01

BUSINESS

BFriday, 26 April, 2013

Bilateral trade between Pakistan and Egypt

should be increased up to $1billion in the coming

years. — ICCI President Zafar Bakhtawari

Pakistan faces greateconomic challenges,immediate stepsneeded for stability

WASHINGTON: International

Monetary Fund (IMF) said Pakistan

faces difficult economic challenges and

the authorities need to begin taking

necessary actions to stabilize the

economy and lay groundwork for

future growth. Responding to a

question, IMF Mission Chief Jeffrey

Franks said on Wednesday that the IMF

had had fruitful discussions with the

Pakistan delegation led by Finance

Adviser to the prime minister Dr

Shahid Amjad Chaudhry and State

Bank of Pakisrab (SBP) Governor

Yaseen Anwar during their recent IMF

and World Bank ‘spring meetings’.

Jeffrey however said IMF has not

received a formal request from

Pakistan for a programme to extend

loan to the country. INP

PM gives policyguidelines forbudget preparation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Mir

Hazar Khan Khoso conveyed important

guidelines to the Ministry of Finance

relating to preparation of the budget for

the next financial year. In his directives,

he asked the Ministry of Finance to

exercise extreme care in preparation of

the next budget and ensure it does not

surpass reasonable limits. The PM

asked the ministry to refrain from an

over-sized budget, rooting-out

extravagant, lavish and wasteful

expenditures. Khoso further directed

that the welfare of the masses be given

priority and the general public not be

subjected to undue burden in the

budget. The premier has asked for a

judicious utilisation of public money. NNI

ISLAMABAD

APP

Gold imports during the first nine monthsof the current fiscal year surged by 33.49percent as against the same period last year.

According to data revealed by PakistanBureau of Statistics (PBS), during the pe-riod under review, 2,942 kilogrammes (kg)of the yellow metal worth $159.172 mil-lion was imported as compared to importsof 2,236 kg valuing $119.239 million dur-ing same period of last year (2011-12).

On a month-on-month basis, gold im-ports in March 2013 registered a decreaseof 30.42 percent and 23.24 percent, com-

pared to imports in March 2012 and Feb-ruary 2013 respectively.

Gold imports in March 2013 stood at$15.531 million against imports of $22.322million in March 2012 and $20.251 millionin February 2013 respectively.

The overall imports of metal groupregistered an increase of 18.11 percent dur-ing July-March (2012-13) against the sameperiod last year. Metal imports during theperiod under review were recorded at$2.402 billion against imports of $2.033billion during the same period last year.

On a month-on-month basis, the metalgroup imports in March 2013 surged by52.26 percent and 25.35 percent, compared

to imports in March, 2012 and February,2013 respectively. Imports of metals in-creased from $210.85 in March, 2012 and$256.112 in February, 2013 to $321.046 inMarch, 2013. Imports of iron and steel scrapregistered a growth of 19.65 percent duringJuly-March (2012-13) as compared to theimports during July-March (2011-12).

Iron and steel scrap imports into thecountry were recorded at $494.276 millionduring the first nine months of the currentfiscal year against imports of $413.11 mil-lion the corresponding period last year.

Imports of iron and steel edged up by13.72 percent, growing from $986.096 mil-lion to $1.121 billion while imports of alu-

minium, wrought and worked, also in-creased by 71.97 percent, going up from$93.299 million to $160.449 million.

Imports of all other metal and articleswere recorded at $466.802 millionduring the period under reviewagainst the imports of$422.13 million lastyear, posting agrowth of1 0 . 5 8percent.

GOLD IMPORTS INCREASE BY 33.49%

Gas shortage to fertilizer sectormay cost $450m to exchequer

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

FERTIlISER Manufacturers Pak-istan Advisory Council (FMPAC)has warned that if uninterruptedgas supply to all domestic fertil-izer plants; especially the SNGPl-

based four plants that faced more than 300days of gas curtailment in 2012, is not re-stored, the country would have to importaround one million tonnes of urea in 2013which can cost the national exchequer $450 million dollars in addition to a subsidyof Rs 21 billion to equalise the importedurea price to domestic prices.

Massive losses in urea production dueto excessive gas curtailment in the past 3years has resulted in the governmentspending precious foreign exchangeworth $ 1.5 billion and granting a subsidyof around Rs 80 billion on imports of 3.4million tonnes.

Pakistan is self-sufficient in urea pro-duction and with consistent gas supply toproduction plants, the government can en-sure timely availability of this key inputto farmers at economical rates and wouldalso reduce the government’s fiscaldeficits and subsidy expenditures.

FMPAC Executive Director ShahabKhawaja said given the deplorable fiscalstate of the economy, Pakistan cannot af-ford to spend hundreds of millions of dol-

lars on a commodity that it is fully self-sufficient in to the point it can even exportsurplus production to earn the muchneeded foreign exchange for the country.

He said SNGPl dependant fertilizerplants, that include Pakarab, DH Fertiliz-ers, Agritech and Engro’s massive newplant, faced around 90% gas curtailmentin 2012 that significantly brought downurea production- to 4.2 million tonnesagainst 4.8 million tonnes produced in2011. Pakistan currently has the capacityto produce 6.9 million tonnes of urea. Hesaid SNGPl-based fertilizer plants werecompletely shut for 4 months. He said itwas hoped that following winters, gas sup-

ply would be restored but currently only 2of these plants are operating at 75% capac-ity with two days a week supply only.

He said the fertilizer sector is notmerely burning gas to run plants but offersmaximum value addition by convertingraw gas into precious urea grains that arevital to Pakistan’s agricultural sector. Hesaid by not producing urea locally we arehurting the interests of poor farmers, whoensure food security to 190 million peopleof the country. He added that this also im-plies that Pakistan has to import ureawhich is the most expensive form of en-ergy on an MMBTU basis, costing around$23 per MMBTU, whereas RFO and

lNG would cost 30 to 50% less than ureaon an MMBTU basis.

He said that for the economy of Pak-istan to prosper, it is important for agricul-tural yields to go up which is onlypossible through use of fertilizers in theright quantity and at the right time. Thedecline in urea production poses a severethreat to the crop yield, which will resultin the country missing its yield and exporttargets, he said further. Khwaja added thatall these factors can aggravate inflation inthe country which is already higher ascompared to other regional countries andalso poses a threat the food security ofover 190 million people.

FMPAC WARNS OF UREA IMPORT IF GAS IS NOT RESTORED TOFERTILIZER PLANTS

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) posted a profit of Rs 75.7billion (EPS Rs17.6) in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2013 (9MFY13),which shows a growth of 9 percent from Rs 69.2 billion (EPS Rs16.1) compared tothe same period last year. “The profit fell well short of market consensus,” saidNauman Khan of Topline Research. The corporate result is also accompanied byan interim cash dividend of Rs1.7 per share, while the company has alreadyannounced a cash dividend of Rs 3.75 per share, the analyst said. “The growth inearnings primarily stems from 19 percent improvement in the company’s topline toRs 169 billion while healthy increase of 58 percent in other income to Rs 10.7billion also supported the bottomline,” he viewed. Khan said higher oil and gasproduction was the major propeller of the topline, while 8 percent average rupeedepreciation also affected it. However, the rise was partially diluted by 3-foldsincrease in exploration cost to Rs 8.9 billion in 9MFY13. In 3QFY13, thecompany posted an earning of Rs 6.15 per share which is up 12 percent frompreceding quarter but is down 4 percent from Rs 6.43 in the same quarter last year.Compared to 3QFY12, the company’s topline rose by 10 percent but a 4 timesincrease in exploration cost proved to be a drag on the company’s bottomline.

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BUSINESSFriday, 26 April, 2013

PTCL introducesnew EVO TabKARACHI: Pakistan Telecommunication Company

limited (PTCL) has introduced a new EVO Tab with

enhanced and upgraded features for a rich user

experience. PTCL EVO Tab comes with an upgraded

Android 4.0 Ice cream Sandwich operating system

and Dual Core 1.2 GHz processor, offering great

value for money and enabling customers to get the

most out of their multimedia content whilst on the

go. Omer Khalid, PTCL Executive Vice President

(EVP) Wireless Services, commented at the launch,

“At PTCL, we believe in introducing technologically

advanced products and services to meet the ever

increasing demands of our customers. The new

EVO Tab is another first by the company, enhancing

the way we create value for our existing customer

base and also serves as a platform for reaching out

to new audiences.” The new device offers High

Definition touch screen, HD quality video playback,

4GB internal memory and dual cameras. The front

camera offers high quality video conferencing

options through Skype, and rear auto focus 5.0 MP

cameras is for still photography and videography.

The newly launched Tab also includes 3 months of

free unlimited internet. The Tab supports 3GEvDO

and Wi-Fi for un-interrupted ‘On-the-Go’

connectivity, CDMA 1X for voice and SMS, and has

a high Capacity Battery for up to 6 hours usage and

20 hours standby. PTCL EVO Tabs also offer a wide

range of built-in and downloadable applications for

an enhanced customer experience. PRESS RELEASE

Etihad Airways to invest $379m for stake in Jet AirwaysKARACHI: Etihad Airways of the United Arab

Emirates and Jet Airways of India today announced

that the UAE national carrier has agreed to

subscribe for 27,263,372 new shares in Jet Airways

at a price of INR754.74 per share. The value of this

equity investment is US$379 million and will result

in Etihad Airways holding 24 per cent of the

enlarged share capital of Jet Airways. Etihad

Airways’ wider overall commitment to Jet Airways

includes the injection of US$220 million to create

and strengthen a wide-ranging partnership between

the two carriers. As part of this Etihad Airways paid

US$70 million to purchase Jet Airways’ three pairs

of Heathrow slots through the sale and lease back

agreement announced on 27 February 2013. Jet

Airways continues to operate flights to London

utilising these slots. PRESS RELEASE

Samba Bank Ltd appointsnew chairman and BoDsKARACHI: The Board of Directors of Samba Bank

Limited (SBL), in its recently held meeting,

announced the appointment of Dr Shujaat Nadeem

as the new Chairman of the Board of SBL. Dr

Shujaat Nadeem has been a nominee director of

Samba Financial Group (SFG), Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia, on the Board of SBL since 2007. Prior to

joining SFG in 2003 as General Manager, Group

Treasurer, he had served with Citigroup for 10

years and held key positions in London and New

York as well. He has completed his Ph.D from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.

In addition, SBL Board has been further

strengthened with the appointment of two newly

elected directors namely, Mr. Antoine Mojabber and

Mr. Medhat Fareed Abbas Tawfik, who are also

nominee directors of SFG. Mr. Mojabber has more

than 32 years of corporate and retail banking

experience and is presently Group Head, Corporate

Banking, Samba Financial Group, Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia. Mr. Tawfik has more than 22 years of

operations, compliance and audit risk review

experience with Samba Financial Group, Kingdom

of Saudi Arabia and is presently working as the

Chief Internal Auditor. PRESS RELEASE

Getz Pharma presents latest clinicaldata on UnipegLAHORE: Getz Pharma presented latest clinical data

on Unipeg (Pegylated Interferon) at the International

Conference on Viral Hepatitis (ICVH) 2013 held

recently at New York, USA. This is the first time ever

that a Pakistan manufactured biologic product’s

clinical trial was accepted and presented at the

prestigious ICVH and having the dual distinction of

being presented earlier at EASL (European Association

of Liver Diseases) conference 2012. The World famous

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York

and the International Association of Providers of AIDS

Care (IAPAC) jointly sponsored The International

Conference on Viral Hepatitis 2013. It was held at the

New York Academy of Medicine in New York City from

April 24-26, 2013. The conference was co-chaired by

Professor Douglas T. Dieterich, MD (Icahn School of

Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA) and

Professor Mark R. Nelson, MD (Chelsea & Westminster

Hospital, London, England). PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

Pakistan most viable economic

corridor of South Asia. —Ghalib Iqbal,

Pakistan’s ambassador to France

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERNestle Pak. XD 6200.00 6510.00 6200.00 6510.00 310.00 3,460Unilever Food XD 4830.00 5000.00 4900.00 5000.00 170.00 220Rafhan Maize 3850.00 4000.00 4000.00 4000.00 150.00 40Bata (Pak) XD 1890.00 1984.50 1984.00 1984.50 94.50 450Wyeth Pak Ltd XD 1346.00 1413.30 1353.00 1413.30 67.30 2,250

Major LosersColgate Palmolive 2000.00 1950.00 1950.00 1950.00 -50.00 100Siemens Pakistan 609.00 603.00 600.03 602.00 -7.00 700Clariant PaK. 294.05 295.90 289.00 290.03 -4.02 8,700Clover Pakistan 73.98 74.50 70.50 70.50 -3.48 2,500Jubile Life Ins.XD 92.44 89.01 89.01 89.01 -3.43 500

Volume Leaders

Maple Leaf Cement 18.85 19.68 18.96 19.36 0.51 26,276,000TRG Pakistan Ltd. 9.30 10.30 9.36 10.30 1.00 25,904,500Fauji Cement 8.75 8.95 8.68 8.82 0.07 13,877,000NIB Bank Limited 2.18 2.41 2.20 2.29 0.11 10,850,500Jah.Sidd. Co.XD 12.34 12.85 12.38 12.43 0.09 10,168,500

Interbank RatesUSD PKR 98.4556GBP PKR 151.8678JPY PKR 0.9926EURO PKR 128.5732

ForexBUY SELL

UK Pound Sterling 152 153Euro 128.85 129.35Australian Dollar 102.35 103.15US Dollar 99.8 100.1Canadian Dollar 97 98China Yuan 15.25 15.75Japanese Yen 1.003 1.15Saudi Riyal 26.05 26.35UAE Dirham 27.05 27.25

SECP to promote CSRawareness in partnershipwith stakeholders

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

THE Securities and Exchange Commissionof Pakistan (SECP) organised a meetingwith key stakeholders to take forth the cor-porate social responsibility (CSR) agendaat the SECP head office in Islamabad.

In his opening remarks, SECP CommissionerTahir Mahmood stressed the need for a nationalagenda on corporate responsibility and social invest-ment and said the regulator would encourage a na-tional, multi-stakeholder effort to boostcompetitiveness through ethical conduct.

Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance CEOFuad Hashmi volunteered to take the lead in partner-ship with Responsible Business Institute (RBI) forcreating awareness regarding CSR in Pakistan. Otherparticipants expressed agreed to the proposal. Theparticipants were also of the view that the frameworkfor CSR reporting and standards for assurance shouldbe developed by ICAP. Besides Tahir Mahmood andZafar Abdullah, Commissioners of SECP, eminentprofessionals present in the meeting included Insti-tute of Business Administration (IBA) Dean & Di-

rector Dr Ishrat Hussain, Founder and Director of Re-sponsible Business Initiative (RBI) Ambreen Wa-heed, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan(ICAP) President Ahmed Saeed, Pakistan Poverty Al-leviation Fund CEO Qazi Azmat Isa and PakistanBusiness Council CEO Kamran Y Mirza.

The participants appreciated efforts of SECP toencourage companies to adopt responsible businesspractices. CSR Voluntary Guidelines, 2013 were alsolauded as a step in the right direction. The participantsstressed that the concept and understanding of CSR isstill infant in Pakistan. While companies are endeav-ouring to incorporate meaningful social responsibilityinitiatives in their business practices, there is a needto create awareness about the benefits of CSR. Strat-egy for creating awareness will include seminars andcampaign drives using media and other channels ofcommunication. Further, it was suggested that owingto CSR being a voluntary activity in nature, consul-tative and corroborative approach shall be fruitfulin promoting the agenda. Tahir Mahmood appreci-ated the dedication of the attending experts in en-suring that a key national priority was beingaddressed through a consultative and mutually en-riching collaboration of all key stakeholders.

LAHORE: Purile Oil Chief Executive Officer Mian Naseer Monoo addresses the launch ceremony of

Purile Oil on Thursday. STAFF PhOTO

LAHORE: Bank of Punjab President

Naeemuddin Khan and Food Secretary Azam

Suleman sign an agreement on wheat

procurement facilitation. STAFF PhOTO

LAHORE: Sajjad Hotiana, chief secretary Gilgit

Baltistan, and Saleem Ranjha, Joint Secretary

PM Secretariat, with Prof Dr Zafarullah Khan,

Pro-Rector UCP, during a visit to University of

Central Punjab. PR

Pakistan forex reserves rise slightly to $ 11.938bKARACHI: Pakistan’s overall liquid foreign exchange reserves rose slightly, to $11.938 billion in a week from$11.690 billion last week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Thursday. In a statement, the centralbank said reserves held by the bank stood at $6.817 billion compared with $6.640 billion a week earlier whilereserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.121 billion in the week ending April 19, 2013 compared to $5.050billion a week earlier. NNI

Halal market

offers $1.3tr export

potential: minister

KARACHI

PRESS RELEASE

Halal export market offers $1.3 billionpotential and EPZA should submit adetailed proposal on priority basis forsetting up of halal export processingzones in Pakistan. “It is ironic to notethat most of the halal product demand isfulfilled by non-Muslim countries,whereas Muslim countries have a meagershare in this very fast growing market,”Federal Minister Industries andProduction Shahzada Ahsan AshrafShaikh said during a meeting with ExportProcessing Zone Authority ChairmanSaadat S Cheema. The minister said thatthe demand of halal products in thewestern countries is mainly fulfilled byUSA, Brazil, Canada, Australia, NewZealand and France. As far as the easterncountries are concerned, Thailand is thebiggest supplier of halal certifiedproducts followed by Philippines,Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore andIndia, he added.

Cement dispatches down by 9 percent in April KARACHI: Cement dispatches declined by 9 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis to 2.32million tonnes in April, 2013 as suggested by extrapolated figures of up till 22nd April henceforthreferred to as April-13 dispatches. Despite the decline, dispatches registered in April-13, were stillabove the monthly average of 2.04million tonnes in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2013(9MFY13). “The monthly decline in local dispatches is attributable to seasonal variation as has beenwitnessed in the past,” said the analysts at InvestCap Research. The exports have contributed 24% tototal dispatches, posting a decline of 7% MoM, leveling at 713,000 tonnes. Total dispatches during10MFY13 reached 27.6 million tonnes, registering a modest growth of 3% year-on-year (YoY).Whereas, in the north region, the total dispatches stepped up by 6% YoY to 16.92 million tonnes.Dispatches in the south improved by 2%, YoY, to 3.77million tonnes. STAFF REPORT

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