01

BUSINESS

BWednesday, 20 March, 2013

Unavailability of direct air links major obstacle

in bilateral trade between Russia and Pakistan.

– ICCI President Zafar Bakhtawari

KARACHI

ISMAIL DILAWAR

THE country’s current ac-count balance has finallyset in the red zone wit-nessing a deficit of $ 700million during the firsteight months of the cur-

rent fiscal year, spanning over July-Febru-ary FY13.

It was last month only when the coun-try’s economic managers were taking com-fort from a $ 62 million surplus in thedollar-hungry country’s current accountbalance during July-January FY13.

Despite this negative turn the country’sC/A has taken, the situation on the Balanceof Payment side still seems far from alarm-ing. This is because unlike this year, thecorresponding months of last financial yearhad seen a huge gap of $ 3.235 billion inthe country’s current account.

The country’s ever-broadening tradebalance showed a negative improvementby reducing to $10.170 billion during thereview period against $ 10.981 billion incorrespondent months of FY12.

Both the exports and imports remainedsubdued with the country dispatchinggoods worth $16.047 billion to the outsideworld and importing commodities to thetune of $26.217 billion. Last year the coun-try’s exports and imports had stood at

$16.195 billion and $24.176 billion, re-spectively.

The disbursements by foreigndebtors and donors made tothe country showed im-provement as againstlast year’s $1.252billion Islamabadreceived $1.385billion thisyear. Of thetotal, $ 1.129billion cameto the countryunder the headof long-termproject and pro-gram loans.

The IslamicDevelopment Bankextended $ 256 millionto Pakistan as a short termloan.

The Pakistanis working overseas alsodid well during these months by remitting$ 9.235 billion back to their families. This

was compared to $ 8.593 billion of lastyear. While all the above heads set in the

positive zones and are thereforeless likely to cause the $ 700

million deficit, the drain-ing of millions of dol-

lars on account ofthe heavy IMF re-payments seemsto be the majorcont r ibu tab lefactor.

Accordingto the StateBank, from July2012 to the 26th

of last monthPakistan had “suc-

cessfully” repaid $3.232 billion to the

IMF under the Stand-By Arrangement. The bal-

ance amount to be cleared untilSeptember 2015 stands at SDR 3.239 bil-lion.

The next, 11th, installment worth SDR

258.4million is due to be paid in May.The economic managers have been

very repetitive in reminding the inquisi-tive media that all the IMF repaymentshave been budgeted and, therefore, poseno risk to stability on macroeconomiclevel.

Governor State Bank Yaseen Anwar, ina recent media show, said Pakistan still hadenough dollar reserves to clear its interna-tional obligation and that the huge dollarrepayments being made to the IMF werealready budgeted in fiscal terms.

Conceding engagement with the IMF,Anwar said it was however Islamabad’sprerogative to go for a fresh bail out pack-age. “Yes, we are engaged with the IMF,but it is our decision to go for a loan pack-age when the time is right,” he said.

The SBP governor said though not per-fect, economic challenges in the countrywere “manageable”.

One may also pin hope in the ongoinghoneymoon period between Pakistan andthe United States, Pakistan’s largest mili-tary and civilian funders, as the appoint-

ment of pro-Pakistan John Carry as a Sec-retary of State by the White House maylead to the release of more war reimburse-ments under the head of Coalition SupportFund in the days ahead.

C/A posts $700m deficitas heavy IMF repaymentstake toll on economy

YASIN ANWARSBP GOVERNOR

Although not perfect,the economic

challenges facing the country are‘manageable’

THE DISBURSEMENTS BY FOREIGNDEBTORS AND DONORS MADE TO

THE COUNTRY SHOWEDIMPROVEMENT AS AGAINST LAST

YEAR’S $1.252 BILLION, ISLAMABADRECEIVED $1.385 BILLION THISYEAR. OF THE TOTAL, $ 1.129

BILLION CAME TO THE COUNTRYUNDER THE HEAD OF LONG-TERMPROJECT AND PROGRAM LOANS

5th Int’l CSR summitand BusinessExcellence Award on 28thKARACHI: National Forum for Envi-ronment and Health (NFEH) is organis-ing the 5th International CSR Summit,and CSR business excellence award cere-mony on March 28, said the organiserson Tuesday. The objective of the event, they said is toprovide an innovative platform of interac-tion and networking, while creating aware-ness about CSR among the conferencedelegates. The experts will also discuss the emergingconcepts and issues related to CSR in Pak-istan and provide remedies based on practi-cal approaches and implementationtechniques. NFEH has also planned an ex-clusive CSR gallery, in which corporatecompanies will have the opportunity toshowcase their exemplary CSR activitiesand initiatives they have undertaken inPakistan.National Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan Petro-leum Ltd, Engro Corporation, Pak ArabRefinery are the leading partners of events.The event is being supported by United Na-tions Environment Programme (UNEP), In-stitute of Cost and ManagementAccountants of Pakistan (ICMA), Make- a-wish Foundation, Indus Hospital and ChildAid Foundation. APP

ISE-10 indexwitnesses bullish trendISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Stock Ex-change witnessed a bullish trend on Tues-day as the ISE-10 index was up by 14.45points to close at 3401.15.A total of 61,500 shares were traded,which were up by 40,500 shares as com-pared to previous day’s trading of 21,000shares. Out of 127 companies, share pricesof 99 companies recorded increase andthose of 28 registered decrease. No com-pany remained stable. The share price ofUnilever Pakistan increased by Rs.263.75, while that of Fazal Textiles de-creased by Rs. 13.44.Lottee Pakistan PTA, Nishat Mills andPackages Limited remained the top trad-ing companies with 55,000, 6,000 and 500shares respectively. APP

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

Chief Executive Officer Harvest Trad-ings, Ahmad Jawad has said that Russiacan be the biggest fruit market for Pak-istani exporters.

Speaking in a seminar here, Jawadnoted that the size of Russian fruit mar-ket is around $5.77 billion of which im-ports account for 80 percent. However,this huge market has remained unex-plored although there is a big potentialfor the export of Pakistan’s horticultureproducts, especially for fruits.

Unfortunately Pakistani exporters of

horticulture products are finding it diffi-cult to penetrate into the Russian marketdue to unavailability of banking chan-nels, Jawad observed.

As Russian banks are keen to de-velop banking relations with their coun-terparts in Pakistan, some issues relatedto regulations by the two central bankswere causing delay, he added.

He said Pakistan and Russia mightjointly look into the possibilities of or-ganizing trade delegations and exhibi-tions in each other’s countries everyyear, being the most effective tool ofmarketing strategy. In this connection, hesuggested establishment of Pak-Russia

Horticulture Business Forum on imme-diate basis, keeping in view the growinginterest of Russia in Pakistani agricultureproducts.

It is time to pay attention towards en-couraging exports of fresh produce in-dustry of Pakistan, particularly inagriculture products.

Jawad emphasised that the govern-ment should draw a workable strategy tolift the export of fresh produce industry.

Our focus should be on Russian andCIS (Common wealth of independentstates) markets with regard to fruits andvegetables which are ready to absorb asmuch as we could export,” he said.

Pakistani exporters must focus onunexplored Russian fruit market: Jawad

It is time to pay attentiontowards encouraging

exports of fresh produce industry of

Pakistan, particularly inagriculture products

AHMAD JAWADCEO HARVEST TRADINGS

Illegal, circular tradewon’t boost Indo-Pakeconomies: ShahidKARACHI: Better trade relations be-tween Pakistan and India are the surestand fastest way to improve South Asianeconomic and political environment, abusiness leader said Tuesday.South Asia is one of the least integrated re-gions with intra-regional trade accountingfor almost five per cent which has kepttens of millions of people below thepoverty line for decades, said MianShahid, CEO of the Saudi Pak InsuranceCompany. Lauding the initiatives of theoutgoing government and conscious strat-egy for regional integration he called formore incentives to Pakistani and Indiabusiness community engaged in bilateraltrade. The government in this region havetraditionally relied on bureaucracies whichresulted in slow pace of trust buildingmeasures, he noted while speaking at Be-dari-e-Fikr Forum. He said that New Delhiand Islamabad should act swiftly to over-come issues like smuggling, circular tradeand issues plaguing business to set an ex-ample for other countries in South Asia tofollow. Mian Shahid who is also Chairmanof Apna Microfinance Bank said that nor-malising relations between India and Pak-istan has mainly focused on tradeliberalisation while more is needed to en-sure considerable change. NNI

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

The Senate Committee on Rulesof Procedures and Privileges,Tuesday, expressed their con-cern over the irresponsibleand non-cooperative be-havior of both the M.DOGDCL and MD Secu-rity Papers.

The Senate bodymet here at the Parlia-ment Lodges to discussprivilege motions movedby Senator SaeedGhani against theManaging Director,OGDCL due to hisnon-cooperative behav-iour in certain matters ofpublic importance andagainst the Managing Di-rector Security Papers due to non-cooperative attitude.

Senator Syed Tahir HussainMashhadi, chairman of the Commit-tee and other members expressed their con-cern over the irresponsible andnon-cooperative behaviour of both the M.D

OGDCL and MD Security Papers. Parliament,the members observed, is supreme and the gov-

ernment officials must show respectto the Parliament and its represen-

tatives. During the meeting MDOGDCL, extended un-condi-

tional apology and assuredto be careful in future.

The Committee ac-cepted the unconditionalapology of the MD

OGDCL and disposedoff the matter.

However, M.DSecurity Papers failedto appear before theCommittee. TheCommittee directedthe concerned authori-

ties to take appropriateaction in this regard.

The Committeesought a detailed report

from the concerned quarters.The Meeting was attended by

Senators Haji MuhammadAdeel, Mushahid Hussain Sayed

and Saeed Ghani besides senior offi-cials of the concerned ministries and divi-

sions/departments.

Senate body expresses concern over OGDCL MD’s ‘irresponsible behaviour’

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BUSINESSWednesday, 20 March, 2013

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERBata (Pak) 1260.00 1300.00 1300.00 1300.00 40.00 50Philip Morris Pak. 232.51 244.13 232.01 242.91 10.40 2,800Pak.Int.Cont.SD 185.85 195.14 185.85 195.14 9.29 10,200Abbott Lab. 204.46 210.00 204.00 209.07 4.61 4,000Lucky Cement 160.97 164.90 159.01 164.54 3.57 524,700

Major LosersIndus Dyeing SD 464.40 445.00 441.18 443.00 -21.40 600Shezan Inter. 420.00 410.00 400.00 400.00 -20.00 300Siemens Pakistan 605.00 595.01 595.00 595.00 -10.00 750Packages Ltd. 187.34 185.01 177.98 177.98 -9.36 33,000MCB Bank Ltd. XDXB 191.56 190.50 182.20 183.00 -8.56 826,600

Volume Leaders

Dewan Motors 3.05 3.82 3.02 3.68 0.63 11,878,500Bank Al-FalahSPOT 18.30 17.86 17.30 17.32 -0.98 8,941,000Engro Corporation 119.61 118.85 114.71 117.11 -2.50 6,584,700Lotte PakPTA 7.74 7.98 7.57 7.92 0.18 6,024,500Lafarge Pakistan 6.15 6.23 5.90 5.95 -0.20 5,539,500

Interbank RatesUSD PKR 98.1203GBP PKR 148.4561JPY PKR 1.0327EURO PKR 127.1738

ForexBUY SELL

Australian Dollar 101.5 102UK Pound Sterling 149 150Euro 130 131US Dollar 99 99.25Canadian Dollar 97.25 97.75Japanese Yen 1.028 1.15Saudi Riyal 26.35 26.6UAE Dirham 26.85 27.05China Yuan 13.5 14

ISLAMABAD: National Savings Director

General Zafar Sheikh briefs the media on the

achievements and new schemes of the

organisation. PR

LAHORE: Nadeem Rehmani, Director at Metro,

Attique Malik, Director Supply Chain at Pepsi,

Salman Nazir, Head of Supply Chain Nestle at

a seminar on ‘Supply Chain Management’ at

the Lahore School of Economics. PR

LSE hosts seminar onsupply chain managementLAHORE: Seminar on Supply Chain Management

was held at Lahore School of Economics, Burki

Campus on Saturday. Four distinguished guests

Nadeem Rehmani, Vice president and Director

Operations Metro Cash n carry, Salman Nazeer,

Head of Supply chain at Nestle, Salman Goheer,

Director Supply chain at Engro and Attique Malik,

Head of Supply chain, PepsiCo were invited to

deliver lectures on Supply chain management and

the growth potential of this field in Pakistan.

Nadeem Rehmani, Vice President and Director

Operations, Metro Cash n Carry, started with the

introduction of Metro by presenting facts and

figures on sales, employees, customers and outlets

of Metro. Explaining the mechanism of Supply

chain, Mr. Rehmani told the students that it was all

about strategic management of activities involved

in the acquisition and conversion of products into

finished goods. The distinguished guest threw light

on the history of supply chain management and

elaborated on the significance of Supply chain

management in adding value and making profits for

any organization. The speaker explained

fundamentals of supply chain including material

flows, information flows and financial flows. The

speaker also threw light on challenges they had to

face in managing Supply chain and how they

managed to deal with them. Mr Salman Nazeer,

Head of Supply chain at Nestle, spoke about how

supply chain management created challenges as

well as opportunities for an organization. He

explained that under the umbrella of supply chain

management, raw materials and packaging

materials were manufactured and transformed into

goods and distributed among the end consumer.

He explained the challenges Nestle had to face

regarding transportation and wastes. PR

MTB announces MANDiesel and Turbo PakistanPvt Ltd as exclusiverepresentative in PakistanLAHORE: MAN Truck and Bus (MTB) have

announced the appointment of MAN Diesel and Turbo

Pakistan Private Limited (MDT Pakistan), a MAN

Group company as its exclusive representative in

Pakistan for commercial vehicles. MAN Diesel &

Turbo is the world market leader for large diesel

engines for use in ships and power stations, and is

one of the three leading suppliers of turbo machines.

With four strategic business units Engines & Marine

Systems, Power Plants, Turbo machinery and After

Sales, MAN Diesel & Turbo offer customers a broad

range of products and services in the fields of energy

and transport. The launch of MAN Truck and Bus

along with MAN Diesel & Turbo building expansion is

due on March 28th. With the new business sector of

Commercial Vehicles, MAN Pakistan completes the

MAN profile and can take advantage of MDT’s

excellent management practices, skilled and MAN

trained professionals and in-depth knowledge of

Pakistan’s corporate culture and intricate market

dynamics. With sales and service facilities in Lahore,

including a fully-fledged MAN workshop and sales

offices in Karachi, MAN Truck & Bus Pakistan is on

the right path, leading its clients and importers to

success and profit. “There are a lot of building

infrastructure projects in pipeline all across the

country which includes rehabilitation of one of the

world’s largest irrigation system, airport at Gwadar

and construction of dams at more than 25 different

sites producing 3,400 MW of electricity. All projects

are expected to start in Q3 of 2013 and 2014 and

we are confident to offer the right products with the

wide range of MAN trucks.” Imran Ghani, Managing

Director of MAN Pakistan said. “With the consistent

extension of our service network in Pakistan’s major

cities and transport hubs we will be close to our

customers.” He continues. “MDT Pakistan’s excellent

performance and impeccable credentials were a key

factor when MTB decided to choose its

representative in Pakistan,” said David van Graan,

Head of MAN Center Middle East and Vice President

Sales and Marketing. PR

Warid provides careeradvice for Pakistanistudents in UK

LAHORE: Warid Telecom, one of Pakistan’s leading

telecoms providers, has extended its outreach to

Pakistani graduates studying in the UK by

participating in a British Council career counselling

initiative. Warid’s participation not only allows

them to provide career guidance and advice to

Pakistanis studying at British universities, it also

allows these students to seek job opportunities as

prospective Warid employees. Warid had

previously engaged students in Pakistan through

participation at major job fairs in leading

educations across the country, including LUMS,

IBA, FAST, NUST, UET, UCP, and Superior

University. This British Council initiative has

allowed the telecom giant to build strong ties with

top UK universities, as well as harness the

intellectual potential of the Pakistani student

population in Britain. The initiative also assists in

providing better networking opportunities and

stronger trade ties between Pakistan and the UK.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Ali Raza Mehdi,

Vice President Human Resources & Administration

at Warid, said, “This initiative by the British

Council has allowed Warid to reach out to the

large Pakistani student community studying in the

U.K providing valuable insights to these students

in career management, enhancing employability

skills and also potential placement guidance not

only in Warid Telecom but also in the talent

market in Pakistan.” PR

HSBC and SOL join hands for ‘Empowerment for Life’KARACHI: HSBC collaborates with School of

Leadership Foundation (SoLF) to initiate its Future

First project, ‘Empowerment for Life’. The project

will be executed, in major cities of Pakistan namely,

Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Khairpur, Hyderabad,

Multan, Sukkur, Shikarpur and Faisalabad, in the

first quarter of the year. The project draws on a

collaborative approach and engages over 30 youth

development experts and will positively impact over

15,000 individuals directly. The project is divided

into three modules which will run simultaneously.

The first module, ‘Unemployed to Employed’, will

reach around 7,000 professional students

benefiting those who struggle with finding suitable

jobs and competing with foreign graduates once

they enter the job market. The second module,

‘Multiply your Business’, focuses on small-scale

vendors with lack of knowledge on expanding and

serving the larger markets. PR

Tahir Shamshad takesover as new MD NESPAK

LAHORE: Engr. Tahir

Shamshad, Vice President

(Technical Coordination &

Business Promotion, Disaster

Management and

Reconstruction Division) has

taken over the charge of

Managing Director/President

of NESPAK. He has replaced

Architect Asad I. A. Khan, who

has served on the position for four years. According

to a notification issued on March 15, 2013 by the

Ministry of Water and Power, Islamabad, Mr. Tahir

Shamshad will look after the Company affairs. PR

Qtel rebrands as OoredooKARACHI: Wi-tribe Pakistan’s parent company

and leading communications company, Qtel (Qatar

Telecom) rebranded as Ooredoo. Sheikh Abdullah

Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, Chairman,

Ooredoo, said: “We have always put our

customers at the heart of our business, and this

new name shows that we want to be closer to our

customers and engage with them in everything

that we do. We are proud that Qatar, where the

business was born, is the first country in

Ooredoo’s international network to integrate with

the new global brand. We are not simply about

making connections, we are about enriching and

empowering the people of Qatar and helping them

achieve their goals,” he said. Ooredoo has also

pledged to continue its tradition of supporting

good causes in Qatar, as the company contributes

millions of Riyals each year through donations,

sponsorships and community programmes. PR

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

All outstanding issues including delay in granting MFN status to

India can be resolved amicably if the business communities of the two

countries keep meeting each other. – Apna Bank Chairman Shahid

FAISALABAD

ONLINE

AMERICAN scientistsand Pakistani wheatexperts are collabo-rating to increasePakistan’s wheatharvest

and ensure greater prosperityto farmers nationwide.

A bi-national team ofscientists, sponsored by theUS Department of Agricul-ture (USDA), met in Faisal-abad lastweek toe v a l u a t ewheat varietiesfor disease-resis-tance, according to astatement issued by the USEmbassy.

In order to determine whichwheat varieties will perform best inPakistan’s unique ecosystem, USand Pakistani researchersstudied the effects ofheat and other types ofenvironmental stress onthe different varietiesof wheat that can beplanted in Pakistan.

USDA, through its Wheat Productivity En-hancement Project (WPEP), currently helps eval-

uate 60 wheat varieties planted in 115 wheat trialsthroughout Pakistan. In order to increase thequality of this joint research, last week USDA alsoprovided Pakistani research institutions special-ized wheat planting and harvesting equipment.The new machines, which replaced equipmentover 25 years old, will allow scientists to studymore wheat varieties each year and more rapidlyimprove Pakistani farmers’ harvest yields.

“Wheat is critical to the food security of bothPakistan and the United States,” said USDA PlantHealth Advisor Ian Winborne after a ceremony atAyub Agricultural Research Institute(AARI) celebrating the handover

of the new equipment. Headded, “Lasting links be-tween Pakistani

and US sci-entists canhelp improveand protect

ag r i cu l tu ra lharvests in both

our countries.” WPEP facilitates

scientific collabora-tion be-

t w e e nUSDA, the International

Maize and Wheat ImprovementCenter (CIMMYT), and Pakistan’s

national wheat programs. WPEPfunds scientific exchanges to develop, introduce,

and test disease-resistant wheat varieties; improveagronomic practices; and upgrade research capac-ity in Pakistan.

This initiative is just one part of a comprehen-sive US economic growth assistance programwhich includes expanding irrigation by more than200,000 acres near the Gomal Zam and Satparadams; constructing more than 1,000 km of roadsto connect communities and facilitate trade; mod-ernizing dairy farms in Punjab; and launching pri-vate equity investment funds to help small andmedium businesses grow.

US, Pakistani scientists increasePakistan’s wheat harvest

USDA, through its Wheat Productivity

Enhancement Project(WPEP), currently helps

evaluate 60 wheatvarieties planted in

115 wheat trialsthroughout Pakistan

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