22 million for the project. The completion of the gasifier also involved over 36,000 feet of drilling and 18,000 feet of steelcasing and other engineering works. On the other hand, the oil importers lobby and others, sources claimed, have also started their activities to fail the already succeeded project as the gas produced after the new developments could not only reduce the import of oil but also produce diesel, car fuel, waxes, Naptha and others.
Ministry circumvents court orders, imposes LPG surcharge ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
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ederal government has imposed a Petroleum development levy on locally-produced lPG with effect from Monday, according to an official notification. The new tax is expected to raise retail prices by at least 10 per cent immediately; and is likely to be challenged in court. “The government’s decision to forcibly raise lPG prices, which are already equated with Saudi arabian export prices, is a deeply flawed one,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman for lPG association of Pakistan (lPGaP). “This will have an urgently adverse effect on everyday consumers and the industry,” he added. “We are disappointed that the government has chosen to disregard both the public interest as well as the orders of the honorable courts.” Petroleum development levy on local lPG production was first imposed last September through lPG Policy 2011. That policy, which was made without stakeholder inputs and aimed at crowding out the private sector and establishing a public sector monopoly, was suspended in its entirety by the honourable lahore High Court. lPG industry maintains that the policy was crafted to secure financial viability of Progas lPG import facility, which was controversially purchased last year by Sui Southern Gas Company limited. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural resources has circumvented the court’s orders and the suspension of lPG Policy 2011 through an amendment to the petroleum products (Petroleum levy) Ordinance, 1961. It has imposed a surcharge of rs11,486 per tonne on all locally-produced lPG with effect from January 16. The government-dictated price increase is expected to take retail prices to about rs155 per kg from the current average of rs140 per kg. “With the imposition of the surcharge, lPG prices in Pakistan are now at an all-time high,” said Jabbar. “This is unprecedented and gives the lie to the government’s own claims of desiring to facilitate lower-income households which rely on lPG for heating and cooking purposes.” Pakistan’s 11 lPG producers are expected to pass this additional cost on to end-consumers. The government of Pakistan is the largest producer of lPG in the country by virtue of its shareholdings in, among others, ParCO, OGdCl, and PPl. Pakistan is currently facing a natural gas deficit of over 1,000mmscfd. The energy crisis has led to unemployment and unrest across the country. after imposition of Petroleum development levy, lPG, which was being used as a replacement fuel for natural gas, has now become the most expensive fuel in Pakistan in terms of calorific value per rupee.
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to enhance bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2015 ISLAMABAD
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AMER SIAL
akISTaN has assured afghanistan of resolution of blockade of afghan containers containing perishable items and fuel within next ten days, as both countries agreed at the two day joint economic commission meeting to enhance bilateral trade from $2.5 billion to $5 billion by 2015. addressing a joint news conference, Finance Minister abdul Hafeez Shaikh along with his afghan counterpart Hazrat Omar Zakhiwal said both sides agreed to hold JeC meetings on regular basis to address various issues that hamper promotion of bilateral trade and investment. The meeting of JeC was held after a gap of three years. The minister assured that problems faced by afghan traders due to blockade of containers would be removed within the next 10 days. He said it was noted that there was
huge bilateral trade potential which remains unutilised and it was decided to enhance bilateral trade to $5 billion within next three years. as the afghan side sought assistance in oil and gas exploration, power generation, construction and mining sectors, Pakistan offered machinery and equipment to afghanistan. The state owned Water and Power development authority (WaPda) will be helping afghanistan to develop hydel power generation on kabul river for export in the region. Similarly the national flagship Oil and Gas development Company limited (OGdCl) would help the neighbouring country in oil and gas exploration while the two state owned gas utilities, SNGPl and SSGC will provide assistance for developing transmission network. The minister said both sides agreed to establish a joint chamber of commerce and industry to identify areas for promoting bilateral trade and investment. It was agreed
to explore possibility of entering into agreement for promotion of bilateral trade. It was also agreed that both sides would establish display centers at kabul and karachi for promotion of bilateral trade. afghan Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhiwal said both the countries have unfortunately not been able to utilise the immense bilateral trade potential, even though there is a political will of the leadership of both the countries in this regard. Seeking investment from Pakistan, he said investors from all over the world were coming to afghanistan but Pakistani investors were shy due to some misperceptions, that they were not welcomed to the country. “afghanistan will welcome Pakistani investment in exploration, hydel power, constructing and mineral sectors”. He said there were many irritants in afghan transit trade through Pakistan and if they were not removed they could cause a big impact on promoting bilateral trade. He sug-
gested going beyond irritants to promote the access of people and trade. He said afghanistan could be a “land bridge” for connecting South asia and Central asian which will benefit the people of the region. about irritants he said Pakistan has stopped transit of NaTO containers which has also resulted in blockade of 700 afghan containers having perishable items and fuel supplies. He stressed speedy resolution of the issue. Similarly he said misunderstanding on declaration of goods was causing delay in the release of transit consignments. Hafeez Shaikh said issues related to transit trade between the two countries under afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade agreement would be resolved to operationalise it. He said issue of insurance guarantees would be discussed to resolve the issue. He said the meeting also reviewed progress on 29 projects being developed in afghanistan, under Pakistan’s 300 million assistance. He said both countries agreed to
expedite completion of Torkham Jalalabad carriageway within one year as already 70 per cent construction work was complete. Pakistan, he said, has asked afghanistan to provide encroachment free route to initiate process for establishing Chamman- Spinboldak-kandhar railway line. He said setting up of liaquat ali khan engineering faculty, Nishtar kideny Center and 2000 scholarships to afghan students, CaSa 1000 and TaPI pipeline were also discussed. Pakistan exports to afghanistan were $2.3 billion and imports were of $172 million in fiscal year 2010-2011. afghan finance minister also called upon petroleum minister dr asim Hussain and discussed supply of jet fuel to afghanistan. Petroleum minister sought permission for the state owned oil marketing company, Pakistan State Oil, to start its operation in afghanistan. afghan delegation welcomed the offer and assured complete cooperation to the company to start its operations.
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Wednesday, 18 January, 2012
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Political uncertainty multiplies equity investors woes kArAchI
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STAFF REPORT
OlITICal developments, like Supreme Court’s recent contempt of court order to the prime minister, are making life difficult for fund managers investing in Pakistan stocks, observed analysts. This contempt of court has been given on failure to reopen cases against President Zardari and others, previously set aside under the infamous National reconciliation Ordinance (NrO). “These developments are adding more uncertainties in the local political scene and making life difficult for fund managers investing in Pakistani stocks,” said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive officer of Topline Securities. However, the analyst said, he believed that it looked akin to the last few episodes of a high profile drama that would eventually lead into early election somewhere in second half of calendar year 2012. and once the path to early election is clear the local equities that are trading at forward Pe of 5.7x and dividend yield of nine per cent could rally, we believe. However, it will take some time before the drama ends and clarity occurs on the timing of the much-
awaited general elections. PPP government’s five year term will end in 1Q2013. Pakistan’s general elections are not scheduled to take place until early 2013 as per the normal routine. However, major rallies by opposition party PMl-N and the former cricketer at the helm of PTI in recent days, ‘Memogate Scandal’, NrO hearing coupled with their subsequent events signal signs of early election in 2012. all leading newspapers and TV channels are also hinting at the possibility of elections in 2012. In fact in one of the interviews, President Zardari has also hinted at early election. However, there are questions regarding the independent election commission and an acceptable caretaker prime minister to both the ruling and opposition parties. With Senate elections due on March 02, the present government would try to buy time as the present electoral composition would allow the government to become the largest party in the upper house. In this regard, PM’s appearance in the court could be used as a delaying tactic with either a) PM accepting his mistake and making commitment to open the cases or b) refusing to write to Swiss authorities under the ambit of presidential immunity.
Whereas probability of the former being the case is low and will automatically buy time for the government, the later could result in the PM disqualification, resulting in change of the prime minister. even in this scenario government would get time to secure its position in the upper house. Beyond the point, we believe there would be overall consensus of early elections by both the government as well as the opposition. Stock market investors will keenly follow developments on the political front. Given early election or otherwise, we expect political noise to remain high in the coming few weeks and the tug of war between political players would create a wave of uneasiness at local bourses. The market will rally if independent caretaker government is appointed with consensus to supervise the election in 2012. Investor will cheer any announcement of early change in the government considering that last 4-year of PPP government brought average GdP growth of 2.9 per cent only while average yearly inflation of 14.6 per cent in the said period. looking at the past trend, stocks have rallied by 9 per cent and 12 per cent on an average 3-month and 1-month before the elections. and this time also we expect share value to react positively.
LUCK, DGKC underperform kArAchI
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STAFF REPORT
ISING risk perception about investing into Pakistan is hitting hard the Foreign direct Investment (FdI) that fell sharply in recent months and needs to be tackled through a comprehensive policy approach by involving the chambers of commerce in the country. In a statement issued here Tuesday, lCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said severest ever energy shortfall, bad law and order situation, institutional fragility and political instability were major factors keeping the foreign investors away. lCCI President feared that the fall in foreign direct investment was likely to adversely affect the country’s economic growth; therefore government should adopt remedial measures to reverse this trend and to attract foreign investment. at the same time, lCCI President said, slow government response to deal with aggravating energy crisis was also spoiling not only the local investment scenario but also sending a very negative signal to potential foreign investors. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said a special committee comprising members of the parliament, presidents of chambers of commerce and industry and representatives of association should be formed to identify solutions to attract foreign investment that is a prerequisite to economic growth. lCCI President said the proposed committee should also be tasked to look into existing policy framework and if there is a need to redesign new policies it should immediately initiate work on
them. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said all the developed countries accord special importance to economic issues and challenges. But in Pakistan the situation is the other way round and the economy is on the bottom of government to-do list. He said key issues including power shortage, poor infrastructure, law and order situation and other vital factors, should be addressed on priority basis to improve the bleak foreign investment condition to put the country on track of economic growth and development. “at the same time the government should ensure that all institutions remain immune to any sort of undue interference as this will help improve quality of governance without which foreign investment can not be attracted.” lCCI President said that a number of sectors in Pakistan including infrastructure development, coal, energy, agriculture, livestock, textiles and pharmaceutical offer lucrative investment opportunities to foreign investors but unfortunately due to absence of a proper marketing strategy these opportunities are unattended even today. It may be mentioned here that Pakistan’s investment rate was only 13.4 per cent at end of last fiscal year, which was lowest since FY74. The low saving rate, coupled with wary foreign investors led to record low investment rate in the country. State Bank had already reported in its annual report that Pakistan had fared poorly when compared to its neighbours in South asia, because of domestic and global factors. However, SBP said it believed that the domestic issues are more decisive and chronic.
Benchmark capable of 18.5 per cent growth
WAQAR HAMZA
He stock prices of both lUCk and dGkC had unperformed the market one week and one month following the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) raid on the offices of all Pakistan Cement Manufacturer association (aPCMa) on april 24, 2008 and later convicted the industry and imposed a fine of rs6.3 billion on the industry on august 27, 2009. This time CCP once again raided aPCMa and kohat Cement on suspected cartelisation within the sector yesterday. Since prices are the biggest driver of earnings for the sector any major downward adjustment in prices poses a risk to the earnings expectations for FY12 for both lUCk and dGkC. So, the historical trend of cement prices CCP’s actions shows that the cement sector’s profitability is highly sensitive to cement prices. Interestingly, despite the raid on april 24, 2008 cement prices had improved on a QoQ basis by 16 per cent in 4QFY08. Further rise was seen in average retention cement prices by 33-39 per cent on a QoQ basis during 1QFY09, thus indicating that the threat of a vigilant investi-
Perception hurts foreign investment in country
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gation had not disturbed the pricing power within the sector. Conversely, a different trend was witnessed after imposition of a fine on the industry in august 2009. average retention prices dipped in September 2009 by 10 per cent and than by four per cent in October 2009. Considering that cement prices are up by approximately 8-9 per
cent QoQ in 2QFY12, while coal has dipped by nine per cent QoQ in the same period cement manufacturers may opt for a less confrontational strategy. ‘as a result, minor downward adjustments cannot be ruled out. However, a major plunge in cement prices will affect our earnings forecast for both lUCk and dGkC,’ said Furqan ayub at JS.
STAFF REPORT
He volume erosion in the preceding year and expected continuation in the current year may impact the price discovery. On valuation terms, it is foreseen that the benchmark is capable of 18.5 per cent growth to reach 13,443 points as the majority of sectors are trading well below their intrinsic fundamental values. Bilal asif at HMFS said that with all factors considered, our top picks for 2012 are PPl, POl and HUBCO from the energy chain, FaTIMa from the fertiliser sector, lUCk from the cement sector and MCB from the banking sector. albeit majority of the stocks are trading at a significant discount to our valuation, we prefer the abovementioned stocks on the basis of prevalent risk and return scenario, he
added. He firmly believes that managing the Current account would be a daunting task as the Current account deficit for the 5MFY12 has already surpassed $2.1 billion which is approximately 0.92 per cent of the GdP. Oil bill during 5MFY12 reached the $6.29 billion mark and assuming the average oil prices remain at the same level our oil bill may easily reach the $15 billion mark which would further enlarge the Current account deficit. ‘If we consider the actual budget deficit estimate of rs851 billion turning out to be accurate and include the current conversion of power sector circular debt amounting to rs391 billion, the budget deficit may be around 6.31 per cent (assuming the GdP growth of 3.7 per cent). Non materialisation of privatisation proceeds and excessive subsidies to power sector may further complicate the situation,’ he added.
KSE members selling out membership cards at throwaway price g
Hum Securities sold out card at Rs40 million recently g Membership card used to be priced at Rs140 million in 2008 kArAchI ISMAIL DILAWAR
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HereaS the country’s volumes-starved capital market is under immense pressure on the external and domestic fronts, many of the members of karachi Stock exchange (kSe) are tending to shut their loss-making stock market business. The market participants, particularly the 200 card holders, are losing interest in the capital market, where, due to low volumes, the profits are less attractive. This situation has forced many of the active kSe members into selling their membership cards even at
throwaway prices. M/s Hum Securities is one such card holder which, the market sources said, has finalised a deal with an unknown buyer to sell its membership card at rs40 million. “The deal has been made to sell the membership card at four crore rupees,” said a source privy to the deal. This price reflects a tremendous devaluation of the assets related to the stock market as the same card used to be priced at rs140 million some three years back in 2008. “This rate shows that the membership cards have shed its price value by over 70 per cent or rs100 million over the past few
years,” the source said. abba karim, the source recalled, was the card holder who had sold his membership card at rs140 million in 2008. Commenting on the deal, a market observer said the volumes, which were staggering at record low of 30 million shares, had left market participants with no option but to quit. He said while the investors were keeping aloof from the equity market due to an ill-thought-out regulatory framework, the controversial taxes like the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) had added fuel to the fire. Securities and exchange Commission of Pakistan has finally realised that CGT was not in the
interest of the country’s ailing economy. “Maintaining status quo on the CGT is not in the interest of the economy as it has adversely impacted tax revenue collection as well as trading volumes at capital markets,” SeCP chairman Muhammad ali observed in a notice sent to kSe last Friday. The levy, the regulator conceded, had adversely affected investors’ sentiments, capital formation and overall functions of the capital market. Uncertainties on the political front are equally attributable as causes of eroding volumes at the stock markets. “Stock market investors will keenly follow developments on the political
front,” said Muhammad Sohail, a stock market analyst and chief executive of Topline Securities. The analyst said market would rally if independent caretaker government was appointed with consensus to supervise the elections in 2012. a market participant claimed that there were many among the 160 active kSe members who were bracing themselves for selling out their membership cards, but some regulatory requirements were hindering their way. as per SeCP rules, he said a member wanting to sell his/her card would need to get SeCP’s clearance apropos his last three years’ income tax statements besides that of his clients.
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Solve Agricultural & Dairy Institute conducts training LAhOrE STAFF REPORT
OlVe agri and dairy Institute™ (SadI) has conducted special training programme on “Commercial dairy Farming” for Pioneer Pakistan Seed ltd. The three day course was attended by Pioneer Pakistan Seed’s field staff including district Sales agronomists (dSa), Customer Service agronomist (CSa) and Sales Officers (SO). The objective of the training was to impart practical knowledge about dairy farming on commercial scale in order to make them effective in guiding and supporting dairy farmers in their respective areas. dairy farm feasibility, site and animal selection, Housing and sheds construction, basics of animal nutrition, nutritional requirements and ration balancing, Nutritional deficiencies, feeding management, Heat stress management, standard operating procedures, economics of dairy farming were the major areas focused during the training. experts with hands-on and practical knowledge were invited to conduct train-
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ing sessions. Participants were provided with the opportunity to learn and clarify their concepts about modern practices required to be adopted in commercial dairy farming. a study tour was also arranged to Zacky dairies to give an insight on commercial dairy farms being run through an integrated farming including dairy farming, vegetable production through tunnel farming, fisheries, poultry and organic agriculture through bio-fertilisers and energy production through bio-gas. Participants took special interest in learning farm practices including housing, feeding, milking operations, cow handling, bio-gas production, etc. The training was concluded with the certificate distribution ceremony held on Saturday 31st of december 2011 at Solve agri dairy Institute™. Mr Hafiz Wasi Muhammad khan (Head of Farms & agri division, SaPPl), dr Waseem Shaukat (Incharge Solve agri & dairy Institute™), dr Tariq Javed (National Sales Manager, SaPPl), dr asif ali Shah (Country Manager, Pioneer Pakistan Seed ltd) and Mr Ghulam Mustafa (Market development Manager, Pioneer Pakistan Seed ltd)
KAPCO outperforms KSE100 index by 11 pc kArAchI STAFF REPORT
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OT addu Power Company limited (kaPCO) has outperformed the benchmark kSe100 index by 11 per cent since the start of FY12 due to the attractive dividend yield offered by the scrip. The company is also expected to post earnings of rs1.68 per share in 2QFY12 compared to earnings of rs1.36 per share in 1QFY12. Under the Power Purchase agreement (PPa), kaPCO’s returns are hedged against rupee devaluation. Since the start of FY12, Pkr has depreciated by 4.8 per cent to 90.5(FY12Td average: 87.54) whereas in 2QFY12 alone, it has lost its value by 2.83 per cent to 89.95. We believe that the rupee is expected to remain under pressure against the US dollar due to start of IMF loan repayment from Feb12, widening of current account deficit and depleting foreign exchange reserves, said Usman Saeed at aHl. due to gas shortage in last couple of quarters, kaPCO’s plant has mainly operated on furnace oil, which has led to higher repair and maintenance cost. In 1QFY12, company’s three gas turbines went through major over hauling, resulting in overall repair and maintenance cost to rise by 190 per cent YoY. Since FY08, this cost has increased by 2.98 times to rs1.85 billion in FY10; however it contracted by 35% per cent to rs1.2 billion in FY11. ‘We believe that the recurring capex will decline going forward as the company has already incurred a capex of rs1.04 billion for FO based operations,’ he added. In June 2011, the company entered into a $14 million contract with General electronic (Ge) for upgrading four of its gas turbines. The upgradation process of turbine was scheduled to be completed in 2QFY12 after which the overall plant net combined-cycle efficiency will increase by 0.44 per cent. This will enhance the output of the plant by 12MW. However gas availability issue has forced the company to operate on furnace oil, which results in higher maintenance cost hence hurting company’s profitability.
were present at this occasion. Speaking on the occasion dr asif ali Shah expressed his gratitude to Solve agri and dairy Institute™ on conducting such an impressive training programme exclusively for Pioneer’s staff that provided an opportunity to interact with experienced trainers, which is conducive to the learning environment. He urged training participants to implement the newly acquired knowledge in the field to transform the subsistence dairy farming towards commercial and profitable farming. He said that Pioneer Pakistan Seed, being the important stakeholder in this sector, realises the critical role it has to play and hence is very much focused on having right capacity in its staff. He assured that Pioneer Pakistan Seed will continue capacity building measures for its staff in future. Hafiz Wasi Muhammad khan addressing at this occasion, cherished the participants on their highest thirst to learn new aspects of modern dairy farming. He said that it has been a great pleasure to see that Solve agri dairy Institute™ is offering customised training programmes that fit best to serve the
needs of the respective organisations. He said Pioneer Pakistan Seed has got a pivotal role to play in uplifting the dairy sector in Pakistan and SadI is always ready to put in all the efforts required to build capacity of the field staff. dr Waseem Shaukat (In charge Solve agri dairy Institute™) in his concluding remarks said dairy sector is at an important crossroads and there is a great need to intervene through modern knowledge and commercial aspects of dairy farming. He lauded Pioneer Pakistan Seed for considering their staff’s capacity building, as an effective tool for better customer services, and anticipated that the training participants will be able to benefit the farming community through the knowledge and concepts they have gained during the training programme about commercial and profitable farming. He urged that such capacity building initiatives should continue in future in order to develop the sector on sustainable basis. later dr asif ali Shah, Hafiz Wasi Muhammad khan and dr Tariq Javed distributed certificates among the training participants.
EXPORT TARGET UNLIKELY TO BE MET THIS FISCAL ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is unlikely to meet its projected export target as the Trade development authority of Pakistan (TdaP) has assessed a decline of 6 per cent in exports that are estimated to remain below $24 billion during the current fiscal year as compared to $25 billion export proceeds last fiscal year. Talking to reporters after the National assembly standing committee on textiles, Chairman Trade development authority of Pakistan (TdaP) Tariq Iqbal Puri, said that worst financial crisis in the european Union and economic slowdown in United States will have negative impact on the country’s exports. He said the energy crisis was also resulting in low productivity that were having a negative impact on exports. Saying that India and China were also faced with 30 to 40 per cent decline in their exports, the estimated 6 per cent decline in Pakistan’s exports was not bad, he said adding that the share of textile decreased from 67 per cent to 55 per cent in total exports. He said the export of nontraditional items has helped Pakistan to diversify its exports base. earlier the committee was informed that TdaP has engaged all stakeholders of textile industry to finalise analysis to prepare a list of textile items that would be positively or negatively impacted under the proposed trade liberalisation with India. Chairman TdaP said all those textile items which could be affected by trade liberalization would be placed in the negative list for the protection of the sectors which would be unable to compete with Indian competitors. He was of the view that trade liberalisation with India would help enhance bilateral trade volume from existing $3.5 billion to over $6 billion. Cotton, yarn and fabrics exports from India is duty free and upon liberalization of bilateral trade Pakistani industry is set to make it market in value added products in India. The committee was informed WTO Committee on Trade in Goods (CTG) is expected to meet in February to examine Pakistan’s eU package. at present import tariff in eU on Pakistani exports is 9.6 percent due to general GSP against the normal 12.5 percent import duty. In case eU concessional package gets approval from WTO, Pakistan will get an edge in the market where it is already holding a good share in eU market. AMER SIAL
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CORPORATE CORNER AirBerlin and Etihad Airways inaugurate direct Berlin-Abu Dhabi services LAhore: etihad airways, the national airline of the United arab emirates, in conjunction with airBerlin, europe’s sixth biggest carrier, has begun direct services from Berlin to abu dhabi with the first flight to the capital of the United arab emirates (Uae) arriving this morning. The inaugural flight was greeted by a traditional water canon salute. Using an airbus a330-200 aircraft, airBerlin will operate four flights a week between the two capital cities. With daily flights to abu dhabi from karachi, lahore and Islamabad, Pakistani travellers can visit this magnificent location with ease. PRESS RELEASE
Ufone gives away tractor to the winner of Kissan Package lucky draw ISLAMABAD: keeping the competitive spirit alive, Ufone recently gave away a tractor to a kissan package customer. at the initiation of the package a lucky draw scheme had been designed specifically to support the business and daily life of the farmers, by virtue of this scheme Mr. Mazhar Hussain from Vehari became the proud owner of a tractor. In the recent past Ufone has shown a keen focus on the various segments in the society and the kissan package targets one of the largest sectors in the country. agriculture is the most important sector of the Pakistani economy and society and has a number of needs and requirements which have been catered to with this perfectly designed package. PRESS RELEASE
State Life Insurance selects United Bank Limited to sell Bancassurance KArAchI: United Bank limited (UBl) became the first bank in Pakistan to be signed up by State life Insurance Corporation (SlIC) to sell their insurance products under Bancassurance. SlIC is the leading State Owned Insurance Corporation of Pakistan with the highest market share at 70 per cent, in its industry, as well as the largest network of outlets. UBl has been selected by SlIC due to the bank’s recent success in the selling of various Bancassurance products, enjoying a high persistency ratio and a low cancellation ratio. UBl’s large branch network of over 1200 branches as well as its technological infrastructure also factored in as the basis for its final selection. GBa Services, SlIC’s exclusive Third Party administrators (TPa) for Bancassurance originated this tie up and will provide technical, marketing/advertising support including state of the art online POS System for instant coverage to UBl customers, new product development, and staff training. PRESS RELEASE
Wateen launches freedom booths LAhore: Wateen Telecom, Pakistan’s leading converged communications company, is proud to announce the launch of its new Freedom Booths, a revolutionary communications medium. The Freedom Booths – the first of their kind to be launched anywhere in the world – reflect Wateen’s capabilities as a leader in converged communication services and exemplify the company’s data, voice and content creation services. The applications for the Freedom Booths are limitless. This cutting-edge medium of communications aims to maximise the application potential of the internet, while helping connect people across the country. PRESS RELEASE
Visa partners with Harrods
Blue chip stocks provide much needed impetus to bourse
araCHI: Bulls thronged karachi Stock exchange on Tuesday on the back of investors’ interest mainly in fertiliser, banking and oil sector stocks. The kSe-100 Index surged by 192.51 points to close at 11,305.16 level. despite a worsening political climate investors remained optimistic
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and chose to opt for blue chip stocks. Investor activity increased, on the back of positive news from the fertiliser, banking and oil sectors. Trading activity also improved as daily volumes increased to 53.112 million shares as compared to 26.681 million shares traded on Monday. Compared from the
previous day, the increase in daily volumes is certainly a good omen for the investors. Of total 321 active stocks, 141 closed in the positive and 90 in the negative while the value of 90 stocks remained unchanged. engro Corp. was the volume leader with 5.977 million shares and gained rs4.56 to close at rs100.45.
LAhore: Visa, one of the world’s leading payment solution providers, has revealed an exciting new partnership with Harrods, offering Visa Infinite Cardholders the unique opportunity to obtain the prestigious knightsbridge store’s exclusive Black rewards Card. Harrods Black Card offers customers the highest level of benefits from the store’s rewards programme. These include the opportunity to take advantage of Harrods’ exclusive personal shopping service, special discount days, complimentary parking and much more. Usually available to customers spending at least GBP 10,000 in Harrods stores annually, Visa is delighted to announce that, as of this month, the minimum amount has been waived for all Visa Infinite Cardholders across the region. PRESS RELEASE
KARAcHI: The British Deputy High commissioner Francis campbell, hosted a reception for Lord Green, Minister of state for Trade and Investment, and Baroness Warsi, cabinet Minister & chairperson of the conservative Party of UK at Acton House. Photo shows Hussain Dawood, chairman Dawood Group with host and other prominent guests. PRESS RELEASE