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Thursday, 28 June, 2012
Bulls reign supreme at KSE on Wednesday Page 02
Mr Sheikh, we need to do more! PM stresses fiscal austerity, revenue collection in meeting with finance minister g Sheikh briefs Ashraf on economy, boasts economic successes including high exports and remittances g
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APP
RIME Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday highlighted the importance of sound economic management, along with the continuation of fiscal austerity policy to improve economic development. Ashraf was talking to an economic team headed by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh who briefed the prime
minister at the Prime Minister House on the state of the Pakistan's economy, the performance of key macro-economic variables during the fiscal year 2011-12 and the forecast for the new fiscal year starting from July 1. The prime minister emphasized the need to focus on completion of projects in a regionally balanced way. He directed the economic team to make efforts to increase self sufficiency and increased revenue collection. He also said that provinces also needed to enhance their
revenue collection to fulfill the needs of the people. The finance minister informed the prime minister that the main areas of strong performance included continuing growth in GDP in spite of an adverse global situation, decline of the inflation rate to 11 percent from 20 percent last year, an extraordinary increase in tax revenue which had increased to Rs 1,800 billion so far, showing a growth of 23.4 percent on last year’s figure. Sheikh said that the high growth of
remittances, which would cross US$ 13 billion, would be at an all time high and would keep the economy of the country moving in the right direction. He added that exports were likely to repeat last year’s good performance in spite of a contraction in international demand. Sheikh further said that the successful utilization of public sector development programmes worth Rs 300 billion, completion of over 200 projects as well as subsidies for the poor including Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) were
some of the significant economic achievements of the government. The finance minister said that public sector organizations continue to pose economic challenges along with the security situation in the country which deters investment. He also stressed the need for political stability. The meeting was also attended by the Planning Commission deputy chairman, Planning Division secretary, finance secretary, FBR chairman and senior officials of the Economic Affairs Division.
USAID, Engro to support local dairy farmers ISLAMABAD: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Engro Foods will enhance the milk storage network in the country by installing 60 milk chillers in remote villages throughout northern Sindh and southern Punjab to increase incomes of small dairy farms. The USAID-funded Entrepreneurs Project together with Engro Foods will install chillers in rural areas of the districts of Larkana, Shikarpur, Dadu, Khairpur, Naushero Feroze, Ghotki, Muzaffargarh and Layyah. According to a statement, 15 chillers were installed on Wednesday in Bagi Village, Larkana District. A ceremony held to mark this development was attended by Mariam Riaz from USAID, livestock owners, milk collectors, and other stakeholders and beneficiaries. Milk is often collected and stored at homes and goes to waste due to a lack of proper storage facilities. The chillers will enable villagers to preserve more milk and minimize losses, thus not only benefiting dairy farmers through increased incomes, but entire communities. APP
SBP allows banks to exchange Rs 500 old design note till Oct 1 KARACHI: Labourers sit on the roadside as they wait for work on Wednesday. Rising unemployment and inflation together have increased hunger and poverty among the most vulnerable. AFP
Pharmaceutical exports up by 23.06% ISLAMABAD APP
The export of pharmaceutical products from the country during the last eleven months of the current financial year registered an increase of 7.52 percent. According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), as many as 19,556 metric tonnes of pharmaceutical products worth US$ 142.03 million were exported during the period from July-May 2012. Furthermore, the export of pharmaceutical products was recorded at 20,464 tonnes valued at US$ 132.10 million during the first eleven months of the last financial year. During the period under review, the export of chemical and pharmaceutical products has also posted a positive growth of 23.06 percent as compared to the exports of the same period last year. From July-May 2012, the exports raised revenue worth US$ 1006.63 million, whereas the value of exports from in the July-May 2011 period was US$ 817 million. In the last eleven months of the current financial year, the exports of other chemicals increased by 39.47 percent as compared to exports during the same period last year. Other chemicals worth US$ 433.99 million were exported in the first eleven months of the current year as compared to chemicals valued at US$ 311.168 million in the same period last year.
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed all commercial banks, microfinance banks (MFBs) and field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) operating throughout the country to exchange the bigger and older Rs 500 banknotes until close of banking hours on October 1, 2012. Earlier, the deadline of exchange was September 30, 2012. However, September 30, 2012 is a Sunday. Therefore the federal government, through a Gazette Notification issued in June 2012, has facilitated the public by allowing it to exchange the demonetized older banknotes until October 1, 2012. The SBP BSC will neither exchange nor be liable to pay any value of such banknotes to any person or bank after the revised deadline. According to a circular letter issued by SBP to presidents and chief executives of all commercial and microfinance banks, branches of banks, NBP chests and sub-chests should display posters and banners regarding the revised deadline at public counters and other places where they would be clearly visible, in and outside their branches. The SBP has also directed all banks to issue the necessary instructions regarding the display of poster to their respective branches to ensure meticulous compliance of timelines. STAFF REPORT
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Thursday, 28 June, 2012
Big banks craft ‘living wills’ in case they fail NEW YORK/WASHINGTON APP
Five of the biggest banks in the United States are putting finishing touches on plans for going out of business as part of government-mandated contingency planning that could push them to untangle their complex operations. The plans, known as living wills, are due to regulators no later than July 1 under provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law designed to end too-big-tofail bailouts by the government. The living wills could be as long as 4,000 pages. Since the law allows regulators to go so far as to order a bank to divest subsidiaries if it cannot plan an orderly resolution in bankruptcy, the deadline is pushing even healthy institutions to start a multi-year process to untangle their complex global operations, according to industry consultants. “The resolution process is now going to be part of the cost-benefit analysis on where banks will do business,” said Dan Ryan, leader of the financial services regulatory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. “The complexity of the organizations will shrink.” JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley are among those submitting the first liquidation scenarios to regulators at the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, according to people familiar with the matter. The five firms, which declined to discuss their plans for this story, have some of the biggest balance sheets, trading desks and derivatives portfolios of financial institutions in the United States. Great Britain and other major countries are imposing similar requirements for “resolution” plans on their big banks, too. The liquidation plans are coming amid renewed questions about the safety of big banks following JPMorgan’s stunning announcement last month that a trading debacle has cost it more than $2 billion - a sum far too small to endanger the bank, but shocking enough to bring back memories of the financial crisis.
Bulls reign supreme at KSE on Wednesday KARACHI
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STAFF REPORT
ULLS dominated the Karachi stock market on Tuesday as the KSE 100-share index gained 143.08 points. The day saw the index closing at a 1.05 percent increase at 13,799.12 points against 13, 656.04 points on Tuesday. Pakistani stocks closed higher on investor speculations ahead of the year-end closing, said, at Arif Habib Investments Limited Director Ahsan Mehanti. On Wednesday, the trading volumes at the ready-counter were recorded higher at 94.364 million shares against 57.989 million shares the previous day. The trading value increased to Rs 2.815 billion compared to Rs 2.005 billion in the previous session. The intraday high and low stood at 13,825.30 and 13,625.07 points respectively. Market capitalisation increased to Rs 3.518 trillion from Rs 3.484 trillion a day earlier. Of the total 365 traded scrips, 164 gained, 123 lost and 78 finished unchanged.
The free-float KSE-30 index also gained 154.10 points to close at 11, 933.77 points against the previous 11, 779.67 points. Bank Islami Pakistan was the day’s volume leader, counting its traded shares at 10.241 million with the opening and closing rates standing at Rs 9.22 and Rs 9.35 respectively, followed by Bank Al-Falah, P.T.C.L.A, Azgard Nine and Jahangir Siddiqui Company with turnovers of 6.838 million, 6.767 million, 6.665 million and 5.573 million shares respectively. According to analysts, institutional support in bluechip stocks across the board played a catalytic role in creating bullish sentiments despite concerns about the security situation in the city and uncertainty in global stocks and commodities due to the prevailing euro-zone debt crises. On the futures market, the turnover fell to 18.038 million against 21.391 million shares on Tuesday. Rafhan Maize XD and Nestle Pakistan Limited, up by Rs 117.33 and Rs 66.71, led the price gainers while, UniLever Food and UniLever Pakistan Limited XD, down by Rs 75.00 and Rs 51.75 respectively, led the price losers.
Shares up, but euro pressured on EU summit cynicism TOKYO APP
Asian shares rose on Wednesday but the euro was capped as investors concluded a European summit this week will fail to take concrete action to resolve the euro zone debt crisis, with Germany staunchly opposed to sharing the region’s debt burden. The dollar retreated from earlier highs against a basket of major currencies while commodities eased in choppy trade, reflecting reluctance by investors to place bets in either direction before the June 28-29 summit in Brussels. “With expectations so low for any breakthroughs from the summit, it’s hard to take any aggressive positions either way,” said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund man-
ager at Astmax Investments. “But panic-selling momentum has clearly receded, suggesting more investors are looking for prices to pick up given that many asset classes have fallen to levels that could be snapped up quickly if fund managers started pouring money in again,” he said. MSCI’s broadest index of AsiaPacific shares outside Japan rose 0.9 percent, driven higher mostly by short covering and bargain hunting after recent pullbacks. Japan’s Nikkei average edged up 0.4 percent. Chinese shares outperformed their Asian peers, with the Hang Seng Index jumping more than 1 percent on strength in the Chinese consumer sector spurred by jeweller Chow Tai Fook’s better-than-expected annual earnings and on gains in the banking sector.
Business 02 Dollar East USA UK EURO CANADA SWITZERLAND AUSTRALIA SWEDEN JAPAN NORWAY SINGAPORE DENMARK SAUDI ARABIA HONG KONG KUWAIT MALAYSIA NEWZEALAND QATAR U.A.E. KR WON THAILAND
SELLING TT & OD 94.30 147.39 117.85 92.05 98.13 94.87 13.34 1.1869 15.68 73.76 15.85 25.15 12.15 336.26 29.55 74.50 25.90 25.67 0.0815 2.958
BUYING TT CLEAN 94.10 147.07 117.60 91.85 97.92 94.67 13.32 1.1844 15.65 73.60 15.82 25.09 12.13 335.54 29.49 74.34 25.84 25.62 0.0813 2.951
BUYING OD/T.CHQ 93.90 146.74 117.35 91.61 97.67 94.42 13.28 1.1813 15.61 73.41 15.78 25.03 12.10 334.66 29.41 74.14 25.78 25.55 0.0811 2.943
PM eyes more foreign investment ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday directed Board of Investment Chairman Saleem Mandviwala to submit a complete feasibility report on one-window operations so that potential foreign investors could be facilitated and wouldn’t have to face hurdles. The prime minister was talking to the chairman who called on him to congratulate him on assuming the responsibilities of the chief executive of the country. Ashraf said that an inflow of foreign investment was critical for economic growth of a country, as in the cases of Turkey, China and Malaysia. While briefing the prime minister about the state of investment in the country, the chairman said that Pakistan offered attractive prospects for foreign investors especially in the fields of energy, infrastructure, and information technology. The chairman underscored the importance of simplifying procedures even further to encourage foreign investors to come to Pakistan and undertake successful businesses. APP
Europe’s leaders at odds before summit MADRID/BERLIN: European leaders sound unusually divided before a high-stakes summit, with Germany’s Angela Merkel saying total debt liability would not be shared in her lifetime and giving little support to Italian and Spanish pleas for immediate crisis action. Rome and Madrid have seen their borrowing costs spiral to a level which for Spain at least would not be sustainable as it battles to recapitalise banks ravaged by a burst property bubble and cut a towering government deficit. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday he would ask other European Union leaders to allow the bloc’s bailout funds or the European Central Bank to stabilize financial markets. Speaking in parliament before a meeting of European heads in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, Rajoy warned that Spain would not be able to finance itself indefinitely with 10-year bond yields near seven percent. “The most urgent issue is the one of financing. We can’t keep funding ourselves for a long time at the prices we’re currently funding ourselves,” he told parliament. APP
CORPORATE CORNER Emirates to operate Gatwick’s first A380 service on July 6 KARACHI: The world’s largest passenger jet aircraft will touch down at London Gatwick next month as Emirates brings an Airbus A380 to the airport to mark 25 years of service. The Emirates’ double decker, which carries over 500 passengers, will make history on 6th July when it becomes the first ever A380 service to Gatwick Airport. The A380 will operate one of Emirates’ three daily flights to Gatwick, enabling passengers to experience the world-renowned amenities on board. These include the world’s first Onboard Shower Spas in First Class, an Onboard Lounge for First and Business Class passengers and an inflight entertainment system throughout the aircraft with over 1300 channels on demand.
KARACHI: British Deputy High Commissioner and Director for UK Trade & Investment Pakistan Francis Campbell speaks at the launch seminar of Air Service Training (AST), Perth, Scotland UK qualifications.
works and plays.” “Our 4Mbps connection offers double the speed and connectivity at very nominal charges,” said PTCL Executive Vice President Wireline Business, Asif Inam. “No other company can match this quality and price.”
UBL Funds announces Interim Payout from Funds Hamid Farid, Country Director Western Union, and Naim Farooqui, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sindh Bank after signing an agreement.
PTCL Broadband brings ultimate connectivity at unmatched speeds ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has now enabled its Broadband customers to upgrade from 2Mbps to 4Mbps connection at additional charge of Rs.500 only. As Pakistan’s fastest and most affordable Broadband service, PTCL’s Broadband Pakistan offers seamless Internet experience, uninterrupted streaming and fastest downloading speeds. It provides access to rich high-definition multimedia resources over the Internet enabling customers to download latest movies, TV shows and music files. PTCL offers a variety of Broadband Packages for its customers tailored for every segment of society. The 1Mb connection costs Rs.1250; 2Mb costs Rs.1499; 4Mb is priced at Rs.1999; 6Mb at Rs.4999; 8Mb for Rs.6999 and the mammoth 10Mb for only Rs.9999 — making PTCL the fastest and yet the most affordable Broadband service available in Pakistan. “PTCL is aiming to bridge the digital divide by bringing the most affordable telecommunication services across the country,” said PTCL Senior Executive Vice President Commercial, Naveed Saeed. “Broadband Pakistan is revolutionizing the way Pakistan connects,
KARACHI: UBL Fund Managers announced an interim payout for the period-ended June 21, 2012 from its open-end investment schemes. The Company announced a payout of Rs.1.05 per units of par value RS. 100 from its money market scheme, UBL Liquidity Plus Fund (ULPF) which gave an year to date return of 11.36% p.a. From UBL Government Securities Fund (UGSF), the Company announced a payout of RS. 1.05 per unit of par value RS. 100. This scheme has given a year to date return of 12.15% p.a. While from UBL Savings Income Fund (USIF), UBL Funds announced a payout of RS. 1.05 per unit of par value of RS. 100. This scheme has given a year to date return of 12.09% p.a. On the Islamic side a payout of RS. 1.00 per unit of par value RS. 100 has been announced from UBL Islamic Savings Fund (UISF) This is a Shariah-compliant scheme that aims to offer competitive returns with no holding period requirement. The scheme has given a year to date return of 11.36% p.a.
Plan International launches ‘girl power programme’ ISLAMABAD: Plan International, Pakistan has been implementing a programme titled “Girl Power Programme” through which over 9,000 girls and young women will be provided with post primary education facilities at their door step free of cost and over 10,000 women and 40,000 children will be provided with protection services through help lines.
This was told by Rashid Javed, Country Director Plan International Pakistan during the launching ceremony of the programme here in Islamabad on June 25. The Ambassador of NetherlandsMr. Hugo GajusScheltema was the chief guest at the occasion. The Girl Power Programme (Pakistan) is funded by the Dutch Government and aims at strengthening the civil society to ensure the right of girls and young women to full and equal participation in the social, economic and political development of society.
Warsak Dam proves its worth
LAHORE: How beneficial water sector projects have been for the country can be assessed from the fact that Warsak Dam, constructed at a cost of US$ 109.35 million, has so far provided benefits worth US$ 5.8 billion. The canal system of Warsak Dam Project is irrigating some 119,000 acres of land and has thus contributed US$ 2.3 billion to the national economy since its commissioning. Similarly, Warsak Hydel Power Station has so far generated about 40 billion units of electricity, earning revenue worth US$ 3.5 billion. Warsak Dam is located on Kabul River about 30 km north-west of Peshawar. It is a mass concrete gravity dam with a height of 250 feet and length 460 feet. The project was constructed in 1960 under the Colombo Plan and was financed by the Canadian government.