profitepaper pakistantoday 22th february, 2012

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Wednesday, 22 February, 2012 proft.com.pk Bulls tumble records as index climbs up 26 points Page 03 LAHORE iMRAn ADnAn C OOkING oil and ghee prices have witnessed a steep increase of Rs6-7 per kg during the last four days, as edible oil industry in the country has shut down its operations in protest against organised extortion of transporters. Ghee dealers believe if this situation persists for few more days, the market would get dry resultantly and prices would further jump up. Speaking to Profit, a ghee dealer at Akbari Market, Mubashir Afzal, said profiteers had started manipulating cooking oil and ghee market. he disclosed during the last four days, ghee prices had witnessed a jump of Rs7 per kg after which A-category 16- kilogram ghee tin was hovering between Rs2,760 to Rs2,770, while B- category ghee was being sold at Rs2,520 per 16 kg tin in wholesale. he revealed investors, hoarders and profiteers, all were on money making spree in Akbari Market. “They buy stock in the evening and sell them on inflated prices in the morning as new supply is stopped due to ghee industry strike. however, dealers still have some stocks available, which would hardly last for a couple of days,” he maintained. Another dealer said panic buying was also being witnessed in the markets. he said if the supply was not restored immediately, ghee prices could swell further. On the other hand, Pakistan Vanapati Manufacturer Manufacturers Association (PVMA) Chairman Abdul Waheed said the entire ghee and cooking oil industry had shut down its operation across Pakistan against blackmailing of transporters, but nobody was paying heed to the issue. he said domestic ghee industry was in the grip transport and tanker mafia, which had paralysed the transportation of imported edible oil from Port Qasim, karachi to upcountry destinations. Ghee industry had been victimised by constant unilateral increase in transportation rates, black mailing and pilferage of cargo since long, he underscored. The burning of four NLC tankers loaded with edible oil worth Rs30 million by tanker mafia on February 17, created a wave of fear and uncertainty among ghee manufacturers. The tanker mafia had further flouted the judgment of honourable Sind high Court, karachi dated February 15, 2012, he maintained. he pointed out public exchequer had to incur a loss of Rs1.5 billion due to industry closure during the last five days. In addition, some 50,000 daily wagers had been jobless throughout the country. Ghee manufacturers would continue their agitation till industry reservations were not addressed, he exclaimed. Responding to a query, he estimated some 230,000 tonnes of oil had been stuck at ports, whereas, some 50,000 tonnes of shortage had been created in the market due to the industry shut down. he appealed the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of this issue and provide relief to the domestic industry. BuDgEt 2012-13 PM directs to focus on provision of services to common people ISLAMABAD nni P RIMe Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has asked the Advisor on Finance Dr Abdul hafeez Sheikh to prepare the next budget 2012-13 which should focus on provision of services to the common people (health, education, clean drinking water and civic amenities), sustained growth and giving top priority to job creation for the youth of Pakistan. he was talking to him during a briefing on the state of economy and the preparation for the forthcoming budget at the prime minister house here on Tuesday. Gilani stated it was heartening to note that the country’s economy had shown remarkable resilience in the face of global recession on both sides of the Atlantic, terrorism and unprecedented floods in the province of Sindh. The advisor informed the prime minister that the tax revenues up to February 17, 2012, have showed an increase of 26 per cent over the same period last year due to expansion of tax coverage, better enforcement and other administrative measures. The exports and remittances also remained strong in the first seven months of the fiscal year, the Advisor added. Prime minister was also informed that releases for the Public Sector Development Programme have been according to the plans and the annual PSDP will achieve 100 per cent utilisation of Rs300 billion budgeted for the year. The government has also continued to remain fiscally prudent and government expenditures have been in control. The global challenges emerging in the world especially in the euro zone and their possible impact were also discussed. It was decided that the forthcoming budget must continue with the approach of preserving economic stability, checking inflation (which has now come down to single digit) and creating jobs while protecting the vulnerable groups through social safety net programmes. LAHORE STAFF REPORT T he Board of Directors of MCB Bank Ltd declared cash dividend of Rs3.0 (December 31, 2010: cash dividend Rs3.0 per share) and bonus issue of 10 per cent (December 31, 2010: 10 per cent) for the period ended December 31, 2011, in addition to interim cash dividends of Rs9.0 already paid. The Board of Directors met under the Chairmanship of Mr Mian Mohammad Mansha, on February 21, 2012 to review the annual performance of the Bank and approve the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011. earnings per share (ePS) as of December 31, 2011 came to Rs23.23 compared to Rs20.18 for last year. Return on assets improved to 3.18 per cent (2010: 3.13 per cent), whereas, return on equity improved to 26.23 per cent (2010: 25.91 per cent). Financial year 2011 proved to be a year of record performance for MCB Bank Limited as it reported 20 per cent and 15 per cent increase in profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) respectively, with its asset base registering an increase of 15 per cent over December 31, 2010. The Bank achieved the milestone of being the first bank in the Pakistan banking industry to post profit before tax in excess of Rs30 billion with PBT reported at Rs31.483 billion and PAT reported at Rs19.425 billion. Net Interest Income of the Bank increased by 21 per cent over last year with non markup income increasing by 29 per cent to Rs8.112 billion. On the operating expenses side, gross administrative expenses (excluding the impact of pension fund reversal) increased with a controlled growth of 15 per cent over last year. Provisions for the period were reported at Rs3.654 billion with a nominal increase of two per cent over last year. The asset base of the Bank grew to Rs653.233 billion from Rs567.553 billion as at year end 2010. The investment portfolio increased considerably by Rs103.6 billion over December 2010 with higher concentration in risk free government securities. Advances (gross) of the Bank were reported at Rs248.135 billion with a decrease of 9 per cent over 2010, mainly on account of conversion of commodity financing/circular debt exposure to risk free government securities. The deposit base of the Bank went up by 14 per cent, with 11 per cent and 16 per cent increase reported in current and saving deposits respectively, maintaining the CASA percentage at 81 per cent. MCB profits grow 15 per cent in 2011 Ghee prices jump up by Rs6-7/kg The entire ghee and cooking oil industry had shut down its operation across Pakistan against blackmailing of transporters, but nobody was paying heed to the issue PRO 22-02-2012_Layout 1 2/22/2012 1:04 AM Page 1

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profitepaper pakistantoday 22th february, 2012

Transcript of profitepaper pakistantoday 22th february, 2012

Page 1: profitepaper pakistantoday 22th february, 2012

Wednesday, 22 February, 2012profit.com.pk

Bulls tumble records as indexclimbs up 26 points Page 03

LAHORE

iMRAn ADnAn

COOkING oil and gheeprices have witnesseda steep increase ofRs6-7 per kg during

the last four days, as edible oilindustry in the country hasshut down its operations inprotest against organisedextortion of transporters.Ghee dealers believe if thissituation persists for fewmore days, the market

would get dry resultantlyand prices would further

jump up.Speaking to Profit, a gheedealer at Akbari Market,Mubashir Afzal, said profiteershad started manipulatingcooking oil and ghee market.he disclosed during the lastfour days, ghee prices hadwitnessed a jump of Rs7 perkg after which A-category 16-kilogram ghee tin washovering between Rs2,760

to Rs2,770, while B-category ghee was beingsold at Rs2,520 per 16kg tin in wholesale.he revealed investors,hoarders and profiteers,all were on moneymaking spree in AkbariMarket. “They buystock in the evening andsell them on inflatedprices in the morning asnew supply is stoppeddue to ghee industrystrike. however, dealersstill have some stocksavailable, which wouldhardly last for a coupleof days,” he maintained.Another dealer saidpanic buying was alsobeing witnessed in themarkets. he said if thesupply was not restoredimmediately, gheeprices could swellfurther.On the other hand, PakistanVanapati Manufacturer

ManufacturersAssociation (PVMA)Chairman AbdulWaheed said the entireghee and cooking oilindustry had shut downits operation acrossPakistan againstblackmailing oftransporters, butnobody was paying heedto the issue.he said domestic gheeindustry was in the griptransport and tankermafia, which hadparalysed thetransportation ofimported edible oilfrom Port Qasim,karachi to upcountrydestinations. Gheeindustry had beenvictimised by constantunilateral increase intransportation rates,

black mailing and pilferage of cargosince long, he underscored.The burning of four NLC tankers

loaded with edible oil worth Rs30million by tanker mafia onFebruary 17, created a wave of fearand uncertainty among gheemanufacturers. The tanker mafiahad further flouted the judgment ofhonourable Sind high Court,karachi dated February 15, 2012,he maintained.he pointed out public exchequerhad to incur a loss of Rs1.5 billiondue to industry closure during thelast five days. In addition, some50,000 daily wagers had beenjobless throughout the country.Ghee manufacturers wouldcontinue their agitation tillindustry reservations were notaddressed, he exclaimed.Responding to a query, heestimated some 230,000 tonnes ofoil had been stuck at ports,whereas, some 50,000 tonnes ofshortage had been created in themarket due to the industry shutdown. he appealed the chief justiceof Pakistan to take suo motu noticeof this issue and provide relief tothe domestic industry.

Budget 2012-13

PM directs to focus onprovision of servicesto common people

ISLAMABAD

nni

PRIMe Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani has asked the Advisor onFinance Dr Abdul hafeez Sheikh to

prepare the next budget 2012-13 whichshould focus on provision of services to thecommon people (health, education, cleandrinking water and civic amenities),sustained growth and giving top priority tojob creation for the youth of Pakistan. hewas talking to him during a briefing on thestate of economy and the preparation forthe forthcoming budget at the primeminister house here on Tuesday. Gilanistated it was heartening to note that thecountry’s economy had shown remarkableresilience in the face of global recession onboth sides of the Atlantic, terrorism andunprecedented floods inthe province of Sindh. The advisorinformed the prime minister that the taxrevenues up to February 17, 2012, haveshowed an increase of 26 per cent over thesame period last year due to expansion oftax coverage, better enforcement and otheradministrative measures. The exports andremittances also remained strong in thefirst seven months of the fiscal year, theAdvisor added. Prime minister was alsoinformed that releases for the PublicSector Development Programme have beenaccording to the plans and the annualPSDP will achieve 100 per cent utilisationof Rs300 billion budgeted for the year. Thegovernment has also continued to remainfiscally prudent and governmentexpenditures have been in control. Theglobal challenges emerging in the worldespecially in the euro zone and theirpossible impact were also discussed. It wasdecided that the forthcoming budget mustcontinue with the approach of preservingeconomic stability, checking inflation

(which has now come down to singledigit) and creating jobs whileprotecting the vulnerable groupsthrough social safety net programmes.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The Board of Directorsof MCB Bank Ltddeclared cash dividendof Rs3.0 (December 31,2010: cash dividend

Rs3.0 per share) and bonus issueof 10 per cent (December 31,2010: 10 per cent) for the periodended December 31, 2011, inaddition to interim cash dividendsof Rs9.0 already paid.The Board of Directors met underthe Chairmanship of Mr MianMohammad Mansha, on February21, 2012 to review the annualperformance of the Bank and approve the financialstatements for the year endedDecember 31, 2011.earnings per share (ePS) as ofDecember 31, 2011 came to Rs23.23compared to Rs20.18 for last year.Return on assets improved to 3.18per cent (2010: 3.13 per cent),whereas, return on equity improved to 26.23 per cent(2010: 25.91 per cent).Financial year 2011 proved to be ayear of record performance forMCB Bank Limited as it reported20 per cent and 15 per centincrease in profit before tax (PBT)and profit after tax (PAT)respectively, with its asset baseregistering an increase of 15 percent over December 31, 2010. TheBank achieved the milestone ofbeing the first bank in thePakistan banking industry topost profit before tax in excess

of Rs30 billion with PBT reportedat Rs31.483 billion and PATreported at Rs19.425 billion.Net Interest Income of the Bankincreased by 21 per cent over lastyear with non markup incomeincreasing by 29 per cent toRs8.112 billion. On the operatingexpenses side, gross administrativeexpenses (excluding the impact ofpension fund reversal) increasedwith a controlled growth of 15 percent over last year. Provisions forthe period were reported atRs3.654 billion with a nominalincrease of two per cent overlast year.The asset base of the Bankgrew to Rs653.233 billionfrom Rs567.553 billion asat year end 2010. Theinvestment portfolioincreased considerablyby Rs103.6 billionover December 2010with higherconcentration in riskfree governmentsecurities.Advances (gross)of the Bankwerereportedat

Rs248.135 billion with a decreaseof 9 per cent over 2010, mainly onaccount of conversion ofcommodity financing/circular debtexposure to risk free governmentsecurities. The deposit base of theBank went up by 14 per cent, with11 per cent and 16 per centincrease reported in current and

saving deposits respectively,maintaining the CASA

percentage at 81per cent.

MCB profits grow15 per cent in 2011

Ghee prices jump up by Rs6-7/kg

The entire ghee andcooking oil industryhad shut down itsoperation acrossPakistan againstblackmailing oftransporters, but

nobody was payingheed to the issue

PRO 22-02-2012_Layout 1 2/22/2012 1:04 AM Page 1

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news02Wednesday, 22 February, 2012

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

Ahigh powered businessdelegation from Pakistan isgoing to visit Malaysia onFebruary 26 to seek further

opportunities of trade.The two countries which are signatoriesof a Free Trade Agreement are movingforward to enhance bilateral trade from$2 to $4 billion, through exploring newways of trade.The important delegation, sourcessaid, would focus on some selectedsectors including rice, surgical andpharmaceutical goods, textile, halalfood, etc.The delegation led by Chief executive ofTrade Development Authority ofPakistan (TDAP) will hold separatemeetings with the heads of variousassociations, including Malaysian TextileManufacturers Association, halalIndustry Development Corporation,Malaysian Organisation ofPharmaceutical Industries, Associationof Private hospitals of Malaysia andJasmine Food Corporation of the foreigncountry.Pakistan-Malaysia Business Forum wasalso scheduled to be held on February28, which on the Pakistani end would beaddressed by Tariq Iqbal Puri, Ce ofTDAP, Bashir Janmohammad ChairmanPakistan Malaysia Business Council ofFPCCI, khawar Anwar khwaja, Chiefexecutive Grays of Cambridge Limitedand hassan A Bilgirami Ce and DirectorIslamic Bank and others. Besides, the meetings and interactions

were also scheduled to be held withvarious ministries and governmentofficials in Malaysia, sources added. Thebusiness interaction was also aimed todouble the existing trade figures in thenext few years and seek further deals inagricultural products, technologicalsharing and search of new markets ineach country.Bilateral trade has increased by 34 percent in 2010, totaling $2.5 billion,compared to a trade volume of $1.86billion in the fiscal year 2009. Thejump in bilateral trade wasobserved after the FTA wassigned by the two countries in2007.It is worth mentioning herethat a major player in tradebetween the two countrieswas the import of palm oilfrom Malaysia and thebilateral trade was infavour of the foreigncountry. Pakistan importspalm oil worth $1 billionannually and due to a 15per cent concession dutygiven to Malaysian palmoil, its share in totalpalm oil imports hasrisen to 70 per centfrom 55 per cent.

Palmoil importsfrom Indonesia havedeclined to 30 from 45 percent.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

PAkISTAN Mercantileexchange (PMeX) Limitedannounced thecommencement of trading in

the Sugar Futures Contract, thisweek. The trading started in theFebruary contract and PMeX hascurrently three contracts for themonths of March, April and May,respectively. The sugar contractlaunch marks a big step forward inthe domestic commodities portfolio ofPMeX. PMeX Sugar Futures aredeliverable contracts and the tradingunit for the contract is 10 metrictonnes. Primary advantage of thecontract is to provide marketparticipants with opportunities totrade and hedge over a transparentplatform. Millers, processors andtraders get the superior advantage ofPMeX settlement guaranteemechanism whereby, participants caneliminate counterparty risk from theirtrading. On this occasion, Mr SamirAhmed, MD PMeX said, “Over thenext five years, PMeX will focus ondeveloping our domestic agricultural

markets. The main objective will be toinitially list all the major domesticagricultural products on theexchange. This will be followed by anextensive marketing plan to createawareness of the immense benefitsthat an active futures market offersfor growers, consumers, traders andprocessors of agriculturalcommodities in Pakistan.”he further added the intention is tofollow the best international practicesin terms of transparency, fairness andopen access so that all players in thevalue chain can be equally benefited.In order to achieve the set outobjectives, PMeX is planning to openoffices near the major agriculturalzones of the country for easy accessand trust building to take placebetween the exchange and theagricultural stakeholders. The initialplan is to open four offices during2012 in the approved areas. PMeXwill continue to follow tight riskmanagement procedures and controlsthat it has pioneered in Pakistan andthat have stood it in good stead,especially in recent times of immensevolatility in the internationalmarkets.

PMeX announces first tradesin Sugar Futures Contract

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

LAhORe Chamber ofCommerce and Industry(LCCI) Tuesday took astrong exception to the

government for 10 to 12 hoursunscheduled power cuts and itsfailure to honour its commitmentregarding two days weeklyprovision of gas to the industrybecause of which the industrialproductions and trading activitieshave nose-divided to their lowestlevels. In a statement issued here,LCCI President Irfan QaiserSheikh, Senior Vice Presidentkashif Younis Meher and VicePresident Saeeda Nazar said thegovernment should come up with aclear cut energy policy, ashaphazard hours long poweroutages and two day provision ofgas after every ten days instead ofweekly two days gas supply werecausing undue and unprecedentedloss to both the trade and industry.They said the economy was fastheading towards the point on noreturn. LCCI office-bearers said

they were unable to understandwhy the concerned departmentswere reluctant to take all thestakeholders into confidence on theenergy situation. “When thegovernment is unable to bridge thegap between the demand andsupply, it should at least take allthe stakeholders into confidenceand announce a proper schedulefor both the trade and industry sothat they could readjust theirworking hours according to thatschedule.” LCCI office-bearers saidthe power outages for the industryor the industrial areas should bescheduled with at least a three hourgap as in most of the industrialunits or in case of heavymachinery, a machine usually takes40-45 minutes for full functioningafter the start up and if the powerbreaks would be on hourly based,no industry would be able tosurvive. They said LCCI hadreceived a number of complaintswherein repeated unscheduledpower cuts caused huge machineryloss and the whole unit had gonebankrupt. LCCI office-bearers saidit is not the production loss alone,

but the loss of export orders aswell, since a large number ofimporters from US and eUcountries were now placing theirorders to the other regionalcountries. On-time delivery of anexport order is a prerequisite towin any new order, butunfortunately Pakistan’s export-oriented industry in general andthe industry in Punjab in particularare unable to ensure on-timedelivery to their foreign buyersbecause of acute power shortage,they added.

LCCI office-bearers said samewas the case with commercialactivity, as only because of the lowproduction, a number ofbusinessmen were planning to shifttheir businesses to other countries;therefore, it would be wise on partof the government to take both thetrade and industry into confidenceover energy situation. They alsourged Prime Minister Yousaf RazaGillani to ensure implementation ofa proper power outage plan for thesake of industry otherwise, it wouldbe impossible for the government tohave an economic turnaround.

High powered delegation to visitMalaysia next week

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

IN a major departure from exist-ing practice in land acquisitionand resettlement, PakistanWater and Power Development

Authority (WAPDA) has decided toprovide temporary housing facilitiesto all families whose lands have beenacquired in Thor Valley for construc-tion of Diamer Basha Dam. The provi-sion of temporary accommodation, inaccordance with the weather require-ments of the area, is in addition to thefull payment for the land and estab-lishment of permanent townships infive years.

WAPDA authority during its re-cent meeting took this decision, whichwould benefit 131 families whoselands have been acquired for estab-lishing WAPDA’s offices and residen-

tial structures. This momentous deci-sion would on the one hand provideadequate shelter to the affectees andwould also be in line with the safe-guard policies of the donors.

The amount is to be paid to eachfamily for construction of alternateaccommodation comprising of a bed-room along with toilet, and would bereleased in three installments. Thefirst installment through chequewould be delivered within 10 days.WAPDA authority also decided to pro-vide free medical coverage through anambulance and doctors, not only theaffected families, but also to the farflung villages of Diamer district. Itwas also decided that a poultryscheme for women would be launchedbesides establishing veterinary campsin the area. In order to facilitate thelocals, pony tracks would also be de-veloped in the valley.

It is pertinent to mention that Di-amer Basha Dam Project was formallyinitiated by the Prime Minister in Oc-tober last year. For $12 billion proj-ect, the process to acquire land is inprogress, while 12 contracts for con-struction of WAPDA offices, colonies,contractor camps, roads infrastruc-ture, etc, in the project area have al-ready been awarded. Diamer BashaDam is a multi-purpose project withthe objectives to store water for irriga-tion, mitigate floods and generatelow-cost and environment-friendlyhydel electricity. On completion, theproject will store 8.1 Million Acre Feet(MAF) of water besides generating4500 MW electricity. The project willadd about 20 billion units of electric-ity annually to the national grid andthe annual benefits of the project havebeen estimated to be about $2.3 bil-lion.

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

ADDING tothe financialwoes ofPakistan

State Oil (PSO) whichalso owes billions orrupees to refiners and

other fuel suppliers,the receivables of the stateowned oil marketing companyhas ballooned to Rs195 billionas on Tuesday.however, the company’s officialsources claimed that despitefinancial constraints, PSO, theleading energy company of thenation, continues to fulfill theenergy needs of the country in aresponsible manner.As of date, PSO is supplying

approximately 16,000 MTs offurnace oil per day to its

credit customers i.e.WAPDA/ GeNCOs,hUBCO and kAPCO.

Furthermore, PSO is supplying anestimated 3,000 MTs of fuel oil on adaily basis to its cash customers i.e.IPPs. The supplies to cashcustomers/IPPs may vary as per theorders placed and paymentsreceived. keeping in view thenational interest, PSO hascontinued this fuel supply even

while the company labours under adebt of Rs195 billion, out of whichRs170 billion is owed by the powersector alone.In addition to the normal supplies topower sector, the companymaintains adequate fuel oil reserveswhich are sufficient to meet theenergy needs of the country for aperiod of 25 days. PSO has alsoprudently chalked out oil importplans for the upcoming months inorder to ensure that no productshortage occurs at any point in time.PSO, as a responsible corporatecitizen is cognisant of itsresponsibilities and continues tomeet the energy demands of thenation in a timely manner.

g Leading Pakistani businessmen to focus on selected sectors for enhancing bilateral trade

WAPDA to provide alternateaccommodations in Thor Valley

PSO receivables balloon to Rs195 billion

LCCI shows strong resentmentto govt over load-shedding

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news

Wednesday, 22 February, 2012

03Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change TurnoverUniLever Pak Ltd. 5550.00 5800.00 5550.00 5650.00 100.00 75Colgate Palmolive 750.10 785.80 784.80 784.80 34.70 105Wyeth Pak Limited 730.03 765.98 702.00 748.02 17.99 3,116Island Textile 194.76 202.00 186.00 200.42 5.66 446Mithchells XD 108.47 113.89 113.89 113.89 5.42 502

Major Losers

Siemens Pakistan 808.73 800.00 768.30 768.30 -40.43 193Nestle PakistanXD 3298.37 3348.00 3270.00 3280.24 -18.13 28Rafhan Product 2808.20 2800.00 2800.00 2800.00 -8.20 13Service Industries 212.00 212.00 201.40 204.03 -7.97 3,005MCB Bank Ltd 185.74 188.18 177.07 179.39 -6.35 1,798,308Atlas Battery Ltd. 177.76 176.00 174.00 174.09 -3.67 3,606

Volume Leaders

Jah.Sidd. Co. 10.39 11.08 10.01 10.24 -0.15 42,908,100Azgard Nine 7.67 8.42 7.25 7.71 0.04 25,142,166Fauji Cement 4.11 4.43 4.13 4.28 0.17 22,951,337D.G.K.Cement 25.33 26.59 25.50 26.59 1.26 20,495,348TRG Pakistan Ltd. 2.30 2.90 2.35 2.74 0.44 16,177,540

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 90.8892UK Pound 144.0775Japanese Yen 1.1384Euro 120.5100

Buy Sell

US Dollar 90.70 1,746.05

Euro 119.44 17.44

Great Britain Pound 142.66 25.03

Japanese Yen 1.1310 324.7260

Canadian Dollar 90.41 240.34

Hong Kong Dollar 11.51 0.11

UAE Dirham 24.68 7.57

Saudi Riyal 24.17 235.26

Australian Dollar 96.06 90.73

Bulls tumble records as index climbs up 26 pointsKARACHI

STAFF REPORT

T he karachi stock market fin-ished bullish on Tuesday withtrading volumes hitting the

record level on the back of what theanalysts said investors’ positive senti-ments about record corporate earn-ings announcements.

The day saw the benchmark100-share index finishing up by0.21 per cent or gaining 26.55points to close at 12,544.45 pointscompared to 12,517.90 points ofMonday. “The stocks stayed bullishlead by oil, cement and bankingstocks amid record trade volumesas investors speculate on recordcorporate earnings announce-ments,” said Ashen Mehanti, a di-rector at Arif habib Securities.

The day saw the trading volumesat the ready-counter peaking torecord level of 332.473 million sharesas against 232.851 million shares of

the previous day.The trading value also remained

in the green zone and surged to R6.681 billion against Rs4.628 billionof the last session. The intraday highand low were, respectively, counted at12,606.22 and 12,475.67 points.

The market capitalisation grew toRs3.273 trillion against Rs3.264 tril-lion the bourse had witnessed onMonday. Of the total 343 tradedscrips, 166 gained, 101 lost and 76 re-mained unchanged.

The free-float kSe-30 indexalso gained 16.40 points and closedat 11,689.62 points against11,673.22 points of the previous day.Jahangir Siddique Company contin-ued to remain on the top andcounted its traded shares at 42.908million with the opening and closingrates, respectively, standing atRs10.39 and Rs10.24. On the futuremarket, the turnover registered a re-markable increase and surged toRs17.319 million shares against

Rs10.092 million shares last ses-sion. “easing political outlook,higher global commodities afterIran cutoff oil exports to Britain andFrance, recovery in global stocks onGreece debt deal and renewed for-eign interest in Pakistan bourseplayed a catalyst role in bullish sen-timents at kSe,” said Mehanti. This,the senior analyst said, was despiteconcerns for state protests lodgedagainst US resolution on Balochis-tan rights on self determination.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

S Me Business Support Fund, Min-istry of Finance signs an MoU withhandicrafts Association of Pak-istan. Under this memorandum,BSF will build the capacity of hand-

icrafts Association of Pakistan through or-ganising various training programmes, openhouse sessions and marketing events. Fur-thermore, BSF will also help handicrafts As-

sociation in managing their website and Pak-istan’s first handicrafts’ portal. BSF will alsoprovide its conference hall to the handicraftsAssociation for arranging different events,seminars, workshops, meetings, etc.

The MoU was signed in a ceremony heldin the BSF office on 21st February, 2011.Syed Saquib Mohyuddin CeO SMe BusinessSupport Fund and Mrs Shireen Arshad khan,Chairperson handicrafts Association of Pak-istan, signed the MoU. While talking on theoccasion, Syed Saquib Mohyuddin men-

tioned that the handicraft sector has im-mense potential in terms of export develop-ment and creating employment. he said it isthe need of the hour to take serious initiativefor the development of this sector. he alsomentioned these capacity building pro-grammes would educate members of associ-ation which would help them in enhancingtheir business profitability and ensuring sus-tainability. BSF will help handicrafts Asso-ciation in creating links with the donors andother stake holders, he reiterated.

CORPORATE CORNERPSO continues furnaceoil supplies to the power sectorKARACHI: Despite financial constraints, Pakistan State Oil(PSO), the leading energy company of the nation, continues tofulfill the energy needs of the country in a responsible manner. Asof date, PSO is supplying approximately 16,000 MTs of furnace oilper day to its credit customers’ i.e WAPDA/ GeNCOs, hUBCOand kAPCO. Furthermore, PSO is supplying an estimated 3,000MTs of fuel oil on a daily basis to its cash customers i.e. the IPPs.The supplies to cash customers/IPPs may vary as per the ordersplaced and payments received. keeping in view the nationalinterest, PSO has continued this fuel supply even while thecompany labors under a debt of Rs195 billion, out of which Rs170billion is owed by the power sector alone. PRESS RELEASE

uBl Omni nominated for thegSMA global Mobile Awards 2012KARACHI: United Bank Limited’s Branchless BankingDivision, Omni is an established name in G2P PaymentsServices. It is one of the largest Branchless Bankingcash disbursement initiatives to date and has proved tobe a quick and transparent mechanism for the way cashdisbursements are made by the Government of Pakistanand not-for-profit organizations to below-the-poverty-line segments of the population and people in need ofhumanitarian assistance. PRESS RELEASE

Four Brothers group’s Btcotton variety tarzan-1 approvedLAHORE: Punjab Seed Council has officially approved thehigh profiled BT Cotton variety Tarzan-1 of Pakistan’sforemost agricultural organization, Four Brothers GroupPakistan, for general cultivation. The decision was taken in ameeting of the council held here in Lahore chaired by AhmedAli Aulakh. The farmer community now can have morebenefits through this modern variety of cotton. This BT cottonvariety is prepared by the group’s scientist’s profuse leafhairiness with low attack of Jassid. PRESS RELEASE

York university team to visit uMtto discuss split degree programmesLAHORE: A three-member delegation from Canada,comprising of Joseph Palumbo, executive Director, SchulichSchool of Business, York University, Canada, Otto Schmidt,Principal Consultant Accent on Skills, Canada, and Mohammed

Ahsan Rial, CeO, health Consortium of Canada, Representativeof Sunnybrookes hospital, Canada, will visit the University ofManagement and Technology on February 21, 2012 on theinvitation of Dr hasan Sohaib Murad, Rector UMT, to explorepossibilities of establishing world class bilateral relations in thefields of business education, skill development and provision ofhealth facilities on the Canadian model. PRESS RELEASE

Hashmi Media Institute inauguratedISLAMABAD: Mrs Shamsa hashmi, the wife of theadvertising legend (late) Syed haseen hashmi,inaugurated hashmi Media Institute today. Their son andthe CeO of Orient Advertising (Pvt.) Ltd., Syed Mahmoodhashmi, and the grandson, Syed Arsalan hashmi,accompanied her. They were joined by the elder son, SMasood hashmi, CeO of Orient-M McCANN erickson,sons-in-law: Waqar h haideri, Payam h Siddiqui, RizwanSiddiqui, daughters, and other family members. Thefamily prayed for their predecessor in view that the launchceremony coincided with the 77th birthday of late Syedhaseen hashmi. PRESS RELEASE

RAWALPinDi: Guard Group will establish Guard Auto Zone at270 CSD Shops spread all over the county. Documents ofagreements are being exchanged between Major General ®Anwar Saeed Khan Managing Director CSD and Mr Sheryar AliMalik Senior Executive Guard Group/Project Director GuardAuto Zones at CSD Headquarters Rawalpindi. PRESS RELEASE

LAHORE

iMRAn ADnAn

PAkISTAN should take advantage ofSwedish energy saving technologiesthat could easily reduce energy con-

sumption by 40 per cent. Thermal and greentechnologies are also fast developing, whichare not only energy efficient, but also reducecarbon emissions for healthier environment.These observations were made by theSwedish steel magnate, Per Malmer, whovisited Lahore on a three-day business visit.Speaking to a selected group of journalisthere on Tuesday, he said there were so manysectors in Pakistan where energy could besaved through innovation and adoption ofmodern technologies.

he indicated his company was supply-ing steel related products and technologiesto various steel manufacturing units in Pak-istan that helped them to reduce energy con-sumption and make these units morecompetitive. In addition, Swedish water pu-rification and cleaning technology also hadgreat recognition around the world.

Responding to a question, Malmer saidPakistan had a good potential of exports inleather, agriculture and food products to eu-

ropean Union (eU) and other Scandinavianmarkets. “Pakistani mangos are really popularin europe,” he said and added, however, Pak-istani exports were not being encouragedproperly despite chamber and trade bodies’efforts. he underlined that more and morebusinessmen delegations should be ex-changed between both countries to increasevolume of bilateral trade and stronger ties.Malmer said though every country had sometrade barriers to protect the local industry, butthese barriers encourage inefficiencies. “In thefree market economy only quality productsand competitive prices will sustain, no othermeasure, including quotas, could help coun-tries to protect their markets,” he stressed.

Answering a question, Swedish indus-trialist said his perception about Pakistanhad changed entirely in just a couple ofdays, as he met friendly people here.Though, Pakistan and Sweden had entirelydifferent cultures, he said, but he still sawsimilarities. Malmer pointed out he hadbeen inspired from the strong familybonds present in the Pakistani society thatcould not be compared with Sweden or anyother western country. however, youth ofboth countries had a similar lifestyle andthinking, he observed.

KARACHi:The Chairman Pakistan Japan Business forum Mr AbdulKader Jaffer, hosted a dinner in honour of Federal Minister of Waterand Power, Mr naveed Qamar, at his residence. Picture shows MrMajyd Aziz, Syed Sallauddin Haider, Mr Ajmal Farooqui, Mr Hamza,and Ms Shaheena,with other prominent guests. PRESS RELEASE

INTERVIEW OF PER MALMER

‘Swedish technologycould save 40pc energy’

MoU signed with Handicrafts Association

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