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LPG prices onrise againPage 02

Sunday, 04 March, 2012

FInAnCIAL marketsprimarily reflectinvestor sentiment,which makes

Pakistani equities’ Feb rallyall the more impressive. Allthe while primary politicalinstitutions have been lockedin existential paralysis, localequity markets have beenslowly undoing three years ofstagnation, finally returningto the region’s top five list.ordinarily, you wouldn’texpect local investors biddingthe market enough to attractforeign participation in timesof multiple crises. But thefact that it happenedunderlines the resilience ofthe local burse, besidesindicating what can be donein better circumstances andunder more capablemanagement.Breaching the 13,000 markwill attract yet more foreigninvestment, so theprogressive cycle is alreadywell underway. In addition tounlocking investor funds shyof market uncertainty,swelling stock prices will alsoprovide pundits more capital

for primary businesses,expanding the overalleconomy. Relevantauthorities must now ensurethis buoyancy is notcompromised. It will take along time to re-inflate themarket should punditsdeclare inflowsunsustainable. Which s whyit is important to settle theCGT issue amicably. nodoubt authorities aremindful of the importanceinvestors are associatingwith it, so this much shouldbe settled. But even moreimportant is protecting thesolvency from vicious rumorsthat prompt speculativeattacks. Again, markets beingsentiment, all it cansometimes take is rumors of“overbought levels” toprompt profit taking. This issomething investors toomust be wary of, and play apart in preventing. It istheir money at stake asmuch as the government’sinterests. Apart from that,the market has spoken. Itmay get much better beforeit gets any worse.

Quick edit

Mr Market speaksKARACHI

GHULAM ABBAS

Soon after the govern-ment allowed export ofsugar, price of the highlyconsumed item in do-

mestic market jumped by Rs7 perkilogram on Saturday.

Sugar, which was available atthe wholesale price of Rs48/kg inJanuary 2012, has now increasedto Rs54 on Saturday recording anincrease of Rs6/kg, while the com-modity at retail outlets is nowavailable at Rs59/kg as comparedto the previous price of Rs52/kg.As the powerful sugar millers,both in government and opposi-tion parties have successfullyforced the concerned authoritiesto allow export of the commod-ity, the price of sugar at wholesaleand retail market has startedgoing up since January this year.

According to Karachi RetailAssociation General Secretary Fa-reed Qureshi, the commodityavailable here in wholesale marketat Rs45 to Rs48/kg during Janu-ary and February had jumped toRs50/kg by March 1. However,price of the commodity was sud-denly increased by Rs4/kg onMarch 3, pushing the wholesalerate of sugar to Rs54/kg.

It is worth mentioning herethat the price of the kitchen itemhas started increasing as a resultof the government’s recent moveof relaxing a ban on sugar export.

It has allowed the private sectorto export 100,000 tonnes, a moveaimed at stabilising prices in thelocal market and resolving cashflow problems of mills. The gov-ernment had banned sugar ex-port in 2009. Sugar contractswere settled at $634.2 per tonnein the London Futures Exchange.

All Pakistan Sugar Mills As-sociation (APSMA) had wel-comed the move claiming that itwould partly resolve cash flowproblems of the mills. Ex-factoryprice of sugar is Rs45-46/kg,

while in the wholesale market itis being sold for Rs48-50/kg. Afew months ago, the prices wereabove Rs65/kg. The government,according to sources, was alsolikely to allow export of another200,000 to 300,000 tonnes bythe end of March, due to an ex-pected bumper crop.

Besides that the governmentwas already purchasing tonnes ofsugar from the local millers to ar-rest the price fall after they com-plained that they were sufferingfrom huge losses. However, fur-

ther export, cartelisation and pricemanipulation of prices would alsocause more increase in the rate ofthe commodity in local market. Toconvince the government for fur-ther export and purchase of sugar,the millers had informed the Eco-nomic Coordination Committeethat sugar stocks from the 2010-11crushing season stood at 900,000tonnes and this year’s crop was ex-pected to give a record productionof 4.5 to 4.9 million tonnes. An-nual consumption was estimatedat 4.2 million tonnes.

Sugar pricejumps byRs7/kg

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news02Sunday, 04 March, 2012

Over 1.67 million voters use SMSservice to verify ecP records ISLAMABAD: over 1.67 million citizens haveverified their records of ECP’s voter lists throughmobile SMS while the highest number of SMShave been received from Punjab region, this wasstated by Tariq Malik, deputy Chairman of na-tional database and Registration Authority(nAdRA) in a statement issued here today.Malik said this is overwhelming response of thecitizens. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)in collaboration with nAdRA and mobile compa-nies launched the world’s biggest Short MessageService (SMS) for 83.2 million Pakistani votersbesides displaying new electoral rolls across thecountry. He said total 1,679,535 votes have beenverified through SMS service, and nAdRA hasreceived 854,024 SMS from the province of Pun-jab; 421,247 SMS from Sindh; 244,785 from Khy-ber Pakhtoonkhwa; 95,735 from Baluchistan;18,945 from FATA; and 44,799 from Islamabad.on texting at short code 8300 CnIC number(without dashes), a voters gets an SMS with theinformation of his electoral area name in Urdulanguage, where s/he is registered to vote, in-cluding his tehsil and district. Exact Block codenumber per Pakistan Census organisation is alsodisplayed with serial number in the respectivevoters list. PRESS RELEASE

dark Room gearing up to be Pakistan’s first prêt storeLAHORE: The dark Room is gearing up to be Pak-istan’s first truly prêt store, located on Lahore’smost enviable location Ali Towers at MM AlamRoad. Founded by Adnan Zoraiz and Hijab Mir, theowner and creative director of Pharaoh’s Closet re-spectively, TdR has two missions: to provide a spacefor prêt at a time when the market is cluttered withsemi formals and formals, and to promote and en-courage new talent to take the next step into fashionretail. The dark Room is a one-stop shop for prêtand causal chic clothes, hand bags and shoes, acces-sories such as jewelry and cosmetics. The idea be-hind TdR is to develop it into a mini departmentalstore with a little bit of everything for the customersranging from clothes to all that goes with them.

World Bank Mission expresses satisfaction over watan card distributionLAHORE: director General Provincial disasterManagement Authority Khalid Sherdil has said thatthe World Bank Mission during its visit to watancard centers in Kot Addu and Muzaffargarh has ex-pressed its satisfaction over the process of distribu-tion of watan cards. He disclosed that on the

instructions of Chief Minister Punjab MuhammadShahbaz Sharif, the second phase of distribution ofwatan cards worth Rs40 thousand each has beenstarted under rehabilitation programme of flood af-fectees under which watan cards of Rs11.80 billionshave been distributed among two lakh and 95 thou-sand flood affectees. He said that these cards havebeen distributed among the flood affectees of Sar-godha, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah,Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargarh, dera Ghazi Khan, Ra-janpur and Rahim Yar Khan. PRESS RELEASE

dHL celebrates 30 years of success in PakistanLAHORE: dHL Express, the world’s leading ex-press provider, today marks its 30th anniversary inPakistan, celebrating three successful decades ofproviding unparalleled services and innovative lo-gistics solutions to exporters and importers in thecountry. dHL’s commitment to Pakistan over thelast 30 years has seen business evolve and expandover the years. Established in 1982, dHL was thefirst international express company to provide ex-porters with fast-tracked international expressservice. Since then, the company has grown into anorganisation of over 500 employees. Today, dHLExpress Pakistan also has a fleet of over 120 vehi-cles and an extensive network of over 50 ServicePoints across 22 cities in the country. In 2009, dHL

inaugurated its airside facility at Jinnah AirportKarachi. Built at a cost of $5 million, it providescutting-edge logistics handling and in-house cus-toms clearance to dHL Express Pakistan’s growingcustomer base and is the only facility of its kind inthe country. PRESS RELEASE

Gastroenterology society’s annualcongress kicks offLAHORE: day 1 of 28th Annual International Con-gress of Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and GIEndoscopy started with the address of dr Airf Sid-dique, President of PSG. He talked on treating Hepa-titis B and C. dr Siqqiquie emphasised on the role ofGovt, nGos and Media to prevent Hepatitis. He saidthat everyone should come forward and contribute apart in public awareness campaign for this disease asprevention is better than treatment. In Sarwar JehanZuberi Memorial Lecture, dr Roberto de Franchis arenowned gastroenterologist from Italy presentedcurrent management of variceal bleeding , where asdr Takuji Gotoda from Japan gave a talk on diagnosisand treatment of gastric carcinoma at its initial stageand dr Chizu Yokoi another renowned Gastroenterol-ogist from Japan talked about diagnosis and treat-ment early colorectal Cancer. dr Ajay Kumar fromIndia gave a lecture on standard ways of sterilisationof endoscopic accessories to prevent transmission ofHepatitis B and C. PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

LoCAL producers haveraised the price ofliquefied petroleum gas(LPG) by Rs5,353 to a

record high of Rs118,429 per tonnein accordance with Saudi AramcoContact Price.This was stated by the Chairman ofFPCCI Standing Committee on LPGand Pattern in Chief of All PakistanLPG distributors Association(APLPGdA) Abdul Hadi Khan hereon Saturday.He said that Saudi Armco ContractPrice (CP) had surged to recordhigh due to surge in prices ofbutane by $140 per tonne whilepropane is up by $220 per tonne.Hadi pointed out that domesticprice of LPG has beenincreased by Rs5 to Rs135-145 per kilogram, 11.8kilogram cylinder by Rs63 toRs1,520-1,580 and 45.4 kilogramcylinder by Rs243 to Rs5,850-6,075. Expressing serious concernover this rise, Hadi said thatdistributors will protest against thisrise and said an emergency generalbody meeting of APLdA has beenconvened for next week to preparea line of action against thegovernment and local producers.He said that 6,000 distributors willhold protest rallies and block gasfields and refineries over this rise.He said LPG sale has declined by40 to 50 per cent due to high prices,further shrinking the business ofmore than 6,000 LPG distributorsin the country and their survival isin danger. He urged PetroleumMinister to reduce dependence onimported LPG and concentrate on

enhancing local production.Meanwhile, LPG Association ofPakistan (LPGAP) pointed out thatstate owned LPG producer, PARCoincreased its base stock price fromRs85,924 to Rs102,000 per tonne,following the increase in SaudiAramco Contract Price forMarch which rose to arecord high of $1,200 pertonne. Following thesuspension of thePetroleum Levyby the LahoreHigh Court,LPGprices

hadreducedfromRs140 toRs130 per kilo.However thattrend will now standreversed. “Reliefprovided by the court hasproved short lived. AlthoughPARCo has not matched theSaudi Aramco CP for March, itslatest price notification is thehighest ever price as charged byProducers” said Belal Jabbar,spokesman of LPGAP.

The LPG Association of Pakistanhad requested LPG producers torefrain from increasing its price.In its letter addressed to all LPGproducers it said “Thesuspension of PdL resulted inthe immediate rationalisation of

ex-LPG marketing companyprices to the benefit of LPG

consumers. The PdLsuspension has

helped stabilise themarket and

advantageconsumers.”

It furtherstated,

“We

also

welcomethe

comments ofdr Asim Hussain

in newspapersyesterday that local

LPG producer pricesshall be delinked from the

Saudi CP which has reached anunprecedented, all time high of

$1200/MT this month. Producerprices should be formulated inlight of market realities.” “Theresultant price increase ofRs18,746 per tonne will increase

the price of domestic andcomercial cylinders from Rs1534 toRs1755 and Rs5902 to Rs6753.Retail prices are expected toincrease to Rs148 per kilo, makingLPG once again the most expensivefuel in Pakistan” said Belal. LPGimports for February have beenzero, whereas demand has alsobeen shrinking due to a continuoushike in LPG prices by LPGproducers. The government ofPakistan accounts for 70 per centof the country’s LPG productionand is the single largest andimmediate beneficiary of theincrease in prices.

Seminar on trips agreement underWtO regime

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

Aseminar on the topic “Trips agreement underthe WTo regime: implications for Pakistan”was held by Industries, Commerce and

Investment department, government of Punjab withcollaboration of Lahore Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (LCCI) at Jinnah Auditorium, Lahore.different experts of trips agreement were invited. Allstakeholders, legal experts, students and professorsfrom the academia participated in the seminar.nabeel Javed, Additional Secretary, Industries,Commerce and Investment department said thepurpose of such seminars is to build capacity ofgovernment as well as private sector regardingIntellectual Property Rights. He further informedmore seminars would be organised on other topics ofWTo in the near future. Advocate Majid Ali Wajid,Muhammad Ismael deputy director IPo, RehmatUllah Chairman Skill development Council, naeemUllah Khan Lecturer Law College Punjab Universityand Farida nazar Vice President Lahore Commerceand Industry also addressed the seminar. Thespeakers said Punjab government is seriously puttingefforts to resolve issues of Intellectual Property. Theyadded that due to unawareness, a producer/creatorcannot fully get its benefits. Therefore, we should beaware of our rights and should know how to protectthem, they added. They said legislation onIntellectual Property had already been made inPakistan in 2000 and 2005, but the main issue is itsimplementation. They said the subject of IPR shouldbe included in the syllabus at graduation level andliaison among the stakeholders should be created as itis very essential. They suggested training of lawexperts is also essential for prompt disposal of casesrelating to trips.

training course on fish farming

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

FISHERIES Research and Training Institute,Manawan Lahore is holding a five daytraining course titled “Prosperity through

Fish Farming” from 5th to 9th March, 2012. Theobjective of this training is to provide essentialmodern scientific techniques about aquaculture/fishfarming to the farmers as well as information aboutsoil and water analysis. Interested persons canreport at the office of the director FisheriesResearch and Training Institute (Wagah Road)opposite Manawan Police Station on 5th of March,2012 at 09:00 am. Hostel facility for participants isalso available free of charge.

LPG prices on rise again

The resultant price increaseof Rs18,746 per tonne will

increase the price ofdomestic and comercialcylinders from Rs1534 toRs1755 and Rs5902 to

Rs6753. Retail prices areexpected to increase to

Rs148 per kilo, making LPGonce again the most

expensive fuel in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD

NNI

AMBASSAdoR of Romania inPakistan has said there istremendous potential and both

countries should enhance economicand cultural activities. Mr Emilian Ionsaid cooperation between the businesscommunities of both countries can begiven a boost. He made these remarksduring a meeting with Yassar SakhiButt, President, Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (ICCI). Healso exchanged views on common in-

terests and agreed to strengthen bilat-eral trade relations between the twocountries. Mr Ion said there werearound 700 Pakistani investors, whowere involved in profitable businessventures in Romania, adding that localbusiness community could export theirproducts especially textile, garments,leather articles, sports and surgical in-struments to Romania. He informedPakistan Romania-Business Councilhas provided various linkages for theexchange of business related informa-tion between the two countries.

The ambassador proposed that

youth of both countries should also beconnected as youth delegations couldbe helpful in identifying more areas ofcooperation to move forward. He saidconstruction of the monument whichwas dedicated to national poets of Ro-mania and Pakistan, Mihai Eminescuand Allama Iqbal has brought a newbond of friendship and enhanced cul-tural relations between Romania andPakistan. In his welcome address, Yas-sar Sakhi Butt President, ICCI termedthe annual bilateral trade between Ro-mania and Pakistan was very lowwhich is around $150 million and un-

derlined the need to further improveit. He said organising of joint culturalshows and frequent exchange of busi-ness delegations are the options whichcould be used to exploit untapped bi-lateral trade and investment potentialin both countries. Yassar Sakhi Buttsaid Pakistani products including rice,sports goods, surgical instruments,pharmaceutical, leather and textileproducts could be exported to Roma-nia and proposed that Romanian busi-nessmen should look into theopportunities to develop business re-lations in the identified areas.

‘Romania seeks economic ties with Pakistan’

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news

Sunday, 04 March, 2012

03

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

LAHoRE Chamberof Commerce andIndustry (LCCI)President Irfan

Qaiser Sheikh has urgedstudents to do their best inbringing good name to themotherland that has beenfacing multiple challengesfor the last many years.

Addressing the MBAstudents at Jinnah IslamiaCollege of Commerce, IrfanQaiser Sheikh said the stu-dents were the asset of a na-tion and expressed the beliefthat if given proper educa-tional environment, theycould bring laurels to thecountry in all fields. The

Chairman Jinnah Group ofIslamia Colleges YousafMughal also spoke on theoccasion.

The LCCI Presidentcalled upon the students,to work hard and focus onachieving education to en-sure a bright future forPakistan. The LCCI Presi-dent said that the younggeneration had high stakesin the country’s future andcould be regarded as thefuture leaders thereforethey should work tirelesslyand concentrate on theireducation so that theycould serve the nation.

The LCCI President whilegiving a detailed review of on-going economic scenario saidthat the government failure

to tap country’s potential is tobe blamed for the economicdownturn. He said that onlybecause of electricity and gasshortage the country last yearlost three per cent GdPgrowth. “Had a little attentionbeen given towards the provi-sion of gas and electricity tothe industry the country’sgrowth would have been phe-nomenal.” He said that thesituation was so deplorablethat in one part of the coun-try, the industry was gettinguninterrupted gas while inthe other part there is no gasfor the industry.

He said that the businesscommunity was unable to un-derstand that why no policyhas so far been evolved to tap175 billion tons of Thar coal

reserves that could produce25,000MW to 30,000 MW ofelectricity for hundred years.

Talking about Pak-Indiatrade, the LCCI Presidentsaid that there was no secondopinion about it that theopening of trade would posenew challenges to the local in-dustry but definitely it wouldalso be opening up new op-portunities as well.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh saidthat the government shouldfocus on development ofhuman resource that couldhelp bring economy back onrails. He also urged the stu-dents to give attention to-wards IT sector asneighbouring India is earning35 billion dollars through ITrelated exports.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

MAnAGEMEnT of PhilipMorris (Pakistan) Limitedformerly Lakson TobaccoCompany Limited has made

the difficult yet necessary decision toreduce operations in its Mandra factory.According to a statement issued onSaturday, the decision results from thedisproportionate higher costof production at the Mandra factory, thesmallest of PhilipMorris’s manufacturing facilities, anddifficult prevailing economicconditions, including high taxation andlow consumer affordability that wasnegatively impacting the business. Inaddition, this factory mostly producedpackaging of 10 cigarettes per pack, aformat which the government regulation(SRo 863(I)/ 2010) had barred from

manufacturing and sales as of october 1,2011. As such, the main activity at thefactory has become obsolete. PhilipMorris’s priority at this difficult time isto provide the best possible support tothe affected employees. Mr ArpadKonye, Managing director, PhilipMorris Pakistan said, “We arecommitted to ensuring that allretrenched employees are treated fairlyand with dignity, and genuinelyappreciate the contributions that eachand every employee has made over theyears”. The company has ensured thatall affected workers receive their fullentitlements under the law.Additionally, Philip Morris has offeredex gratia payment on the same terms asthe voluntary separation scheme whichremained available to workers priorto retrenchment, providing a generouspackage well in excess of the minimumlegal requirements.

Lcci cites failure in tapping potentialas cause behind economic downturn

Philip Morris cuts

down on its operations

at Mandra factory

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Soon after the end of strikePakistan Vanaspati Manu-facturers Association

(PVMA) in a row with the oiltankers association and manufac-tures of edible oil and ghee in-creased price of their products byRs10/kg on Saturday. The whole-salers who received the essentialitems of daily use on Saturdaywere charged Rs10/kg additionalprices by the manufactures withnew prices announced by the var-ious companies. According to Fa-reed Qureshi, ghee available atRs152/kg was available with thenew price of Rs162/kg, while priceof cooking oil was increased toRs168/kg from the previous rateof Rs158/kg. The retailers were tocharge the consumers by at leastRs5/kg higher than the mentionedwholesale rates. Besides that thesupply of various kinds of edibleoil and ghee to the retail andwholesale market was still re-duced by 50 per cent.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

PoWERFUL LiquefiedPetroleum Gas (LPG) mafiacontinues stealingmoney from the

poverty hit people, as itincreases the price of gas byanother Rs20 per kilogramwithout consulting oGRA.This was another historicjump in the price of thelargely consumed gas inremote and hilly areas ofthe country made, withoutconsulting oil and GasRegulatory Authority(oGRA), claimed IrfanKhokar, Chairman LPGdistributors Association.According to Irfan, LPGmarketing companies haveincreased the prices without

a go-ahead from oGRA, causing gas totouch record highs in the nationalhistory. After the recent hike, LPGprice rocketed up to Rs185 from140/kg, despite of the fact that

demand of fuel has partlydecreased after the change ofclimate. other than that, the

marketing companies raisedthe prices despite the fact that

gas was not imported sincepast three months. now,gas is being sold atRs185/kg in Gilgit-Baltistan, FATA, AzadKashmir and Swat; Rs165in Rawalpindi, Islamabadand Murree; Rs155 inSadiqabad and Sukkur;Rs150 Faisalabad, Gujratand Multan and Rs145 inLahore and Gujranwala.The gas soared to

Rs145/kg in Karachi.

OGRA not consulted

on LPG issueISLAMABAD

NNI

oVERALL e-banking transactionsin the country registered an in-crease of 2.6 per cent to reach66.96 million during the second

quarter (oct-dec) of fiscal year 2011-12. Thevalue of e-banking transactions also depicteda growth of 4.85 per cent compared to thepreceding quarter ended September, 2011.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan(SBP), the Payment Systems infrastructure inPakistan showed an up-ward growth trendduring the 2nd Quarter as a total of 91 moreATMs were added bringing the total numberof ATMs in the country to 5,409. Altogether,1,020 more bank branches were upgraded toReal-Time online Branches (RToB) mainlydue to high investments by a public sectorbank. now 8,905 bank branches are offeringRToB ser-vices out of the total of 9,948 bankbranches across country. The number of plas-tic cards also increased by 4.88 per cent com-pared to the numbers recorded in thepreceding quarter. By the end of quarterunder review, there were 15.2 million plasticcards in circulation in the country.

ATM transactions also showed an in-

crease of 3.22 per cent in the number of trans-actions and 8.33 per cent increase in value re-sulting in an average value of Rs9,558 perATM transaction. “The share of ATM transac-tions in total e-banking transactions in termsof volume and value worked out to 59.8 percent and 5.9 per cent, respectively,” said theBank, adding that the number of RToB trans-actions also increased by 3.4 per cent whereas,the value of transactions increased by 4.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, whichrepresented almost 30 per cent volume and93 per cent value of the overall e-bankingtransactions, respectively. The State Bank saidthe volume and value of transactions throughPoS terminals stood at 4.2 million and Rs19.6billion, showing 1.4 and 8.6 per cent growth,respectively as compared to the figures re-ported in the previous quarter.

“The volume of large-value paymentsthrough RTGS increased by 2.8 per cent,whereas the value of transactions increasedby 21.4 per cent. The major portion of RTGStransactions in terms of value continued tobe in respect of settlements against securi-ties followed by Interbank Funds Transfersand settlement of retail cheques throughmultilateral clearing contributing 61.5, 28.9and 9.6 per cent, respectively,” it added.

e-banking transactions increaseby 2.6pc during second quarter

Manufactures increase price of edible oil by Rs10/litre

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