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Bulls propel index with 147 point gain
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Wednesday, 08 February, 2012
Pakistan, Iran eye $5 billion trade target g
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Gwadar port users demand ECC to review decision KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
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$100 million assistance announced for flood victims Work on IP pipeline to speed up ISLAMABAD APP
AKiSTAn and iran on Tuesday resolved to enhance bilateral trade between the two brotherly counties from $1.5 billion to $5 billion by exploring new avenues of economic cooperation. Advisor to Prime minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and visiting iranian Deputy President on international Affairs Ali Saeedlou expressed this resolve after signing the minutes of bilateral cooperation at the conclusion of Pakistan-iran bilateral talks here. Both the sides agreed to speed up work on various ongoing projects, particularly iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and electricity project to help Pakistan overcome the energy crisis. Talking to newsmen on the occasion, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that iran and Pakistan had historic brotherly and geographical relations with common faith, which would be strengthened with the passage of time. He said that both the countries had huge trade and investment potential as well as capacity to launch joint ventures, which needed to be
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exploited for the benefit of their peoples. Shaikh said several areas of cooperation, including information technology and industrial development were identified as priority ones during the talks. He said the two sides agreed to promote trade in commodities, including rice, fruits and vegetables besides cooperation in sectors like energy and livestock. He said they also discussed to promote collaboration in transportation, customs and financial sectors as well. Shaikh said that both the president and the prime minister were committed to promote business relations among the neighbouring countries. He said that the businessmen of the two countries would identify further areas of business-to-business of cooperation while joint ventures would be launched in the industrial production sector. Earlier, speaking during the talks, the Advisor said there was a
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need to eliminate tariff and nonTariff Barriers and provide incentives to the private sector for trade development. Speaking on the occasion, iranian Vice President for international Affairs Ali Saeedlou said Pakistan and iran had great potential to enhance their cooperation in various fields, particularly in energy, trade and economy. He said iran would help Pakistan in development projects and added that the work on gas pipeline project would be expedited. iran has already completed the pipeline at its side while Pakistan should accelerate the work on its side as the project would help in the progress and prosperity of its people. He also announced $100 million assistance for the development of flood stricken people in Pakistan. The iranian Vice President also thanked the people and the government of Pakistan for extending warm hospitality to him and his delegation. it is pertinent to mention
Both president and prime minister are committed to promote business relations among neighbouring countries
here that Pakistan and iran held bilateral consultations to explore ways and means for bilateral cooperation. Advisor for Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh led the Pakistani delegation, comprising governor State Bank of Pakistan, chairman Federal Bureau of Revenue, Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, commerce, Water and Power, Railways and Economic Affairs Division. The iranian side was headed by Vice President Ali Saeedlou and included a number of deputy ministers from different sectors. The two sides reviewed bilateral economic relations, including commerce and transport and communication, energy, railways, civil aviation and oil and gas sectors. During the talks, technical groups on various sectors including energy, trade, railways, communication, petroleum and natural resources, civil aviation links and finance held discussions to explore ways for cooperation in these particular areas. on the sidelines of the Pak-iran bilateral talks, a business to business meeting of the delegates from the private sectors of both the countries was also held during which it was resolved that tariff and non-tariff barriers would be removed to facilitate obstacle-free trade.
HiPPing and clearing agents at gwadar port Tuesday demanded Economic coordination committee (Ecc) to review its recent decision of diverting TcP’s urea ships to Karachi port which they claimed were already congested. They also demanded that the government of Pakistan to abrogate the 40-year concession agreement with Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) which they claimed had failed to bring a single commercial vessel to the deep-sea port. “neither the government nor PSA fulfilled the commitments they had made in the agreement,” President Shipping and clearing Agents Association (gScAA) Abdul Rahim Zafar told a briefing at Karachi Press club. Accompanied by other gScAA office bearers, Hameed Baloch and majeed Baloch, gScAA President said he had submitted his Association’s pleas to the ministry of finance and Trading corporation of Pakistan (TcP) to review Ecc’s latest decision. He highlighted various key achievements of gwadar port saying, since 20th november, 2011 the port had offloaded 722,000 tonnes of urea in a record time of 40 days, hence, enabling the government to meet the nationwide demand of urea. Explaining the monetary dynamics of business in gwadar, Zafar said, gwadar port had an average draught of 12.5 metres, whereas, Karachi port trust had a maximum draught of 11.6 metres. gwadar port, he said, because of its draught size had the ability to manage ships carrying a cargo equivalent to 50,000 tonnes at a time, whereas, Karachi port could only manage cargo equivalent up to 35,000 tonnes. “it is this facility which enabled the government to order a larger amount of urea in a short span of time - a major saving of the country’s foreign exchange,” he said. Hameed Baloch, a member gScAA, said free of cost warehousing facility was provided at gwadar Port prior to its transportation to the mainland. no other port in Pakistan offered this service, he claimed. Due to the heavy traffic of ships at Karachi port, a hefty amount of demurrage has to be paid by the government in the form of foreign exchange to the ships that have been detained.
‘Economic disaster’ahead as banks buy 76pc of govt securities KARACHI
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ISMAIL DILAWAR
conomic observers foresee ‘disastrous’ repercussions for the country’s ailing economy, as much of the risk-free government papers auctioned by the cash-strapped federal government are being bought by commercial banks. Economists have warned that even though most of the country’s economic indicators are setting in the red zone, commercial banks are also not playing their due role in extending a helping hand to the economic mangers to revitalise the troubled economy. The latest SBP data on banks’ holdings of government securities shows that scheduled banks continue to remain risk-averse towards the growth-oriented private sector and are investing massively in the heavilyweighted government papers. According to central bank, up to
December 31 (2011) the banks held a majority, 76 per cent, of the market Treasury Bills (mTBs), Pakistan investment Bonds (PiBs) and ijara Sukuk auctioned by the funds-starved federal government. State Bank of Pakistan said by the above given date central bank, through auctioning treasury and islamic bonds, has raised over Rs3.679 trillion for the resource-constrained federal government that, the analysts believe, is likely to end up with a fiscal deficit of over Rs1 trillion by the end of this financial year, FY12. of total auctioned bonds, scheduled banks bought government papers to the tune of Rs2.796 trillion. The remaining 24 per cent papers, accounting for Rs883 billion, were left for non-bank lenders; including insurance companies, mutual funds and other corporate entities. During the
review period, State Bank counted banks’ holdings of mTBs, PiBs and islamic bonds, respectively, at 82.4 per cent, 53.5 per cent and 89 per cent that, in monetary terms, account for Rs2.072 trillion, Rs471.9 billion and Rs251.4 billion. While experienced bankers like Hussain Lawai, president and cEo of Summit Bank, suggest the central bank to limit commercial banks’ investment in government papers at 25 per cent, the
economists term the practice as “unhealthy” and “disastrous” for the economy in the long run. “A major budget deficit is making the government borrow heavily from commercial banks but this is an unhealthy practice,” said Dr Shahid Hussain Siddiqui. The economist said banks, by extending much of its advances, to the sovereign borrower are leaving little or no
liquidity for the private sector that is considered to be the engine of growth worldwide. “The banks are not playing their due role that is to lend to the private sector,” he said. Dr Siddiqui said banks were taking deposits of their account holders at a meager five per cent mark up and were investing the money in government papers to get a return of 11 per cent. “They are earning six per cent without lifting a finger at zero risk,” the economist said. Resultantly, he said, economic growth in the country had stagnated as the absence of credit to the private sector had rendered the country with a dim economic activity. “The government should increase tax revenues, curtail the expenditures and lessen its reliance on the commercial banks. otherwise, it would be disastrous for the economy,” he warned.
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‘MFN should be equally beneficial’ KARACHI
Senate panel directs NAB to investigate Rs950m fraud ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
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EADing industrialists and traders have expressed their concerns over the process envisaged for granting the most Favoured nation (mFn) status to india saying the process should be equally beneficial for both nations. The government has officially started dialogue towards normalisation of trade ties in the region by considering granting mFn status to india. it is well recognised that trade between Pakistan and india c an be mutually beneficial for both countries. “But there has been plenty of misunderstanding, misinterpretation and misgivings.” Keeping in mind the past history as to how the government has signed agreements including WTo without taking industry on board, they said adding it is important that the industry plays its due role in advising that a transparent process be undertaken. A leading industrialist said that india has a huge market and economies of scale, and resultantly, holds a significant cost advantage over its neighbours. “in principle, the stance to support enhancement of regional trade is not an issue,” he said. However, the process should be equally beneficial for both nations. “The process must be a win-win,” he said. “As india seeks market access to Pakistan for its finished products, it must ensure equal access and opportunities for P akistan to its market,” he suggested. Pakistan’s tariffs are relatively low and its market is largely open, whereas, products are not subject to particular standards conformity. “With experience and malpractices of trade with china, the faith in the government assurances of improved customs procedure, valuation, standards and an enhanced nTc capacity has left much of the domestic industry unconvinced,” he said. There are also significant misgivings about the government negotiation strategy and anti-dumping speedy relief.
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oLDing the corporate watch dogs, Securities and Exchange commission of Pakistan (SEcP) and national Accountability Bureau (nAB), responsible for lethargy in the recovery of Rs950 million from natover Lease and Refinancing company (nLRc), Senate Subcommittee on finance took cudgels on Tuesday by directing nAB to at least complete its preliminary investigations in the scam and trace the assets so that they can be frozen to at least ensure some recovery of the looted amount. The case of nLRc is under investigation by the committee for the last several months. it surfaced in mid 2007 when the board of directors report was out which contained a confessional statement of chief Exec-
utive of the company nadeem Shaikh about massive irregularities. SEcP tried to absolve itself of the scam proceedings by claiming that it does not have enough power to investigate the matter and had referred the case to nAB in 2009 for investigation. nAB on the other hand claimed that it had dropped the investigation as the matter was subjudice. chairman Haroon Akhtar Khan said there was no bar on carrying out investigations even though the matter was in the court. Senator Haji Adeel and Senator Kulsum Parveen also attended the meeting. chairman SEcP muhammad Ali, Director commercial crimes Wing nAB, Additional Secretary ministry of Finance, representatives from the ministry of law and former directors and auditor of the company were also present. nAB was directed by the committee to reinitiate its in-
vestigation to trace the assets of nLRc and present the report within two weeks to the committee. SEcP was directed to review all its rules and procedures for oversight of the nonbanking finance institutions (nBFi) to avoid occurrence of mega scams in future due to weak oversight. Senator Khan asked that when ex cEo of the company could face four years imprisonment due to the cheque bounce, then why was not he arrested and investigated for defrauding an amount of Rs950 million. SEcP officials claimed that they had taken action against the company upon getting the information. However, the committee was not satisfied with the explanation and observed that committee was not ready to bailout SEcP till the issue was finally resolved and the looted money was recovered. chairman SEcP muhammad Ali said due to the stay
granted by the court, they were unable to further pursue the case. committee members were of the view that depositors’ money was misused for years and SEcP was unable to detect it. nAB officials admitted that due to the cases pending before the courts, they dropped the investigation. However, members were of the opinion that nAB had vast powers like arrests, freezing of assets, putting names of cEo and directors on EcL, but they did not bother to take any of these steps. nAB officials assured the committee that they would again start investigation and trace the assets of the company and would report back to the committee within stipulated time frame. The committee also directed ministry of law to examine the court’s stay order issued against SEcP and its legal implications to determine the role of SEcP for not pursuing the case properly.
Pakistan finds new trade NIT announces excellent avenues with Tunisia, Algeria results for 1HFY12 ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
AKiSTAn is keen on expanding its trade relations with two key Arab republics of Tunisia and Algeria by enhancing its exports of textiles, agriculture products, surgical instruments and sports and leather goods. Ambassador of Tunisia mourad Bourehla discussed the utility of existing trade potential between Pakistan and Tunisia during a meeting with commerce minister makhdoom Amin Fahim. Tunisian Ambassador showed great interest in Pakistan’s exportable products like surgical instruments, agricultural products and sports and leather goods. He informed that trade between Tunisia and Pakistan is highly favourable for both countries and it will reduce Tunisian dependence on European Union. He said Tunisia is in the phase of expanding its trade beyond European Union and Tunisian government is very keen in boosting trade with Pakistan. The meeting also
discussed the importance of Pak–Tunisia Preferential Trade Agreement which is currently in the process of completion. The meeting decided to expedite the completion of PTA in order to boost trading partnership between two countries. The meeting was informed that the existing trade volume is far below their potential and there is a wide scope of cooperation in textile, science and technology, telecommunication and health. Pakistan’s exports to Tunisia stood at $25 million and imports at $64.5 million in 2010-2011. Ambassador of Algeria Dr Ahmed Benflis also met with the commerce minister. During the meeting various dimensions of promoting trade between Algeria and Pakistan were discussed. Algeria is great potential market for Pakistani products especially textile and textile products. The meeting decided to pursue holding of second session of Pak-Algeria Joint ministerial commission (Jmc), so that signing of Pak- Algeria trade agreement may take place.
LAHORE STAFF REPORT
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ATionAL investment Trust (niT) Limited has announced the results of all funds under its management for the half year ended December 31, 2011. This was stated by chairman and mD niT, mr Wazir Ali Khoja in an issued press release. During 1HFY12, the fund has outperformed its benchmark by 1.23 per cent, whereby the fund’s nAV decreased by 7.9 6 per cent from Rs28.14 (ex-dividend) as on 30.06.11 to Rs25.90 as on 31.12.11 against a decrease of 9.19 per cent in the benchmark KSE-100 index. During 1HFY12, ni(U)T has registered a net profit (excluding unrealised figures) of Rs2,771 million compared to Rs2,759 million in 1HFY11. This net profit of Rs2,771 million earned in 1HY12 translates into an earning per unit of Rs2.09. chairman also stated that during 1HFY12, the dividend income earned by the fund grew by 28.0 per cent YoY and stood at Rs1,166 million
as compared to Rs911 million in the corresponding period last year. The fund realised capital gains of Rs532 million in 1HFY12 against Rs440 million in 1HFY11, a growth of 20.9 per cent YoY. Referring to the results of niT-SEF, the chairman said during 1HFY12, the fund has outperformed its benchmark by 4.5 per cent whereby its nAV decreased from Rs84.21 (ex-dividend) on 30.06.11 to Rs80.25 on 31.12.11 against a decrease of 9.19 per cent in the benchmark KSE-100 index. During the period under review, the fund earned a net profit of Rs2,027 million (without impairment loss) against a net profit of Rs2,061 million earned in 1HFY11. This net profit of Rs2,027 million in 1HFY12 translates into an earning per unit of Rs6.65. The fund realised capital gains of Rs491 million and earned a dividend income of Rs449 million in 1HFY12 compared to capital gains of Rs479 million and a dividend income of Rs437 million in 1HFY11, a growth of 2.5 per cent and 2.7 per cent YoY respectively.
Cement sector continues to operate below capacity LAHORE STAFF REPORT
EmEnT manufacturers continue to operate below 70 per cent installed capacity in January 2012 as well as in the first six months of this fiscal due to which they could not pass on the high production cost to the consumers. A spokesman of All Pakistan cement manufacturers Association (APcmA) pointed out that though current cement rates are over Rs125 (Pak rupees) lower in Pakistan than neighbouring india the industry is being unfairly targeted on the price issue. He said that during the past four years both the inflation and the bank mark up has remained in double digits that have forced
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producers of most of the items except cement to increase the rates according to the increase in input cost. citing few examples he stated that the cement rates increased from Rs252 per bag in December 2006 to Rs293 per bag in June 2011, which is only an increase of 13 per cent. compared with nominal increase in cement rates the rates of urea increased from Rs530 per bag in December 2006 to Rs1407 per bag by June 2011, an increase of over 275 per cent. in the same way the rates of DAP fertiliser shot up from Rs871 per bag on December 2006 to Rs4031 per bag by June 2011, which is an increase of over 410 per cent during the last five years. He said sugar prices have increased from Rs30 per kg in December 2006 to Rs69 per kg by June 2011
which again is a hefty increase of over 110 per cent. He said that these increases in the rates of different items were due to abnormal increase in input costs and it affected entire manufacturing sector. However, since the cement demand during this entire period remained below the production capacity of the commodity, the cement manufacturers were unable to pass on the impact of high cost of production to the consumers. most of them, he added, are posting losses and two cement units have closed down. He said that electricity, coal, gas and diesel are the main input cost of the cement industry. The rate of electricity, he added, has increased from Rs1.87 per unit in June 2006 to Rs10.69 per unit. Even the off peak rates, he added, have increased from Rs1.11
per unit to Rs5.97 per unit. He said that gas that was available to the captive power units at Rs241per mmBTU in June 2011 has increased to Rs382.37 per mmBTU in June 2011. He said that light diesel prices jumped from Rs33 per litre in march 2007 to Rs88 per litre in June 2011. coal rates have increased from $51 per tonne in December 2006 to $111 per tonne in December 2011. He said that the cement industry paid heavy price for the expansion in production capacity that was planned on the assumption that the economy would grow at an average of six per cent or above. Unfortunately, he added, the economic growth has averaged 2.5 per cent during past four years that suppressed the demand for cement in the local market.
SBP waives succession certificate condition for unclaimed deposits KARACHI: The central bank has waived the condition of obtaining the succession certificate from legal heirs in respect of unclaimed deposit refund of deceased account holders and beneficiaries of instrument of Rs100,000 and below. in order to facilitate legal heirs of deceased account holder/beneficiary of instrument in obtaining petty amount claims, without going into cumbersome process of obtaining succession certificates, it has been decided that all banks and DFis can initiate and submit refund claims cases of the deceased account holders/ beneficiaries of instrument of Rs100,000 and below to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) without obtaining the succession certificate, if they have examined the refund claim and satisfied themselves about the genuineness of the legal heirs, said an SBP circular issued Tuesday. For the purpose, the banks and DFis would obtain indemnity bond on appropriate value of stamp paper from the legal heirs of deceased account holders and beneficiaries of instrument along with two personal guarantees. This would also be accompanied by application from all the legal heirs and copies of cnics and death certificate of account holder/beneficiary of instrument. The indemnity bond has to be invariably signed by all the legal heirs. Further, the banks and DFis would also indemnify SBP on Rs100 nonjudicial stamp paper regarding any risk and/or loss and legal cost in the matter, the circular said. STAFF REPORT
OGRA inspection discovers retailers involved in hoarding of POL products ISLAMABAD: oil and gas Regulatory Authority (ogRA) on Tuesday claimed that its surprise inspection to determine hoarding of PoL stocks by the oil marketing companies (omcs) and retailers for inventory gains, on the eve of notification of new prices, was only able to find a few retailers deficient in PoL stocks. A statement issued by ogRA said it is observed that whenever there is a speculation of price hike of petroleum products, omcs and retailers tend to hoard PoL stocks for inventory gain. ogRA taking cognisance of this issue assigned its teams comprising of officers of enforcement department to conduct inspections at omc’s retail outlets, located in Lahore, islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining areas, ahead of the notification of PoL prices during January 29 to 31. STAFF REPORT
Halal Accreditation Scheme commended LAHORE: The step of introducing Halal Accreditation Scheme by Pakistan national Accreditation council (PnAc), Federal ministry for Science and Technology is commendable which will help introducing Pakistani Halal products globally hence will increase the exports as well. These words were expressed by mr muhammad Zubair mughal, chief Executive officer – Halal Research council in a seminar on the topic of Halal in Lahore. STAFF REPORT
PIAF touts privatisation as solution LAHORE: Pakistan industrial and Traders Associations Front (PiAF) has urged government to evolve a mechanism to privatise all public sector enterprises that are generating a loss of billions of rupees annually. in a statement issued here Tuesday, PiAF chairman Engineer Sohail Lashari said corruption and mismanagement have destroyed the public sector enterprises that were once shining stars and pride of the nation. He said their privatisation would not only help the government in getting rid of huge losses but would also strengthen the government’s revenue position. STAFF REPORT
SECP holds stakeholders’ conference ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange commission of Pakistan (SEcP) on Tuesday held a stakeholders conference on the Fertiliser industry cost Accounting Records order, 2011 which was participated by representatives of the Fertiliser industry and competition commission of Pakistan. SEcP reiterated that the cost audit mechanism should be taken up both in letter and spirit as it is not punitive in nature. After thorough deliberation, the participants decided that the order may be published in the official gazette with certain amendments in the annexed schedules. The suggestions made during the conference were noted and the final order, which would be applicable for the financial year commencing on or after July 1, 2012, will be placed before the commission for its approval. STAFF REPORT
LCCI urges ABF to play its role LAHORE: Lahore chamber of commerce and industry (Lcci) Tuesday urged American Business Forum (ABF) to play its role for making the economy robust and vibrant. Lcci President irfan Qaiser Sheikh was talking to an eight member delegation of ABF led by its President Saleem ghori. other members of the delegation included Senior Vice President ABF ibrahim Qureshi, Vice President Zahid Bashir, Honorary Secretary general Ayesha Hamid, Afsar mahmood, Younus Kamran, naeem Shafiq and Sohail Yousaf. STAFF REPORT
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ILLEGAL AuTO PART sales cost Rs10 billion to national exchequer LAHORE IMRAN ADNAN
mUggLing, misdeclaration, under invoicing and illegal sale of counterfeited auto parts; result in an annual loss of over Rs10 billion to public exchequer. Poor enforcement of intellectual property laws has provided this illegal trade an opportunity to capture nearly 87 per cent of the market share. Auto industry data made available to Profit show that legitimate or
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documented auto parts manufacturing sector has only 13 per cent (Rs3.3 billion) share out of the total Rs25 billion auto parts market in the country. Estimates indicate that importers are marketing around 64 per cent or Rs16 billion worth auto parts on which duty and taxes have been evaded through misdeclaration or under invoicing. Similarly, nearly 15 per cent or Rs3.8 billion worth auto parts are entering Pakistan through illegal channels, whereas, around eight per cent or Rs2 billion worth spare parts are being manufac-
SBP renews status of Credit Rating Agencies for CY12 KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has renewed the status of External credit Assessment institutions (EcAis) of both the country’s two prominent credit Rating Agencies for the calendar year 2012. m/s JcR-ViS credit Rating company Limited and m/s Pakistan credit Rating Agency (PAcRA) are the two credit rating firms that have been assigned a renewed status. it may be pointed out that standardised approach of credit risk under Basel-ii requires banks and development finance institutions to use credit ratings assigned by the recognised EcAis for the purpose of calculating the required capital. STAFF REPORT
tured locally by uncertified small manufacturers. industry leaders claim that conservative numbers suggest that around 80 per cent auto spare parts being sold in domestic markets are either imported through illegal channels or manufactured locally. But importers and traders are openly deceiving consumers by marketing these smuggled or sub-standard auto parts with trademarks of their original manufacturers as the country has virtually no compliance of intellectual property regulations. Figures reveal that on the one
hand, three original equipment manufacturers (oEms) – Toyota, Honda and Suzuki have a market share of Rs1.64 billion, Rs720 million and Rs1 billion, respectively. on the other hand, annual sales of counterfeit auto parts is hovering around Rs21.57 billion, which accounts for 87 per cent of total auto parts market. Highlighting the illegal import channels, industry experts pointed out that majority of smuggled auto parts were entering Pakistan via Dubai-iran-Afghanistan to chama or Thorkhum and iran to Baluchistan to Karachi. in addition, importers in connivance with customs and port authorities were importing huge quantities on which due duties and taxes were being evaded through misdeclaration and under invoicing, they alleged. A comparison of duty and taxes paid by oEms and other auto part importers also highlights alarming discrepancies. Figures show that if an auto parts container is imported by some registered oEm, it has to pay some Rs2-3 million on account of customs Duty, Sales Tax and other levies, whereas, commercial importer imports the
same container by paying duty and taxes of Rs0.5 to Rs0.7 million. Accumulated figures show oEms that hold only 13 per cent
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auto part market contribute some Rs425 million per annum towards national exchequer, while the commercial importers with the market share of around 64 per cent pay Rs43.2 million per annum on account of customs Duty, general Sales Tax, income Tax and other levies. Estimates show that auto parts smuggling costs national exchequer some Rs1.59 billion per annum, while sales of
counterfeit parts cause a loss of Rs1.06 billion. misdeclaration and under invoicing is another grey area that results in the loss of about Rs7.68 billion per annum to public exchequer.
Bulls propel index with 147 point gain KARACHI STAFF REPORT
ULLS continued to dominate today’s market proceedings with a benchmark index gained of 147 points. The volumes of over 162mn suggest the investors are actively participating in the market. The investors are inclined towards investing in stocks which are likely to declare their earnings along with payouts. JScL alone generate 19 per cent of the total volumes suggest punters are also actively participating in the market. Furthermore the majority of the investors are expecting a discount rate cut of 50bps can be considered as a reason
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behind the strong bullish momentum. ‘We still believe valuable stocks are still available in the market at a discount to their intrinsic worth which justifies the current bullish trend. We believe the current Bull Run may continue in the
upcoming days back by possible discount rate cut and result season expectations,’ said Bilal Asif, Head of Research HmFS. The KSE 100 index closed at 1128.62 levels with the gain of 147.70 points, while KSE 30 index
bagged 87.57 points to close at 11468.90 levels. All Share index closed at 8527.93 levels after gaining 101.58 points. Total 162 scrips advanced 92 declined and 85 remain unchanged out of total 340 scrips traded.
CORPORATE CORNER Qatar Airways sponsors 11th annual tour of Qatar cycling event
Steve Watts, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan, said: “2011 was our best ever performance in history, and Q4 2011 was also our 8th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth – this once again reinforced our role as SAP’s global growth engine. Across the region, our key markets of china, india and Japan led the pack with robust double-digit growth, while every market in the region performed well.” PRESS RELEASE
HEC accords top rating W4 category to uMT DOHA: Qatar Airways is proud to be named official Partner of the Tour of Qatar cycling event, attracting some of the world’s best cyclists to the prestigious event, now in its 11th year. more than 200 international cyclists will converge on Qatar for some fine racing that is expected to attract huge crowds lining the race route. The nine-day Tour around the tiny gulf state of Qatar will see the best male and female cyclists compete for the coveted titles. in the men’s event, distinguished names such as world champion, Briton mark cavendish, norway’s former world champion Thor Hushovd, defending champion Australian mark Renshaw and Belgian racer Tom Boonen, winner of several Tour of Qatar races, will all be aiming high for the top prize. PRESS RELEASE
SAP Asia Pacific Japan achieves 32pc software revenue growth KARACHI: SAP Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) announced its best ever performance in 40 years, with a 32 per cent growth in Software Revenue at constant currencies (to €722 million) in the full year ended December 31, 2011. Pakistan has been one of the key countries contributing to the improved performance of SAP APJ revenues.
LAHORE: University of management and Technology (UmT), Lahore, has been awarded W4 rating by the Higher Education commission (HEc) of Pakistan, vide notification no 16-38/HEc/A&A/2011/102 dated February 02, 2012, which is the highest university ranking. it is worth mentioning that UmT is the first university in the Punjab to receive this highest rating. it should be noted that UmT has received W4 rating as a consequence of the inspection of the University on December 30, 2011 by a committee approved by the HEc. Based on the information provided by the Quantitative Assessment Form (QAF) and recommendations by the committee, the chairman HEc approved W4 rating for UmT. PRESS RELEASE
FALAH project brings paradigm shift of ‘birth spacing’ to KP LAHORE: US Agency for international Development (USAiD), through its flagship health program Family Advancement for Life And Health (FALAH), held a seminar titled institutionalisation of the Birth Spacing Paradigm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to discuss the impact of birth spacing and convey lessons learnt in the process. Under the FALAH project, a substantial
amount of communication and Advocacy materials have been developed in consultation with health and population professionals and other stakeholders to successfully achieve the objectives of the project for promoting birth spacing in Pakistan. The material has successfully been used for creating awareness as well as helping in the capacity building of service providers to provide effective family planning services. PRESS RELEASE
Samba Bank Limited opens new branches in Lahore and Islamabad
LAHORE: Samba Bank Limited (SBL) has opened two new branches in Allama iqbal Town, Lahore and F-7, islamabad, with the latter also housing the Area office for northern Areas. The branches were inaugurated by Dr Shujaat nadeem (member of the Board of Samba Bank Limited), in the presence of mr Tawfiq A. Husain, President and cEo, and senior management of the Bank. commenting on the occasion, mr. Tawfiq A. Husain, President & cEo, Samba Bank Limited, said; “SBL is constantly improving its footprint in Pakistan, while developing and promoting its alternate distribution channels. This, along with the planned regular launch of new products, will enhance SBL’s value proposition to its customers and facilitate, in expanding its customer base, which is important for the development of our franchise.” PRESS RELEASE
Intel packs performance and reliability into latest solid-state drive KARACHI: intel corporation announced today its fastest, most robust client/consumer solidstate drive (SSD) to date, the intel® Solid-State Drive 520 Series (intel® SSD 520), a 6 gigabitper-second (gbps) SATA iii SSD produced using intel compute-quality 25-nanometer (nm) nAnD memory process technology. Aimed at delivering world-class performance for even the most demanding Pc enthusiasts, gamers, professionals or small-medium businesses (SmBs), the intel SSD 520 has fast throughput performance, new security features and unmatched reliability to meet even the most intensive user requirements. Any consumer application requiring high throughput and bandwidth, low latencies and accelerated speed will benefit from the intel SSD 520. Software developers, architects, accountants, engineers, musicians, media creators and artists are just some of the professionals that will find that the intel SSD 520’s full package of features can make a dramatic impact on their productivity. With faster performance for graphic renderings, compiling, data transfers and system boot-ups, users can speed through multi-tasking or oncecumbersome application wait times with an intel SSD 520 Series. PRESS RELEASE
kARAchI: Group photo of the Armed Forces with Mr D.W. Jinadasa consul General of Sri Lanka on the 64th Independance of Sri Lanka. PRESS RELEASE