profitepaper pakistantoday 05th March, 2013

2
Rs 125.5 billion released under PSDP ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission of Pakistan has so far released Rs125.5 billion under its Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) against the total allocations of Rs 233 billion for the fiscal year 2012-13. Out of the total funds, Rs 65.4 billion has been released for 345 infrastructure development projects and Rs 56.1 billion for 690 social sector projects. According to data of the commission, till March 1st Rs 1.2 billion had been released for 71 other projects and Rs 2.8 billion for the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). The total size of the PSDP for the year 2012-13 is Rs 360 billion, including Rs100 billion foreign aid, which is managed by Economic Affairs Division and Rs 27 billion special programmes, release of which are made by the Cabinet Division or the Finance Division. According to break up details, the total cost of 345 infrastructure projects has been estimated at Rs 2320.3 billion, out of which Rs 211.1 billion have been earmarked in the 2012-13 budget that include Rs 85.6 billion as foreign aid. The cost of the other 71 projects has been estimated at Rs 41.3 billion out of which Rs 3 billion has been earmarked in the PSDP 2012-13 while Rs10 billion has been earmarked for ERRA in the current development programme. The commission has been following a proper mechanism for the release of funds and accordingly funds are released per the given mechanism. The commission releases 20% of funds in the first quarter (July- September), 20% in second quarter (October-December), 25% in the third quarter (January- March) and 35% in the fourth quarter (April-June). APP 01 BUSINESS B Tuesday, 5 March, 2013 Hungary invested $1.4 billion in Pakistan’s energy sector. — Hungarian Ambassador to Pakistan Istvan Szabo SBP reformats data submission for banks’ unclaimed deposits KARACHI: The central bank on Monday notified banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) about its decision to revise the format for uploading unclaimed deposits or instruments’ data. A State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) circular said, keeping in view the difficulty faced by banks and DFIs in uploading data on unclaimed deposits for 2012 separately on Annexure A&D on Data Acquisition Portal-4 (DAP4), it has been decided to revise the format combining variables of both annexure in a consolidated form. Referring to CPD Circular Letter No. 01 issued on January 16, the regulator asked banks to, henceforth, provide requisite data per revised Annexure-A. The details of unclaimed instruments favouring federal and provincial governments would also be provided in the same format by April 15 or by next working day if the due date happened to be a holiday, each calendar year, it said. It said the modified dbf-generator for Revised Annexure “A” along with DAP4 user manual and user guide for preparing the data files for unclaimed deposits would be available on Data Warehouse Portal at the “Knowledge Centre” Tab. STAFF REPORT KARACHI STAFF REPORT T he Securities and exchange Commission of Pakistan (SeCP) on Monday unveiled a document titled ‘Report of Non-Bank Financial Sector’ (NBFS) Reforms Committee’ for public feedback. Prepared by senior SeCP officials and leading market professionals, the report contains proposed reforms for the development of the non-bank financial (NBF) sector in Pakistan. SeCP Chairman Muhammad Ali, commissioners and leading professionals and businessmen from the financial sector attended the ceremony. Addressing the ceremony, Ali said it was imperative that the SeCP and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) work in close cooperation for effective and seamless regulation across the financial sector in a globally integrated market. he said Pakistan’s financial sector was bank-centric with NBF sector accounting only 4.9 percent (excluding insurance sector) of the financial sector’s total assets. This dependence on the banking sector, he said, made the country’s financial system vulnerable to risks through lack of diversification and also restricted the scope of product innovation. A strong NBF sector would not only promote savings by offering different asset classes to investors, but will also provide alternative fund raising opportunities to participants of the financial system, Ali added. The report highlighted that more than 70 percent of assets of the financial sector were with commercial banks and only nine percent were with the non-banking sector, including non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), insurance companies, etc. Out of the remaining assets, around 17 percent are with the national savings schemes. Keeping in view the present composition of the financial sector, the report suggests some revolutionary ideas to reform it. The suggested reforms are aimed at development of an alternate financial system by way of promoting NBF sector. It is imperative to diversify the inherent systemic risk and provide different asset classes to promote savings as well as cater to the specific needs of participants through product innovation, the report said. To develop the NBF Sector, in line with international best practices, the report proposes implementation of the concept of activity based regulatory regime in Pakistan. In terms of the proposed regime, capital market activities of all entities including that of commercial banks and DFIs are to be regulated by the capital market regulator (CMR), i.e., SeCP and deposit taking/financing/lending activities of all the financial sector participants would be regulated by the banking regulator (BR), i.e., SBP. This recommendation is in contrast with the prevalent concept of entity based regulatory domain in Pakistan. Other proposed reforms for the mutual fund industry include distribution of mutual fund units through stock exchanges, reduction in the annual regulatory fee provided more than 50 percent of a funds’ net assets are held by retail clients, introduction of concept of expense ratio, introduction of multiple classes of units based on the investment amount, improving the skill set of key personnel such as fund managers by specifying a minimum criteria among others. Investment finance services are broken down and redefined as stock brokerage, investment advisory, corporate advisory, securities financing and securities underwriting services and each component has been further defined. Flexibility has been offered to an entity to be reclassified as non- bank finance company to obtain either a full scope or limited scope. The suggested regime for IFS outlines a mechanism to transform existing brokerage houses as NBFCs to become part of NBF sector. The inclusion of brokerage services in NBF sector is expected to open up a new era of licensed activities for brokers including advisory and other ancillary services. To facilitate the launch of the real estate investment trusts (ReITs) in Pakistan, the committee has proposed a reduction in ReIT fund size to address the issue of capital constraints and allow launching of medium-size ReIT projects having better potential for growth and return. In order to develop non-banking financial services, the committee, in line with best international practices has proposed the implementation of the concept of activity based regulatory regime in Pakistan for cluster one entities. In terms of the proposed regime, capital market activities of all entities are to be regulated by the SeCP and deposit taking, financing and lending activities of all financial sector participants will be regulated by the SBP. WhIle the overall assets of the country’s financial sector increased from Rs 5.202 trillion in 2005 to Rs 11.107 trillion in 2011, the share of the financial sector in terms of GDP is very low at 57.4 percent, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Yaseen Anwar while addressing the SeCP Conference on Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) on Monday. “The low financial sector to GDP ratio and NBFIs declining share in financial sector assets clearly underscores the need for financial sector development and diversification of financial sector assets to attract investors with different return expectations and risk appetite and channelise financial resources for the economic development of the country,” he said. The “shadow banking system” was defined as the system of credit intermediation that involves entities and activities outside the regular banking system, he said, adding the emergence of the term reflected recognition of the increased importance of entities and activities structured outside the regular banking system that perform bank- like functions. Anwar said the financial system in Pakistan was yet to grow to its full potential and play a more meaningful role in the economic development of the country. “We definitely need to add to its diversification and depth,” he said. NBFIs can play a meaningful role in this pursuit, he said, adding that in light of the global financial crises, we are better informed about the various risks that NBFIs/shadow banking carries with it. “As regulators we need to remain vigilant to ensure that those risks are mitigated without inhibiting sustainable non- banking financing models,” he said. The SBP governor briefly outlined four major constraints that the NBFI sector in Pakistan faced. Although there had been an increasing effort by NBFIs to broaden the range of their business activities and product base, thereby diversifying their revenue streams, the sector was yet to make a breakthrough in this regard, said Anwar. Second, the sector was fragmented and each NBFI is trying to create its niche market in pursuit of establishing a sustainable revenue stream, he said. In this regard, most companies are concentrating on financial advisory and other fee- based income segments. “Unfortunately, the sector is yet to capitalise on the huge opportunities offered by previously relatively untapped areas like SMes, consumer, and agriculture segments to enhance avenues for fund deployment,” he said. Thirdly, Anwar said, the sector needed to develop and diversify sources of funding for sustainable growth. This would require a shift from traditional sources for lending to clients. The NBFIs needed to develop capital market instruments to pool funds from a diverse set of investors to ensure certainty to the source and cost of funding, he added. Fourth, he said, there was a need to strengthen the oversight and regulation of NBFIs to reduce the risks emanating from “shadow banking”. As observed by Financial Stability Board (FSB), the objective of this exercise should be to ensure that shadow banking was subject to appropriate oversight and regulation to address bank-like risks to financial stability emerging outside the regular banking system while not inhibiting sustainable non-bank financing models that do not pose such risks, said Anwar. PAKISTAN has enough leverage making it optional for cash-strapped Islamabad to opt for the much- speculated-upon fresh IMF bailout package, said Anwar. “Most of the articles contributed (recently) in local newspapers are misleading,” Anwar told reporters on the sidelines of the SeCP conference. “Yes, we are engaged with the IMF, but it is our decision to go for a loan package when the time is right,” he added. Time, the SBP governor believes, is not ripe for asking the international lender for a fresh bailout package as economic challenges in the country are “manageable”. “This does not mean things are perfect. But the challenges we are facing are manageable,” he said. Asked about the possible impact of the ever-worsening law and order situation in the country, the governor said it would take its toll on the country in terms of offshore investment. As for local investors, bankers, experts and other market participants, they were well aware of the resilience of Pakistan’s economy, especially the banking system, he said. “Those who know our markets know our banking system is very resilient and that our fundamentals are strong,” he said in response to a question. Illustrating his claim, Anwar said not even a single bank had failed during the last five years, unlike the 1990s when several banks had defaulted. If analysed against the backdrop of country’s Balance of Payment (BOP) situation, which mostly pushes economic managers towards the IMF, the tall claims made by the SBP governor seem to carry some weight. According to official data, Pakistan’s dollar reserves stood at $ 13.185 billion till February 22. Of the total, $ 8.227 billion belong to the central bank. A week earlier, till February 15, the country possessed $ 13.058 billion, of which $ 8.141 billion were held by the SBP. “We still have enough reserves,” is the statement the government officials, including the SBP governor, have been making when asked if the country had enough of the greenback to repay the half-paid loan it had secured in 2008 from the IMF under a stand-by arrangement (SBA). According to the central bank, from July 2012 to February 26 this year, Pakistan has “successfully” repaid $ 3.232 billion to the IMF under the SBA. The balance amount to be cleared until September 2015 stands at SDR 3.239 billion. The next, 11th, installment worth SDR 258.4 million is due to be paid in May. The economic managers have been repetitive in reminding the inquisitive media that all the IMF repayments have been budgeted and, therefore, pose no risk to stability on a macroeconomic level. What can be more comforting is that the country’s BOP list, despite all odds, lies in the green zone. According to the central bank, during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the country’s current account witnessed a surplus of $ 62 million against a huge deficit of $ 2.79 billion that the country had braced in last year’s corresponding period. Major stimulus, according to SBP, was the trade gap which narrowed down during the review period to $ 8.77 billion against FY12’s $ 9.41 billion with exports growing to $ 14.17 billion from $14.04 billion and imports remaining subdued at $ 22.94 billion compared to $ 23.46 billion of last year. The resumed inflows from the United States on account of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) happen to be another positive for the country’s current account surplus. Since August last year, the country’s CSF receipts have been counted at $ 1.86 billion, of which $ 1.18 billion were reimbursed in August and $ 688 million in December. Another relieving head for the economic managers is the ever- burgeoning worker remittances that during July-Jan FY13 amounted to $ 8.207 billion compared to $ 7.436 billion of FY12. SECP unveils roadmap for diversification of non-bank financial sector GDP SHARE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR IMF BAILOUT, OPTIONAL PRO 05-03-2013_Layout 1 3/5/2013 1:10 AM Page 1

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profitepaper pakistantoday 05th March, 2013

Transcript of profitepaper pakistantoday 05th March, 2013

Rs 125.5 billionreleasedunder PSDP ISLAMABAD: The Planning

Commission of Pakistan has so far

released Rs125.5 billion under its

Public Sector Development

Programme (PSDP) against the total

allocations of Rs 233 billion for the

fiscal year 2012-13. Out of the total

funds, Rs 65.4 billion has been

released for 345 infrastructure

development projects and Rs 56.1

billion for 690 social sector projects.

According to data of the commission,

till March 1st Rs 1.2 billion had been

released for 71 other projects and Rs

2.8 billion for the Earthquake

Reconstruction and Rehabilitation

Authority (ERRA). The total size of

the PSDP for the year 2012-13 is Rs

360 billion, including Rs100 billion

foreign aid, which is managed by

Economic Affairs Division and Rs 27

billion special programmes, release

of which are made by the Cabinet

Division or the Finance Division.

According to break up details, the

total cost of 345 infrastructure

projects has been estimated at Rs

2320.3 billion, out of which Rs 211.1

billion have been earmarked in the

2012-13 budget that include Rs 85.6

billion as foreign aid. The cost of the

other 71 projects has been

estimated at Rs 41.3 billion out of

which Rs 3 billion has been

earmarked in the PSDP 2012-13

while Rs10 billion has been

earmarked for ERRA in the current

development programme. The

commission has been following a

proper mechanism for the release of

funds and accordingly funds are

released per the given mechanism.

The commission releases 20% of

funds in the first quarter (July-

September), 20% in

second quarter (October-December),

25% in the third quarter (January-

March) and 35% in the fourth

quarter (April-June). APP

01

BUSINESS

BTuesday, 5 March, 2013

Hungary invested $1.4 billion in

Pakistan’s energy sector. — Hungarian

Ambassador to Pakistan Istvan Szabo

SBP reformats datasubmission forbanks’ unclaimeddepositsKARACHI: The central bank on

Monday notified banks and

Development Finance Institutions

(DFIs) about its decision to revise the

format for uploading unclaimed

deposits or instruments’ data. A State

Bank of Pakistan (SBP) circular said,

keeping in view the difficulty faced by

banks and DFIs in uploading data on

unclaimed deposits for 2012 separately

on Annexure A&D on Data Acquisition

Portal-4 (DAP4), it has been decided to

revise the format combining variables

of both annexure in a consolidated

form. Referring to CPD Circular Letter

No. 01 issued on January 16, the

regulator asked banks to, henceforth,

provide requisite data per revised

Annexure-A.

The details of unclaimed instruments

favouring federal and provincial

governments would also be provided in

the same format by April 15 or by next

working day if the due date happened

to be a holiday, each calendar year, it

said. It said the modified dbf-generator

for Revised Annexure “A” along with

DAP4 user manual and user guide for

preparing the data files for unclaimed

deposits would be available on Data

Warehouse Portal at the “Knowledge

Centre” Tab. STAFF REPORT

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The Securities andexchange Commission ofPakistan (SeCP) onMonday unveiled adocument titled ‘Reportof Non-Bank Financial

Sector’ (NBFS) ReformsCommittee’ for public feedback. Prepared by senior SeCP officialsand leading market professionals,the report contains proposed reformsfor the development of the non-bankfinancial (NBF) sector in Pakistan. SeCP Chairman Muhammad Ali,commissioners and leadingprofessionals and businessmen fromthe financial sector attended theceremony.Addressing the ceremony, Ali said itwas imperative that the SeCP andthe State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)work in close cooperation foreffective and seamless regulationacross the financial sector in aglobally integrated market.he said Pakistan’s financial sectorwas bank-centric with NBF sectoraccounting only 4.9 percent(excluding insurance sector) of thefinancial sector’s total assets. Thisdependence on the banking sector,he said, made the country’s financialsystem vulnerable to risks throughlack of diversification and alsorestricted the scope of productinnovation.A strong NBF sector would not onlypromote savings by offeringdifferent asset classes to investors,but will also provide alternativefund raising opportunities toparticipants of the financial system,Ali added. The report highlightedthat more than 70 percent of assetsof the financial sector were withcommercial banks and only ninepercent were with the non-bankingsector, including non-bankingfinance companies (NBFCs),insurance companies, etc.Out of the remaining assets, around17 percent are with the nationalsavings schemes. Keeping in viewthe present composition of thefinancial sector, the report suggestssome revolutionary ideas to reformit. The suggested reforms are aimedat development of an alternatefinancial system by way ofpromoting NBF sector.It is imperative to diversify theinherent systemic risk and providedifferent asset classes to promotesavings as well as cater to thespecific needs of participants throughproduct innovation, the report said.To develop the NBF Sector, in linewith international best practices, thereport proposes implementation ofthe concept of activity basedregulatory regime in Pakistan.In terms of the proposed regime,capital market activities of allentities including that ofcommercial banks and DFIs are tobe regulated by the capital marketregulator (CMR), i.e., SeCP anddeposit taking/financing/lendingactivities of all the financial sectorparticipants would be regulated bythe banking regulator (BR), i.e.,SBP. This recommendation is incontrast with the prevalent conceptof entity based regulatory domain in Pakistan.Other proposed reforms for themutual fund industry includedistribution of mutual fund unitsthrough stock exchanges, reductionin the annual regulatory feeprovided more than 50 percent of afunds’ net assets are held by retailclients, introduction of concept ofexpense ratio, introduction ofmultiple classes of units based onthe investment amount, improvingthe skill set of key personnel such as

fund managers by specifying aminimum criteria among others. Investment finance services arebroken down and redefined as stockbrokerage, investment advisory,corporate advisory, securitiesfinancing and securitiesunderwriting services and eachcomponent has been further defined.Flexibility has been offeredto an entity to bereclassified as non-bank financecompany to obtaineither a full scopeor limited scope.The suggestedregime for IFSoutlines amechanism totransformexistingbrokeragehouses asNBFCs tobecome part ofNBF sector. Theinclusion ofbrokerage servicesin NBF sector isexpected to open up a newera of licensed activities forbrokers including advisory and otherancillary services.To facilitate the launch of the realestate investment trusts (ReITs) inPakistan, the committee hasproposed a reduction in ReIT fundsize to address the issue of capital constraints and allowlaunching of medium-size ReITprojects having better potential forgrowth and return. In order to develop non-bankingfinancial services, the committee, inline with best international practiceshas proposed the implementation ofthe concept of activity basedregulatory regime in Pakistan forcluster one entities. In terms of theproposed regime, capital marketactivities of all entities are to beregulated by the SeCP and deposittaking, financing and lendingactivities of all financial sectorparticipants will be regulated bythe SBP.

WhIle the overall assets of thecountry’s financial sector increasedfrom Rs 5.202 trillion in 2005 to Rs11.107 trillion in 2011, the share ofthe financial sector in terms of GDPis very low at 57.4 percent, saidState Bank of Pakistan (SBP)Governor Yaseen Anwar whileaddressing the SeCP Conference onNon-Bank Financial Institutions(NBFI) on Monday.“The low financial sector to GDPratio and NBFIs declining share infinancial sector assets clearlyunderscores the need for financialsector development anddiversification of financial sectorassets to attract investors withdifferent return expectations and riskappetite and channelise financialresources for the economicdevelopment of the country,” he said.The “shadow banking system” wasdefined as the system of creditintermediation that involves entitiesand activities outside the regularbanking system, he said, adding theemergence of the term reflectedrecognition of the increasedimportance of entities and activitiesstructured outside the regularbanking system that perform bank-like functions.Anwar said the financial system inPakistan was yet to grow to its fullpotential and play a moremeaningful role in the economicdevelopment of the country.“We definitely need to add to its

diversification and depth,” he said.NBFIs can play a meaningful role inthis pursuit, he said, adding that inlight of the global financial crises,we are better informed about thevarious risks that NBFIs/shadowbanking carries with it. “Asregulators we need to remainvigilant to ensure that those risks

are mitigated withoutinhibiting sustainable non-

banking financingmodels,” he said.

The SBP governorbriefly outlined four

major constraintsthat the NBFI

sector inPakistanfaced.Althoughthere hadbeen anincreasingeffort by

NBFIs tobroaden the

range of theirbusiness activities

and product base,thereby diversifying their

revenue streams, the sector wasyet to make a breakthrough in thisregard, said Anwar.Second, the sector was fragmentedand each NBFI is trying to create itsniche market in pursuit ofestablishing a sustainable revenuestream, he said. In this regard, mostcompanies are concentrating onfinancial advisory and other fee-based income segments.“Unfortunately, the sector is yet tocapitalise on the huge opportunitiesoffered by previously relativelyuntapped areas like SMes,consumer, and agriculture segmentsto enhance avenues for funddeployment,” he said.Thirdly, Anwar said, the sectorneeded to develop and diversifysources of funding for sustainablegrowth. This would require a shiftfrom traditional sources for lendingto clients.The NBFIs needed to developcapital market instruments to poolfunds from a diverse set of investorsto ensure certainty to the source andcost of funding, he added.Fourth, he said, there was a need tostrengthen the oversight andregulation of NBFIs to reduce therisks emanating from “shadowbanking”.As observed by Financial StabilityBoard (FSB), the objective of thisexercise should be to ensure thatshadow banking was subject toappropriate oversight and regulationto address bank-like risks tofinancial stability emerging outsidethe regular banking system whilenot inhibiting sustainable non-bankfinancing models that do not posesuch risks, said Anwar.

PAKISTAN has enough leveragemaking it optional for cash-strappedIslamabad to opt for the much-speculated-upon fresh IMF bailoutpackage, said Anwar.“Most of the articles contributed

(recently) in local newspapers aremisleading,” Anwar told reporters on the sidelines of theSeCP conference.“Yes, we are engaged with the IMF,

but it is our decision to go for a loanpackage when the time is right,” headded. Time, the SBP governorbelieves, is not ripe for asking theinternational lender for a freshbailout package as economicchallenges in the country are“manageable”.“This does not mean things are

perfect. But the challenges we arefacing are manageable,” he said.Asked about the possible impact ofthe ever-worsening law and ordersituation in the country, thegovernor said it would take its tollon the country in terms of offshoreinvestment.As for local investors, bankers,experts and other marketparticipants, they were well awareof the resilience of Pakistan’seconomy, especially the bankingsystem, he said.“Those who know our markets knowour banking system is very resilientand that our fundamentals are strong,” he said in response to a question.Illustrating his claim, Anwar saidnot even a single bank had failedduring the last five years, unlike the 1990s when several bankshad defaulted.If analysed against the backdrop ofcountry’s Balance of Payment(BOP) situation, which mostlypushes economic managers towardsthe IMF, the tall claims made by the SBP governor seem to carrysome weight.According to official data,Pakistan’s dollar reserves stood at $13.185 billion till February 22. Ofthe total, $ 8.227 billion belong tothe central bank. A week earlier, tillFebruary 15, the country possessed$ 13.058 billion, of which $ 8.141billion were held by the SBP.“We still have enough reserves,” isthe statement the governmentofficials, including the SBPgovernor, have been making whenasked if the country had enough ofthe greenback to repay the half-paidloan it had secured in 2008 from the IMF under a stand-byarrangement (SBA).According to the central bank, fromJuly 2012 to February 26 this year,Pakistan has “successfully” repaid $3.232 billion to the IMF under theSBA. The balance amount to becleared until September 2015 standsat SDR 3.239 billion.The next, 11th, installment worthSDR 258.4 million is due to be paid in May.The economic managers have beenrepetitive in reminding theinquisitive media that all the IMFrepayments have been budgeted and,therefore, pose no risk to stabilityon a macroeconomic level.What can be more comforting is thatthe country’s BOP list, despite allodds, lies in the green zone.According to the central bank,during the first seven months of thecurrent fiscal year, the country’scurrent account witnessed a surplusof $ 62 million against a hugedeficit of $ 2.79 billion that thecountry had braced in last year’scorresponding period.Major stimulus, according to SBP,was the trade gap which narroweddown during the review period to $8.77 billion against FY12’s $ 9.41billion with exports growing to $14.17 billion from $14.04 billionand imports remaining subdued at $22.94 billion compared to $ 23.46billion of last year.The resumed inflows from theUnited States on account ofCoalition Support Fund (CSF)happen to be another positive for thecountry’s current account surplus. Since August last year, the country’sCSF receipts have been counted at $1.86 billion, of which $ 1.18 billionwere reimbursed in August and $688 million in December.Another relieving head for theeconomic managers is the ever-burgeoning worker remittances thatduring July-Jan FY13 amounted to $8.207 billion compared to $ 7.436billion of FY12.

SECP unveils roadmap for diversificationof non-bank financial sector

GDP SHARE OF FINANCIAL SECTOR

IMF BAILOUT, OPTIONAL

PRO 05-03-2013_Layout 1 3/5/2013 1:10 AM Page 1

BUSINESSTuesday, 5 March, 2013

Khushhalibank honours

Malala Yousufzai with

LADIESFUND Khushhali

Bank Idol Award

KARACHI: The Dawood global Foundation in

partnership with Dawood Capital Management Ltd.,

the 5h LADIESFuND® Women’s Awards for Pakistan

ceremony was held today at The Mohatta Palace

Museum, Karachi, with 300 of the most influential

women in Pakistan in attendance. Chief guests

included First Women Bank Ltd. President Shaqfat

Sultana and Poetess of Pakistan Zehra Nigah, who

was also the Lifetime Achievement Winner. This

event was sponsored by KhuShhALIBANK Ltd., OBS,

First Women Bank Ltd., Burj Bank, 21st Century,

gSK, Atlas Asset Management Ltd, hESCO, JS

Investments Ltd., et al. highlight of the event was

when Malala Yousufzai was announced

KhuShhALIBANK Idol Award winner and her Award

was accepted by two of her friends Shazia Ramazan

and Kainat Riaz, who had been injured alongside

Malala and had flown to Karachi with their families

for this special occasion. PRESS RELEASE

PTCL’s annual reportearns SAFA’s award

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company

Limited (PTCL), the largest Information

Communication Technology (ICT) service provider in

Pakistan, has won distinction for the country, with

South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)

conferring the ‘Best Presented Accounts Award 2011’

to the company, in the category of ‘Communication

and Information Technology’. The award is presented

to companies that exceed industry standards in

quality and transparency of financial reporting

parameters. SAFA, consisting of the institutes of

chartered and management accountants in the SAARC

countries, holds these awards every year for different

categories on the basis of evaluation of the published

annual reports of companies across the South Asian

Region to improve transparency, accountability and

governance in financial reporting. PRESS RELEASE

Coca-cola announces Rs7b investment in multan

LAHoRe: Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Ltd. held a

ground-breaking ceremony of its new greenfield

project in Multan. The ceremony was inaugurated by

Senior Advisor of Chief Minister Punjab Zulfiqar

Khosa, and attended by a huge gathering, including

key government officials, media personnel, local

dignitaries and Coca-Cola employees. The greenfield

project in Multan is one of the three greenfield

projects being set up in the country by Coca-Cola

Pakistan. A total amount of $379million will be

invested over the next three years, with the funds

being utilized for expanding the business and bringing

about infrastructure and systemic improvements in

the Coca-Cola system. PRESS RELEASE

Sikander Mustafa Khan is

the new PBC ChairmanKARACHI: The Board of Directors of the Pakistan

Business Council (PBC) elected Sikander Mustafa

Khan as the new Chairman of the PBC. The members

of the PBC had earlier elected a 13 member board

which besides Sikander Mustafa Khan includes; Abdul

Razak Dawood, Ali S. habib, Aliuddin Ansari, Asif

Saad, Atif Aslam Bajwa, Bashir Ali Mohammad, Ehsan

Malik, hussain Dawood, Iqbal Lakhani, Muhammad Ali

Tabba, Shabbir Diwan & Syed hyder Ali. The newly

elected board appreciated the efforts of the previous

board members for enhancing the image of the PBC

as Pakistan’s premier business policy advocacy forum

and especially thanked the outgoing Chairman Ali S.

habib for his services. Sikander Mustafa Khan is also

Chairman Millat Tractors and has previously served as

Vice Chairman of the PBC. PRESS RELEASE

Intel Helps Developers

Simplify the ‘Internet of Things’

LAHoRe: Intel Corporation recently announced

several new advancements in support of the Intel

Intelligent Systems Framework, including a

ecosystem growth, framework-ready products and

two new software tools designed to help reduce

time-to-market and costs for developers. To simplify

the deployment of intelligent systems, which

comprise what is frequently called the “Internet of

Things,” Intel recently released the Intel Intelligent

Systems Framework. The framework is a set of

interoperable specifications designed to address

connecting, managing and securing intelligent

devices in a consistent and scalable manner. “In just

less than 6 months since the Intel Intelligent

Systems Framework was released, we’ve seen

impressive support and adoption from this rapidly

expanding ecosystem,” said Naveed Siraj, Country

Manager, Intel Pakistan. PRESS RELEASE

Silkbank AnnouncesAnnual Results

The Board of Directors of Silkbank Limited, in their

meeting held on March 01, 2013, announced the

annual results of the Bank for the year ended

December 31, 2012, showing growth in the asset and

the deposit sides of the business. The Bank

significantly improved the deposit mix through

increase in low cost current and saving accounts as

well. The Bank also made strategic investments in

new business lines and successfully launched its credit

card and Islamic banking business, during the year

which was received positively by the market. The

investments related to the launch of new businesses,

coupled with an industry wide one-off provisioning

resulted in the Bank posting a loss of Rs.344 million

for the year. however, with the revenue pipeline from

new businesses and the existing product portfolio, the

Bank is well positioned to increase revenues and

declare profits in the year to come. PRESS RELEASE

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s

largest beverage company, refreshing consumers

with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led

by Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, our

Company’s portfolio features 15 billion-dollar brands

including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero,

vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply,

georgia and Del Valle. globally, we are the No. 1

provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink

coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the

world’s largest beverage distribution system,

consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our

beverages at a rate of 1.8 billion servings a day.

With an enduring commitment to building

sustainable communities, our Company is focused

on initiatives that reduce our environmental

footprint, support active, healthy living, create a

safe, inclusive work environment for our associates,

and enhance the economic development of the

communities where we operate. PRESS RELEASE

‘Discover your shade’

LAHoRe: Alkaram Textiles launched their dazzling

spring / summer collection volume 1, 2013 in

Alkaram galleria, Y Block, DhA, Lahore . Each theme

is an exploration in design and color inspired by

seven selected moods which personifies an alkaram

woman. A wide array of distinct themes is made

available in one collection which includes Nouvelle

Collection, Vintage Collection, Summer Tribes,

Intricate Patterns, hand Crafted, Avant garde and

Splendor Shade. The concept was brought to life at

A.K galleria, Y block, D.h.A, where top notch models

like Marium Shah, Sana Khan, Nooray, Anoshay

Asad, Aleezay Rasul, Anoshay looked spectacular in

different shades of alkaram’s collection. Aside from

the models, seven renowned personalities such as

Aasma Mumtaz, Asfa Nabeel, Sara Shahid, and

Frieha Altaf were adorned in extravagant apparels in

various hues by alkaram. PRESS RELEASE

STARfALL initiates FIRST LEGO®

STARfALL has initiated FIRST LEgO® League (FLL –

www.firstlegoleague.org) robotics program, an

international robotics competition, for the first time

in Pakistan. STARfALL is the Operations Partner of

FLL in Pakistan. For very first time in Pakistan a

global event of robot games is being held in

Pakistan. A pilot program was launched in Lahore in

2011, this program concluded in June 2012 with the

National Championship Event held at LuMS (Lahore

university of Management Sciences). About 40

children participated in the pilot program and it was

very well received by the local community, the

feedback from academia and industry was very

encouraging. This year Islamabad and Karachi region

was added along with Lahore. Regional championship

event held in January-February 2013 in all three

cities followed by Pakistan National Championship

event in March 2nd, 2013. PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

We wish to expand the bilateral trade volume between the two

countries up to $5 billion over the next few years. —

Ambassador to South Korea Shaukat Ali Mukadam

Major Gainers

COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERSanofi-Aventis Pak 374.84 393.58 370.00 393.58 18.74 900Sunrays Textile 214.00 224.70 224.00 224.70 10.70 1,000Philip Morris Pak. 192.79 202.42 194.00 202.42 9.63 2,800Indus Motor Co 307.32 319.00 302.00 316.45 9.13 27,900Bhanero Tex. 300.00 305.00 300.00 305.00 5.00 300

Major LosersSapphire Textile XD 242.37 230.50 230.50 230.50 -11.87 500Pak Gum & Chemical 173.45 182.12 164.78 164.78 -8.67 32,800Murree Brewery 154.63 148.51 147.50 147.50 -7.13 4,600Millat Tractors XDXB 515.00 515.00 500.00 507.91 -7.09 19,600Gillette Pak 147.00 140.00 140.00 140.00 -7.00 500

Volume Leaders

Lotte PakPTA 7.24 7.96 7.29 7.69 0.45 30,127,500Fauji Cement 8.54 8.63 8.34 8.40 -0.14 17,241,500P.I.A.C.(A) 7.09 7.49 6.18 6.77 -0.32 15,003,500Telecard Limited 6.97 7.20 6.55 6.83 -0.14 8,738,000Maple Leaf Cement 17.50 17.65 16.75 16.92 -0.58 7,459,500

Interbank RatesUSD PKR 98.1529GBP PKR 147.4649JPY PKR 1.0484EURO PKR 127.5203

ForexBUY SELL

Australian Dollar 103 105Canadian Dollar 98.5 99China Yuan 13.5 14Euro 132.8 133.2Japanese Yen 1.055 1.11Saudi Riyal 26.5 26.7U.A.E Dirham 27 27.25UK Pound Sterling 153.4 154.4US Dollar 99.05 99.3

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

ALThOugh cement exports

marked a record increase of

15.40 percent in February,

local sales remained almost

stagnant showing a nominal growth of

1.16 percent compared to the preceding

month of January. The country’s overall

cement despatches increased by 4.01

percent to 21.207 million tonnes during

the first eight months of FY13

compared to the corresponding

period of FY12. The growth,

according to industry experts,

is not enough to provide

comfort to cement

manufacturers. In February,

cement units located in the

northern part of the country

dispatched 1.556 million

tonnes of cement to the

domestic market and

exported 0.444 million tonnes,

most of it to Afghanistan and

other destinations through

sea, while exports to India

were only 0.032 million

tonnes. The south-based

mills provided the domestic

market with 0.397 million

tonnes of cement while its

exports were 0.209 million tonnes. The

total cement despatches in February

was 2.610 million tonnes which was

nominally lower than the January 2013

figure of 2.646 million tonnes. Industry

experts are pinning hopes on economic

revival to spur cement consumption

after the elections. “The cement

industry was established to fulfil local

demand, based on projections of

growth in 2003,” said a cement

manufacturer. unfortunately, he said,

the growth remained much below

projections after 2008 that resulted in

huge idle capacities. he said India was

not in the feasibilities when industries

were planned. however after thaw in

relations between the two countries it

looked like the best prospect for cement

exports. he said much has been said

about the impediments to exports to

India most of which need action from

the Indian side. unfortunately, he

added, the Pakistani trade negotiators

have been unable to convince Indians

to remove their non-tariff barriers and

mindset towards Pakistani products.

The manufacturer said Afghanistan

remained a good market for Pakistani

cement but with the gradual withdrawal

of western forces from the country,

prospects of growth had diminished.

Taha Khan Javed, an analyst at Taurus

Securities, said the increase in exports

was a welcome change after low

exports numbers witnessed in January.

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