In the next two years, Thatta alone will attract more than $2 billion investment in wind sector. — AEDB CEO Arif Alauddin NEWS DESK A SIAn stocks fell, with the re- gional benchmark index post- ing the biggest weekly drop in seven months, as Cyprus strug- gled to prevent a financial collapse, stoking concern europe’s debt crisis is intensifying. hSBC holdings Plc (5), europe’s biggest lender, slid 1.9 percent in hong Kong. BhP Billiton Ltd. (BhP), the world’s biggest mining company, lost 6 percent in Sydney as commodities fell amid concern europe’s crisis will hinder global growth. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203), the world’s largest carmaker, lost 2.8 percent after Japan’s new central bank governor stopped short of announc- ing new stimulus. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.7 percent to 134.31 this week, the biggest weekly decline since the period ended Aug. 31, amid concern that an unprecedented levy on bank deposits in Cyprus may be a sign of deepening cri- sis in europe. “nobody knows what’s going to happen next,” said Grace Tam, hong Kong-based global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management Ltd., which oversees about $1.3 trillion glob- ally. “Cyprus can damp market senti- ment in the short term but it’s something we’ve already seen happening in eu- rope, so we are not fairly concerned.” Relative value: The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rallied 3.8 percent this year as improving economic data from the U.S. and speculation that Japan will deploy more stimulus countered con- cern China will move to cool its property market. Asia’s benchmark trades at 14.9 times average estimated earnings, com- pared with 14.1 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) and 12.7 for the Stoxx europe 600 Index (SXXP), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Topix Index, Japan’s broadest share gauge, fell 1.2 percent this week even after reaching the highest close since October 2008 on March 21. Aus- tralia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 3 percent this week, the biggest weekly drop since May. Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 0.8 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index (KOSPI) declined 1.9 percent. hong Kong’s hang Seng Index fell 1.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, rose 2.2 per- cent as a private survey on March 21 showed Chinese manufacturing may ex- pand faster than estimated. India’s S&P BSe Sensex (SenSeX) dropped 3.6 percent amid concern the withdrawal of the government’s biggest partner from the ruling alliance may jeopardize eco- nomic reforms. CypRus Bailout: Asian stocks fell after the european Central Bank said it may cut off Cyprus banks from emer- gency funds as the island nation strug- gles to stave off financial collapse after lawmakers rejected a bank deposit levy as a condition for a euro-zone rescue. Cyprus’ attempt to secure a bailout from Russia was rebuffed yesterday. Resource stocks and companies that do business in europe fell. hSBC slid 1.9 per- cent to hK$83.10. Samsung electronics Co. (005930), a consumer-electronics ex- porter, dropped 1.7 percent to 1.455 mil- lion won in Seoul. BhP Billiton slid 6 percent to A$33.43, the biggest weekly decline since the period ended May 18. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), Australia’s second-largest miner by market value, slumped 5.5 per- cent to A$57.92. BoJ GoveRnoR: Japanese shares fell after new Bank of Japan Governor haruhiko Kuroda on March 21 failed to outline any immediate increase to stim- ulus in his first press conference. he re- stated that he will do whatever it takes to achieve a 2 percent inflation target and that he may bring forward open-ended asset purchases, though he made no con- crete commitments. Toyota dropped 2.8 percent to 4,880 yen. nissan Motor Co. (7201), Japan’s third-largest carmaker by market value, lost 4 percent to 946 yen. Japanese real estate stocks fell after the sector’s rating was cut at Morgan Stanley. Mitsubishi estate Co., the nation’s biggest developer by market value, slumped 8.8 percent to 2,549 yen. Mitsui Fudosan Co., the largest property company by sales, slipped 4.7 percent to 2,596 yen. Among shares that advanced, China Resources Power holdings Co. jumped 16 percent to hK$23.50 in hong Kong. The utility reported on March 18 that full-year net income rose 68 percent to hK$7.48 bil- lion ($964 million). That compared with an hK$6.8 billion average estimate by 14 an- alysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. jumped 13 percent to hK$13.08 in hong Kong after the homebuilder in the South- ern Chinese city posted full-year earnings that beat estimates. Asian stocks post biggest weekly decline in eight months SECP, ACCA advocate corporatisation LAHORE AGENCIES Chairman Security and exchange Com- mission of Pakistan (SeCP) Muham- mad Ali said that corporatisation should be facilitated in Pakistan for the sake of the country’s economic growth. he was speaking at a seminar, which was jointly organised by SeCP and ACCA, and focused on promoting cor- poratisation. “Only two percent of total businesses are corporatised in Pakistan as compared to the United Kingdom, which has less than half of Pakistan’s population. The UK has two million registered companies against the 61,000 registered companies in Pakistan,” said Ali. he said the corporatisation is the need of the hour. It is the answer to many challenges faced by entrepreneurs working in a highly regulated banking industry and an environment with fairly slow economic growth. head of ACCA Lahore, haroon A Jan, said that ACCA and SeCP are natural allies with respect to the cause of corporatisation. “Formalisation helps governments achieve predictable revenues and the ac- counting profession is the natural route to it,” he said. FCCA, Deputy Registrar, Corporatization and Compliance Depart- ment, SeCP, Ahmad Mobeen Khwaja and Additional Registrar, Corporatiza- tion and Compliance Department, SeCP, Liaqat Ali Dola explained the procedure to register with SeCP. FCCA, Manager Corporate Report- ing, Allied Bank Limited Sheeraz Zafar said that the entrepreneurs would find it a lot easier to access funding sources after registering with SeCP. It would also protect their private assets in a much bet- ter way, he added. 01 BUSINESS B Sunday, 24 March, 2013 ISLAMABAD ONLINE T he Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has approved a total of $288 million in financing for two Wind Power Projects poised to deliver much-needed electricity to Pakistan and Peru. According to a statement issued on Saturday by Alternate energy development board (AeDB) it is stated that OPIC President and CeO elizabeth L. Littlefield said OPIC it would help diversify its energy production to include important contributions from renewable energy sources. “The wind power projects will enable both countries to take advantage of their massive renewable energy potential to help meet unmet demand for electricity,” Littlefield continued. “We are thrilled to partner with innovative US companies to bring these highly- developmental projects to realization. “The provision of clean and reliable electricity is an essential building block of any economy,” she added. The OPIC credit facility would help build a 50 MW wind power plant in Gharo- Ketti Bandar Wind Corridor, designed to generate 133 Giga Watt hours of emission-free electricity annually. Using Ge Wind turbines, the Sapphire Wind Power plant would help Pakistan diversify its power generation beyond reliance on high-priced fuel oil by tapping vast renewable energy potential, which the Corridor alone possesses generation capacity of over 132,000 MW– virtually equal to the world’s entire installed wind capacity for 2010. Private Sector has been triggered to invest in Wind Power. Currently, 45 Wind Power Projects of around 3200 MW capacity are under process, said the CeO of AeDB Arif Allaudin. Two projects of 49.5 MW and 56 MW (106 MW) belonging to M/s FFC energy Limited and M/s Zorlu enerji Pakistan have already been completed at Jhampir while another three projects namely Three Gorges First Wind Farm Pakistan Ltd., Foundation Wind energy-I Ltd and Foundation Wind energy –II Pvt. Ltd are under construction. Talking about the OPIC financing the CeO AeDB, Arif Alauddin stated that he has been trying for opic funding for Pakistan projects for some time, and is glad to see it coming now. OPIC is already funding a SSJD energy’s 12 MW Baggass based Renewable energy Project in Pakistan. In the Wind Sector, following Sapphire, Fina energy of Turkey is the next project in the OPIC pipeline for Pakistan. CeO AeDB also stated that Re has already become the sector attracting the largest investment of any sector in the country. he expects that in the next two years Thatta alone will attract more than $ 2 Billion in Wind Sector. This amount is expected to increase as soon as the solar tariff is announced. $288 MILLION OPIC board approves for wind power projects in Pakistan We are thrilled to partner with innovative US companies to bring these highly-developmental projects to realization. The provision of clean and reliable electricity is an essential building block of any economy ELIZABETH LITTLEFIELD OPIC PReSIdenT PRO 24-03-2013_Layout 1 3/24/2013 4:57 AM Page 1