PRO 22-04-2012_Layout 1 4/22/2012 12:29 AM Page 1
Earnings, Fed to prove sceptics wrong Page 02
profit.com.pk
Sunday, 22 April, 2012
coMMEnt
Pipeline bargaining
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LAHORE
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STAFF REPORT
ecent spell of rains, hail and wind storm have caused heavy loss to wheat, canola, gram and sunflower crops in the country though it has also provided some benefit to the sugarcane crop. this was claimed by the Agri Forum Pakistan chairman Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal while talking to media persons here on Saturday. He claimed that the recent spell of rains has also devastated cotton crop over 25,000 to 30,000 acres of land and farmers have to sow their land again. He claimed that recent spell of rains has devastated around 1.3 million maund of wheat, 200,000 maund of canola, 50,000 maund of gram and 15,000 maund of sunflower crop. Mughal said that meteorological department has predicted rains at the end of the March, which would have been proved
couple of things clearly stand out about Islamabad’s election year policy. First, its surprise trade and investment outreach, engaging major emerging market players in the broader Asia-Pacific region just when the revenue situation became alarming. Second, its commitment to the Pak-Iran pipeline, despite severe international pressure. And now that Pakistan’s role in getting India and Afghanistan to settle outstanding tAPI issues is becoming clear, so is Islamabad’s emerging commitment to finalising the region’s principal pipeline grid, and getting a handle on the energy problem. Further, the petroleum minister’s confidence regarding the IP line’s financing clearly shows negotiations with the Russians are progressing smoothly, if they haven’t been settled already, and Gazprom will bring its muscle here sooner rather than later. (the delay on the Pakistani side is known to all, mandating immediate movement). Progress on tAPI, and Kabul and new Delhi’s price agreement, also enables Islamabad to bargain down eventual IP cost, a contractual feature that allows influence from exogenous price movements. expected $1 billion in saving will no doubt benefit the sector, plagued as it is with debt and corruption. Appreciated as recent moves are, the advances do seem to occur more on the international side, with our own homegrown problems still lingering. the billion odd in savings matters all the more now because our domestic fiscal situation is so badly compromised, and that too mostly owing to unnecessary factors that are perhaps the easiest to arrest, provided there is a measure of political will. extra trade and investment, as well as smoother energy supplies, will bring multiple benefits for
beneficial for all the Rabi crops, but unfortunately these delayed and landed in mid of April. these rains not only delayed the harvesting of Rabi crops but also delayed the sowing of Khareef crops including cotton. While growers had to sow their land again in areas where cotton had already been planted causing of loss of millions of rupees to the growers, he added. He claimed that cotton this year would be sown on an area of 8.5 million acres and rice on an area of 6 million acres. While sugarcane would be sown on an area of 2.6 million acres of land, he added. Agri Forum Pakistan chairman advised the government to help the growers who had suffered loss due to recent spell of rains and bring down the prices of fertilizers to half and exempt agricultural tube wells from load shedding so as to ensure timely sowing of khareef crops as 80 per cent of the exports from Pakistan also rely on two important khareef crops namely rice and cotton.
And so they emerged… g
Emerging powers ready to give IMF billions WASHINGTON
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REUTERS
uSSIA said that G20 advanced and emerging countries were ready at a meeting on Friday to commit enough new funds to fulfill IMF chief christine Lagarde’s request for at least $400 billion to draw a line under the euro-zone crisis. Russia itself, he said, would offer $10 billion. “trust me that the G20 will announce the final amount. this will be an amount that will satisfy the management of the International Monetary Fund,” said Sergei Storchak, Russia’s deputy finance minister. Support from Russia, china and Brazil is crucial to achieve the doubling of the IMF’s war chest the global lender is seeking. europe and Japan already have pledged $320 billion. An international diplomat said that in all,
emerging nations have lined up at least $100 billion. the IMF has warned that the euro zone’s debt crisis presents the gravest risk to the global economic expansion, and financial markets worry that Spain and Italy may next require bailouts, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal. enlarging the IMF’s coffers could offer solace to nervous investors that any widening of the crisis could be contained. Lagarde said on thursday she expects to seal a deal on fresh funds at the World Bank/IMF meetings this weekend. But Brazil said that as a condition for funds, emerging powers want fresh pledges to recognize their fast-growing global economic weight written into the G20 communique. they are frustrated over delays - particularly by the united States in implementing an agreement to lessen europe’s sway at the IMF and lift china into the no. 3 voting slot. “What we want and
demand in every meeting is that this commitment be reaffirmed,” Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said thursday after a meeting of officials from the so-called BRIcS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, china and South Africa. Mantega drove the point even more forcefully in a speech prepared for delivery on Saturday to the IMF’s steering committee, saying it was no longer enough to simply repeat that voting reforms are crucial for the effectiveness of the IMF. “Progress on this front has been limited and slow,” he will say, according to the text. canada, meanwhile, is pushing against europe’s dominance on the IMF’s 24-member board. It wants to hold two votes when the IMF decides on how to use its new resources - one by euro zone countries and another by others. the idea would be to dilute
europe’s power on euro-zone-related issues. this drive reflects growing concern among non-european countries over the fairness in the global lender’s dealings with europe. the region has the largest single bloc on the IMF board and the Fund is headed by a French woman. “Given that the major challenge here is a sovereign debt challenge in euro-zone countries, and that euro-zone countries are asking non eurozone countries to contribute to resources at the IMF, our view is that there ought to be two votes,” said canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He has gained a sympathetic ear, South Korean Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan, who said: “their recommendation merits some consideration.” Still, funds were
near to being sealed. the international diplomat said some countries may need to get final approval from their capitols, so any firm deal may have to await a meeting of G20 leaders set for June and that final sums remained unclear. china could contribute $60 billion, matching Japan’s pledge, although Beijing had not finalized the number. Saudi Arabia would chip in a little less than china, while Russia and Brazil were likely to contribute between $10 billion and $20 billion each, the diplomat said. this would easily reach the marker of at least $400 billion set by Lagarde. the firewall would complement the $1 trillion in emergency funds for europe agreed upon by the eu leaders last month, which was another precondition for countries bolstering the IMF resources.
Major emerging powers stood ready to pledge money to bolster the International Monetary Fund’s crisis-fighting war chest, though Brazil was holding out for promises that their voting power at the global lender would increase