Friday, 7 December, 2012

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Pakistan’s access to the GSP Plus statuswould depend upon Islamabad’s recordof implementation of 27 internationalconventions relating to human rights,labour rights, environment and gover-nance it had already signed and ratified.This was stated by Ambassador of Euro-pean Union Delegation to Pakistan Lars-Gunnar Wigemark during a dialogueorganised Thursday by the karachiChamber of Commerce and Industry(kCCI) and EU’s delegation here at alocal hotel on “EU-Pakistan Trade: Op-portunities for Growth”.

The event was attended among othersby Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, along withAmbassador of EU countries in Islam-abad, kCCI President Haroon Agar andChairman Sindh Board of InvestmentZubair Motiwala. In his speech, the am-bassador apprised that EU was thelargest trading partner of Pakistan withan annual trade volume of over 8 billioneuro. EU maintains single trade, goods,services and currency. He articulated thaton 23 January 2012 the EU Foreign Af-fairs Council, consisting of the ForeignMinisters of all 27 Member States in theEuropean Union and chaired by the EUHigh Representative, Catherine Ashton,approved a joint EU-Pakistan 5 year En-gagement Plan, including cooperation ina wide range of areas from trade to for-eign and security policy.

In June, Lady Ashton visited Pakistanand launched a Strategic Dialogue withher counterpart Hina Rabbani khar,Minister for Foreign Affairs. Just a fewdays ago, they met again in Brussels. On15 november, the EU Autonomous TradePreferences (ATPs) for Pakistan cameinto force as a response to the devastatingfloods that hit Pakistan in 2010 and 2011.Catastrophic flooding again struck north-ern Sindh and parts of Balochistan thisyear.

As a result of these special ATPs, cer-tain goods from Pakistan can enter theEU duty free or will be subject to specificceilings (tariff rate quotas). The measureswould remain effective until 31 December2013. On January 1, 2014 the EU’s new

Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)regime would come into force. Pakistan isalready benefitting from the existingGSP, but it is aspiring to obtain so-calledGSP Plus status under this new regime.

If Pakistan qualifies for GSP Plus,which involves a number of strict condi-tions, it would be able to export most of itsproducts to the EU duty free/quota free.

Major purpose to organizing EU-Pak-istan trade dialogue event is to highlightthe many success stories of EU-Pakistantrade relations and examine ways andmeans of diversifying and promoting ourtrade relations. The EU is spending 15million euro on a unique trade diversifi-cation program tohelp support Pakistanicompanies gain accessto EU markets.

A m b a s s a d o rstated that in additionto the EU’s direct hu-manitarian assistanceto the devastatingflood that hit Pakistanin 2010 and again in2011 and 2012, theEuropean Parliamentand the EuropeanCouncil approved spe-cial autonomous tradepreferences for Pak-istan on 25 October2012. These measuresenable the export ofcertain goods fromPakistan to enter theEU duty free of subject to specific ceilings(Tariff Rate Quotas). The AutonomousTrade Preferences (ATP) entered intoforce on 15 november 2012 and will be inplace until 31 December 2013. The ATPregulation is legally binding instrumentand is directly applicable in all EU Mem-ber States. 26 products have been offeredunder the Tariff Regulated Quotas(TRQs) while 49 items will be coveredunder the non-tariff regulated quotas. Intotal, 75 items have been granted duty-free market access under the concessions.Independent estimates suggest that, inparticular, Pakistan’s Textile industrystrands to benefit considerably fromthese measures offered unilaterally by the

EU. The EU Pakistan’s largest tradingpartner, receiving 21.2% of Pakistan’stotal export. The trade increased by al-most 5% annually between 2007 and2011 and the total volume now stands atover euro 8.3 billion annual (2011). Tex-tiles and clothing account for almost 70%of Pakistan’s exports to the EU. Pak-istan’s imports from the EU mainly com-prise mechanical and electricalmachinery as well as chemical and phar-maceutical products.

To broaden Pakistan’s export poten-tial, which so far relies heavily on a singlesector, Ambassador informed, the EU haslaunched a Trade Related Technical As-

sistance (TRTA) program. Through thisunique program, the EU is spending atotal of 15 million euro to support greaterdiversification of Pakistani trade with theEU. Several sectors have been targeted asespecially promising for increased ex-ports to the EU. The TRTA is also used toassist Pakistani companies to deal withthe rigorous product standards for mar-ket access to the EU, including healthstandards.

Exchanging viewpoint, PresidentkCCI Haroon Agar said Pakistan enjoyedGSP Plus from 2002 to 2005, but afterexpiry of that period, the EU did notrenew this package and hence Pakistan’strade was discriminated.

It is heartening to note that EU lead-ers are supportive of the proposal to ac-commodate Pakistan in the new GSP Plusinitiative from 2014 onwards.

kCCI proposes that the Pakistani eco-nomic team discuss the game plan to en-sure that Pakistan not only qualifies forthe GSP Plus commencing from 2014, butalso convinces SAARC countries to strivefor a uniform and common strategy ap-plicable to all SAARC countries. Thiswould naturally benefit Pakistan, andprovide the Pakistani exporters the mo-mentum to compete with other competi-tors on an equal footing.

Chairman SBI, President PakistanA f g h a n i s t a nJoint Chamberof Commerceand Industry(PAJCCI) andformer Presi-dent kCCIM u h a m m a dZubair Moti-wala ex-p r e s s e dgratitude toEU to accordthe EU Au-t o n o m o u sTrade Prefer-ences (ATPs)for Pakistan asa response tothe devastat-ing floods hitto Pakistan.

He admired the initiative by EU’s newGeneralised System of Preferences (GSP)plus to Pakistan. He was of the view thatdialogue deficit between EU and Pakistanshould be abridged and similar events ontrade dialogues be arranged frequently.While exchanging views he said that Pak-istan is acting as frontline state in the waragainst terror in the region and sufferedcolossal financial losses. He said that theterrorism in the region has worst affectedthe GDP growth of Pakistan and its econ-omy.

Deteriorating law and order situationand energy crises has also brutally af-fected economic and commercial activi-ties. The FDI has been declined from $5

billion to $1 billion. He urged thatfriendly countries of Pakistan, particu-larly European Union should reciprocatein terms of trade and technology transferbecause trade is crucial to overcome cur-rent account deficit of about $3.5 billion.

He voiced that EU should understandthe dynamics of Pakistan, majority of pop-ulation is youth of age bracket 20-23 yearswho need employment. If Pakistan isgranted market access, thousands of em-ployment opportunities can be created foryouth saving them not to fall in the handsof unscrupulous elements. To enhancetrade energy is vital, in absence of energy,even trade access granted Pakistan wouldnot be able to meet the orders. He urgedEU for alike if not similar treatment as ac-corded to Bangladesh as prices of utilitiesare cheaper there as compared to Pakistanwhich make Pakistani exporters unviableand uncompetitive.

He hoped Government of Pakistan’ssuccess in achieving GSP plus and urgedout of box approach. He opined thatkCCI can provide its proposal to Govern-ment of Pakistan accordingly. He wasambitious that $1 billion export meansproviding jobs to 100,000 people. Heurged exploitation of Thar Coal to pro-duce energy. Perception of Pakistan mustbe truly and positively depicted in theeyes of countries worldwide. ProsperousPakistan is in the interest of the EU andwell as the countries around the globe, hemaintained.

The EU Delegation to Pakistan andEU Member States’ Belgian AmbassadorPeter Claes, Czech Republic AmbassadorMiroslav krenek, Hungarian AmbassadorIstvan Szabo, Romanian AmbassadorEmilian Ion, Spanish Ambassador JavierCarbajosa Sanchez, Swedish AmbassadorLars-Hjalmar Wide, Deputy Head of EUDelegation to Pakistan Pierre Mayaudonand Consul General/Diplomats of Ger-many, France, Italy and Austria sharedsuccess stories of trade with Pakistan andcompanies of their respective countriessuccessfully operating in Pakistan.

Former President kCCI Majyd Aziz,Senior Vice President Shamim Firpo,Vice President nasir Mehmood and Man-aging Committee Members of kCCI alsoattended the mega event.

‘GSP Plus status for Pakistan depends on implementation of past treaties’

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

PAkISTAn and Iran have agreedon commencing constructionwork on gas pipeline projectforthwith despite US opposi-tion. Iran will provide financial

assistance to the tune of 500 million dollarsin two installments and the agreement in thisregard will be signed during President AsifAli Zardari’s visit to Iran on today.

Sources said Dr Asim Hussain, Advisoron Petroleum to the Prime Minister, duringhis recent trip to Iran held an importantmeeting with Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad. In this meeting all the prosand cons of the project were discussed andparameters were settled.

It was decided that Iranian company incollaboration with Frontier Works Organiza-tion (FWO) would start the work of layingthe gas pipeline project. Both the Iraniancompany and FWO will ink contract awardagreement on the occasion. Documentationhas been completed on this count.

Announcement to awarding contract will

also be made on the occasion of PresidentZardari’s visit. Following the execution ofthis landmark agreement work on layingpipelines would start soon.

Sources said a Russian company andcompanies of other countries were eager toobtain this contract but it is being awardedto an Iranian company which has completedthe work of laying gas pipeline inside Iranianterritory on Iranian borders.

Sources added US is vehemently oppos-ing this project and US authorities havegiven clear message to Pakistan to renouncethis project. US has also stopped interna-tional donor agencies including World Bank,Asian Development Bank and other multilat-eral monetary agencies from extending fi-nancial grant to Pakistan for this project. Butgovernment has brushed aside US pressurekeeping in view its growing energy needs be-sides gearing up the pace of work on thisproject to ensure its early completion.

It may be recalled that this breakthroughwas achieved during a separate meeting be-tween Iranian president and President AsifAli Zardari on the occasion of recently heldD-8 summit conference in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

President Asif Ali Zardari has called forpolitical consensus on economic policiesand their continuity to ensure sustain-able development of the country. He wasaddressing members of the Overseas In-vestors’ Chamber of Commerce and In-dustries in Islamabad Thursdayafternoon. The president asked the busi-ness community to highlight sector-spe-cific problems and their solutions andmake the government and politiciansforge consensus on them.

He said there should be at least con-sensus for the next ten years to realise theobjective of economic development andprosperity. President Zardari also askedbusinessmen to organise an All PartiesConference on economic issues and saidthat he would himself attend such a moot.The president said that when the presentgovernment took the reins of power in2008‚ the economic condition of the coun-try was deplorable. He said that stockbusiness had greatly plummeted whileforeign exchange reserves had fallen to thelevel of just four billion dollars. Besides‚terrorism had greatly affected the law andorder situation in the country. He said thatthe government took a number of steps toimprove the country’s economic conditionand increase resources of the provinces.He said that although resources of theprovinces have now increased but they areyet to shoulder their responsibilities ineconomic development. The president

said Pakistan had the potential to growand develop and we have to tap this po-tential before asking our friends to helpthe country. He‚ however‚ pointed out thatthe international community ought tohelp Pakistan as it is fighting a war thatwas left behind in Afghanistan by theworld community.

He pointed out that grant of GSPplus to Pakistan by the European Unionis an important step but the countryneeds more cooperation from the inter-national community to overcome its eco-nomic challenges. He said the strength ofa country lay in human resource and eco-nomic capability and cited examples ofSingapore and other Asian countries.

He said the job of the governmentwas not to do business. It is for the gov-ernment to create the enabling environ-ment and it is for businessmen to dobusiness, he added.

Earlier‚ in his speech‚ the presidentof the chamber Asif Jooma said themember companies of the chamber re-invested one billion dollar out of theirprofit last year in Pakistan which reflectstheir confidence in the policies of the gov-ernment and strength of the country. He‚however‚ called for forging consensus onpolicies‚ their continuity‚ reduction oftaxes and overcoming the challenge oflaw and order to promote business andindustry. He pointed out that the docu-mented sector is overburdened by taxeswhich should be lowered. He also pro-posed establishment of a composite Min-istry of Energy so that Petroleum andWater and Power sectors may work inunison. Jooma said the members ofOverseas Chamber of Commerce and In-dustries were ready to play their role toexpedite the economic development ofthe country.

g Pak, Iran agree to commence work on gas pipeline projectg Agreement likely to be signed today

President calls for political consensus on economic policies

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Friday, 7 December, 2012

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERUniLever Pak 9803.56 9999.00 9800.00 9953.45 149.89 2,180Unilever Food 4190.00 4380.00 4200.00 4290.00 100.00 40Island Textile 1040.00 1092.00 1040.00 1092.00 52.00 200Bhanero Tex. 265.50 278.77 274.50 278.77 13.27 1,000AL-Ghazi Tractors 220.05 231.05 220.50 231.05 11.00 40,200

Major LosersBata (Pak) 1649.67 1600.00 1568.00 1599.00 -50.67 250Indus Dyeing 590.00 619.50 560.50 567.13 -22.87 1,400Wyeth Pak Limited 934.50 920.00 916.00 916.00 -18.50 150National Foods 292.29 298.00 277.68 282.33 -9.96 38,700Millat Tractors Ltd. 548.21 549.50 542.10 543.75 -4.46 15,600

Volume Leaders

Byco Petroleum 10.67 11.67 10.81 11.66 0.99 23,779,500Fauji Cement 6.82 6.90 6.77 6.80 -0.02 16,210,000P.I.A.C.(A) 2.58 3.58 2.70 3.58 1.00 14,418,500P.T.C.L.A 17.01 17.64 17.00 17.30 0.29 8,072,000Lotte PakPTA 7.23 7.44 7.20 7.33 0.10 7,724,000

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 96.6347UK Pound 155.6399Japanese Yen 1.1716Euro 126.3499

Dollar EastBUY SELL

US Dollar 96.90 97.40Euro 125.34 126.88Great Britain Pound 154.45 156.31Japanese Yen 1.1621 1.1761Canadian Dollar 96.27 97.94Hong Kong Dollar 12.25 12.46UAE Dirham 26.16 26.45Saudi Riyal 25.66 25.90Australian Dollar 99.92 102.58

Business

KARACHI: A group photo on the occasion of 6th Pakistan Micro

Finance Country forum 2012.Chief Guest.Kazi Abdul Mukhtadir

Deputy Governor State Bank of Pakistan. Kaukab Iqbal

Chairman CAP, Bilal Mustafa MD & CEO Bank of Khyber,Mr.Ateeq

ur Rehman Advisor B&IS (KCCI). Menin Rodrigues President &

CEO Shamrock also seen in the picture.

Adamjee Life Funds

show positive trend

KARACHI: Adamjee Life debt and equity fundperformance during november saw a positive trend;per unit nAVs (as of Dec 1st, 2012) are as follows:Investment Secure Fund (S&A) Bid 116.2962; Offer 122.4171

Investment Multiplier Fund Bid 124.7350; Offer 131.3000

Investment Secure Fund (IFL) Bid 116.3059; Offer 119.9030

Investment Diversifier Fund Bid 106.3912; Offer 109.6818

Amanat Islamic Fund Bid 99.7147; Offer 104.9628

Considering the growing demand for shariah com-pliant investment options in Pakistan AdamjeeLife has launched “Amanat Islamic Fund”. Adamjee Life “Amanat” fund is an Islamic open-end asset allocation/ investment fund, whichseeks to achieve its objective of stable yet aggres-sive returns through investing in a diverse portfo-lio of shariah compliant investments.

Pakistan, Thailand ties

exemplary, says Khuhro

KARACHI: Thailand is fortunate to have a caring andwise king with vast knowledge and far reaching com-passion to lead the nation. This was said by Thai Con-sul General in karachi, Mr Wichai Sirisujin, whohosted a reception last evening to celebrate the 85thbirthday of king Bhumibol Adulyadej. The Thai consulgeneral said Thailand had made great progress due tothe tireless work and devotion of king BhumibolAdulyadej who ascended the throne in June 1946 hasreigned for 67 years and is the longest ruling Thaimonarch. The king who is a constitutional monarchtakes great interest in Thailand’s national developmentlaying great emphasis on education, science and tech-nology, foreign relations, water resource management,soil conservation. The Thai consul general said thisyear also marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic re-lations between Pakistan and Thailand which were for-mally established on 10th October 1951 and bothnations have enjoyed excellent relations since then.Sindh Assembly Speaker nisar Ahmed khuhro whowas chief guest at the reception felicitated the Thaiking and Thai people, and wished them a bright future.He said it was heartening that Thailand was blessedwith a monarch who possessed such great vision.

KESC, PIA join hands on energy

conservation, sign MoU

KARACHI: karachi Electric Supply Company(kESC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the national flag carrier, PakistanInternational Airlines (PIA) to engage a joint ac-tion plan, for the implementation of efficientpractices in energy conservation, at PIA’s officesand installations. The MoU was signed bykESC’s CEO Mr Tabish Gauhar and Captain Ju-naid Younus, Managing Director PIA. Speakingat the signing ceremony, Mr. Tabish Gauhar saidthat “kESC would provide all possible technicalassistance and support to PIA to ensure the ear-liest possible implementation of the efficiencyand conservation program, aimed at saving theelectricity consumption.” Addressing the audi-ence which included senior team members fromboth the organizations, the CEO kESC under-scored the importance of energy conservationand the impact it leaves on the environment,saying that, “A Megawatt saved is a Megawattgenerated.”

OGDCL makes another gas

discovery of 20 mmcfd in Sindh

ISLAMABAD: Oil & Gas Development CompanyLimited (OGDCL) has discovered gas from the Ex-ploratory Well Sulman-01 located in Districtkhairpur Sindh Province. The well flowed at 20mmcfd gas through 32/34” choke at well headflowing pressure of 3340 PSI. OGDCL is operator in khewari Block Joint Ven-ture and having working interest 95% and Gov-ernment Holding Pvt Limted (5%). Thestructure of the Suleman-01 was delineateddrilled down to the depth of 4575 meter target-ing to test the potential of Lower Goru Forma-tion of cretaceous age.

Pakistani industries to get

‘Int’l Fire Safety Trainings’

KARACHI: Worldwide Responsible Accredited Pro-duction (WRAP), ), the world’s largest independent,facility-based social and environmental compliancecertification program in the sewn manufacturing sec-tor, will offer 5 fire safety training courses in karachiand Lahore during December 2012. This will mark thefirst time that an international training workshop ad-dressing the crucial industrial needs of fire safety andrisk assessment is being organized in Pakistan. WRAPis conducting these fire safety workshops in Pakistanin partnership with Accordia Global ComplianceGroup, and in collaboration with several Pakistanitrade bodies and associations like SITE Associationkarachi, PRGMEA and Pakistan Hosiery Manufactur-ers Association (PHMA).

Qatar Airways flies into Poland

WARSAW: Qatar Airways today launched scheduledflights to Poland, its latest entry into Central EasternEurope and 12th new route of the year. Despite wintryweather, the Airbus A320 operating flight number QR980 was warmly welcomed at Warsaw Frederic ChopinAirport in the Polish capital to a special arrival cere-mony. Warsaw marks the latest point in the airline’sexpanding global route map, now totalling 122 destina-tions across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific,north America and South America. In Europe alone,the carrier now flies to 32 destinations with Zagreb,Belgrade among the airline’s route start-ups this year.

CORPORATE CORNER

NEW YORK

AGENCIES

US stocks rose onWednesday afterPresident BarackObama said a dealto avert the loom-

ing fiscal cliff was possible withina week, while the euro slippedafter a disappointing Spanishbond auction.

A more than 6 percent drop intech giant Apple made for thestock’s worst day in almost fouryears and constrained Wall Street’sgains. The nasdaq fared worsethan the other indexes as a result.

Investors continued to keenlymonitor any progress in talks toavoid the so-called fiscal cliff ofyear-end tax hikes and spendingcuts. Obama said an agreementcould be reached in a week if Re-publicans compromise on taxes.

“Just the idea that we couldhave some kind of timeline isenough to eliminate some of theconcerns,” said Todd Schoen-berger, managing partner at Land-Colt Capital in new York “Thefiscal cliff is the headline driver, so

anything even slightly positive willmove markets.” Both Republicansand Democrats dug in on the talks,urging quick action but still offer-ing no compromises.

Economists say the $600 bil-lion in tax hikes and spending re-ductions that will start to go into

effect at the beginning of next yearcould send the economy back intorecession if politicians don’t cometo an agreement to avoid it.

The euro fell after hitting aseven-week high against the dollarin early trading, stung by the dis-appointing Spanish bond sale and

weak euro zone economic data.The euro was down at $1.31.

Investors also held off takingaggressive bets ahead of the Euro-pean Central Bank’s policy meet-ing on Thursday, which will bewatched for any signs on nextyear’s policy path.

Wall St rallies on fiscalhopes, Spain hits euro

SBP extends validity of refinance schemes by one yearKARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Thursday extended theexpiry date of the refinance facility for modernisation of Small andMedium Enterprises (SMEs), refinance scheme for the revitaliza-tion of SMEs in khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kPk), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB)and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The centralbank also extended the expiration of SBP’s financing facilities forstorage of agricultural produce and agri. loans refinancing andguarantee scheme for war-affected areas of kPk and FATA by oneyear. These facilities would now remain valid up to December 31next year, the central bank said in a series of circulars issuedThursday. The refinance limits already sanctioned in favor of se-lected banks and the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs)under the above-mentioned schemes would also continue to beavailable up to the expiry date, SBPsaid. STAFF REPORT

‘Malakand tunnel project heraldsbeginning of development’ISLAMABAD: Senior analyst Shamim Shahid appreciated Southkorea for its assistance for construction of Malakand tunnel projectand said that the project would reduce pressure of traffic on TorkhamRoad because it would link Dir-Chitral with Tajikistan. Talking to aprivate news channel, he said that efforts were underway to extend theroad to Tajikistan through Lowari Tunnel. He added that Malakandtunnel would provide an opportunity to establish direct trade relationswith Central Asian Republics. He said that project would also link theroute with Afghan province Badakhshan and Uzbekistan throughGaram Chashma. He said that Malakand tunnel would promotetourism sector in the khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He termed the Malakandtunnel project as beginning of new era of development in the area.Shamim Shahid said President Asif Ali Zardari had already approvedthe construction of Express Way from Malakand to Chitral. APP

Energy policies behind current CNG crisis: PEWISLAMABAD: Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Thursday said en-ergy policies had resulted in sluggish growth and the current CnG crisis.Situation would improve if a major reshuffle in energy related depart-ment was undertaken as the Supreme Court had proved incompetenceof petroleum ministry and Ogra by rejecting their reports, said, PEWPresident Dr Murtaza Mughal. He said that some elements had plannedto reap benefits while keeping whole nation focused on the on-going cri-sis. Dr Murtaza Mughal opined that Competition Commission’s raid onthe office of CnG association seems politically motivated. He asked thePetroleum advisor to take immediate action against the CnG filling sta-tions involved in gas theft. Dr Murtaza Mughal said that masses mustknow why an action had been delayed against CnG operators stealinggas and how many of such CnG outlets are owned by ministers, senatorsand politicians related to ruling coalition. ONLINE

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