Sunday, 16 September, 2012

MALAYSIA EYES AGRICULTUREISLAMABAD

Online

Pakistan was the second largest tradingpartner of Malaysia in South East Asialast year, therefore both the countriesshould make efforts to take theserelations to a new height by aggressivelyexploring opportunities for jointventures in various sectors. Theseremarks were made by HighCommissioner of Malaysia to PakistanDr. Hasrul Sani Bin Mujtaba during ameeting with Islamabad Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (ICCI),President, Yassar Sakhi Butt here onSaturday. He said that Pakistan producesquality and affordable agriculturalproducts especially Pakistani rice andmangoes have great demand inMalaysian markets while Malaysiacomplements this with its expertise andmore access to ASEAN trade civility offree trade agreements. Malaysian HighCommissioner was optimistic thatbilateral trade volume of Pakistan andMalaysia could be increased by findingnew avenues of opportunities andcooperation. He also assured that hiscountry would increase volume of importof Pakistani agro-products which wouldenhance bilateral trade relation betweentwo countries. Speaking on the occasion,Yassar Sakhi Butt said that currentincrease in bilateral trade between

Pakistan and Malaysia was subsequent tothe signing of FTA between the twocountries in 2007 but Pakistan’s share inthe bilateral trade was only $257 million,which had tilted the balance of tradeheavily in favour of Malaysia, thus, therewas a dire need to balance this gap byincreasing export of Pakistani products toMalaysia. He called on the Malaysianbusiness community to take advantage ofvast Pakistani market and investmentopportunities in agriculture,construction, livestock and dairy, energy,

education, IT and Halal industry sectors.Yassar Sakhi Butt was of the view thatorganizing of joint cultural events was theoption which could be used to bringpeople of both nations closer to eachother as well as exploit untapped bilateraltrade and investment potential in bothcountries. ICCI President said that allMuslim countries should further promoteand strengthen their economic ties andcooperation for exploiting the existingpotential and ensuring maximumpossible trade exchange.

Seeks increased trade with Pakistan in agricultural sector

‘Food self-sufficiency must forsustainable development’ISLAMABAD: Due to the hard work of agri-scientists and introduction of moderntechnologies in the field of agriculture, the country is heading towards achieving self-sufficiency in food production. This was stated by the newly appointed PakistanAgriculture Research Council (PARC), Chairman, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad whileaddressing the senior scientists and employees of the council here on Friday. Hestressed the need of trickling down benefits of modern research and techniques tofarmers for promoting agri-sector in the country. He said that achieving the self-sufficiency in agri production was the priority for which all possible resources wouldbe utilized. He said the provinces and all other stakeholder will be taken on-board forchalking out a comprehensive policy on agri sector for sustainable growth. Thecouncil will approach the Ministry of National Food Security and Research andMinistry of Finance for the early release of funds for the completion of ongoingresearch projects for the welfare of growers. APP

KARACHI

Online

Pakistan Petroleum,the nation’s second-biggest explorer, ex-pects to win 30 percent of the oil andgas blocks the gov-ernment plans to

auction as part of aplan to ease record

energy shortages.As many as 35 ex-

ploration blocks may beput up for bidding in the

next few weeks, Chief Execu-tive Asim Murtaza Khan said in

an interview.

The Karachi-based company willexplore onshore oil fields itself andseek overseas partners for those in thesea, he said. Pakistan raised gas priceslast month as part of a new oil policythat aims to attract investors endblackouts that have shut factories andled to violent protests in the SouthAsian nation. The government willbuy 90 per cent of the gas producedfrom the new fields at a maximum$6.6 per million British thermal units,compared with $4 earlier.

“You need to offer something tothe investor to come to Pakistan andnot go elsewhere, Khan said in hisKarachi office, “That extra is nowavailable. Middle Eastern, Gulf-based,European and Canadian companies

are in touch with us and are expressinginterest. Overseas companies thatpartner with Pakistani explorers mayneed to invest as much as $300 mil-lion, Khan said. “The policy has beenunveiled at a time when Pakistan isfacing acute natural gas shortage”BMA Capital Management, DeputyHead, Furqan Punjani said.

“Competitive product prices, espe-cially for natural gas, and incentives toincrease production are the key high-lights.

Pakistan Petroleum’s profit rose30 per cent to 40.9 billion rupees($432.5 million) in the 12 months toJune 30 from a year earlier. Salesgained 23 per cent to 96.2 billion ru-pees.

Pakistan Petroleum targets 30 percentof oil blocks in auction

Spain pledgesreform timetable,paves way forbailout

NICOSIA

Agencies

Spain told euro zone finance ministerson Friday it will set clear deadlines forstructural reforms by the end of themonth, in a move European diplomatssaid would pave the way for an aidrequest before long to help it tackle itsdebt pile. Madrid’s borrowing costs havefallen sharply since the EuropeanCentral Bank said it was ready to buySpanish bonds but big borrowing needsbefore the year-end and a deepeningrecession mean most analysts andpolicymakers believe it is only a matterof time before it will require help.“We will adopt a new set of reforms toboost growth ... It will be in line with therecommendations of the EuropeanCommission,” Economy Minister Luis deGuindos told reporters after meeting hispeers in Cyprus.Euro zone policymakers have said that toget aid, Spain would need to adhere tostrict conditions, which usually entaildetailed reforms and concrete deadlines,rather than vague plans. Madrid’s move is therefore seen by EUdiplomats as a precursor to a requestthat pre-empts any euro zone calls forfurther reforms in an attempt to limit apolitical backlash at home, although deGuindos insisted the package wasunrelated to any bailout terms.

ISLAMABAD

Online

The International Monetary Fund(IMF)-supported economic programsand related policy advice have helpedlow-income countries navigate theglobal financial crisis, an internal reviewfound.

The IMF latest report, coveringmore than 70 low-income countries el-igible to receive concession IMF re-sources, also presented new evidencethat IMF support had played a positiverole over the longer term in raisinggrowth, reducing poverty, andstrengthening poorer countries’ re-silience to shocks. The report, which

was discussed by the IMF ExecutiveBoard on September 6, also presentedproposals to address a sharp prospec-tive drop in the IMF’s concession lend-ing capacity after 2014, and ensure thatresources were used efficiently by tai-loring them better to countries’ needs.IMF staff will prepare two further re-ports, with recommendations on howto implement these proposals, based onDirectors’ feedback.

The 2009 reforms aimed to closegaps and to create a streamlined archi-tecture of facilities that is better tailoredto the needs of low-income countries.

Subsequently, demand for supportfrom the IMF for countries’ programshad been high, and shifted to a more di-

verse range of facilities. The use offacilities had been greatest amongthe poorer low-income coun-tries and those eligible for theheavily indebted poor coun-tries debt relief programand had increased stronglyfor small and fragileeconomies. Many membersutilized the increased oper-ational flexibility underthe 2009 reforms, but re-cent experience had high-lighted a few areas wherestreamlining and greaterflexibility could enhance theIMF’s ability to respond effec-tively to members’ needs.

The Doc discussesthe ailmentg Finance minister

briefs PM about overall

economic situation

ISLAMABAD

APP

Minister for Finance, Dr. Abdul HafeezSheikh called on Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf here at the PM House onFriday and apprised him about the overalleconomic situation of the country.The Prime Minister asked Dr. HafeezSheikh to vigorously follow outcome of themeetings held at the World EconomicForum in China during his visit.He said that the bilateral meetings heldwith the Chinese leadership and meetingwith the businessmen remained veryfruitful and hoped that the follow upmeetings would help attract the foreigninvestment in the country.The Prime Minister appreciated Ministerfor Finance and his team for their hardwork to steer the economy out of crisisdespite many problems at domestic andinternational fronts.The Minister for Finance apprised thePrime Minister about his meetings withPakistani business houses interested injoint ventures with the Chinese companies.

IMF talks up its programsg Global financial crisis to be addressed by adopting IMF supported economic programs: IMF

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Sunday, 16 September, 2012

In a big to detach itself from the oildeals that were signed before its inde-pendence last year, South Sudan hasseized a 74,000-square-mile oil zone,formerly held by Total for over 30 years,and sliced it into three parts to getthings going in oil exploration. One ofthe parts would remain with the Frenchenergy company, which had signed anagreement with Sudan over threedecades ago, but after the creation ofSouth Sudan the deal isn’t valid any-more since the current government thathas control over the oil block wasn’tparty to the agreement. The other twoslices of the cake would be given to Kuf-pec from Kuwait and the Americancompany Exxon Mobil – the former hasalready claimed nearly 25 percent ofthis unexplored block: Block B.

The move is summoned amidst un-yielding tension between Sudan andSouth Sudan with regards to the con-trol over borderline oil zones. Andhence Juba is doing all it can to ensurethat all the deals signed by Khartoumbefore South Sudan’s independence aredeclared null and void. And it wasn’t asif Total was successful in expediting ex-ploration is this block, and 30 years isa huge span of time by all accounts.

The ongoing tensions with Sudanaside, South Sudan had virtually grownsick of the ‘total’ inactivity on the part ofthe French company that would not becompensated for the loss of two-thirdsof its share over the oil zone. Total hadan excuse that the ongoing civil war

from the early 80s till 2005 was a majorreason behind the inactivity, but theseven years after the civil unrest ceased,Total had done a grand total of zilchwith regards to exploring the oil opu-lence in the zone. And hence it’s evidentthat Juba now needs new players to han-dle the nerve center of its economy.

South Sudan is in dire need ofproper exploration activities if it wantsto boost its oil reserves, which havelong been the victim of inactivity, pri-marily because of security concerns.Juba currently has a 0.35-million bar-rels per day oil produce, which is ex-pected to take a nosedive in the nearfuture, simply because there hasn’tbeen sufficient exploration activity.

The country needs to counter the an-

imosity of its northern neighbor, thecountry that it gained independencefrom, one that controls the pipelines thattransport the oil extracted from SouthSudan – a landlocked country. Juba alsoneeds to disengage itself from all thedeals that Khartoum signed when SouthSudan was a part of Sudan if it wants todig itself out of this hole, which is whythis proverbial hand gesture to Total is apromising step. Slicing their scrumptiouscake into three parts could mean a diver-sity of companies, with their varying in-terests and strengths, and it would be along-term triumph even if only one ofthem managed to extricate oil on timeand in its targeted volume.

Comments & queries: khulduneshahid@gmail.com

NEW YORK

Agencies

Shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the largestU.S. company by market value, ended atan all-time peak, and Exxon Mobil(XOM.N), the second biggest, hit a four-year high.

Equities are in a run-up that haspushed the S&P 500 to end higher forfour consecutive months. The extendedadvance has come mainly from actions byEurope’s and the United States’ centralbanks to keep interest rates low and stim-ulate their struggling economies.

The Fed said Thursday that it wouldkeep up its aggressive bond-buying untilunemployment falls. Chairman BenBernanke said he wanted to see a con-vincing improvement in the economythat could deliver sustainable job cre-ation. Bernanke’s comments are “going tocreate an artificial floor on the market,meaning that we could see higher pricesover time,” said Paul Nolte, managing di-rector at Dearborn Partners in Chicago.“Any correction that we get will be nomore than a few percentage points.”

The Dow and the S&P 500 bothclosed at their highest levels since De-cember 2007, while the Nasdaq ended atthe highest since November 2000. Thesmall-cap Russell 2000 .RUT indexclosed at the highest since April 2011.

The Dow Jones industrial average.DJI ended up 53.51 points, or 0.40 per-cent, to 13,593.37. The Standard & Poor’s500 Index .SPX closed up 5.78 points, or0.40 percent, to 1,465.77. The NasdaqComposite Index .IXIC gained 28.12points, or 0.89 percent, to 3,183.95.

For the week, the Dow rose 2.2 per-cent, the S&P climbed 1.9 percent and theNasdaq added 1.5 percent.

The S&P is now just 6 percent belowits all-time closing high of 1,565.15 de-spite a relatively weak economy and eco-nomic risks around the world.

The Fed’s balance sheet could expandby 11 to 12 percent by the end of the year,monetary accommodation that could“translate into a move up in the S&P 500stock index to the 1,505 area,” Brian Ja-cobsen, chief portfolio strategist at WellsFargo Funds Management, LLC inMenomonee Falls, Wisconsin, said,

Energy and material stocks led thegains as the Fed’s move boosted com-modity prices. Miner Freeport-McMoranCopper & Gold Inc (FCX.N) rose 2.03percent to $42.64 and aluminum com-pany Alcoa Inc (AA.N) advanced 2.18percent to $9.84. The PHLX Gold/SilverIndex .XAU climbed 2.86 percent to itshighest since early March.

The S&P energy sector index .GSPErose 1.3 percent and the S&P materialssector index .GSPM was up 1.2 percent.

NEW YORK

Agencies

BRENT crude rose a seventhstraight session and Brentand U.S. crude futures postedweekly gains as the dollar fellbroadly, dropping to a four-

month low versus the euro, after theFed’s Thursday announcement of a thirdbond-buying program. <USD/>

A weaker U.S. currency is usuallysupportive to dollar-denominatedcommodities such as oil and industrialfeedstock copper, which jumped to a 4-

1/2 month peak.<MET/L>

Equities alsoreceived a liftfrom the U.S.central bank’saction, withU.S. stocks up afourth straight

day and

European shares jumping to a 14-monthhigh. .N .EU

“The market is exhausted afterrising so much, and the IEA(International Energy Agency)economist worrying about high oilprices probably helped pull prices backsome,” said Dan Flynn, analyst at PriceFutures Group in Chicago.

Current oil prices could push theglobal economy into recession, FatihBirol, chief economist at theInternational Energy Agency said onFriday.

Birol said Europe and China aremost vulnerable to high prices butdeclined to say whether this latest pricejump could prompt the IEA to release oilreserves. He said the agency wasmonitoring markets very closely.

Front-month November Brent cruderose 78 cents to settle at$116.66 a barrel,after reaching$117.95,

the highest since prices reached touched$118.45 on May 3.

Brent gained 2.1 percent for theweek.

U.S. October crude, up 2.7 percentfor the week, rose 69 cents to settle at$99 a barrel. U.S. crude reached$100.42, its first time over $100 sinceMay 4 when it touched $102.72.

U.S. total crude trading volumeswere a robust 51 percent above the30-day average and outpacedBrent, which lagged its 30-day average by 6 percent.

Money managers raisedtheir net long U.S. crudefutures and optionspositions in the week toSeptember 11, theCommodity FuturesTrading Commission said

on Friday.Crude futures prices are up about 2

percent this month after surging 9percent in August and 7 percent in July,on revived geopolitical tensions and ananticipated maintenance-related drop inNorth Sea crude oil production inSeptember.

“The Fed will be indirectly addingmore liquidity into the asset markets andthat money will need to go somewhereand part of it will go into commodities,even if current commodity prices arealready at demand-destruction levels,”said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix in Zug,Switzerland.

HIGH OIL PRICES AND THE ECONOMY

Highlighting the economic risk fromsurging oil prices, a jump in gasolinecosts pushed up U.S. consumer prices inAugust at the fastest pace in more thanthree years and squeezed spending onother items.

Industrial production dropped 1.2percent in August, the biggest declinesince March 2009. The consumer priceindex increased 0.6 percent, the first risein five months andthe biggestsince

June 2009.Gasoline prices, which also recorded

their largest increase since June 2009,accounted for about 80 percent of therise in consumer inflation last month,the Labor Department said.

In contrast to those cautionaryreports, U.S. consumer confidenceunexpectedly improved in earlySeptember as Americans anticipatedbetter economic and employmentprospects, a survey showed.

U.S. gasoline futures rallied 1.8percent, moving back above $3 a gallonafter falling the previous two sessions.Heating oil, the benchmark distillatefutures contract, rose nearly 1 percent.

“Following Thursday’s weakperformance, the U.S. product marketsare now the strongest elements in the ...complex, benefiting from something of atrampoline effect as they try to catch upwith the prior gains in crude oil,” TimEvans, analyst at Citi FuturesPerspective, said in a research note.

GEOPOLITICAL TURMOILOil prices received support fromescalating anti-U.S. protests over a filmdemonstrators consider blasphemous toIslam. That and the dispute over Iran’s

nuclear program kept the geopoliticalrisk of supply disruption in NorthAfrica and the Middle East in focus.

An aide to Iran’s supreme leadertold the Iranian Students’ NewsAgency that Israel’s military threatshad “put Israeli citizens one stepaway from the cemetery” and thatLebanese militant group Hezbollahwas ready to hit back.

g Oil prices rose but settled below four-month highs hit in the session as concernsthat high energy costs could threaten economic growth tempered hopes for strongerdemand after the Federal Reserve launched its latest economic stimulus program

Oil prices push higher asFed stimulus supports

South Sudan slices crude cakeinto three partsg With oil disputes simmering over with its northern neighbor, Jubascored a massive triumph by detaching itself from ancient oil deals

Wall Street ends atmulti-year highs on Fed

KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID

crude awakening

Business

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