profit.com.pk Thursday, 7 June, 2012

COMEDY OF ERRORS (WITHOUT ANY INKLING OF HUMOUR OF COURSE)

ISLAMABAD

AMER SIAL

THe plans to expedite Liquefied Nat-ural gas (LNg) imports on govern-ment-to-government (g2g) basis

seems to have fizzled out due to the disin-terest and differences between members ofthe ministerial sub-committee formed bythe economic Coordination Committee ofthe Cabinet (eCC). An official source saidthat in total three meetings of the commit-tee were held, except for the first one, theconvener of the committee and minister forIT Raja Pervez Ashraf has shown no interestto attend the meeting and even the formerminister for water and power Syed NaveedQamar, special advisor to the prime minis-ter on water and agriculture Kamal MajeedUllah also skipped the third meeting.

The committee was to discuss LNg im-ports on g2g basis from Qatar and Algeriabut even before it could engage in a mean-ingful discussion the finance ministry saidthat it had no funds available to provide anykind of sovereign guarantee, as required bythe exporting countries for the project.

Pakistan is faced with a severe gasshortage, exceeding 2 billion cubic feet perday (bcfd) as the local production is unableto keep pace with the requirements of the

country. Petroleum ministry is stressingupon the need to import LNg to mitigatethe crisis. Imported LNg will be received,stored, re-gasified and delivered throughconnecting pipelines to the existing trans-mission pipeline network as Re-gasifiedLNg (RLNg). The RLNg price will be fac-tored in the Weighted Average Cost of gas(WACog). Algeria and Qatar are both in-terested in supplying LNg to Pakistan, pro-

vided a deal is signed on a government togovernment basis for long term supply con-tract. An MoU has been signed with Qatarand they have provided a term sheet sub-ject to negotiation. Qatar has also requiredguarantees by a satisfactory credit supportand an acceptable performance guarantee.The ministry of finance showed reluctanceto provide any kind of guarantee for LNgimports. Petroleum ministry argues that it

is not possible since the exporting countrieswant a long term agreement backed by sov-ereign guarantee for a g2g basis deal. Theplans to import LNg on g2g basis was pro-posed after the private sector failed to findbuyers from the private sector for the com-modity and sought sovereign guarantee orlong term purchase agreements for thestate owned gas utility companies.

In May last year, the government in-vited expression of interest from privatesector companies interested in capacity al-location and willing to develop their ownLNg FSRU, arranging their own supply ofLNg with their own buyers of RLNg. Threecompanies were given construction licensesby ogRA for setting up LNg terminals andthey were allocated capacities in thepipeline network. However, the establish-ment of buyer-dealer relationship betweenimporters and users of LNg emerged as themain impediment to the project implemen-tation due to huge circular debt.

Petroleum Ministry floated anotherproposal under which two companiescould be given permission to import LNgon a deal to be signed on g2g basis. It wasproposed that the base load volume ofRLNg will be 800 mmcfd, spread over 2separate LNg developers, 400 mmcfdeach, at delivery point under 10 years con-

tractual arrangement. During the secondmeeting on May 21, a heated argumenttook place between the special advisor toprime minister on water and agricultureKamal Majeed Ullah and petroleum min-ister Dr Asim Hussain over which port tobe used for LNg imports. Advisor was ofthe opinion that the conversion of the Pro-gas terminal for LNg imports was not fea-sible as the Port Qasim channel wasnarrow and under heavy tariff, incase ofany incident the channel could be blockedcausing disruption in all kind of supplies.

He suggested using gwadar Port forLNg imports. However, the petroleum min-ister termed Port Qasim ideal for immedi-ately importing LNg and supplying it intothe national gas transmission network. TheAdvisor struck to his argument terminggwadar port more viable for LNg importsand claimed that the required infrastructurecould be developed on urgent basis. Whenthe petroleum minister insisted on his argu-ments, the advisor left the meeting inprotest. The source said as the convenerRaja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamarand Kamal Majeed Ullah were not interestedin attending the meetings of the sub-com-mittee the matter seemed to have fizzled outand the petroleum ministry will again haveto approach eCC for further directions.

Pakistan, Chinasign MoUs

Page 02

Algeria, Qatar want to supply LNG, but we just won’t let them do it!

KARACHI

ISMAIL DILAWAR

ReCogNISINg the importantrole being played by Pakistanin the contemporary world,Russia Wednesday offered as-

sistance in the face of oil and gas suppliesto the energy-scarce South Asian country.on the stratego-diplomatic front, Moscowconfirmed that President Putin would visitPakistan “soon”, and that his role in ensur-ing regional stability, security and eco-nomic integration, particularly in thesettlement of Afghanistan issue, must notbe underestimated.

The Russians also offered help to Pak-istan in modernising the ailing PakistanSteel Mills (PSM) project inaugurated bythen USSR some three decades back.

“We all know that Pakistan is experi-encing energy deficit. But let us not forgetthat Russia is the world's biggest energysupplier,” said Russian Consul general An-drey V Demidov while talking to media onthe occasion of the Russia Day.

“our assistance in the field of energycan be rendered in the form of oil and gassupplies,” he added.

Urging the two sides to take their bilat-eral relations beyond the PSM cooperation,Demidov said his country was ready tohelp Pakistan in the modernisation of PSMthat, he said, required upgradation andnew machinery for enhanced production.

“We are prepared to come and mod-ernise the project,” the Cg said adding“The machinery built in the Soviet Union,although old, is still working without anyserious technical problem”.

The Russian official said Russia’s mainapproach toward the issue of bilateral re-lations with Pakistan was that the tiesshould be mutually beneficial. “The basicfactor that enables us to seek closer ties isthe absence of a single political problemthat divides us,” he said.

He said Russia recognised the impor-tant role of Pakistan in modern world and

believed that Pakistan was one of the lead-ing states in Islamic world and the onlyMuslim nation possessing nuclearweapons. Pakistan was playing a vital rolein the organisation of Islamic Cooperation,SAARC and others, he said.

“We do not underestimate the role of

Pakistan in ensuring regional stability andsecurity in the settlement of Afghan issuein promoting regional economic integra-tion,” the consul said.

He said political leaders of the twocountries have been engaged on regularbasis. During 2011 presidents of Russia

and Pakistan have met six times at thesidelines of different international forums.Both sides emphasise the importance ofdeveloping bilateral economic cooperationand trade.

“The fields of energy, steel production,telecommunications, space technologies,oil and gas were mentioned as leadingareas of cooperation,” he said.

Recalling his country’s october 2011emergency assistance to flood victims inSindh, Demidov said last May we wit-nessed a very important visit to Russia ofPresident Asif Zardari followed in Novem-ber 2011 by “successful visits” to Moscowand Saint-Petersburg of two Pakistani del-egations – a delegation headed by the chiefminister of Sindh, and a delegation led bythe president of the federation of Pakistanichambers of commerce and industry.

About the “landmark” visit to Moscowof Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Kharand her talks with her counterpart SergeyLavrov, the consul general said the twoministers had admitted that contacts be-tween Russia and Pakistan were getting“more and more active”.

“There are good prospects for bilateralcooperation between Russia and Pakistanin realising big transnational energy proj-ect, connecting Central Asia and SouthAsia,” he said.

Hopeful of early materialisation of theagreements reached during those visits,the Russian official said Prime Minister gi-lani during the telephone conversationwith President Vladimir Putin after the lat-ter's victory in the Presidential elections inMarch (2012) had invited him to visit Pak-istan. “The invitation was accepted. We ex-pect to see our new President in Pakistansoon,” he said.

Dwelling on Russia’s economic situa-tion, Demidov said his was the only g8country without a budget deficit in 2011.“In fact we even have a small surplus. As ofApril 1, 2012 Russia's international re-serves amounted to more than $ 513.9 bil-lion,” he said.

Senate bodybelieves miningmachinery taxexemption isa good idea

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

The Senate Standing Committeeon Finance has recommendedto the National Assembly to ex-empt mining machinery fromsales tax and all sort of duties ina bid to give benefit to the smallprovinces. The meeting of theSenate standing committee onFinance held here under thechair of Senator Nasreen jalil.Sentor Sughra Imam was of theview that agriculture machineryshould also be exempted fromsales tax and duties as everything was critical for the countryand there should be no specificexemptions in mining machin-ery. She also submitted dissent-ing note on therecommendation of committeeto exempt mining machineryfrom sales taxes and dutiesSome members of the commit-tee proposed that federal exciseduty should be imposed on lux-ury items at a rate of 20 percent. The Federal Board of Rev-enue (FBR) officials informedthat tax authorities haveplanned to phase out all federalexcise duties so despite propos-ing to impose federal exciseduty they will suggest to imposeincome tax on those who wereusing more than 1,000 megawatt electricity per month. Itwould be the best possible wayto identify rich people. But thecommittee did not express itswillingness on FBR suggestions.

g LNG imports on G2G basis fizzles out due to ministerial disinterest g Hang on, no funds, no sovereign guarantee, claims Finance Ministry

g Russia offers transnational oil, gas supplies to energy malnourished Pakistan g Also offers steeling up PSM in an amorous fit

From Russia with love

PRO 07-06-2012_Layout 1 6/7/2012 2:28 AM Page 1

news02Thursday, 7 June, 2012

ISLAMABAD

AMER SIAL

W oeS betide the power sector as a cut of 50million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) wasmade on Tuesday against the allocation of

175 mmcfd to the power plants, which has oustedsupply of 300 MW from the system. An officialsource said the Ministry of Water and Power(MWP) was not informed by the petroleum min-istry about the shutting off of the gas supply. Hesaid if there was any need to cut off the supply, itwas more prudent to stop supply of 50 MW to theghee sector. To reduce the power subsidy, which isestimated to be over Rs 512.2 billion against thebudgetary target of Rs 166.4 billion this fiscal year,MWP is demanding more allocation of natural gasfor power generation. This would have reduced

the inter-DISCo power tariff differential subsidywhich is estimated to be around Rs 412 billionduring the current fiscal year. MWP proposal de-manded gas supply of 350 mmcfd from the CNgsector to be diverted to power sector. However,the government agreed to supply additional 207mmcfd to the power sector at the energy summitbut actually supply was only 175 mmcfd. TheMWP was demanding gas for four highly efficientIPPs that require 38 mmcfd each to produce atotal of 800 MW. To end the tariff differential sub-

sidy and circular debt, MWP had sought an alloca-tion of 900 mmcfd for the power sector. But it wasopposed by the petroleum ministry on the groundsthat it was in no position to make further gas allo-cation considering the supply constraints. Thegovernment, source said, was still undecided dueto the political considerations on the proposal thatsought hiking the gas tariff for the captive powerplants to bring its cost of production nearer to thedetermined power tariff of Rs 12 per unit as com-pared to their present generation cost of Rs 4 per

kWh. If the government did not firm up its politi-cal will to implement power sector reforms andend other distortions in the sector then the powersubsidy alone would be more than Rs 500 billionin the next fiscal year, he said adding that the cir-cular debt will increase and no donor will be readyto pour its money. The government has alsofailed to induct professional management in thepower sector. Finance Minister had announced inoctober last year to complete the hiring processfor professional management within a month toexpedite the reform process. The governmenthas also failed to implement recommendations ofthe energy summit as markets are not beingclosed at 8 pm. Implementation will result in sav-ing of 1400 MW during peak hour load. The de-mand side management is needed in the shortterm to counter the long black outs at night.

BEIJING

ONLINE

PAKISTAN and China signed,on Wednesday, 3 Memo-randa of Understandingabout different plans aimed

at social welfare and economic develop-ment of Pakistan, while PresidentZardari held meetings with Chinesebusinessmen. The memoranda coveredthe program of supply of water fromTarbela to Islamabad, establishment ofSpecial economic Zone in the proposednew city of Zulfikarabad, Sindh, build-ing of 6,000 flats in I-15 sector on thebasis of private-public partnership de-silting of canals and barrages in Sindh.

The MoU for water supply to Islam-abad from Tarbela, was signed betweenChairman Capital Development Author-ity, Farkhand Iqbal, and President ofChina Machinery engineering Company,Zhang Chun. The MoU on the establish-ment of Special economic Zone in Zul-fikarabad was signed by ManagingDirector Zulfikarabad Development Au-thority, Lieutenant general (Retd.) SyedIftikhar Hussain Shah and ChairmanSichuan Huantong Holding InvestmentLimited, Yang Yong. Chinese company,China Railway First group signed MoUfor building 6000 flats and developingSector I-15 in Islamabad.

The agreement on de-silting canalsin Sindh was signed by Mr. SaleemMandviwala, Chairman Board of Invest-ment with the President of China Har-bour engineering Company Limited.

Meanwhile, President Zardari alsoheld separate meetings with four leadingChinese business executives invitingthem to take advantage of the investmentfriendly policies of the government ofPakistan and to extend their businessventures in all the sectors especially inthe areas of energy, oil and gas, mining,engineering goods, electronics, chemi-cals, infrastructure, telecommunications,IT and agriculture.

The first meeting in the series washeld with the Chairman of orient

group/United energy group Mr. ZhangHongwei. The President, appreciatingorient’s group existing investment inPakistan in the area of oil and gas explo-ration and alternate energy, called forgreater investment in the energy sector.

He also invited the company to set upan oil refinery at Karachi port.

It is pertinent to mention that Presi-dent Zardari has been continuously invit-ing the Chinese companies to undertakeprojects involving onshore and offshoredrilling for oil and gas as well as for reac-tivating the depleted oil and gas fields indifferent parts of the country.

During the meeting, he reiteratedgovernment’s commitment to provide allpossible facilitation to the Chinese Com-panies in their business ventures.

President Asif Ali Zardari also saidthat the untapped tremendous naturalresource potential of Pakistan offeredgreat opportunities to the Chinese in-vestors and entrepreneurs not only to geteconomic benefits but also to help intransforming the traditional Pak-Chinaall weather friendship into a comprehen-sive economic engagement.

President of Pakistan, Asif AliZardari also met with Chairman of ChinaNational Machinery Industry Corp(SINoMACH), Ren Hongbin. The firm isthe largest machinery manufacturer in

China.During meeting with Hongbin, the

President highlighted that the 2nd Pak-China five-year programme for trade andeconomic cooperation, launched in 2012,with 36 projects, in the sectors of energy,Transport, Infrastructure, ICT, Industry,Water, education, environment, Health,education and Agriculture offered greatopportunities to the companies such asSINoMACH as these companies had therequired potential for undertaking megaprojects in these areas.

The President while noting with sat-isfaction on the Neelum Jhelum Hy-dropower project, expressed the hopethat the company would be able to ex-plore more projects of building new damsin Pakistan. The President also invited at-tention to Zulfikarabad city project,which offered great business opportuni-ties to the foreign investors.

During meeting with Cao guangjingof Three gorges Project Corporation, thethird meeting in the series, the Presidentremarked that the Three gorges DamProject was a living testament to the ge-nius and vision of the Chinese people andtheir leadership.

While appreciating the interest of thecompany in building the Bunji, Kohala,Karot and the Diamer Bhasha dam proj-ects and the wind Power and Thar Coalpower projects, the President invitedthem to participate in constructing smalland medium sized dams, which he saidwere critical for the socio-economic de-velopment of those regions of the coun-try. The President said that Pakistan waskeen to learn from the Chinese experi-ence of growth in every field, especially inthe area of hydropower generation, WindPower, and coal technologies.

The fourth meeting in the series washeld with President ZTe, Shi Li Rong.During the meeting, the President appre-ciated ZTe’s role in the development ofPakistan’s Telecommunication sector. Hereiterated his call that ZTe could furtherhelp Pak telecommunication sector byhelping in technical skills development ofthe local labour force.

Pakistan, China sign MoUs‘Govt will bearRs 45b if GSTreduced by 1pc’

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

The tax authorities on Wednesday in-formed the Senate Standing Committee onFinance that the government will bear adint of Rs.45 billion if general Sales Tax(gST) rate reduced from existing 16 percent to 15 per cent. The meeting of SenateStanding Committee on Finance held hereunder the chair of Senator Nasreen Jalil toreview the Finance Bill 2012-13. The com-mittee informed by the officials of FinanceMinistry that major reforms in the generalSale Tax have been proposed for the fiscalyear 2012-13 to abolish gST from existing22 and 19.2 per to 16 per cent. SecretaryFinance Abdul Wajid Rana informed thecommittee that substantial reduction inthe existing rate of general Sale tax wouldlead to decrease the share of provinces inthe divisible pool which may not be accept-able to them. He said that out of the totalsale tax collection, provinces share is 57.5per cent which would decline in case of re-duction in sale tax rate. Member InlandRevenue (IR) FBR Shahid Hussain Asadsaid that proposed deduction of one percent withholding tax from dealers, whole-saler and retailers by the manufactureswas considered very important for the doc-umentation of the economy.

35pc mango yieldwasted in post-harvest

MULTAN

APP

About 35 to 40 percent yield of mango hasbeen wasted every year due to lack of aware-ness among growers by using traditionaltechniques in post-harvest process.Accord-ing to agriculture department officials,mango growers had not proper skill inplucking the fruit from trees. Untrainedlabours usually did not follow recommendedcriteria which damaged 10 per cent mangoon plucking stage, said officials. The labour-ers ignore grading stage and mix the dam-aged fruit with healthy ones which also spoilthe whole lot, they added. The laboures packmango in wooden boxes which also damageor leave bruises on the fruit, they said.

LCCI for markup rate cutLAHORE

STAFF REPORT

As the State Bank of Pakistan is going to an-nounce Monetary Policy on Friday the La-hore Chamber of Commerce and IndustryWednesday urged the SBP governor tomake a cut of 150 to 200 basis points in thepolicy rate and bring it to single digit for thesake of revival of businesses, overcome low-growth scenario, encourage new investmentsand give a jumpstart to the sluggish econ-omy. In a statement issued here, the LCCIPresident Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that theavailability of cheaper money to the businessdoing people is a must to bring down the costof doing business in Pakistan and expeditethe process of industrialisation that wouldultimately result in curtailing poverty, infla-tion and help in much-needed job creation.

Ciao Amico!g ‘Pakistan has potential

for economic boom’ISLAMABAD

APP

Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan Vin-cenzo Prati said that Pakistan had po-tential for economic boom as it had hardworking people and abundant resources.He said his country would furtherstrengthen its relations with Pakistan. "Iam optimistic that Pakistan has poten-tial for economic boom due to its hardworking people and raw materials andmy country would participate in devel-opment projects," he told APP after at-tending a ceremony to celebrate"Italian-Pakistan Partnership in Devel-opment" organized by economic AffairsDivision (eAD) here at local hotel.Secretary economic Affairs Division(eAD), Dr.Waqar Masood Khan alsospoke on the occasion. The Italian Am-bassador also appreciated the govern-ment policy of "trade and not aid",adding his country wanted to furthercollaborate with Pakistan in differentsectors of economy for the welfare ofpeople of Pakistan.

Urea sales may goup by 118 percent

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT)

Sales of local branded urea during Maylikely to stand around 325k-330ktonnes, up 118 percent compared to thepreceding month of April. According toTopline Research figures, such a hugegrowth was primarily due to low baseaffect as local manufacturers sales inprevious month was marred by avail-ability of subsidized imported ureawhich was available at much cheaperrates than the local branded urea. How-ever, despite better performance of localbranded urea sales on a monthly basis,the sales of local urea are down 25 per-cent YoY in May (2012). Moreover, ureainventory at the end of May is expectedto be around 0.95mn tons which in-cludes 13-15% imported urea by NFML.

g 50 mmcfd gas supply cut for power sector g 300 MW out of the system

KARACHI

ZAIN ALI

Pakistan Readymade garments Manufac-turers & exporters Association (PRgMeA),Zonal Chairman, Atiq A. Kochra, has hailedthe efforts of the foreign minister and theprime minister for taking up the issue ofearly implementation of the AutonomousTrade Preferences (ATP) proposed by theeU Council to help Pakistani economy dev-astated by floods of 2010 with the eU dele-gation. Kochra said that with the news thatATPs will be transpiring very soon, the ailingtextile industry is seeing a ray of light at theend of tunnel, as it will translate into busi-ness opportunities for the industry and jobcreation for the workers. He added that they

were also very hopeful that this would pavethe way for the granting of the gSP+ statusto Pakistan, and initiation of an FTA withthe eU, which will provide the much neededstimulus to the industry, provide employ-ment and generate foreign exchange for theCountry, he said. This also means that theeU recognises the efforts of Pakistan in thewar against terrorism, he added. He onceagain stressed on the need for the formula-tion of a public-private task force, for ag-gressive monitoring and a follow up of thevital issue, so that there would be no un-pleasant surprises at the end.

Kochra said that by seeking trade andnot aid, the government was taking steps inthe right direction and the efforts of all therelated ministries would bring about a pos-

itive change in our economy very soon. Be-sides, the eU offered this one-time facilityto Pakistan and approached WTo in octo-ber 2010 to seek a waiver on trade prefer-ences to Islamabad on these productsamounting to almost 900 million euros inimport value, or 27 percent of imports fromPakistan for a two-year period from January2012 to December 2013.

The eU package materialised followinghumanitarian appeals from the United Na-tions. The UN estimates the floods affectedsome 20 million people and 20 percent ofPakistan’s land area, about 160,000 squarekm, with 12 million people need urgent as-sistance. However, countries like India,Brazil, and Bangladesh and textile lobbieswithin the eU had blocked the implemen-

tation of the preferential package originallyscheduled to be effective from January 2011.To get the package approved through WTo,a well-placed source in the commerce min-istry told Pakistan Today that a revised doc-ument after consulting all the membercountries was submitted to the WTo secre-tariat on January 20, 2012. As a result, allopposing countries dropped their objectionsfollowing the amendments made by the eUin the original documents by introducingtariff rate quotas (TRQs) on 20 productsrather than full liberalisation. The eU esti-mates the preferences would increase Pak-istan’s exports by 100 million euros. At thesame time, the eU was planning to drophigh tariff on ethanol from Pakistan subjectto an annual quota of 100,000 tonnes.

ATPs: light at the end of a very long tunnel

In a bid to erase this week’s budget blues;President returns home with three MoUs

CHOPPED!

g PRGMEA hails early implementation of EU ATPs for Pakistan

PRO 07-06-2012_Layout 1 6/7/2012 2:28 AM Page 2

news

Thursday, 7 June, 2012

03

UBL acquires majority sharesof Khushhali BankLAHORE: A consortium comprising of United BankLimited (UBL), ASN-NoVIB Microkredietfonds(Triple Jump B.V), Credit Suisse Microfinance FundManagement Company (ResponsAbility global Mi-crofinance Fund), Rural Impulse Fund II S.A. SICAV-FIS (Incofin Investment Management Comm.VA),ShoreCap II Limited (equator Capital Partners LLC)has acquired a 67.4% equity stake in Khushhali BankLimited (KBL) a major portion of which has come inthe form of FDI. Post the acquisition the consortiumholds 79.2% of KBL’s share capital inclusive of UBL’sexisting 11.7% shareholding in the institution. Thesigning ceremony for the acquisition was held onJune 4, 2012 in Karachi. Mr. Atif R. Bokhari, Presi-dent UBL, commenting on the acquisition, stated“UBL has always been at the forefront of innovationboth in terms of introducing new technologies as wellas rolling out new business models. Access to Finan-cial services has been proved as one of the most sig-nificant factors in improving overall quality of life forthe vast majority of the poor that generally do nothave access to even basic financial services like safestorage of money in an account, funds transfers, ac-cess to microcredit, payments and insurance. In Pak-istan the conventional banking sector serves less than20% of the population. It is with this in mind thatUBL developed omni, a branchless Banking platformproviding basic banking services to the massesthrough retail agents. Taking this a step further en-hancing our stake in Khushhali Bank made for a verycompelling business case as the natural synergieswith our existing omni platform allows the Bank toreach out to an entirely new segment of the un/underbanked market to provide credit and deposit finan-cial services to them”. He also said that he stronglybelieved that this acquisition has tremendous syner-gies for UBL and is an economically viable and so-cially responsible investment that will significantlyenhance financial inclusion. In terms of the futureplans for KBL, Mr. Bokhari stated that there is sig-nificant opportunity in improving the governancestructure, rolling out new business models, transferof knowledge from a vast pool of experienced profes-sionals within UBL and in particular, its partners andleveraging modern technologies to achieves scale andefficiency in distribution. He praised the State Bankof Pakistan for being a very progressive and proactiveregulator who is working hard to strengthen the gov-ernance structure and balance sheets of the Microfi-nance institutions to enable them to become longterm commercially viable and sustainable entities.He further said that we are very excited at having in-ternational partners with the vision and experiencefrom across the globe to help turn KBL into a sustain-able and socially responsible MFI.

First meeting of Pak-China JointChamber of Commerce and Industries

ISLAMABAD: The first meeting of Pak-ChinaJoint Chamber of Commerce & Industries was heldat the designated office in Lahore on the 1st of June,2012. First President of the Chamber and thefounder, Mr.Shah Faisal (President & Ceo-RubaSeZ group)chaired over the meeting and shared hisvision of the Pakistan business community joininghands, making an investment pool and playing theirrole in investing in the socio-economic needs to thecountry like education and infrastructure. Since thedemocracy in the country needs more time to ma-ture, the private sector needs to play its role in thedevelopment of the country. This platform is goingto help strengthen the relationship between thebusiness communities of both Pakistan & Chinaalong with opening new avenues of investment.

Pakistan State Oil signs MoU onJathropa Cultivation in BalochistanKARACHI: Pakistan State oil (PSo), the nation’sleading energy Company has signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) with the Forest &Wildlife Department, government of Balochistanfor the establishment of a 5,000 acre bio-dieselagricultural estate located at Uthal, Balochistan.The signatories on this occasion were Mr. NaeemYayha Mir, MD & Ceo-PSo and Mr. Ahmed Ali,Secretary- Forest & Wildlife Department, govern-ment of Balochistan. Also present here were Mr.Azam Deputy Secretary – Forest and Wildlife(goB), Mr. Navaid Alam Zuberi, Senior generalManager (Projects)-PSo and Mr. Nawaid AnjumZaidi, Head of New Business Development-PSo. Apioneer in the oil sector, PSo is striving to identifyand overcome the energy challenges facing ourcountry. In this regard, PSo’s New Business De-velopment department had previously establishedan agricultural estate at Pipri Marshalling Yard(PMY) to conduct a feasibility study regarding thecultivation of the Jathropa Curcas plant and ex-traction of bio-diesel from the seeds of the same.on successful completion of the plant life-cycleand extraction of bio-diesel, the company also car-ried out product testing by running company ve-hicles on this environment friendly fuel. With the

signing of this MoU, PSo is moving forward, withits plans for introducing Jathropa cultivation on acommercial level to set up a pilot project at Uthal,Balochistan as a first step towards mass-cultiva-tion. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Naeem Y. Mir,MD-PSo stated that ‘The success of this projectwill provide multiple environmental and econom-ical benefits for Balochistan and also provide ca-reer opportunities for the people of the province.’He also pledged “We will bring greenery toBalochistan and at the same time develop an alter-nate source of energy for the nation.” Separately,Mr. Ahmed Ali, Secretary - Forest and Wildlife De-partment (goB) expressed the provincial govern-ment’s support for this plan and said “Wecommend the national energy company for havingtaken this step and are hopeful that project will re-sult in further growth focused investment and eco-nomical progress in the region.” This initiative isanother first in a long line of achievements forPSo. Through this plantation the Company aimsto produce a renewable fuel source that will helpbridge the energy gap of the country and reduceour dependence on foreign fuel imports. Dedi-cated to serving the energy needs of the nation,PSo is cognizant of its responsibilities and contin-ues to stand by the country at all times.

Arysta LifeScience to License Fluoxastrobin Fungicide from Bayer CropScience TOKYO: Arysta LifeScience has signed an agree-ment with Bayer CropScience for the global licens-ing and sale of fluoxastrobin, Bayer's patentedstrobilurin fungicide. Under the agreement, ArystaLifeScience will gain exclusive access to fluoxas-trobin for all crop and non-crop applications ex-cept seed treatment and certain proprietary Bayermixtures. The parties did not disclose the financialdetails of the agreement. In 2005, Arysta Life-Science first licensed fluoxastrobin from Bayer fordevelopment in the USA, Canada and Japan.Arysta LifeScience has successfully launched andmarketed two brand families (DISARM® andeVITo® fungicides) based on the active ingredi-ent. Arysta LifeScience now intends to build onthat success by both leveraging existing productsand developing new fluoxastrobin products in allsix of its business units around the world. "Fluox-astrobin is a very versatile fungicide and a valu-able tool for growers," said Paula Pinto, Head ofglobal Marketing, Arysta LifeScience. It providesbroad-spectrum disease control and has demon-strated excellent plant health properties. We in-tend to develop fluoxastrobin for use in a widerange of crops including corn, soybeans, wheat,potatoes, vegetables, sugarcane, pome fruit andturf grass."

Nokia accelerates the journeyto Mobile Internet KARACHI: Nokia has today taken another step to-wards connecting the next billion consumers by un-veiling the Asha Touch family of mobile devices, takingthe full touch experience to new price points. The threenew phone models - the Nokia Asha 305, Nokia Asha306 and Nokia Asha 311 – further expand the success-ful Asha family, first introduced in october 2011.Today, there are 10 Asha devices available in morethan 130 markets, providing young, social consumerswith a choice of phones to match their own lifestyle.These latest phones have been designed to provide anincredibly rich, smartphone-like experience to con-sumers who want to be set free from excessive dataconsumption costs and short battery life. The NokiaAsha 305, Asha 306 and Asha 311 offer a new, fully re-designed touch user interface, combining the provenease-of-use from Nokia’s heritage with digital designinnovations specifically fit for the purpose. The beau-tifully crafted Nokia Asha 311 is a fast and fluid 3.5gcapacitive touch screen device, powered by a 1gHzprocessor to provide a great internet experience. Thebright and edgy Nokia Asha 305 is a fun and affordablephone, featuring the exclusive easy Swap dual SIM.Its sister, the Nokia Asha 306, is a single SIM model,and becomes Nokia’s most affordable Wi-Fi handsetto date. “By introducing the Asha Touch phones to themarket, we’re accelerating our commitment to connectthe next billion consumers,” said Mary T. McDowell,Nokia's executive vice president for Mobile Phones.“These phones deliver on what young, urban peoplevalue most -- a great-looking device; and an intuitiveand affordable experience for connecting to the inter-net, to their friends, and to a world of entertainment,web apps and content.”

Etihad Airways confirms3.96 percent stake in Virgin AustraliaLAHORE: etihad Airways, the national airline of theUnited Arab emirates, today confirmed that it has ac-quired a 3.96 per cent stake in Virgin Australia Hold-ings. etihad Airways believes that this equityinvestment in Virgin Australia’s domestic operationssignificantly strengthens the 10-year strategic part-nership forged by the two carriers in August 2010 andwill enrich the commercial benefits which the alliancealready provides for both airlines, as well as increas-ing the benefits to Australian consumers and visitorsto Australia. Together, etihad Airways (21) and VAustralia (3) operate 24 flights a week between AbuDhabi and Australia and Pakistani passengers haveaccess to a combined network of more than 150 des-tinations. etihad currently operates 23 weekly flightsfrom Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and from Peshawar.

CORPORATE CORNER

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change Turnover

Nestle Pakistan Ltd. 4000.15 4150.00 4000.00 4067.75 67.60 181Colgate Palmolive 912.00 940.00 935.00 935.17 23.17 37Mithchells Fruit 310.57 326.09 310.00 326.09 15.52 9,664National Foods 205.14 215.39 206.00 214.95 9.81 293,323Indus DyeingSPOT 398.39 404.98 378.48 404.98 6.59 1,181

Major Losers

Wyeth Pak Limited 828.72 830.00 800.00 801.01 -27.71 1,035Siemens Pakistan 691.67 720.00 667.00 667.16 -24.51 468Shezan Inter. 216.14 208.60 207.00 208.55 -7.59 211Indus Motor Company 283.32 288.00 276.00 277.67 -5.65 1,313Ismail Industr 104.70 99.47 99.47 99.47 -5.23 1,000

Volume Leaders

Wyeth Pak Limited 828.72 830.00 800.00 801.01 -27.71 1,035Siemens Pakistan 691.67 720.00 667.00 667.16 -24.51 468Shezan Inter. 216.14 208.60 207.00 208.55 -7.59 211Indus Motor Company 283.32 288.00 276.00 277.67 -5.65 1,313Ismail Industr 104.70 99.47 99.47 99.47 -5.23 1,000

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 94.1470UK Pound 145.5419Japanese Yen 1.1898euro 117.6743

Dollar EastBuy Sell

US Dollar 94.00 94.60Euro 116.55 117.89Great Britain Pound 144.58 146.21Japanese Yen 1.1783 1.1915Canadian Dollar 90.13 91.65Hong Kong Dollar 11.96 12.15UAE Dirham 25.52 25.78Saudi Riyal 25.01 25.25Australian Dollar 91.83 94.32

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

oN Wednesday bulls announcedtheir return and dominated theKarachi stock market with thebenchmark, KSe 100-share

index lifted up by 37.50 points. AhsanMehanti, Director at Arif Habib Invest-ments Limited, said that the Pakistan stocksclosed higher amid trading in narrow rangeowing to the progress towards reopening ofNATo supplies. The day saw the index clos-ing up by 0.27 percent at 13,745.73 pointsagainst 13,708.23 points of Tuesday.

The trading volumes at the ready-counter were recorded higher at 77.899 mil-lion shares against 67.622 million shares ofthe previous day. The trading value was upto Rs 3.397 billion compared to Rs 2.477 bil-lion of the last day session. The intradayhigh and low, respectively, stood at13,840.76 and 13,708.23 points.

He added that the investor interest inblue-chip stocks in oversold fertiliser, ce-ment, telecom sectors witnessed a positivetrend despite uncertain global stocks andcommodities on euro zone debt crisis. Mar-

ket capitalisation grew modestly and in-creased to Rs 3.517 trillion from Rs 3.509trillion a day earlier. of the total 355 tradedscrips, 117 gained, 157 lost and 81 remainedunchanged. The free-float KSe-30 indexalso gained 50.42 points to close at11,885.47 points against the previous day’s11,835.05 points. The KSe all-share indexclosed with a gained of 22.54 points to9,685.87 points as against 9,663.23 points.

Jahangir Siddiqui Company was theday’s volume leader counting its tradedshares at 8.761 million with the openingand closing rates standing at Rs 14.64 andRs 13.90, followed by DgK Cement, engroCorporation, engro Foods Limited andBank Al-Falah with the turnover of 8.361million, 8.132 million, 3.754 million and2.730 million shares respectively.

on the future market, the turnover re-covered by over three million shares to8.253 million against 5.503 million sharesof Tuesday. The Nestle Pakistan Limitedand Colgate Palmolive, up Rs 67.60 andRs 23.17, led highest price gainers, whileWyeth Pakistan Limited and Siemens Pak-istan, down Rs 27.71 and Rs 24.51 respec-tively, led the losers.

Bulls find roomto manoeuvre

RED RAG: NATO SUPPLY RESUMPTIONADB wants countries toshow a clean pair of heelsg ‘Asia must spur greater technology,

finance for clean energy’ISLAMABAD

APP

The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Asia Clean energyForum (ACeF) Wednesday said that Asia and the Pacifichas a huge and growing demand for energy and is alsohighly vulnerable to climate change and related chal-lenges such as extreme weather patterns and food inse-curity. The region's health and prosperity hinges on howit responds to these challenges, the forum maintainedwhile gathering for its 7th meeting being held at ADBheadquarters. The forum was formally opened by ADBPresident Haruhiko Kuroda, said ADB press statementreceived here Wednesday. Development of renewableenergy such as solar and wind power is key to addressthese issues, but other measures are also needed to copewith these challenges. High-level experts and investors7th ACeF have gathered at ADB headquarters to ex-change experiences and forge new partnerships to ad-vance clean energy development in the region, thestatement added. "A holistic approach toward a low-car-bon economy should be created and established, whichwill cover not only the energy sector, but also the trans-port, water, urban, agriculture sectors," said Bindu Lo-hani, Vice President, Knowledge Management andSustainable Development at ADB who gave opening re-marks at the forum Wednesday. At the same time, the re-gion needs to ensure that all those who need energy toimprove their lives and livelihoods are able to access asafe and reliable source. "We have prioritized and maxi-mized access to energy for the poor and we muststrengthen global momentum in support of universal en-ergy access," Lohani said. Almost 700 million people inAsia and the Pacific still have no access to an electricitysupply. This lack of access holds back economic develop-ment, reinforcing growing inequality in the region.

g Least bothered by eurozone crisis or indeed global stockuncertainty, lift KSE up 37.5 points

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