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India allows investments from Pakistan NEW DELHI ONLINE
In order to strengthen bilateral economic relations, India has allowed foreign direct investment from Pakistan, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said. Emphasizing the need to increase economic engagement with the neighboring countries, Sharma said: "We have allowed Indian investments in Pakistan and Pakistan's investment, whatever is the amount, to come to India". He said that without engaging with Pakistan, South Asian economic integration would not be possible. "We are clear that without engaging with Pakistan, South Asia Free Trade Agreement ( SAFTA) could not move forward," he said at a Ficci function. The minister said that in the last one year, trade ties between India and Pakistan have move forward. To allow investments from Pakistan, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP) had sent a proposal to Finance Ministry for changes in Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to allow FDI from Pakistan. Sources said that in order to address the security concerns over investments from Pakistan, FDI proposals from the neighbouring country can be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which is headed by Economic Affairs Secretary in the Finance Ministry. As per the present FDI policy, a non-resident entity, other than a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in there, can invest in India. The govt had earlier allowed investments from Bangladesh under the FIPB route. Further, Sharma said that Chinese businessmen are also interested in investing in India. "We will be encouraging and welcoming Chinese investments," he added.
Saturday, 9 June, 2012
sBP’s MONETARY POLICY DECIsION
They vied to chalk out new rate; no one knew where the chalk was g
Keeps policy rate unchanged at 12pc for macroeconomic challenges KARACHI
T
ISMAIL DILAWAR
HE central bank Friday kept the discount rate intact at 12 percent for the next two months in view of macroeconomic challenges the country’s troubled economy would be facing. The monetary policy decision was taken by the bank’s central board of directors at a meeting held here under the chairmanship of SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar. “The economy basically needs fundamental reforms to engineer a turnaround in economic performance,” observed the board in the policy decision issued after the meeting. It said inflation expectations could not be effectively anchored around single digit targets without limiting fiscal borrowings from the banking system, particularly the SBP. The size of the external current account deficit for FY13 as percent of GDP is projected to be approximately the same as in FY12. “However, due to the anticipated rise in debt payments in FY13, the economy would need substantial external inflows to preserve our foreign exchange reserves,” it said. Further, the problems in the euro zone have increased uncertainty in the global economy,’ Monetary policy decision said and added that being a safe haven for investors, the US dollar has strengthened significantly in the past few weeks against almost all currencies, especially the euro, and Pakistan rupee was no exception. “While managing the external and fiscal pressures remain more of an immediate concern, the real challenge lies in reviving private investment in the economy. Inflationary pressures have not subsided either despite sluggish GDP growth. At the same time, the scheduled banks continue to avoid extending credit to private businesses, which are already suffering from energy shortages. Fiscal authority, on the other hand, is accumulating short term domestic debt at a rapid pace. The impact of SBP’s monetary policy, in these circumstances, is less effective. The econ-
omy basically needs fundamental reforms to engineer a turnaround in economic performance. For instance, inflation expectations cannot be effectively anchored around single digit targets without limiting fiscal borrowings from the banking system, particularly the SBP. Borrowing from the banking system has risen substantially during this fiscal year, Rs 1098 billion (Rs707 billion excluding the Rs391 billion related to the partial settlement of circular debt), from 1st July to 25th May, FY12 with borrowing from SBP (on cash basis) expanding by Rs 414 billion during the same period. In fact, the latter has accelerated between 1st April and 4th June, 2012, increasing by Rs310 billion, pushing the outstanding stock to Rs1660 billion (on cash basis). This behaviour contravenes the SBP (Amendment) Act 2012, which requires not only zero quarterly borrowings but also envisages their retirement in the next seven years. Not surprisingly, the year-onyear CPI inflation has increased to 12.3 percent in May 2012. A noteworthy aspect of inflation behaviour is its persistence at this high level alongside slack economic activity. A probable
explanation of this persistence is that the expansionary effect of the fiscal position is off-setting the weak private demand, especially investment demand. SBP is not expecting a sharp increase in inflation but its continuation around current levels in FY13. The issue is not just aggregate demand pressures but also people’s expectations. Therefore, limiting and retiring budgetary borrowings from the banking system and implementation of consistent and credible policies would help in moving away from this undesirable equilibrium. The sheer volume of borrowing from the banking system and expectations that this trend will continue, in the absence of fiscal reforms, has made banks complacent. They are simply channeling the economy’s incremental deposits, raised at 7 percent on average, to government securities that give an average return of approximately 12 percent across different maturities. Specifically, the scheduled banks perceive the government as a captive borrower and can afford to avoid the private sector without taking a hit on their profits. The real issue is the structural gap between fiscal revenues and expenditures of the fiscal authority. This gap cannot be narrowed without fiscal reforms. In particular, it would be difficult to reduce the scale of borrowings from the scheduled banks and adhere to the legal requirements of limiting and retiring borrowings from the SBP without generating additional revenues. Falling private investment to GDP ratio to 12.5 percent in FY12 according to provisional data, also echo’s the need for fiscal reforms. Absence of an enabling business environment due to persistent energy shortages and precarious law and order conditions has dampened the demand for fresh private credit. Therefore, urgent energy sector reforms are required to boost business confidence and arrest the declining investment to GDP ratio. As for the developments in the external sector, the issue is not the size of the external current account deficit but lack of sufficient external inflows to finance it. Cushioned by robust worker
remittances of $10.9 billion, the current account deficit was $3.4 billion during the first ten months of FY12. After incorporating the estimated deficit for the remaining two months, it is likely to remain around 1.7 percent of GDP for FY12, which is not large for a developing country like Pakistan. The net flows in the capital and financial account, on the other hand, were only $1.4 billion during the same period. Accounting for repayments of the IMF loans during the year, SBP’s net liquid foreign exchange reserves have declined to $11.3 billion by end-May 2012 compared to $14.8 billion at end-June 2011. For FY13, the size of the external current account deficit as percent of GDP is projected to be approximately the same as in FY12. However, due to anticipated rise in debt payments in FY13, the economy would need substantial external inflows to preserve our foreign exchange reserves. Further, the problems in the euro zone have increased uncertainty in the global economy. Being a safe haven for investors, the US dollar has strengthened significantly in the past few weeks against almost all currencies, especially the euro, and Pakistan rupee was no exception. Appreciation of the US dollar in international markets is probably one explanation why oil prices have eased somewhat, declining from a peak of $130 per barrel (Saudi Arabian Light) on 3rd April 2012 to $97 per barrel on 1st June 2012. This, together with expected global slowdown may keep the oil prices softer compared to earlier projections. Given that almost one third of Pakistan’s total import bill is due to oil payments, this would be a positive development. For instance, with the current quantum of petroleum products and crude imports at 21 million metric ton, a decline of $5 per barrel in international oil prices could save up to $700 million in import payments in FY13. “After an assessment of the macroeconomic challenges faced by our economy, the Central Board of Directors of SBP has decided to keep its policy rate at 12 percent,” said the SBP policymakers.
WHAT DON’T KILL YA MAKEs YA MORE sTRONG
You rise, you fall, you’re down when you rise again g
Commodity prices fall, massively impact listed sectors KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Global macroeconomic uncertainties particularly in Euro-zone, lower consumer confidence and slowdown in demand in emerging markets have dampened sentiments in global commodities market, said a report issued by Topline Research on Friday. From beginning of May, it said, the CRB index that constitutes of 19 commodities is down 11% while price of WTI crude, Arab light crude and coal prices are down 20%, 16% and 3%, respectively. Cotton which was already under-pressure has declined by 16%. Other commodity prices like PTA and Px have also come under pressure, while fertilizer prices have remained relatively immune. The decline in international commodities prices is expected to have divergent impact on different listed sectors. Decline in international oil prices is expected to negatively affect E&P sector's profitability. A US$10/bbl change in oil prices alters sector's FY13 earnings by 6.3% with POL being the most sensitive (7.0%), while OGDC and PPL earnings change by 6.5% and 5.9%, respectively. For OMCs, we expect APL to remain relatively
immune but for PSO it is a blessing in disguise. Declining oil price would reduce PSO’s margin on FO and cause inventory loss, but reduction would also slowdown the built-up of circular debt and subsequently improve its liquidity position. In similar context, IPPs liquidity position is also expected to improve due to reduce built-up of circular debt. For refineries, reduce prices means lower benefit of deemed duty in absolute terms and result in inventory loss. For every US$10 change in the oil prices, deemed duty changes by US$1.4/bbll, which effect NRL and ATRL annualized earnings by Rs3 and Rs2 per share. However, for NRL, the reduction in oil prices bodes well for lube margins at least in the short run. Decline in coal prices could further improve margin of local cement manufacturers. Our estimates suggest that every US$10 per ton decline in coal price improves DGKC and Lucky FY13 earnings by 8-9% Similarly, falling steel prices bodes well for
Auto Assemblers and slightly improve their margins, assuming PKR-Yen parity to remain same. Compared to other commodity prices, international urea and DAP prices remained relatively immune. However, domestic urea prices still more than 30% discount to int'l prices, the change in int'l prices has minimal bearing on predominantly urea producers like FFC, FATIMA and Engro. For DAP producers like FFBL, the int'l DAP prices has remained relatively immune to commodity price fall boding well for the profitability. On textile sector, fall in cotton prices is expected to reduce margins on cotton yarn., However, given integrated business, like NML, the impact would be slightly diluted given the diversified portfolio that include high end products. In chemical sector we cover LOTPTA. Since price of Int PTA (end product) reduced by 20%, while overall PTA-Px margin have decline by 20% boding negatively for the company.
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Saturday, 9 June, 2012
news
Let’s share the common wealth g
Pakistan keen to build on economic ties with C’wealth partners: Bokhari ISLAMABAD APP
Chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari has said that Pakistan was keen to build on the fraternal ties with other Commonwealth partners especially in the economic sector. He expressed these views during his speech on "Shaping Capitalism for Global Prosperity and Sustainable Growth" delivered on the occasion of lunch hosted by the Secretary General Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen's coronation in London, says a press release received here on Friday. The Queen was joined by Heads of State/Governments or their representatives belonging to 54 Commonwealth member-countries. The Chairman Senate represented Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. The Queen was presented a souvenir by the representatives of the Commonwealth community and a group photo was also taken on the occasion. During the event, Chairman Senate conveyed to the Queen felicitations from the Government and People of Pakistan on the auspicious occasion of the Diamond Jubilee. In his speech, Bokhari highlighted the need for developed and developing countries to promote sustainable and more equitable economic system. In this regard, he added, Pakistan provided a very attractive market in the present global economic turmoil with a 56 million strong workforce. The Chairman Senate said that instability in the region had directly affected Pakistan which had lost thousands of precious lives of civilian and military personnel in the ongoing war against forces of terror and extremism. "Pakistan also had to pay a heavy economic cost. The devastating floods in 2010 and 2011 had further compounded difficulties". The Chairman noted that despite these challenges, Pakistan's economy had shown extraordinary resilience; GDP growth rate in the last two years averaged around 3.4 percent compared to less than two percent in the previous two years. Later, the Chairman Senate participated in the Diamond Jubilee Commonwealth Economic Forum at Mansion Hall, London.
sNGPL earns Rs2,361m profit ISLAMABAD APP
The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) earned a profit of Rs. 2,361 million and paid an amount of Rs 1,228 million in corporate taxes during the year 2010-11. Talking to APP, an official of the Ministry of Petroleum said that the SNGPL during the current year extended its transmission network to a length of 7,613 Km. Replying to a question, he said on the other side Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) earned a profit of Rs. 4,795 million during 2010-11 and extended its transmission network to a length of 3,337 Km.
UN food price index registers sharp drop in prices during May
POR fAvOR? g
spain poised to request EU bank aid MADRID/BERLIN
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REUTERS
IvE senior EU and German officials said deputy finance ministers from the single currency area would hold a conference call on Saturday morning to discuss a Spanish request for aid, although no figure for the assistance has yet been fixed. Later the Eurogroup, which consists of the euro zone's 17 finance ministers, will hold a separate call to discuss approving the request, the sources said. "The announcement is expected for Saturday afternoon," one of the EU officials said. The dramatic development comes after Fitch Ratings cut Madrid's sovereign credit rating by three notches to BBB on Thursday, highlighting the Spanish banking sector's exposure to bad property loans and to contagion from Greece's debt crisis. "The government of Spain has realized the seriousness of their problem," a senior German official said. He added that an agreement needed to be reached before a Greek election on June 17 which could cause market panic and increase the threat of Athens leaving the euro zone if left-wing parties opposed to Greece's EU/IMF bailout win. The EU and German sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Spain's deputy prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, said the government needed to have at least a preliminary estimate of how much extra capital the banks needed before taking a decision. The International Monetary Fund is expected to announce imminently the results of its own audit. "It's important to respect the proceedings because it's important to know the ground," she told reporters, while not denying that the Eurogroup would hold a call on Spain's needs. "Before taking any kind of decision one should at least have a first estimate of the ground and the ground means figures." The European Commission's spokesman on economic affairs said Spain had made no request for aid but the euro zone stood ready to help if necessary. "If such a request were to be
UNITED NATIONS APP
made, the instruments are there, ready to be used, in agreement with the guidelines agreed in the past," Amadeu Altafaj said. "We are not at that point." EFSF FUNDS If a request is made, Spain is expected to ask for help from the euro zone's 440 billion euro bailout mechanism, known as the European Financial Stability Facility. The amount will depend on the IMF audit and a separate report due by June 21 from two independent assessors, Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger. Financial industry sources told Reuters on Thursday that the IMF report, to be made public on Monday, had estimated Spanish banks' minimum capital needs at 40 billion euros ($50 billion), rising to 90 billion euros for a fuller recapitalization. Officials in Spain said the parameters for the IMF and the private-sector audits were effectively the same, meaning Spain could make the request for aid on the basis of the IMF figures rather than having to wait for the other assessment. The euro zone has been under strong pressure from the United States, China, Canada and other major partners to take swift, decisive action to prevent the debt crisis spreading and causing greater damage to the world economy. U.S. President Barack Obama said European leaders appeared to be moving in the right direction, but he also emphasized that he was being careful not to tell Europe what to do. "They understand the
seriousness of the situation and the urgent need to act," Obama told a news conference. Speaking in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not pressing any country to take a bailout, saying it was up to Spain to decide what it wanted to do: "It's down to the individual countries to turn to us," she said. "That has not happened so far, and therefore (we) will not exert any pressure." Fitch said the cost to the Spanish state of recapitalizing banks stricken by the bursting of a real estate bubble, recession and mass unemployment could be between 60-100 billion euros ($75$125 billion) - or 6 to 9 percent of Spain's gross domestic product. The higher figure would be in a stress scenario equivalent to Ireland's bank crash. BAILOUT LITE? European shares and the euro fell amid mounting concern over Spain following the Fitch downgrade although the Spanish stock market climbed nearly two percent on the prospect of help for the banks. While Spain would join Greece, Ireland and Portugal in receiving a European financial rescue, officials said the aid would be focused only on its banking sector, without taking the Spanish state out of credit markets. That would be crucial to avoid overstraining the euro zone's rescue funds, which would struggle to cover Spanish government borrowing needs for the next three years plus possible additional assistance for Portugal and Ireland.
The United Nations Friday reported a sharp drop in global food prices during May owing to generally favourable supplies, growing global economic uncertainties and a strengthening of the US dollar. The monthly food price index of the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) averaged 204 points in May, down 9 points from April, the agency said in a news release. This was the lowest level since September 2011. The index measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, including meat, dairy, sugar, and cereals. Crop prices have come down sharply from their peak level but they remain still high and vulnerable due to risks related to weather conditions in the critical growing months ahead, said Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior grains economist with FAO. The agency raised the forecast for world cereal production by 48.5 million tonnes since May, with the bulk of the increase expected to come mainly from maize in the US amid an early start of the planting season and prevailing favourable growing conditions. FAO's latest forecast for world cereal production in 2012 stands at a record level of 2,419 million tonnes, 3.2 per cent up from the 2011 record. However, with planting still to be completed and much of the crop at very early stages of development, the final outcome will depend greatly on weather conditions in the coming months, the agency stated. Global rice production in 2012 is expected to increase by2.2 per cent from 2011, to some 490 million tonnes, mostly reflecting larger plantings in Asia. At the same time, the latest indications point to a decrease of about 3 per cent in the production of wheat this year, to 680 million tonnes. FAO noted that this is still well above the average of the past five years.
You are hereby invited to come and drag us out of this mess g
Oil companies invited to explore energy-deficient Pakistan ISLAMABAD APP
An energy-deficient Pakistan offers rich opportunities for investment in the gas sector given the presence of massive and proven gas and coal reserves waiting to be explored in Pakistan. "Pakistan is currently facing considerable energy shortage due to a rising domestic demand and conditions are ideal for leading gas and oil companies to go in Pakistan and capitalize on opportunities for energy exploration," said High Commissioner for Pakistan to
conference organized by the International Gas Union was attended by over 5,000 industry professionals and companies showcasing latest developments with information on policies, strategies, technologies, challenges and opportunities. The conference held after three years featured 14 keynote speakers, 10 strategic panels, 4 luncheon addresses, 42 technical sessions, 135 poster sessions, expert forums and 3 task force sessions. The event also had a 11,400sqm exhibition with 270 companies from over 80 countries showcasing the latest in technologies and develop-
Triple Whammy!
KARACHI STAFF REPORT
The GOP has defaulted on the sovereign guarantee provided to the IPPs. The sovereign guarantee, which formed the basis of the financing and investment by the private sector in IPPs, has been defaulted on thrice by the GOP in May 2012. No measures are being taken to mitigate the situation. S.NO. 30 DAy NOTIcE DATE OF GOP DEFAULT AMOUNT 1 19 March 2012 5 May 2012 18,540,359,302 2 4 April 2012 22 May 2012 6,298,781,523 3 12 April 2012 29 May 2012 1,196,229,572 TOTAL 26,035,370,397 Further two notices issued by the IPPs in May and June 2012 are also expected to go unnoticed, resulting in two more defaults in end June
Malaysia Masood Khalid while visiting Pakistan's pavilion set up at the 25th World Gas Conference 2012 that concluded in Kuala Lumpur Friday,says a message received here. A six-member Pakistani delegation led by Asim Murtaza Khan, Chairman Petroleum Institute of Pakistan as well as Managing Director Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), attended the conference and held meetings with senior officials of participating companies besides setting up a Pakistani pavilion highlighting the potential and scope of gas and energy sector in Pakistan. The five-day
g
Government defaults on sovereign guarantee to IPPs
and end July respectively. The sources in the Ministry of Water and Power concede that the government of Pakistan has defaulted on its sovereign guarantee three times since March 2012. They said that these IPPs are in fact doing a favour to the power consumers by producing electricity from whatever daily payments are made to them. In fact they conceded the daily payments hardly cover 40 percent of the fuel expenses of these eight IPPs. The country thus remains deprived of around
1,000 MW of electricity they admitted. The government of Pakistan also failed to honour the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet to pay Rs18 billion immediately. After the GOP default, the IPPS asked the government to pay at least Rs18 billion and ensure supply of fuel in case the future payments are delayed. An analyst Intazar Mahdi confirmed that it is now an established fact that the government has defaulted on its sovereign guarantees. He
ments within the gas industry. The International Gas Union was founded in 1931. It is a worldwide nonprofit organisation whose objective is to promote the technical and economic progress of the global gas industry. The members of the IGU are associations and entities of the gas industries in 77 countries which account for over 95% of the natural gas traded around the world, and maintain very close ties with many other international energy organisations. It consists of a total of 116 members, of which 78 are charter members and 38 are associate members.
said the affected parties have the right to go to the courts inside and outside Pakistan for redemption of guaranteed amount. Left with no choice, when the IPPs exercise this option Pakistan's credit rating would be downgraded to 'junk' and ongoing discussions with the IMF would be seriously jeopardised. The foreign reserves of Pakistan are already depleting and with principal IMF repayments coming up, this would pose a serious problem. The rating of Pakistan bonds in the international markets is also affected with yields at record high. This will have a serious impact on the ability of Pakistan to raise debt in the foreign markets. With a GOP default, any future investment in the power sector would be impossible to arrange. Unfortunately it appears that there is no light at the end of the tunnel also.
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LCCI is fed up with sBP! LAHORE STAFF REPORT
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Friday expressed its dismay over the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to keep policy rate unchanged and called for bringing it to single digit to encourage new investments, for revival of businesses and to give a jumpstart to the economy which is at a standstill. In a statement issued here, the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the availability of cheaper money to the businessmen is needed to expedite the process of industrialisation that would ultimately result in much-needed job creation. LCCI president, however, endorsed the SBP view point regarding economic and power sector reforms saying the reforms should be introduced in consultation with the private sector that this the engine of growth. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the business community understands that the ongoing electricity crisis could be overcome to some extent by controlling electricity pilferage. The president said that ongoing economic scenario shows that there was hardly any time left for economic managers of the country to manage things on the economic front therefore, they should all understand that a cut in the policy rate is absolutely necessary to boost up economic activities in the country. He added that all the major economies, despite having higher inflation, have either curtailed or are in the process of reducing interest rates to protect their respective economies. LCCI president further said that the State Bank of Pakistan should understand that the continued tighter stance was damaging the national economy. It was forestalling industrialisation process in the country, he added. “If cheaper money would not be made available to the businessmen, nobody would put up new ventures.” LCCI president also urged the government to pass on the benefit of cut in oil prices in the international market as the cost of doing business in Pakistan had gone so high that Pakistani merchandises were no longer competitive in the global market.
Major Gainers
HONEY: fOREIGN sELLING fEARs
Bears at KsE are good with numbers g
KsE nosedives by 158 points as apprehension over double-digit inflation for next fiscal reins supreme KARACHI
A
STAFF REPORT
FTER the budget announcement a negative trend was seen at Karachi Stock Exchange. At local equity market benchmark KSE100 share index plummeted by 158.60 points or 1.16 percent to finish the day’s trading at 13,558.70 points, as compared to 13,717.30 points of the second last working day of the week on Thursday. Ahsan Mehanti, Director at Arif Habib Investments Limited stated that the stocks fell at KSE on institutional profit-taking as hopes dim over reduction in SBP key policy rates on fears for double digit inflation for next fiscal year. KSE-All share index shed 106.65 points or 1.10 percent to end the day at 9,550.94 points, KSE-30 share index lost 162.18 points or 1.37 percent to end the day at 11,708.96 points while KMI-30 share index shed 282.36 points or 1.19 percent to close the day at 23,466.87 level. Trading took place in 353 companies where losers outnumbered gainers 80 to 195 while values of 78 stocks remain intact. Bourse traded 124.437 million shares after
opening at 110.652 million shares and the value of traded shares was Rs 4.019 billion as compared to Rs 2.759 billion of the previous trading session. He added that the stocks fell across the board on limited foreign interest, fall in global stocks and commodities, concerns over fall in rupee dollar parity. Jahangir Siddiqui Company was the top traded company of the day with 21.968 million shares and gained Rs 0.90 to reach Rs 13.93. D.G.K.Cement was on the second position with 13.087 million shares and shed Rs 1.28 to reach Rs 39.82. They were followed by Engro Corporation, Azgard Nine, Jahangir Siddiqui Invesments Limited, Engro Foods Limited, National Bank Pakistan and Fauji Cement with turnovers of 7.409 million, 7.168 million, 6.080 million, 6.005 million, 3.666 million, and 2.979 million shares respectively. Rafhan Maize XD was the biggest price gainer of the day and increased by Rs 132.97 to end at Rs 2963.47 followed by Mithchells Fruit up Rs 16.45 to end at Rs 345.63. Major losers included UniLever Pakistan down by Rs 51.50 to lock at Rs 7208.50 and Sanofi-Aventis Pakistan off Rs 9.13 to close at Rs 183.00 respectively.
CORPORATE CORNER LG introduces the first real streaming multimedia cloud for all three screens
everything happens seamlessly and in the background with no involvement from the user. No other cloud service can make this same claim. The service also works perfectly with 3D content. vacation videos taken with an LG 3D smartphone can be uploaded via 3G or Wi-Fi to the LG Cloud service. Back home in the comforts of the living room, the family can watch the vacation footage as it streams from LG Cloud to their LG CINEMA 3D Smart Tv in superb three dimensions.
AsiaMoney rates KAsB securities as Pakistan’s Best Domestic Equities House
LAHORE: LG Electronics (LG) announced the beta opening of LG Cloud service recently with the aim of providing seamless connectivity and streaming access to all digital content across various electronic devices. Although cloud is today’s hottest IT buzzwords, LG Cloud is the first that allows users to manage and consume all types of content on “three screens” which includes Android smartphones, PCs and smart Tvs (including but not limited to CINEMA 3D models) without a separate settop box. To use the service, users need to download the LG Cloud app from Google Play or LG SmartWorld app store from their Android smartphones, LG SmartWorld store from their LG Smart Tvs or the LG Cloud website (www.lgecloud.com) from their PCs or laptops. LG’s Cloud service automatically synchronizes smartphone content with the cloud server and the user’s PC and Tv. Photos and videos taken with the smartphone can be viewed and streamed to the PC or Tv almost instantaneously. videos edited on a PC can be uploaded to LG Cloud for viewing seconds later on a smartphone. Unlike other cloud services, there’s very little waiting or lag time since the content is streamed to the Tv, PC or smartphone, not downloaded first. The difference is in LG’s Real-time Streaming Transcoding technology. The conversion happens on the server in realtime, not on the device. There is no need to worry about installing codecs or converters,
KARACHI: KASB Securities Ltd, Pakistan’s leading brokerage firm, has been ranked the Best Domestic Equities House in Pakistan by AsiaMoney, continuing its stronghold on Pakistan’s equity markets related polls and awards. The latest recognition follows KASB Securities’ recent dominance of the AsiaMoney Polls, where KASB secured the top spot in all seven of the research sub-categories as well as winning best sales and best execution. Closer to home, KASB Securities was rated as Pakistan’s Best Equity House by CFA Association of Pakistan for the third year running in a poll of domestic institutional clients during the CFA Excellence Awards held in mid 2011, while KASB’s analysts extended their hold on the Best Analyst Award to 6 years. The recognition both at home and abroad consolidates KASB’s positioning as Pakistan's leading capital markets franchise and is an appreciation of the company’s focus on providing clients with exceptional service and value-added investment recommendations and research. KASB (www.kasb.com) is the first brokerage house in Pakistan with an international research affiliation and has been publishing joint Pakistan research with Bank of America - Merrill Lynch for nearly two decades.
coming trade shows in Qatar. Qatar, because of its strategic location in the Gulf area, strong economy and business friendly environment has gained edge over other states in the region for international events including commercial, recreational and sports. It is lucrative market for business to business and business to consumer and would open avenues for Pakistani industrialists, businessmen and service providers to build up business relations. The importance of Qatar can be gauged by the fact that it has won an international bid for holding the world’s largest sports event FIFA. Eventage aims at increasing the trade volume between Pakistan and Qatar particularly in the fields of construction, textile, energy, sports and food industries.
special, physically challenged NBP employees being trained KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) besides offering employment opportunities to the disabled people in discharge of its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) has taken another initiative to impart them training to transform them to useful bankers and be able to serve the society in a better way to gain recognition and respect. Under the Umbrella of Training and Organization Development Group such trainings have already been conducted for the disabled employees of Sahiwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, D.G Khan, Gujranwala, Sialkot etc. NBP Training center of Peshawer will be conducting training program for all its disabled employees in June 2012 working in Northern Areas including KPK Province and in due course all parts of the country will be covered under this training.
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Change
Turnover
Rafhan MaizeXD Mithchells Fruit Shield Corpor J.D.W.Sugar Philip Morris Pak.
2830.50 329.18 123.35 91.00 141.00
2970.02 345.63 129.51 95.55 148.05
2875.00 328.00 123.35 90.00 138.00
2963.47 345.63 129.51 95.53 144.64
132.97 16.45 6.16 4.53 3.64
105 5,352 408 19,663 8,962
Major Losers UniLever Pak Indus DyeingSPOT Sanofi-Aventis Pak Shezan Inter. Nestle Pakistan Ltd.
7260.00 404.98 192.13 208.55 4047.43
7274.00 405.00 196.99 200.10 4140.00
7017.00 386.00 183.00 198.25 4000.00
7208.50 404.98 183.00 199.90 4042.15
13.02 39.36 108.00 5.62 6.85
13.93 39.82 108.44 5.97 7.61
-51.50 0.00 -9.13 -8.65 -5.28
6 26 502 225 52
Volume Leaders Jah.Sidd. Co. D.G.K.Cement Engro Corporation Azgard Nine JS Investments Ltd
13.03 41.10 110.26 5.62 6.80
14.03 41.59 112.14 6.35 7.80
0.90 -1.28 -1.82 0.35 0.81
21,968,419 13,087,172 7,409,460 7,168,114 6,080,441
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
94.1465 145.4186 1.1859 117.4289
Dollar East US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal Australian Dollar
Buy
Sell
94.60 117.22 144.93 1.1767 90.68 12.00 25.62 25.11 92.32
95.20 118.98 147.06 1.1939 92.52 12.24 25.97 25.43 95.13
100,000 MW!!! g
That’s how much electricity we can generate through hydropower, so says Norwegian ambassador ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Norwegian Ambassador to Pakistan Cecilie Landsverk on Friday said that Norwegian investors are interested in hydel power and gas sectors in Pakistan, adding that could generate 100000 MW through its hydropower resources to overcome energy crisis. Talking to vice President FPCCI Mirza Abdul Rehman, she said that optimum utilization of hydropower potential with the help of international community could tackle power shortfall on sustainable basis. The Ambassador said that Pakistan has fantastic potential to generate electricity. Hydropower is the best way to bridge the gap between electricity generation and consumption which would improve the ratio of low-cost electricity in the system to stabilise the tariff, said Cecilie Landsverk. She said that Norwegian investors are also interested in promising onshore and off shore gas sectors of Pakistan. Ms Landsverk advised Pakistani business community to focus on food chains in Norway. There are great business possibilities here but perception in west about Pakistan is not improving since last few years which is blocking investment, she added. Mirza Abdul Rehman asked for cooperation to overcome energy crisis, resume fisheries exports and initiate projects aimed at imparting vocational training to youth. He said that Norway's fruit and vegetable chains should visit Pakistan to explore opportunities. Norwegian designers can help educate our artisans about taste and demand patterns of European countries to boost exports, said Mirza Abdul Rehman. Mirza Abdul Rehman said that a delegation of FPCCI is to visit Norway to explore opportunities in different sectors including pharmaceutical and surgical sectors. FPCCI and Norway can join hands to establish vocational centres in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Punjab, said Malik Sohail.
Balance of trade improves in May KARACHI STAFF REPORT
IfP Group appoints Eventage as sole representative in Pakistan KARACHI: IFP Group which is a leading exhibition and trade shows organizing company has appointed Eventage, a fast growing Pakistani event management and PR company as its sole business affiliate for the territory of Pakistan with the mandate of raising the participation of Pakistani companies in the up-
Company
ISLAMABAD: Fahad Qadir, Director, Public Affairs and communications, coca-cola Pakistan, along with media representatives and a group of students from various universities of Islamabad on a field trip at Nathia Gali, organised by coca-cola Pakistan in collaboration with WWF on World Environment Day.
Pakistan’s balance of trade has improved by 13% in May 2012 over the same month last fiscal year. During May 2012 the trade deficit was US$ 1.7 billion while it was US$ 1.99 billion in May 2011. As per released data, Pakistan exports during eleven months of the fiscal year 2011-12, decreased by 3.8 percent. The cumulative trade figure shows that Pakistan’s exports during July-May were US$ 21.53 billion, while in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, exports were $ 22.39 billion. Imports during July-May 2011-12 were $ 40.93 billion as compared to US$36.55 billion during the same period of the year 2010-11, registering a 12 percent growth. On the other hand Pakistan’s exports during May 2012 were valued at US $ 2.16 billion which was 5.96% lower than the level of US$ 2.3 billion during May 2011. Imports during May 2012 were valued at US $ 3.89 billion registering a decline of 9.3 per cent over the imports of US $ 4.29 billion in May 2011.