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ISLAMABADAMER SIAL

G rILLeD by the SenateStanding Committee onPetroleum on LPG Policy2011, perturbed Petroleumminister Dr Asim Hussain

offered to bare all in a closed doormeeting. the meeting of the commit-tee was held under the chairmanshipof Senator Sabir Ali Baloch. the com-mittee had sought comprehensivebriefing from the ministry on LPGPolicy 2011 and pricing formula. thecommittee had also invited LPG pro-ducers to listen to their concerns on

the pricing, levy and policy.

NOT SATISFIED

the committee was not satisfied with thepetroleum ministry’s claims that new LPGpolicy was required to end cartelisation andpromote imports to end energy crisis. Sena-tors kept asking the minister who was stop-ping implementation on policies. Briefing thecommittee, the minister said, “LPG importswere necessary as there was no more gas avail-able which could be provided throughpipeline. the only available option is LPG forwhich we are making efforts”. He said stateowned Sui Southern Gas Company hadbought ProGas terminal for LPG imports andhave directed other public sector entities toreenter the LPG and extraction and marketingbusiness but his efforts were being hindered.“I don’t want to name people but if you desirewe should have a closed door meeting.”

HINDERING IMPLEMENTATION

He said there were 11 local LPG pro-

ducers who had formed a cartel and werehindering implementation on the new pol-icy. Local refineries produce 42 per cent,while 41 per cent is directly produced onthe gas fields and 17 per cent by one extrac-tion plant. He said due to cartelisation localproduction has declined from 1600 tonnesper day to 933 tonnes per day. He allegedthat if any investor imported LPG the localproducers reduced their prices to retaintheir hold. “We want all LPG to be boughtby the government and then determine aprice on its weighted average.”

WHERE’S THE PROOF?

Safdar Ali Abbasi of PPP asked theminister to prove his claim by providing ac-curate data as the documents provided bythe ministry did not contain any details. Hesaid the policy was drafted without consult-ing the stakeholders. He said oGrA shouldbe activated to check artificial price hike.Pervaiz rashid of PmL-n said governmentwas attempting nationalisation of LPG sec-tor that would not be allowed as it had mis-erably failed to operate railways, airlines

and steel mills. However, the minister saidthat he never used the word nationalisationand only said that the role of public sectormust be encouraged to develop the sector.

WHY THE HIGH MARGINS?

Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan of PmL-Lm asked why local producers were get-ting high margins, on which the ministersaid that the price was determined bythem and there was no role of regulator.new policy was being brought to specifi-cally address the issue and impose a levyon their windfall profits but the policy nowstands suspended. the minister left themeeting after receiving a message fromPrime minister for a meeting. ChairmanSabir Baloch said the minister and secre-tary had left the meeting and the commit-tee should meet again to discuss the issue.However, Pervez rashid said the commit-tee should listen to the point of view of pri-vate sector. Jehangir Bader said thechairman was not aware of the issue andwas attempting to favour the minister. Hesaid the ministry should provide complete

details to the committee on the basis ofwhich they drafted the new policy.

WHAT’S STOPPING THE GOVT?

Iqbal Z Ahmad of Associated Group chal-lenged the minister’s statement and said thatthe public sector entities controlled 70 per centshare of locally produced LPG. What was stop-ping the government from acting againstcartelisation? He said their image was beingtarnished through statements and if the min-ister or ministry has any details on their mal-practices it should be shared with thecommittee to ascertain the truth. He said thedecision given by Competition Commission ofPakistan against LPG producers was dismissedin five minutes by the high court. He said pre-vious chairman of CCP was prejudice againstthem and was not ready to listen to their argu-ment. Senator Haroon Akhtar Khan said state-ments of the minister and stakeholders wereentirely contradictory. He proposed that theministry should present them complete dataand details about LPG sector so that they couldfinalise their recommendations. the commit-tee was adjourned to meet next week.

Minister to reveal LPG secrets in a close door meeting

LAHOREYASIR HABIB

G overnment is at full stretchto deepen trade ties with SouthAfrica, the rising star in globaleconomy – especially whenjuxtaposed with other African

countries. minister of State for Financeand economic Affairs has been asked toprepare a roadmap to increase trade vol-ume between the two countries. Pakistan-South Africa trade currently stands atmore than $450 million.

SPECIAL FOCUS

Sources in diplomatic circles re-vealed that government had specialfocus on South Africa while exploringnew avenues of business opportuni-ties, which could in return unleash achain of investment in Pakistan.

Sources said that developmentmade headway into the directions is-sued by President Asif Ali Zardariduring his interaction with then SAhigh commissioner mohammed ridael-Fassi at Aiwan-e-Sadr somemonths back. the meeting was alsoattended by 11 ambassadors and highcommissioners of African countries.During the meeting, the president un-derlined need for enhancing trade re-lations with South Africa and otherAfrican countries to realise their realpotential keeping in view the vastpopulation of the African continentand the market opportunities avail-

able there.

SUGGESTIONS

He also suggested creation of a smallcaucus representing African embassies inIslamabad and relevant officers of the min-istries for suggesting ways and means tomove forward on further improving tradeand commercial ties. Leadership of variouschamber of commerce and industries hasalso endorsed government’s action plan inSouth Africa. majority of them said thatSouth Africa and other African countriescould greatly benefit from Pakistan’s expe-rience and expertise in the fields of infra-structure development, agriculture,

banking and information technology. theysaid Pakistan’s education sector, particu-larly professional institutes, provides excel-lent opportunities and venues to studentsbelonging to the African countries to learnmodern sciences and arts and that there isa need to strengthen and enhance existingexchanges in this area.

LCCI’S TOUR

In another major development to so-lidify relations with South Africa, an 8-member delegation of Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (LCCI) made asuccessful business tour of South Africain march, 2011 writing a new page in the

history of Pakistan's trade and economicrelations with South Africa. the delega-tion came with a handful of business or-ders and signings of a number ofmemoranda of Understanding (moU).LCCI delegation, headed by then LCCIexecutive Committee member Dr Shahidraza, received a warm welcome by theircounterparts and officials of Pakistanimissions. In South Africa, LCCI delega-tion was given a detailed briefing by In-tegriFin Business on launching businessin Johannesburg. Business meetings withSouth African counterparts were held atthe South African Chamber of Commerceand Industry and neren rau gave a pres-entation on investment opportunities inSouth Africa. LCCI delegates also had ameeting with South African counterpartsat trade Commissioner's office at Johan-nesburg, while Pakistan's High Commis-sioner in Pretoria Zaigham Uddin Azamarranged a lunch where upcoming tradeevents in South Africa were discussed.

Greater Boksburg Chamber of Com-merce and Industry President Williriedel gave a brief introduction about thechamber and discussed business oppor-tunities in Boksburg, South Africa.

moUs were signed between LCCI,eastern Cape Development Corporationand nelson mandela Bay Business Cham-ber to enhance trade relations. meetingstook place with Cape town Chamber ofCommerce vice President Hanns Bohleand Arifa Parker spoke on business op-portunities. In UAe, moU was signed be-tween LCCI and Pakistan BusinessCouncil Dubai, while orders worth morethan rs10 million were received from dif-ferent companies.

SEMINAR AT QAU

meanwhile a seminar 'Pakistan SouthAfrica relations: exploring opportunitiesfor collaboration' unanimously was held atHistory Department of Quaid-i-Azam Uni-versity in collaboration with QAU AlumniAssociation. the speakers agreed thatboth the nations need to work closely tostrengthen economic, political, and socialties for the benefit of the two countries.

While addressing the seminar, speak-ers said that South Africa and Pakistan es-tablished full diplomatic relations in 1994and both countries joined other nations inpursuing a policy of peaceful co-existenceand multilateral decision making and con-flict resolution. He said both the countriesare enjoying cordial bilateral relations that

offer an enormous potential for enhancingmutual annual trade volume more than500 million. major items of exports fromPakistan to South Africa included cottonyarn, woven fabrics, leather, rice and tex-tiles, they said.

REPORT & RECOMMENDATIONS

on relation with South Africa andother African countries, Senate ForeignAffairs Committee documented a reportthat Pakistan and African countries havehad close ties before and during the colo-nial days. Pakistan always morally sup-ported South Africa and other Africancountries in their liberation struggles.

the report said that a proactive policywould require interaction between theparliaments of Pakistan and South Africacoupled with constituting friendshipgroups for South Africa in the parliament.

“moreover, Pakistan should pursuean aggressive economic diplomacy so asto reap the abundant financial benefits aswell as investment opportunities thatexist in South Africa, Pakistan Federationof Chambers of Commerce and Industryshould penetrate the markets of SouthAfrica and exploit the business opportu-nities that exist in those countries,” thereport disclosed. “We should work to-gether so that globalisation would not be-come a new colonialism in disguise. Inthis historic endeavour we must developa common mechanism of self-help andmutual dependence, be they economic orpolitical,” the report said.

Document said that vision had beenelaborated in the Declaration on the newAsian African Strategic Partnership signed inBandung on April 24, 2005. In this docu-ment, that rededicates our adherence andcommitment once more to the Bandungspirit of 1955, emphasis is put on continent–wide inter-regional cooperation betweenAsia and Africa. Furthermore, it is stated thatcooperation between sub-regional organisa-tions, through sharing experiences couldpropel growth and sustainable development.

It recommended a number of steps topromote Pak-SA relations that includethat regular exchange of visits amongSouth Africa and Pakistani exhibitions andseminars on trade promotion should beencouraged. this will facilitate identifica-tion of areas where mutual trade and in-vestments are feasible. Similarly,exchange of visits of the top executivefunctionaries usually has tremendous im-pact in cementing relations.

g Senate body seeks com-plete data from petroleumministry on LPG

PAKISTANkeen on enhancing trade with

SOUTH AFRICA

Saturday, 14 January, 2012

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news

Saturday, 14 January, 2012

02

CORPORATE CORNERChairman National Tariff Commissionvisits Indus Motor Company

KARACHI: Prince Abbas Khan, Chairman nationaltariff Commission (ntC) visited Indus motorCompany (ImC) on Friday. During the visit, he wasgiven a detailed plant tour of manufacturing facilitieswherein, he closely examined the plant followed by apresentation by ImC management and reviewed thecompany’s progress. He commended Indus motorsand toyota motor Corporation for bringing the latestautomotive technology to Pakistan and contributingtowards its progress. PRESS RELEASE

Benazir Income Support Programmeintroduces system of ‘poverty scorecard’ISLAMABAD: Benazir Income SupportProgramme (BISP) has recently come up with asystem ‘poverty scorecard’ for the identification ofbeneficiary families. It is a scientific instrument anddoes not allow for any bias in the selection process.the independent experts have appreciated the factthat all data collected from the field is processed bynADrA without any involvement of BISP.Furthermore, two independent organisationsrandomly and regularly check the quality of surveyand data processing while both have reposedconfidence in these processes. PRESS RELEASE

Burj Bank, TPL Trakker Ltd sign MOUKARACHI: A memorandum of Understanding(moU) was signed between Burj Bank Limited andtPL trakker Ltd for the provision of vehicle trackingservices on Burj Carsaaz Islamic auto financeproduct. moU was signed by mr Ahmed Khizer KhanPresident and Ceo, Burj Bank Limited and mr AliJameel Ceo, tPL trakker Limited. the occasion wasalso attended by senior officials of Burj Bankincluding mr taimur Afzal, Group Head – ConsumerBanking, ms Zoya tazeen Jafarey, Group Head –Strategy and Sme, mr Sohail Sikandar, CFo,mr.Ihsan Ullah Ihsan, Chief risk officer, mr AkifImitaz, Head Consumer Assets, mr Umair masoom,Head marketing Services and mr talha Hameed,Product manager. PRESS RELEASE

SHEEP opens its new store in Dolmen MallKARACHI: SHeeP recently opened its new store inDolmen mall. this launch marks the brands' secondstand-alone store. the brand also recently launchedfour latest lines black sheep, a premium line offormal evening wear including cocktail tops as wellas eastern wear; luxury prêt, a high end line for daywear; work-wear, for a line made specifically forworking women for everyday wear. PRESS RELEASE

LAHORE: Khawaja Ejaz Ahmed Sikka, CEO BirghtoPaints alongwith, Khawaja Riaz Ahmed Sikka,Khawaja Khurrum Shahzad Sikka and Khawaja AtifRiaz Sikka stand with the new computerised ‘AllColour’ Paint Mixing System introduced by BrightoPaints to further the quality, leadership, technologyand innovation. PRESS RELEASE

Bulls return to Kse as index gains 105 pts

KARAcHISTAFF REPORT

A Fter indications that thepolitical firefight envelop-ing the country was sim-mering down, investors

expressed their confidence in localequities to end the week on a bullrun. Although the 32m share vol-ume for the day leaves a lot to bedesired, action in blue chip stockswas indeed a positive sign. not sur-prisingly, it was a run up in oGDC

and PPL that resulted in the indexadding 105 points to end the week.

oGDC, which closed up 1.9 percent higher, accounted for 48 pointsin the daily gain. the positive senti-ment was witnessed across thebroad scope of the index as the fer-

tiliser, banks, cement and e&P sec-tors ended in positive territory.While the session’s run up was apositive sign, the market remainshighly susceptible to political trig-gers and long term stability is notguaranteed until the political skele-tons that haunt us are buried onceand for all, said Ali Hussain, SeniorInvestment Analyst at HmFS.

the KSe 100 index closed at11014.46 levels with the gain of105.34 points, while KSe 30 indexbagged 115.59 points to close at10176.24 levels. All Share indexclosed at 7645.11 levels after gain-ing 69.97 points. total 147 scripsadvanced 47 declined and 131 re-main unchanged out of total 325scrips traded.

KARACHI: Mr Farrukh Ikram, CEO Millac Foods Pvt Ltd andMr Nael Ahmed, Country Manager, Abu Dawood TradingCompany, Pakistan at Millac Foods Pvt Ltd’s agreementsigning ceremony with Abu Dawood Trading CompanyPakistan for the national distribution of their brandsnamely, Millac, Comelle and Skimillac. PRESS RELEASE

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

A LL Pakistan CnG Associa-tion (APCnGA) and re-gional transportersassociation have agreed inprinciple to recommenda-

tions of the task force for inspection ofCnG vehicles and putting in place anenforcement mechanism. A statementissued by the petroleum ministry saidthe meeting was chaired by chairmanof the task force. Joint secretary adminof the ministry was attended by the of-fice bearers of APCnGA and the re-gional transporters association. theyagreed in principle to recommenda-tions of the task force for inspection ofCnG vehicles and putting in place an

enforcement mechanism. APCnGA as-sented to the proposal that rFID scan-ners would be installed at CnG stationsfor monitoring faulty cylinders and kitsand they will identify 100 sites acrossPakistan where the testing processwould be started initially. Both the as-sociations agreed that standard CnGequipment, testing procedures andtesting fees would be charged so thatCnG consumers are facilitated andtheir precious lives are saved. It wasagreed upon that diploma holder andin case of shortage, tevtA trainedpersonnel having at least five years ex-perience would work at CnG stationsto ensure safety regime. APCnGA as-sured that they will cooperate withoGrA, Chief Inspector explosives(CIe) and Hydrocarbon Development

Institute ofP a k i s t a n( H D I P )team foro n - s p o tchecking. Itwas alsoagreed that rtAand mve shall notissue route permitsfitness certificates fornon-tested vehicles. It maybe recalled that the task forcehas recommended that only uniformand approved testing equipmentwould be used for testing at public andprivate testing centers which wouldoperate under government guidelines.Policy decisions, approvals and certifi-cation would be the joint responsibility

of a committee consisting of oGrA,HDIP and CIe representatives. Cylin-ders’ placement and number of cylin-ders in public service vehicles wouldbe decided by mutual consultationwith three member team of oGrA,

HDIP and CIe.

APCNGA AGreesto recommendations ofCNG safety task force

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THe global economic recession as manyare aware of, was brought about by twofactors. Firstly, there was an unrealisticboom in real estate and secondly, therewas rapid growth in credit creation, debt

that was created without the means to back it. oncethe bubble burst, and a vacuum was created, that iswhere traditional economics failed to rescue the af-fectees from the rubble. there have been austeritymeasures, and other similar initiatives, that werehigh on rhetoric but low in effectiveness, and ulti-

mately what we had wasone very foul smellingbroth.

In the aftermath ofthe global economic melt-down, all eyes have beenon China to be the darkhorse, the vigilante thatrescues the world from itsproblems, but China hasbeen rather unwilling to

don the superhero costume, to step in to the shoesof a saviour that everyone wants it to be. And thereare reasons why China has hesitated to do so. Let ustry to understand the following narrative. recentgrowth in China has relied mostly on the surging realestate prices and coupled with growth has been arapid rise in credit, with the bulk of the steroidsbeing pumped through ‘shadow banking’ devoid ofgovernment guarantees or supervision.

However, slowly, like all bubbles this one too isbursting, and there are some strong reasons to smelleconomic pressures on the Chinese economy. Whatcompels me to resort to this line of thinking is sim-ple, while the Chinese economy was growing house-

hold consumptions have somewhat lagged behindthe overall growth in the economy. When looked at,consumer spending is roughly 35 per cent of thetotal GDP. one could begin to explain this phenom-enon by stating that 1/3rd of the worlds savings orig-inate from Asia, but despite that, this figure is quitelow. Secondly, the bulk of Chinese goods are boughtby the minions across the world. While the con-sumer spending of China declined, the country haslargely relied on expanding exports to keep the man-ufacturing growth steady. the million dollar ques-tion however is that Chinese investment has soaredto nearly half of the GDP. It’s a paradox to say theleast, which then forces one to ask the obvious ques-tion. Despite consumer demand being relativelyweak what fueled all the steroid injections in the Chi-nese economy. And the answer might just lie in thereal estate bubble we talked about, earlier. the fig-ures validate the narrative we are trying to establishhere, since 2000, the real estate investment in Chinahas doubled as a percentage of GDP that accountsfor nearly half of the overall rise in investment. therest was fueled by those corporations that were fa-cilitating the growth of the real estate bubble.

Skeptics would ask, how we could be so sure thatit is indeed a real estate ‘bubble’. one can never sayfor sure, however in the last few years or so we haveseen one too many a bubbles to not be able to distin-guish one from the symptoms that it demonstrates.All the signs seem familiar, from the bubbles wit-nessed by economies across the world. And there areparallels to be drawn from the example of the US aswell. After all the real estate and household bubblethat gave rise to credit creation came from a shadowbanking system in America. While hard data is nevertoo revealing and thus even in America it was ratherhard to predict the coming of the apocalypse, but thesymptoms are there and one can hope that like manycommentators say, the Chinese leadership is smartand strong enough to cope with the storm in the mak-ing. If the balloon bursts, the repercussions would bedebilitating for the global economy particularly in thewake of the european debt crisis.

The writer is a professional bankerand financial commentator. He can be

reached at rizvi_b@hotmail.com

THe Water and Power Develop-ment Authority has come downhard on the government for notbeing able to implement thecrucial power sector reforms

that are vital for overcoming the powershortfall of the country. As it is, the pres-ent government has faced a tough time,addressing the power crisis and adding tothe bag of woes are the burgeoning circu-lar debt liabilities that are crippling thepower sector entities.

What stands out is the fact that de-spite the government taking steps to in-crease the power tariff by almost a 100per cent, they have not been able to nar-row the gap between the revenue andcost of PePCo, which is not the only ex-ample of gross mismanagement. othersuch DISCo’s have also severely under-performed, with HeSCo, PeSCo,QeSCo, and mePCo compositely losinga gargantuan amount of rs90 billionper annum in the distribution system.

With the government bent upon bor-rowing from the SBP to fulfill its budg-etary needs and the crowding out of theprivate sector, the inefficiency of thesedistribution companies is like the finalnail in the coffin, one that could se-verely compromise the standing of thedemocratically elected powers that be,if it hasn’t already been compromised.

the inefficient utilisation of fuelworth rs11 billion will inevitably add tothe import bill and with the rupeesteadily declining, this situation defi-nitely does not bode well for the eco-nomic managers as it will further stressan already strained current account.While losses in government owned en-terprises has now become a norm, thereis an urgent need to address the crisisby installing competent people at thehelm of these entities without which, allefforts at power sector reforms will in-evitably fall short of addressing the realproblem at hand.

WAPDA travails

recent growth inChina has reliedmostly on the surgingreal estate prices

The alarm bells of C

Basit rizvi

e D I T O r I A L

The economic crystal ball

THe economic outlook for theworld is pretty clear for 2012.It’s definitely clear; even if itisn’t quite so pretty. As I lookdeep into my crystal ball,

vying to prognosticate the year, that is al-ready well and truly on its way; there arequite a few aspects under the forecastgun that are going to be inevitable, someare debatable and others are merehunches on my part. All the same, onlytime will tell about the authenticity of thislittle spherical crystal ball – metaphorical

yes, but it encompasses more than its fairshare of realism.

the pictures on the surface simplyread; european recession, insipidgrowth in the United States of America,and a precipitous slowdown in Chinaand a multitude of emerging marketeconomies. I can also see Asianeconomies being exposed to China – nobig surprises there –, Latin Americabeing exposed to lower commodityprices and Central and indeed easterneurope being exposed to the monsterwe call the eurozone. the volatility ofthe ever volatile middle east is result-ing in gargantuan economic ramifica-tions – all over the globe – andescalating oil prices are becoming amenace for all the stakeholders as well,thanks to our dear friend Iran.

While the exact measurementsmight not be quite palpable in the crys-tal ball, there is not even the slightestof question marks over the inevitable

eurozone recession. US’s pedestriangrowth might be further halted in themonths to come; owing mostly to thefiscal drag, deleveraging in various sec-tors and political gridlocks. UK is dou-ble dipping; again with the sameproblem of insufficient growth. Japanis dealing with a change at the helm ofgovernment and in dire need of struc-tural reforms.

At the same time, the major chinksin the armour of Chinese economy arebecoming all the more conspicuous.Its growth model is not quite the realdeal that it was touted as in the past,falling property prices have a menaceof their own and the constructionboom looks like being decisivelystalled. there is no doubt that the Chi-nese leaders have their work cut out.And they’re definitely not alone; withthe US, europe and Japan as wellfinding themselves in a similar fix.

Current-account imbalances be-

tween the US andChina – among otheremerging economies– and also within theeurozone jurisdic-tion, continue to re-main large. torestore order, lowerdomestic demand inover-spreading coun-tries with largedeficits and lowertrade surpluses and real currency ap-preciation is the need of the hour. torestore growth, nominal and authenticdepreciation is needed to amelioratetrade balances among over-spendingcountries and surplus countries needto bolster the domestic demand.

It goes without saying that the policymakers are short of new ideas – at leastshort of the ones that would border onbeing effective. experts say that cur-rency devaluation is a zero-sum game,

and also that most ofthe countries don’thave the magical wandthat would allow themto depreciate and im-prove exports at thesame time. Fiscal pol-icy is also restrainedand in the politicalrealm the G-20 haspaved for the possibil-ity of an ironical – yet

actual – G-0. the restoration of growthis no mean task; and while with everydifficult task comes the possibility forthe leaders to make their mark, it wouldtake a collective effort from the Who’sWho of global politics to ensure thatthings improve in 2012 – at least that’swhat the crystal ball tells me.

The writer is a freelancecontributor and is currently

working for Philip Morris, Pakistan

Muneeb Ibrahim

For comments, queries and contributions, write to:

Email: profit@pakistantoday.com.pk Ph: 042-36298305-10 fax: 042-36298302 website: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

BaBUr SaGHIrCreative Head

HaMMaD raZaLayout Designer

SHaHaB JafryBusiness editor

aLI rIZvINews editor

MUNEEB EJaZLayout Designer

s a t u r d a y, 1 4 J a n u a r y, 2 0 1 2

Predicting theeconomic ramificationsin the current year,and the rationalebehind the forecast

KUNwar KHULDUNE SHaHIDsub-editor

MaHEEN SyEDsub-editor

European dilemma

this is with regards to the article, “twopronged european predicament”published yesterday. the view expressedin the article is indeed interesting andworth commending. my personalopinion is that the european problemshowcases the sheer shortsightedness ofthe european leaders. every singleleader is hankering after individual andself seeking safeguards, and no one isreally bothered about the collective goodof the entire continent. they might aswell go their separate ways and stopdreaming about a united continent,since no one is exactly doing any effortfor unity. A case in point: DavidCameron; and his recent ‘holier thanthou’ speech at Brussels.

SAnIyA WASIM LAHORE

Improving fish farming

this is with regards to the news report,“Fisheries department holds trainingcourse” published yesterday. the PunjabFisheries Department is taking a lucrativestep by holding the three-day trainingcourse for fish farmers. As the news reportread, the course would include newfarming techniques, which are insynchrony with the modern day techniquesthat are used around the globe; and henceour farmers would undoubtedly be aidedvia the course. I believe that all the fishfarmers in our neck of the woods,especially the ones in Punjab, should availthis golden opportunity and attend thecourse. this would go a long way in helpingtheir techniques and improving fishingtechniques in Pakistan.

ALI MuRADLAHORE

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Saturday,14 January,2012

04news

GALAXY S II, launched in2011, set a new sales recordfor Samsung, generating ahistorical 10 million sales

Samsung Pakistan ManagingDirector, Mr Hee Chang yee

ALI RIzvI

SaMSUNG GaLaxy SII – THE BIG BaNG

It’S ironic that Samsung decided to name theirversion of this energy packed android phonethe Galaxy, since it somehow takes me to thebig bang theory. Samsung with the advent of

this product have finally breached that fine line ofspace-time continuum to create something trulyspectacular, a galaxy that is outgrowing its own lim-its, an overdose of smartphone super-machine status.For me personally, not easily fascinated by the smellof capitalism and all its glitter and glamour, thisphone did make me love the smell of a crisp and freshAndroid morning.

my apologies for getting carried away but despitebeing a boy from a modest background, working mis-erably day in day out to make a decent living in theserecessionary times – certain capitalistic creations docapture my fancy. For instance, I feel adrenalin rush-ing through my veins when I catch a glimpse of the512 break horse power Lamborghini Gallardo. In theworld of smartphones, this is another such creationthat has all the muscle and power to qualify as a mus-cle machine and that too, without having to compro-mise on luxury. this bright star by Samsung is onemean machine and despite their prior creations, thisone does not want to share the spoils with the Sam-sung family too. With a spec sheet that will work theadrenalin within the tech geeks and tech rookie’s likeme, this product by Samsung is a beast of a droid. theultra slim body, that will remind you of a supermodel, to Samsung’s own exynos chipset, to theSuper AmoLeD Plus screen, this product will makeyou re-evaluate your relationship with your girlfriendespecially since this device will be in your control, un-like your better half.

Let’s jump to the specs courtesy GSM arenan Quad-band GSm and quad-band 3G supportn 21 mbps HSDPA and 5.76 mbps HSUPA support

n 4.3” 16m-color Super AmoLeD Plus capacitivetouchscreen of WvGA (480 x 800 pixel) resolution

n Android oS v2.3.3 with touchWiz 4 launchern 1.2 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, mali-

400mP GPU, exynos chipset, 1GB of rAmn 8 mP wide-angle lens autofocus camera with

LeD flash, face, smile and blink detectionn 1080p HD video recording at 30fpsn Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n supportn GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compassn 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slotn Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensorn Standard 3.5 mm audio jackn Charging mHL microUSB port with USB host

and tv-out (1080p) supportn Stereo Bluetooth v3.0n Fm radio with rDSn Great audio qualityn extremely slim waistline at only 8.5mm and

low weight (116g)n 2mP secondary video-call cameran Full Flash support and GPU-acceleration for the

web browser permit 1080p flash video playbackn nFC support (optional, not without a soft-

ware update)n Document editor8 File manager comes preinstalled8 the richest video format support we have seen

THE LOOKSFor the rookies, I’ll jump to my conclusion. Being thehardworking lad I am, one who cannot afford three ex-pensive mobile phones that I decided to review thisweek, I talked to my friends three of whom were gen-erous enough to lend me their cellphones for a weekto draw some conclusions. As far as the looks are con-cerned, it took me a while to get my eyes off the beautyto be able to check the rest of the product, the sizesome may say is slightly big and I’d have to agree withthem on that, but despite the size this machine doesjustify the price tag accompanied with the product.

THE BaTTEry TIMEAs far as the battery time is concerned, despite thequoted 18 hours and 20 minutes of talk time and up

to 710 hours of stand by in 2G networks, with 8 hours40 minutes of calls and 610 hours of standby on 3Gmy numbers weren’t as perfect as the ones tried andtested in a lab. In real life, as demonstrated throughmy use it was able to last roughly for around 2 dayswith moderate to heavy use (45 minutes of browsing,going through photo’s and using the rest of the phonefeatures daily) In continuous video playback I wasgenuinely surprised to get 7 hours and 35 minutes ofcontinuous SD video playback after which the batteryreached 10 per cent.

With the features packed in this product, this devicedoes perform rather well and did not give me any prob-lems when it came to multi tasking. the camera per-formance is better than some of the other phones I haveused so this is rather an easy phone to recommend.

fINaL wOrDSruthlessly powerful, having a unique one of a kindscreen, that succeeds where previous dual core droidshave failed. this phone very easily provides a satisfy-ing and complete smartphone experience. Samsungsomehow manages to make the monster of a smart-phone feel comfortable with all the muscle packed in-side this machine. As for the price in Pakistan, youwill be able to find one online for rs52,000.

IPHONE 4S – a NEw wIfE THaT LOOKSLIKE yOUr ExDeciding on a new wife that looks exactly like yourex but promises to have some more brains thanthe previous model, does seem to be promising al-beit a risky bet, if the brain upgrades are not off-setting your feelings for your ex by the sameproportion. A lot of people have asked me thisquestion, and while it may be too early to judge abook by its cover if the two look exactly the same,let us dwell on the latest offering by Apple andhow it compares to the Galaxy SII.

As it is with all Apple fans, they just cannot re-sist the temptation of getting the latest offering bythe brand, my boss being one of them. So, I am notin any way asking you to not listen to that innervoice that is compelling you to go for it, but maybemy review of the product will help you guide yourdecision. As far as the appearance goes, this onedoes look awfully similar to your ex save but onedistinctive feature, it has a PhD degree in pleasingthe Apple customer to the fullest. While it continuesto be one of the best looking devices I’ve seen, thegood looks hardly sheds light on the progress madeon the inside of the machine. the 4S now joins theleague of extraordinary dual core machines withpower graphics, steroid injections to the imaging, 8mP stills, 1080p recording and voice recognitionthat promises to show the rest of the voice recogni-tion softwares in other phones a rude hand gesture.But, our aim is to help the reader decide whichproduct he should ultimately go for, so let’s justmove to a comparison between the two devices.

All in all the iPhone 4S is a completely newphone wrapped inside a familiar look. Let us lookat the specs before me move to the comparison.

KEy fEaTUrESn ioS 5 with iCloud integrationn Quad-band GSm and quad-band 3G support

with 14.4 mbps HSDPA and 5.76 mbps HSUPAn Dual-band CDmA and CDmA2000 1xev-Do supportn 3.5” 16m-color LeD-backlit IPS tFt capaci-

tive touchscreen of 640 x 960 px resolutionn Scratch-resistant glass front and rear, with

fingerprint-resistant coatingn 1GHz dual-core Arm Cortex A9 CPU, Pow-

ervr SGX543mP2 GPU, Apple A5 SoCn 512mB of rAmn voice recognition, Siri virtual assistantn 8 mP autofocus camera with LeD flash and

touch focusn 1080p video recording at 30fpsn Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotpsotn GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compassn 16/32/64GB storage optionsn Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-

axis gyro sensorn Active noise cancellation with a dedicated sec-

ondary microphonen Standard 3.5mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0n excellent audio quality

n Slim waistline at only 9.3mmn Secondary front-facing vGA cameran Built-in Picture and video editorsn rich AppStoren new antenna design and improved signal re-

ception in poor signal areas

As far as the design of the two products is con-cerned, it is all a matter of taste and preferences.Some people like big, heavy rugged devices whileothers prefer sleek and elegant ones. As for theSamsung, it’s hardly tiny but it is sleek at8.49mm. As for the size, well if you want a bigscreen, then Samsung offers a 4.3 inch display.the iPhone is smaller than the Galaxy, but not asthin or sleek. In terms of looks though, I’d handit down to the iPhone 4S.

DISPLaythe Samsung has for a long time enjoyed havingone of the best displays in the industry until the ad-vent of the iPhone 4S. the Samsung SuperAmoLeD Plus touchscreen offers 800 X 400 reso-lution, while the iPhone 4S offers 960 X 640. thishowever does not in any way imply that the Sam-sung screen is outdated or not good anymore. theSamsung offers beautiful colours that don’t fadewhen you look at the screen from an angle. Com-paring with the iPhone though, the latter’s screenis even brighter mainly due to the higher resolutioneven though it fades slightly under direct sunlight.the only drawback with iPhone is that with the

higher resolution the old icons seem grainyon such a clear display. the winner thoughby a small margin, in this case is the iPhone.

PrOCESSOrWhen it comes to fast web browsing withoutdelays, the Samsung Galaxy S2 has all the ar-mour to provide you with one of the bestbrowsing experience. Since 3G technology isnot yet available in Pakistan, web browsing isalso exceptionally fast on the traditional Wi-Fi networks. With this product you won’t haveto face any problems loading or playing heavygames. the iPhone is also very fast, muchfaster than its predecessor, the iPhone 4, how-ever in this case it does yield to the superiorityof Galaxy S2’s CPU in terms of performance.

CaMEraAs far as the camera performance is con-cerned, the iPhone 4S’s 8mP camera alsocomes with a CmoS illuminated sensorwhich is 73 percent more effective and 30 percent faster than before. It also shoots 1080pHD videos. the secondary camera of theSamsung at 2mp compared to the vGAiPhone camera is better than the latters,though that doesn’t play a big role here. Itwould be fair to call it a draw as far as thecamera performance is concerned.

Samsung Galaxy SII versus the iP

PDF Profit_Layout 1 1/14/2012 12:52 AM Page 4

05

Saturday,14 January,2012

news

PLaTfOrMthe gingerbread accompanied with the Sam-sung is one of the most popular software cur-rently being used, however an update in theform of the Ice Cream Sandwich has arrivedand Samsung has promised to offer this newupdate from the first quarter of 2012 in it’sphone. Since I haven’t used it, I am not in aposition to comment. However, comparingthe Gingerbread with the iPhone ioS soft-ware, the iPhone easily takes the win.

THE vErDICTBoth the phones have their own niche andhave areas where they outperform the other.At the end though, it will depend on the user.If you are an Apple enthusiast with the cashto spare then obviously the iPhone 4S is agreat device to go by, however if you’re cashstrapped and want to have a great smart-phone experience, the Samsung Galaxy SII isthe best choice on the shelf. Price: You will be able to find one for aroundrs68 to 70k online.

The writer is News Editor, Profit. For

comments and queries:

ali.rizvi7957@gmail.com

nAqASH Butt

Acustomer posted a self-made music videoon You tube com-plaining about

how United Airlinesmishandled his guitar.there are over 5 mil-lion views of thisvideo on You tube!A single bad expe-rience magnifiedover social mediacan prove devas-tating. An interna-tional researchreveals that 15 percent of peopleshare bad experi-ences that they hadwith organisations,via social media. Socialmedia exponentially in-creases the reach of some-one’s bad experience. Justimagine, the average Facebookuser has 130 friends. moreover,about 75 per cent of people across UKand US who heard about bad experiencevia social media stopped doing business with oravoided doing business with the offending company.

Social media is significantly influencing on-line users’ business behavior. this is anotherplatform which, if managed well, can play a crit-ical role in enhancing your organisation’s imagewhich can translate into an increase in revenues.the time is not far when we will witness socialmedia modeling buying patterns and business de-cisions of Pakistani consumers.

there were only 133,900 internet users in Pak-istan back in 2000 which were 0.1 per cent of totalpopulation. over the last decade the number hasphenomenally grown to 18.5 million which is now10.4 per cent of the current population. After theprivatisation of PtCL the number of internet usersgrew quickly. Government and PtCL are planningto spread broadband networks in all corners of thecountry and even to the distant villages and towns.With such a rate of growth it is anticipated that thenumber of internet users in Pakistan are going toincrease substantially in the next five years.

With the incremental and steady growth of in-ternet users, more people are inclined towards so-cial networking, especially the young population ofPakistan. Facebook is no stranger to the People ofPakistan. Currently there are 5.8 million facebookusers in Pakistan which makes it 26th in the rank-ing of all facebook users by Country.

two million users from Pakistan joined Face-book in just the last 8 months which took the over-all number to 5 million. Facebook has seen positivegrowth in Pakistan over last three years. twitter issaid to have around 2 million users from Pakistan,while Google plus still being in beta, is nearing10,000 users from Pakistan.

All these facts and numbers tell us that Socialmedia management must be an integral part of cor-porate strategies of organisations in Pakistan. So-cial media management goes beyond having just afan page of your organisation in a social media site.Communicating with your fans regularly, keepingthem engaged and focusing on growing the numberof fans is all the more important now than ever be-fore. Someone somewhere in the organisational hi-erarchy must be concerned about what people aresaying in online communities about the organisa-tion, its products, offerings, quality of service, pric-ing etc. this is like online impression managementof your organisation.

If your target consumer base is the young pop-ulation of Pakistan then it is imperative for your or-ganisation to have an effective social mediamanagement strategy in place because 51 per centof 5 million Facebook users from Pakistan belongto 18-24 years of age group.So, How SHouLD oRgAnISAtIonS MAn-Age SoCIAL MeDIA?: First step is social com-munities and blogs monitoring. Listening to yourcustomers by tracking the online communitiespages of your organisation or products etc., on a

daily basisand study im-

portant trends.Keeping a close eye

on online growth of com-petitors and leading brands in

different social communities is the nextstep. these powerful competitive insights will helpyou refine your social media strategy and keep youactive in online communities. then you shouldidentify the key influencers- your top fans! Whatexcites them about your product or your organisa-tion? What they like most about your page? Inter-acting closely with your fans will help you secure ahuge success and popularity in social media.

there are many types of softwares availablein the market that can help you analyze and com-pare your social media activities and activities of

your competitors.Active social media monitoring and continuous

strive to keep growing your online fans is ultimatelygoing to benefit you and your business.

Naqash Butt is Senior Manager Operations,

Outsourcing Service line at AbacusConsulting

Phone 4S – battle for supremacySocial media management strategy

18-24 51%

25-34 25%

16-17 9%

35-44 6%

13-15 6%

45-54 2%

55-64 1%

65-0 1%

Distribution of Facebook users in Pakistan

51%

25% 9% 6%6%

2%1%1%

PDF Profit_Layout 1 1/14/2012 12:52 AM Page 5

top 5 perForMers sector wiseSyMBOL OPEN HIGH LOw CUrrENT CHaNGE vOLUME SyMBOL OPEN HIGH LOw CUrrENT CHaNGE vOLUME

Food ProducersAdam sugar 18.55 18.75 18.16 18.30 -0.25 3,107Baba Farid 39.00 39.00 37.05 39.00 0.00 78Bawany sugar 13.01 13.90 13.50 13.01 0.00 103Colony sugar Mills 1.30 1.60 1.27 1.44 0.14 1,027Dewan sugar 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 0.00 5,000

Household GoodsDiamond Ind. 8.20 7.20 7.20 8.20 0.00 10Hussain Industries 3.00 3.00 2.70 3.00 0.00 2Pak elektron Ltd. 3.61 3.79 3.55 3.62 0.01 126,132singer Pakistan 15.94 14.94 14.94 15.94 0.00 10Tariq Glass Ind. 8.09 8.85 8.01 8.50 0.41 20,193

Personal Goods(Colony) Thal 1.22 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.28 618Ali Asghar Textile 0.45 0.85 0.60 0.77 0.32 1,205Amtex Limited 1.28 1.35 1.25 1.33 0.05 29,431Artistic Denim Mills 22.50 23.50 22.50 22.93 0.43 3,282Azam Textile 1.34 2.34 1.17 1.99 0.65 5,051

Future ContractsAHCL-JAN 27.06 27.99 27.10 27.68 0.62 83,500ATrL-JAN 107.24 109.09 108.02 108.33 1.09 106,500DGKC-JAN 19.50 20.20 19.70 20.00 0.50 124,000eNGrO-JAN 94.90 97.00 94.85 95.77 0.87 487,000FFBL-JAN 43.47 44.15 43.60 43.77 0.30 505,000

Pharma and Bio TechFerozsons (Lab) Ltd. 73.62 75.00 74.50 73.62 0.00 200GlaxosmithKline Pak. 66.08 66.90 65.60 66.08 0.00 250Highnoon (Lab) 29.00 29.50 29.01 29.00 0.00 110IBL HealthCare 15.43 16.38 14.76 16.00 0.57 11,620Otsuka Pak 32.80 32.50 32.50 32.50 -0.30 500

Fixed Line TelecommunicationP.T.C.L.A 10.18 10.26 10.10 10.25 0.07 1,042,499Pak Datacom Ltd 33.75 35.00 34.00 34.94 1.19 530Telecard Limited 0.77 0.81 0.76 0.81 0.04 231,895Wateen Telecom Ltd 1.70 1.89 1.71 1.72 0.02 10,246WorldCall Telecom 1.01 1.09 1.00 1.03 0.02 417,075

ElectricityGenertech 0.35 0.39 0.26 0.34 -0.01 9,404Hub Power Co. 33.50 34.20 33.50 33.98 0.48 769,204Japan Power 0.61 0.70 0.58 0.67 0.06 71,106K.e.s.C. 1.76 1.83 1.71 1.76 0.00 127,729Kohinoor Power 1.80 1.80 1.30 1.80 0.00 126

BanksAllied Bank Ltd 54.60 56.48 54.01 55.41 0.81 27,325Askari Bank 10.06 10.28 10.00 10.20 0.14 92,185B.O.Punjab 5.51 5.70 5.51 5.60 0.09 276,428Bank Al-Falah 11.19 11.39 11.22 11.35 0.16 288,386Bank AL-Habib 28.85 29.24 28.82 28.91 0.06 9,930

Non Life InsuranceAdamjee Ins 46.62 47.80 46.52 47.00 0.38 3,846Atlas Insurance 36.25 36.25 35.75 36.12 -0.13 974Century Insurance 6.99 6.99 6.99 6.99 0.00 800Cres.star Insurance 2.00 3.00 2.00 2.00 0.00 215Habib Insurance 10.00 10.35 10.30 10.30 0.30 2,533

Life InsuranceAmerican Life 14.50 14.50 13.50 14.50 0.00 2east West Life Assur 1.40 2.34 1.40 1.40 0.00 1eFU Life Assur 65.53 68.80 65.53 65.53 0.00 157

Financial ServicesAMZ Ventures A 0.38 0.38 0.30 0.38 0.00 409Arif Habib Investmen 14.36 15.20 15.20 14.36 0.00 10Arif Habib Ltd. 14.30 15.00 14.02 14.41 0.11 2,799Dawood Cap.Man XB 0.65 0.60 0.60 0.65 0.00 1Dawood equities 0.65 0.98 0.65 0.95 0.30 6,17

Equity Investment InstrumentsAllied rental Mod 22.45 22.00 22.00 22.00 -0.45 500Atlas Fund of Fund 5.50 5.30 5.30 5.30 -0.20 500B.F.Modaraba 3.80 4.00 3.99 4.00 0.20 17,310B.r.r.Guardian 2.40 2.48 2.26 2.48 0.08 1,500Cres. stand.Mod 0.54 0.74 0.47 0.52 -0.02 11,647

MiscellaneousCentury Paper 12.80 13.50 12.50 13.07 0.27 1,213Johnson & Philips 7.00 7.95 6.00 6.01 -0.99 997P.N.s.C. 12.00 12.89 11.76 11.82 -0.18 8,456Pak.Int.Con. sD 70.48 70.50 70.10 70.48 0.00 22TrG Pakistan Ltd. 1.20 1.28 1.20 1.24 0.04 572,613Murree Brewery 64.75 65.50 64.75 64.87 0.12 1,626shezan Inter. 110.07 110.00 110.00 110.07 0.00 28Grays of Cambridge 22.58 23.50 23.00 23.33 0.75 1,500Pak Tobacco Co. 52.41 53.99 50.01 52.41 0.00 8Media Times Ltd 12.40 13.39 13.39 12.40 0.00 1Dreamworld 524.33 524.33 498.12 524.33 0.00 1P.I.A.C.(A) 1.99 2.10 1.85 2.01 0.02 23,331sui North Gas 15.75 15.97 15.80 15.95 0.20 10,522sui south Gas 18.55 18.75 18.40 18.65 0.10 143,197American Life 13.83 14.00 14.00 13.83 0.00 2east West Life Assur 1.09 1.45 1.45 1.09 0.00 1AKD Capital Ltd. 22.17 23.27 23.26 22.17 0.00 86Pace (Pak) Ltd. 1.30 1.44 1.23 1.30 0.00 12,256Netsol Technologies 8.40 8.68 8.40 8.64 0.24 97,682Pak Telephone 2.50 3.37 2.50 2.50 0.00 159

SyMBOL OPEN HIGH LOw CUrrENT CHaNGE vOLUME

Oil and GasAttock Petroleum 412.08 425.90 405.00 419.52 7.44 75,119Attock refinery 106.78 108.70 107.00 107.79 1.01 632,917Burshane LPG 22.50 23.00 22.50 22.60 0.10 500Byco Petroleum 6.70 6.80 6.70 6.80 0.10 62,155Mari Gas Co. 85.09 86.00 85.00 85.75 0.66 4,075

ChemicalsAgritech Limited 15.50 14.85 14.85 15.50 0.00 100Arif Habib Co sD 26.90 27.85 26.96 27.59 0.69 1,345,560Clariant Pakistan 150.54 151.00 150.50 151.00 0.46 1,600Dawood Hercules 35.57 36.49 35.25 35.59 0.02 99,141Descon Chemical 1.55 1.65 1.55 1.55 0.00 16

Industrial metals and MiningCrescent steel 18.13 18.90 18.00 18.86 0.73 3,689Dost steels Ltd. 1.12 1.18 1.10 1.16 0.04 8,139Huffaz seamless Pipe 8.49 9.49 8.20 9.49 1.00 230,473Int. Ind.Ltd. 31.02 31.60 31.16 31.60 0.58 2,586Inter.steel Ltd. 10.00 10.40 10.05 10.30 0.30 1,505

Construction and MaterialsAl-Abbas Cement 2.41 2.70 2.50 2.50 0.09 521Attock Cement 52.95 52.45 51.55 52.00 -0.95 743Bal.Glass 1.70 2.00 1.80 1.83 0.13 5,174Berger Paints 13.50 13.85 13.31 13.51 0.01 1,742Cherat Cement 9.00 9.05 9.02 9.04 0.04 800

General IndustrialsCherat Packaging 25.75 26.96 25.65 26.17 0.42 5,210eCOPACK Ltd 3.80 4.39 3.66 4.01 0.21 9,871Ghani Glass Ltd 40.10 40.44 38.10 39.64 -0.46 3,852MACPAC Films 8.21 9.09 7.61 8.21 0.00 12Packages Limited 79.98 80.00 78.00 78.50 -1.48 450

Industrial EngineeringAdos Pakistan 5.30 5.10 5.10 5.10 -0.20 1,000AL-Ghazi TractorsXD 170.64 179.17 172.00 172.52 1.88 296Dewan Auto engg 0.61 0.70 0.70 0.72 0.11 700Ghandhara Ind. 6.58 6.69 6.13 6.58 0.00 4Hinopak Motor 66.91 66.91 66.91 66.91 0.00 6

Automobile and PartsAtlas Battery Ltd. 163.00 164.50 163.00 163.14 0.14 490Atlas engineering 58.00 58.00 58.00 58.00 0.00 11,360Bal.Wheels 26.12 26.62 26.62 26.12 0.00 8Dewan Motors 1.91 1.95 1.90 1.91 0.00 13,000exide (PAK) 162.25 166.00 164.00 165.58 3.33 562

BeveragesMurree Brewery Co. 110.49 111.43 109.00 111.18 0.69 1,170shezan Int’l 150.02 150.00 145.05 145.58 -4.44 203

Mutual Funds

fund Offer repurchase Nav

Alfalah GHP Cash Fund 501.2900 501.2900 501.2900 Askari Islamic Asset Allocation Fund 114.7196 111.8516 111.8516Askari Islamic Income Fund 103.6501 102.6136 102.6136 Askari sovereign Cash Fund 100.6900 100.6900 100.6900 Atlas Income Fund 519.3500 514.2100 514.2100 Atlas Islamic Income Fund 519.0900 513.9500 513.9500Atlas Money Market Fund 516.9700 516.9700 516.9700 Atlas stock Market Fund 453.1500 444.2600 444.2600 Crosby Dragon Fund 82.9800 81.3500 81.3500 Crosby Phoenix Fund 102.5100 102.5100 102.5100 Dawood Islamic Fund 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000Faysal Income & Growth Fund 103.9600 102.9300 102.9300Faysal Islamic savings Growth Fund 101.4000 101.4000 101.4000 Faysal Money Market Fund 101.1400 101.1400 101.1400Faysal savings Growth Fund 101.4400 101.4400 101.4400 First Habib Cash Fund 100.8800 100.8800 100.8800 First Habib Income Fund 100.8900 100.8900 100.8900 First Habib stock Fund 101.4400 99.4500 99.4500 HBL Income Fund 98.8551 98.8551 98.8551 HBL Islamic Money Market Fund 100.2278 100.2278 100.2278 HBL Islamic stock Fund 105.1082 103.0473 103.0473

fund Offer repurchase Nav

HBL Money Market Fund 100.2768 100.2768 100.2768 HBL Multi Asset Fund 87.0103 85.3042 85.3042 HBL stock Fund 97.6745 95.2922 95.2922 IGI Income Fund 101.8987 100.8898 100.8898IGI stock Fund 112.3545 109.6141 109.6141 Js Principal secure Fund I 121.5000 111.5200 117.3900 Js Principal secure Fund II 104.1200 96.5000 101.5800 KAsB Cash Fund 0.0000 0.0000 100.1087Lakson equity Fund 106.3763 103.2779 103.2779 Lakson Income Fund 102.2115 100.7009 100.7009 MCB Cash Management Optimizer Fund 100.5994 100.5994 100.5994MCB Dynamic Cash Fund 103.2259 101.6775 101.6775 MCB Dynamic stock Fund 83.2931 83.2931 85.4288 NAMCO Income Fund 108.2753 108.2753 108.2753 National Investment Unit Trust 26.55 25.74 25.74PICIC Income Fund 101.3261 101.3261 101.3261 UBL Capital Protected Fund II 106.7800 101.4400 106.7800UBL Islamic savings Fund 100.4576 100.4576 100.4576 UBL savings Income Fund 101.9855 100.9757 100.9757

Markets

Saturday, 14 January, 2012

06top 10 sectors

43% 01%Construction & Materials

Chemicals Non Life Insurance

02%electricity

05%14%

Fixed Line Telecommunication

01%support services

Financial services

04%Banks15%Oil & Gas09%Personal Goods07%

International Oil PriceWTICrude Oil

$98.89

BrentCrude Oil

$111.26

STOCK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Index Change Volume Market ValueKse-100 11014.46 +105.34 28,073,863 1,687,421,830Lse-25 2899.77 +37.5 593,405 20,356,168Ise-10 2374.06 21.91 11,892 1,182,923

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change Turnoverrafhan Product 2405.00 2525.00 2519.00 2502.67 97.67 7Indus Dyeing 379.43 398.40 360.46 398.40 18.97 232Millat Tractors Ltd. 364.50 380.99 363.20 376.76 12.26 18,674Attock Petroleum 412.08 425.90 405.00 419.52 7.44 75,119sanofi-Aventis 139.73 144.99 138.30 141.65 1.92 3,000

Major Losers

Nestle PakistanXD 2861.60 2900.00 2840.00 2805.03 -56.57 30Ismail Industr 74.83 71.09 71.09 74.83 0.00 100Pak Tobacco Co. 52.41 53.99 50.01 52.41 0.00 8Premier suger Mills 42.81 44.94 40.68 44.72 1.91 528Packages Limited 79.98 80.00 78.00 78.50 -1.48 450

Volume Leaders

Jah.sidd. Co. 4.07 4.45 4.10 4.27 0.20 3,156,826Fauji Fert 43.29 43.98 43.30 43.58 0.29 2,284,785Fatima Fert.Co. 22.96 23.15 22.80 22.87 -0.09 2,199,591Fauji Fertilizer 160.71 164.28 160.50 162.57 1.86 2,013,297National Bank 41.81 42.65 41.80 42.29 0.48 1,808,357

Bullion MarketPer Tola (PKr) Per 10 Gm (PKr) Per Ounce Us$

Gold 24K 55,573.00 47,696.00 1,642.00Gold 22K 51,608.00 44,245.00 –silver (Tezabi) 1,010.00 867.00 35.05silver (Thobi) 1025.00 880.00 –

Interbank RatesUs Dollar 90.2759UK Pound 138.5194Japanese Yen 1.1772euro 115.8240

Buy sellUs Dollar 91.00 91.50euro 115.25 117.46Great Britain Pound 138.52 140.83Japanese Yen 1.1744 1.1904Canadian Dollar 88.48 91.21Hong Kong Dollar 11.53 11.82UAe Dirham 24.68 24.99saudi riyal 24.18 24.46Australian Dollar 93.05 96.11

PDF Profit_Layout 1 1/14/2012 12:53 AM Page 6

Friday,13 January,2012

news

07

Pakistan has benefited frominitiatives such as the deregulationof international gateways andmobile number portability, whichhelped grow teledensity

warid Telecom CEO, Muneer farooqui

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

PUnJAB Chief ministermuhammad Shahbaz Sharifhas said promotion ofinformation technology is

vital for rapid development,therefore, all out resources would beprovided for the development of thissector in the province. He disclosedthat 125,000 laptops would bedistributed among talented studentsthis year while 300,000 to 500,000laptops next year. Chief ministerannounced that an informationtechnology university would be set upon a floor of Lahore technology ParkFerozpur road. He was addressing abloggers seminar organised incollaboration with PunjabInformation technology Board,Google and P@sha, here today.

Chairman Punjab Informationtechnology Board Dr Umar Saif,Country Consultant Google PakistanBadar Khushnood, PresidentPakistan Software HousesAssociation Jahan Ara, peopleassociated with informationtechnology sector and a large numberof Bloggers attended the seminar.Addressing the seminar, muhammadShahbaz Sharif said Pakistani nationis second to none in abilities andPakistanis have made a name in everysector. He said expatriate Pakistanishave proved their mettle ininformation technology, health andother sectors. He said that time hascome that we should build ourcapacity in every sector and utilise allour energies to make Pakistan a greatcountry by learning a lesson from ourprevious mistakes. He said at presentIndia has a major share in business of

information technology whereasPakistan’s share in this sector isnegligible. He said we have to adoptinformation technology to ensureprogress in all sectors. He saidPunjab government is pursuing acomprehensive programme forpromotion of information technology.He said It labs have been set up inmore than four thousand schools anda research center has also beenestablished in murree. He saidthousands of students are benefitingfrom the It labs. He said Punjabgovernment is jointly working withmicrosoft Company for promotion ofinformation technology. He saidplanning has also been made forsetting up Knowledge City on Lahorering road. He said there is no dearthof talent in Pakistan. He urged uponthe youths to come forward and bringPakistan at par with modern world by

equipping themselves with latestknowledge. Chief minister saidcorruption is rampant in the countryand national resources are beingplundered ruthlessly. He said thosewho looted national resources areenjoying power with the medals ofcorruption. He urged that collectiveefforts should be made for purgingthe society of corruption. He said 18crore people have right overresources of Pakistan and not ahandful of elite.Sharif said we are taking steps toinclude the deprived segments ofsociety into national mainstream. Hesaid we would have to developindigenous resources to achieve thegoal of self sufficiency. He reiteratedthat loans worth billions of dollarswere obtained during last 64 yearsbut destiny of the country could notbe changed. He said we would have to

renounce the charity of Aaghiyar anddevelop our own resources. He addedthat quality education is not the rightof elite only but it is right of everyPakistani. He told that DaanishSchools have been set up in far-flungand backward areas for this purposewhere free educational facilities havebeen provided to the children fromthe lower echelons of the fiscal scale.He disclosed that one thousandcenters of excellence are also beingset up with billion of rupeesthroughout the province.Chairman Punjab Informationtechnology Board Dr Umar Saifthrew light on the steps taken withregards to promotion of It in theprovince. Chief minister gavedetailed answers to the questions ofthe students. Later, he alsodistributed shields among Itprofessionals and bloggers.

CM reiterates IT importance

Energy Task force evolvesconsensus against gas demand curtailment

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

tHe very first meeting of Special task Force on energyhas evolved a consensus against curtailment of gasdemand to any consumer while focusing on supply

side management solutions for January 18 meeting of thefederal Cabinet. Chairman Special task Force on energyGohar ejaz met Friday industry captains including Fawwadmukhtar, Shahid Abdullah, Amir Fayyaz, Ahsan Bashir,Shahzad Khan, Seth Akbar and Anjum nisar besidesrepresentatives from Karachi and other parts of countrythrough video conference at APtmA Punjab office. Goharsaid industry stakeholders have faced gas curtailment for 172days on an average during 2011 and it is likely to be curtailedthroughout the year ahead in case no short and long termsolutions are chalked out as a way forward. He said supplyside issue has not been addressed during last four years. Hesaid fresh discoveries have not been encouraged, as Pakistanwas offering $2.5 to $4 on exploring new discoveries against$14 internationally. Also, he said, no serious effort has beenmade to revive dormant gas fields and price rationalisationwell in time. According to him, the task force has deliberatedupon creating supplies both domestically and throughimports, putting in place infrastructure to connect remoteareas with Karachi port and brining dormant fields intooperation. He said the industry has come forward to play arole in managing gas shortage on the premise that Pakistanwould suffer ultimately. He said 10 million workers are onthe brink of unemployment, trade deficit is on the rise,current account deficit is high and industrial bankruptciesare hitting through the roof. therefore, the industry captainshave got together to suggest solutions to the government. Hesaid government has already towed APtmA proposals bypassing laws on gas theft and infrastructure developmentsurcharge. He said Article 158 of the Constitution has putPunjab in problem but other provinces would also facesimilar situation in case no sensible approach is adopted ongas utilisation.

SBP pumps over rs218 billioninto banking system

KARAcHISTAFF REPORT

CentrAL bank on Friday injected rs218.100 billioninto the currency market where much of theliquidity is being gulped by the cash-strapped

government to cater its massive and ever-increasingbudgetary borrowings. During first half of the current fiscalyear, July-Dec FY12, the resource constrained federal andprovincial governments borrowed over rs818.91 billionfrom central and commercial banks against rs285.951billion they had raised during the corresponding period lastyear. of the total borrowed amount, government borroweda huge sum of rs668.137 billion from the scheduled banks,while rs150.773 billion were taken from State Bank. thismassive government borrowing spree renders the moneymarket without liquidity, a problem that is taken care of bythe regulators in central bank through moneyinjections.Friday saw the State Bank conducting its reverserepo operation in the market treasury Bills and PakistanInvestment Bonds to pump over rs218 billion into thesystem at an annual rate of return of 11.58 per cent.

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

PAKIStAn Water and PowerDevelopment Authority (WAPDA) isdeploying two state-of-the-arttunnel boring machines (tBms) at a

cost of rs8 billion on the strategicallyimportant 969 mW-neelum JhelumHydropower Project. this will reduceconstruction period of the project by about18 months, resulting in an estimated benefitof rs.60 billion. the two German-manufactured tBms, being imported by thecontractor, are expected to reach Pakistan bythe end of this month.WAPDA Chairman Shakil Durrani stated thiswhile briefing Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK)Prime minister Chaudhry Abdul majeed, andPlanning Commission Deputy Chairman Drnadeem-ul-Haq during their visit to variouscomponents of neelum Jhelum Hydropower

Project including underground powerhouse,weir site, diversion tunnel, de-sander andmain tunnels, etc. Federal Secretary PlanningAsif Bajwa, AJK Chief Secretary muhammadShahzad Arbab, Planning Commissionmember energy Shahid Sattar, WAPDAmember (Water) Syed raghib Abbas Shah,member (Power) muhammad Qasim Khanand senior officers concerned were alsopresent during the visit.Speaking on the occasion, WAPDA Chairmansaid neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project,scheduled to be completed in 2016, willprovide about 5.15 billion units of electricityannually to the national grid. He further saidannual benefits of the project have beenestimated at rs45 billion, adding that theproject will pay back its cost in about sevenyears. earlier, neelum Jhelum HydropowerProject Chief executive officer Lt Gen (retd)muhammad Zubair, during the briefing, saidthat overall progress on the project stands at

30 per cent. Some 18.5-kilometer longtunnels and adits have so far been excavated;while the crucial diversion tunnel to divertthe river neelum has also been completed inoctober last year in record time of two years.He said construction work on all the threesites is in full swing. He added that work onpowerhouse is heading as per schedule, whilework on transformer hall is ahead ofschedule. He also explained reasons behindcost escalation of the project.neelum Jhelum Consultants Project managerChristiaan Groskoff, briefing the visitors saidthat redesigning of the project in the wake ofdevastating earthquake of 2005, delay inacquisition of land and unstable supply ofelectricity have been the major challenges forthe project. muzaffarabad CommissionerZafar Khan assured the project authoritiesthat the crucial piece of land measuring 16kanals and 6 marlas will be handed over toWAPDA within a week.

WAPDA to deploy tunnelboring machines

KARAcHI STAFF REPORT

tHoUGH Arab light crudeoil prices remained firmduring the month of Jan-uary (2012) against the

previous month (December 2011),the middle distillate prices, exceptnaptha, declined in the range of 4-5 per cent, rendering into decline inthe middle distillate crack spreads.the said price trend is estimated toreduce domestic gross refinery mar-gins (Grms) by seven per cent inJanuary to $1.6 per barrel as against$1.7 per barrel last month, said atopline research.

“With reduce spreads and reg-ulatory risk that heightens afterthe escalation oil prices we hold‘market-weight’ stance on the Pak-istan refinery sector,” viewednauman Khan, an analyst at thetopline Securities.

the product-wise negativespread on naphtha, he said, was ex-pected to be reduced to (-ve) $5.5 per

barrel as against $7 per barrel lastmonth; while spread on HSFo couldwidened to (-ve) $11 as against $8 perbarrel last month. In the superiorproduct category, HSD and Kerospreads are estimated to decline to$10 per barrel previously from $16per barrel while mS spreads are ex-pected to dip into negative as againstpositive $1 per barrel last month.

the company-wise Grms sug-gest that AtrL on account of higherweight-age of superior products (mSand HSD) in its product mix continueto lead the pack with company’s esti-mated Grms standing to the tune of$2.3 per barrel, down nine per centfrom $2.6 per barrel last month.Amongst other listed companies,nrL’s Grms is likely to decline byfive per cent to $0.6 per barrel whilePrL and BYCo Grms are estimatedto stand around $0.9 and $1.0 perbarrel, down 17 per cent and 11 percent respectively.

With firm oil prices and theirimplications on domestic politicaland economic scenario, we believe

the inherent regulatory risk associ-ated with the reduction in deemedduty on HSD comes into lime light.Under the prevalent scheme 7.5 percent custom duty is charged on im-ports of HSD, which in turn is pro-viding a profitability cushion fromdomestic refineries.

In recent price revision, deemedduty is currently hovering around$9.5 per barrel in absolute termswhile current levels of internationalHSD prices could push the sameabove $10 per barrel in the upcomingFebruary price revision. this in turncould bring to life the deemed dutysaga which we witnessed in the earlypart of the year.

Being the jugular vein of refinerysector profitability the reduction inthe deemed duty from current levelscould adversely affect refinery sec-tor’s profitability. As per our esti-mates 2.5 per cent decline in thedeemed duty would reduce AtrLand nrL’s (companies under ourcoverage) annual earning by rs6 andrs11 per share, respectively.

Ground breaking ofrs 24.9 billion M-9project next month

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

tHe ground breaking of rs24.9billion worth motorway, m-9,between Karachi and Hyder-

abad would be performed in the end ofFebruary and the government plans tocomplete the six lane highway withinone year. Finance minister Dr AbdulHafeez Shaikh chaired a meeting to re-view progress on the initiation of m-9.the meeting was informed that thisproject covers the conversion of exist-ing 4-lane highway into 6-lanethrough addition of 1-lane at bothsides of the road. the project also in-cludes the improvement of existing 2-lanes of the rood. Finance ministerstressed that transparency must be en-sured in the execution of the projectand construction period should be re-duced from 30 months to 12 months.Advisor IPDF, Deputy Chairman Plan-ning Commission, Special SecretaryFinance, Secretary Communications,Chairman nHA and other senior offi-cials attended the meeting.

Gross Refinery Marginsdown by 7pc in January

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