Profit-booking brings all-time high KSe down KARACHI: The apex bourse closed lower on Thursday with investors cashing in shares after the market hit an all time high the previous day. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.14 percent, or 25.20 points, lower at 17,383.32. There was a higher volume of trading of shares in the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation, with some investors booking profits after it rallied in the last few sessions. Small telecom-related shares like Telecard Ltd and World Call Telecom remained popular. Telecard Ltd rose 2.85 percent to 4.69 rupees. Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation fell 4.48 percent to 19.40 rupees. In the currency market, the rupee ended weaker at 97.85/97.92 against the dollar, compared to Wednesday’s close of 97.82/97.87. Overnight rates in the money market remained flat at nine percent. STAFF RePORT MFN status: Pakistan, india talks on 21st ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-India talks on improving bilateral trade and giving Most Favorite Nation (MFN) status to India would be held on Feb 21 in New Delhi. In this regard Commerce Minister Amin Fahim has sent a summary to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for approval of his four day visit to India. Earlier the commerce minister had cancelled his scheduled visit to India from January 27 to 29, on the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Anand Sharma, to participate in the 19th Partnership Summit being organised by the Indian government due to tensions along the Line of Control between the two countries. Online SBP to announce monetary policy today ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central bank will announce its monetary policy for the next two months on February 8 (today). Analysts are expecting that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) may opt to keep policy rate unchanged in the upcoming monetary policy. SBP Governor Yaseen Anwar will announce the monetary policy statement for the months of February and March at a press conference to be held at the central bank’s premises. SBP had cut the policy rate by cumulative 2.5 percentage points since August 2012. Analysts ruled out any sharp pullback in inflation in the next 4 to 5 months provided that oil and other commodity prices stay within a manageable range. Thus, expected CPI inflation is expected to stay around 9 percent for FY13. inP 01 ISLAMABAD Online I N order to generate cheaper elec- tricity from alternate resources, Federal Minister for Water and Power Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar has approved the Draft National Policy for co-generation by utilising bagasse and biomass. Presiding over a meeting on fast track de- velopment of bagasse-based power genera- tion projects that was held on Thursday, the minister asked the ministry to submit the draft to the relevant forum for formal approval. During the meeting it was recom- mended that upfront tariff will be given for fast track power generation projects and power producers shall have the option to offer energy to the respective DISCOs or to the CPPA. The meeting also proposed simplified procedure and reduction in the time line of production. It shall be mandatory for the power purchaser to buy all the energy offered by the power producer. All general, financial and fiscal incentives available to renewable energy projects of RE policy 2006 will be ap- plicable to the bagasse-based projects. The minister said the government is utilising all resources to end the energy cri- sis and power generation from bagasse would be another step to produce electric- ity from indigenous resources. He appreci- ated the PSMA for taking interest in bagasse based power projects and assured to provide full cooperation. “It is also the desire of the President of Pakistan Asif Zardari that sugarcane bagasse be utilised for cheaper power generation,” he said. Initially 1,000 MW would be completed on fast track basis, he added. Earlier, the meeting was briefed by AEDB and PSMA that Pakistan is the 5th largest producer of sugarcane, produces 50 million tonnes of sugarcane annually, yielding over 10 million tons of bagasse. Power generation from bagasse would not only reduce the furnace oil im- port but also save Rs 33 billion worth foreign exchange per annum. The country has 87 sugar mills with a capacity to generate around 3,000 MW of electric- ity from bagasse in win- ters. BusiNEss B Friday, 8 February, 2013 We expect each bank to develop and continuously improve its risk management and control framework depending on nature, location, size, sophistication, complexity of business operations and approved risk appetite. — SBP Governor Yasin Anwar CheaP eleCtriCity Ahmed Mukhtar approves Draft National Policy KARACHI STAFF RePORT The Board of Directors of Muslim Com- mercial Bank (MCB) Ltd declared final cash dividend of Rs 3 and 10% bonus shares, in addition to interim cash divi- dends of Rs 10 already paid for the year ended December 31, 2012, a statement of the bank said on Thursday. Earnings per share (EPS) for the year came to Rs 22.77 compared to Rs 21.12 for December 31, 2011. Return on assets came to 2.95%, return on equity was recorded at 25.07% and book value per share improved to 95.84. Total assets of MCB grew by 17% to Rs 765.899 billion. The analysis of the asset mix highlights 27% increase in investments to Rs 402.069 billion and 5% increase in gross advances to Rs 262.392 billion. The quality of asset saw considerable improvement as the non-performing loans of the bank reduced by 4% to Rs. 25.562 billion reflecting improvement in infec- tion ratio as at December 31, 2012. The deposit base of the bank grew by 11% closing at Rs 545.061 billion with an 18% increase in saving deposits, 13% increase in current deposits and 12% decrease in fixed deposits. CASA base, as a result has further strengthened to 85% compared to 81% last year. Given the Bank's strong fi- nancial footing and market base, MCB Bank Limited long term rating has been upgraded to AAA from AA+ previously in a notification by The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency on February 4, 2013. The Bank is already on the highest slot for its short term rating of A1+ on PACRA's entity rating scale. The Board of Directors met under the chairmanship of Mr. Mian Mohammad Mansha, on Febru- ary 7, 2013 to review the performance of the Bank and approve the financial state- ments for the year ended December 31, 2012. For the year 2012, the Bank reported profit before tax of Rs. 32.054 billion and profit after tax of Rs. 20.941 billion with an increase of 2% and 8%, respectively. Net markup income of the Bank was re- ported at Rs. 40.856 billion whereas non- markup income came to Rs. 9.153 billion. Non-markup income registered an in- crease of Rs. 1 billion (13%) owing to 16% increase in fee, commission and brokerage income and 19% increase in dividend in- come during the year. The administrative block of the Bank registered an increase of 10% over 2011, which considering the in- flationary pattern followed during the year, falls within the acceptable levels. The man- agement has been successful in imple- menting central authorization levels and posting, ensuring control over expense growth. The provision charge of the Bank decreased significantly by Rs. 3.176 bil- lion, primarily on the back of strengthened risk management framework. KABUL nni Afghan traders said on Thursday that they are not able to pay the high demurrage demanded by Pakistan transport companies for their containers stuck at the Karachi port. Demurrage in this case refers to fees that the transporters can demand for the extra time the containers have been left in their charge. A letter sent from Pakistani transport companies to the Afghan traders has asked each Afghan company to pay over $185,000 demurrage to Pakistan. "The [Afghan] government should be responsible to talk to Pakistan and stand against this cruelty," Afghan trader Ahmad Shah said. "This is not acceptable for us. We are not able to pay. The government should take a decision," a trader and member of the Egg and Meat Association said. The Afghan Commerce and Industries Minister said he will discuss this matter on Sun- day with Pakistani officials on his official visit to the country. "I will share this issue in the session of commerce ministers which will be held in Pakistan on Sunday," Anwarul-Haq Ahady said. Ministry officials added that the economic committee has decided that all Afghan containers stopped in Karachi port will be exempt from customs tax. About 3,700 containers have been stopped at the Karachi port for three months. The Afghan Cham- ber of Commerce and Industry recently claimed that Afghan traders were being fined for each day the containers remained at the port, amounting to $50 million in three months. Senate body concerned over decline in PSM performance ISLAMABAD Online Severely concerned about the declining status of Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM), the legislative body of the Senate has recommended running the affairs of PSM through public-private partnership to make it profitable.The meeting that was held on Thursday under the chair of Senator Zafarul Haq, showed concerns regarding the continuous decline in the performance of PSM and said that people are using the Mill’s resources for their own vested interests. Senator Fateh Muhammad Hasni said that Balochistan has rich resources of iron that can fulfil the requirement of our industry but unfortunately they have not been utilised and raw material is imported from abroad. This not only increase extra burden on the national kitty, but also causes an increase in prices of products.He said after utilising raw material from within the country, the government can save billions of rupees and support the PSM. He said the government is not facilitating the mining sector of iron as FBR collects twice the amount of tax from this sector.Senator Haji Ghulam Ali said PSM is causing billions of rupees of losses to the national kitty and its debt is increasing therefore the government should focus on small industries. He proposed to bring out the PSM under the umbrella of the government, adding that privatisation is the only solution of the present status.Senator Ilyas Bilour said the steel business is flourishing in the country while PSM is declining with each passing day. He also was of the view that fair privatisation was the only solution.Senator Mushahidullah Khan said the government is not serious to run institutes efficiently.During the meeting, Pakistan Steel Mill Chief Executive Officer Shamshad Qureshi briefed the legislative body about functions and issues of the company. He said imbalance in the financial affairs existed from last fifteen to twenty years.He said in 2008-9 PSM received losses of Rs 25 billion and no relief was given after repeated requests. He said the government paid Rs 36 billion in the last four years and this amount was paid in installments therefore desired results were not achieved. The CEO further said PSM has signed an MoU with the Russian government and it is hoped that after a $500 million investment, the situation would improve. MCB announces fnancial results, assets grew by 17%, NPL reduced by 4% Afghan traders struggling to pay Karachi port demurrage PRO 08-02-2013_Layout 1 2/7/2013 11:27 PM Page 1
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Profit-bookingbrings all-timehigh KSe downKARACHI: The apex bourse closed
lower on Thursday with investors cashing
in shares after the market hit an all time
high the previous day. The Karachi Stock
Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share
index ended 0.14 percent, or 25.20
points, lower at 17,383.32. There was a
higher volume of trading of shares in the
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation,
with some investors booking profits after
it rallied in the last few sessions. Small
telecom-related shares like Telecard Ltd
and World Call Telecom remained
popular. Telecard Ltd rose 2.85 percent
to 4.69 rupees. Pakistan
Telecommunication Corporation fell 4.48
percent to 19.40 rupees. In the currency
market, the rupee ended weaker at
97.85/97.92 against the dollar,
compared to Wednesday’s close of
97.82/97.87. Overnight rates in the
money market remained flat at nine
percent. STAFF RePORT
MFN status: Pakistan, indiatalks on 21stISLAMABAD: Pakistan-India talks on
improving bilateral trade and giving
Most Favorite Nation (MFN) status to
India would be held on Feb 21 in New
Delhi. In this regard Commerce Minister
Amin Fahim has sent a summary to
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for
approval of his four day visit to India.
Earlier the commerce minister had
cancelled his scheduled visit to India
from January 27 to 29, on the invitation
of his Indian counterpart, Anand
Sharma, to participate in the 19th
Partnership Summit being organised by
the Indian government due to tensions
along the Line of Control between the
two countries. Online
SBP to announcemonetary policytoday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central bank
will announce its monetary policy for
the next two months on February 8
(today). Analysts are expecting that
the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) may
opt to keep policy rate unchanged in
the upcoming monetary policy. SBP
Governor Yaseen Anwar will announce
the monetary policy statement for
the months of February and March at
a press conference to be held at the
central bank’s premises. SBP had cut
the policy rate by cumulative 2.5
percentage points since August 2012.
Analysts ruled out any sharp pullback
in inflation in the next 4 to 5 months
provided that oil and other
commodity prices stay within a
manageable range. Thus, expected
CPI inflation is expected to stay
around 9 percent for FY13. inP
01
ISLAMABAD
Online
IN order to generate cheaper elec-tricity from alternate resources,Federal Minister for Water andPower Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtarhas approved the Draft National
Policy for co-generation by utilisingbagasse and biomass.
Presiding over a meeting on fast track de-velopment of bagasse-based power genera-tion projects that was held on Thursday, theminister asked the ministry to submit the draftto the relevant forum for formal approval.
During the meeting it was recom-mended that upfront tariff will be given forfast track power generation projects andpower producers shall have the option tooffer energy to the respective DISCOs orto the CPPA.
The meeting also proposed simplifiedprocedure and reduction in the time line ofproduction. It shall be mandatory for thepower purchaser to buy all the energy offeredby the power producer. All general, financialand fiscal incentives available to renewableenergy projects of RE policy 2006 will be ap-plicable to the bagasse-based projects.
The minister said the government isutilising all resources to end the energy cri-sis and power generation from bagassewould be another step to produce electric-ity from indigenous resources. He appreci-ated the PSMA for taking interest inbagasse based power projects and assuredto provide full cooperation. “It is also thedesire of the President of Pakistan AsifZardari that sugarcane bagasse be utilisedfor cheaper power generation,” he said.Initially 1,000 MW would be completed onfast track basis, he added.
Earlier, the meeting was briefedby AEDB and PSMA that Pakistan isthe 5th largest producer of sugarcane,produces 50 million tonnes of sugarcaneannually, yielding over 10 million tons ofbagasse. Power generation from bagassewould not only reduce the furnace oil im-port but also save Rs 33 billion worthforeign exchange per annum.The country has 87sugar mills with acapacity togeneratea r o u n d3 , 0 0 0MW ofelectric-ity frombagassein win-ters.
BusiNess
BFriday, 8 February, 2013
We expect each bank to develop and continuously improve its risk
management and control framework depending on nature,
location, size, sophistication, complexity of business operations
and approved risk appetite. — SBP Governor Yasin Anwar
CheaP eleCtriCityAhmed Mukhtar approves Draft National Policy
KARACHI
STAFF RePORT
The Board of Directors of Muslim Com-mercial Bank (MCB) Ltd declared finalcash dividend of Rs 3 and 10% bonusshares, in addition to interim cash divi-dends of Rs 10 already paid for the yearended December 31, 2012, a statement ofthe bank said on Thursday.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the yearcame to Rs 22.77 compared to Rs 21.12for December 31, 2011. Return on assetscame to 2.95%, return on equity wasrecorded at 25.07% and book value pershare improved to 95.84. Total assets ofMCB grew by 17% to Rs 765.899 billion.The analysis of the asset mix highlights27% increase in investments to Rs402.069 billion and 5% increase in grossadvances to Rs 262.392 billion.
The quality of asset saw considerableimprovement as the non-performing loans
of the bank reduced by 4% to Rs. 25.562billion reflecting improvement in infec-tion ratio as at December 31, 2012. Thedeposit base of the bank grew by 11%closing at Rs 545.061 billion with an 18%increase in saving deposits, 13% increasein current deposits and 12% decrease infixed deposits. CASA base, as a result hasfurther strengthened to 85% compared to81% last year. Given the Bank's strong fi-nancial footing and market base, MCBBank Limited long term rating has beenupgraded to AAA from AA+ previouslyin a notification by The Pakistan CreditRating Agency on February 4, 2013.
The Bank is already on the highest slotfor its short term rating of A1+ onPACRA's entity rating scale. The Board ofDirectors met under the chairmanship ofMr. Mian Mohammad Mansha, on Febru-ary 7, 2013 to review the performance ofthe Bank and approve the financial state-ments for the year ended December 31,
2012. For the year 2012, the Bank reportedprofit before tax of Rs. 32.054 billion andprofit after tax of Rs. 20.941 billion withan increase of 2% and 8%, respectively.Net markup income of the Bank was re-ported at Rs. 40.856 billion whereas non-markup income came to Rs. 9.153 billion.
Non-markup income registered an in-crease of Rs. 1 billion (13%) owing to 16%increase in fee, commission and brokerageincome and 19% increase in dividend in-come during the year. The administrativeblock of the Bank registered an increase of10% over 2011, which considering the in-flationary pattern followed during the year,falls within the acceptable levels. The man-agement has been successful in imple-menting central authorization levels andposting, ensuring control over expensegrowth. The provision charge of the Bankdecreased significantly by Rs. 3.176 bil-lion, primarily on the back of strengthenedrisk management framework.
KABUL
nni
Afghan traders said on Thursday that they are not able to paythe high demurrage demanded by Pakistan transport companiesfor their containers stuck at the Karachi port.
Demurrage in this case refers to fees that the transporterscan demand for the extra time the containers have been left intheir charge. A letter sent from Pakistani transport companiesto the Afghan traders has asked each Afghan company to payover $185,000 demurrage to Pakistan.
"The [Afghan] government should be responsible to talk toPakistan and stand against this cruelty," Afghan trader AhmadShah said. "This is not acceptable for us. We are not able to pay.The government should take a decision," a trader and memberof the Egg and Meat Association said. The Afghan Commerceand Industries Minister said he will discuss this matter on Sun-day with Pakistani officials on his official visit to the country."I will share this issue in the session of commerce ministerswhich will be held in Pakistan on Sunday," Anwarul-Haq Ahady
said. Ministry officials added that the economic committee hasdecided that all Afghan containers stopped in Karachi port willbe exempt from customs tax. About 3,700 containers have beenstopped at the Karachi port for three months. The Afghan Cham-ber of Commerce and Industry recently claimed that Afghantraders were being fined for each day the containers remainedat the port, amounting to $50 million in three months.
Senate bodyconcerned overdecline in PSMperformance
ISLAMABAD
Online
Severely concerned about the declining statusof Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM), the legislativebody of the Senate has recommended runningthe affairs of PSM through public-privatepartnership to make it profitable.The meetingthat was held on Thursday under the chair ofSenator Zafarul Haq, showed concernsregarding the continuous decline in theperformance of PSM and said that people areusing the Mill’s resources for their ownvested interests. Senator Fateh MuhammadHasni said that Balochistan has rich resourcesof iron that can fulfil the requirement of ourindustry but unfortunately they have not beenutilised and raw material is imported fromabroad. This not only increase extra burdenon the national kitty, but also causes anincrease in prices of products.He said afterutilising raw material from within thecountry, the government can save billions ofrupees and support the PSM. He said thegovernment is not facilitating the miningsector of iron as FBR collects twice theamount of tax from this sector.Senator HajiGhulam Ali said PSM is causing billions ofrupees of losses to the national kitty and itsdebt is increasing therefore the governmentshould focus on small industries. Heproposed to bring out the PSM under theumbrella of the government, adding thatprivatisation is the only solution of thepresent status.Senator Ilyas Bilour said thesteel business is flourishing in the countrywhile PSM is declining with each passingday. He also was of the view that fairprivatisation was the only solution.SenatorMushahidullah Khan said the government isnot serious to run institutes efficiently.Duringthe meeting, Pakistan Steel Mill ChiefExecutive Officer Shamshad Qureshi briefedthe legislative body about functions andissues of the company. He said imbalance inthe financial affairs existed from last fifteento twenty years.He said in 2008-9 PSMreceived losses of Rs 25 billion and no reliefwas given after repeated requests. He saidthe government paid Rs 36 billion in the lastfour years and this amount was paid ininstallments therefore desired results werenot achieved. The CEO further said PSM hassigned an MoU with the Russian governmentand it is hoped that after a $500 millioninvestment, the situation would improve.
MCB announces financialresults, assets grew by17%, NPL reduced by 4%
Afghan traders struggling topay Karachi port demurrage
PRO 08-02-2013_Layout 1 2/7/2013 11:27 PM Page 1
BusiNessFriday, 8 February, 2013
Major Gainers
COMPANY OPEN HIGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERUniLever Pak 10075.00 10578.75 10200.00 10543.75 468.75 840Nestle Pakistan Ltd. 4701.00 4905.00 4800.00 4905.00 204.00 120Bata (Pak) 1445.00 1490.00 1445.00 1490.00 45.00 150Colgate Palmolive 1500.00 1525.00 1525.00 1525.00 25.00 50MithchellsFruit XDXB 349.80 364.00 346.00 360.00 10.20 3,400
interbank RatesUSD PKR 97.9478GBP PKR 153.4940JPY PKR 1.0432EURO PKR 132.8368
ForexBUY SELL
US Dollar 99.10 99.80Euro 131.28 133.19Great Britain Pound 154.00 156.20Japanese Yen 1.0492 1.0636Canadian Dollar 97.96 100.01Hong Kong Dollar 12.53 12.79UAE Dirham 26.80 27.14Saudi Riyal 26.30 26.58
havas pushes itsintegration and digitalstrategy into media
KARACHI: Havas announced another step forward
with its integration strategy to underscore its simple
and agile structure. The newly created ‘Havas Media
Group’ will include all of Havas’s media agencies,
consisting of Havas Media (operating in 126
markets), within which its media brand MPG and its
digital brand Media Contacts will be fully incorporated
and rebranded, and Arena Media (operating in 13
markets). The rebrand is supported by a new
simplified structure that places its digital expertise
and content marketing at the core of its operations.
This move brings the media side of the business in
line with the structure of Havas’s creative division,
Havas Creative Group (composed of the Havas
Worldwide global network and Arnold Worldwide
micro-network). Vishnu Mohan, CEO, Havas Media,
Asia Pacific, added: “This rebranding couldn’t have
been initiated at a better time from the Asia Pacific
perspective. Clients in the region are looking for
simplicity in agency structures and an integrated
offering. The objective of our current rebranding is
aligned to that expectation. The simplification of
brands within our group furthers our aspiration of
being the most agile and integrated agency group
with digital at its core.” PReSS ReleASe
Pakistan Japan BusinessForum leads a pharmadelegation to JapanKARACHI: Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF) in
collaboration with their counter parts in Japan have
arranged for a delegation from Pakistan to visit Japan
and interact with the Pharmaceutical Companies in
Japan for possible business collaboration. The 13
member delegation is led by the Senior Vice Chairman
of the Forum, Satoshi Nakagawa who is also the
Country General Manager of Marubeni Corporation in
Pakistan, Director PJBF, Feroz Shah and the Executive
Officer PJBF, Shaheena Anjum are also accompanying
the delegation for coordination and networking
support. Other individuals in the group are from Hilton,
Neutro, Global, TG, Pharmevo,Vision, Drug, Glitz and
Wilshire Lab who are to explore the opportunities
available with the Japanese Pharmaceutical Companies
for business in Pakistan as also the possibilities for
Joint Ventures with them. During their stay in Tokyo,
they will be exploring for prospective business
partners, attend a seminar on SME's arranged by the
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, Karachi and also attend
a dinner in their honour by the Pakistan Ambassador
to Tokyo, Farukh Amil PReSS ReleASe
habib ahmed appointedhonorary consul of russiaLAHORE: In a graceful event in the Embassy of
Russian Federation, held to install Mr Habib Ahmed,
as honorary consul, the Russian Ambassador, Mr
Andry Budnik said that Habib Ahmed has played a
vital role in promoting relations between the two
countries and contributing in strengthening of
economy of Pakistan. Earlier on reaching the
Embassy, Habib Ahmed was warmly welcomed by
the Ambassador Mr Budnik, Trade Commissioner Mr
Yuri Kozlov and other senior diplomats of the
embassy. PReSS ReleASe
NaFa–Summit Bank atMCard launched KARACHI: NBP Fullerton Asset Management
Limited (NAFA), a subsidiary of National Bank of
Pakistan, joins hands with Summit Bank Limited to
introduce a co-branded ATM Card for NAFA
investors. The NAFA-Summit Bank ATM Card
launching ceremony took place in Karachi on 6th
February 2013 where Mr. Husain Lawai, President &
CEO of Summit Bank Limited and Dr. Amjad
Waheed, CEO of NAFA, signed the co-branded ATM
Card agreement. This ATM card will enable NAFA
investors to withdraw cash against instant
redemption of their investment in NAFA Funds,
round the clock at over 6,000 1Link/MNET ATMs
across the country. NAFA is managing 12 open-end
mutual funds with a total asset base of over Rs. 50
billion. NAFA is rated ‘AM2’, which denotes very
high investment management standards by PACRA
and is amongst the four top rated asset
management companies in Pakistan. Sharing his
vision for Pakistan’s mutual fund industry, Dr.
Amjad Waheed said, “This initiative is part of
NAFA’s continuous effort to offer innovative
investment solutions that add value and
convenience to the experience of mutual fund
investors in Pakistan.” PReSS ReleASe
easy Breezy Chiccompletes anothersuccessful eventKARACHI: The famous fashion exhibition Easy
Breezy Chic completed another successful event,
this time in the city of lights, Karachi. The
exhibition highlighted designers like Monica
Piracha, Kausar Humayun, Alina and Fareena, and
Khanz. The exhibition also featured brands like
Aisha Alam, Studio 9, Madiha Ibrar and Adil
Sartaj’s Object store. The easy breezy chic event
made a successful run earlier last year. The event
kicked off from Lahore at the SukhChayn health
and wellness club and rocked the town. Many
established brands took part in the event along
with newcomers who are trying to make a mark
for themselves in this very competitive industry.
The event provided at great platform to designer
to showcase their talent to the people. “The
turnout was just amazing and the people enjoyed
themselves to the fullest”, said Irene Johnson, the
event organizer. “The collection displayed in the
exhibition were just fabulous and outstanding to
say the least”, she further added when asked
about the outfits that were displayed. The
colourful event was well covered by channels and
print media. The people who came to visit the
exhibition were much delighted as they were
treated to some the best collection and
scintillating outfits by the designers. The
exhibition was held on the 2nd of February 2013
at Price Jewellers near The Mall. The fun filled
event started at 1p.m and ended at 6p.m. The
hall was full for the most part of the day with
people coming in large numbers at the end part of
the event. PReSS ReleASe
NBP aggressively marketinghome remittance businessin Saudi arabia
KARACHI: Saudi Arabia is the leading remitting
country for Pakistan in terms of Home Remittances.
Fully understanding the business dynamics, NBP is
aggressively conducting business development
activities in the Kingdom. In this regard, Mr. Khalid
Bin Shaheen SEVP/Group Chief-NBP and Chairman
NBP Exchange Company Limited recently held a
series of meetings with senior banking counterparts
at Saudi Arabia to promote home remittances
through formal channels. NBP has made remittance
arrangements with all leading banks in the
Kingdom to provide fast, convenient, reliable and
absolutely free of charge remittance services to
expat Pakistanis while creating awareness in the
community about the availability of theses efficient
services through various marketing campaigns
while simultaneously discouraging the use of illegal
Hawala/Hundi channels. The Pakistani community
living in Saudi Arabia is also very responsive to the
efforts and has overwhelmingly adopted the formal
remittance channels in support of the national
cause. PReSS ReleASe
Dell selected by KP govt for freelaptops to studentsLAHORE: Dell has been selected to provide the provincial government of Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) 25,000 Inspiron3420 computers which will be distributed to
students in the province. The initiative is the largest of its kind ever in the province
and is designed to help enable students and people of KPK to become productive
and contributing members of society and to give back to the province. The first
round of distribution will be conducted on Feb 10 at Peshawar University. Speaking
about the initiative, Project Director KPK, Adeel Khan, said “This project is agreat
leap in terms of equipping our youth to meet the challenges of the modern world
and to keep Pakistan a competitor in the global knowledge economy. Dell’s
involvement goes a long way in guaranteeing the success of this initiative.” Shahzad
Aslam Khan, Country Manager Dell Pakistan & Afghanistan, said “We look forward to
working with KPK as they increase technology access and the learning potential for
students. Mobile computing devices have become essential to daily life — at work, at
home and increasingly, in academic institutions. Students are leveraging devices of
all kinds to access information, collaborate with their peers and teachers, and
produce dynamic content inside and outside of the classroom. At Dell, we believe
these devices can help support teaching and learning – and have the potential to
personalize the learning experience for each student. Dell is delighted to work with
KPK in this important program and is committed to providing these devices by
meeting aggressive time lines and ensuring highest product quality.” PReSS ReleASe
MD NeSPaK posting not contrary toPeC rules: Prof JameelLAHORE: Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), which is the right forum for
regulating consulting services in Pakistan, has not invoked any law against the
appointment of present Managing Director of NESPAK, this was stated by Prof.
Jameel Ahmad Khan, former Chairman PEC, former Vice-Chancellor of NED
University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi and a former Director of NESPAK
Board, in a press release issued here on Wednesday. He said that he had been the
Chairman of PEC and certainly knew that there was a provision under Clause 3 of
the Conduct and Practice of Consulting Engineers Bye-laws of PEC (1986) that an
engineering consulting firm should be owned by professional engineers. However,
the equity of the multi-disciplinary consultancy firm NESPAK is wholly owned by
the State and as such it is exempted from the application of this law. PReSS ReleASe
CORPORATE CORNER
LAHORE: Hassan Frid, Adam Nelson and
Hussain Farid at the launch of Nelson
Chocolate Bar on Thursday. STAFF PHOTO
02
B
Britain will not accept an EU budget deal
unless further cuts are made in negotiations
in Brussels —David Cameron
LAHORE: Russian Ambassador Andry Budmik,
Trade Commissioner Yury Kozlov, Habib Ahmed,
Dr Shahid Hassan and Mr Mujeeb at Russian
Embassy on the appointment ceremony of Habib
Ahmed as honorary consul of Russian Federation
in Lahore. PR
eurozone interestrates kept onhold at 0.75%
LONDON
AGenCieS
THE European Central Bank (ECB) has lefteurozone interest rates unchanged at 0.75%, ashad been widely expected. Many analysts donot expect the ECB to alter rates from theircurrent record low until next year at the earliest.
ECB president Mario Draghi told a news conference thatbusiness confidence was returning, but the situation "remainsfragile". The last time the ECB made a change to its maininterest rate was in July, when it was cut from 1%. Recentsurveys have suggested that the pace of decline in theeurozone's manufacturing and service sectors has slowed. MrDraghi said that there were signs that business and financialconfidence in the eurozone was returning, although there"continues to be downside risks". The increasing amount ofloans that European banks are repaying to the ECB was a signof that confidence, he said. "It means they (banks) are lessuncertain than they were a year ago."