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Bulls lift index up 90pts on strongvaluations Page 03

Friday, 16 March, 2012

ISLAMABADAPP

P RESIDENT Asif Ali Zardari, asadvised by Prime MinisterSyed Yusuf Raza Gilani, hasassented to and signed the

Industrial Relations Bill, 2012, whichhas now been enacted as a law.The enactment of IndustrialRelations Bill is a landmarkachievement of the democraticgovernment, a statement from thePM House said.The protection of the rights of labourwas part of the Pakistan PeoplesParty manifesto in accordance withthe vision of Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto. The presentgovernment under the leadership ofPrime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani has always endeavoured to

ensure a balance between theemployer and the employees and thisBill will promote harmony amongstthem besides protecting the rights oflabour community. The IndustrialRelations Bill, 2012 originated in theSenate \and was passed by it onMarch 7. The National Assembly alsopassed the Bill on March 14 withoutany amendment.The Bill seeks to consolidate andrationalize the law in IslamabadCapital Territory (ICT) and in thetrans-provincial level, relating toformation of trade unions,federations of trade unions,determining the collective bargainingagents, regulation of relationsbetween employers and workers, theavoidance and settlement of anydifferences or disputes arisingbetween them or matters connected

therewith and ancillary thereto.According to the Bill, the FederalGovernment would constitute aNational Industrial RelationsCommission which will adjudicateand determine an industrial disputein the Islamabad Capital Territory inwhich a trade union or a federationof such trade unions is a party andwhich is not confined to matters ofpurely local nature and any otherindustrial dispute which is, in theopinion of the government, ofnational importance and is referredto it by the government.Before the Bill, the ICT was facing agap in terms of registration of tradeunions and regulation of industrialrelations as well as matters relatingto offices, factories or firms falling inmore than one province. After the passage of 18th

Constitutional Amendment, thesubject of labour was transferred tothe provinces who have promulgatedtheir own industrial relations laws.The promulgation of IndustrialRelations Bill will, however, notdisturb provincial laws presently inplace. The Industrial Relations Billshall not be applicable to Police;Defence Services or installationsconnected with administration ofstate other than those employed asworkmen; on the members of thesecurity staff of PIA or drawingwages in Pay Group not lower thanGroup V; and at Pakistan SecurityPrinting Corporation or the SecurityPapers Ltd and by an establishmentor institution for the treatment orcare of sick, infirm, destitute ormentally unfit person excludingthose being run on commercial basis.

Industrial Relations Bill enacted to protect labourrights

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

CoMPETITIoN Commission ofPakistan (CCP) has issuedshow cause notices to 1-LinkGuarantee Limited (1-Link)

and its member banks for, prima facieviolating the competition act by fixingthe charges of ATM cash withdrawalservices, utility bills payment services(UBPS) and inter-bank fund transfer(IBFT) services.

CCP enquiry report estimates thatInter-bank ATM cash withdrawal trans-actions at the rate of Rs 15, IBFT at therate of Rs 15 and UBPS at the rate Rs 8is carried out on the switch of 1-Link.The service is provided to its 30 memberbanks on more than 4,572 ATMs in 200cities nationwide. Card base of its mem-ber banks has exceeded 11.71 million inthe year 2010. Whereas number oftransactions during the period of Janu-ary-June 2011 only in respect of cashwithdrawal is 17.52 million resultinginto total revenue for member banks ofaround Rs 203.3 million with the inter-change fee of Rs 11.68. only six banksABL, Alfalah, Al-Habib, HBL, Soneri,UBL (who all represent on 1-Link’sBoard) collected Rs 122.38 millionwhich is 60.2 percent of total revenue

generated in afore-mentioned sixmonths. Similarly, 19 member banks areoffering IBFT services and the totalnumber of transactions during the pe-riod of Jan-Jun 2011 is 1.4 million re-sulting into revenue of Rs 16.25 millionwith the interchange rate of Rs 11.61. Inrespect of UBPS, 14 banks are offeringthis service. Total 1.04 million UBPStransactions were carried out from Jan-Jun 2011 that generated a revenue of Rs5.83 million with the interchange rate ofRs 5.61 for the participating bank.

CCP has taken notice of the uniformrates implemented by the most of banksin Pakistan for ATM cash withdrawaltransactions. In preliminary fact findingit was observed that 1-Link holds 80 per-cent of market share in shared ATM net-work services in Pakistan and is aconsortium of 11 major banks that alsorepresent on its Board of Directors whilethe other 20 banks are its members. Tofurther assess the matter CCP ap-proached the State Bank of Pakistanwhether it has issued any regulation/di-rective regarding ATM service charges,however, SBP confirmed that it does notfix the ATM charges and that the banksare free to determine these charges.Moreover, in response to letters sent tovarious banks seeking rationale for uni-form rates, two member banks of 1-Link

confirmed that they have to comply withthe schedule of charges devised by the 1-Link. Given facts and circumstancesraised a suspicion that 1-Link and itsmember banks may be engaged in anysuspected collaborative activity to fix therates of ATM transactions. Therefore, inorder to verify suchcollaboration/arrangement and to col-lect evidence regarding the modality offixing the ATM charges, CCP conductedsearch and inspect the office of 1-Link inKarachi. CCP appointed Shaista Bano,Nadia Nabi, and Muhammad QasimKhan as enquiry officers to conduct anenquiry based on the impounded docu-ments and data as to whether there isany collusion and cartelization in re-spect of aforementioned charges be-tween 1-Link and member banks. Interms of the enquiry report, it appearsthat the founding members of 1-Linkhave executed the agreement that pro-vides for the contractual arrangementfor any bank to join the network. Bankson the network, prima facie, signed ac-cession memorandum to become itsmember and are bound to follow theterms and conditions laid therein in-cluding the fixed ATM cash withdrawalcharges. Similarly, 1-Link signed utilitybill payment agreements with utilitycompanies and internet fund transferagreement with TPS Pakistan which,prima facie, fix the rates for UBPS andIBFT transactions respectively.

It appears that 1-Link has not onlyentered into the aforementioned agree-ments, it also has, prima facie, provideda forum acting as an association of un-dertakings to its member banks. It ap-pears that owner banks of theconsortium, in board meetings dis-cussed matters of common interest in-cluding the rates of ATM cashwithdrawal transactions, UBPs andIBFT services. In light of these discus-sions, it appears that 1-Link issuedschedule of charges periodically to itsmember banks and taken decisions to fixinterchange fee paid by issuer bank toacquirer bank in respect of ATM cash-withdrawal services, interchange feepaid by sending bank to beneficiarybank in respect of IBFT services and billpayee bank fee in respect of UBPS andalso the rates of ATM cash withdrawaland UBPS charges to be paid by the cus-tomers of member banks.

Fixing interchange fee, and main-taining uniform rates to be charged fromcustomers in respect of inter-bank ATMtransactions deprives banks to individu-ally bargain or negotiate these ratesbased on their own business dynamics.Such arrangement appears to have theobject or effect of restricting competi-tion leaving no option for the consumerto choose between the services and istherefore, prima facie, in contraventionof Section 4(1), in particular, Section4(2)(a) of the Act.

SECP, FBRsign MOU toenhance cooperation

ISLAMABADSTAFF REPORT

To enhance cooperation andcoordination two top corporatewatch dogs the Securities and

Exchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP) and the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) on Thursday to effectivelycarry out their respective statutoryresponsibilities and maintain thehighest level of oversight quality,while minimizing duplication ofefforts.The MoU was signed in the backdropof evolving challenges being faced bythe country that necessitate variousinstitutions to develop cooperativelinkages for enforcement of laws.The understanding stipulates thatSECP and FBR will hold consultationon fiscal policy measures pertainingto non-banking financialinstitutions, insurance, and capitalmarkets and corporate sector toencourage documentation ofeconomy, promotion of long-termsaving culture and corporatization.Speaking on the occasion, ChairmanSECP Muhammad Ali said, the MoUreiterates the commitment of theSECP and FBR to work together inensuring conducive environment forbusinesses and investment. It willenhance cooperation between thetwo institutions and establish aframework for collaboration,coordination and sharing ofinformation in areas of commonregulatory and supervisory interestfor furtherance of objectives of SECPand FBR.The representatives of bothinstitutions will meet regularly tocoordinate efforts to undertakepolicy dialogue for achievinguniformity in regulatory approachfor sectors under their respectivepurview and achieving theobjectives.SECP had established bilateralcooperation arrangement withcounterpart banking sectorregulator, the State Bank of Pakistanin 2003 and updated the cooperationarrangement in 2009 extending thecooperation parameters over theareas like AML/CFT in financialsector, conglomerates and financialinclusion. The mechanism iseffective in operation and bothregulators hold periodic meeting todeliberate on policy areas thatimpact whole of financial sector ofthe economy.Earlier, the Chairman FBR SyedMumtaz Haider Rizvi led delegationwas briefed on the role, andresponsibilities of the commission,and an overview of the corporatesector, capital markets, NBFIs andinsurance sector. The briefing alsoincluded SECP’s road map and futurestrategy for regulated entitiesincluding the requisite fiscal reformsand highlighted the broad taxproposals which will be shared withthe FBR for inclusion in Finance Bill2012-13.

CCP issues show cause notices to 1-Link, member banksg Notice issued for alleged price fixing of ATM charges

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news02Friday, 16 March, 2012

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change Turnover

Nestle Pak SPOT 4102.79 4299.00 4055.00 4299.00 196.21 448Unilever Food SPOT 1792.31 1881.81 1880.50 1880.50 88.19 15Fazal Textile 238.26 250.00 250.00 250.00 11.74 100Shell Pakistan 200.40 209.00 200.50 207.94 7.54 104,015Mithchells Fruit 145.31 152.57 145.31 152.00 6.69 746

Major Losers

UniLever Pak LtdSPOT 5750.00 5748.00 5700.00 5705.92 -44.08 29Siemens Pakistan 789.44 790.00 750.00 753.11 -36.33 219Wyeth Pak Ltd.SPOT 770.00 770.00 731.60 749.66 -20.34 161ICI Pakistan 144.91 147.98 138.65 139.62 -5.29 109,307Fazal Cloth Mills 79.00 75.71 75.10 75.71 -3.29 1,107

Volume Leaders

BO Punjab 9.09 9.90 9.26 9.55 0.46 26,227,451Lafarge Pakistan 3.11 3.59 3.00 3.46 0.35 18,766,656NIB Bank Limited 2.73 2.99 2.66 2.81 0.08 18,634,045Dewan Cement 3.41 4.41 3.37 4.19 0.78 18,444,917TRG Pakistan Ltd. 3.99 4.05 3.55 3.65 -0.34 15,366,050

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 90.7428UK Pound 142.1848Japanese Yen 1.0843Euro 118.5101

Dollar EastBuy Sell

US Dollar 90.80 91.30Euro 117.91 119.13Great Britain Pound 141.46 142.89Japanese Yen 1.0793 1.0900Canadian Dollar 90.49 91.90Hong Kong Dollar 11.53 11.71UAE Dirham 24.62 24.84Saudi Riyal 24.10 24.33Australian Dollar 94.53 96.92

KARACHI, STAFF REPORT

THE country’s mutualfunds industry, whilecontinuing its upwardtrajectory, appreciated by

further 5.6 percent MoM in Feb-12, to cross the Rs 350 billionmark, said the analysts at Invest-Cap. The industry volume climbedto Rs 360 billion ($3.96 billion)from Rs 342 billion ($3.76 billion)a month earlier.

“The open-ended funds’ sizeappreciated by five percent MoM,while that of closed-end funds’grew by six percent to reach Rs338 billion ($3.71 billion) andRs22 billion ($241 million), re-spectively,” said Mazhar A. Sabir.

During the month, the analystsaid, major growth was witnessedin the money market funds cate-gory, which rose by 10 percentMoM to close at Rs 138 billion($1.52 billion) in Feb-12.

He said the Islamic equityfunds also followed the suit andappreciated by six percent againsteight percent surge witnessed in

local equities market.During 8MFY12 period (Jul-

Feb12), mutual funds industryshowed a healthy growth of 44 per-cent since Jun-11 closings, whenthe entire industry stood at Rs250billion or $ 2.90 billion.

“The open-end funds increasedby a solid 50 percent while closed-end funds’ size declined by 11 per-cent since then,” he said.

The income funds categorywithheld almost the same levels inFeb-12 as earlier, at Rs84 billion($923 million). However, on a cu-mulative basis during 8MFY12, theincome funds category showed anenormous growth of 117 percent interms of size. As the central bank(SBP) kept the discount rate un-changed at 12 percent in its lastmonetary policy, the downwardvaluation adjustments were wit-nessed in T-bills and PIBs hold-ings. Thus, as far as return ofincome funds is concerned, thiscategory earned an average annu-alized return of 10.2 percent dur-ing Feb-12, down by 0.4 percentover last month. During 8MFY12,the income funds also earned aver-

age return of 10.2 percent on an-nualized basis.

Money market funds categoryconstituting 42 percent of the totalsize of the open-end funds (38 per-cent of the entire industry) againoutshined the industry and rose by10 percent MoM in Feb-12 to reachat Rs138 billion ($1.52 billion),against Rs125 billion ($1.37 billion)in Jan-12. NBP Fullerton AssetManagement (NAFA) launchedNAFA Money Market Fund duringFeb-12. With such consistent pace,the money market funds’ cumula-tive size was up 78 percent during8MFY12 (Jul-Feb12) which was thesecond highest return recordedwithin the industry during the pe-riod, following the income fundscategory. After having anothermonth of positive returns from eq-uities (KSE100 index up 8 percentMoM in Feb-12), the equity fundscategory showed positive march inits funds size appreciating by 6 per-cent MoM to close at Rs49 billion($538 million).

However, despite the back-to-back improvement in equities overthe last two months, the equity

funds’ size still stands 4 percentdown in 8MFY12 compared to thelevel observed in Jun-11, againstthe KSE100 index positive move-ment of 3 percent during the sameperiod. In the month of Feb-12, theKSE100 index appreciated by 8.5percent MoM while showing aslight underperformance, equityfunds category earned an averagereturn of 7.2 percent MoM, withthe highest return earned by theAKD-opportunity Fund (AK-DoPF), which secured a return of14.6 percent MoM, beating notonly the industry averages but alsothe KSE100 and KSE30 index re-turns of 8.5 percent and 6.6 per-cent, respectively.

Remarkably, during 8MFY12,the equity funds category postedan average return of 6.8 percentsince Jun-11, outperforming theKSE100 index return of 3.1 percentand KSE30 index return of 2.8 per-cent for the same period.

Amongst individual funds,ABLSF recorded the maximum re-turn of 16.1 percent, followed byASMF which secured a return of12.0 percent during this period.

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

K ARACHI Electric SupplyCompany (KESC) andBright Eagle Enterprisesheld their first joint

session on Thursday to kick offthe Joint DevelopmentAgreement for the conversion ofKESC’s 1,260 MW Bin QasimPower Station from RFo fired tocoal fired. The joint session wasattended by a visiting 14-memberhigh level delegation from BrightEagle Enterprises, ChinaResource Power and ChinaNational Technical Import andExport Corporation which aimedat setting up high level points todrive the project forward.The delegation under theleadership of Mr. Chen Ping,Chairman of Bright EagleEnterprises, a companysponsored by Chinese and Koreaninvestors that would be funding

conversion of BQPS-I to coalaccording to the JointDevelopment Agreement signedlast month, also visited the BQPSsite to obtain a tangibleperspective on this significantundertaking by KESC.The visiting delegation and KESCmanagement had a productivedialogue aimed at strengtheningthe relationship between thepartners and setting concretemilestones to achieve the desiredgoals. Both sides reiterated thatthe prospect of Pakistan-Chinafriendship should be translatedinto joint ventures to undertakeand complete projects which alsoserve the larger public interests.Besides holding the position ofChairman of BEEGL, thedelegation leader Mr. Chen Pingalso serves as the Chairman ofSun TV Hong Kong and ofTidetime Group. The dignitariesalso included Mr. Wang Yujun,Executive Director and Chief

Executive officer of ChinaResource Power, and Mr. LUZhikang, Marketing Director ofChina National Technical Importand Export Corporation.For the purpose of setting theJoint Development Agreement inmotion, Bright Eagle Enterpriseshas teamed up with leadingenergy companies from China,namely China Resources Power,and China National TechnicalImport and Export Corporation.China Resources Power, with acurrent installed capacity of20,000 MW, largely coal fired, isa subsidiary of China ResourcesCo. Ltd., one of the conglomeratesin Hong Kong and mainlandChina whose core businessescover retail, power, breweries,real estate, food, medicine,textiles, chemical products andgas compressors, among otherthings. China National TechnicalImport and Export Corporation(CNTIC) is a state-owned foreign

trade corporation, specializing inimport and export of technologiesand complete sets of equipment.The conversion project entailsreplacement of the existing 6 x210 MW RFo boilers with coalboilers as well as construction ofcoal and ash handling facilities indifferent phases and is the first ofits kind in Pakistan. KESC isalready in the progression offinalizing its feasibility studythrough a reputed US-basedconsultant, ‘Knight Piesold’,having extensive world-wideexperience in coal based projects.Replacing residual fuel oil (RFo)based boilers with coal firedtechnology would help KESC inattaining fuel security bydiversifying its existing fuel mix,better utilization of existing fleetand most importantly aid inreducing cost of powergeneration; ultimately providingthe consumers relief by loweringof the end user tariff.

ISLAMABADGNI

PRESIDENT Asif AliZardari on Thursdaysaid that there was a

great opportunity forChinese investors to takeadvantage of special businessand investmentopportunities being offeredby Pakistan.During a meeting with AsiaInvestment ChairmanHoutang Li Yan who calledon him, Zardari said thatPakistan eagerly awaitsChinese investment in thenew city of Zulfikarabad. Hesaid that the proposed citywould be an engine of growthand go a long way ingenerating economicactivities. It will give tremendous boostto the social and economicuplift of the area besidescreating enormous jobopportunities, he said. Thepresident appreciatedChinese interest indevelopment of specialeconomic zones in theproposed city project. Theseeconomic zones would not beconfined to industrial andeconomic activities butwould cover the entire rangeof activities in a modernmetropolis.

He said the project would notonly further strengthen Pak-China cooperativepartnership but was alsohomage to the great leaderZulfikar Ali Bhutto who laidthe foundation of strong Pak-Sino friendship. Zardarireiterated that the idea ofsetting up a new city was tomeet the challenges of thefuture and to develop safe,modern and an environmentfriendly coastal city havingworld class amenities witheconomic opportunities. Thepresident appreciated AsiaInvestments’ decision toinvest in the SpecialEconomic Zone said that thegovernment would provideall possible assistance andfacilitation to the Chinesecompanies and investorsespecially in thepetrochemicals and otherareas especially those that donot exist in the country atpresent.ZDA Managing DirectorLieutenant General (r) SyedIftikhar Shah briefedparticipants about theprogress made so far in theproposed project. Yanthanked the president for themeeting and thegovernment’s assistance andfacilitation in their businessventures in Pakistan.

Mutual funds industry up5.6pc to cross Rs350b mark

Uptick in dollar reserves asbanks count theirs higher

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

CoUNTRY’S dollar reserves showed an uptick of0.3 percent or $ 54 million during the weekending on March 9, said the central bank

Thursday. During the week under review, Pakistan’sdollar holdings surged to $ 16.390 billion from $ 16.336billion the country held last week up to March 2. Thepresent increase is attributable to the increasing reservesof the commercial banks which, during the review week,counted their foreign exchange reserves at $ 4.527 billion,up by $ 89 million or two percent when compared withthe previous week’s $ 4.438 billion. As for the State Bank,the regulator saw its reserves shrinking by $ 35 million to$ 11.862 billion against $ 11.897 billion the bank held lastweek. The country’s foreign exchange reserves hit therecord $ 18.31 billion mark in July 2011 and then startedalmost constantly moving northward due to, what theofficial and unofficial observers believe, heavyrepayments on account of exports and external loans thathave accumulated to $ 62 billion. The State Bank repaidat least $ 399 million to the International Monetary Fundat the end of February with economic managers,reportedly, brushing aside the impression that thescheduled repayment of $ 1.1 billion to the Fund by June2012 would have any significant impact on the economy.Theses repayments are already budgeted, said they.

ISLAMABADGNI

THE Special Audit of PakistanTelecommunication Authority(PTA) has revealed that importantworking partners and stakehold-

ers do not have their representation in thedecision making process of PTA manage-ment. It says that though the workingarrangement of the Authority with federalgovernment is carried out through CabinetDivision but being administrative ministryand Secretary Cabinet being PAo, has no sig-nificant role to play even in the approval ofAuthority’s budget after the amendment ofPTA Act 2006. Similarly, it pointed out thatthe Ministry of Information Technology isthe policy maker of telecom sector as well asadministrative ministry for Universal ServiceFund (USF) and Research and DevelopmentFund. But there are certain issues long out-standing between MoIT, Finance Divisionand PTA which could not be resolved owingto lack of coordination mechanism among

them. Due to non-representation of otherstakeholders in the Authority and lack of co-ordination, the cases of litigation and central-ized decision making are hindering thesmooth and transparent functioning of theAuthority, the audit observed. The Audit hasrecommended that the composition of Au-thority may be reviewed with a view to devis-ing a mechanism for coordination betweenPTA and relevant Ministries to strengthenthe internal controls and coordination withinPTA as well. Under section 3(2) of the Pak-istan Telecommunication (Re-organization)Act 1996 (Amended in 2006), an Authorityshall manage the PTA. The Authority shallconsist of three members one of whom shallbe professional telecommunication engi-neer and other shall be financial expert tobe appointed by the federal government fora term of four years and shall be eligible forappointment for a similar term or terms.Further the federal government may in-crease the number of the members of theAuthority and prescribe their qualificationand mode of appointment.

Special Audit recommends composition of PTA be reviewed

KESC in session with Chinese team on coal conversion agreement

Opportunities awaitChinese investors inPakistan: President

PRO 16-03-2012_Layout 1 3/16/2012 12:33 AM Page 2

Ufone launches stylish Blackberry Bold 9790ISLAMABAD: Ufone has proudly intro-duced new Blackberry Bold 9790 for itsvaluable customers. This new sleek andstylish handset is equipped with the newBlackBerry oS 7. This handset has the abil-ity to replace cutting edge technology withits uniqueness as it features a 1GHz proces-sor with built in 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth andBBM. The BlackBerry Bold 9790 smart-phone is extremely lightweight anddurable. PRESS RELEASE

7th Jazz SMS Khazana awardsluxury homeLAHORE: Mobilink recently concludedthe latest phase of the Mobilink Jazz “SMSKhazana” contest, with winner beingawarded a new luxury home in BahriaTown, Islamabad. The Jazz SMS Khazanahas been one of the most heavily partici-pated SMS campaigns in Pakistan; withthis being the seventh version of this verypopular trivia based SMS competition,which tests the participants’ generalknowledge. PRESS RELEASE

8th Plastic Printing ExhibitionLAHORE: Amidst very much anticipation,three days 8th International Plastic Print-ing and Packaging Industry & InternationalFood Equipment & Technology Exhibitionwas inaugurated here at Expo Center La-hore. The exhibition was organized byFAKT Exhibition Private Limited on Satur-day, 17 March 2012. 3P(Plas Print Pack)and Food-Technology was witnessed bymore than 450 companies from around 50different countries of the world with an aimto forge new as well as stronger business al-liances between Pakistan and the rest of theworld through an interactive showcase ofcutting-edge tools and equipment, synergyof allied services for more networking op-portunities and, most importantly, qualityattendance of trade visitors from interna-tional and regional countries. PRESS RELEASE

PTCL Smart TV gains 30 per centincrease in subscriber baseISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunica-tion Company Limited (PTCL) has achieveda 30 per cent increase in the subscriber baseof its IPTV service also known as Smart TV.This remarkable increase has been a resultof PTCL Smart TV’s aggressive content ac-quisition strategy, which led to swift contentenrichment as well as higher focus on im-proved quality of service and enhanced cus-tomer care. PTCL Smart TV has recentlyadded PTV’s hit dramas such as Fifty Fifty,Aangan Teraah, Aahat, and Dhoop Kinary toits VoD service. In addition, a wide range ofHollywood movies, children’s content andBollywood movies have also been added tothis service. PRESS RELEASE

Undersupply of gas mars businessperformance by ICI Pakistan LtdKARAcHI: The Board of Directors of ICIPakistan Limited is pleased to announcethe financial results for the year ended De-cember 31, 2011. The company posted netsales income of PKR 40.11 billion which is14% higher than last year. However, oper-ating results were dragged down by 23% al-most entirely due to unavailability of gas tothe Soda Ash and Polyester plants and theresultant incremental expenditure on ex-pensive alternate fuel amounting to overPKR 825 million. PRESS RELEASE

Ketchum named ‘PR Agency of the Year’KARAcHI: Global public relationsagency Ketchum was honoured as the 2012PR Agency of the Year at the 13th-annualPRWeek Awards held in New York. In ad-dition to the top honour, the agency wasalso named as the Large PR Agency of theYear and received two awards and three ho-nourable mentions for its work on behalf ofits clients. Ketchum, represented by CMC

as its exclusive affiliate in Pakistan, is aleading global communications firm withoperations in more than 70 countriesacross six continents. PRESS RELEASE

Inauguration of Bahria Town Riding Facility at Bahria Paradise

RAWALPINDI: Inauguration ceremonyof Bahria Town riding club was held atBahria Paradise, Bahria Town Islamabadon 14th March, 2012. Malik Riaz Hussain,Chairman Bahria Town was the chief guestat the occasion. Bahria Town Riding Club isa state of the art club offering world classriding facilities, exclusively to the distin-guished residents, employees and studentsof Bahria Town. This is the facility of itskind in the twin cities. Vice Chief ExecutiveBahria Town Cdre (Rtd.) M.Ilyas and alarge number of notable guests were alsopresent at the venue. PRESS RELEASE

Global brand leader OMD NewYork visits PakistanISLAMABAD: oMD Worldwide, the in-ternational leader in Media Planning &Buying has set up its operations in Pak-istan, to expand its territorial strength inSouth Asia. oMD, an omnicom GroupCompany, manages 38 out of 100 of themost exciting Global Brands across 80countries and is the leading award winneras the Most Creative Agency in the World.Andrew Lazzaro, Global Brand Leader foroMD Worldwide visited Pakistan recentlyto reiterate oMD’s commitment to theSouth Asia region. PRESS RELEASE

MCB, Fundamo and Access Grouplook beyond technology LAHORE: As the mobile financial servicescommunity of Pakistan approachesthe5thInternational Mobile Commerce Con-ference, pioneers MCB Bank, Fundamo, aVisa company, and Access Group have urgedindustry practitioners to look beyond tech-nology to ensure the Pakistani market con-tinues to lead the world. Pakistan’s strongregulatory support for branchless banking,as well as the disparity between the numberof bank accounts (22%) and mobile phoneusers (65%) in the country created a ‘perfectstorm’ for the delivery of mobile financialservices*. With more than 800,000 mobilemoney subscribers (State Bank of Pakistan,2012), Pakistan offers a global case study forsuccess. PRESS RELEASE

TCS launches Seat Belt CampaignKARAcHI: TCS Pakistan has recentlylaunched a public service campaign to pro-mote road safety all over the country. Thismessage is carried on the rear doors of theTCS delivery vehicles that the company de-ploys nationwide. The purpose of the driveis to encourage the use of seat belts whiledriving. Speaking about the initiative, SaqibHamdani, CEo, TCS Pakistan, said, “Weare a socially conscious company and be-lieve that road safety is essential for all roadusers. PRESS RELEASE

news

Friday, 16 March, 2012

03

CORPORATE CORNER

KARACHI: Prize distribution ceremony of SalesPromotion Scheme “Sawari Jeet Ki” was held onMarch 09, 2012 at PC Lahore. Managing DirectorPak Suzuki Mr Hirofumi Nagao distributed theprizes to lucky winners who purchased SuzukiMotorcycles. PRESS RELEASE

Bulls lift index up 90pts on strong valuations

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

THURSDAY saw the bulls domi-nating Karachi stocks marketwith the benchmark, KSE 100-share index, gaining 90.40

points. “(The) stocks closed bullish led byoil, cements and financial services onstrong valuations,” said Ahsan Mehanti ofArif Habib Investments. The day saw theindex closing up by 0.68 percent at13,451.07 points against 13,360.67 pointsof Wednesday. Mehanti said volatility waswitnessed in KSE 100 index on rising po-litical noise and institutional profit-taking.The trading volumes at the ready-counterwere recorded lower at 336.91 million

shares against 347.20 million shares of theprevious day. The trading value too lowerto Rs 5.712 billion compared to Rs 5.830billion of the previous session. The intra-day high and low, respectively, stood at13,458.24 and 13,278.44 points. The ana-lyst Mehanti said trading volumes at theExchange remained higher on renewedforeign interest, easing circular debt con-cerns in power sector after US offer forhelp to overcome energy crises in thecountry. The market capitalization mod-estly grew to Rs 3.488 trillion from Rs3.467 trillion a day earlier. of the total 386traded scrips, 195 gained, 134 lost and 57finished as unchanged. The analyst saidaccumulation continued in stocks lead bysecond and third tier scrips ahead of re-

formed CGT regime implementation fromApril 1, higher global commodities andstocks played a catalyst role in bullish sen-timents post major earning announce-ments at KSE. The free-float KSE-30 indexalso gained 12.39 points to close at11,939.49 points against the previous11,927.10 points or 0.10 percent. While theKMI 30-index gained 53.19 points or 0.23per cent to finish the day at 23,062.60.Bank of Punjab was the day’s volumeleader counting its traded shares at 26.227million with the opening and closing rates,respectively, standing at Rs 9.09 and Rs9.55. on the future market, the turnoverincreased by over 2 million shares to14.406 million against 12.663 millionshares of Wednesday.

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