Wednesday, 2 January, 2013 KARACHI STAFF REPORT The Institute of Capital Markets (ICM) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Un- derstanding (MOU) with CFA Institute and CFA Society Pakistan (CFAP) to jointly organ- ize globally relevant, professional educa- tion and training, and promote ethical stan- dards and practices in Pakistan. CFA Institute is a global association of investment professionals and CFAP is its member society. The MOU, signed here at a local hotel, identified six key areas of coopera- tion, including promotion of the CFA In- stitute code and standards, exchange of knowledge and educational re- sources, ethics training, fi- nancial literacy training, ICM ex- amination and cur- riculum development and regulatory waivers for CFA candidate and charter-holders. Under the Memorandum, the three parties recognized that the initiative would add immense value to building standards in capital market, as well as promote ethics in the capital and finan- cial industry of Pakistan. “This collaboration will enable us to launch a series of quality educational ini- tiatives by leveraging the proven experi- ence and expertise of CFA Institute and CFAP, particularly in the areas of ethics and professionals standards for finance industry,” said Syed Javed Hassan, Chief Executive Officer of the ICM. The MoU, Hassan said, was a signifi- cant step in talent-creation and capacity development, producing market practi- tioners familiar with international in- vestment instruments as well as global best practices. “It would go a long way to meet the current and future needs of our country,” said CEO of the ICM, a leading finance industry organ- ization for licensing certifica- tion in Pakistan. In his video message screened at the signing cere- mony, Paul Smith, the CFA’s Managing Director of Asia Pacific at CFA Institute, expressed his pleasure to join ICM as his Institute’s Pakistani member society. Partnering with the ICM, he said, would provide his side with an opportu- nity to promote globally relevant educa- tion programs, best practices and ethical standards in the country. “Building trust in the financial indus- try is critical for the greater good of soci- ety. We look forward to working closely with our partners to promote capital mar- ket integrity and support market develop- ment in Pakistan,” said Smith. Muhammad Ali, Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) who also heads the ICM board of directors, thanked the CFA Institute for its support to the ICM. “I believe the MOU would enable the ICM to launch quality educational initia- tives by utilizing the proven experience and expertise of CFA Institute. Our vision for the capital market is one of collabora- tion between the SECP, ICM, stock ex- changes, market participants and the public—for a flourishing capital market, thriving economy and prosperous Pak- istan,” Ali told the gathering. Muhammad Jawaid Iqbal, CFA Pres- ident of CFA Society Pakistan, said the initiative was in line with his society’s core objective to promote ethical and pro- fessional standards within the investment industry and encourage professional de- velopment through partnership with CFA Institute. The MOU provides for ICM and SECP to distribute CFA Institute publications in Pakistan, including its internationally- renowned codes and standards, and asset managers code of professional conduct. The ICM, CFA Institute, and CFAP would jointly develop and deliver ethics and market integrity workshops for vari- ous industry entities, including the SECP and stock exchanges. The ICM, SECP and CFA Institute will consider collaborating on delivering financial literacy training to journalists who would benefit from a better under- standing of investing and finance. In ad- dition, the ICM and CFA Institute will exchange ideas and best practices in ex- amination and curriculum development. The ICM would explore the possibil- ity of waivers from the ICM analyst certi- fication for successful CFA candidates and charter-holders. The ICM would also consider launch- ing in Pakistan the Claritas Investment Certificate, a new education program de- veloped by CFA Institute to educate in- vestment industry participants who are not directly involved in the investment decision-making process the industry es- sentials. ICM, CFA AND CFAP INK MOU TO BOLSTER INVESTMENT INDUSTRY KARACHI STAFF REPORT S TATE Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tuesday decreased the refinance rate and serv- ices charges on its various financing schemes with the exception of financing for over five years and up to ten years. The rate of refinance under the Ex- port Finance Scheme (EFS) has been re- duced by 0.2% to 8.30% p.a. Exporters will now get the financing facility from banks at 9.30% p.a. while service charges under the Long Term Financing Facility (LTFF) have been reduced by 0.70% for financing up to 3 years and by 0.20% for financing up to five years. However, the service charges for financ- ing up to 10 years have been raised by 0.20% per annum. The service charges under the Scheme for Financing Power Plants Using Renewable Energy have also been reduced by 0.20% p.a. for financing up to five years. However, the service charges for financing up to ten years have been raised by 0.20%. It has been decided that rate of refi- nance under the Export Finance Scheme applicable from January 01, 2013 and onward will be 8.30% p.a. till further in- structions. “The commercial banks shall ensure that where financing facilities are ex- tended by them to the exporters for availing refinance facilities under the Export Finance Scheme, their maximum margin/spread does not exceed 1% p.a.,” said an SBP circular. The revised reduced markup rate would also be applicable on outstanding loans granted under EFS. Accordingly, banks are advised to immediately re- price their outstanding loans granted under EFS, keeping in view the revised reduced markup rate. Simultaneously, SBP BSC offices would also apply re- duced markup on outstanding refinance loans granted under EFS. To reconcile the position of re- priced loans, banks should submit par- ticulars of outstanding loans re-priced by the bank under EFS on prescribed format to the concerned SBP BSC of- fice(s) within 10 days from 1st January, 2013. The reimbursement of mark-up rate benefit to exporters, on excess per- formance under Part-II of the Export Fi- nance Scheme, as specified in SMEFD Circular No.15 dated October 31, 2009, will be adjusted accordingly keeping in view the revised mark-up rate, the cir- cular added. Another SBP circular said that effec- tive January 1 (2013) the rates of service charges for Participating Financial In- stitutions (PFIs) and rates for end users under the Long Term Financing Facility shall range from 10.30 to 11.40 percent depending on period of financing that ranges from three to up to 10 years. According to the circular, the rates of service charges for banks and DFIs and rates for end users under the scheme for financing power plants using renewable energy shall be 10.90 percent for financ- ing of up to five years and 11.40 percent for financing of up to 10 years. PM orchestrates establishment of trade dispute councils ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has directed the Commerce Ministry to prepare a proposal for estab- lishing Trade Dispute Resolution Coun- cils for resolution of complaints lodged by importers of Pakistani goods so that in- ternational trade can be encouraged. He made these observations while talking to a seven member delegation of UK Pak- istan Chamber of Commerce and Indus- try in Islamabad on Tuesday The Prime Minister said that overseas Pakistanis have earned a name abroad by dint of hard work and we are proud of them. He said that despite challenges‚ the country is moving forward‚ media is free and evolving‚ judiciary is independent and a democratic government is completing its tenure. The economic indicators show rise in foreign exchange reserves and gov- ernment has been successful in restricting the inflation to a single digit. These were no mean achievements. The Prime Minis- ter said that Pakistan has business friendly policies and it would be up to the investor to make investment in any sector of their choice. During the meeting‚ the Prime Minister informed the delegation that the government had made all neces- sary preparations to qualify for GSP Plus which will give boost to trade with EU countries. The Prime Minister also wel- comed a proposal for utilizing the services of successful businessmen abroad who are of Pakistani origin for promoting ex- ports of Pakistan. ONLINE SBP cuts refinance rate, service charges on financing schemes KARACHI STAFF RPORT Byco’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) fa- cility set up on the coast of Arabian Sea at a distance of approximately 14km from the Byco’s Mouza Kund site, which was mechanically completed recently, has been commissioned. With a draft of 25 meters this facility can accommodate larger size vessels car- rying Crude/ Petroleum products of over 100,000 tons. Crude oil tanker, M.T. Arietis, suc- cessfully completed the discharge of 70,000 tons of crude oil marking the commissioning of the recently estab- lished deep sea Byco Single Point Moor- ing. The discharge rate peaked at 2,380 tons per hour and averaged over 2,000 tons per hour, enabling emptying the first cargo of 70,000 tons in 39 hours as per planned schedule. This compares favourably to the discharge rates of 1,500-1,600 tons per hour Byco experi- enced at Fotco, Port Qasim. Future tar- get is achieving discharging timelines of 36 hours. There is also a saving of half a day sailing time as compared to Port Qasim. Speaking on the occasion, Imran Fa- rookhi, CEO Byco Terminals Pakistan Ltd, the company that owns and oper- ates the SPM, “With the blessings of the Almighty Allah, we have successfully commissioned the country’s first SPM, Pakistan is now a proud member of the international community that has SPM technology and we expect to make good commercial use of it.” Byco Terminals Pakistan is an infra- structure company setup to facilitate the logistics of petroleum products, Byco Terminals Pakistan (formerly Universal Terminal Limited) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL). Pakistan’s first ever SPM successfully commissioned PRO 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 12:37 AM Page 1