ISLAMABAD

APP

FEDERAL Minis-ter for FinanceSaleem Mandvi-walla on Fridaysaid that a com-p r e h e n s i v eroadmap would beleft for the up-

coming government to get rid of the circu-lar debt and improve performance ofPublic Sector Companies (PSCs) on sus-tainable basis.

The federal minister was speaking atthe signing and launching ceremony of theCorporate Governance Rules 2013 forPublic Sector Companies here at a localhotel. “We will leave roadmap for the nextgovernment to get rid of circular debt andmake other state owned entities effective,”Mandviwalla remarked while terming thecircular debt and State Owned Entities astwo major challenges.

Mandviwalla categorically denied thereports that the government had providedRs100 billion to Pakistan International Air(PIA) and clarified that Rs. 46 million wereprovided to the national flag carrier to buynew aircrafts to facilitate the passengers.

The federal minister lauded the effortsof the former Finance Minister, Dr. AbdulHafeez Shaikh for managing the country’seconomic and financial affairs despitechallenges.

He expressed the hope that the launch-ing and implementations of the Corporategovernance rules 2013 for PSCs wouldhelp improve the performance of the publicsector entities and benefit the country.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion,Chairman Securities and ExchangeCommission of PakistanMuhammad Ali gave de-tailed presentation on theCorporate GovernanceRules 2013 and expressedthe hope that the rules willhave far-reaching effect inreviving the PSCs in Pak-istan.

He said that these ruleshave been formulated inview of the distinct gov-ernance chal-lenges facedby the publicsector com-panies inPakistan.

According to official estimates, theeight major PSCs are receiving more thanRs300 billion in annual support andbailouts from the federal government,thereby draining fiscal resources whichmay otherwise be used for improving pub-lic services.

He said that the rules would go a longway in defining the overall objectives ofstate ownership, avoiding day-to-day inter-ference in the management of PSCs, grant-

ing operational autonomy to the boardof directors (BODs), centralizing

the ownership function througha coordinating entity, and ex-ercising ownership rights ac-cording to the legal structureof each PSE, including re-specting the rights and inter-ests of minorityshareholders in case of par-

tially owned PSCs.With regard to board

empowerment,the Rules

h a v el a i dd o w nthe re-quire-

ments that the BOD shall comprise of atleast 40% independent directors while withregard to transparency, the rules have laiddown specific requirements pertaining tocorporate, financial reporting and account-ing framework. All PSCs are required toadopt International Financial ReportingStandards (IFRS) and the Directors’ reportto the members shall also include detaileddisclosures specific to the PSC operationsbased on its social mandate.

Moving to the third key aspect, ac-countability, the Rules lay down specificrequirements with regard to creation of theBOD’s audit committee, internal and ex-ternal audit for all PSCs.

Further, the Rules also lay down crite-ria for the appointment and removal of theChief Internal Auditor as well as separatingthe position of the Chairman and CEO toachieve an appropriate balance of power,increasing accountability and improvingthe BOD’s capacity for decision making,independent of management.

Director General (ERU) Finance Divi-sion, Dr. Khaqan Hassan Najeeb said thatthe formation of these rules was a difficultand lauded the efforts of the task force thatput on its untiring efforts to make this pos-sible. Delivering the inaugural address,

Country Director CIPE, Moin Fudda alsohighlighted the salient features of therules.

Representatives of World Bank andAsian Development Bank were also pres-ent on the occasion who observed thatPSCs wer eating up budget but were notproviding service and expressed the hopethat new rules would help improve theoverall situation.

01

BUSINESS

BSaturday, 9 March, 2013

Governance rules for public sector

companies will result in more transparency.

– Finance Minister Saleem Mandviwala

SALEEM MANDVIWALLA

We will leave roadmap for

the next government to

get rid of circular debt

and make other state

owned entities effective

Mandviwalla has some tricks uphis sleeve for economic stability

BEIJING

APP

Setting precedent after successful opera-tion in Pakistan, China Mobile looking fortarget with positive ‘business synergy’around the world.

China Mobile Communications Corp,the parent company of the world’s biggestmobile operator by subscriber, is seekingmerger-and-acquisition (M&A) opportu-nities in the global market, the company’schairman said. The only acquisition by aChinese telecom carrier was made in2007, when China Mobile bought PaktelLtd, a money-losing Pakistani carrier, for$284 million from Millicom InternationalCellular SA.

“The Pakistan case set the precedentfor Chinese operators going global,” saidXi Guohua, China Mobile’s chairman, onthe sidelines of the annual session of the12th Chinese People’s Political Consulta-tive Conference National Committee inprogress these day in Beijing.

The company was renamed China

Mobile Pakistan, or CMPak, and its serv-ices were rebranded in 2008 as Zong.

“China Mobile is determined to goglobal. We keep an eye on every opportu-nity that is suitable,” China Daily quotedXi. He added that he can’t elaborate be-cause of financial rules that govern alisted company. Wang Jianzhou, formerchairman of China Mobile, said in an in-terview last year that the company’s expe-rience in China and Pakistan will boost itsconfidence in stepping into other overseasmarkets.

He pointed out that China Mobilehoped to become a minority shareholderin telecom carriers in the European orNorth American markets.

“We would like to be strategic in-vestors (in them),” Wang said.

However, compared with counterpartsin the energy, manufacturing and financialindustries, Chinese State-owned telecomoperators have fallen behind in terms ofoverseas expansion, reports China Daily.

Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated the“going out” strategy on Tuesday, when he

delivered his government last work reportto the annual session of the National Peo-ple’s Congress. Wen encouraged Chinesecompanies to invest overseas and conductglobal operations.

Xi said there are many mergers andacquisitions opportunities, whether theglobal economic climate is good or bad.

“But it is very difficult for telecomcarriers to make M&A decisions becausewe are not manufacturers, which finishevery deal and that’s all,” he said, addingTelecom carrier’s M&A’s could be a long-term investment.

“The process can be rather complex.We consider not only returns, but alsolocal policies, laws and cultural differ-ences. Besides, the M&A target shouldhave a business synergy with China Mo-bile,” Xi said.

According to China Mobile’s 2012 in-terim report issued in August, the com-pany, which is one of China’s mostprofitable State-owned enterprises, hadcash and cash equivalents of 96.4 billionyuan ($15.5 billion) as of June 2012.

China Mobile looking for overseas market after Pakistan success

SALEEM MANDVIWALLA

The only acquisition by a

Chinese telecom carrier

was made in 2007, when

China Mobile bought

Paktel Ltd, a money-

losing Pakistani carrier,

for $284 million from

Millicom International

Cellular SA

ICAP to organiseCFO moots inKarachi, Lahorenext weekKARACHI: Now in its successful 4thyear, ICAP is organizing the CFO con-ference themed as CFO – Meeting Fu-ture Challenges on 12 and 14 March2013 in Karachi and Lahore respec-tively. The conference is expected to beattended by around 1200 business lead-ers and professionals from Finance,Audit, Tax and Information Technology.The primary objective of the “CFOConference 2013” is to explore the keyaspects and issues related to creating afaster, leaner and agile finance functionand using strategic insight to lead eco-nomic growth, establish alliances andmeet future challenges. The forumplans to explore the most pressing is-sues and the best practices being ap-plied in organizations to maintaincompetitiveness and to achieve prof-itable growth.The CFO Conference 2013 provides in-formation about the strategies whichcan be deployed in finance for growthin both mature and emerging markets.The conference will focus on opportu-nities and challenges that can be ex-pected by the CFOs to encounter in2013 and beyond. In continuation withthe tradition the Third Professional Ex-cellence Awards will also be held.The CFO conference has a unique blendof renowned speakers such as Mr. MianMuhammad Mansha, Chairman NishatGroup, Shaukat Tareen, Advisor to Cha-riman Silk Bank. Mr. Saquib H. ShiraziCEO Atlas Honda, Vincet Tophoff, Sen-ior Technical Manager IFAC, USA,Kimihide Ando MD Mitsubishi Pakistanand President OICCI, Aftab AhmadChaudhry Managing Director & CEOLahore Stock Exchange, Muneer KamalChairman Karachi Stock Exchange andmany others. Key topics to be discussedin the conference will be Critical Analy-sis on Economy and how it affects theperformance of the business, FinancialLeaders- Meeting future challenges,Strategic risk management in the face ofuncertainty and unexpected risk , publicprivate partnerships, role of CFO inbringing in investment and challengesand opportunities for finance profes-sionals in Middle East. The CFO Con-ference is managed by Terrabiz forICAP. STAFF REPORT

SBP moves to regulateexports to and viaAfghanistan to CARs

KARACHI: In view of peculiar nature oftrade with Afghanistan, the central bank Fri-day asked the authorized dealers to accept thecash convertible currencies brought over theircounter by the exporters and convert the sameat the prevailing buying rate applicable fornormal export proceeds for credit to the PKRaccount of the exporter. Further, the regulatorsaid the banks will ensure that the said pro-ceeds are backed by proper export documentsas per prescribed procedure and terms & con-ditions issued from time to time “Attention ofAuthorized Dealers is invited to EPD CircularLetter No. 03 dated March 12, 2002 on thesubject containing therewith SRO No.137(1)/2002 dated March 7, 2002 issued bythe Ministry of Commerce, Government ofPakistan,” said an SBP circular issued Friday.In this regard, the bank said, it is clarified thatas per FE Regulations, the export madeagainst convertible currencies is subject toForm ‘E’ certification by the Authorized Deal-ers. Accordingly, the export proceeds receivedas per sales terms are required to be surren-dered in the inter-bank market for which theconcerned Authorized Dealer will issue Pro-ceeds Realization Certificate (PRC) at the pre-vailing buying exchange rate and credit theequivalent rupees in the PKR account of theconcerned exporter. STAFF REPORT

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The United States is the largest andmost open economy to trade and in-vestment in the world and Pakistanibusinessmen can export more than3,500 items to the country withoutpaying any duties, a US diplomatsaid on Friday.

James Fluker, Commercial Coun-selor at the US Embassy, said this ata session at the KP Chamber of Com-merce and Industry to help localbusinesses understand how to becompetitive in US markets.

“The US government allows Pak-istani businesses to export more than3,500 items, including jewelry, mostmanufactured items, and many typesof carpets, agricultural products,minerals, and marble without payingany duties on them. It is clear to usthat trade, investment, and privatesector growth are key to the future ofthe US-Pakistan relationship,” he

said.The US Commercial Service is

the trade promotion office of the USgovernment. It connects US ex-porters with international buyersthrough a network of 100 offices inthe United States, and in over 70cities around the world, including of-fices in Islamabad, Karachi and La-hore.

It also helps Pakistani buyers lo-cate US products, services, and busi-ness partners; meet suppliers andpartners face-to-face; and participatein trade shows that feature thousandsof US companies.

“We are grateful to the US gov-ernment for their financial and tech-nical support in numerousdevelopment plans,” said ChamberPresident Dr Yuosaf Sarwar.

“American support will play avital role in reviving the business ac-tivities in the province and bringingeconomic prosperity to KhyberPakhtunkhwa,” he added.

No US duties on more than 3,500 export items: diplomat

JAMES FLUKER

It is clear to us that

trade, investment,

and private sector

growth are key to

the future of the

US-Pakistan

relationship

PRO 09-03-2013_Layout 1 3/9/2013 12:30 AM Page 1

BUSINESSSaturday, 9 March, 2013

LAHORE: Emirates SkyCargo recently held its annual

award ceremony to honour the most productive cargo

agents in Pakistan. Picture shows Emirates Pakistan Vice

President Khalid Bardan and the winning cargo agents. PR

ZONG to light up rural lives, empower women

ISLAMABAD:

ZONG, the

international brand

of China Mobile, in

collaboration with

Buksh Foundation,

a leading

microfinance

organization, is set

to light up rural

lives through the

project ‘Lighting a Million Lives’ that will provide solar-

powered lighting to 2 villages as a start of a long term

partnership. The initiative is a part of the TERI project that

aims to provide lightning to a billion people worldwide

through solar power. Under the partnership, ZONG will

sponsor the establishment of Solar Charging Stations in the

selected villages in Chiniot District, providing solar lanterns

for the use of the villagers, which can be regularly charged

at the solar-charging stations. This is the first time in the

country’s history that a telecom company is investing in a

clean energy initiative to provide much needed lighting to

those living in the depth of darkness in rural parts of the

country. The initiative has important socio-economic

benefits as well. As the solar-charging stations will be

operated by women from the same villages, the project

directly promotes women empowerment. Two female micro-

entrepreneurs will be selected from each village to run

these stations. They will then either rent out the charged

solar lanterns every evening to fellow villagers at an

affordable fee, or will sell the lanterns to individual

households as per their need. Further, project will contribute

to improvement of education and health standards, as has

been observed in other countries where the project has

been implemented. The use of solar lanterns, over its life

span of about 10 years will also result in 500 to 600 liters of

kerosene not being used for kerosene lamps, eliminating

about 1.5 tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. PR

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

Hungry is keen to enhance trade

relations with Pakistan. – Hungarian

Ambassador Istvan Szabo

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERColgate Palmolive 1680.01 1764.01 1764.01 1764.01 84.00 1,200Wyeth Pak Limited 900.00 940.00 940.00 940.00 40.00 100Shezan Inter. 412.30 432.91 432.91 432.91 20.61 100Exide (PAK) 328.65 345.08 331.00 344.87 16.22 13,500Indus Dyeing SD 468.33 480.00 450.00 479.66 11.33 500

Major LosersUniLever Pak 11103.75 11103.75 11000.00 11000.00 -103.75 200Bata (Pak) 1392.67 1351.00 1324.00 1325.00 -67.67 750Philip Morris Pak. 234.31 246.02 222.60 223.00 -11.31 44,200Sapphire Fiber XD 174.05 174.05 165.35 165.45 -8.60 500Attock Petroleum Ltd 490.00 490.05 480.10 482.81 -7.19 14,800

Volume Leaders

P.T.C.L.A 21.80 22.09 20.71 20.76 -1.04 45,387,000Telecard Limited 6.42 6.89 5.50 5.75 -0.67 29,107,500Engro Corporation 122.17 128.27 118.60 127.98 5.81 21,776,300WorldCall Telecom 3.24 3.22 2.70 3.00 -0.24 13,681,000Lafarge Pakistan 6.16 6.25 5.90 5.99 -0.17 11,414,500

Interbank RatesUSD PKR 97.7769GBP PKR 146.9782JPY PKR 1.0234EURO PKR 128.0486

ForexBUY SELL

US Dollar 99.10 99.35 Euro 127.97 128.21 Great Britain Pound 146.92 147.14 Japanese Yen 1.0184 1.0290 Canadian Dollar 95.62 97.31 Hong Kong Dollar 12.53 12.78 UAE Dirham 26.87 27.12 Saudi Riyal 26.37 26.57

ISLAMABAD

ONlINE

THE Islamabad Women’s Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (IWCCI) onFriday said it doubts will and abilityof the government to ensure import of

natural gas from Iran through a controversialpipeline. Government claims to relieve country ofenergy crisis by importing natural gas from Iran,the quickest and cheapest way to fulfil our energyneeds, remained confined to statements over theyears, it said.

In December 2012, President Zardari unex-pectedly cancelled a trip to Iran due to US oppo-sition to the project but now government has beenissuing statements of rejecting US pressure daysbefore dissolution of assemblies, said FaridaRashid, President IWCCI.

She said that all the statements of politiciansclaiming to reject US pressure on pipeline fromgas surplus Iran are aimed at gaining popularityas country remained ill prepared to face US con-frontation. What took government to become

aware of the political and economic risks posedby chronic power and gas shortages after fiveyears of rule, asked Farida Rashid.

Why government did not initiate the project

soon after coming to power which would havedisallowed energy issue to undermine the coun-try’s stability, helped revive economy and savedmillions of jobs, she questioned.

Farida Rashid said that US would never allowIran to increase its presence and influence andboost foreign exchange reserves at a time whenwest has imposed tighter sanctions on Tehraneven if it means crumbling Pakistan’s economy, along-time American ally.

Government should clarify how it would dealwith tough US sanctions when country is headingtowards a default due to mismanagement and cor-ruption, she said. We are facing a highly unstablebalance of payment situation, forex reserves areat unsatisfactory level and government is unableto pay for imports for over sixty days which ne-cessitates entering into a stand-by agreement withIMF, she added.

President of the IWCCI called upon a nationaldebate on pros and cons of the project at a timePakistan needs an IMF loan of 9-10 billion dollarloan from the IMF which will be impossible with-out US nod, she added.

IWCCI calls for national debate onpros and cons of pipeline project

ISLAMABAD

AGENCIES

Motor dealers are expecting a huge surge in salesthis month as political parties equip themselves forthe upcoming election campaign. A caretaker setupis scheduled to take over in less than two weeks fromPrime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s government,which will become the first elected civilian admin-istration in Pakistan to complete a full-term in office.

The dissolution of parliament will mark the startof campaign season and H M Shahzad, chairman ofthe All-Pakistan Motor Dealers Association, said hismembers were looking forward to a boom in busi-ness. “We expect a 100 percent increase in car salesduring the election campaign,” Shahzad said.

Rental vehicles are expensive so candidates andtheir supporters are likely to buy new or second-handcars to travel around the country canvassing forvotes, he said. But Shahzad warned that recentmoves to relax rules on buying and importing carscould have damaging consequences and may see ve-hicles used as bargaining chips during the electioncampaign. The government has done away with theneed to submit national tax certificate numbers forpurchasing new cars, and Shahzad has written to thechief election commissioner to warn this would

make it easier to buy influence at the polls.“Influential non-tax payers can buy any number

of cars to give as bribes to voters, workers and inhorse-trading, without coming into the limelight,”he said. Shahzad added that a government amnestyfor smuggled vehicles, which will see thousands le-galised in the coming weeks, will penalise importerswho played by the rules. “We pay millions of rupeesof import duties and taxes to the government, but theamnesty on smuggled vehicles will discourage legalimports and impact government revenue,” he said.Government officials were not immediately avail-able for comment.

State Bank injectsRs 489.95b inbanking system

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The State Bank of Pakistan on Friday in-jected Rs489.95 billion into the money mar-ket through a 7-day reverse repo to helpbanks meet their liquidity requirementahead of the weekly settlement. In a state-ment, the central bank said it injected theamount at 8.93 percent per annum. Thebanks had offered bids worth Rs531.45 bil-lion for the open market operation.

LAHORE

APP

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sectorhas a huge potential to create employment andinvestment opportunities in Pakistan.

This was said by Nihal Pitigala, team leaderof United States Agency for International De-velopment (USAID) experts on Asia MiddleEast Economic Growth Project at a meetingwith Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of the Small and Medium Enter-prises Development Authority (SMEDA).

Pitigala informed that the USAID had de-puted a team of economic experts to assess in-dustrial sectors in Pakistan those had a potentialfor future growth and investment.

The agency was interested in industries thatcould create new jobs and increase incomes offirms and entrepreneurs in the provinces ofSindh and Punjab , and the two provinces wereimportant for large urban population that couldbenefit from future donor assistance pro-grammes to be launched by USAID for address-ing urban poverty issues, he added.

SMEDA Chief Sardar Ahmad Sukhera wel-

comed the guest and apprised him about the fiveyear business plan to be developed by SMEDAfor future SME development initiatives.

The plan, he said, was focused on creating

new jobs and investment opportunities. He as-sured of SMEDA assistance in the initiatives tobe taken by USAID for SME development inPakistan.

SME sector possesseshuge potential of jobs

Car dealers expectelection sales boost

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