Hafeez stresses accelerating collectionof tax revenue

ISLAM-

ABAD: Fi-nanceMinisterAbdul HafeezShaikh hasstressed theneed for ac-celeratingcollection oftax revenueto achieve the

revenue target. Presiding over a meeting ofTax Reforms Coordination Group in Islam-abad on Wednesday‚ he hoped that FederalBoard of Revenue will achieve the tax col-lection target. The meeting also discussedvarious proposals to facilitate business‚ re-duce cost of doing business‚ avoid eco-nomic burden‚ harmonise tax laws andpromote industry. nni

FBR detects Rs 1.8b fake refund claims in 2013, NA toldISLAMABAD: State Minister for Fi-nance and Revenue Saleem H Mandviwallaon Wednesday informed the National As-sembly that Federal Board of Revenue(FBR) has detected 81 cases worth Rs 1.8billion of fake refund claims in 2013. Re-plying to a Calling Attention Notice raisedby Shireen Arshad, Nisar Tanveer and oth-ers regarding adjustment of three billionrupees against input by the FBR on fake in-voices to bogus individuals and companies,he said that investigation were being car-ried out to thoroughly probe the issue be-sides black listing companies involved inthe scam. The minister said that a latestmodern computerized system was beinginstalled across the country to stop bogusrefund cases and it would be fully func-tional by March. To a question, he saidFIRs have been registered and their out-come would be placed before the Houseafter investigation. app

Stocks close higher,rupee steady, o/nrate risesKARACHI: The Karachi stock marketclosed higher on Wednesday, with stocks incement companies leading the way aheadof company results. The Karachi Stock Ex-change’s (KSE) benchmark 100-shareindex ended 0.09 percent, or 14.58 points,higher at 16,908.67. Fauji Cement rose0.81 percent to 7.45 rupees per share. Inthe currency market, the Pakistani rupeeended almost steady at 97.68/97.73 againstthe dollar, compared to Tuesday’s close of97.70/97.74. Overnight rates in the moneymarket ended at 9 percent compared toTuesday’s close of 8.50 percent. Staff RepoRt

Thursday, 24 January, 2013

ISLAMABAD

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TExTILE group exportsfrom the country duringthe first two quarters ofcurrent financial yearposted a positive growth

of 8.55 percent as different textileproducts worth US $ 6.4 billion wereexported against US $ 5.9 billion in thesame period last year.

According to latest figures re-leased by the Pakistan Bureau of Sta-tistics (PBS), exports of cotton yarnduring the period from July-Decem-ber 2012 grew by 39.0 percent ascompared to the same period lastyear. During the period under review,the country earned US $ 1.09 billionby exporting about 366,108 metricton cotton yarn which was recorded at2,417,738 metric ton worth US $0.7849 billion in the first 6 months ofthe last financial year.

Meanwhile, the exports of cottoncloth from the country increased by12.08 percent and about 912,134 thou-sand SQM cotton cloth worth US$1.295 billion was exported as com-pared 928,693 thousand SQM cottoncloth worth US $ 1.156 billion in thesame period last year, it added.

During the period from July-De-

cember 2012 about 8,076 metric tonsof yarn other than cotton yarn was ex-ported which was up by 53.94 percentagainst the exports of the period fromJuly-December 2011.

The country added US $ 26.44 mil-lion by exporting yarn other than cot-

ton which was recorded at US$ 17.176million in the same period of last fi-nancial year, the data revealed.

Other textile products which regis-tered positive growth in their exportsincluded knitwear by 0.19 percent,towels by 12.77 percent while bed wear

exports decreased by 7.16 percent, thedata added. The textile group productsexports which went down during thefirst six months of current financialyear included raw cotton, by 51.46 per-cent, and cotton carded or combed, by85.13 percent, it added.

ISLAMABAD

nni

Future relations between Pakistan andMauritius should be based on market ac-cess and trade, especially in context ofMauritius acting as a gateway to Africanmarkets for Pakistani products said HighCommissioner of Mauritius MuhammadRashad Daureeawo during a meetingwith Islamabad Chamber of Commerce &Industry (ICCI) President ZafarBakhtawari at Chamber House.

Daureeawo said that Mauritius has apopulation of only 1.5 million but attractsaround 1million tourists annually due toa peaceful and good environment. TheHigh Commissioner also called for ex-change of business delegations to in-

crease bilateral trade and disseminationof trade-related information.

High Commissioner said that legalframework for resolution of trade-relateddisputes has been very strong in Mauri-tius that provides a visible advantage toforeign businessmen. He said Mauritiustopped World Bank’s ease of doing busi-ness ranking because the tax regime hasbeen very soft and encouraging.

He said Mauritius is ranked high interms of competitiveness, investment cli-mate, governance and a free economy,adding that the government of Mauritiusprovides free education to its citizensfrom pre-primary to tertiary levels whichmakes Mauritius a regional knowledgehub and a centre for higher learning andexcellence.

In his welcome address, Bakhtawarilauded the dynamic role of MauritianHigh Commissioner in strengtheningPakistan-Mauritius bilateral relationsand said that geographically Mauritius isfar from Pakistan but culturally and so-cially both countries have very strong tiesas majority of its citizens migrated fromthe subcontinent.

He said both countries were enjoyinggood relations but there was still morethat needed to be done and observed thattrade should not be restricted to a fewsubjects as current volume of trade wasmuch below its potential.

Bakhtawari was of the view that Mau-ritius was turning into a financial andtrade hub for emerging Africa, therefore,we could use it to make inroads in African

market as Africa is very rich in raw mate-rials and many countries are already try-ing to benefit from it.

The ICCI President said that therewas a huge scope for expansion in tradeand the private sector has the responsi-

bility to be a front-runner in creating newavenues of establishing trade and invest-ment relations between Pakistan andMauritius, adding that Pakistani goodshad the potential to win a respectableplace in Mauritius’ market.

Mauritius offers huge opportunities to Pakistani entrepreneurs: HC

PAC for recovery ofTA/DA from formercommerce minister

ISLAMABAD

online

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) issued di-rectives for recovery of millions of rupees paidto former commerce minister Haroon Akhtarand officers of commerce ministry illegally onaccount of TA/DA. PAC met on Wednesdayunder its chairman Gondal in ParliamentHouse to review the audit observations in re-spect of accounts of ministries of inter-provin-cial coordination, defence and commerce.Commerce secretary told the committee thatno law was in place to run the affairs of ExportMarket Development Fund (EMDF). Due tolack of proper legislation, financial irregulari-ties are rampant in the ministry, he said. Thecommittee was told that over 20 million ru-pees were paid illegally to former commerceminister, commerce secretary and other offi-cers of the ministry from Export Market De-velopment Fund (EMDF) in advance asTA/DA in connection with their foreign trips.2500 Euros were paid to a cameraman of astate run TV channel, the committee was in-formed. The committee directed that the saidamounts be recovered from the concernedpersons and the name of the persons foundresponsible be placed on the website besidesinitiating action against them.

KARACHI

Staff RepoRt

Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan is celebratingover 60 successful years in Pakistan. Onthis occasion, the company has unveiledplans for another big investment in theform of a new manufacturing facility inKarachi. Speaking at the ground breakingceremony of the new factory, Mr Salva-tore Caizzone, Executive Vice PresidentReckitt Benckiser Group said “Our Com-pany’s vision is a world where people arehealthier and live better. This investmentdecision reaffirms our commitment toproviding Pakistani consumers healthierlives and happier homes.”

Mr Caizzone said RB Pakistan isgoing to set up a manufacturing facil-ity in Karachi, regardless of the per-sistent energy crisis in the country.“Decisions like these are not taken forthe short term. We’re investing heavilyin Pakistan because we have a positiveoutlook on this country,” he said. “Weexpect that this factory will createmore jobs and will further cement RBPakistan’s standing as a manufactur-ing and export hub within the RBworld,” Mr Caizzone said.

Reckitt Benckiser’s existing Mau-ripur plant already exports products toa number of countries around the worldin the Middle East, Far East, Africa,Latin America, European Union andAustralia. “We have a very positive out-look for the country and Pakistan re-mains a very important market forReckitt Benckiser. Pakistan is theworld’s sixth largest nation, has a grow-ing population that is very young and a

middle class that is visibly emergingand has more spending power todaythan it did five years ago”, Mr Caizzonecommented.

He acknowledged that Pakistanisare passionate, driven and talented in-dividuals who are able to outperform inany challenging environment. There-fore, Pakistan is a major export hub oftalent in RB World and every year 8 to10 employees are exported to variousmarkets globally. Every year RB con-tributes over Rs.1.7billion to the excheq-uer in the form of Customs Duty, SalesTax, Federal Excise and other relatedtaxes. It has a factory in Karachi and re-gional offices across Pakistan and pro-vides employment to about 5000families via its large sales and distribu-tion network.

RB Pakistan is a consumer goodscompany engaged in the manufacturingand marketing of leading brands likeDettol, Mortein, Veet, Harpic, Strepsils,Gaviscon, Cherry Blossom, Disprin andDurex. It is a subsidiary of ReckittBenckiser Group Plc, a global consumergoods leader in Health, Hygiene andHome, having operations in over 60countries and headquartered in the UK.

Reckitt Benckiser celebrates60 successful years in Pakistan

Textile group exports increase by8.55 percent in six months

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BusinessThursday, 24 January, 2013

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERNestle Pakistan Ltd. 4600.00 4830.00 4750.00 4776.25 176.25 160UniLever Pak 9900.00 9949.99 9949.99 9949.99 49.99 20Bata (Pak) 1285.00 1347.90 1280.00 1313.95 28.95 100MithchellsFruit 325.50 341.77 340.00 341.77 16.27 1,200Gatron Ind. 168.26 176.67 168.26 176.67 8.41 3,500

Major LosersColgate Palmolive 1498.75 1424.00 1424.00 1424.00 -74.75 50Biafo Industries 85.00 81.00 80.75 81.00 -4.00 2,500IGI Insurance 102.19 103.85 98.00 98.71 -3.48 22,000Agriautos Indust 85.49 85.49 81.22 82.43 -3.06 8,500Millat Tractors Ltd. 593.00 593.99 589.02 590.16 -2.84 7,800

Volume Leaders

Fauji Cement 7.39 7.59 7.28 7.48 0.09 35,118,000Maple Leaf Cement 16.22 17.07 15.91 16.86 0.64 28,101,500Jah.Sidd. Co. 15.69 16.48 15.62 16.34 0.65 21,161,000Telecard Limited 2.43 2.95 2.42 2.80 0.37 14,020,500Engro Corporation 88.54 92.74 88.41 90.37 1.83 11,239,200

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 97.7123UK Pound 154.5515Japanese Yen 1.1023Euro 129.9671

Dollar EastBUY SELL

US Dollar 98.40 99.10 Euro 129.73 131.83 Great Britain Pound 154.65 157.11 Japanese Yen 1.0971 1.1139 Canadian Dollar 97.81 100.02 Hong Kong Dollar 12.44 12.71 UAE Dirham 26.60 26.98 Saudi Riyal 26.10 26.42

02

Tetra Pak Lahore achieves world class

manufacturing in 2 years

LAHORE: Tetra Pak, the world’s leading food processingand packaging company, has awarded its Lahore factory inSundar Industrial Estate the Factory of the Year award inrecognition of its achievement in operational efficiency, envi-ronment and safety performance within two years since itcommenced operation. “We created a stake in the ground bymaking this major investment of Rs 10.92 billion (92 millionEuros) in Pakistan, and the hard work and dedication of ourlocal people have proved us right. By pursuing continuousimprovement in operation, our factory has outperformed pre-vious benchmarks in world class performance and productiv-ity. I am confident that our team will build upon this successand continue to exceed the expectations of our valuable cus-tomers,” remarked Stefan Johansson, Managing DirectorTetra Pak Pakistan. “I am pleased to be a part of the winningteam and I believe, passion of our people and mental forti-tude is the driving force behind our success in such a shortspan of time,” remarks Tahir Hafeez, Factory Director. pR

JWT, EPOS sign agreement

for shopping portal

KARACHI: JWT Pakistan and EPOS, a division of Pakistanifashion retailer Labels, have signed an agreement establish-ing an e-commerce shopping portal named easestore.com.This partnership marks the first time an advertising agencyhas gone into e-commerce in Pakistan, and marks the emer-gence of JWT as a major player in the digital space. EPOS’sparent company, Labels, is one of the larger players in the do-mestic e-commerce industry, and JWT Pakistan has a clientbase that covers almost every consumer goods category.JWT clients will be offered priority access to easestore.com asa preferred online retail channel. More than 29 million peo-ple in Pakistan now access the Internet, which representsabout 15% of the population. While Internet penetration isstarting to take off, the country’s e-commerce sector is still inits infancy, giving easestore.com an early mover advantage.The partnership agreement was signed last week by LabelsCEO Zahir Rahimtoola and JWT Pakistan, CEO MansoorKarim Shaikh. JWT Pakistan has been investing heavily indigital assets over the last year. The company set up JWT Fu-sion, a digital marketing unit, in the last quarter of 2012.That unit will spearhead digital strategies and execution forthe e-commerce venture, easestore.com, within JWT. JWTalso took a stake in Converge Technologies, Pakistan’s lead-ing digital advertising company, in March 2012. “We believe2013 is the year for digital in Pakistan, and JWT is poised tobring our clients a full range of digital services from brandingto e-commerce,” said Karim. pR

CORPORATE CORNER

SINGAPORE

agencieS

OIL prices dipped in Asian tradeon Wednesday as investorslocked in profits from recentgains.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crudefor delivery in March, was down 16 cents to$96.52 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude forMarch delivery shed 20 cents to $112.22.

Prices had ended higher in overnight tradeson signs of stronger economic growth in Eu-rope and fresh economic stimulus measures an-nounced by the Japanese central bank.

Over the longer term, oil is likely to be sup-ported by encouraging news from Europe, theUS and Japan, analysts said. A survey pub-lished on Tuesday showed that German in-vestor sentiment struck the highest levels sincethe start of the eurozone debt crisis in 2010 asthe outlook for Europe’s top economy contin-ues to brighten.

The Bank of Japan, under pressure fromJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to devaluethe Yen, adopted a 2 percent inflation targetand announced plans to begin open-endedasset purchases next year in a bid to kick-startthe struggling economy.

In the United States, fears of a politicalgridlock over fiscal issues appear to haveeased. Fiscal difficulties are “still there butthe risks of falling off a cliff are much lowerthan in December,” DBS Research said in amarket commentary.

“Moreover, Republicans appear to be

backing away from a showdown on the debtlimit. Increasingly they view the threat ofshutting down the government-unless theirspending demands are met-as counter-pro-

ductive,” it added. “More and more of the rightwords are being heard and to the extent mar-kets are rebounding from excessive fiscalfears, this is more soothing music”.

ISLAMABAD

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Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) envisagesproduction of 8,800 MW by the year 2030 through nu-clear power reactors. Two nuclear power plants,340MW each, are under construction at Chashma andexpected to be commissioned by 2016 with Chinese as-sistance. Construction of these power plants becamepossible after a long-standing agreement, while threeother nuclear power plants already commissioned in the

country are performing well. According to officialsources, the allocation for PAEC is almost 11% of thetotal federal development budget estimated at Rs 360billion for the financial year 2012-13.

Officials said a major chunk of the PAEC budget hasbeen allocated to two nuclear power plants.

“An amount of Rs 34.6 billion has been set aside forChashma Nuclear Power Plants, C3 and C4. The totalcost of these two projects is Rs 190 billion which will bepartially funded by a Rs 136 billion Chinese loan.

The government has so far spent Rs 62.4 billion onthe mega project having a 660 MW generation capacity.With Rs 34.6 billion additional spending, the govern-ment will be able to complete almost half of the work byJune 2013, an official said. According to an official inMinistry of Science and Technology, government is har-monising the efforts made in the energy sector by dif-ferent ministries, departments and research centres bycreating an ‘Energy Council’ with heads of relevant or-ganisations. The council will be entrusted to advise onpriority areas for Research and Development (R&D)and management of resources and to fill the gaps.

Acquisition of technology for building nuclearpower reactors through R&D, as well as transfer of tech-nology agreements is also in consideration, he said.

PAEC to produce 8,800 MW by 2030

Higher fuel pricesto increase cost ofproduction: FPCCI

LAHORE

app

Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Com-merce and Industry (FPCCI) has stated thatincreased prices of petroleum productswould push cost of production and eventu-ally lead to cuts in export orders. FPCCIPresident Fazal Qadir Sherani told said onWednesday that increase in petroleum prod-ucts’ prices has disturbed the industrial sec-tor, especially the manufacturers, alreadyhard hit by high input costs. In addtion tothis, prolonged gas and power load sheddingas well as a weak rupee against dollar alsohampers work. “All this would hamper in-dustrial production in the country,” saidSherani. SAARC Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Vice President and veteran tradeleader Iftikhar Ali Malik said the industry isalready facing energy crisis,and higher elec-tricity tariffs and prices of petroleum at thiscritical juncture would squeeze liquidity. Hesaid high tariff on power, gas and petroleumhave created another liquidity crunch forimporters of industrial raw material. Hesuggested that keeping in view the businessscenario of the world, high rate of mark upby banks be reduced to single digit to pro-vide solace to the hard hit industry. Hecalled for immediate corrective measures inthe interest of national industry.

COLOMBO

agencieS

The price of a cup of tea could rise after theworld’s biggest producers agreed to join forces toboost profits, a Sri Lankan minister announcedon Wednesday.

After two days of talks in Colombo among SriLanka, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Malawi and

Rwanda, which account for more than 50 per-cent of global production, the nations announcedthe formation of the International Tea Produc-ers’ Forum. Sri Lanka’s Plantations MinisterMahinda Samarasinghe said exporting nationshad been trying to establish a forum for 80 years.“In that context, what we have just achieved is ahistoric land mark in the tea industry,” he said.

Efforts will initially focus on sharing knowl-edge and boosting demand for tea to raise prices,but he suggested more sophisticated-and contro-versial-methods such as supply controls wouldbe raised in the future.

Production quotas “are not part of the objec-tives listed in the constitution, but I am surethese are matters which will be discussed sometime in the future,” he added.

In 1994, Colombo proposed a tea cartel onthe lines of the Organization of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries (OPEC), the crude oil carteldominated by Saudi Arabia, but there was nounity among producing nations at the time.“Price stability is one of the objectives to improvethe livelihoods of tea small holders (farmersowning small plots of tea),” he said. “Another ob-jective is to ensure high quality standards”.

Samarasinghe explained that unity amongproducers was “very important from a variety ofaspects like foreign exchange earnings, incomegeneration, employment opportunities and sev-eral other very useful aspects”.

World’s tea producers brewup a plan to raise prices

Oil prices down in Asian trade

We will end traderelations withPakistan: ACCI

KABUL

nni

The Afghan Chamber of Commerceand Industries (ACCI) said it will endtrade relations with Pakistan followinga long-running dispute over contain-ers stalled at the Karachi port. “Des-pite so much effort, the governmenthas now failed to resolve our problemswith Pakistan and we are forced to endour relations with Pakistan,” ACCIdeputy Khan Jan Alokozay said.Alokozay said traders were losing asmuch as US $600,000 a day over thematter and will encourage Afghantraders to discontinue doing businessvia Karachi. ACCI officials have askedthe Afghan government to preventPakistani-loaded vehicles from enter-ing Afghanistan, even those whosedestination is a different country.

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