LAhore

ISmAIl dIlAwAR

STATE Bank of Pakistan(SBP) Governor YaseenAnwar on Tuesday said thecountry's economy has theability to navigate throughdeep waters.

"I’m excited by the economic potentialthat this country holds, and I encourage youall to become a part of the country’s futureby becoming a part of the solution," he saidwhile delivering a speech at Pakistan NavyWar College, Lahore.

He said while our current economic sit-uation is less than optimal, it is also farfrom what may be described as an eco-nomic calamity. Anwar said in 65 years,Pakistan had never gone through an episodeof hyperinflation and never defaulted on itsinternational and domestic debts. In fact,our economy has grown consistently, butnot spectacularly, over the past six decades,he said. “This has been despite periods ofinternational alienation and sanctions, threeexpensive wars, two hostile fronts, regularpolitical upheaval, social unrest, sharp in-creases in the price of oil, and much, muchmore,” he added.

Anwar said the SBP has always en-sured that the financial system of the coun-try remains safe and stable. The robustnessof our financial system is a direct conse-quence of the reforms process and the cen-

tral bank’s constant vigilance, he said,adding that there’s a lot that can be im-proved in our financial system. He calledfor the development of efficient debt mar-kets, even better regulatory and reportingpractices, and the broadening of the finan-cial sector’s scope to include largely un-banked sectors of the economy, such asagriculture, small and medium enterprises,and housing. “Despite this wish-list, thefact remains that our financial system is, bydesign, secure and does not pose any threatto the economy as a whole,” he said.

The SBP governor pointed out that thesize of Pakistan’s undocumented economyis, by some estimates, as large as the formaleconomy. The informal economy does notfile taxes and, while it does absorb a signif-icant chunk of the labour force, it alsoevades corporate and labour laws, he said,adding that although close informal rela-tionships do make the economy more re-silient, they do so at a cost to the overalleconomy, by eroding the ambit of regula-tors. “Ideally, we, at the SBP, would like tosee a smaller informal economy, while so-ciety retains the structure that has made itso resilient,” he stated.

He stressed the need for greater integra-tion of Pakistan’s domestic market with theglobal markets but added this did not meanthat we should not have proper controls andmechanisms in place to safeguard our owninterests. “Greater integration with finan-cial markets will mean that capital will flow

more quickly through our borders. It is def-initely something that will boost the na-tional economy, but, as most East Asiancountries learned in the 90s, it can be a dou-ble-edged sword. Therefore, having somecapital controls in place, which reduce thevolatility of capital flows, is a necessaryregulation in this day and age,” Anwaradded.

More effective regulation is the need ofthe hour for our own economy, he said,adding that it is an essential part of what isneeded today to get the economy on trackfor steady and sustainable growth.

He said the government’s footprint insome sectors of the economy is very large,while it remains quite negligible in othersectors. “Such divergence is unhealthy. Ef-fective regulation is sorely lacking in othersectors. The tax machinery can be tightenedconsiderably. One of the country’s mostchallenging problems today is the size ofthe fiscal deficit–and a large part of the so-lution lies in increasing our tax base by en-acting regulation that encourages taxcompliance, and punishes tax evasion,”Anwar said.

Anwar said the government will needto borrow less money from the centralbank. Borrowing from the central bank ispopularly known as printing money, hesaid, adding that if government borrowingfrom the central bank falls, inflation willfollow suit. “Therefore, better tax collec-tion is a necessary condition for faster eco-

nomic growth. And for that weneed to have more effec-tive tax regulation,”he added.

He said aver-age inflationfor the cur-rent fiscalyear willlikely re-main in the8.50-9.50p e r c e n tr a n g e .“Interestrates arereviewed,and maybe revised,every twom o n t h s ,which allowsour policy re-sponses to benimble to anychanges in theeconomic envi-ronment. TheBank also ensuresthat the money mar-ket is never short offunds, which means thatmonetary policy signalsare transmitted efficiently,”the SBP governor said.

01

BUSINESS

BWednesday, 6 March, 2013

Industry in Pakistan is in dire straits and the PTI industrial policy aims

to build solid foundations for its revival by creating 10 million new

jobs for the youth over the next five years – PTI leader Asad Umar

‘Economy able to navigatethrough deep waters’

Habib MetropolitanBank closes the year on a profitable noteLAHORE: Habib Metropolitan Bank closed the finan-cial year 2012 by recording a profit-before tax of overRs 5 billion; in doing so, the 7th largest bank of Pak-istan in terms of shareholder equity, exhibited an in-crease against the profit-before-tax of Rs. 4.6 billionposted at the end of the previous year. This amplification of profitability was supplementedwith a growth of 4.4 percent in the bank’s total assets,which stood at Rs 301 billion on December 31, 2012,and a noteworthy increase of 17.50 percent in thebank’s deposit base. Meanwhile, CASA depositsdemonstrated a significant growth of 20.60 percentagainst the previous year, as the CASA mix of thebank amounted to an increased 53.80 percent. Net markup income of HabibMetro Bank increased by7.90 percent and stood at Rs 8.30 billion, while non-markup income registered an increase of 5.20 percent,standing at Rs 5.40 billion at the end of the financialyear 2012–an enhancement that is primarily attributedto the 18 percent growth in fee-based income and12.18 percent growth in trading and dividend income.The bank’s Board of Directors recommended a finalcash dividend of Rs 2 per share or 20 percent for theyear ended December 31, 2012, against the 15 percentcash dividend announced in the previous year. Commenting on the bank’s financial performance inthe year 2012, President and CEO, Sirajuddin Azizsaid, “HabibMetro performed well despite the chal-lenging economic environment of the country. Goingforward, the bank will endeavor to further develop itsproduct suite by adding attractive features to its prod-uct offerings during 2013. Through this commitmentto improvement, we aim to better our customers’ bank-ing experience with HabibMetro.”Other initiatives and occasions of note with respect tothe bank include the launch of a reinvigorated brandidentity earlier in the year, with the user-friendlynomenclature ‘HabibMetro’ accentuating the Group’sheritage. This was followed by the completion and cel-ebration of 20 years of service by the bank, on Octo-ber 21, 2012.20 new branches spanning 7cities were added to thebranch network during the year, enhancing the bank’sbranch outreach to 183 branches across 28 cities Pak-istan-wide. Of these, 11 new branches were opened inKarachi, taking the bank’s presence in the metropolisbeyond the 100-branch milestone. Trade businessamounting to Rs 791 billion was handled, as PACRAawarded the premier AA+ and A1+ credit ratings tothe bank for the 12th consecutive year. HabibMetro’s footprint is expected to penetrate newcities and its branch network is scheduled for expan-sion with the opening of 25 to 30 new branches duringthe year 2013. STAFF REPORT

APCNGA rejectsmove to close15-year-old CNGstations

ISLAMABAD: The AllPakistan CNG Asso-

ciation (APC-NGA) on

Tuesday rejected themove by the Petro-leum Ministry to

close CNG filling stationsthat had completedfifteen years of op-erations, terming thedecision detrimentalfor the masses.Some officials in the

ministry are bentupon damaging the CNG sector that pro-vides economical fuel to the masses andsaves precious foreign exchange, said theassociation. The government wants tobenefit the powerful petroleum and liquidgas sectors, it said.The summary moved by the ministry tothe cabinet’s Economic CoordinationCommittee (ECC) to close down CNGoutlets is a plot to deprive masses of eco-nomical fuel, damage the transport sector,plunge millions into unemployment andlay to waste our investments, said APC-NGA Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha.In a statement issued on Tuesday, he saidAdvisor to PM on Petroleum Dr AsimHussain has been desperately trying toclose down the CNG business and intro-duce LPG in the market as soon as possi-ble.Showing no respect for prevalent laws andrules, the minister has been oversteppingthe authority of Oil and Gas RegulatoryAuthority (OGRA) since years and hasbeen taking controversial decisions, thathave remained unpopular, even with theruling elite, he added.Dubbing the summary a plot to destroy in-vestments in the CNG sector, Paracha saidany hasty decision in the forthcomingmeeting of the ECC would be resistedwith full force. Paracha said an urgentmeeting of the APCNGA Central Execu-tive Committee has been summoned todiscuss the situation and devise a counterstrategy. NNI

ISLAMABAD

KASHIF ABBASI

The composition of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited(ZTBL) Board of Directors (BoD), which had al-legedly written off loans to the tune of millions of ru-pees to some influential industrialists, has beenchallenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Challenging eligibility of all nine members in theboard, the petitioner, who is also an employee ofZTBL, requested the court to stop the board fromworking any more.

A divisional bench of IHC comprising Chief Jus-tice Muhammad Hussain Kasi and Justice ShoukatAziz Siddiqui heard the petition and issued notices toall respondents.

Through his counsel, the petitioner apprised thecourt that former president of ZTBL, MuhammadZaka Ashraf, who is now Pakistan Cricket Baord’sChairman, still enjoys membership of the ZTBL

board. “Zaka Ashraf is not fit according to BRDP cir-cular No 4/2007 issued under the Prudential Regula-tion framed by the State Bank of Pakistan for goodgovernance and regulation of the bank. He is an un-dergraduate and a very active member of the rulingparty. However, he is exercising his power for the lastfour years as a board member and a member of criticaldecision making committees such as Human ResourceManagement Committee, Board Audit Committee andCommittee on Credit plan,” read the petition.

The petitioner pleaded that the directors pro-ceeded to act in violation of law, extending illegal ben-efits to some clients based on political grounds, byapplication of SBP Circular No.22, of 2002, whichwas not applicable in the particular case.

The petitioner alleged that the board’s decisionshad caused a loss to the public exchequer worth Rs2111.629 million.

The plaintiff further told the court that all membersenhanced their fee per meeting from Rs 4,000 to Rs30,000-exclusive of club class air tickets and executiverooms in five-star hotels. After hearing the arguments,the court issued notices to respondents including sec-retary cabinet, secretary establishment, SBP governor,ZTBL, Zaka Ashraf and other board members, ad-journed the hearing for an indefinite period.

ZTBL BoD compositionchallenged in IHC

Petitioner alleges the board waived loans worthmillions of ruPees illegally

ISLAMABAD

APP

Gold imports during the first seven months of the currentfiscal year surged by 31.87 percent against the same pe-riod, last year. According to data revealed by PakistanBureau of Statistics (PBS), the precious metal weighing2,282 kilogrammes worth $123.382 million was im-ported during the period under review compared to im-ports of 1,741 kilogrammes valuing $93.561 millionduring the same period last year (2011-12).

On month on month basis, gold imports in January2013 registered an increase of 63.32 percent againstJanuary 2012 and recorded a decrease of 66.46 per-cent when compared to imports of December 2012.

Gold imports in January 2013 stood at $12.196

million against imports of $7.459 million and $36.373million in January 2012 and December 2012 respec-tively.

The overall imports of metal group, registered anincrease of 11.91 percent during July-January (2012-13) against the same period last year.

Metal imports during the period under reviewwere recorded at $1.813 billion against imports of$1.62 billion during the same period last year.

Imports of iron and steel scrap registered a growthof 17.28 percent during July-January (2012-13) com-pared to imports during July-January (2011-12).

Iron and steel scrap imports into the country wererecorded at $394.134 million during the first sevenmonths of the current fiscal year against imports of$336.11 million during the same period last year.

Gold imports surge 31.87%in July-January (2012-13)

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BUSINESSWednesday, 6 March, 2013

Qatar Airways to becpme global main partner of football giant FC barcelona

BARCELoNA, SPAIN: Qatar Airways will enter into

a strategic partnership with football giants FC

Barcelona that sees the airline’s brand name

appear on first team shirts from the start of the

2013/14 season. The three-year agreement with

the runaway Spanish league leaders and former

winners of the Champions League will be effective

from 1 July 2013. Qatar Airways will become the

club’s Global Main Partner, signalling the first time

the airline has engaged in a sponsorship with a

major soccer club.

Secretary Water andPower terms NESPAKsymbol of integrity

LAHoRE: Sikandar Ahmed Rai, Federal Secretary

for Ministry of Water and Power, has termed

NESPAK a symbol of honesty and integrity. He said

this during his first visit to NESPAK House, Lahore,

according to a press release issued here on

Tuesday. Asad I. A. Khan, Managing Director

NESPAK, welcomed the Federal Secretary and gave

him a corporate presentation highlighting the

performance of NESPAK. Speaking on the occasion,

the Federal Secretary/Chairman Board of Directors

of NESPAK eulogized NESPAK services in the fields

of engineering, architecture/town planning etc., and

encouraged its professionals to channelize their

expertise in other fields like oil, gas, petroleum and

mining sectors. He also proposed that NESPAK

should set up its Institute to impart technical

education, which will be beneficial not only for

NESPAK but also help government acquire better

technical manpower. Assuring his full support to

NESPAK, he lauded its management for not bowing

to the political pressure and for upholding the policy

of merit instead of favoritism. PR

Beaconhouse inauguratessports complex

LAHoRE: The Beaconhouse School System

inaugurated its new 25-acre comprehensive sports

facility in Bedian Road on Sunday with a Sports

Festival featuring a wide range of events such as

rugby matches, rock climbing, cheerleading and

taekwondo displays, football tricks and musical

performances. The event was attended by families

with children aged 3 to 12. The newly-inaugurated

venue, named Beaconhouse Sports

Complex, offers facilities for an array

of sports including football, volleyball,

basketball, cricket, tennis, horse riding

and swimming, and is meant to

incorporate sports into the school’s

curriculum in order to ensure a well-

rounded education for its students. PR

Buksh Foundation’s

‘lightning a million

lives’ project

LAHoRE: Buksh Foundation in

collaboration with TERI (The Energy

and Resource Institute), India with its

Lightning a Million Lives (LaML) project

is progressing towards success in a

short span of time. The project has

already electrified 6 villages in the

Sahiwal district, Punjab, while it aims

to reach out to 4,000 more villages of

Pakistan, aiming to impact a million

lives in the next 4 years. PR

Government of

Pakistan, TDAPA Chinese delegation led by Mr. Yang Yunfan, Deputy

Director General of Sichuan Bureau of the Expo

Affairs alongwith 5-Member delegation visited TDAP

Headquarter, Karachi on 5th March, 2013 and held a

meeting with the Chief Executive, TDAP. In the said

meeting the Deputy Director General extended the

invitation to Pakistan to participate in the 14th

Western China International Fair (23-27 October,

2013) and 3d China-Sichuan Imported Commodity

Fair (14-18 June, 2013), which are organized by the

Sichuan Bureau of Expo Affairs in Chengdu, China. It

was also informed by the delegates that the Sichuan

Bureau of Expo is extends to make Pakistan partner

country for 15th Western China International Fair in

the year 2015 and 2016. The Chief Executive, TDAP

appreciated the endeavors of Sichuan Bureau of

Expo for strengthening trade relations between the

two countries. The Chief Executive also assured the

visiting delegates about the quality participation

from Pakistan. PR

Freelancer.com launches in PakistanKARACHI: Freelancer.com, the world’s largest crowd

sourcing and outsourcing platform, with more than 7

million users, launches freelancer.pk amidst the

internet boom sweeping the nation. With Pakistan’s

broadband users clocking in at a whopping 5 million,

the launch will open doors to Pakistani’s self-

employed professionals whose numbers have surged

from 33.3% to 39.9% in the last 3 years - a sharp

contrast to the dismal 0.2% growth experienced by

the traditional employee sector in that time. The

presence of Freelancer.com in Pakistan is expected to

provide alternative avenues for Pakistanis to raise

their economic status quickly and easily by giving

them access to jobs from around the world. Pakistan

ranks third highest in terms of membership on

Freelancer.com, with more than 240,000 users. PR

SZABIST Law Societyhosts an elegant dinnerSZABIST Law Schools hosted its 10th Annual Law

Dinner on 2nd March 2013. The dinner was

organised by the SZABIST Law Society. The event

was held at the Marina Club and was attended by

prominent personalities of the legal profession, such

as, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan

Saeeduzaman Siddiqui and esteemed judges of the

Sindh High Court including Justice Maqbool Baqar

and Justice Munib Akhtar. Respectable members of

Board of Trustees of SZABIST, President of SZABIST,

and Head of the SZABIST Law Department and

faculty members also graced the occasion. PR

Adamjee Life Funds

show positive trendKARACHI: Adamjee Life debt and equity fund

performance during December saw a positive trend;

per unit NAVs (as of Feb 28th, 2013) are as follows:

Investment Secure Fund (S&A) Bid 118.8333 Offer 125.0877

Investment Multiplier Fund Bid 129.4177 Offer 136.2292

Investment Secure Fund (IFL) Bid 118.8219 Offer 122.4968

Investment Diversifier Fund Bid 107.954 Offer 111.2928

Amanat Islamic Fund Bid 100.79 Offer 106.0947

Considering the growing demand for shariah

compliant investment options in Pakistan Adamjee

Life has launched “Amanat Islamic Fund”. Adamjee

Life “Amanat” fund is an Islamic open-end asset

allocation/ investment fund, which seeks to achieve

its objective of stable yet aggressive returns

through investing in a diverse portfolio of shariah

compliant investments. PR

APNS thankful to KairaThe APNS has expressed its thanks to the Minister

for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira for resolving the

issue of Centralised Media Policy to the satisfaction

of the APNS and for paying the outstanding dues for

the period from 2008 to 2012. Masood Hamid,

Secretary General, APNS has stated that a

delegation of APNS consisting of President,

Secretary General and Jamil Athar held a meeting

with Qamar Zaman Kaira, at Islamabad. The

meeting was attended by Agha Nadeem, Secretary

Information and PIO, Imran Gardezi. The APNS

apprised the ministry on its reservations on the

Centralized Media Policy. The office bearers also

pointed out that bills against advertisements of

Federal Government Ministries / Departments for the

period 2008 to 2012 were long outstanding which

should be cleared before the expiry of the tenure of

the present government. Kaira very kindly agreed to

resolve the issue of Centralized Media Policy to the

satisfaction of the APNS and clear the outstanding

dues as requested by the APNS at the earliest.

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

Monday’s shutdown resulted in an estimated trade

and industrial production loss of Rs 8 to 10 billion

– AKTI President Atiq Mir

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERindus motor Co 316.45 332.27 307.00 328.24 11.79 34,300Philip morris Pak. 202.42 212.54 200.00 212.54 10.12 15,700national refin 223.12 233.85 223.20 233.16 10.04 536,400attock refinery 183.21 192.37 185.50 192.37 9.16 2,731,000Pak oilfields 478.88 486.25 479.00 485.21 6.33 308,200

Major Losersunilever Pak 10750.00 10800.00 10500.01 10500.01 -249.99 260indus dyeing sd 460.50 437.50 437.50 437.50 -23.00 100Colgate Palmolive 1620.00 1600.00 1540.00 1600.00 -20.00 1,400bhanero tex. 305.00 289.75 289.75 289.75 -15.25 100Pak services 188.72 188.72 179.29 179.65 -9.07 1,000

Volume Leaders

P.i.a.C.(a) 6.77 7.77 6.75 7.72 0.95 27,105,000lotte PakPta 7.69 8.08 7.60 7.99 0.30 23,224,500Jah.sidd. Co. 17.61 17.10 16.61 16.61 -1.00 17,779,000P.t.C.l.a 23.15 23.46 22.71 22.90 -0.25 13,143,000telecard limited 6.83 7.20 6.59 6.70 -0.13 12,198,500

Interbank Ratesusd PKr 98.1509gbP PKr 149.0421JPy PKr 1.0547euro PKr 128.1654

ForexBUY SELL

us dollar 99.10 99.35 euro 128.58 128.82 great britain Pound 149.02 149.26 Japanese yen 1.0504 1.0613 Canadian dollar 95.37 97.06 hong Kong dollar 12.56 12.79 uae dirham 26.90 27.15 saudi riyal 26.40 26.60

“Teaming together to raise parent-school partnership”, a seminar by The City School, was held at a local hotel on Saturday 2nd

March’ 13. Parenting Seminar provided an opportunity to guide and counsel the parents of students ranging from play group to A’

levels. Ren owned keynote speakers attended the function including Ayaz Mir, Dr Mowadat Husnain Rana, Dr.Saad Bashir, ITU VC Dr

Umer Saif, Arif Ijaz, LUMS VC Dr Adil Najum, Max. Babri and Dr Farooq Hasnat. They shared a host of experiences to extend

professional and practical guidance to the worthy parents. This event was a part of the numerous programmes, The City School

organised to celebrate 35 years of excellence in imparting education to the nation. PR

Emirates SkyCargo, the Cargo Division of

Emirates Airline, one of the world’s fastest

growing airlines, recently held its annual

award ceremony to honour and recognise the

most productive cargo agents in Pakistan at a

gala event in Lahore. Pictures show Mr. Khalid

Bardan, Emirates’ Vice President, Pakistan

(standing in 1st row fifth from the right) along

with the winning cargo agents at the event. PR

Elixir Securitiesshowcases Pakistan’sfinest corporates in NyKARACHI: Elixir Securities and Credit Suisse

jointly conducted a Pakistan Capital Markets Day in

New York. Aimed at providing global fund

managers with deeper insight into some of

Pakistan’s hi-growth sectors, the extremely well

attended event attracted a wide range of investors

with focus on emerging and frontier markets. The

Pakistan delegation comprised of senior team

members of Elixir Securities and top management

of Pakistani companies, representing Banking,

Fertilizer, Cement, Food, Chemicals and Energy

sector. Some of the key themes widely discussed

between the delegation and investors included the

possible outcomes of the upcoming election and

growth opportunities. Pakistan’s retail potential,

infrastructure development, high returns in the

energy sector and turn around stories in the

banking, cements and fertilizer sectors generated

excitement amongst investors, ranging from

traditional long only funds to region specific hedge

funds. “I was truly amazed at the level of interest

we saw. Investors are not only looking beyond the

political noise we see in the media, they are in fact

deeply plugged into the impressive numbers that

corporate Pakistan has been delivering for 5 years.

The questions were pointed and their

understanding of our market was impressive. PR

Bank Alfalah reportsimpressive results for the year 2012KARACHI: Bank Alfalah has announced strong

financial results for the year 2012, demonstrating

growth in earnings, as well as the Bank’s Balance

Sheet base. The Bank’s asset base rose to

Rs.536.467 billion in 2012, from Rs 468.174 billion

at year end 2011, further solidifying the Bank’s

financial position. The Bank’s deposits registered a

growth of 14%, ending up at Rs. 457.119 billion at

the year end. A consistent growth of over 30% was

reflected in the profit after taxation figure, which

was posted at Rs. 4,556.121 million for the year

2012, compared to Rs.3,503.130 million earned

during the year 2011. Profit before taxation was

reported at Rs 6,783.202 million for the year 2012,

exceeding profit before taxation earned for the full

year 2011 by 25%. Growth in revenue of 7% was

reported with revenue standing at Rs. 53,361

million for the year 2012 and non-fund based

income registering a year on year growth of 36%.

The Bank’s NPLs to gross loans ratio stands at 9%,

reflecting a better position vis a vis that of peer

banks as well as the industry infection ratio. Whilst

maintaining a low NPL ratio compared to the

industry average, adequate provisioning has been

maintained against the classified portfolio. Atif

Bajwa, Bank Alfalah’s Chief Executive Officer, said,

“2012 was a year when the Bank achieved growth

amidst a challenging economic environment and

whilst undergoing a period of transformation.PR

Swiss Counsel Generalhosts dinner

KARACHI: The Consul

General of Switzerland in

Karachi Mr. Didier Boschung

hosted a media get-together

event at his residence. The

main purpose of this gathering

was to further strengthen the

existing friendly relations with

Karachi based journalist and

writers. The Ambassador of

Switzerland in Islamabad H.E. Christoph Bubb and

Mrs. Bubb also graced the occasion as they were in

Karachi to embark on their two days visit to interior

Sindh. This auspicious event was attended by some

tycoons of print and electronic media and a number

of senior journalists. PR

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