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BUSINESS Wednesday, 19 June, 2013
Government to get stakeholders on board to finalise budget KARACHI: All disputed budgetary measures announced in the Federal Budget 2013-14 would be examined and taken to the National Assembly for the debate, said Chief Commissioner RTO, Khawaja Tanveer Ahmed here on Tuesday. Speaking as Chief Guest at the post Budget seminar of Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) Chief Commissioner said that government is trying to get all the stakeholders on board to discuss the Budget and if there is any recommendation is helpful, would be considered. While appreciating the role of KTBA for organizing experts’ seminars on budget, He said that government always finds them extremely helpful in finalizing the budgetary measures and if they get approved by the parliament they become part of law. He declared that KTBA’s recommendations and suggested reforms are the most helpful tools for the government and FBR. He said that KTBA also provides guidance to the taxmen and suggests getting on right direction. Earlier, President KTBA, Haider Ali Patel in his welcome address pointed out that 0.5% levy on the net moveable asset on an individual on an annualize basis would be detrimental as it mean that the assets generated by individual out of tax income would be repeatedly tax if the funds are kept in the shape of securities, investments or cash. He termed this measure as a blow to generations of savings which is already very low in our economy. On the direct tax side he pointed out that proposal to introduce the requirement for the Commissioner’s approval in writing for revising the income tax return is unwarranted feared that the revision of return will require the taxpayer the same hardship they are currently facing in revising a sales tax return. STAFF REPORT
SyeD ALI NAwAz GILANI The year 2013 is of special significance as Korea and Pakistan celebrate 45 years of establishment of diplomatic relations since 1968 at Consul General level and 30 years at ambassadorial level. Korea and Pakistan established their official diplomatic relations in 1968 and Oh Jee-hee was first Korean Ambassador to Pakistan. Since then the relationship between both Asian nations grew in the best interest of the people of both the nations whereas interactions were made at various official and non-official level to encourage socio-economic uplifts. As a result of good relationships, Pakistan being a responsible nation, supported the resolution on Korea in the United Nations during Korean War and also became member of the UN Commission on Korea. Since early 1980s till today, the diplomatic relations of both Korea and Pakistan have grown with special emphasis on trade and economic activities. Recently, the 12th Korean Ambassador to Pakistan, Choong Joo Choi pointed out that Korean investment of around more than $5 billion is in pipelines. Currently, the Pak-Korea bilateral trade is amounted to $1.6 billion which will increases manifolds as it has the potential to increase. Mr Choi further said that Korea wants to strengthen their friendly relations
SenaTe body rejeCTS ProPoSaL To enhanCe GST ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
HE Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance has rejected the proposal to enhance general sales tax from 16 to 17 percent The committee‚ which met under the chairman ship of Nasreen Jalil, approved various proposals for including in the new federal budget. These proposals include imposition of 5 percent tax on non-registered industrial and commercial electricity consumers‚ imposition of Rs 5,000 tax on tour operators for Haj and Umrah‚ imposition of Rs 200‚000 tax on private educational institutions and imposition of agriculture tax in Islamabad Capital Territory. The committee rejected the proposal to enhance general sales tax from 16 to 17 percent, and suggested exemption from tax for government em-
ployees earning up to Rs 500‚000. Finance Secretary Waqar Masood told the committee that two percent additional tax on unregistered petrol pumps has been withdrawn and these stations have been given two weeks time for registration. SALES TAX ON UNREGISTERED PETROL PUMPS: Meanwhile, the government has abolished additional two percent general sales tax levied on unregistered petrol pumps. Finance Ministry spokesman Rana Asad Amin told a private news channel that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, taking the notice of the anomaly of separate prices for registered and unregistered petrol pumps, ordered for the recovery of general sales tax from unregistered petrol pumps at the rate of 17 percent instead of 19. He said that from now on, two percent additional general sales tax from unregistered petrol pumps would not be recovered and these petrol pumps would not be selling costlier petrol by Rs2.75 to Rs3.00 per litre.
PTCL’s leadership conference concludes ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) held the concluding session of its leadership conference ‘Broadening Learning Horizons’, which is a continuation of the company’s Leadership Excellence Program, kicked off early this month. Designed to enhance the leadership capabilities of PTCL senior management in-line with the strategic business vision of the company, the event brought together business leaders and industry experts from both private and public sector, who shared their valuable experiences and distinct leadership ideologies with the audience, in the context of PTCL Leadership needs. Walid Irshaid, President & CEO PTCL was also present at the occasion along other senior management of the company. Dr Ishrat Hussain, former Governor State Bank of Pakistan and currently Dean and Director of the IBA, highlighted the significance of Customer Services as the success determinant in any business while other business leaders who shared their valuable experiences with the audience included Asad Umar, former CEO Engro Corporation, Sarfaraz Rehman, CEO Dawood Foundation, Monis Rehman, founder of Rozee.pk and Rahila Narejo, Lead trainer of Narejo Human Resources.
Germany eyes Pakistan’s agriculture sector for bilateral trade KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Germany, the most powerful economy of European Union (EU), is eying Pakistan’s strong agriculture sector for bilateral cooperation. Speaking to an interactive session organised by Pakistan German Business Forum (PGBF) at Goethe Institute, the German Council General Dr Tilo Klinner said that Pakistan has tremendous potential in agriculture sector and Germany wants to bilateral cooperation in this sector. He said that Germany is trying that Pakistan would get the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) plus status which will give a better market access of Pakistani products to EU markets. “Pakistan has also huge scope in tourism industry which needs to be addressed,” he added. Addressing the participants, Ambassador of Pakistan in Germany Abdul Basit said that the two countries are yet to explore many sectors of bilateral cooperation. Expressing a hope, he said that the
KARACHI: Pakistan’s envoy to Germany Abdul Basit, Tilo Kelenar, consul general of Germany, Kazi Sajid, president PGBF, Kaleem Farooque, Majeed Aziz and Mian Abrar. STAFF PHOTO
coming months of July and August would prove as start of new era of bilateral trade between two countries. “Many issues would be included and many others would be excluded to remove hurdles in way of cooperation between two countries in business, science and technology sectors,” he apprised. “Free trade agreements is not an easy job for any country and it is a time consuming process, Basit said, adding that
India is engaged with EU for free trade agreement since many years but it yet to reach an agreement.” “Pakistan’s tourism industry need attention of the government, he said, adding that world’s leading travel and trade show ITB held in Berlin every year where 187 countries all across the globe participate and inform the tourism potential in their countries but the presentation of Pakistan always remained pathetic despite of huge
30 years of Pak-Korea relations by providing assistance to Pakistan in uplifting the socio-economic activities for a better tomorrow. Pakistan also wants to reciprocate through other channels as well. In order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in a befitting manner, Mr Choi took an initiative by organizsng an event of Korea – Pakistan Business Forum, 2013 in Karachi with a vital theme “Missing Trade Links in our Emerging Markets”. It was well received by the trade and business communities of both the countries. Mr Choi while meeting the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif reiterated his government’s stance to cooperate for the betterment of both the countries by unifying efforts at the economic and social fronts. He also stressed on the business community to have maximum advantage of the expertise of the Korean companies already in Pakistan so as to uplift the economic activities and to take the diplomatic relations at new heights. He further said that the “30 years young relations” are now bearing fruits of each other success and experiences in various fields of life. Pakistan and Korea should further
strengthen their engagement in economic sphere where huge potential exists. He reiterated that Korea can particularly invest in energy sector and science and technology fields. He said a large number of Pakistani students are getting education from Korean institutions and emphasized the need to enhance number of scholarships for Pakistani students as they can act as a bridge between the two countries. South Korea is also member of Friends of Pakistan. Korea is not new for many Pakistanis as good number of Korean companies becomes household names like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Daewoo etc. Apart from others, most of the prominent Korean conglomerates, such as Lotte Group, POSCO, CK Solar, K-Water, KORAIL, Sambu Constructions, Doosan, Doekjae, Shangyong, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Wisdom, STX, Deokjae Construction, Sambo Engineering, Korea Construction Institute of Plant (KCIP) etc. are engaged or are interested to participate in tenders of mega infrastructure projects, such as roads, chemical plants, tunnels, hydro power projects, thermal power projects, refineries etc. Ambassador Choi, during his tenure as
Chief Diplomat of Korea in Pakistan has taken number of result oriented initiatives especially with reference to appointments of Honorary Consul in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan in order to enhance people to people contacts which will go for a longer run. This special initiative shows their friendly patronage to the over looked provinces. Mr CJ Choi, during his tenure also visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa many times so as to have some knowhow about the province and to increase interaction with business community along with political leadership with an aim to uplift social-sector accordingly. In his recent visit for Flag hoisting ceremony at the residence of newly appointed Honorary Consul, Afan Aziz, he also visited Malik Saad Shaheed Sports Trust (Regd.) Pakistan (MSSST). The visiting Ambassador who was accompanied by Afan Aziz was warmly received by Chairman MSST, Malik Naveed Khan, Members Board of Trustees (BOT) namely Mr. Ahmad Hassan, Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani, Mr Mazhar-ul-Haq, Mr Imtiaz Ahmad Ali and Mr Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi along with MSSST office bearers upon his arrival.
potential in this ignored industry.” PGBF President Qazi Sajid Ali told Pakistan Today that a delegation of businessmen would visit Germany to explore various venues of bilateral trade. He said that Pakistan would participate in International Green Week which is scheduled to be held on January 17-26 2014 in Berlin. Pakistan would also participate in ITB, world’s leading travel and trade show which would be held in Berlin in March. The Chairman MSSST briefed the distinguished guests on the aims and objectives of the MSSST and informed him about future planning for enhancement in the net work of the Trust to other parts of the country. The Chairman also informed about the establishment of more than 100 Sports Academies of different sports in all major cities/towns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA during short span of time. Mr Choi appreciated the MSSST initiatives for Peace through sports, education and healthcare facilities while reviewing the picture gallery at MSSST office. He said that this shows the dedication and devotion of the MSSST team towards achievement of their aims and objectives of establishment of the MSSST. He further said that MSSST rendering valuable services to the people by providing them opportunities for healthy sports activities apart from encouraging deserving youth in education. Apart from parliamentary delegations, the Ambassador expressed his interest in exchange of delegations between Korea and MSSST which will further enhance the mutual understanding among the people on both the sides which can be fruitful to share the experiences of each other in their respective fields. The writer is a Peshawar-based media consultant and can be contacted at syeed.gilani@gmail.com
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Policy rate may dip by 50-100 bps by dec 2014 KARACHI STAFF REPORT
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ITH June’s monetary policy announcement due in next few days, the markets in the country are still confused about the State Bank of Pakistan’s expected stance on discount rate. “Much of the prevailing ambiguity is due to low inflation but no clarity on foreign inflows coupled with high budgetary borrowings target set by the new government in FY14,” viewed the analysts at Topline Research. They believe that it was not the question of whether the interest rate would come down but when and by how much the rate would come down. The current year’s average inflation now estimated at 7.5pc which is much lower than targeted by the government at 9.5% and SBP’s initial target of 9.1pc. Further, with Topline forecast of 8-9% inflation in FY14, the central bank is providing an arbitrage like investment opportunity to those who believe that foreign funding through IMF, Saudi Arabia or the US would materialize soon. “Contingent upon these factors, we expect discount rate to decline by 50-100bps by Dec 2014,” said Topline analyst Zeeshan Afzal. He said whether the central bank would adopt “wait and see” strategy in June 21’s meeting and provide more time to the investors to make shortterm gains at the cost of government would be a subjective judgment of the SBP board.
According to market observers, in country monthly CPI dipped to 5.1% YoY in May which was a 9-year low. In last three months, average inflation is 5.8% while cumulative CPI has eased to 7.5% in 11MFY13. On monthly basis, real interest rate has spiked to 4.4%, which has occurred after a gap of 3.5 years. Very few countries in the world would be providing such a high real interest rate. “Though in FY14, we would see slight increase in inflation due to recent taxation
measures in federal budget, expected hike in energy prices and excessive government borrowings but it may not be a restraining factor in monetary easing as we expect CPI to range between 8-9% against government target of 8%,” said Afzal. The analyst said that as pressures on current account had been eased off due to Coalition Support Fund payment, the Current Account deficit
was expected to remain at $2.2bn or 1% of the GDP against FY12’s deficit of $4.7bn that was 2% of GDP. However, the financing of the deficit coupled with foreign debt repayments had been the issue in FY13. Resultantly, foreign currency reserve declined to $11.4bn as of June 7, 2013 from $15.3bn in June 2012. However, the rupee has remained stable during the period and depreciated by 4.2% in FY13TD, 1.5% in 2013TD, versus 10% depreciation in FY12 and 6.2% average annual decline in last 20 years. “In FY14, we think, support to balance of payments and declining forex reserves could emerge from CSF money, Saudi facility or IMF,” said the analyst. The government was also expecting inflow from Etisalat $800mn and privatization. “We feel this may not happen in FY14,” he said. With an arbitrage like opportunity being provided by the SBP, the bankers and investors have participated heavily in longer maturity in last T-bill auction. This coupled with declining secondary market yields are highlighting the expectation of reduced interest rates by the market participants. Since last MPS one year T-bill yield in secondary market has declined by 25bps to 9.2% while cut-off yields of 1-year T-bill in last Tbill auction has also declined to 9.28% with about 84% participation in 1-year. However, yields in secondary market have spiked up marginally by 5bps after the announcement of inflationary budget with no concrete sings of foreign inflows yet..
FPCCI terms Punjab budget pro-poor, growth-oriented ISLAMABAD APP
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday termed the tax-free Punjab budget for year 20132014 as pro-poor, balanced, development and growth-oriented. FPCCI President Zubair Ahmad Malik and Vice President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan chapter and veteran trade leader Iftikhar Ali Malik greeted Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for presenting a tax-free annual budget by focusing on the pro-
motion of quality education and provision of specialised medical treatment to poor strata of soci-
ety besides special allocation of funds for rapid development in every sector of life. They said existing industrial estates and Punjab Small Industrial Estates must be made functional with the provision of basic infrastructure. They said the period of tax holiday be extended to all industrial estates for another 10 years to attract more foreign and local investors. They added the relief cushion would provide an impetus to industrial growth while establishment of more new industrial zones would help accelerate the pace of industrialization across the provinces. Industrial estates will generate plenty of job opportunities for skilled and unskilled youths and help alleviate poverty from society.
Major Gainers COMPANY Colgate Palmolive Unilever Food Abbott Lab. Clariant PaK. Service Ind.Ltd
OPEN 1795.00 4762.00 322.17 285.68 259.33
HIGH 1883.00 4800.00 338.27 299.96 272.29
LOW 1883.00 4762.00 322.17 285.00 265.00
CLOSE CHANGE 1883.00 88.00 4800.00 38.00 337.59 15.42 299.96 14.28 272.29 12.96
TURNOVER 50 200 666,800 26,000 47,500
1710.00 6599.99 600.00 515.00 305.99
1710.00 6599.99 600.00 489.25 288.00
1710.00 6599.99 600.00 496.11 289.35
-70.00 -49.51 -20.00 -18.89 -13.72
200 40 100 3,100 902,700
3.88 13.69 9.67 19.30 24.50
2.78 13.01 9.06 17.94 23.65
2.79 13.26 9.19 18.05 23.82
-0.99 0.19 0.12 -0.89 -0.38
61,740,000 29,090,000 28,979,500 18,905,000 16,535,000
Major Losers Bata (Pak) Nestle Pak. Island Textile MithchellsFruit MCB Bank Ltd.XD
1780.00 6649.50 620.00 515.00 303.07
Volume Leaders B.O.Punjab(R) Fauji Cement Lafarge Pak. Bank Al-Falah Maple Leaf Cement
3.78 13.07 9.07 18.94 24.20
Interbank Rates USD GBP JPY EURO
PKR 98.6710 PKR 154.4991 PKR 1.0364 PKR 131.9528
Forex BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal
99.60 131.97 154.00 1.0294 96.13 12.56 26.90 26.40
SELL 99.85 132.26 154.23 1.0382 97.65 12.77 27.10 26.65
Govt should give priority to IT sector: akhtar LAHORE: As the new pro-business government begins its tenure, P@SHA, the trade association representing the IT & BPO sector, is hopeful that some key initiatives will be taken to ensure that the tech industry has the facilitation it needs to achieve phenomenal growth. Speaking at a board meeting, Naseer A Akhtar, Chairman of P@SHA stressed that the government needs to build capacity of the institutions that are responsible for facilitating IT exports. Competent people need to be appointed in organizations like PSEB, National ICT R&D Fund, USF, PTA, TDAP and the Ministry of IT & T. The Boards of PSEB, National ICT R&D Fund and USF must have 50% - 70% representation from industry so that they are efficiently run and effective decisions are made and implemented. Akhtar also emphasized that dedicated Commercial Counselors who understand the IT potential of Pakistan need to be appointed in the top dozen global IT export destinations like New York, San Francisco, Washington, Toronto, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, London, Berlin, Paris, Istanbul, and growth markets in the Middle East and the Far East. Neglect by successive governments over the past 10 years has forced the IT industry to rely only on organic growth. The Federal Government can add impetus by launching large and small scale automation projects on a national scale, said the P@SHA Chairman. These projects must be outsourced to local non-government companies or to joint ventures of local and foreign companies with a stipulation that the JV must also include small companies so that capacity building and transfer of technology takes place. PRESS RELEASE
CORPORATE CORNER dS-ConCePT – Intelligent Trade Finance
KARACHI: Silk Bank Head of Marketing Naiyar Saifi and Gerry’s Travel Vice Chairman Amin Wali Mohammad exchange copies of the agreement signed for discounted travel packages to Silk Bank customers. PR
RAWALPINDI: Ushna Suhail, an upcoming tennis player was welcomed by Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi in the FFC Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in a simple but graceful ceremony. PR
KARACHI: Pakistan is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cotton. The textile industry has been the main driver of the economy for the last 50 years in terms of foreign currency earnings. The textile sector enjoys a pivotal position in the exports of Pakistan, and has proved its strength in global market in the past decades. DS-Concept believes that the textile industry is the one of the industry in Pakistan that has the potential to benefit the economy with foreign currency earnings. For the trade community engaged in international trade, cash flow is the decisive factor for the development and growth of their enterprise. As an entrepreneur the critical and strategic
business decisions count a lot to survive in today’s changing economy. The buyers today want to live on the credit of the supplier and ask for deferred terms want to enjoy cash deferral transactions. Only good cash flow allows freedom in strategic decisions. This was said by the Country Manager, DS-Concept Pakistan, Mr. Qaseem Jaffri during an interview. P R
KARACHI: Mazhar Zaidi, producer Meenu, Hashim Rathore CEO Mediavest Pakistan, and Farjad, director of the film on the occasion of “Zinda Bhaag” trailer launch on Monday. STAFF PHOTO
bank alfalah launches health insurance for senior citizens KARACHI: Bank Alfalah has announced the launch of ‘’Alfalah Care - Health Insurance Plan for Senior Citizens” as the latest value-additional element of its existing Care account offering. Bank Alfalah’s Care account was launched last year, with attractive rates of return especially customized for senior citizens. This new innovative health insurance feature of the Bank Alfalah CARE account, aims to provide quality health care to individuals within the age bracket of 55 years to 75 years, in case of hospitalization due to any illness or accident. This offering is part of the Bank’s efforts to better understand specific customer needs of each segment and thereafter introduce holistic, tailored solutions to meet their requirements. Bank Alfalah has launched this senior citizen’s insurance product in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Starting with cost-effective health insurance premiums, no copayment on availing facilities in network hospitals, sub-limits to cover diagnosis, surgeries and treatment of various illnesses and access to best available hospitals throughout the country, this is a unique solution for the Bank’s existing and potential senior citizen customers to avail health benefits. PR