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Bulls overcome all odds, keep 13,000pt barrier in sight Page 02
profit.com.pk
Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
Fertiliser sector most affected by gas curtailment in 2011 LAHORE STAFF REPORT
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Rejects talks of new Cold War with United States Work underway on Pak-Russia South Asian Electricity Trade and Development Project CASA-l000 KARACHI
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ISMAIL DILAWAR
utting some weight behind the perception of some international relations’ experts that the united States and Russia had got engaged in a new Cold War; Moscow on Monday made public its plans to allocate a grant worth $500 million for the dollar-starved country, Pakistan. Being disenchanted with its non-nAtO allies in Washington in the post-May 2 events, islamabad seems to have enhanced its diplomatic contacts with Russians with President Zardari and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar having paid triumphant visits of Moscow in May 2011 and February 2012, respectively. Also, two separate delegations headed by Sindh Chief Minister and the President of Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and industry have been in Moscow and SaintPetersburg most recently. in addition, underway are the special agreements between Moscow and islamabad on the construction of a South Asian Electricity trade and Development Project CASAl000. On the other hand, Moscow is critical of the uS and its western allies for installing a missile shield in the Eastern Europe, as well as launching an international propaganda against Russian strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, one the five hot candidates for
March 4 presidential elections. Conceived by the 40th American President Ronald Wilson Reagan, during his reign ranging from 1981 to 1989, the Russians deem the missile shield as a direct threat to their security. the $500 million aid, Russia announced for Pakistan on Monday, would be spent for upgrading of Pakistani Steel Mills, one of the loss-making Public Sector Enterprises, which was originally set up by the Soviet union almost three decades ago in early 1970s. “Russia plans to allocate an amount of $500 million for upgrading the Pakistani Steel Mills,” Andey V Demidov, Consul general of Russia in Pakistan, told a press briefing here at Karachi Press Club. He was flanked by Faizullah, an urdu-speaking Muslim public relations officer at the Russian Consulate, hailing from Russian republic tatarstan. the consul general said special agreements were underway between the two countries on the construction of a South Asian Electricity trade and Development Project CASAl000. Recounting the visits of President Zardari, Foreign Minister Khar and two Pakistani delegations headed by Sindh Chief Minister and FPCCi president as successful, Demidov expressed the hope that the “agreements concluded during those visits will be materialized for the benefit of our two countries
and peoples”. the consul general said his government was following with keen interest “very successful visits” to Moscow and SaintPetersburg of two official and trade Pakistani delegations. “We believe that after the presidential elections in Russia, the bilateral relations between Russia and Pakistan will receive further development,” said the consul general while terming February’s (2012) visit of FM Khar as very successful. About the March 4 presidential polls, Demidov said five candidates running for the presidential slot included Sergey Mironov of Fair Russia Party, guennady Zuganov of Communist Party, Vladimir Putin of united Russia Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky of Liberal Democratic Party and the selfnominated Mikhail Prokhorov. Stressing on the political significance of the presidential elections, the consul general said the world was living in a period of time that could not be considered as “easy”. “the humanity is now at a critical stage of its development without exaggeration,” he said adding “A new polycentric international System in world politics, economics and finance is taking shape before our eyes.” terming international terrorism as a phenomenon opposed to that system, the Russian consul general said numerous international issues were being addressed based on
the threats of use of force or the direct use of force. “under these circumstances, the foreign policy of Russia has to settle lots of problems that become even more complicated every day. it is our duty to secure our interests in this process so that Russia retains a worthy place in the emerging global architecture.” Russia, he said, had no hidden agendas and wanted stability around its borders and was striving to provide the most favourable external conditions to tackle the vital tasks of modernising its economy and transferring it on to an innovative track. Demidov said the Russian foreign policy had become “more modern”. “Our foreign policy is based on mutually beneficial cooperation among the states, among businesses, among people,” he said. During the briefing, Faizullah told a questioner that the media worldwide and in Pakistan was becoming part of an international propaganda launched by the uS and its western friends. “the (antiPutin) protesters go to the American Embassy before taking to the streets,” claimed the Russian official. He said the media was exaggerating the number of participants in the protests in Russia which was inappropriate.
he year 2011 was the worst period for domestic fertiliser plants as they could hardly produce 4.9 million tonnes of urea against the installed capacity of 6.9 million tonnes due to announced and unannounced gas curtailment throughout 2011. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) based fertiliser plants were the worst hit as they could hardly managed to achieve 31 per cent of fertiliser production against their installed capacity, due to nonavailability of gas. Currently, all four fertiliser plants on SNGPL network are facing a complete shutdown, which has resulted in a huge production and financial loss to these fertiliser plants. Dawood hercules plant only produced 39 per cent of urea, which stood at 199,000 tonnes against a production capacity of 513,000 tonnes. Pak-Arab Fertiliser hardly produced 27 per cent of urea which stood at 29,000 tonnes against a production capacity of 106,000 tonnes. Agritech only produced 34 per cent of urea which stood at 146,000 tonnes against a production capacity of 428,000 tonnes and engro’s new plant only produced 27 per cent of urea which stood at 347,000 tons against a production capacity of 1.26 million tonnes. Dawood hercules Fertiliser CeO Rashid Lone said that SNGPL based plants could only produce 31 per cent of their installed production capacity that resulted in billions of rupees of loss to the fertiliser industry, which has invested over $2.3 billion in enhancing its production capacity in last three years. he informed that all four fertiliser plants on the SNGPL network, including Pak-Arab, Dawood hercules, engro’s new plant and Agritech, remained the biggest victims of chaotic gas situation. Instead of providing gas to local fertiliser plants to produce urea domestically, the government preferred to import 1.45 tonnes of urea by spending a hefty amount of $783 million from precious foreign exchange. In addition, the government also paid huge subsidy of Rs54 billion on the imported urea to keep it at the price of locally produced urea. Agriculture contributes around 24 per cent to the GDP of Pakistan and it also provides raw materials to all the major industries of Pakistan including, textiles and sugar. For the economy of Pakistan to prosper, it is important for agricultural yields to go up which is only possible through the application of fertilisers in the right quantity at the right time. Decline in production poses a severe threat to the yield on the crops, resultantly; the country might miss its agriculture and export targets and also aggravate inflation in the country, which is already higher than the regional peers.
Finance ministry sticks to 5pc budget deficit for the fiscal year ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
TILL confident of the anticipated external inflows, the finance ministry on Monday remained stuck to its budget deficit of 5 per cent claiming the projected foreign inflows of Coalition Support Fund, PTCL arrears and proceeds from auction of 3G licences will materialise during the remaining period of the current fiscal year. Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on finance, Secretary Finance Abdul Wajid Rana said IMF’s projection of 7 per cent budget deficit was based on certain assumptions that country’s budgeted foreign inflows would not materialise during the ongoing fis-
cal year 2011-12. however, he said ministry of finance’s projections were that the budget deficit would be less than 5 per cent and it was also based on certain assumptions that country’s foreign inflows like Coalition Support Fund, PTCL arrears from etisalat, auction of 3-G and 4-G licences, exports proceeds and remittances would materialise as per projections before June 30, 2012. Senator Ahmed Ali chaired the meeting which was briefed on the IMF report on Pakistan’s economy which presented a negative picture of the state of economy. Secretary finance said Pakistan was not discussing any new IMF loan programme nor any shadow IMF programme is under implementation in Pakistan. he said provinces gave a budget surplus of Rs134
billion during the last fiscal year and assured that they were in a position to create a budget surplus to contain the budget deficit at desired level during the current fiscal year. he assured the committee that revenue collection target of Rs1952 billion would be achieved. Governor State Bank of Pakistan Yasin Anwar informed the committee that Pakistan would amend its Anti-Terrorism Act to ensure enforcement of its provisions in financial services sector for conviction of persons found involved in money laundering. he said to prepare a new legislation for making amendments in Anti-Terrorism Act and ministry of finance, ministry of interior, Securities and exchange Commission of Pakistan (SeCP) and SBP along
with other stakeholders were working on new legislations to put Pakistan back on Anti-Money Laundering compliant countries list. Governor SBP strongly defended the monetary policy and termed IMF’s stance of accommodative monetary policy stance as wrong and said the bank’s monetary policy was not accommodative. he said SBP and SeCP are engaged in development of debt market in Pakistan as well as long term financing arrangement. Secretary finance present in the meeting informed that Pakistan was not black listed by FATF, however, country’s name has been placed among the list of countries that have been included in the public statement. he was of the view that some key amendments were needed in Pakistan’s
Anti-Money Laundering regime legislation. however, members were concerned over attitude of the ministry of finance for not making any effort to avoid such kind of mishaps at international forums. Senator Ahmad Ali was of the view that black listing by FATF would have negative implications on Pakistan. The members were critical that the committee had passed anti-money laundering legislation to avoid Pakistan’s black listing one year ago and it was decided that further required amendments would be brought into Parliament within next six months to strengthen Pakistan’s status at international forums, however, finance ministry had not taken it seriously as a result of which, the country got black listed by FATF.
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Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
02 news Smuggled steel products hamper PSM production KARACHI
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GHULAM ABBAS
NCReASING number of smuggling of steel products from neighbouring country is hampering the production of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) which is already running below 20 per cent of its capacity. The smuggled goods which have flooded the local markets have posted a serious threat to PSM which is already facing huge losses amidst shortage of raw material. In a letter sent to Federal Board of Revenue
(FBR) on February 24, PSM said the steel products were being smuggled through Pak-Iran border under the garb of scrap which was zero rated thus, providing cheaper goods by Rs8-10/kg as compared to the goods imported through legal means. As the international price of the products has already declined owing to the worldwide economic recession, the smuggled goods would not only paralyse production of the country’s only mill, but also cause huge losses of revenue to the national exchequer in terms of taxes/duties. Referring to a letter
Court suspends levy on LPG
sent by Pakistan Steel Line Pipe Industry Association (PSPA) on February 7 this year, PSM said the illegal act was badly affecting all regular/documented industries affiliated with PSPA. In order to safeguard the local steel industry in general and PSM in particular, FBR was requested to take immediate measures to control smuggling from outside the border. PSPA, earlier, had also written a letter to FBR to highlight the issue, but no action was taken by the concerned authority. It is worth mentioning here that the shortage of raw material was re-
‘Iran is committed to boost bilateral trade’
LAHORE
FAISALABAD
STAFF REPORT
FARAKH SHAHZAD
he Lahore high Court suspended the recently-imposed Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on locally-produced LPG on Monday. hearing identical petitions on the matter filed by Senior Advocates Supreme Court Shahid hamid and Khwaja Tariq Rahim, the court suspended the notification of January 16, 2012, from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources that imposed a tax of Rs11,486 per tonne on all LPG produced in Pakistan. The ministry’s decision to impose the PDL, despite protests from the LPG industry and consumers had made the liquid gas fuel the country’s most expensive. The court’s suspension of the PDL is expected to rationalise prices of LPG. “We are grateful to the honorable court for its decision,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP). “This is the second time that the court has intervened on behalf of LPG consumers nationwide,” he said, adding that LPG demand has dropped some 30 per cent since the PDL was imposed last month. “Suspension of the levy will improve access to the product and stabilise the market, which had been roiled by policy inconsistencies.” The suspension of the PDL has also been welcomed by LPG distributors. “The Petroleum Development Levy had forced LPG consumers to switch to cheaper alternatives and had put tens of thousands of jobs in the LPG sector at risk,” said Ali haider of the official All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association. “The court’s decision is welcomed by all LPG stakeholders across the value chain and it will provide relief to LPG consumers across the country.”
RAN is seriously working to overcome energy shortage of Pakistan and has pledged to boost bilateral ties with Pakistan, said Iranian envoy during a visit to FCCI. he unveiled the business visa policy saying under the fast track visa process, Iranian embassy will issue business visa on the same day and one year multiple visa may also be issued to the Pakistani businessmen. These commitments were made by the Iranian Consulate General Mohamamd hossain Bani Asadi during a meeting with FCCI office bearers and business community of Faisalabad, where a large number of exporters and industrialist were also present. he further added Pakistan is a big producer of milk and meat and in this regard, meat and milk may also be exported to Iran. he also appreciated the textile industry of Faisalabad which is contributing towards economic development of Pakistan. he stressed to work jointly for the betterment of trade relations. Iran had laid
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ducing the production level of the mill; pushing the national institution towards more losses. In view of financial constrains and reduced imports, the mill was currently utilising local iron ore and coke from available coke breeze to keep its entire production plants safe from any technical losses. But the mill was mostly depending on the local supply which also started decreasing due to the lack of rules and duty on exports. The locally produced raw material was also being exported due to difference of cost and payment issues, the sources claimed.
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the gas pipe line till border in a very short time and Pakistan may initiate to develop the infrastructure for the import of gas. Iran is keen to minimise the energy shortage of Pakistan, therefore, in this regard 100MW electricity project will complete in one and half year and building of 1000MW project from Zedan to Queta is also under consideration, he added. Iranian consulate is arranging Iranian products’ exhibition at expo centre Lahore in the third week of April. earlier in his welcome address, President FCCI Muzammil Sultan said Faisalabad alone has been contributing about 40-50 per cent of the total textile exports of the country during the last many years. There is a tremendous trade potential between the two countries and it is pertinent to mention that during the Pak-Iran President’s meeting in Islamabad, rail and road links between the two countries, energy projects, early realisation of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, and other projects of regional connectivity were also discussed. Furthermore, expeditious implementation of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline
project, 1,000 MW electricity transmission line and 100 MW Gwadar port power supply in order to meet the country’s growing demand for energy and power were also part of the dsicussion. he further added Iran is Pakistan’s important trading partner, but still there is a wide scope of cooperation to enhance the bilateral trade. Trade between the two countries is heavily tilted towards Iran and this can be gauged from the fact that in the last financial year, the size of bilateral trade between the two sides was Rs1.491 billion, out of which exports from Iran stood at $1.233 billion. During the question answer session, Former Vice President FCCI engr Sohail Bin Rashid, Ch Asghar Ali and Ch Jameel Ahmad, Ch M Boota, Rana Sikandar Azam, Abdul Sattar Alvi, haji M Abid, Malik Muhammad Arshad and haji M Basheer also highlighted issues before the consulate. At the end of the meeting, Vice President FCCI Rehan Naseem Bharara offered vote of thanks, whereby, President FCCI Muzammil Sultan presented the FCCI memento to the consulate.
PM directives force OGRA to issue 20 CNG station licences ISLAMABAD
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AMER SIAL
he Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) representatives admitted before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum on Monday, that on the directives of the Prime Minister they have issued 20 new marketing licences for CNG stations. After the surprising disclosure that the government has lifted the moratorium on the new gas connections four months back, the committee which is enquiring in the flouting of rules and regulations in the award of licenses to CNG stations, directed OGRA to submit complete details on new licenses within next three days to the committee. The meeting chaired by Sardar Talib hassan Nakai was to discuss the issue of gas load shedding in the country especially in Punjab and federal capital territory to finalise its recommendations for the house. Briefing the committee Secretary Petroleum ejaz Chaudhary said that the
government had imposed a one year moratorium on new gas connections in April last year but after immense pressure from the industry and court orders policy directives were issued in October last year for grant of new connections for CNG, commercial, industry and residential projects. he admitted that despite the moratorium people managed to get new connections. hanif Abbasi of PML-N asked OGRA representatives as to how many new licenses for CNG stations were issued on PM directives. On which executive Director Gas OGRA Mohammad Yasin said there number was approximately 20. Abbasi said that PM was instrumental in making the policy and then to get approval for new licenses for cronies. Secretary Petroleum strongly denied that PM had issued any directives and said the new licences were issued under the new policy guidelines issued by the Petroleum Ministry to OGRA. however, Yasin said the policy directives were issued after approval from PM. OGRA representatives said that they had not moved any summary from
lifting the moratorium and policy directives came directly to them. The members severely criticised the government for its lack of seriousness and showed their anger that the committee was not informed about the lifting of the moratorium. Changing his stance Secretary Petroleum said that the moratorium was for a six month period and the new policy guidelines were issued after the period. he said that there was no violation of rules and every thing was done properly. OGRA representatives also changed their stance and said that the executive Director Gas was not the appropriate person to submit replies on CNG issues as it was dealt with executive Director CNG. Nawab Ali Wassan of PPP said that had the committee timely decided on 462 illegal CNG station licenses the situation would not have aroused. Chairman Nakai said that the enquiry was delayed as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had taken over the OGRA office. he assured the members, the enquiry will be completely at the earliest as now NAB authorities have left OGRA
office. Abdul Waseem of MQM said that the committee was faced with a difficult task as the Secretary Petroleum himself was admitting that he was helpless in controlling the situation as influential manage to have their way despite moratorium. he demanded that the committee should identify the influential persons who were sabotaging the important policy decisions. The committee decided to discuss the issue of load shedding on February 28 and decided that a joint meeting will be held with the chairmen of standing committees on textiles and water and power. earlier briefing the committee Secretary Petroleum said that the failure to develop hydel and coal sector have led to an irrational energy mix that was overtly dependent on the most affordable fuel gas. he said during the last few years the gas production has increased by seven per cent while its consumption has increased by 40 per cent per annum. he identified CNG sector as the major user of gas whose consumption has increased by 39 per cent per annum over the last few years.
Conducive atmosphere has been provided for investment: CM LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said a very conducive atmosphere has been provided for investment in the province. he said Punjab government has formulated policies based on attractive incentives for investors and due to financial transparency, better law and order situation and proper infrastructure, the investment made in the province is completely safe and profitable. he said vast opportunities of investment are available in information technology, livestock, industries, means of communication and other sectors. he was addressing the 11th meeting of Board of Directors of Punjab Board of Investment and Trade. Addressing the meeting, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif said our country is rich in natural resources. he said the third largest gas reserve of the world is in Pakistan and it is fourth country in cotton production and fifth milk producing country at international level. Similarly, Pakistan is considered seventh country in wheat production and 12th in rice production. These figures show that there is no dearth of resources in Pakistan but it is need of the hour that necessary infrastructure should be provided for utilising these resources in public interest. Shahbaz Sharif said Pakistani investors should fully benefit from the trade opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries. he gave approval in principle to the posting of honourary investment advisors abroad for the promotion of investment and directed that a comprehensive plan should be evolved for this purpose. These advisors besides image promotion of Punjab province in other countries will also provide necessary information and guidance to foreign investors regarding investment in the province. The meeting reviewed the alternate resources of energy in detail and proposed that necessary resources of energy required to industrial sector can be provided through coal, gas LPG and biomass. Proposed system of “commodity trading” regarding sale and purchase of agriculture products was also reviewed. The meeting also considered various proposals for making the youth self-reliant economically. Chief Minister directed that necessary opportunities should be provided to the youth for better economic future so that instead of seeking government jobs, they should stand on their own feet. While constituting a special committee headed by renowned industrialist Syed Babar Ali, Chief Minister directed this committee should consider new prospects of self-employment for youth. STAFF REPORT
Seminar on Identification of Geographical Indications of Punjab LAHORE Madrid System for Registration of Trade Marks offers an attractive route for SMes to protect their trade marks in all sectors to enhance their global competitiveness while Geographical Indications (GIs) is a must for development of national economies. This was the crux of the speeches delivered at a seminar on “Identification of Geographical Indications of Punjab: Madrid System of Registration of Trade Marks” jointly organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), govt of Punjab and IPO Pakistan here at LCCI on Monday. The speakers included LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, Senior Vice President Kashif Younis Meher, Vice President Saeeda Nazar, LCCI former President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Director Industries Sheikh Mohammad Siddique, Director General IPO Sajjad Bhutta, President Basmati Growers Association hamid Malhi, LCCI executive Committee Member Nabila Intisar and former executive Committee Member Rehmatullah Javed. The speakers said registration of trade mark and identification of GIs are of great importance for doing business in the world marketplace in particular. Trade mark allows a consumer to distinguish between similar products and stop counterfeiters, while GIs help a country win a respectable place in a global market based on its agricultural and industrial strengths. They said good knowledge and clear understanding of these concepts can lead the country to a stage where the businessmen cannot only secure trade marks based geographical indications under Madrid System, but also develop genuine businesses in a country which is fully competitive in the international market. Registering a trademark in foreign markets gives a company the exclusive right to commercialise its products in those markets. This not only provides a solid basis to stop counterfeiters, but also ensures that the exporting company enjoys exclusivity over what may be one of its most valuable business assets. It goes without saying that reduced costs can enhance profits for SMes and lead to considerable savings, which can encourage them to seek broader protection of their trademarks abroad, thereby facilitating and fostering the marketing of their branded products in foreign countries. In fact, SMes can perhaps benefit the most from advantages offered by Madrid System. STAFF REPORT
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Tuesday, 28 February, 2012
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ARLIAMeNTARY Committee of Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) has urged the prime minister and federal minister for finance to give priority to Thar Coal Project in the forthcoming budget to avoid annual loss of Rs230 billion. Chairman PIAF Sohail Lashari presided over the PIAF parliamentary committee meeting, while LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, former Presidents Mian Anjum Nisar, Muhammad Ali Mian, former Senior Vice President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad and PIAF Senior Vice Chairman Nadir Kalam Osman, were also present on the occasion. Sohail Lashari said country has vast coal reserves and scientists are making out their best efforts to complete the project in shortest time, but lack of funds is coming in the way. he said country was facing massive energy crisis.
government does not release funds for it, he exclaimed. Sohail Lashari said Thar Coal was a project of national importance and could not only solve the energy crisis, but also help export extra gas and electricity. Participants of PIAF parliamentary committee meeting urged the prime Minister to allocate sufficient funds for Thar Coal and other energy projects to keep the industrial wheel moving.
industrial workers became jobless. he said India is generating 53 per cent of energy through coal and only 0.9 through thermal resources, whereas, the situation in Pakistan is quite different where 60 of electricity is being generated through costly thermal resources. Thar Coal Project could play a vital role to solve the energy crisis, he underscored. The project will face serious threats if the
LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Major Gainers Company Unilever Pak Foods Indus Dyeing Atlas Battery Ltd. Siemens Pakistan Pak.Int.Con. SD
Open 1776.23 334.78 174.78 784.44 101.59
High 1800.00 351.10 180.80 790.00 106.66
Low 1751.00 350.00 175.00 790.00 101.00
Close 1797.41 350.10 180.53 790.00 106.66
Change Turnover 21.18 27 15.32 110 5.75 3,469 5.56 260 5.07 59,261
2807.14 748.00 786.84 3359.39 453.22
2800.00 745.00 790.00 3397.00 458.00
2700.00 710.60 755.00 3333.00 446.50
2750.00 711.84 763.33 3343.86 447.10
10.95 28.42 2.78 4.40 7.50
10.18 27.10 2.49 4.10 6.94
10.49 28.23 2.62 4.25 7.17
Major Losers electricity and gas load shedding have crippled the industrial and economic activities, but the government
is showing least interest in solving the issue of energy crisis. Unavailability of gas and electricity forced a large
number of industrialists to close down their industrial sectors or shift to the other countries and millions
Rafhan Maize Product Bata (Pak) Ltd. Wyeth Pak Limited Nestle PakistanXD Attock PetroleumXD
-57.14 176 -36.16 124 -23.51 146 -15.53 226 -6.12 36,457
Volume Leaders
Bulls overcome all odds, keep 13,000pt barrier in sight KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
eSPITe the negatives like a widening current account deficit, government’s ever-rising budgetary borrowings from banks and continued increase in international oil prices; the investors’ sentiments at the Karachi stocks market are positive thus helping the benchmark index keep a southward journey to hit, what the analysts believe, 13,000 point level. Monday saw the KSe 100-share index gaining 37.14 point or 0.29 per cent to close at 12,743.66 points against, what the market observers said, a high of 12,706.52 points of Friday last week. The index hit the intraday high of 12,790.52 points before plunging to the intraday low of 12,654.00 points. The turnover at the ready counter was recorded at 205.790 million shares compared to the previous 192.346 million. The trading value, however, slightly moved down to Rs6.330 billion from Friday’s Rs6.749 billion. The market capitalization rose to Rs3.319 trillion against Rs3.310 trillion of the previous session. Of the total 365 scrips traded, 145 appeared as gainers, 151 losers while 69 remained
Jah.Sidd. Co. D.G.K.Cement Lafarge Pakistan Fauji Cement Azgard Nine
10.50 27.16 2.53 4.18 7.21
-0.01 22,360,710 1.07 20,890,595 0.09 17,393,620 0.07 12,854,691 -0.04 10,982,914
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro unchanged. The turnover in the future contract also closed lower and slid to 13.234 million shares from 23.275 million of the last trading day of the previous week. “As the KSe 100 waves through better corporate results, higher oil and fertilizer prices, along with positive vibes regarding earlier release of the CGT-related SROs, we expect market to continue its upward march,” said Yawar Uz Zaman of InvestCap. however, the analyst said, market sentiment also depended on the political situation of the country and associated foreign flows. “Our top picks for the coming week are eNGRO, FFC, FFBL, ODGC, PPL, POL and DGKC,” he said. The cement sector led by D.G Khan Cement (DGKC), the dealers said, played as a catalyst in the Mon-
day’s bullish trend. Jahangir Siddqui Company being the volume leader of the day counted its traded shares at 22.36 million with each of its shares priced at Rs10.50 in the opening and Rs10.49 in the closing. The cement giants, including D.G Khan Cement, Lafarge Pakistan and Fauji Cement, also performed well and saw their traded shares at 20.89 million, 17.39 million and 12.85 million shares, respectively. Generally, the market observers believe, the Karachi bourse was moving up on the back of positive like improvement in Pak-US relations, the government’s announcement on Balochistan package, renewed foreign interest, record rise in international oil prices near to $123 and bullish global stocks.
90.9626 144.2122 1.1293 122.1355
US Dollar
Buy
Sell
90.60
91.10
Euro
120.68
121.91
Great Britain Pound
142.92
144.30
Japanese Yen
1.1165
1.1269
Canadian Dollar
89.59
91.07
Hong Kong Dollar
11.48
11.74
UAE Dirham
24.62
24.82
Saudi Riyal
24.12
24.29
Australian Dollar
95.97
98.44
CORPORATE CORNER NADRA’s first woman DG to head Corporate Quality Management ISLAMABAD: National Database and Registration Authority, NADRA, has appointed Mrs Fizzah Shahid as the Director General Corporate Quality Management Directorate. She is the first woman in NADRA to head top-level position. Mrs Shahid is an IT Graduate from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad with 20 years of IT and management experience and has been working as the senior most woman in NADRA for the last eight years. Deputy Chairman NADRA Tariq Malik while congratulating her said NADRA has adopted a fair and equal employment policy to empower the womenfolk; over 1,750 female employees have played a pivotal role in registering the womenfolk of the country. he said women working in NADRA have proved that they are as competent as men, only they need secure and fair environment where they can apply their experience, skills, education and intelligence. he was pleased that senior female officers are heading various departments including Marketing, Media and Communication Department. PRESS RELEASE
Samsung launches dual sim Galaxy Y Smartphone LAHORE: Samsung electronics Co Ltd, a global leader in digital media, telecommunications and convergence technologies, has launched Samsung Galaxy-Y Duos (S-6102) smartphone. This is yet another innovative smartphone, customized to suit the communication needs and budget of the youth, while offering the Android Gingerbread experience along with a dual sim feature. The youth-
ful device includes most of the cutting-edge features of the Samsung Galaxy range, to deliver a powerful smartphone performance. This sleek, slim, light-weight and easy to handle device features a 3.14 inch touchscreen along with a 3 Mega Pixel Camera and MicroSD storage up to 32 GB. The Galaxy-Y Duos comes with much faster and broader Wi-Fi and GPS features, along with a Social hub and FM Radio. For the music and video enthusiasts this device has been made compatible with MP-3 (Audio) and MPeG4 (Video) formats, while it also supports all other audio and video formats. Moreover, the Android market offers plenty of games, handy tools and productivity apps for the Samsung Galaxy series. PRESS RELEASE
the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) upon the invitation of Chamber’s President, Mian Ibrar Ahmed who has business ties with Switzerland. The Swiss diplomats were delighted to interact with the KCCI President and office bearers and had a fruitful discussion on matters of mutual interests and possibilities of increasing bilateral trade and investment between Pakistan and Switzerland. PRESS RELEASE
PTCL holds Annual Sales Conference 2012
Sindh tourism has a lot of potential: Swiss envoy KARACHI: Sindh holds great potential for tourism which should be explored and realised. This was suggested by Swiss Ambassador to Pakistan Mr Christoph Bubb who was on a week-long visit to Sindh with his spouse. During their trip to interior Sindh, particularly Dadu and Jamshoro districts, they visited the mausoleum of Sufi Saint hazrat Shahbaz Qalandar and appreciated the grandeur of Rani Kot Fort. The Swiss envoy pointed out that Sindh has a lot of potential to attract local and international tourists provided an adequate infrastructure is built. Ambassador Bubb was visiting the port city for the third time. The main purpose was to meet the representatives of Swiss companies and the local business community and also explore the beauty of some areas of interior Sindh. Together with Consul General of Switzerland in Karachi, Mr Didier Boschung, the Swiss Ambassador also visited
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) CeO and President, Walid Irshaid, has said that the Company is on a growth trajectory not only because of its innovative products and services, but also because of its talented sales force. “Success in life comes from one simple thing: taking ownership of what you do,” said Mr Irshaid while chairing PTCL’s Annual Sales Conference 2012 themed “Build, Operate, Own”, held in Islamabad. “The only way we can succeed is through collective thinking, combined energies, synergised teamwork, proactive customer engagement and ownership of business.” The day-long
conference held at a local hotel was attended by PTCL’s countrywide sales management teams comprising 71 officials, as well as senior officials from the company’s commercial, human resource, and marketing departments. PRESS RELEASE
Condolence LAHORE: Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Khalid Sherdil has expressed deep sense of grief and sorrow over the death of a person who died due to falling of a newly constructed gate of Watan Card Centre in Kot Addu. he directed the local administration to provide medical aid to the injured. he also called for a report from the administration regarding falling of the gate of Watan Card Centre. PRESS RELEASE
RAWALPINDI: Pearl Continental Hotel Rawalpindi participated in the Global Swimarathon 2012 to support the global campaign “End Polio Now”. Seen in the picture, Mr Sheharyar Mirza General Manager, Pearl Continental Hotel Rawalpindi (fourth from right in blue suit) is with the participants of the Global Swim-marathon, 2012. PRESS RELEASE