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Wednesday, 28 November, 2012
PSO to establish 100 LPG stations A modern oil refinery in KP also being considered ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
AKISTAN State Oil (PSO) is to establish 100 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) auto gas stations in the country within a year, besides initiating construction of a modern crude oil refinery in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) which would be completed within four years. This was stated by Naeem Yahya Mir, Managing Director (MD) Pakistan State Oil (PSO) while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. He said that the national fuel supplying company has signed a contract with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) for importing furnace oil from foreign ports so that valuable foreign exchange could be saved being spent on making payments to the foreign shipping companies. Highlighting PSO”s future expansion strategy, Mir said that PSO in principle has decided to establish an oil refinery is KPK, adding that the PSO has not violated any rules and regulations while signing a contract with Bakri Trading Company Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd (BTCPL). Mr. Mir said that as part of his dream vision for PSO, he aimed to make the national giant an integrated energy company by incorporating all aspects of the product supply chain including exploration, refining, distribution and shipping. Through this, the company
will minimize dependence on foreign supply chains and follow the model of successful companies which have integrated multiple supply chain aspects within themselves. He also that PSO can only achieve this dream by connecting with upstream partners, introducing innovative ideas to beat the competition downstream and establishing control of its own product supply chain. Furthermore, he outlined his goals of establishing PSO as the leading company in Pakistanwithin a period of two years, a regional player in four years and a member of the ranks of global oil conglomerates such as PETROCHINA, PETRONAS-Malaysia, PETROBRAS -Brazil etc within six years. Moving forward, the MD-PSO outlined some of the new initiatives PSO has undertaken under his leadership including signing a Contract of Affreightment (COA) with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) for importing furnace oil from foreign ports, development of a new oil tanker mooring point and storage facility at Hub which will increase national storage capacity and reduce congestion at the existing jetties, establishment of over 100 LPG Autogas stations in the upcoming year and agreements with PARCO, BYCO and Bakri Trading for the acquisition of POL products. Other major projects listed at the conference included establishment of a modern EURO IV capacity refinery in Khyber Pakhtunwa, acquisition of a refinery in the south of the country and setting up
ISLAMABA ONLINE
a Base II lubricant refinery. He also plans to establish a regional JV Aviation Company in the Middle East and is looking to expand into the coal business in partnership with other companies. Furthermore, the MD stated that he had embarked on a program of cutting out middle-men and cost rationalization at PSO. He stated that by eliminating the addition of detergent additives in Mogas and Diesel, the Company would save ap-
proximately Rs. 635 Million/year, savings of Rs. 450 Million/year were also expected through the stoppage of war premium insurance payments on POL product imports. Additionally by uplifting products from local sources/ refineries, foreign exchange of approximately $200 Million would be saved annually and a further Rs. 500 Million will be saved by engaging the national flag carrier PNSC for transport of furnace oil.
Next gas import destination: Nigeria ISLAMABAD ONLINE
\Asim Hussain Advisor to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources has said that the Government of Pakistan has provided friendly opportunities to foreign investors in the oil and gas sector under the new Petroleum Policy 2012.
Dr Asim Hussain stated this in a meeting with the Ambassador of Nigeria to Pakistan H.E. Mr. Dauda Danladi, who called on the Advisor here on Tuesday. The Nigerian Ambassador apprised the Advisor that Nigeria is enriched with oil and gas resources and it has an estimated 184 TCF gas reserves. The Government of Nigeria supports deregulation of the Petroleum Sector so
OGRA to hold public hearing today
that healthy competition is encouraged. H.E. Mr. Dauda Danladi, while referring to the recent D-8 conference, emphasized that in the spirit of mutual cooperation direct intervention on Government to Government basis is required in the Oil and Gas sector. The Ambassador also informed that Nigeria has established Free Zones for International E&P companies, which provides beneficial oppor-
tunities for Pakistani companies. Dr. Asim Hussain welcomed the interest shown by Nigerian Government to enter into dialogue regarding possible cooperation in the oil and gas sector. The Advisor also suggested to explore vistas of cooperation in the downstream oil and gas sector including refining. Dr. Asim Hussain accepted the invitation to visit Nigeria.
In the backdrop of Supreme Court directions, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) will hold public hearing today (Wednesday) in Karachi which will help determine a new price formula of CNG. An official of Ogra told Online that following the Supreme Court directions the public hearing was going to be held in Karachi which will be chaired by Chairman Ogra Saeed Ahmed Khan. Official further said that Regulator will consider all applicable suggestions of the stakeholders which will help settle on a new price formula of CNG as per the directions of apex court. Ogra has decided to solicit public opinion to determine the prices of CNG for which Regulator has been holding public hearing in three major cities of the country including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. Ogra held meeting on CNG price on November 23 in Lahore and that kind of second meeting in Islamabad on November26 and Karachi will be the venue for a public hearing today(Wednesday). The demand audit report of the CNG stations and proposals from the regulator will be put forward before the masses and report which will be compiled after the people were approached for their opinions, will be produced before the Supreme Court on December 5. Chairman Supreme Council CNG Associations Ghyas Paracha has expressed the hope that Ogra would fix a price that would not become burden for the CNG station owners and the people. Paracha also called for reduction in CNG taxes and surcharges.
Fiscal deficit all set to widen by 6.5% of GDP in FY13 KARACHI ISMAIL DILAWAR
Despite positives like the inflow of $ 1.8 billion from the United States in August this year under the long-withheld Coalition Support Fund (CSF), the country’s fiscal deficit for fiscal year 2012-13 is expected to swell by Rs 1.5 trillion or 6.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The official quarterly data, however, shows that fiscal gap between the federal government’s revenues and expenditures during JulyOctFY13 set at Rs 284 billion compared Rs 257 billion of the correspond i n g
quarter last year. Latest fiscal operation numbers released by Ministry of Finance (MoF) depict a relatively curtailed fiscal deficit in 1QFY13, thanks to the CSF. The analysts believe that despite the subdued 1Q numbers, the full year fiscal deficit was likely to stand around at 6.5 percent. According to Topline analyst Nauman Khan, this would be on the back of a likely shortfall in tax revenue, higher subsidy outlay and higher development expenditures in the election year. Khan said the full year numbers fare better than last year deficit of 8.4 percent but compares unfavorably with last 10 years and 20 years average of 5.1 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. “Furt h e r , with
threats persistent on the external account, financing of fiscal deficit would remain a major concern for the policy makers, particularly in 2HFY13,” said the analyst. As per the latest fiscal operation numbers, 93 percent growth in non-tax revenue in 1QFY13 helped the deficit to remain at 1.2 percent of GDP similar to the one registered in the same period last year. Receipts of $1.8 billion CSF stood out as the single largest factor in growth in non-tax revenue, he said. Resultantly, the government’s total revenue increased by 30 percent to Rs 692 billion with 10 percent growth also witnessed in tax collections. On the other side, total expenditure grew by 23 percent with 24 percent increase in current expenditure and 15 percent decline coming in development expenditure. Digging in current expenditure, the increase came primarily from 76 percent increase in debt servicing, while 82 percent increase was witnessed in general public services (this includes subsidy payments). Disbursement in Public Sector Development Program expenditure declined by 15 percent, during 1QFY13 “With elections around the corner, we anticipate increase in the fiscal slippages in the coming months. In our base case, we estimate revenue shortfall of approx. Rs150-200 billion (though we have not incorporated the effect of tax
amnesty scheme), while we estimate subsidy head to cross Rs350 billion this year. Furthermore, we foresee little chance of cut in the PSDP as it is a potent tool to gear up for next elections,” Khan said. Though worrisome, the analyst said, the major threat comes from financing of fiscal deficit with pressure existing on the external front. “We expect the onus of financing the deficit will squarely fall on the domestic sources as witnessed in the 1Q. Of Rs284 billion net financing requirement, Rs285 billion was provided by domestic sources while foreign financing stood at (-ve) Rs1.5 billion,” Khan said. The material change in his estimate, Khan said, may come from another round of CSF receipts, implementation of tax amnesty scheme. On the other hand, another round of one-off payment in lieu of circular debt can further increase the deficit,” said he. Abdul Azeem, an analyst at InvestCap Research, also sees the fiscal deficit clocking in at 6.5 percent during FY13. “As per latest fiscal figures, total deficit during 1QFY13 of Pakistan didn’t show any signs of recovery as it stagnant at 1.2 percent of GDP as compared to same period last year,” he said. However, in absolute terms, the deficit went up by 10 percentYoY to Rs284 billion from last year’s level of Rs257 billion. An initial insight would reveal that the revenue head rose by 30 percentYoY (Rs158 billion) in absolute terms
to 692 billion as compared to last year of Rs534 billion. Similarly, expenditure grew by 23 percentYoY (Rs185 billion) to Rs976 billion as compared the corresponding period last year, that’s why the budget deficit still at 1.2 percent of GDP during 1QFY13. Both direct and indirect taxes are showing reasonable improvement, with sales tax registering growth of 8 percentYoY in absolute terms, as its bracket was expanded despite stable rate. However, in real terms tax collection still stays 1.9 percent of GDP same levels as compared to last year, meanwhile direct tax-GDP also remained at 0.6 percent of GDP. “We therefore believe that evidence of real growth in taxes is still lacking and only a handful of head was defence services which can be seen outperforming as the US collation support fund improved the amount of this head to Rs107 billion,” said Abdul Azeem. Another notable rise was seen in the collection of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (Cess) and Petroleum Levy (PL), where cess collection was witnessed at Rs8.6 billion and PL to Rs22.8 billion during 1QFY13. The cash-strapped government, he said, was heavily relying on domestic sources, mainly the banks, to fund the deficit during the first quarter during which the said sources provided liquidity worth Rs285 billion compared to Rs262 billion in the same period last year.
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Business 02 Asian markets rise on Greece deal HONG KONG
A
AGENCIES
SIAN markets rose in early trade Tuesday after the eurozone and the IMF agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros ($56 billion) in loans to Greece and grant significant debt relief for decades to come. Tokyo shares rose 0.38 percent by the break, Hong Kong was up 0.25 percent and Sydney gained 0.68 percent. Seoul opened flat but Shanghai was down 0.76 percent on concerns over the strength of recovery in the domestic economy. The Eurogroup of currency partners penned the Greek deal at its third late-night meeting in two weeks, agreeing to release, in December, the funds after months in which Greece was starved of bailout financing. Greece, struggling to stay afloat despite a series of unpopular austerity measures, has been waiting impatiently for an injection of international loans for several weeks to avoid defaulting on its upcoming debt repayments. Greece’s public creditors agreed to take measures to bring down the country’s debt-toGDP ratio from an estimated 144 percent to 124 percent within eight years, in exchange for the bailout funds. Finance ministers, the IMF and the European Central Bank said the money would be paid in four instalments from December 13 through until the end of March. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the agreement represented a fresh start for his beleaguered country. “Everything has gone well,” Samaras told
Major Gainers COMPANY Unilever Food Bata (Pak) XD UniLever Pak Island Textile Fazal Textile
OPEN 3960.00 1491.00 9650.00 787.50 212.10
HIGH 4150.00 1565.55 9750.00 826.87 222.50
LOW 4150.00 1565.55 9700.00 750.00 222.49
CLOSE CHANGE 4150.00 190.00 1565.55 74.55 9700.00 50.00 823.00 35.50 222.50 10.40
TURNOVER 40 100 40 700 400
157.00 44.00 64.10 45.00 79.50
153.05 43.42 64.10 44.00 74.11
153.37 43.42 64.10 44.00 76.00
-3.38 -2.28 -2.25 -2.00 -1.90
12,100 1,000 1,000 4,500 5,000
7.10 6.80 55.55 16.90 3.30
6.88 6.00 53.22 15.85 2.99
6.90 6.56 55.40 16.61 3.01
-0.13 0.73 1.96 0.17 -0.01
31,705,000 28,262,000 19,798,500 15,570,500 10,354,500
Major Losers Linde Pakistan Noon Pakistan Liberty Mills XD Shifa Int.Hospit Clover Pakistan
156.75 45.70 66.35 46.00 77.90
Volume Leaders Fauji Cement K.E.S.C. D.G.K.Cement Maple Leaf Cement Summit Bank
7.03 5.83 53.44 16.44 3.02
Interbank Rates local media in Athens. “All Greeks have fought (for this decision) and tomorrow is a new day for every Greek person.” ECB President Mario Draghi said: “The decision will certainly reduce the uncertainty and strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece.” US markets were feeble in the first session after a slow Thanksgiving holiday week, with the jury still out over how strong the crucial Black Friday holiday sales were for retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 42.31 points (0.33 percent) at 12,967.37. The broad-market S&P 500 lost 2.86 (0.20 percent) at 1,406.29, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 9.93 (0.33 percent) to 2,976.78. On currency markets the euro was stronger
in Asian trade as investors breathed a sigh of relief over the deal for Greece. The 17-nation currency bought $1.2980 and 106.46 yen in Tokyo morning trade after briefly topping $1.30 for the first time in about a month. That was up from $1.2971 and 106.38 yen in New York trade late Monday, although the euro eased slightly after the Greece announcement. The dollar was flat at 82 yen. On oil markets, New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, bounced 30 cents to $88.04 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude, also for January, jumped 29 cents to $111.21. Gold was at $1,749.50 at 0310 GMT compared with $1,734.47 late Monday.
Euro steady as traders await Greek rescue deal NEW YORK AGENCIES
The euro traded in a narrow range against the dollar Monday in a nervous market awaiting the outcome of a meeting of Greece’s creditors on crucial aid for the debt-crushed country. The euro bought $1.2971 at 2200 GMT, slightly down from $1.2973 at the same time Friday. The euro fell against the Japanese currency, to 106.38 yen from 106.90 late Friday, while the dollar fell to 81.98 yen from 82.60. The eurozone and the International Monetary Fund battled late Monday in Brussels under mounting pressure to conclude a long-delayed deal on immediate funding to avert bankruptcy for Greece. With creditors struggling to agree on how to tackle the country’s ever-growing mountain of debt over the medium term, the aim was to get short-term financing taps switched back on. The pressure grew over the day, with the European Union’s euro commis-
sioner Olli Rehn deeming it “essential” to reach a deal before the talks broke up. “Following last week’s unexpected failure to come to an agreement, people aren’t exactly sure what to expect from today’s meeting,” said Benjamin Spier at DailyFX. The British government’s surprise nomination of Canadian central bank chief Mark Carney as the new Bank of England governor, had little impact on the market, said Sebastien Galy at Societe Generale. Carney will take over from Mervyn King, who has led the BoE since 2003 and is due to step down on June 30. “By leaving the BoC and taking the head seat at the BoE, Carney brings with him the experience of rebuilding an economy that rebounded faster than all other G8 nations while maintaining a strong AAA rating with the rating agencies,” said Neal Gilbert at GFT. The dollar was virtually unchanged at 0.9278 Swiss francs from 0.9279 late Friday, while the British pound fetched $1.6026, down from $1.6033.
US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
96.2144 154.2221 1.1718 124.6650
Dollar East BUY US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
96.90 123.98 153.61 1.1620 96.23 12.24 26.15 25.63 99.91
SELL 97.40 125.55 155.52 1.1764 97.93 12.46 26.45 25.90 102.60
ZONG ESTABLISHES GSM LAB LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Zong the international brand of China Mobile and Huawei - a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider have established a state-of-the-art GSM laboratory and training center at National University of Science and Technology (NUST) to liaison with the telecom industry’s needs by creating a bridge between the academia and the corporate world. With the expertise of China Mobile Pakistan and Huawei’s investment of US$ 1.3 million in hardware, the GSM laboratory will be
providing exposure and hands-on experience of operating high-tech GSM equipments which can be used as platform for further Research and Development (R&D) for Value Added Services (VAS). This lab is to be used for study purposes; the lab is a complete telephone network including a GSM mobile infrastructure with one MSC, one BSC and one BTS, HLR and media gateway. The lab will also provide the platform for development of software, tools and patches to remove discrepancies. It will familiarize students with the fault, configuration, security, network performance management of telecom infrastructure.
KARACHI: Allamah Rasheed Turabi Foundation & Trust President and renowned research scholar Allahmah Dr Salman Turabi addressing at Majlis-e-Aza held by Anjaman-e-Parcham-e-Parcham-e-Abbas under the topic ‘Imamate and Guidance’ in connection with the central speeches of second Ashra-e-Muharram at Islamic Research Centre Karachi.
CORPORATE CORNER Getz Pharma donates Debate on present Rs 25m to IBA for promoting political crisis quality education ISLAMABAD: At a simple but impressive ceremony at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Getz Pharma (Private) Limited donated Rs. 25 million to the IBA for promoting quality education in Pakistan. In the ceremony, Dean & Director IBA, Dr. Ishrat Husain and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Getz Pharma, Mr. Khalid Mahmood signed a Memorandum of Understanding that aimed to establish strategic partnership between both the parties to promote academic and applied research in the country. This collaboration will focus on supporting students with financial needs to succeed in their academic and professional pursuits and will also be used in advancing social applications of research and fostering the growth of promising students.
tion. Sohaib Qureshi and FarwaHussainwere declared the winners for the 1st and 2nd position in Urdu debate while Hafsa Farooq and Ramis Ahsan were declared the winners for the English debate.
Warid Brings Double Number Offer KARACHI: A debate was organized at the Commecs Institute of Business and Emerging Sciences on Wednesday to enable the students to voice their opinion about the present political crisis and the resultant economic situation with special reference to the role of the media and the celebrities in guiding the populace towards a positive or a negative stance. The students participated very actively and delivered their speeches and opinion in an uninhibited manner and spoke for and against the topic with a number of references and quotations to backup their presenta-
KARACHI: Leading the innovation with many firsts in the telecom industry of Pakistan, Warid Telecom brings yet another exciting Double Number Offer which allows Warid users to get two numbers on one SIM without carrying two handsets or dual SIM handsets. All Warid prepaid customers can avail this exciting offer. Warid customers can activate Double Number on their existing SIM by sending SMS SUB to 3311. For more information visit http://www.waridtel.com/products/d ouble_number.php
KARACHI: PIA Board of Directors in recognition of the services rendered by the out-going Chairman presented him with a crest as a tribute. Group photo on the occasion shows: (Center) Air Chief Marshal (R) Rao Qamar Suleman, Chairman PIA Lt. General (R) Asif Yasin Malik, MD PIA Muhammad Junaid Yunus with members of the BOD.
UBL Funds announces Interim Payout from Funds KARACHI: UBL Fund Managers announced an interim payout for the period-ended November 20, 2012 from its open-end investment schemes. The Company announced a payout of Rs. 4.10 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 10.44% p.a. From UBL Government Securities Fund (UGSF), the Company announced a payout of RS. 4.55 per unit of par value RS. 100. This scheme has given a year to date return of 13.07% p.a. While from UBL Savings Income Fund (USIF), UBL Funds announced a payout of RS. 4.40 per unit of par value of RS. 100. This scheme has given a year to date return of 11.61% p.a.
Wednesday, 28 November, 2012