International Pak, UK put heads together on issues See on Page 12 BP sells stakes in four oilfields See on Page 12 Nato blitz mows down 15 Taliban See on Page 12 Democracy hinges on House supremacy: PM See on Page 12 LAHORE: Federal Minister for Law and Justice Dr Babar Awan in a delightful mood along leader of PML (Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, during a joint press conference. -Online Ghulam Raza Rajani KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSO), key supplier of fur- nace oil to the country, is fac- ing severe liquidity crunch as different state-run and private entities remained incapable to clear their dues worth more than Rs146 billion, it is learnt. According to the latest fig- ures quoted by Pepco, circular debt has reached a record level of Rs178 billion, and out of this, PSO which meet more than 22 per cent of the energy demand in the country has to receive more than Rs146 bil- lion. One thing which is alarming is the fact that PSO receivables are growing by an average Rs8-10 billion on a monthly basis since last few months. As per the analyst of Topline Securities, this is primarily due to the liquidity constraint with Pepco as revealed by the man- agement in its last analyst See # 16 Page 11 PSO liquidity crisis deepens Staff Reporter KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Monday convened a meeting of commercial banks and development finance insti- tutions to work out a strategy in response to the observations made by the Supreme Court regarding written-off loans. The meeting, which was chaired by SBP Governor, Shahid H Kardar, discussed at length the issues pertaining to written off loans. Presidents and Chief Executives of banks apprised the SBP Governor that banks had already issued notices to defaulters in line with the directives of the Supreme Court. The banks' representatives informed the meeting that a write-off is undertaken after all remedies to recover have been exhausted. They said that the writes-offs are allowed by their Boards. Banks' representatives informed the meeting that a number of prominent industri- alists were made to suffer jail sentences and large scale liqui- dations or auction sales were carried out. At the same time it was also See # 18 Page 11 SBP, banks vow to toe court line Written-off loans recovery drive PSO receivables growing Rs8-10bn/mth KARACHI: Government's lack of credibility, both with its own citizens and donor agen- cies, has placed it in a double bind and hampered efforts to raise critically needed revenue. Pakistanis say the lack of clarity, transparency and accountability on where the government spends the rev- enue encourages tax evasion. At the same time, donor and multilateral agencies are link- ing the release of foreign aid to Pakistan aggressively pursuing fiscal reforms to increase its tax base. "The major concern is the credibility issue," said Salman See # 13 Page 11 Govt in revenue boost quandary PAKPATTAN: At least six people, including a woman, was killed and several injured in bomb blast here at mau- soleum of Baba Fariduddin Ganj Baksh on Monday. As per details, some unknown terrorists planted remote control bomb in a motorbike, which burst at gate- 2 of mausoleum of Baba Fariduddin Ganj Baksh at 6:30 am, killing six people and injuring more than 25. The three deceased have been identified as Muhammad Hanif, Mubarak Boota Wapda employee and Rodaran Bibi, while injured have been identi- fied as Zahid, Khalid Habib, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Sharif, Muhammad Sharif, Muhammad Rasheed, Ghulam Fatima, Shagufta Bibi, Sakina See # 9 Page 11 Baba Farid shrine blast martyrs six President, PM condemn explosion Security at all shrines beefed up DUBAI: A $3 billion foreign joint-venture copper and gold mining project in Balochistan will go ahead as planned, despite earlier plans by the provincial government to can- cel it, an executive said on Monday. The provincial government said earlier this year it would cancel the project to ease anger in Pakistan's biggest but poor- est province over outsiders' exploitation of its natural resources. "The project is going ahead and will not be cancelled, we are now in talks with the gov- ernment and we expect pro- duction to start by the end of 2015," Gerhard Von Borries, chief executive of Tethyan Copper told Reuters on the See # 11 Page 11 Tethyan to push B’stan mining B'stan govt nods Gold, Copper Project Staff Reporter KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan Monday in its Annual Report for fiscal year 2010 (FY10) showed country's macro-economy grew at a rate of 4.1 per cent compared with 1.2 per cent growth in the pre- ceding year (FY09). While, SBP report projected GDP growth for the current fis- cal year (FY11) between 2 and 3 per cent, and annual average inflation has been predicted between 13.5 to 14.5 per cent. Fiscal and current account deficits are likely to remain between 5 to 6 per cent and 3 to 4 per cent of the GDP, respec- tively. Workers' remittances are expected to stay between $9.5 billion and $10.5 billion. Exports and imports value is expected to be between $20- $21 billion and $34-$35 billion respectively. SBP report said that the impact of the floods has strengthened the inflationary expectations for FY11; the August 2010 CPI, included a 15.6 per cent year-on-year rise in its food component. However, SBP assessments suggest that the direct impact of the flood-related supply shock is likely to be limited. For example, the impact of flood damages and shortages of minor crops are not expected to persist beyond 2 to 3 months as supply line improves and as fresh crops (e.g., vegetables) enter the market. See # 17 Page 11 SBP lowers FY11 growth figures FY10 Annual Report shows economy improved FY11 GDP to stay around 2-3pc; Inflation seen at 14.5pc Fiscal deficit forecasted at 5-6pc while C/A deficit at 3-4pc MQM high-ups told to be vigilant ISLAMABAD: Intelligence Agencies Monday has warned central leadership of MQM to be vigilant and careful as in the present grave situation, they have virtually threat to their lives. According to reliable sources, interior ministry in a report sent to the MQM vibrant leadership, has warned them that after the unremitting target killings in Karachi, some of their leaders could be targeted hence Dr Farooq Sattar, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Mustafa Kamal, Faisal Sabzwari and others are See # 15 Page 11 1st Quarter FY11 Repatriation of profit falls 1.1pc Ahmed Siddique KARACHI: Repatriation of profit by the foreign companies has decreased by 1.1 per cent in first quarter of the fiscal year 2011, according to the State Bank of Pakistan data on sec- tor-wise repatriation of profits. From July to September 2010, the repatriation of profit by foreign companies in Pakistan falls to $124.9 million against $126.3 million See # 19 Page 11 Nepra cuts tariff by 36paisa/unit ISLAMABAD: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has reduced power tariff by 36 paisa per unit in respect of all the distribution companies (Discos). The new power tariff will take effect from September. Power distribution companies had demanded that power tariff be decreased by 23 paisas per unit. According to details, power distribution companies had filed applications with Nepra about reduction in power tariff and See # 10 Page 11 Pak-US talks ’N’ submits privilege motion ISLAMABAD: PML-N on Monday has submitted a privi- lege motion in National Assembly Secretariat regarding recent Pak-US Strategic Dialogue. PML-N took the stance in the resolution that government did not take into confidence the See # 12 Page 11 *Crude Oil (brent)$/bbl 83.80 *Crude Oil (WTI)$/bbl 82.86 *Cotton $/lb 124.71 *Gold $/ozs 1,335.40 *Silver $/ozs 23.54 Malaysian Palm $ 986.50 GOLD (NCEL) PKR 37,098 KHI Cotton 40Kg PKR 8,574 *Last Updated 20:00 PST Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 21-Oct-2010) Monthly(Oct, 2010 up to 21-Oct-2010) Daily (21-Oct-2010) Total Portfolio Invest (15 Oct-2010) 64.28 15.05 -1.98 2505 -1.30 2.85 0.55 -1.14 -0.65 -0.31 0.0002 SCRA(U.S $ in million) Portfolio Investment FIPI (25-Oct-2010) Local Companies (25-Oct-2010) Banks / DFI (25-Oct-2010) Mutual Funds (25-Oct-2010) NBFC (25-Oct-2010) Local Investors (25-Oct-2010) Other Organization (25-Oct-2010) (U.S $ in million) NCCPL GDR update Commodities Forex Reserves (15-Oct-10) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-Sep 10) Exports (Jul 10-Sep 10) Imports (Jul 10-Sep 10) Trade Balance (Jul 10-Sep 10) Current A/C (Jul 10- Sep10) Remittances (Jul 10-Sep 10) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-Sep10) Revenue (Jul 10-Sep 10) Foreign Debt (Jun 10) Domestic Debt (Aug 10) Repatriated Profit (Jul- Sep 10) LSM Growth (Aug 10) GDP Growth FY10E Per Capita Income FY10 Population $17.10bn 13.77% $5.18bn $9.03bn $(3.85)bn $(545)mn $2.65bn $455.10mn Rs 310bn $55.63bn Rs 4863bn $124.90mn -3.85% 4.10% $1,051 170.88mn Economic Indicators Symbols MCB (1 GDR= 2 Shares) OGDC (1 GDR= 10 Shares) UBL (1 GDR= 4 Shares) LUCK (1 GDR= 4 Shares) HUBC (1 GDR= 25 Shares) $.Price 2.60 21.09 2.00 1.70 9.95 PKR/Shares 111.58 181.02 42.92 36.48 34.16 T-Bills (3 Mths) T-Bills (6 Mths) T-Bills (12 Mths) Discount Rate Kibor (1 Mth) Kibor (3 Mths) Kibor (6 Mths) Kibor ( 9 Mths) Kibor (1Yr) P.I.B ( 3 Yrs) P.I.B (5 Yrs) P.I.B (10 Yrs) P.I.B (15 Yrs) P.I.B (20 Yrs) P.I.B (30 Yrs) 20-Oct-2010 20-Oct-2010 20-Oct-2010 29-Sep-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 12.77% 13.08% 13.22% 13.50% 12.69% 12.97% 13.20% 13.61% 13.69% 13.63% 13.74% 13.80% 14.23% 14.36% 14.52% Money Market Update Symbols Buy (Rs) Sell (Rs) Australian $ 84.50 84.70 Canadian $ 84.70 85.00 Danish Krone 14.90 15.30 Euro 118.70 119.20 Hong Kong $ 11.00 11.30 Japanese Yen 1.045 1.071 Saudi Riyal 22.90 23.10 Singapore $ 65.46 65.70 Swedish Korona 12.20 12.70 Swiss Franc 88.10 88.60 U.A.E Dirham 23.30 23.65 UK Pound 135.00 135.50 US $ 85.90 86.20 Open Mkt Currency Rates Symbols Buying Selling TT Clean TT & OD Australian $ 85.20 85.39 Canadian $ 83.98 84.18 Danish Krone 16.14 16.18 Euro 120.41 120.69 Hong Kong $ 11.05 11.08 Japanese Yen 1.058 1.061 Saudi Riyal 22.88 22.93 Singapore $ 66.28 66.43 Swedish Korona 13.06 13.09 Swiss Franc 88.10 88.30 U.A.E Dirham 23.36 23.42 UK Pound 135.09 135.41 US $ 85.83 86.02 Inter-Bank Currency Rates Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com www.thefinancialdaily.com CITIES MAX-TEMP MIN ISLAMABAD 29°C 9°C KARACHI 35°C 21°C LAHORE 31°C 15°C FAISALABAD 31°C 14°C QUETTA 24°C 0°C RAWALPINDI 30°C 11°C Weather Forecast Index Close Change KSE 100 10,703.71 51.23 Nikkei 225 9,401.16 25.55 Hang Seng 23,627.91 110.37 Sensex 30 20,303.12 137.26 ADX 2,833.09 12.08 SSE COMP. 3,051.42 76.38 FTSE 100 5,766.67 25.30 *Dow Jones 11,201.85 69.29 *Last Updated 20:00 PST Global Indices Sugar-millers start crushing in Sindh ISLAMABAD: Sindh has started the sugarcane crushing, and slump in the price of sugar is expected when the new sugar arrives in market. According to industry sources, sugar is being processed in Matiari with two more sugar mills likely to set See # 14 Page 11 LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party Monday offered olive branch to Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML- Q) in order to strengthen the ruling party's policy of recon- ciliation, media reported. Federal Minster for Law Babar Awan held one-on-one meeting with PML-Q leader and former chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi at his residence, which accord- ing to political analysts is a bid to get space in Punjab politics. Awan, while addressing a joint press conference with Elahi, said they just exchanged views over the current political scenario and exchanged views over challenges facing the country. He said the only way forward in the problems 'is national reconciliation'. "We realise that keeping on board all the political forces and join- ing hands with them is neces- sary for democracy and people of Pakistan." He observed that PML-Q 'is stakeholder and par- ticipator' of the democratic sys- tem, and said 'politics is inclu- sive job democracy can't be stabilised without peoples par- ticipation.' Awan said Elahi and he shared same opinion on nation- al and democratic issues. He said "Both the parties have same interests, and the PPP 'respects mandate of PML-Q'. The minister said he agreed with the suggestions of Pervaiz Elahi and would convey it to the Prime Minister and the President. He was of the view that confrontation within polit- ical parties ultimately hits common people, and urge tol- erance and harmony among the democratic parties. "It's the only way forward for people of Pakistan." Awan said he had also held meetings with leaders of vari- ous political parties which are either inside or outside the Parliament and discussed national issues with them. "I have also met Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain few days back on a cup of tea but no camera was there," he told reports. Addressing the news brief- ing, the PML-Q leader said "our parties are agreed that all the political forces should sit together to resolve national issues." In politics, he said, the doors of dialogues should be opened. Ruling PPP has decid- ed to boost links with PML-Q after the ongoing efforts by Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and other PML fac- tions for political alliance. The high-level contacts between the two parties will likely to boost up political activities in the country ahead of local body elections which Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani says might be held next year. -Agencies PPP offers olive branch to PML-Q Law Minister meets Elahi; politics is not exclusive, its inclusive: Awan Karachi, Tuesday, October 26, 2010, Zul-Qa’dah 17, Price Rs12 Pages 12 Fiscal Balance (billion Ruppes) Shares in Total Financing of Fiscal Deficit Primary Revenue Fiscal Domestic Banking Domestic non-banks External
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International
Pak, UK put heads together on issues See on Page 12
BP sells stakes in four oilfields See on Page 12
Nato blitz mows down 15 Taliban See on Page 12
Democracy hinges onHouse supremacy: PM
See on Page 12
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Law and Justice Dr Babar Awan in a delightful mood along
leader of PML (Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, during a joint press conference. -Online
Ghulam Raza Rajani
KARACHI: Pakistan StateOil (PSO), key supplier of fur-nace oil to the country, is fac-ing severe liquidity crunch asdifferent state-run and privateentities remained incapable toclear their dues worth morethan Rs146 billion, it is learnt.
According to the latest fig-ures quoted by Pepco, circulardebt has reached a record levelof Rs178 billion, and out ofthis, PSO which meet more
than 22 per cent of the energydemand in the country has toreceive more than Rs146 bil-lion.
One thing which is alarmingis the fact that PSO receivablesare growing by an averageRs8-10 billion on a monthlybasis since last few months.
As per the analyst of ToplineSecurities, this is primarily dueto the liquidity constraint withPepco as revealed by the man-agement in its last analyst
See # 16 Page 11
PSO liquiditycrisis deepens
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: State Bank ofPakistan Monday convened ameeting of commercial banksand development finance insti-tutions to work out a strategyin response to the observationsmade by the Supreme Courtregarding written-off loans.
The meeting, which waschaired by SBP Governor,Shahid H Kardar, discussed atlength the issues pertaining towritten off loans.
Presidents and ChiefExecutives of banks apprisedthe SBP Governor that bankshad already issued notices to
defaulters in line with thedirectives of the SupremeCourt.
The banks' representativesinformed the meeting that awrite-off is undertaken after allremedies to recover have beenexhausted. They said that thewrites-offs are allowed by theirBoards.
Banks' representativesinformed the meeting that anumber of prominent industri-alists were made to suffer jailsentences and large scale liqui-dations or auction sales werecarried out.
At the same time it was also See # 18 Page 11
SBP, banks vowto toe court line
Written-off loans recovery drive
PSO receivables growing Rs8-10bn/mth
KARACHI: Government'slack of credibility, both with itsown citizens and donor agen-cies, has placed it in a doublebind and hampered efforts toraise critically needed revenue.
Pakistanis say the lack ofclarity, transparency andaccountability on where thegovernment spends the rev-
enue encourages tax evasion.At the same time, donor and
multilateral agencies are link-ing the release of foreign aid toPakistan aggressively pursuingfiscal reforms to increase itstax base.
"The major concern is thecredibility issue," said Salman
See # 13 Page 11
Govt in revenueboost quandary
PAKPATTAN: At least sixpeople, including a woman,was killed and several injuredin bomb blast here at mau-soleum of Baba FariduddinGanj Baksh on Monday.
As per details, someunknown terrorists plantedremote control bomb in amotorbike, which burst at gate-2 of mausoleum of BabaFariduddin Ganj Baksh at 6:30am, killing six people and
injuring more than 25.The three deceased have
been identified as MuhammadHanif, Mubarak Boota Wapdaemployee and Rodaran Bibi,while injured have been identi-fied as Zahid, Khalid Habib,Muhammad Jameel,Muhammad Sharif,Muhammad Sharif,Muhammad Rasheed, GhulamFatima, Shagufta Bibi, Sakina
See # 9 Page 11
Baba Farid shrineblast martyrs six
President, PM condemn explosion
Security at all shrines beefed up
DUBAI: A $3 billion foreignjoint-venture copper and goldmining project in Balochistanwill go ahead as planned,despite earlier plans by theprovincial government to can-cel it, an executive said onMonday.
The provincial governmentsaid earlier this year it wouldcancel the project to ease angerin Pakistan's biggest but poor-
est province over outsiders'exploitation of its naturalresources.
"The project is going aheadand will not be cancelled, weare now in talks with the gov-ernment and we expect pro-duction to start by the end of2015," Gerhard Von Borries,chief executive of TethyanCopper told Reuters on the
See # 11 Page 11
Tethyan to pushB’stan mining
B'stan govt nods Gold, Copper Project
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: State Bank ofPakistan Monday in its AnnualReport for fiscal year 2010(FY10) showed country'smacro-economy grew at a rateof 4.1 per cent compared with1.2 per cent growth in the pre-ceding year (FY09).
While, SBP report projectedGDP growth for the current fis-cal year (FY11) between 2 and3 per cent, and annual averageinflation has been predictedbetween 13.5 to 14.5 per cent.Fiscal and current accountdeficits are likely to remainbetween 5 to 6 per cent and 3 to4 per cent of the GDP, respec-tively. Workers' remittances areexpected to stay between $9.5billion and $10.5 billion.Exports and imports value isexpected to be between $20-$21 billion and $34-$35 billionrespectively.
SBP report said that theimpact of the floods hasstrengthened the inflationaryexpectations for FY11; theAugust 2010 CPI, included a15.6 per cent year-on-year risein its food component.
However, SBP assessmentssuggest that the direct impact of
the flood-related supply shockis likely to be limited.
For example, the impact offlood damages and shortages ofminor crops are not expected to
persist beyond 2 to 3 months assupply line improves and asfresh crops (e.g., vegetables)enter the market.
See # 17 Page 11
SBP lowers FY11growth figures
FY10 Annual Report shows economy improved
FY11 GDP to stay around 2-3pc; Inflation seen at 14.5pcFiscal deficit forecasted at 5-6pc while C/A deficit at 3-4pc
MQMhigh-upstold to bevigilant
ISLAMABAD: IntelligenceAgencies Monday has warnedcentral leadership of MQM tobe vigilant and careful as in thepresent grave situation, theyhave virtually threat to theirlives.
According to reliablesources, interior ministry in areport sent to the MQM vibrantleadership, has warned themthat after the unremitting targetkillings in Karachi, some oftheir leaders could be targetedhence Dr Farooq Sattar, HaiderAbbas Rizvi, Mustafa Kamal,Faisal Sabzwari and others are
See # 15 Page 11
1st Quarter FY11
Repatriationof profit
falls 1.1pcAhmed Siddique
KARACHI: Repatriation ofprofit by the foreign companieshas decreased by 1.1 per cent infirst quarter of the fiscal year2011, according to the StateBank of Pakistan data on sec-tor-wise repatriation of profits.
From July to September2010, the repatriation of profitby foreign companies inPakistan falls to $124.9 millionagainst $126.3 million
See # 19 Page 11
Nepra cutstariff by
36paisa/unitISLAMABAD: NationalElectric Power RegulatoryAuthority (NEPRA) has reducedpower tariff by 36 paisa per unitin respect of all the distributioncompanies (Discos).
The new power tariff will takeeffect from September.
Power distribution companieshad demanded that power tariffbe decreased by 23 paisas perunit.
According to details, powerdistribution companies had filedapplications with Nepra aboutreduction in power tariff and
See # 10 Page 11
Pak-US talks
’N’ submitsprivilegemotion
ISLAMABAD: PML-N onMonday has submitted a privi-lege motion in NationalAssembly Secretariat regardingrecent Pak-US StrategicDialogue.
PML-N took the stance in theresolution that government didnot take into confidence the
in SindhISLAMABAD: Sindh hasstarted the sugarcane crushing,and slump in the price of sugaris expected when the new sugararrives in market.
According to industrysources, sugar is beingprocessed in Matiari with twomore sugar mills likely to set
See # 14 Page 11
LAHORE: Pakistan PeoplesParty Monday offered olivebranch to Pakistan MuslimLeague Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) in order to strengthen theruling party's policy of recon-ciliation, media reported.
Federal Minster for LawBabar Awan held one-on-onemeeting with PML-Q leaderand former chief ministerPunjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahiat his residence, which accord-ing to political analysts is a bid
to get space in Punjab politics.Awan, while addressing a
joint press conference withElahi, said they just exchangedviews over the current politicalscenario and exchanged viewsover challenges facing thecountry. He said the only wayforward in the problems 'isnational reconciliation'. "Werealise that keeping on boardall the political forces and join-ing hands with them is neces-sary for democracy and people
of Pakistan." He observed thatPML-Q 'is stakeholder and par-ticipator' of the democratic sys-tem, and said 'politics is inclu-sive job democracy can't bestabilised without peoples par-ticipation.'
Awan said Elahi and heshared same opinion on nation-al and democratic issues. Hesaid "Both the parties havesame interests, and the PPP'respects mandate of PML-Q'.
The minister said he agreed
with the suggestions of PervaizElahi and would convey it tothe Prime Minister and thePresident. He was of the viewthat confrontation within polit-ical parties ultimately hitscommon people, and urge tol-erance and harmony among thedemocratic parties. "It's theonly way forward for people ofPakistan."
Awan said he had also heldmeetings with leaders of vari-ous political parties which are
either inside or outside theParliament and discussednational issues with them.
"I have also met ChaudhryShujaat Hussain few days backon a cup of tea but no camerawas there," he told reports.
Addressing the news brief-ing, the PML-Q leader said"our parties are agreed that allthe political forces should sittogether to resolve nationalissues." In politics, he said, thedoors of dialogues should be
opened. Ruling PPP has decid-ed to boost links with PML-Qafter the ongoing efforts byPakistan Muslim League(Nawaz) and other PML fac-tions for political alliance.
The high-level contactsbetween the two parties willlikely to boost up politicalactivities in the country aheadof local body elections whichPrime Minister Syed YousufRaza Gilani says might be heldnext year. -Agencies
PPP offers olive branch to PML-QLaw Minister meets Elahi; politics is not exclusive, its inclusive: Awan
SUKKUR: Sindh ChiefMinister Syed Qaim AliShah said here Monday thatSindh is gifted with abun-dant natural resources butsuch resources are notbeing properly exploreddue to lack of scientific andtechnical educational skills.
He was inaugurating thePetroleum TechnicalTraining Institute (PTTI)at Khairpur. He said thatpeople of the province hasgreat capabilities and theyafter having technicaltraining from such insti-tutes will explore andexploit the naturalresources for the socio-economic uplift of theprovince.
The Chief Ministerurged the youth to pursuetechnical education as
potential field related to oil& gas industries.
He said that technicallyeducated people are ingreat demand in presentindustries therefore,STEVTA (Sindh TechnicalEducation & VocationalTraining Authority) hasbeen established to makeour youth technically ableand capable for gettingjobs in different industriesof the country.
The Chief Minister saidthat keeping the impor-tance of technical educa-tion in view, the Sindhgovernment in collabora-tion with Federal Ministryof Petroleum & NaturalResources would establishten similar petroleum insti-tutes.
Earlier Sindh Chief
Minister Syed Qaim AliShah along with SindhMinister for TechnicalEducation & ChairmanSTEVTA Abdul SalamThaheem inauguratedPetroleum TechnicalTraining Institute, com-pleted at a cost of rupees88 millions, whichincludes Hostel, Computer& InstrumentalLaboratories.
The Chief Minister alsoinaugurated the internalroad of GovernmentCollege of TechnologyKhairpur costing 15 mil-lions. Sindh Minister forTechnical EducationAbdul Salam Thaheemand Managing DirectorSTEVTA Abdul WahidUqaili also spoke on theoccasion.-APP
PTTI starts working in Khairpur
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: While therecent rise in dengue caseshas created a havoc in theblood banks all over thecity, PWA Blood Bank, thelargest voluntary bloodbank run by the students ofDow Medical College isproviding mega units ofplatelets to patients ofdengue admitted at CivilHospital Karachi.
PWA Cell Separator andthe acquirement of anadditional cryofuge in thePWA Blood Bank, hasenhanced the efficientworking of the blood bank
in the provision ofplatelets and blood compo-nents respectively.
PWA Blood Bank whichis the sole functional bloodbank in the largest tertiaryhealth care facility of thecity, provides free if costblood and blood compo-nents namely platelets,packed cells and freshfrozen plasma, round theclock.
Pwa Blood Bank standsunique among other bloodbanks in that it does notcharge a single rupeeeither for cross matchingor screening, thus facilitat-ing the poor patients.
Free plateletsfor dengue
patients
M Imran Sharif
KARACHI: In order toavert a big crisis of live-stock and meat shortage inthe country, the Pakistantanners Association (PTA)has demanded of the gov-ernment to immediatelyban export of livestock andcurb smuggling of goatsand sheep to Iran andAfghanistan through bor-ders.
The Chairman PTA,Aziz Ahmed has demand-ed ban on export of goatsand sheep since millions ofanimals have already beenkilled in flood, which willotherwise result in severeshortage of skins, whichconstitute raw material of
Leather Industry and itwill jeopardize its workingresulting in loss of jobs fora large number of workersas well as loss of revenuefor the government fromthis industry.
He repeated his demandfor immediate ban onexport of animals as thegovernment's EconomicCoordination Committeedid in case of wheat sinceits crop has been adverselyaffected by the flood.
He said that the govt.should allow more reliefinstead to the exportingleather Industry to facili-tate it to realize its fullpotential and contributehigher foreign exchangeearnings.
Tanners urgeban on livestock
exports
Qaim inauguratespetroleuminstitute
TUESDAY
Time Programmes
8:00 Chai Time (Rpt)
9:00 News
9:15 Pehla Sauda
10:00 News
10:15 Bazaar
11:00 News
11:05 Ghar Ka Kharch
12:00 News
12:05 Islamabad Say (Rpt)
13:00 News
15:15 Power Lunch
14:00 News
15:02 Akhri Sauda
15:30 Tax Time (Rpt)
16:15 Karobari Dunya
17:05 Ghar Ka Kharch
18:05 Chai Time
19:00 News
19:30 Mang Raha Hai
Pakistan
20:00 News
20:05 Islamabad Say
21:00 Pakistan Aaj Raat
22:00 News
22:05 Doosra Pehlu
23:00 News
23:05 Kamyab (Rpt)
ICCIdemandsspace for
steel makersISLAMABAD: IslamabadChamber of Commerce andIndustry (ICCI) has askedthe Capital DevelopmentAuthority to allot alterna-tive space to the steel fabri-cators in the city.
President ICCI MehfoozElahi said that in differentsectors and commercialareas of the city, workshopsof steel fabricators, autoand furniture are estab-lished that requires a bigspace to run the business.
He said in a meeting witha delegation of SteelFabricators Association ledby its President AslamSagir here on Monday.
He said that it was diffi-cult for these businessmento run businesses in an areaof 10 x 20 feet, and theyhave to do encroach land.He said that CDA with theefforts of ICCI had allotted300 to 400 plots in sector I-10/3 but now the number ofworkshops have increasedand he appealed toChairman CDA, ImtiazInayat Elahi to give ordersfor the allotment of alterna-tive place for the work-shops of steel fabricators.
Aslam Sagir said that 72plots were allotted to thesteel fabricators, whereworkshops are operating butCDA does not allow to con-struct flats on these plots,due to which workers andtechnical workforce faceproblems of residence.-APP
LG launchesmulti-door
refrigeratorsKARACHI: LGElectronics (LG)announced the launch of itsnew multi door refrigeratorwhich is defined by itsstreamline design and pio-neering technology.
Part of its Multi DoorFive Star range, the refrig-erators come in two modelswith unique designs andinnovative features. As partof its commitment to greentechnology and advance-ment into developing prod-ucts that have significantenergy saving capabilities,LG is the first brand tolaunch linear compressortechnology which saves upto 40 per cent of energy,more than any other refrig-erator in its class.-PR
Unisameregrets
govt’s SMEpolicyStaff Reporter
KARACHI: The Union ofSmall and MediumEnterprises (UNISAME)has regretted that the min-istry of finance is not fol-lowing the SME definitionas adopted in the SMEPolicy 2007 and not recog-nising the SMEs in termsof the parameters outlinedin the definition.
President UnisameZulfikar Thaver said it isincumbent upon the differ-ent ministries to categorizethe entrepreneurs accord-ing to the definition incor-porated in the SME Policyand facilitate the sector inletter and spirit as envis-aged in the policy docu-ment approved by the par-liament and cabinet.
He said the policy mak-ers had outlined theemployment size as 250and paid up capital as Rs25millions and annualturnover of Rs250 millions.
Ras AlKhaimah Free
Trade Zoneconducts
road-showsStaff Correspondent
LAHORE: Ras AlKhaimah-Free Trade Zone(RAK-FTZ), a fastestgrowing free-trade zones inthe Middle-East recentlyconducted two Road-Shows in Lahore andFaisalabad, to introduce theinnovative and extensivefacilities being provided tothe foreign investors.
Both these Road-Showswere a roaring success, astrade-personnel, investors,manufacturers and corpo-rate stakeholders from theTextile, Leather, Chemicals,Rice and several otherindustrial sectors attendedthe enlightening event, togain insight into theprospects of establishingtrade and manufacturingbusinesses in the RAK-FTZ.
Responding to the widerange of questions andenquiries from the enthusi-astic participants, Ms.Niloofar Faaliyat of RAK-FTZ said; In view of thelongstanding friendly rela-tions and trade linksbetween Pakistan and theUnited Arab Emirates, it isa pleasure for us to invitePakistani entrepreneurs, tocapitalize on the consistentdouble-digit economicgrowth of RAK, by estab-lishing robust ventures fora diversity of industrial andcommercial sectors. Wehope that an increasingnumber of Pakistani busi-nessmen will identify thepotential benefits of invest-ing in RAK-FTZ.
Junaid Imam from RAK-FTZ also gave a highlyinformative and inspira-tional presentation on thevarious aspects of theemerging economic oppor-tunities in the UAE.
KARACHI: Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Federal Minister for Manpower & Labourgiving away certificate to trainee officers of Old Age Benefits Institution(EOBI)at Hamdard University. Prof Dr Nasim A Khan, Vice Chancellor HU and Zafer
Ahmed Gondal, Chairman EOBI are present on this occasion.-Staff Photo
KARACHI: Saifuddin Sistanwala, CEO, Kolson and JW Lee, Director LotteConfectionery, shaking hands after the siging ceremony of the strategic alliance
between the two companies.-Photo by Imran Sharif
KARACHI: Provincial Information Advisor Sharmeela Farooqi enquiring about the health of afour year old child who was burnt by relatives in Khairpur.-Online
Almost NEW office furni-ture including computers& office tables, revolving& fixed chairs, conferencetable & Split A/C for sale.
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MUMBAI: The Indian rupeerose on Monday, pulling backfrom its biggest fall in amonth-and-half in the previ-ous session as gains indomestic shares fuelledhopes for more inflows whilea weak dollar also helpedsentiment.
The partially convertiblerupee closed at 44.35/36 perdollar, half a per centstronger than 44.59/60 atclose on Friday when itdropped 0.65 per cent, in itsbiggest one-day fall sinceearly September.
"The dollar-rupee is bounc-ing end-to-end from sell zoneof 44.55-44.65 and buy zoneof 44.25-44.35," said J.Moses Harding, head of glob-al markets at IndusInd Bankin Mumbai.
"Two factors are dominat-ing now - general dollarweakness ahead of quantita-tive easing 2 and Coal IndiaIPO outflows in the firstweek of November. Thesetwo forces are good enoughto keep the rupee in a tight
range within 44.25-44.65".Foreign investments in
shares now stand at a record$24.4 billion, compared with$17.5 billion last year.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contractswere quoted at 44.62, weakerthan the onshore spot rate.
In the currency futures mar-ket, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contractson the National StockExchange, MCX-SX andUnited Stock Exchangeclosed at 44.3725, 44.38 and44.3550 respectively, withthe total traded volume on thethree exchanges at a low $5.7billion. -Reuters
Indian rupee gains ondollar fall; shares boost
3Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Currency Rates
Karachi: The following are the London Inter-Bank Offered Rates (LIBOR).
British Members Association Interest Settlement Rates.
AT 11:00 LONDON TIME 25/10/2010
A USD GBP CAD EUR JPY
O/N 0.22563 0.55250 1.02833 0.76125 SN 0.09438
1WK 0.25150 0.55500 1.05250 0.75500 0.10688
2WK 0.25169 0.56125 1.07167 0.76250 0.11375
1MO 0.25625 0.56875 1.10833 0.78625 0.12625
2MO 0.27109 0.62563 1.15333 0.84563 0.15438
3MO 0.28844 0.73725 1.21333 0.97063 0.19688
4MO 0.34219 0.82272 1.27333 1.03063 0.28250
5MO 0.40281 0.92563 1.32667 1.11688 0.34063
6MO 0.45250 1.02750 1.40000 1.21125 0.40125
7MO 0.50219 1.10225 1.45917 1.25750 0.46125
8MO 0.55025 1.18444 1.54667 1.30313 0.50625
9MO 0.60063 1.26500 1.61250 1.35813 0.55625
10MO 0.65375 1.33938 1.67667 1.40125 0.58375
11MO 0.70688 1.40688 1.75500 1.44625 0.61313
12MO 0.76525 1.47319 1.82667 1.49344 0.64188
Countries Selling Buying BuyingTT & OD TT Clean OD/T.CHQ
The Reserve Bank of Australia Nov 02 2010 May 04 2010 4.50%
Major Central Banks Overview
Division of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)KARACHI, October 25,2010 Treasury Management Division of National Bank ofPakistan (NBP) Monday issued the following Exchange rates:
Revaluation RatesTreasury Bills / PIBs / FIBs Holding Applicable for October 25, 2010
NEW YORK: The dollar fellbroadly to a fresh 15-year lowagainst the yen on Mondayafter a Group of 20 agreementfailed to give investors anyreason to stop selling the UScurrency.
At the meeting in SouthKorea, G20 finance chiefs onSaturday agreed to shun com-petitive currency devaluationsbut stopped short of setting tar-gets to reduce trade imbalancesclouding global growthprospects.
Analysts said the outcomepointed to a status quo in cur-rency markets, with the dollarstaying under pressure due toexpectations the FederalReserve will unveil a secondround of quantitative easing asearly as its Nov. 2-3 meeting.
The G20 statement "didn't gofar enough as saying countrieswon't devalue their currenciesso we saw the yen go to a fresh
15-year high," said JohnDoyle, strategist at TempusConsulting in Washington."The focus now is on the Fed'sNovember 3 meeting andexpectations of further quanti-
tative easing." of currencies,dropped 0.5 per cent to 77.126,but support was seen around its10-month low at 76.144touched mid October.
The dollar fell 80.41 yen onelectronic trading platformEBS, its lowest in 15 years.Market players said chances ofJapanese yen-selling interven-tion would increase if the dollarfell below 80.00 yen and tests
its record low of 79.75 yen.In early New York trade the
dollar was last at 80.62 yen,having earlier risen as high as$1.4080 and breaking throughresistance at $1.4051.
But the euro pared gains aftera report showed sales of previ-ously owned US homes rose amore than expected 10 per centin September indicating thehousing market was stabilizingat weaker levels.
Euro move back below$1.4000 was viewed as signifi-cant given the euro had failedseveral times in recent days tobreak through and hold that
level. The euro rally onMonday marked the 76.4 percent retracement of the euro'sdrop to $1.3697 last week froman 8-1/2 month high of$1.4161 hit earlier this month.
Some traders expect $1.4161to be reached soon. But gainsabove there were likely to bechecked due to the presence ofsome large option barriers,including a one-touch optionbarrier at $1.4215 that is set toexpire on Wednesday.
That could lead to a stronger-than-usual defence of that levelwith the barrier payout said tobe a 30 million euros. Moretypical option payouts are in the3-5 million euro range. TheAustralian dollar surged rough-ly 1.2 per cent to $0.9940,boosted by news that SingaporeExchange will buy Australianbourse operator ASX, andexpectations of a rate hike earlynext month.. -Reuters
Dollar woes return afterG20; yen at 15-year peak
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG:
Spot yuan ended up against thedollar on Monday and tradedstubbornly above the Chinesecentral Bank's mid-point amidlingering expectations that theChinese currency will resumeappreciation soon.
The People's Bank of Chinaset a slightly stronger mid-point, or its reference rate fromwhich the yuan can rise or fall0.5 per cent in a day, signallingthe yuan's retreat after a sur-prise official interest rate hikemay have drawn to an end.
Offshore dollar/yuan for-wards fell to imply more yuanappreciation in the future afterthe G20 meeting of financeministers over the weekendpractically gave a green lightto traders to buy Asian curren-cies.
Many China-based dealersstill widely expect the PBOCto let the yuan resume appreci-ation later this week and firmto around 6.60 against the dol-lar by late November, as
Beijing typically gives conces-sions, or goodwill gestures,ahead of political events thatwill boost pressure for yuanappreciation. Now there willbe a slew of such events inNovember.
The yuan closed at 6.6581against the dollar on Monday,up from Friday's close of6.6590 and much stronger thanMonday's PBOC mid-point of6.6729, which was up slightlyfrom Friday's reference rate of6.6759.
The yuan has appreciated2.52 per cent since the PBOCannounced its depegging to thedollar on June 19.
Offshore, benchmark one-year dollar/yuan non-deliver-able forwards (NDFs) fell to6.4371 from Friday's close of6.4575, with their impliedyuan appreciation in a year'stime rising to 3.66 per centfrom 3.39 per cent, after theweekend G20 meeting agree-ment suggested more gains forAsian currencies. -Reuters
Yuan ends higher onappreciation hopes
Swiss francweakens
ZURICH: The Swiss francdropped to its lowest in nearly11 weeks against the euro onMonday, with European bours-es set for a rally thanks to anuptick in risk appetite. Againstthe greenback the francstrengthened, with the dollardown broadly as investorsinterpreted a Group of 20agreement to shun competitivecurrency devaluations as agreen light to resume dollarselling.
The franc fell as low as1.3671 per euro, according toReuters data, but then clawedback some of those losses totrade up 0.2 per cent at 1.3605compared to the New Yorkclose at 0656 GMT.
The franc rose 1.0 per centagainst the dollar to 0.9669 perdollar. The Swiss franc rose morethan 10 per cent against the euroearlier this year and hit an all-time high of 1.2763 on Sept. 8.Switzerland's economic datarelease calendar for the week isquite sparse, with only the KOFleading indicator for October dueon. Oct. 29. -Reuters
LONDON: Sterling fell to itslowest in nearly seven monthsagainst the euro on Monday,weighed down by the possibilitythe Bank of England may loosenmonetary policy and that GDPdata on Tuesday could point to astuttering UK recovery.
The pound rose against abroadly weaker dollar as aGroup of 20 agreement to shuncompetitive currency devalua-
tions was viewed as a green lightto resume dollar-selling onexpectations the Federal Reservewill ease monetary policy nextweek. Investors were concernedweak UK third quarter grossdomestic product data onTuesday could increase thechances of more QE in the UK.Economists expect Britain'seconomy grew just 0.4 per centbetween July and September, athird of the 1.2 per cent recordedthe previous quarter.
"The damage done to the dol-lar as the market moves to dis-
count Fed QE is clearly spillingover into sterling as the risks ofmore QE in the UK are clearlyincreasing," said Adam Cole,global head of currency strategyat RBC.
By 1435 GMT, the euro wasup 0.2 per cent at 89.04 pence,having earlier risen as high as89.41 pence, its strongest sincethe end of March.
Falls against the euro helped
push trade-weighted sterlingdown to 78.3, its weakest sincelate May and leaving it set to tar-get the May low of 77.8.
Sterling also fell to a 20-monthlow against the yen of 126.47yen and dropped to its lowest inmore than two decades againstan outperforming Australian dol-lar at A$1.5768.
Against the US dollar, thepound was up 0.2 per cent at$1.5720, with support seenabove its 50-day moving aver-age, currently at $1.5650. -Reuters
Sterling falls vs euro;UK GDP awaited
SEOUL: The South Koreanwon and the Taiwan dollar ledgains in Asian currenciesagainst the dollar on Mondayas a G20 agreement to shuncompetitive currency devalua-tion pushed down the green-back broadly.
Asian currencies are expect-ed to rise further on continuousinflows to the region and onexpectations that the FederalReserve will announce anotherround of quantitative easing asearly as next month, analystsand dealers said.
Still, investors remained cau-tious over possible steps by
Asian foreign exchange authori-ties, including both actual inter-vention and steps to check hotmoney inflows, they added.Earlier, a senior South Koreangovernment official said that nocurrency rates were determinedby markets alone.
Regional authorities wereestimated to have bought acombined $40.3 billion viaintervention to curb strength intheir currencies during the pre-vious four weeks, according totraders' estimates compiled byIFR Markets.
Korean authorities had man-aged to keep the won relatively
stable for much of the third quar-ter, before the latest round ofinflows into emerging markets.The won found further supportas foreign investors continued tosnap up local shares and asinvestors cleared dollar-longpositions to stop losses.
IFR Markets quoted dealers assaying the Bank of Korea wassuspected of having intervenedbelow 1,117. The Malaysianringgit also rose on a broadlyweaker dollar. Traders generallydid not expect to see any centralBank action while they arewatching for moves in the euroand yuan. -Reuters
Asian currencies
Won lead gains onG20; wary of controls
SYDNEY: The Australian dollar jumped over acent on Monday, helped by strong producerprices, a multi-billion dollar takeover and buoy-ant demand for riskier assets after G20 talkscooled fears of a "currency war".
The Australian dollar climbed as far as $0.9935,from New York's $0.9807. The rise was accelerat-ed after stop-loss buy orders kicked in above$0.9888 and $0.9900. More buy orders were seenlined up above resistance at hourly high of$0.9955. Demand for the Australian dollar rubbedoff on the New Zealand dollar, lifting it to $0.7525,from $0.7463 in New York. Resistance was seen at$0.7570, and support at $0.7456.
The buy orders for the Aussie kicked in afterdata showed producer prices jumped last quarterby the most since 2008, feeding talk thatWednesday's inflation data could be on the highside and point to more domestic rate hikes.
"Producer price index data tend to lead con-sumer price index by about one quarter and
therefore point to upstream inflation pressuresthat will keep the Reserve Bank of Australia(RBA) hawkish," Barclays said.
The market is paying closer than usual atten-tion to this week's inflation report as the RBAhas said that part of its Nov. 2 policy decisiondepends on how the data shapes up.
Indeed, the producer price report led investorsto up the chance of rates hitting 4.75 per cent inNovember to 53 per cent, from Friday's 38 percent. Australian rates stand at 4.5 per cent now,the highest in the developed world.
Comments from RBA Governor GlennStevens on Monday also suggested the centralbank was wary of a spike in inflation.
Stevens said Australia's booming commodityexports -- owing to surging Asian demand -- rep-resented an expansionary shock for the econo-my, and said accepting inflation above theRBA's target range of 2-3 per cent would nothelp the economy. -Reuters
high after G20TAIPEI: The Taiwan dollar hita more than two-year high onMonday, tracking other Asianforeign exchange markets high-er after a G20 consensus toavoid competitive currencydevaluations sent the US dollarlower in global trade.
Pledges by G20 finance lead-ers to avoid competitive deval-uations and steer toward "mar-ket determined" forex ratespushed the Taiwan dollar toclose at T$30.73 per US dollar,up from T$30.91 on Friday.
Monday's final Taiwan dollarprice was its strongest sinceAug. 5, 2008. Markets arefocused now on the US FederalReserve meeting on Nov. 2-3,when officials are expected tokick off a further round ofquantitative easing to jumpstarteconomic recovery.
Net foreign fund inflows intoTaiwan stocks totaled anunusually high T$15.256 bil-lion ($496 million) on Monday.
Taiwan's central bank wasseen intervening to control theday's currency gains as it wor-ries that easing in the UnitedStates will open the forex mar-ket to hot money, makingTaiwan dollars more expensivefor exporters. -Reuters
Investors cautious over intervention, capital controls
G20 vows to refrain from competitive devaluations
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use of these reports and recommendations.
Powerconsumers
deserve betterKarachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has
increased the spells of load shedding even fur-ther, this time the pretext is the curtailment of itsgas supply by Sui Southern Gas Company(SSGC).
Of this whole situation the worst hit are the con-sumers who pay their electricity bills in full andon time, while "some" whose number runs inthousands or maybe more enjoy power free ofcost. In fact it's the pilferers the brunt of whosedeeds is being borne by the billpayers. Theiranger is justified.
It has been highlighted repeatedly that unlesselectric utilities' transmission and distribution(T&D) losses (currently hovering around 40 percent) are reduced and intercorporate debt issue isresolved any hike in tariff won't be able toimprove the cashflow. The latest pretext that util-ities' gas supply has been curtailed is totallyunacceptable. This could have made any differ-ence had the utilities made any effort to containthe theft, which has been going on since ageswith the connivance of utilities' staff.
Having said this, it is also necessary to reiteratethat the consumers should also realise theirresponsibility of paying the bills. They are onlyasked to pay for a service, which they haveutilised. If they fail to discharge their duty theonly option left is recovery through court of law.However, this can't be done unless utility compa-nies regularise all the illegal connections andensure uninterrupted electricity supply at afford-able cost. People have a valid question, whyshould they bear the cost of those who enjoycostfree electricity? The rule is simple everyoneusing electricity must foot the bill.
The government must also accept the fact thatsituation in the power plants operating understate control has gone worst because of hundredsand thousands of political activists' induction.One may not have any objection to politicalemployments as long as these employees deliveraccordingly. However, they become a problemfor the management when they do not work andsomeone else has to do their job without anycompensation.
The situation in KESC has become precariousafter its privatisation. It has labour unionsbacked by political parties; it has consumerssupported by vested-interests and has a manage-ment, which has yet to learn how to manage autility. Managing a utility is very different fromrunning a financial institution or a manufactur-ing industry.
Some experts term privatisation a failurebecause three basic objectives are yet at large.They are: 1) reduction in tariff through bettermanagement, 2) induction of new capital foradding new facilities, 3) and BMR.
Both the previous and present governmentshave not extended any help to KESC in removingthe illegal connection. The highest resistancecomes from the consumers because they do notwant disruption in supply but are certainly will-ing to get their connections regularised. It is theresponsibility of elected representative to con-vince their votebanks to get their connectionslegalised.
The sooner it is done the better it will be for allthe consumers.
4Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary
Editor: Shakil H. Jafri
Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi
Honorary Advisory Board
Haseeb Khan, FCA
Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA
Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA
Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA
Muhammad Arif
S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Khurram Shehzad, CFA
Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)
Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)
Ismat Sabir
Head office
111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA KarachiTelephone: 92-21-5311893-6 Fax: 92-21-5388428
AG20 agreement to giveemerging market coun-tries more power in the
International Monetary Fundopens the door for break-throughs on easing global ten-sions over trade imbalances.
The surprise deal reached atweekend meetings of financeministers from the Group of 20in South Korea shifts IMF vot-ing power to under-representedemerging countries like China,India, Brazil and Turkey.
Countries like the UnitedStates are betting that withgreater representation emerg-ing economies such as Chinawill be more willing to addressthe trade distortions causingcurrency volatility and threat-ening increased protectionism.
The deal avoided a wideningof the gulf between emergingand developed nations and achaotic ending to a G20 meet-ing in which the United Statesfailed to convince China andothers to agree to targets tolimit current account imbal-ances.
The IMF agreement alsospares the G20 from losingcredibility, opening the way forG20 heads of state, meeting inSeoul on Nov. 11 and 12, tohandle more politically diffi-cult decisions on fixing thetrade imbalance problem.
U.S. Treasury SecretaryTimothy Geithner flew toChina on Sunday for further
talks with Chinese authoritiesin the hopes of finalising a cur-rency deal before the Seoulsummit.
Youssef Boutros-Ghali,Egypt's finance minister whoheads theIMF's steeringpolicy panel,t h eInternationalMonetary andF i n a n c i a lC o m m i t t e e ,said problemsin the worldeconomy couldnot bea d d r e s s e dw i t h o u tacknowledgingthe rising clout of emergingeconomies.
"This deal was necessary forus to get anywhere. This was anecessary condition, not a suf-ficient condition, for any fur-ther reform of the institution,"he told Reuters by phone.
"Nobody got exactly what hewanted and nobody is goinghome with what he wished, buteverybody walks home with aviable solution," said Boutros-Ghali, who attended the G20meeting in Gyeongju.
Just hours after ministers sig-naled a deal was unlikely andwould be left to G20 leaderssummit in Seoul on Nov. 12,IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn declared a historic agree-
ment had been reached.Analysts said the deal was
fairly similar to what ministerswere unable to agree just twoweeks earlier at IMF meetingsin Washington and questioned
what had triggered the about-turn.
"It raises a possibility theremay be another side to thisdeal," said DomenicoLombardi, a former IMF boardofficial and now a senior fel-low at the BrookingsInstitution think tank inWashington. "It implies somesort of a commitment fromemerging economies in termsof rebalancing the currentaccounts or in terms of greaterexchange rate flexibility."
The G20 communique onSaturday called for more mar-ket-determined exchange ratesystems and the avoidance ofcompetitive devaluations ofcurrencies but failed to get into
specifics. HOLDING OUT
FOR BETTER DEALG20 officials said the break-
through IMF deal came duringa separate meeting of BRIC
countries -- China, Russia,India and Brazil -- and theGroup of Seven industrialnations made up of the UnitedStates, Britain, France, Italy,Japan, Canada and Germany.
One official said Russia andBrazil argued the deal did notgo far enough in shiftingpower to emerging economies,India was more conciliatory,while Turkey complained therewas no deadline on achievingthe shift.
In the end, the grand bargaintransfers six per cent of votingpower to under-represented"dynamic" emergingeconomies, putting Chinabelow the United States andJapan in IMF voting power
from sixth place. The changeswill also see Europe give uptwo seats to emergingeconomies on the 24-memberIMF board.
Analysts said the deal willincrease the legitimacy of theIMF at a time when it is set toplay a larger role in policingthe global economy.
The IMF showed during theglobal financial crisis that itwas an effective lender of lastresort, but it still has to showits persuading powers onthornier issues, such as foreignexchange policies and currentaccount imbalances.
Analysts said there were noguarantees that by givingemerging market economiesmore IMF voting power andstepping up IMF oversight ofthe world economy it willforce them to change theirpolicies.
"The lack of an enforcementmechanism makes it unlikely,however, that the enhancedsurveillance procedures willwork in getting countries toshift their policies -- thisapproach has been tried beforeand did not work," said EswarPrasad, a former IMF officialand now a senior fellow atBrookings Institution.
"The threat of 'additional sur-veillance' is unlikely to con-vince large countries to changetheir policies," he added.-Reuters
IMF Power Shift toBirth Breakthroughs
Touted as a visit with an emergingeconomic power, US PresidentBarack Obama's trip to India in
November will also be about how NewDelhi deals with that elephant in theroom - the Pakistan-Afghanistanconundrum.
After nine years of war,there are signs the UnitedStates and President HamidKarzai are reaching out to talkto the Taliban, and New Delhiwants to ensure any eventualsettlement protects India fromthe risk of militant groups onits doorstep.
That could mean Indiareaching out for regional ini-tiatives to ensure a stableAfghanistan, including closerties with Iran and Russia -- allAfghan neighbours worriedabout the Taliban in theirbackyard - if Washington cutsand runs.
"There is a realisation inIndia that the United States isnot going to preserve yourinterests. You are going tohave to," said SrinathRaghavan, a senior fellow at the Centrefor Policy Research in New Delhi.
"India is looking more at having aninsurance policy in Afghanistan ratherthan playing an active role"
India and the United States largelysee eye to eye over a range of issues asthe former Cold War ally of the SovietUnion increasingly turns to the West.The two may see their interests divergeover Afghanistan, although it is littlethreat to wider ties, as Obama's trip --his longest presidential trip to any onecountry -- shows.
India is Afghanistan's biggest region-al aid donor and its $1.3 billion of proj-ects, from building a parliament to ahighway to Iran, shows how New Delhiseeks to counter the Taliban.
Washington has been happy to seethat aid, but not its ally Pakistan,India's archrival and fellow nuclearpower, especially the Pakistan militarywhich sees Afghanistan as its own
backyard."India thinks that the US is placing
too much reliance on Pakistan inAfghanistan, and it's not to be trusted,"said Walter Andersen, a former USState Department official now at JohnsHopkins University's School of
Advanced International Studies.He said Obama could take advantage
of India's rivalry with Pakistan to pres-sure Islamabad to do more on
Afghanistan. "I've often wondered whyhe didn't do it earlier," Andersen said.
What India fears most is a return tothe 1990s, when the Pakistan-backed
Taliban's rule coincided with a spurt incross-border militant attacks in India,and a sense that militants could actwith impunity in the region.
India has already blamed Pakistan fora "proxy war" in Afghanistan that inrecent years has seen a car bomb attack
on the Indian embassy.WHAT IS OBAMA
THINKING?The trouble for India is
knowing exactly whatObama plans to do inAfghanistan - when willtroops be withdrawn, orhow many? What influ-ence could the Talibanhave in any peace settle-ment ?
US journalist BobWoodward's new book"Obama's Wars" under-scored for many com-mentators that Obama'sadministration is deeplydivided over its Afghanstrategy.
"Once we have claritywhat the United Stateswants to do, we can play
the end game," said SiddharthVaradarajan, strategic affairs editor ofThe Hindu newspaper. "Whether forexample to better ties with neighbours
like Iran."That would mean a fine-balancing
act over Iran as the United States stepsup sanctions. India has already dis-
cussed reviving talks over a gaspipeline from Iran and there have beenan increasing number of official visitsbetween the two nations.
But so far US ties have improvedafter hiccups at the start of Obama'spresidency, when New Delhi success-fully blocked attempts by Washingtonto include a Kashmir solution as part ofa strategy to bring stability to Pakistanand Afghanistan.
India sees Kashmir as a bilateralissue and dismisses any outside influ-ence.
India's relations with Pakistan havebeen at a low ebb since the Mumbaiattacks in 2008 when Pakistani mili-tants crossed over to India's financialhub and killed 166 people.
With Mumbai etched in Indians'minds, New Delhi will likely tellWashington to be cautious aboutPakistan and talking to the Taliban, butNew Delhi has so far avoided uppingtension with Islamabad, a policy thathas won plaudits in Washington.
"There's no evidence -- certainly notin the Woodward book -- that theadministration thinks of India regard-ing Afghanistan in terms other thanasking it not to pressure Pakistan,"Stephen P. Cohen, a senior fellow inforeign policy studies at the BrookingsInstitution in Washington, wrote in anemail reply.
India has also showed reluctance toget embroiled further in Afghanistan.Despite its aid, New Delhi has backedoff from more ambitious proposals totrain the Afghan army and police.
"India is a secondary player inAfghanistan," said C. Raja Mohan,strategic affairs editor at the IndianExpress.
So India may push small initiatives,like reinforcing support of leaderslinked to the North Alliance -- the anti-Taliban grouping which India backedin the 1990s.
"We can't figure out a way to useIndia, which is a regional power,"wrote Cohen. The bitter rivals seemdestined to play opposing roles inAfghanistan, he said.-Reuters
Obama’s Indian Sojourn
With Mumbai etched in Indians' minds,New Delhi will likely tell Washington
to be cautious about Pakistan andtalking to the Taliban, but New Delhi
has so far avoided upping tensionwith Islamabad, a policy that has
won plaudits in Washington
The surprise deal reachedat weekend meetings of
finance ministers from the Groupof 20 in South Korea shifts IMF
voting power to under-representedemerging countries like China,
India, Brazil and Turkey
“
India and the United Stateslargely see eye to eye over a
range of issues as the formerCold War ally of the Soviet
Union increasingly turns to theWest. The two may see their
interests diverge overAfghanistan, although it is littlethreat to wider ties, as Obama'strip -- his longest presidential
trip to any one country -- shows
“
Karachi, a no-live zoneKarachi, the largest metropolis of Pakistan, is being assumed for
the past few months as a 'no-live zone' by its own citizens, becauseof the recent streaks of violence and target killings.
Worse thing about the situation is that once people from all theparts of the country came here to obtain jobs and get settled butnow most of the educated lads are fleeing off the city.
The institutions which are suppose to provide "protection" -theword so unfamiliar to Karachiites-seem to be puppets of mafias.Based on the recent survey, the number of street crimes only in thismonth swelled to 321, cars thefts to 159 and the lists has been rap-idly raised to an alarming rate. People or organisations working forthe welfare of the society are being seriously threatened by thegangs which are openly and deliberately violating the laws anddestroying the so-called peace and image of the city.
Saman Maudood, Karachi
No way out of facebookFacebook is like a spider web once you enter in it you never find a way out,
but on the other hand you also find entertainment and fun here. It posses a lot'sof charm, here you can make many friends, with whom you communicate andtalk whatever you think on any issue like political, social etc.
It is a common platform featuring people fro all across the globe. You cometo know about many people their relagion, culture and life style through it.There is a lot of interesting application. Personnel pages, fan groups are theplaces where you can share videos, photos and say your heart out. You canmake a group and you can make upload your own painting talent and have a lotof fans by it.
Facebook comes up with a new and interesting feature every time. Recently itintroduced a new group feature in which you now chat with all group memberseither they are added in your friends list or not.
Urooj Fatima, Karachi
FERTILISER000 tonnesUrea Offtake (Jan to July 10) 3,565Urea Offtake (July 10) 580Urea Price (Rs/50 kg) 879DAP Offtake (Jan to July 09) 374DAP Offtake (July 10) 49DAP Price (Rs/50 kg) 2,626
AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLERPAK SUZUKI MOTORUnitsProduction (July 09 to June 10) 71,998
Sales (July 09 to June 10) 73,993
Production (July 10) 7,509
Sales (July 10) 4,503
INDUS MOTOR COProduction (July 09 to June 10) 50,557
Sales (July 09 to June 10) 50,823
Production (July 10) 5,162
Sales (July 10) 4,999
HONDA ATLAS CARProduction (July 09 to June 10) 13,500
Sales (July 09 to June 10) 14,120
Production (July 10) 1,560
Sales (July 10) 1,272
DEWAN FAROOQ MOTORSProduction (July 09 to June 10)1,218
Sales (July 09 to June 10) 1,371
Production (July 10) 41
Sales (July 10) 40
BANKING SECTORScheduled bank (Rs in mn)Deposit (August 20,10) 4,595,176
Advances (August 20,10) 3,304,533
Investments (August 20,10) 1,788,671
Spread (July 2010) 7.51%
OIL MARKETING CO(000 tons)MS (Jul 09 to June 10) 1,933
MS (July 10) 188
Kerosene (Jul 09 to June 10) 164
Kerosene (July 10) 15
JP (Jul 09 to June 10) 1,377
JP (July 10) 129
HSD (Jul 09 to June 10) 7,435
HSD (July 10) 664
LDO (Jul 09 to June 10) 75
LDO (July 10) 7
Fuel Oil (Jul 09 to June 10) 9,259
Fuel Oil (July 10) 869
Others (Jul 09 to June 10) 13
Others (July 10) 1
PRICES (Ex-Refinery) RsMS (1 Sep 10) 40.85
MS (1 Aug 10) 41.22
MS % Chg -0.90%
Kerosene (1 Sep 10) 47.14
Kerosene (1 Aug 10) 46.55
Kerosene % Chg 1.27%
JP-1 (1 Sep 10) 47.37
JP-1 (1 Aug 10) 46.78
JP-1 % Chg 1.26%
HSD (1 Sep 10) 50.61
HSD (1 Aug 10) 49.63
HSD % Chg 1.97%
LDO (1 Sep 10) 46.37
LDO (1 Aug 10) 45.29
LDO % Chg 2.38%
Fuel Oil (1 Sep 10) 39,932
Fuel Oil (1 Aug 10) 39,723
Sector Updates
Symbol Close Vol (mn)LOTPTA 10.43 15.92 BAFL 9.99 11.21 NBP 67.81 7.93 JSCL 10.44 7.80 NPL 13.51 6.88
Symbol Close ChangeSIEM 1,242.65 59.17 BATA 540.69 25.74 ULEVER 4,020.00 19.98 FZTM 389.99 13.11 NESTLE 1,954.01 11.91
Symbol Close ChangeATLH 114.94 -6.03SHEL 183.62 -4.87AKDCL 58.92 -3.09SCL 53.61 -2.59FZCM 49.08 -2.58
Plus 233Minus 145Unchanged 12
Top 5 Volume Leaders
Major Losers
Major Gainers
KSE-100 Index
LSE-25 Index
ISE-10 Index
Active Issues
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 5
Dhiyan
Corporate results' euphoria is likely to continue till next week with good vol-
umes. Index is expected to see resistance at 10,800-11,000 levels. Investors are
suggested to invest in good dividend-yielders and earning-growth-showers.
Advisably, investors shouldn't be aggressive and buy gradually. Exploration,
fertiliser, textile sectors, and IPPs are quite investable where our top picks are
POL, PPL, HUBC and NML. Positive outcome of the negotiations with IMF
would spur buying. Market would be positive in the morning today however
there may be some profit taking in the later half.
Mohammad Sohail, CEO Topline Securities
Kashif Mustafa, NAMCO
The bullish trend is expected to sustain in the coming days ridingon improving political front, successful strategic dialogue with USand a positive signal from IMF. Whereas good corporate resultsand buying by the foreign investors would intensify the bullishactivities therefore index would soon cross 11,000 points level.Investors are advised to invest in oil and banking stocks. Marketwould sustain at 10,700 level today.
CATCH DIVIDEND-YIELDERS
Opening 10,652.48
Closing 10,703.71
Change 51.23
% Change 0.48
Turnover (mn) 158.05
Opening 3,321.49
Closing 3,331.22
Change 9.73
% Change 0.29
Turnover (mn) 10.07
Opening 2,700.87
Closing 2,706.00
Change 5.13
% Change 0.19
Turnover (mn) 0.20
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Company Period Div/Bon/Right PAT (Rs in mn) EPS(Rs)
Siemens Pak Yearly 600%(F)(D) 999.465 121.19
Ali Asghar Textile 1st Qtr - 26.236 0.59
AL-Noor ModarabaXD 1st Qtr - 3.085 0.15
Bolan Casting XDXB 1st Qtr - -2.141 -0.23
Colgate Palmol. 1st Qtr - 210.345 6.66
Fateh Industries 1st Qtr - -0.107 -0.05
Fateh Sports 1st Qtr - -3.169 -1.58
Fauji Cement 1st Qtr - 105.890 0.15
Fazal TextileXD 1st Qtr - 193.843 31.33
Hafiz Textile 1st Qtr - 0.731 0.61
Haydery Const 1st Qtr - -0.073 -0.01
Jubilee Spinning 1st Qtr - -6.549 -0.20
Khalid Siraj 1st Qtr - -12.428 -1.10
Orix Leasing 1st Qtr - 28.150 0.34
Pak Hotels 1st Qtr - 0.722 0.04
Pak Pap.Prod.XDXB 1st Qtr - 6.486 1.30
Quality TextileXD 1st Qtr - 66.574 4.17
Siddiqsons Tin XD 1st Qtr - 17.485 0.22
Stand.Chart.Mod XD 1st Qtr - 22.982 0.51
Bata (Pak) Ltd. 3rd Qtr - 683.983 90.47
Central Ins.XB 3rd Qtr - 184.350 6.60
Highnoon (Lab) 3rd Qtr - 44.806 2.71
Meezan Bank Ltd. 3rd Qtr - 994.738 1.42
Mybank 3rd Qtr - -1,392.355 -0.74
Network Mic Bank 3rd Qtr - -7.701 -0.26
Pak Suzuki Motor Co. 3rd Qtr - 388.017 4.71
Sec. Inv. Bank 3rd Qtr - 9.883 0.19
Soneri Bank Limited 3rd Qtr - -17.600 -0.03
Aamir Abidi
KARACHI: According to anotice issued to Karachi StockExchange (KSE) here MondaySui Northern Gas PipelinesLimited's (SNGPL) FY10 earn-ings took a mighty 175 per centjump to reach Rs2.55 billionagainst Rs931 million in FY09.
The FY10 earning per sharewas also up at Rs4.65 againstRs1.69 in FY09.
The result was encouragingcompared with previous yearsas company profitability surged
big time. Furthermore companydeclared 20 per cent cash divi-dend i.e. Rs2 per share.
During the period underreview Company's gross salesincreased by 7.64 per cent toRs160.71 billion from an earli-er Rs172.99 billion. Grossprofit surged by 21.39 per centto Rs 5.61 billion comparedwith Rs4.62 billion witnessedin FY09. Other Operatingincome also contributedtowards profitability whichhiked by 73 per cent to Rs7.77billion.
SNGPL FY10 profitup by mighty 175pc
Declares 20pc dividend
Nawaz Ali
KARACHI: Pakistan’s pre-mier bourse ended at its highestlevel in 26 months on Mondayas buying on hopes of bettercorporate results led the apexindex to close above 10,700points.
The benchmark KSE 100-Index increased by 51 points toclose at 10,703 points, KSE 30-Index grew by 47 points toclose at 10,297 points and KSEAll Share Index rose by 38points to close at 7,453 points.
It should be noted that lasttime the index had closed
above 10,700-level in August2008.
"Investors poured moneyinto the market on expectingbetter-than-expected results",said Ahmed Rauf, equity dealerat JS Global Capital.
Bulls were there at the tradingfloor since the opening bells asindex started the day with 34-plus-points. Gains increased asinvestors took position withhealthy corporate results onmind.
Results season is in fullswing where companies like;Oil & Gas DevelopmentCompany, MCB Bank, United
Bank, Engro Corp, FaujiFertiliser, and Hub Powerwould announce their financialfigures this week.
The bullishness continuedthroughout the session withbuying mainly in the bankingstocks, as a result the mainindex near midday touched anintra-day high of 10,769 points(+ive 116 points). Apart fromcorporate result hopes, thenews that US have approved a$7.5 billion grant too was a fac-tor that sparked off buying.However, some profit-takingwas witnessed at higher levelswhich clipped the index gains
but it managed to sustain above10,700 points at the end of thesession.
Banking sector remained inthe limelight during the daymainly owing to expectationsof further tightening in themonetary policy while therecent move on the order ofSupreme Court for the recov-ery of loans waived in previousregimes too lured investorsinto the sector.
Foreign investors, however,were mainly on the selling sideas according to NCCPL therewas a net-foreign-buying of$1.3 million on Monday. On
the local side, companies andbanks did a net-buying of $2.84million and $0.55 millionrespectively while mutualfunds and NBFCs net-soldequities worth $1.13 millionand $0.64 million respectively.
Volumes too remainedimpressive throughout the ses-sion as 158 million sharerstraded during the day which isjust 2.3 million less as com-pared to a turnover of 160.3million shares on Friday.
Out of total 390 active issues233 advanced and 145 declinedwhile 12 issues remainedunchanged.
KSE hits 26-month high,closes above 10,700 level
HONG KONG/SHANGHAI:Shanghai shares rose to a six-month high on Monday andHong Kong's benchmark recov-ered most of last week's lossesas earnings optimism and aweaker dollar lifted commodityand Energy-related plays.
A mild selloff in local devel-opers erased some early gainsin Hong Kong to leave theHang Seng index up 0.5 percent at 23,627.9.
The index faces resistance atits 28-month peak around23,850, a level that also coin-cides with the 61.8 per centretracement of the benchmark'sslide from its October 2007peak to its October 2008trough.
SHANGHAI's main stockindex jumped 2.6 per cent to3,051, its highest close sinceApril 16. Gains in Energy playsand the heavily weighted finan-cials sector helped to keep theindex above the 3,000-level.
The financial rally was led by
brokerages as a pick up in trad-ing activity on local marketssuggested a recovery ininvestor sentiment. Dailyturnover on the SHANGHAIexchange hit a record high lastMonday.
"Brokerages are profitingbecause of the increased num-ber of transactions recently,with the influx of funds enter-ing the market," said Zhang Qi,analyst at Haitong Securities.
Top brokerage CiticSecurities and rival HaitongSecurities both jumped up totheir 10 per cent limit.
The SHANGHAI Compositehas risen 13.5 per cent thismonth, despite a surprise inter-est rate rise by China's centralbank last week, cutting lossesfor the year to 8 per cent com-pared with 18.9 per cent at theend of September.
SHANGHAI's A-share indexis trading at about 13.7 times its12-month forward price-to-earnings multiple, Thomson
Reuters data shows, its highestsince April this year whenBeijing's move to curb propertyspeculation set off a sharpdecline.
Analysts said that while valu-ations had crept higher sinceJuly, financials and large bluechips still looked attractive andhad room to rise.
"This is not only because ofgood earnings expectations butbecause money is flowing in,"said Zhang.
Non-ferrous metal plays rosein a continuation of a recentrally in materials stocks on theback of a weakening dollar.
The dollar dropped onMonday, driving up prices ofcommodities, as traders bet thecurrency would continue tostay pressured after the G20meeting over the weekend.
Xiamen Tungsten Co Ltd,Sino-Platinum Metals Co Ltdand Baoji Titanium Industry CoLtd all jumped by their 10 percent limit.-Reuters
Shanghai hits 6-mth high,HK up on earnings, USD
MUMBAI: Continued robustforeign portfolio investmentsand firm world equitieshelped Indian shares notch a0.7 per cent gain on Monday,led by financials and metalmakers.
The No. 3 outsourcer Wiproslid as much as nearly 5 percent after brokerages such asCredit Suisse and JP Morgandowngraded their ratings on thestock after disappointingSeptember-quarter results.
Shares of Wipro closed down4.04 per cent at Rs430.30.
"Despite repeated pronounce-ments and investments in its(Wipro's) mega/gamma strate-gy intended to increase spend-ing from its marquee clients,the contribution from keyclients is still low and signifi-
cantly trails that of peers,pulling down growth," JPMorgan said in a note.
The 30-share BSE indexfirmed 0.68 per cent or 137.26points to 20,303.12, with 23 ofits components closing in thegreen. The main index has risen16.3 per cent year to date and isjust around 900 points shy of itsrecord high.
"We are optimistic on Indianequities based on strong eco-nomic and corporate funda-mentals," said VaibhavSanghavi, director at AmbitCapital.
"The two key things to lookout for are the upcoming Fed(US Federal Reserve) meet andthe movement in internationalcurrencies."
See # 7 Page 11
Indian shares upon banks, metals
TOKYO: Japan's Nikkei aver-age fell 0.3 per cent on Mondayas the yen reached a fresh 15-year high on the dollar andapproached an all-time peak,but investors were carefulabout trading actively ahead ofthe country's main earningsperiod.
The reporting season is aboutto get into full swing in Japan,with a flurry of major compa-nies set to report this weekincluding Canon Inc onWednesday and Sony Corp onFriday.
The yen rose as high as 80.65
against the dollar on tradingplatform EBS, its highest since1995. It was up about 0.9 percent on the day, advancing clos-er to its postwar record high of79.75 set in April 1995.
"The Nikkei was pressuredby the yen's rise. But the Nikkeibasically moved in a very nar-row range throughout the dayas the market was reluctant totake new positions before earn-ings, as well as US mid-termelections and the FOMC meet-ing," said Takashi Ohba, seniorstrategist at Okasan Securities.
See # 6 Page 11
Nikkei inches downas yen hits 15-yr peak
Result Preview
OGDC 1Qnet may
jump 33.6pcAhmed Siddique
KARACHI: The after-taxearning of Oil & GasDevelopment CompanyLimited (OGDC) --country'stop energy firm-- is likely toincrease by 33.6 per cent toRs16.12 billion for the 1stquarter of fiscal year 2010-11,yielding an earning per share(EPS) of Rs3.73, TheFinancial Daily (TFD)Research analyst revealedMonday.
In 1QFY10, the companyhad posted a profit of Rs12.06billion --an EPS of Rs2.81.
OGDC, scheduled toannounce its results today(Tuesday) is expected todeclare a first interim cash div-idend of Rs1.5 per share .
Company’s earning is likelyto increase as Ogra had noti-fied wellhead gas price ofBobi field on a retrospectivebasis for the period betweenJanuary 1, 2007 and December31, 2010. Thus we expect one-time impact of Rs0.42/share in1QFY11 result.
Net sales of the firm maysurge by 15.9 per cent toRs36.87 billion primarily dueto 3.2 per cent weighted aver-age hike in wellhead gas pricesand increase in average priceof crude oil during 1QFY11 by8.8 per cent YoY to $74.04 abarrel against $68.07 a barrel(Arab Light) in 1QFY10.
Gross profit is also expectedto go up by 18.6 per cent to
See # 8 Page 11
FTSE endshigher as
minersadvance
LONDON: Britain's topshares ended higher onMonday, supported bystrength in miners as metalsand crude prices rose amid aweaker dollar after G20finance ministers agreed toavoid competitive currencydevaluations.
At the close, the FTSE 100was up 10.61 points, or 0.2per cent, at 5,751.98, justbelow last Thursday's six-month closing high. It hit a5,794.31 high during the ses-sion.
Heavyweight miners led theblue chips advance as copperprices rose to a 27-month highafter the dollar fell followingthe agreement at the weekendG20 meeting of finance min-isters.
Chilean copper minerAntofagasta was the top FTSEriser, up 4.1 per cent, helpedby a Goldman Sachs upgradeto "buy" from "neutral".
"Miners providedLONDON's fuel but as thesession wore on there was lit-tle else to keep up the momen-tum, and so Wall Street sawits early gains eroded, alongwith the FTSE," said MicMills, head of electronic trad-ing at ETX Capital.
US blue chips were 0.6 percent higher by LONDON'sclose, buoyed by the weakerdollar and hopes for furtherquantitative easing (QE) fromthe US Federal Reserve.
But a lack of comment in aspeech from Fed chief BenBernanke and above-forecastUS existing home sales datacurbed the QE enthusiasm andsaw opening gains halved.
Away from commodities,Burberry was a strong gainer,up 3.2 per cent as investorsspeculated LVMH's purchaseof a minority stake in Hermesmay spark bid interest in thesector.
On the second line, spill-over speculative interest sawthe LONDON StockExchange gain 5 per cent afterSingapore Exchange's A$8.4billion ($8.2 billion) agreedtakeover bid for AustralianASX.-Reuters
Mostly higher led byJakarta on earnings outlook
South East Asian stocks
European shares riseas weak dollar lifts miners
Tuesday, October 26, 20106
Volume 158,053,385
Value 4,894,963,249
Trades 74,094
Advanced 232
Declined 145
Unchanged 12
Total 389
Current 7,453.26
High 7,497.96
Low 7,408.22
Change h38.66
Current 10,703.71
High 10,769.55
Low 10,641.71
Change h51.23
Current 10,297.54
High 10,372.42
Low 10,250.08
Change h47.46
Market KSE 100 Index All Share Index KSE 30 Index
Current 16,914.63
High 17,013.48
Low 16,791.09
Change h123.54
KMI 30 IndexSymbolsAlert ! Unusual Movements
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2009
Siddiqsons Tin Plate Limited
STPL closed up 0.82 at 9.07. Volume was 1,644 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 10 per cent narrower than nor-
mal. The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs38.152 million
which translates into an Earning Per Share of Rs0.49 for the year
ended FY10.
STPL is currently 13.4 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect moderate flows of volume into STPL (mildly bullish).
Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on STPL.
RSI (14-day) 49.08 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 3,387.48
MA (10-day) 9.12 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 1,431.30
MA (100-day) 9.86 Revenue (Rs in mn) 2,639.94
MA (200-day) 10.45 Interest Expense 139.50
1st Support 8.65 Loss after Taxation (124.85)
2nd Support 8.20 EPS 09 (Rs) (1.590)
1st Resistance 9.40 Book value / share (Rs) 18.23
2nd Resistance 9.70 PE 10 E (x) 18.51
Pivot 8.95 PBV (x) 0.50
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2009
CHCC closed up 0.82 at 12.00. Volume was 618 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 4 per cent narrower than nor-
mal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs13.755 million which
translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.14 the year ended FY10.
CHCC is currently 5.8 per cent above its 200-day moving average and
is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the aver-
age volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators reflect
moderate flows of volume into CHCC (mildly bullish). Trend forecasting
oscillators are currently bullish on CHCC.
RSI (14-day) 60.22 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 4,743.51
MA (10-day) 11.00 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 2,268.40
MA (100-day) 10.43 Revenue (Rs in mn) 4,567.41
MA (200-day) 11.32 Interest Expense 114.36
1st Support 11.32 Profit after Taxation 159.29
2nd Support 10.62 EPS 09 (Rs) 1.667
1st Resistance 12.45 Book value / share (Rs) 23.73
2nd Resistance 12.88 PE 10 E (x) -
Pivot 11.75 PBV (x) 0.51
Cherat Cement Company Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Dec 31, 2009
BIPL closed up 0.30 at 3.47. Volume was 2,716 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 44 per cent narrower than nor-
mal. The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs16.13 million which
translates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.031 for the half year of current
calendar year (1HCY10).
BIPL is currently 19.5 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying an upward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as compared
to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indi-
cators reflect very strong flows of volume into BIPL (bullish). Trend fore-
casting oscillators are currently bullish on BIPL.
RSI (14-day) 61.26 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 34,286.77
MA (10-day) 3.20 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 4,740.29
MA (100-day) 3.29 Revenue (Rs in mn) 2,193.89
MA (200-day) 4.31 Interest Expense 1,222.17
1st Support 3.11 Loss after Taxation (478.94)
2nd Support 2.80 EPS 09 (Rs) (0.907)
1st Resistance 3.66 Book value / share (Rs) 8.98
2nd Resistance 3.90 PE 10 E (x) -
Pivot 3.35 PBV (x) 0.39
BankIslami Pakistan Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Dec 31, 2009
SNBL closed up 0.17 at 6.58. Volume was 1,007 per cent above aver-age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 17 per cent wider than normal.The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs186.353 million whichtranslates into a Loss Per Share of Rs0.32 for the half year of currentcalendar year (1HCY10).SNBL is currently 16.4 per cent below its 200-day moving average andis displaying an upward trend. Volatility is extremely low when com-pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volumeindicators reflect very strong flows of volume into SNBL (bullish). Trendforecasting oscillators are currently bullish on SNBL.
RSI (14-day) 65.64 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 95,310.27
MA (10-day) 6.36 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 7,803.20
MA (100-day) 6.58 Revenue (Rs in mn) 9,337.28
MA (200-day) 7.87 Interest Expense 6,602.78
1st Support 6.40 Profit after Taxation 145.35
2nd Support 6.29 EPS 09 (Rs) 0.29
1st Resistance 6.71 Book value / share (Rs) 15.55
2nd Resistance 6.91 PE 10 E (x) -
Pivot 6.60 PBV (x) 0.42
Soneri Bank Limited
OIL AND GAS
Performance of SR Oil and Gas Index
Open High Low Close Change % Change
1,348.22 1,366.22 1,339.56 1,354.40 6.18 0.46
Turnover Total cos Defaulter cos Listed cap Market cap 5-Day High
United Bank Ltd 70.90 54.45 53.65 55.80 56.30 54.95
WorldCall Tele 58.68 2.70 2.60 2.85 2.95 2.80
Company RSI 1st 2nd 1st 2nd Pivot
(14-day) Support Resistance
TECHNICAL LEVELS
ICI Pakistan Ltd 26-Oct 9:30
Mari Gas Company Limited 26-Oct 11:00
Security Papers Ltd 26-Oct 12:00
Sigma Leasing Corporation Ltd 26-Oct 6:00
Dynea Pakistan Limited 27-Oct 3:00
IGI Insurance Limited 27-Oct 3:00
Ismail Industries Limited 27-Oct 11:45
New Jubilee Insurance Co Ltd 27-Oct 3:30
Oil & Gas Development Company Limited 27-Oct 10:30
Safa Textiles Limited 27-Oct 11:30
Shell Gas LPG (Pakistan) Ltd 27-Oct 11:00
Hub Power Company Ltd 27-Oct 10:00
Clariant Pakistan Ltd 28-Oct 11:00
Muree Brewery Company Ltd 28-Oct 10:30
Pak Oman Advantage Fund 28-Oct 12:30
Pak Oman Advantage Islamic Fund 28-Oct 12:30
Pak Oman Advantage Islamic Income Fund 28-Oct 12:30
Pak Oman Advantage Stock Fund 28-Oct 12:30
Pakistan Engineering Co Ltd 28-Oct 11:00
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation 28-Oct 10:00
BOARD MEETINGS
Company Date Time
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 8
ISLAMABAD: In continua-tion of its trend to facilitate thestudent community in thecountry, PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLtd (PTCL) has launched anew package on its broadbandservice, in addition to its exist-ing Broadband student basicpackage.
The newly launched broad-band student bundle packageincludes 1Mbps broadbandconnectivity with unlimiteddownloads, 150 free voice
minutes and unlimited kehdoSMS, all just for flat Rs999 permonth.
PTCL has launched this ini-tiative to provide country'syouth with easy and economi-cal access to high speed broad-band internet, thereby expand-ing their knowledge, skills andproductivity, said a pressrelease issued here.
Such a package will not onlygive a student affordable highspeed unlimited internetaffordable for students but also
the liberty to download unlim-ited infotainment material, freeminutes to call on landlinenumbers and free unlimitedvoice SMS (Kehdo SMS).
In addition to the above,PTCL has also extended thetime period for students toapply for the Broadband pack-ages and enter in the draw for50 scholarships, worthRs100,000 each, till the end ofDecember 2010.
PTCL is already giving freeeasy learning cards for interna-
tionally certified online cours-es to all its customers whowant to enhance their educa-tional and professional skills.
PTCL SEVP CommercialNaveed Saeed marked this newoffer as a very significant ini-tiative taken by PTCL andmentioned that PTCL in futurewill further come up with sim-ilar initiatives and opportuni-ties for the human develop-ment and youth in Pakistan.
He said that by integratingmany value-added services and
packages to its already existinggrowing portfolio of broad-band service, today PTCL hasbecome the obvious choice forpeople looking for high speedinternet in Pakistan. In futureas well, PTCL plans to launchmany such offers to facilitateour valued customers, headded.
PTCL EVP Multimedia andBroadband Zomma Mohiuddinsaid that the reach of PTCLBroadband access that spansacross the length and breadth
of the country, coupled withthe affordable packages, willcertainly go a long way inenhancing the general aware-ness and knowledge of the stu-dents and the new generationof the country.
He added that sinceBroadband was all aboutaccess to information at highspeed, PTCL's leadership inproviding the fastestBroadband service was leadingthe proliferation of Broadbandacross the country.-APP
PTCL broadening students’ cyber horizon
MUMBAI: Vodafone Essar,India's third-largest mobilecarrier, will launch third-generation (3G) services inthe country in the January-March quarter of 2011 andplans to spend up to $500million within two years onits 3G networks, its manag-ing director said.
Marten Pieters toldreporters that the companywould price the servicescompetitively and that hewas "optimistic" about rev-enue from 3G services,which would facilitate fea-tures such as faster Interneton mobile phones and videocalling.
Vodafone Essar, controlledby Vodafone, won 3G radioairwaves in nine of India's 22telecoms zones in an auctionthat ended in May. Lastweek, the company namedNokia Siemens Networksand Ericsson as its 3G equip-ment suppliers.
Vodafone Essar paid about$2.6 billion in the auctionthat saw much higher-than-expected bids, with no singlefirm winning spectrum in allthe zones.
Vodafone Essar is in dis-cussions with other "quality"operators to forge alliancesfor delivering 3G services
beyond the nine zones whereit has its own spectrum,Pieters said.
"I said all quality opera-tors. Bharti and Idea arequality operators," saidPieters said, when askedwhether the company wastalking to rivals Bharti Airteland Idea Cellular for 3G
alliances.India is a late adapter of 3G
and is the biggest economyto not have these premiumservices in large scale yet,though the state-run tele-coms firms have 3G servicesin some telecom zones.
With 3G services, carriers'margins are expected toimprove as data services
offer higher margin thanvoice services. But the pre-mium services may take timeto pick up in a price-sensitivemarket like India.
"We are starting from a lowlevel. It will take some timebefore we get real volume,"Pieters said.
Vodafone Essar has about
116 million 2G customers inIndia, trailing Bharti Airteland RelianceCommunications.
Vodafone owns 67 per centof Vodafone Essar, withIndia's Essar Group holdingthe remainder. Essar Grouphas an option to sell its entirestake to Vodafone for $5 bil-lion by May 2011.-Reuters
Vodafone 3G in Indiaby 1Q next year
MUMBAI/LONDON: SaudiTelecom has put India's GTLInfrastructure and Quippo onits shortlist for a stake in itstower business and finaloffers are likely to be madewithin the next few weeks,three sources said.
The sources, who are famil-iar with the matter, said SaudiTelecom's tower business wasvalued at between $1 billionand $1.5 billion.
The company had not yetdecided if it would sell 49 percent or more in the unit buthad made its shortlist for thestake, which included Indianfirms GTL Infrastructure andQuippo, also a telecom infra-structure company, thesources said.
State-controlled SaudiTelecom has about 10,000telecom tower -- whichmobile operators used totransmit wireless signals --said the sources, who declinedto be named as they are notauthorised to speak to themedia.
A Saudi Telecomspokesman declined to com-ment.
When asked whetherQuippo was bidding for atower arm, Sunil Kanoria, adirector on the board, said:"We are working on it."
He declined to comment onwhether Quippo had beenshortlisted.
A GTL Infra spokesmanwas also mum on SaudiTelecom.
"While we continue to pur-sue several opportunities formergers and acquisitions, itwould be premature at thisstage to comment on any spe-cific target," he said.
One of the sources saidAmerican Tower Corp, and aconsortium of Dubai-basedprivate equity firm AbraajCapital and top mobile tele-com-equipment makerEricsson had also showninterest in the Saudi Telecomtower business, but it was notclear whether they were stillin the race.
That source said SaudiTelecom has shortlistedbetween "one and three" seri-ous contenders for the unit.
TOWER BUSINESSIn January, GTL Infra
acquired 17,500 towers fromIndia's mobile phone operatorAircel Ltd, a unit ofMalaysia's MaxisCommunications, at an enter-prise value of $1.8 billion.
However, plans to merge thetower business of GTL Infra,founded by its chairman,Manoj Tirodkar, with India'sNo 2 mobile operatorReliance Communicationsfell through last month.
Indian carriers have beenhiving off their tower opera-tions in order to reduce theircapital expenditure and debt.
Analysts have said tele-com companies typicallyspin off tower holdings intoan independent firm, whichmakes it easier to attractrival carriers as tenants andboost earnings potential ofthe business.-Reuters
Two India cos vying forSaudi Tel tower business
BEIJING: G'FiveInternational, a leadingChinese cellphone maker,plans to sell its smartphonesand tablet PCs in China for thefirst time to add to its growingworldwide sales, the compa-ny's chief executive said.
G'Five smartphone sales inChina will begin in January,and could account for 30 percent of revenue within three
years, CEO Jeff Zhang said inan interview.
The company's tablet PCswill go on sale in China in thesecond quarter of next year andbe priced at 2,000-3,000 yuan($300-$450), well below iPadtablets sold by Apple, Zhangsaid.
"Chinese customers' ideastoward electronic products arechanging, and 3G facilities are
improving. These are the twomain reasons we are movinginto the domestic Chinese mar-ket."
G'Five manufactures mobilephones and components. In2008 it launched its own brand,focusing on developing mar-kets in Asia, the Middle East,Africa and Latin America.
This year the company plansto sell 20 million handsets, or
three times the volume of2009. It expects phone sales toincrease another 30-50 per centin 2011, Zhang said.
He acknowledged that hethinks about taking the compa-ny public, but that he has notimetable.
"If we go public I'm inclinedto do so outside China. But itwon't be so soon," Zhang said."Our main tasks are to build
our business and establish ourbrand."
Zhang said he is talking withChina's three wireless carriers,China Mobile, China Unicomand China Telecom, to producehandsets for their networks.
G'Five hopes to sell in Chinaat least three models of phonesfor each of the 3G technologystandards: WCDMA, CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA.
The company will marketfour models of tablet PCnext year which will run onthe Windows XP operatingsystem of Microsoft and onthe Android system ofGoogle.
G'Five was the world's 10th-largest maker of mobilephones in the second quarter,according to market researchfirm Gartner.-Reuters
G’Five sales to debut across China
Staff ReporterK A R A C H I :Telecommunication equipmentmaker Huawei has said that it iscommitted to pursue its caseagainst Warid Telecom inPakistan High Court, contrary tounsubstantiated claims reflectedin recent media reports, a handout issued here said.
It said, "As Huawei has exhaust-ed all efforts to assist Warid inattaining an amicable resolution inthe matter, the company was leftwith no other recourse as Waridremains unable to settle the moneyit owes to Huawei. The likelihoodof an amicable resolution now isdependent on Warid. Should asolution not be confirmed, Waridplaces the continuity of its networkin jeopardy, leaving Huawei withno other choice but suspension ofservices related to the debt."
The petitions will be heard bythe High Court at Rawalpinditoday (October 26, 2010).Under the orders of the HighCourt notices of the winding uppetitions have already been pub-lished in newspapers so that allcontributories and creditors whowish to support the petition maycome forward and make theirclaims before the High Court.
Following the High Court'sgranting of the stay orders,Warid had requested a dialoguewith Huawei to explore a reso-lution through settlement of theissue. No agreement has yetbeen reached and Warid has alsonot made any payment towardsits debt to Huawei. Huawei isseeking the appointment of a provi-sional manager while the petitionsare pending. The court appointedprovisional manager would betasked with managing the full cus-
tody and control of all relevant doc-umentation, property, effects andactionable claims of Warid for thepurpose of compiling the contribu-tories list and creditors of the com-pany along with the day to daymanagement of Warid's businessduring the pendency of the windingup proceedings.
In addition to that, Warid owesHuawei in excess of $1,000,000for support services. It has alsodefaulted on these payments andthe monthly bills for August,September, 2010 have not beenpaid. Huawei will have nochoice shortly but to discontinueproviding these services, whichwill have a likely effect onWarid's customer services.
Huawei to pursuecase against Warid
M Imran Sharif
KARACHI: Nokia haslaunched a new messaginghandset - the Nokia C3 withextremely fascinating featuresbringing a full Qwerty key-board to the world's most pop-
ular mobile phone platform,Series 40.
According to a handoutissued here, the introduction of
devices such as C3 by Nokia,which offer more and morefeatures of a smartphone atlower prices, is increasing bythe day. Nokia's continuousefforts of 'connecting people'are paying off as its strategy tooffer something for everyone
from every walk of life can beseen materialising with itspromising new line of devices.C3 is the latest addition to this.
Nokia redefinessocial messaging
BESOS Trustfor PTCL
formedISLAMABAD: Federal Ministerfor Privatisation Senator WaqarAhmed Khan has directed theofficials to finalise other entities'trusts and to get them registeredat their earliest to transmit thebenefits of Benazir EmployeesStock Option Scheme (BESOS)to the workers without any fur-ther delay.
A delegation of CBA workersUnion of PakistanTelecommunication CompanyLimited (PTCL) led by theSecretary General LalaMuhammad called on the minister.
The PTCL CBA WorkersUnion gave three names of theiroffice bearers for the establish-ment of PTCL BESOS Trust.The Privatisation Commission(PC) formed the BESOS Trustand got it registered.
The delegation termed the freeof cost distribution of 12 percent government of Pakistanshares under BESOS as a revo-lutionary step of the presentgovernment.
They expressed the sense ofownership in the companywould make them more respon-sible to work uninterruptedly anddedicatedly and to make it moreprofitable as the recipients ofshares unit certificate would alsobe eligible to get due dividend.
The delegation expressed theirgratitude to Senator WaqarAhmed Khan for extending hiscooperation for the implementa-tion of the scheme and assuredthe minister that the schemewould improve the relationsbetween the management and theemployees in the largest interestof the company and the nation.
Senator Waqar Ahmed saidthat BESOS scheme approvedby the Federal Cabinet coversemployees of 80 State OwnedEntities (SOEs), which has beenenvisaged in accordance withthe vision of Shaheed MohtarmaBenazir Bhutto.
So far 39 Trusts have beenregistered under BenazirEmployees Stock OptionScheme. The establishment ofBESOS Trust in Pakistan SteelMills Corporation (PSMC) andPakistan Steel Fabrication (PSF)are at final stage while Trusts inthe remaining organizations areunder process.
12 per cent GoP shares of 27SOEs have been distributed freeof cost among 69,644 employ-ees while 39 BESOS Trusts havebeen registered in the entitieshaving 94,778 employees.Under this scheme the workersof 80 SOEs will receive theshares unit certificates and divi-dend accordingly.
BESOS has started deliveringits fruits as an amount ofRs1.613 billion have been dis-bursed among 16,044 employ-ees of seven entities while PChas received Rs1.452 billion inits Revolving Fund.-APP
Batelco seesflat 2011profit on
India costsMANAMA: BahrainTelecommunications (Batelco)expects 2011 net profit to beflat as start-up operations inIndia still burden the bottomline, its chief executive said.
Batelco expected 2010 netprofit to be 15 per cent belowthe 105 million dinars ($279million) it reached in 2009,mainly due to the start-up costsof Indian operator S Tel, inwhich Batelco bought a 49 percent stake last year. "Thebiggest impact on our net prof-it is the share of losses from ourstart-up in India," PeterKaliaropoulos told Reuters,adding the losses wouldamount to about 12-13 milliondinars this year and could reachup to 15 million next year.
He said he expected nextyear's net profit "at the samelevel" as this year, dependingon how much the company cancut its costs.
Batelco plans to reduce itscosts by 8-10 per cent annual-ly to compensate for lowerrevenues in Bahrain, where itis losing market share to com-petitors Saudi Telecom Co andKuwait's Zain.
Just like other Gulf Araboperators, Batelco is underpressure to make acquisitionsabroad to offset increasedcompetition at home.
But Kaliaropoulos cautionedit would take Batelco time tomake an acquisition.-Reuters
Illegitimatecall trafficsetup gets
busted in KhiISLAMABAD: PakistanT e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o nAuthority (PTA) andFederal InvestigationAgency (FIA) NationalResponse Center for CyberCrimes (NR3C), Karachiconducted a successful raidin Haiderabad Colony, JailChurangi, Karachi againstan illegal call terminationsetup.
The raid was conductedbased on the informationobtained through PTA traf-fic monitoring facilitywhich detects grey/illegaltraffic. The raid resulted inconfiscation of illegalswitches along with otheraccessories.
It may be added that PTAhas established highlyadvanced technical moni-toring system to identifysuch illegal activitiesthroughout Pakistan. Afteridentification of the illegalactivity, PTA not onlyunearths the exact locationof these networks but alsolaunches crack down withthe help of FIA to safeguardnational interests.-NNI
Vodafonehearingdeferred
by India SCNEW DELHI: India's topcourt has deferred the hearingof Vodafone's $2.5 billion taxcase to Nov 15, Harish Salve, alawyer for the telecom firm,told reporters on Monday.
Vodafone, fighting a tax billin India over its 2007 pur-chase of Hutchison WhampoaLtd's mobile business in thecountry, had appealed to theSupreme Court challenging alower court order that Indiantax authorities had jurisdic-tion over tax bills in cross-border deals.
The tax office last weekasked Vodafone to pay112.18 billion rupees ($2.53billion) within 30 days, butthe British firm said it"strongly disagrees" with thecalculation.-Reuters
Warid aimsto talk theissues out
with HuaweiStaff Reporter
KARACHI: Warid Telecomreferring to a public noticeissued by the DeputyRegistrar of the Lahore HighCourt regarding a petition forits windup filed by Huawei,has said that the plea is a ven-dor dispute which Warid andHuawei are in talks to resolveamicably.According to details given in
a hand out issued here onMonday Warid also said thatshould it fails to iron out itsissues with the petition-filer, itwould vigorously defend theclaims initiated by Huawei.
LONDON: Copper rose to a 27-month high above $8,500 a tonneon Monday as the dollar sankafter a weekend G20 meeting,while investors took comfortfrom falling stocks and strongdemand in top consumer China.
Benchmark copper for three-months delivery on the LondonMetal Exchange closed at$8,518 a tonne, up from a closeof $8,335 on Friday. Prices ofthe Metal used in power andconstruction hit $8,549 a tonneearlier, their highest since July2008. China's apparent demandfor refined copper rose inSeptember, according to Reuterscalculations based on officialChinese data released earlier.
Net Chinese imports of copperwere 7.5 per cent down onAugust, but an increase inChina's output of the Metal and a17 per cent fall in ShanghaiFutures Exchange stockpilespointed to a 3.3 per cent rise indemand overall. "Today's(Chinese) numbers were a littleon the light side," said EdwardMeir, an analyst at MF Global inNew York. "People don't seem tocare about that -- demand is stillstrong, still sufficient to keep the
buying momentum intact."Investors are now shifting
focus back to US monetary pol-icy, with rising expectationsthat the Federal Reserve will
opt for a second round of quan-titative easing.
Also helping base metals wasnews that JPMorgan CommodityETF Services had registered tolaunch an exchange-traded prod-uct (ETP) for copper in a filinglate last week with US regulatorthe Securities and ExchangeCommission.
On the supply side, the pic-ture remained tight, with the
latest data showing LME cop-per stocks fell 450 tonnes to368,375 tonnes, down around athird from a six-and-a-half-yearhigh of 555,075 tonnes seen inFebruary.
The discount for nearby cashcopper over the three-monthbenchmark has narrowed fromaround $20 a tonne on Oct. 20to $16 a tonne currently, indi-cating spot supply is gettingharder to come by.
LME zinc and lead extendedFriday's gains to touch theirhighest levels in nine monthson Monday, both at $2,600.Zinc later ended at $2,565 atonne from $2,512, while leadclosed at $2,585 from $2,530.
Among other industrial met-als, aluminium was untraded atthe close but last bid at $2,372 atonne from $2,365, tin was at$26,900 from $26,400, andnickel traded at $23,600 from$23,225. -Reuters
Copper at 27-mth top ondollar, strong demand
9Tuesday, October 26, 2010
POLYPROPYLENE(PP) LINEAR LOW (LL)
Cash & Settlement 1240 1190
October (3rd Wednesday) 1250 1195
November (3rd Wednesday) 1260 1205
LONDON METAL EXCHANGE (PLASTIC)
LME Official Prices, US$ per tonne for October 22 2010
LME Official Prices, US$ per tonne for October 22 2010
ALUMINIUM ALUMINIUM COPPER LEAD NICKEL TIN ZINC NASAAC
LONDON: Oil jumped bymore than a dollar to around$83 a barrel on Monday, gain-ing for a second session as theUS currency weakened after aGroup of 20 meeting andstrikes in France disrupted oilsupplies.
The dollar dropped, hitting a15-year low against the yen, asthe G20 agree-ment to shuncompetitive cur-rency devalua-tions was taken byinvestors as a go-ahead to resumedollar selling.
US crude forD e c e m b e rclimbed $1.36 to $83.05 a bar-rel at 1404 GMT, within sightof a five-month high of $84.43reached on Oct. 7. ICE Brentadded 98 cents to $83.94.
"People are still selling dol-lars after the G20 meeting andthat is putting upside pressureon commodities," saidMichelle Kwek, an analyst atInforma Global Markets inSingapore. Among other com-modities, gold rose more than1 per cent, palladium hit its
highest in nearly a decade andcopper reached a 27-monthhigh in London.
Analysts said the G20 out-come suggested a return to thepre-existing status quo in cur-rency markets, with the dollarstaying under pressure due toexpectations the FederalReserve would unveil a second
round of quantitative easing asearly as November.
US equities rose on Monday,supported by data showingsales of previously owned UShomes rose more than expect-ed in September.
Oil has also been supportedby strikes in France over pen-sion and port reforms, whichhave reduced fuel supplies.
Workers at seven out ofFrance's 12 refineries voted tocontinue striking on Monday,
but two of the other five plantscould vote to end their action,union officials said.
Oil traders were keeping aneye on the potential for weath-er disruption to supplies in theGulf of Mexico. The threateased after Hurricane Richardwas downgraded to a tropicalstorm.
Some ana-lysts predictoil couldmake furthergains. JPMorgan, in areport, saidBrent willspike above$90 before the
end of 2010, due to factorsincluding the weak dollar and atighter oil supply and demandbalance.
"Viewed in the context of percentage price shifts between oiland the dollar, oil prices mayhave gotten ahead of them-selves, however, in comingweeks the writing is on thewall," JP Morgan said in thereport. "The US needs a loosemonetary policy and the Fed hassaid it will deliver."-Reuters
Crude oil surges to$83 as dollar weakens
Europeanvegetableoil prices
ROTTERDAM: The follow-ing were the Monday'sRotterdam vegetable oil price'sat 21:00 PST.
SOYOIL: EU degummedeuro tonne fob exmillDec10/Jan11 860.00,Feb11/Apr11 861.00+6.00.
Note: Traded Volume reflects the trades from 06:00 pm of previous day to 06:00 pm of current day
Tokyo rubber
rises after jump
in ShanghaiTOKYO: Key Tokyo rubberfutures rose 1.1 per cent onMonday on buying by specula-tors who took their cues from ajump in Shanghai rubberfutures, traders said.
The key Tokyo CommodityExchange rubber contract forMarch delivery settled at 337.5yen, up 3.7 yen or 1.1 per cent.
The October rubber futurescontract on Monday expired at328.4 yen per kg, up 11 per centfrom the September contract's295.8 yen expiry price. Octoberdeliveries of 286 lots, or 1,430tonnes, were down 6 per centfrom September's 304 lots,which had been the highest insix months.
The expiry of TOCOM'snearby contract for Octoberdelivery and the debut of thenew April contract on Tuesdayare also prompting investors tobuy on expectations that specu-lators will go long on the newcontract, Saito said.
The most active Shanghairubber futures for May deliveryclosed on Monday at a recordhigh and limit-up 32,955 yuan($4,949) per tonne, up 1,670yuan, pulled higher by a rise inother commodities markets andAsian stocks. Trading volumewas a relatively thin 400,963lots. -Reuters
AHMEDABAD - INDIA: An Indian worker controls a golden ring cutting and shaping machine
at a unit engaged in making gold ornaments in Ahmedabad. -Agencies
LONDON: Gold rose about 1per cent on Monday and palladi-um hit its highest in nearly adecade, as the dollar fell afterweekend comments at the G20meeting and investors awaited aspeech by the Federal ReserveChairman.
Spot palladium rose to$617.50, its highest since mid-2001, from $586.98 an ouncelate in New York on Friday. Themetal, mainly used in auto-cata-
lysts to cut emissions, traded at$606.30 an ounce at 1414 GMT.
Spot gold rose to $1,337.17 anounce, off the 2-1/2 week low of$1,315.09 hit last Friday. It wasat $1,326.70 late in New York onFriday. Analysts said the Groupof 20 (G20) finance ministers onSaturday pointed to a status quoin currency markets, with thedollar staying pressured due tomarket expectations for theFederal Reserve to unveil a sec-ond round of quantitative easingas early as November.
"It's a very bullish picture forgold," said Carl Firman, analystat Virtual Metals.
"You have this prospectiveQE2, dollar weakness, inflationfears," he added. "After
Christmas we're looking at pos-sibly $1,400."
The dollar fell around 0.7 percent versus a major currencybasket which made the dollar-priced metal, a hedge againstrisk, cheaper for non-USinvestors. The US gold futuresfor December delivery rose 1.37per cent to $1,343.1 an ounce.
Robust physical demand fromIndia ahead of its important fes-tival season, as well as from
other countries, is likely to keepgold prices buoyant.
Concerns about the recoveryof the global economy and infla-tion due to lax monetary policieshave made gold a popular invest-ment, pushing the precious metalup by a fifth this year, outpacingcopper's 16 per cent gain.
BlackRock Inc, the world'slargest money manager, expect-ed gold prices to rise further dueto a lack of world productiongrowth, increasing appetiteamong central banks to holdmore gold as a safe-haveninvestment. Silver was at $23.67an ounce from $23.24 an ounceand platinum was at $1,693.17an ounce from $1,667.75 anounce. -Reuters
Gold up, palladiumat highest since 2001
PARIS: European wheatfutures edged higher onMonday following a rise onUS grain markets on a fall inthe dollar, but the strength ofthe euro also kept a lid onprices, traders said.
Benchmark January millingwheat closed up 0.75 euros at208.50 euros a tonne. Front-month November, whichexpires on Nov. 10, alsoadded 0.75 euros to 210.25euros.
Traders put the resistancefor January at 210.50 euros atonne and the support at 205euros.
"We keep on followingChicago. Everything takesplace in the US," an exportersaid.
"We are still in the process
of executing our contracts andwe'll see later about coveringthe second part of the cam-paign," he added, noting thathe was already optimistic.
French wheat for nextspring was more expensivethan US wheat in FOB terms,but a cheaper freight rate toMediterranean destinationswas enough to keep it com-petitive.
The harvest was showingheterogeneous results. Maizeproducers group AGPM esti-mated the average yield atbetween 9.1 and 9.3 tonnesper hectare, against 9.1 tonnesin 2009, according to farmministry estimates.
Germany's market wasstronger, supported by the risein Paris and higher US futures
but with rises limited by lowdemand and concern aboutthe euro's overall strength.
Standard new crop bread-quality wheat for Novemberdelivery in Hamburg wasoffered for sale up 2 euros at211 euros a tonne with buyersat 208 euros.
Spanish wheat prices linedup with last week's pricedeclines in Paris, while astrong euro helped cheapendollar-denominated originsfor the import-dependentcountry.
Imported feed wheat inleading grains port,Tarragona, was offered at205-206 euros a tonne, downabout 5 euros from a weekago, with bids at 202 euros. -Reuters
EU wheat edges up
Coffee, sugarrise, near
recent peaksLONDON: ICE arabica coffeefutures prices were firm onMonday but below recent 13-year highs, while raw sugaredged up with support from aweak dollar, remaining belowits nine-month high.
Cocoa futures prices also roseas limited origin selling under-pinned prices. Liffe Januaryrobusta coffee was up $38 or 2.1per cent at $1,864 per tonne at1446 GMT. ICE December ara-bica futures traded up 3.20 centor 1.6 per cent at $2.0205 a lb.
ICE raw sugar futures priceswere higher, supported by bull-ish sentiment due to the tightsupply outlook.
ICE March raw sugar futurestraded up 0.40 cent or 1.4 percent at 28.62 cents a lb. LondonDecember white sugar was up$11.10 or 1.6 per cent at$718.00 per tonne. Sugar mer-chant Czarnikow expects the2010/11 global sugar market tomove into equilibrium, its headof research Toby Cohen said onMonday, after weather condi-tions in key producers reducedprospects for big surpluses.
Cocoa extended its recentrebound with ICE cocoa bene-fitting from the weaker dollar.
Dealers said key producerIvory Coast was holding backsome cocoa in the hope of high-er prices. ICE December cocoawas up $72 or 2.5 per cent at$2,918 per tonne. Liffe second-month March cocoa traded 36pounds higher at 1,984 poundsa tonne. -Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR:
Vegetable oil marketsjumped to two-year highs onMonday as the dollar fellbroadly after a Group of 20meeting and on concernsover delayed output in mainsoy producing areas.
Malaysian benchmarkJanuary palm oil ended at3,071 ringgit ($986.5) afterclimbing as much as 2.4 percent to hit its highest sinceJuly 28, 2008. Volumealmost doubled to 19,159lots from the usual 10,000lots.
"Malaysian market senti-ment is positive as investorsare expecting lower stocks inNovember and Decemberand looking forward toChina's demand ahead ofwinter and New Year," said atrader in Kuala Lumpur.
Cargo surveyor IntertekTesting Services on Mondayreported palm oil productsshipped between Oct. 1 andOct. 25 fell 4.7 per cent com-
pared with the same periodlast year.
Another surveyor, SocieteGenerale de Surveillance,said overseas demand for thesame period rose 1 per cent.
China's most active Maysoyoil futures jumped 3.2 percent to close at 9,514 yuan($1,429) per tonne, aftergoing as high as 9,580 yuan,a level unseen since August2008.
"Most of China's agricul-tural commodities were firmon speculative buying due tothe weaker US dollar," saidan oil analyst in Shanghai.
"Soyoil was also supportedby the US soy complex thatedged higher the previoussession due to strong exportdemand by China."
The stronger US soy com-plex supported most Asianvegetable oil futures. Soyoilfor December delivery rose2.9 per cent to over two-yearhighs along with other softcommodities. -Reuters
Malaysian palm gainsas dollar falls broadly
Shanghai metals climbShanghai copper futures
touched 65,050 yuan, its high-est since May 2008 beforeending the day at 64,610 yuan,while benchmark third-monthShanghai zinc hit 20,950 yuan,up by its 5 per cent limit fromFriday's settlement.
Indian sugaredges downon subdued
demandMUMBAI: India's spot sugareased on Monday due to slug-gish demand, but a rise in theoverseas markets and a delay incane-crushing limited the loss-es, dealers said.
Demand for sugar usuallygoes up ahead of Diwali, theHindu festival of lights, whichfalls in the first week ofNovember. India, the world'sbiggest consumer of the sweet-ener, has made available 1.75million tonnes of sugar for salein open market for October,lower than 1.85 million tonnesit had released a year ago, thegovernment said in a statement.
Fresh showers in India's keysugar producing states ofMaharashtra and Karnataka arelikely to delay cane crushing,industry and government offi-cials told Reuters.
New York raw sugar futuresrose over 2 per cent in Asiantrade, supported by continuedbullish sentiment due to thetight supply outlook. -Reuters
Commodities still focused on dollar after G20 accord
10Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Kim Clijsters of Belgium talks during anews conference for the WTA Tour C’ships
FIFA VPchips in
$0.4mn forflood relief
LAHORE: "FIFA is at FaisalSaleh Hayat and his body's dis-posal at this awful time in thespirit of solidarity, assuring allout cooperation," this is statedby South Korea's millionairefootball man and FIFA VicePresident Dr Chung Mong-joon who has donated $0.4million for victims of therecent devastating floods inPakistan.
Dr Chung, on behalf of FIFAexpressed commensurationsand condolences over the mas-sive loss of lives and colossaldamage to properties and infra-structure caused in flood-rav-aged Pakistan and assuredhumanitarian aid to help dealwith the disaster which haskilled more than 13 millionpeople.
Many South Koreans believethey owe Chung a debt for hisyears of international diploma-cy that helped secure the jointhosting of the World SoccerCup 2002.
Chung, 59, one of the sevenFIFA Vice Presidents added;"Contributing to alleviate suf-fering and maintain humandignity during and in the after-math of man-made crises andnatural disasters within thefootball family is also aresponsibility that FIFA takesvery seriously. The fund willbe aimed at rebuilding thebasic football infrastructure,which was damaged by theravaging floods, throwing thesport into disarray for locals ina bid to use football to bringhope and happiness back to thelocal people, especially trau-matized youngsters."-APP
FIFAclamps downunethical vote
behaviourZURICH: FIFA has promiseda zero tolerance approach tounethical behaviour in the con-test to host the 2018 and 2022World Cups in response tocomments made by the body'sformer general secretary toundercover newspaperreporters.
"FIFA and the ethics com-mittee are committed to havezero tolerance for any breachof the code of ethics and thebid registration," football'sgoverning body in a statementon Monday. "FIFA and theethics committee are deter-mined to protect the integrityof the 2018 and 2022 FIFAWorld Cup bidding process."
The Sunday Times posted afilm of Michel Zen-Ruffinentalking to undercover reportersabout the bid process, fuelingthe controversy surroundingthe hosting of the two tourna-ments.-Reuters
LONDON: Manchester United andArsenal enjoyed landmark victoriesover Stoke City and ManchesterCity respectively on Sunday to stayon the coat tails of championsChelsea in the battle for the PremierLeague title.
Arsenal had not beaten any oftheir current big four rivals,Chelsea, United or Manchester City,for 18 months but helped by thefifth-minute sending off of DedryckBoyata they triumphed 3-0 atEastlands.
Earlier, United ended a run of foursuccessive away draws with twogoals for Wayne Rooney's stand-inJavier Hernandez in their dramaticlate 2-1 win at Stoke City.
Chelsea, who beatWolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 onSaturday, lead the standings on 22points with the two Manchesterclubs and Arsenal on 17.
Liverpool, normally challengingthose sides for a Champions Leagueslot, remain in the bottom threedespite claiming their second win ofthe season when Fernando Torres'sfirst goal since August secured a 2-1Anfield win over Blackburn Rovers.
Arsenal had Cesc Fabregas backpulling the strings in a league gamefor the first time in five weeks andhe made a huge difference with adisplay full of promptings and prob-ings.
One of his passes, into the path ofMarouane Chamakh, producedBoyata's mad moment with a rashtrip outside the box.
Arsenal soon made their numberspay when Samir Nasri finished aneat move to open the scoring after21 minutes and, although Joe Hartdid well to save a Fabregas penalty,the Spaniard made amends by set-ting up Alex Song for the killer sec-
ond after 66.Nicklas Bendtner came off the
bench for his second appearance of
the season to complete the scoring."We played some outstanding
football at times and it's very diffi-
cult to stop a team playing at thattempo," Fabregas told Sky Sports.
"Even if they had 15 (players) andwe had 11 we would still go andwin."
ROONEY REPLACEMENTAfter Rooney had hogged the
headlines all week it was his stand-in Hernandez who was the toast ofManchester United fans after hisdouble overcame battling Stoke.
He opened the scoring with a dex-trous back-header after 27 minutesbut, as United eventually sat back todefend their lead, they looked to beheading for another draw when sub-stitute Tuncay Sanli curled in a love-ly equaliser after 81.
Hernandez, however, topped animpressive all-round display byseizing on a loose ball to prod in the86th-minute winner.
"We never give in, we actuallystarted to play after we lost the
goal," said United manager AlexFerguson.
"It's really difficult here as theyreally compete for everything. Wegot a bit careless but we managed toup our game just enough to getthrough."
Liverpool remain in the relegationzone on nine points but there was areal feeling of relief around Anfieldas they not only chalked up a rarewin but played some enterprisingsoccer.
Torres and Steven Gerrard, bothrested from Thursday's EuropaLeague trip to Naples, both lookedsharp.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos put Liverpoolahead early in the second half with aheader and after a Jamie Carragherown goal in the 52nd minute, Torresgrabbed the winner a minute laterwith his second goal of the season.-Reuters
EPL shines with United, Arsenal & Liverpool victory
ISLAMABAD: PakistanHockey team coach AhmedAlam has said the main focus atthe training camp commencinghere at Naseer Bunda HockeyStadium of Pakistan SportsComplex today would be ontechnical aspects for the 16thAsian Games to be held inChina.
Earlier, Pakistan HockeyFederation (PHF) selection com-mittee summoned 22 players forthe training camp but now it isaugmented to 25 with the addi-tion of Sohail Abbas, KhalidBhatti and Abdul QayyumDogar. "We will be arriving atIslamabad on October 26,"Ahmed Alam said.
"Technical training and confi-dence build up will be the mainthing that we are going to focuson in the training camp and onlythose players will be consideredfor the squad who are in goodshape completely. So there is no
guarantee that all these playerswill be in the final squad," thecoach told APP here on Saturday.
He said with the inclusion ofthree more players I am hopefulthat the team's confidence andperformance would increase fur-ther. "As three more players havebeen added in the squad whichhas raised the level of our expec-tations and we expect strenuoustraining in the camp," he added.
Alam said that an importantaspect of the training camp is tobuild up team's lost confidenceas is visible from the results ofrecently concluded CommonWealth Games. In order to per-form well Pakistan hockey teamwould need to develop theirconfidence and should trulybelieve that they can be success-ful again, he said adding that thenation should shower all theirbest wishes and prayers for theteam instead of criticising theteam.-APP
Hockey camp tomend technicalaspects: Alam
MUMBAI: Indian PremierLeague team RajasthanRoyals (RR) on Monday fileda petition in the Bombay HighCourt, challenging BCCI'sdecision of terminating itsfranchise agreement.
BCCI had terminated theagreement with the inauguralchampions on October 10,saying it had changed theshareholding pattern withoutinforming either the Board orthe IPL Governing Council.
"We have tried to meet withthe BCCI to understand thebasis for the termination,which was received without
notice. We do not understandwhat we have done wrong,and it is therefore our duty tothe fans of the IPL, ouremployees, our players andour partners to pursue the mat-ter.
"The matter is expected tobe listed this Wednesday. Wewould not like to state any-thing further since the matteris sub-judice," an RRspokesperson said in a state-ment.
The BCCI had terminatedthe agreements of two fran-chises -- Rajasthan Royals andKings XI Punjab -- for alleged
irregularities in their owner-ship pattern.
The winners of inauguralIPL, Rajasthan Royals team isseen as close to the suspendedIPL commissioner Lalit Modi,whose brother-in-law SureshChellaram has stake in theteam.
Chellaram is facing govern-ment investigations for viola-tions of foreign exchangerules, while the EnforcementDirectorate has issued a 'BlueAlert' against Modi, who isnow facing the prospect of hispassport being revoked.-Online
Rajasthan Royals tochallenge termination
Monitoring Desk
LAHORE: The InternationalCricket Council (ICC) hasgiven a cautious nod ofapproval to the PakistanCricket Board's (PCB) effortsin toughening its approach tocorruption in cricket and under-taking reforms to improve theadministration of the game inPakistan. However, the ICC haswarned against complacencyand reiterated a series of meas-ures to all member boards tomake efforts at eliminating cor-ruption in the aftermath of thespot-fixing controversy.
"We are encouraged by theexcellent progress reported andalso the willingness of thePakistan Cricket Board toembrace the ICC recommenda-
tions," ICC CEO HaroonLorgat said after a meeting ofthe Pakistan task force, a groupaimed at bringing internationalcricket back to Pakistan."However, we can never becomplacent nor distracted inour determination to tacklecorruption."
The ICC, earlier this month,had warned the PCB over thecontinuing decline of gover-nance in Pakistan cricket andhad conveyed a clear messageto get its act together by sortingout the game's administration orfacing the consequences, possi-bly in the form of sanctions.The PCB was given a 30-daydeadline to conduct a thoroughand far-reaching review of its"player integrity issues" andreport back to the task force.
In the interim, the PCB, asadvised by the ICC, has intro-duced a revised code of conductwith a strong emphasis on anti-corruption which has beensigned by all players ahead ofthe tour of the UAE later thismonth. The board has also setup an Integrity Committee,aimed at finding ways to moveforward after the spot-fixingcontroversy, deal with the ICC'srecommendations and addressissues of corruption and doping,each of which have plaguedPakistan cricket in the past.
The committee comprises sev-eral senior officials of the boardincluding chairman Ijaz Butt,chief operating officer WasimBari, team manager IntikhabAlam and director of interna-tional cricket Zakir Khan.
ICC lauds PCB's measure
Ronaldo‘dodging’ debt
collectorsLONDON: FormerManchester United CristianoRonaldo, who is worth £80million, is dodging debt collec-tors who are trying to enforce aparking fine. The 25-year-oldwas hit with a £70 ticket afterparking on double yellow linesin Manchester city centre whileplaying for the Red Devils.
The fine, which was slappedon Ronaldo in 2008, has esca-lated into hundreds of poundsand the council has sent bailiffsto his mansion to seize some ofhis belongings.
Two bailiffs from debt col-lection company Equita havevisited Ronaldo's five-bedroomhome in Alderley Edge,Cheshire, which he still owns,on at least two occasions."These huge fellas arrived out-side his house," the Daily Starquoted a neighbour as saying.
"They were standing about forten minutes with a clipboard,hoping someone wouldanswer."They said it was worth atrip on the off-chance that he'dvisited to check on the property,"said the neighbour.-Agencies
No Brett Leein AussieT20 squad
MELBOURNE: Injury-pronefast bowler Brett Lee today failedto make a comeback to interna-tional cricket after being over-looked by the selectors forAustralia's one-off Twenty20 tieagainst Sri Lanka.
But wicketkeeper Brad Haddinand pacer Peter Siddle returnedto Australia's squad after injurylay-offs while senior playersMike Hussey and MitchellJohnson were rested in view ofthe forthcoming Ashes series.
The 33-year-old Lee recentlymade a successful return to theNew South Wales (NSW) sideand even skipper Ricky Pontinghad said that he wants to havehim and Shaun Tait for nextyear's World Cup squad.
However, it was a good newsfor Siddle who had undergone alengthy rehabilitation from aback injury. Haddin too had anelbow complaint. But now bothwill be available for theTwenty20 match in Perth onSunday. Haddin's return meantthere was no place available forTasmanian wicketkeeper TimPaine, who played in the Test andone-day series in India.
"It's exciting to see the return ofPeter Siddle and Brad Haddininto international cricket. Peter isa key bowler in all forms of thegame and has made a return frominjury and is now ready to takehis place in the AustraliaTwenty20 squad," chairman ofselectors Andrew Hilditch said."It is unfortunate for Tim Paine,having played so well forAustralia recently, to miss out onthis squad but Brad has made avery good recovery from hiselbow injury and is an establishedmember of our side in all forms ofthe game," he added.-Online
LONDON: Manchester United's Hernandez celebrates hissecond goal against Stoke Citywith Fletcher duringtheir English Premier League soccer match.-Reuters
KARACHI: Under the supervision of Sindh board winningteams of Valley Ball and Tug of war are present together
with Chief Guest Deputy Director sports Shehzad PervaizBhatti, Nassem Shaikh, Muhhamad Shahid, Abdul Razzak
and other.-Staff Photo
ABU DHABI: GraemeSmith, the South Africacaptain, has said his teamis focused on performingits best in the upcomingtour of the UAE where ittakes on Pakistan in a fullseries and is not distractedby the spot-fixing contro-versy that has troubledPakistan cricket since thetour of England earlier inthe year, said smith in apress conference here.
The first of the twoTwenty20 Internationalsbetween Pakistan andSouth Africa will beplayed here today. Smithsaid he expected Pakistanto be competitive infavourable conditions andcalled out fans in the UAE to
provide the fullest support to
the teams."I think generally there are
always one or two things
going on in Pakistan cricket,so they're pretty used todealing with stuff likethat at least from a play-ing perspective," Smithtold. "We still expectthem to be very compet-itive on this tour andconditions to suit them.
"You can't hide awayfrom what's going on butas a unit we've dealt withthis in our society overthe years. We're used toadversity and for us it'sjust about being honest."
Smith reposed faith inthe ICC in tackling thelatest crisis and said heviewed the series as the
stage to begin a successfulpreparation for the WorldCup in the subcontinent next
year. "The ICC has to control
the integrity of the game andit's our responsibility to makethe game as competitive as
possible. We have to put ourfaith in the ICC to handlethings properly," Smithsaid. "We've got a lot ofexciting guys comingthrough and it's a greatplatform for our team tokickstart our summer.This month we take onPakistan in the UAE andthen an exciting series athome against India. It's avery important phase forus in our preparation forthe World Cup and wewant to go there and becompetitive.
Income from the firstT20 International, to beplayed here at the Sheikh
Zayad Stadium, will be givento the flood affected peoplein Pakistan.-Agencies
SA unfazed by fixingcontroversy: Smith
Afridi to take on BothaPak-SA series kicks off today in Abu Dhabi
PCB forms anti-corruption task force
11Tuesday, October 26, 2010
International & Continuation
CONTINUATION
India'strade deficitnarrows to6-mth low
in SeptemberNEW DELHI: India's tradedeficit narrowed inSeptember to a six-monthlow but the prospect of high-er crude oil prices couldagain widen the gap, thetrade Secretary said onMonday.
The goods trade deficit hasballooned in the past fewmonths as Asia's third-largesteconomy imports large quan-tities of iron and steel, chem-icals and machinery to fuel arebound in industrial growth.
The trade deficit can exac-erbate India's current accountdeficit, and adds to the needfor India to attract fundinflows to finance the gap.
Policymakers have said thedeficits were matters of con-cern but manageable butsome have said the shortfallsmake it easier for India toabsorb a surge in inflows ofcapital -- the product ofsuper-loose monetary policyin advanced economies.
"I still think that there is aproblem, I think that we can-not carry on having largegoods trade deficits," TradeSecretary Rahul Khullar said.
"The numbers that are com-ing in now, they're still seri-ous, but it's not something toget up and start ringing alarmbells about," he added.
Slower import growth inSeptember caused the tradedeficit to shrink but Khullarpredicted the figure wouldlikely hover around the $10billion mark on average in thecoming months, noting thatoil prices are forecast to rise.
India's current accountdeficit was about 3.7 per centof gross domestic product inthe June quarter.
"As long as the currentaccount deficit remains with-in the neighbourhood of 2.5to 3 per cent, you are not inany serious difficulty,"Khullar said.
India's exports have risenthis fiscal year in most sec-tors including oil, plasticsand iron ore, thanks in part tohigher prices and the baseeffect of weaker year-agonumbers, Khullar said.
However, an appreciatingrupee would hit exports whennew orders are placed in thecoming months, he added.-Reuters
Rs0.81 billion against 1.9 billion during the corresponding peri-od last year.-APP
Continued from page 12No #1
laboratories to meet 50 per cent enhancement in pay and pen-sion liabilities at par with the other government departments.
Shamshad Sattar Bachani, Pir Syed Fazal Ali Shah Jeelani,Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk, Malik Shakeel Awan, AkramMasih Gill, Zafar Beg Bhittani and Begum Shahnaz Sheikhattended the meeting. -APP
Continued from page 12No #2
coming session in both the houses.The delegation members included Sardar Talib Hussain Nakai
MNA, Muhammad Nawaz Allai MNA and Sardar ShahjahanYousuf MNA. They also apprised the Prime Minister of theprogress of ongoing development schemes in their respective con-stituencies. Furthermore, while talking to the Chairman JointChiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Khalid ShamimWyne who called on him at PM House, Prime Minister Gilani saidthat despite economic constraints, the government would notignore the defense requirements of the country and every possiblestep would be taken to maintain the level of minimum credibledeterrence. He lauded the professional preparedness of the armedforces of Pakistan. The CJCSC briefed the Prime Minister abouthis recent visit to South Korea and his participation in the Chiefsof Defense (CHOD) Conference.
He apprised him of his meetings with the military leadership ofthe participating countries. He also informed about the profession-al matters relating to the three armed forces of Pakistan.
Prime Minister also congratulated General Khalid ShamimWyne on his selection for conferment of Sitara Imtiaz (military)as an acknowledgement of his meritorious services for PakistanArmy. Overall security situation of the country was also discussedduring the meeting. -Agencies
Continued from page 12No #3
"I am worried that they are trying to stage terror-like protests inthe city centre," he told reporters. He said some veterans were plan-ning to set cars on fire or blow up oil tankers near the summit venuein southern Seoul, where South Korea will host world leadersincluding US President Barack Obama for November 11-12. "Wewill never tolerate this and will respond sternly," said Cho. -APP
Continued from page 12No #4
Mexico spill to cost it more than 32.2 billion dollars, taking intoaccount compensation as well as clean up costs.
The oil spill, the worst environmental disaster in the UnitedStates, dealt a major blow to BP and forced out former boss TonyHayward, who was heavily criticised by the media for clumsyhandling of the spill response. -Reuters
Continued from page 12No #5
TOKYO: Japan's exportstrumped expectations inSeptember, but the seventhconsecutive slowdown inannual growth showed theeconomy was feeling thepinch from the strong yen andslackening growth in its over-seas markets.
The 14.4 per cent increasefrom a year earlier wellexceeded economists' expec-tations, which some analysts
took as a sign that exportswere proving more resilient tothe currency's strength andglobal headwinds than somehad initially feared.
"The global economic slow-down and a strong yen indeedhave had a negative impact onthe economy but the data sup-ports the view that the recov-ery trend has not disap-peared," said YoshimasaMaruyama, an economist at
Itochu Corp.Maruyama predicted
exports to bottom out in thenext six months and startregaining pace some timeafter that.
The headline figure cameabove a market consensusforecast of a 9.6 per cent riseand just below a 15.5 per centrise in August, Ministry ofFinance data showed onMonday.-Reuters
Japan export growthslows, feels pinch of yen
BRUSSELS: Euro zone indus-trial new orders rose much morestrongly than expected inmonthly terms in August andregistered their highest everincrease year-on-year, datashowed on Monday, pointing torobust investment and industrialoutput in the coming months.
The European Union's statis-tics office Eurostat said industri-al new orders in the 16 countriessharing the euro rose 5.3 percent in August from July, for a24.4 per cent jump year-on-year.The annual gain is the highestsince measurements started in1996.
Economists polled by Reutershad expected a 2.1 per centmonthly rise and a 17.1 per centannual gain.
Eurostat also revised upwardsthe orders data for July.
"The euro zone industrialorders data for August makevery pleasant reading and notonly lift hopes that industrialproduction will have made avery decent contribution to eurozone GDP growth in the thirdquarter but also boost hopes thatthe manufacturing sector cancontinue to do well in the fourthquarter," said Howard Archer,economist at IHS GlobalInsight.
The August data was to someextent boosted by volatile ordersfor ships, planes and trains, buteven without them the monthlyrise in orders from industry was4.1 per cent and the year-on-year number was 23.5 per cent.
Eurostat data showed theincrease was led by demand forcapital goods, used in invest-ment, which jumped 8.1 percent on on the month and 25.2per cent on the year.
In monthly terms, orders fordurable consumer goodsshowed the second biggestincrease, rising 5.4 per cent,which boded well for householdconsumption.
Industrial new orders translateinto industrial production,which is the key component ofgross domestic product growth.
Economists expect growth toslow in the third and fourthquarters of 2010 after a strong,1.0 per cent GDP increase quar-ter-on-quarter in the April-Juneperiod.-Reuters
Eurozone Augorders show recordrise, to help GDP
WASHINGTON: Sales of pre-viously owned US homes rosein September, but remained atsubdued levels that did little toundermine the case for addi-tional monetary stimulus nextweek from the Federal Reserve.
Existing home salesincreased for a second straightmonth, rising 10 per cent fromAugust to an annual rate of4.53 million units, the NationalAssociation of Realtors said onMonday.
Although the increase farexceeded economists' expecta-tions for a 4 per cent rise to a4.30 million-unit pace, theyremained below the 5 million-unit pace normally associatedwith a healthy market.
"The September data showsthat the post-tax-credit bust inhome sales has come to an endand we are now on a gradualrecovery path," said ZachPandl, a US economist atNomura SecuritiesInternational in New York.
US stocks extended gains onthe report, while Treasury debtprices were steady at higher
levels. The US dollar trimmedlosses versus the euro.
The report came ahead of theFederal Reserve's meeting nextweek at which policymakersare expected to decide to injectmore money into the economythrough bond purchases, todrive borrowing costs downfurther and stimulate demand.
The Fed cut overnight inter-est rates to near zero inDecember 2008 and hasalready bought about $1.7 tril-lion worth of Treasury andmortgage-related debt.
The housing market is show-ing signs of having bottomedafter hefty declines in the after-math of the end of a popular taxcredit for home buyers.Activity, however, remainsvery subdued and recovery willbe very slow given a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.
Last month, the inventory ofpreviously owned homes forsale fell 1.9 per cent to 4.04million units from August, rep-resenting a supply of 10.7months.
The national median home
price fell 2.4 per cent fromSeptember last year to$171,700.
But an investigation into theprocessing of foreclosures bysome banks is casting a cloudover the housing market, whichwas the main catalyst of the2007-09 recession.
There are concerns that theinvestigation could slow thehousing market correction asbanks hold back foreclosures.
"The current foreclosure (sit-uation) is a potential negative.Less foreclosures mean thesupply of these homes for salewill go down and people willbe more reluctant to buy them,"said Jim O'Sullivan, chief econ-omist at MF Global in NewYork.
According to the NAR fore-closed properties constituteabout 20 per cent of homes onthe market. The Realtors groupcautioned against any gover-ment mandated moratorium.
Last month foreclosed prop-erties accounted for 23 per centof sales while short sales madeup 12 per cent.-Reuters
US existing homesales rise, supply
edges down
The benchmark Nikkei closed the day down 25.55 points at9,401.16. The broader Topix fell 0.4 per cent to 821.23. Trade was
Continued from page 5No #6
Foreign funds have pumped in nearly $24 billion into Indianequities so far in 2010, adding to record $17.5 billion inflows seenlast year. R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fundsaid the robust subscription to the Coal India's $3.5 billion initialpublic offering, the country's largest, has shown a lot of confidencein the strength of the market. Coal India's IPO was more than 15times covered at close last Thursday, giving the government powerto price at the top end of 225-245 rupees range and buildingmomentum for other state offers. Financials led the rally on expec-tations of credit demand growth in the world's fastest growingmajor economy after China. Leading lenders State Bank of Indiaand ICICI Bank rose 1.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.
Tata Motors climbed 2.8 per cent as a spokesman said the vehi-cle maker's Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with a Chinese automak-er to establish a manufacturing and sales joint venture in China.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd rose 1.3 per cent after the No. 2drugmaker by sales reported on Saturday a 32-per cent jump inquarterly net profit, topping estimates. Metal makers rose as basemetals climbed in London and Shanghai with London copper at 27-month high, as a weaker dollar lifted commodity plays. Non-fer-rous metals producer Sterlite Industries and aluminium producerHindalco rose 2.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively. Tata Steel,world's seventh-largest maker of the alloy, firmed 0.7 per cent.
In the broader market, advancing shares outnumbered decliningones in the ratio of 1.4:1 on a robust volume of 457 million shares,provisional data showed. The 50-share NSE index gained 0.7 per
Continued from page 5No #7
Rs26.72 billion as against Rs22.54 billion in the identical period last year. Operating expenses areexpected to scale up by 3.5 per cent to Rs5.4 billion compared with Rs5.22 billion during the correspon-ding period last year. Moreover, other income is also seen increasing by 23.1 per cent during the period.
Continued from page 5No #8
thin on the TOKYO exchange's first section, with 1.40 billionshares changing hands, its lowest volume in a month. Decliningstocks outnumbered advancers by more than 2 to 1.
Analysts said focus was on companies' currency assumptionsfor the year, and if a change in assumption rates will result in revi-sions to full-year earnings forecasts. "The market here will likelybe rangebound until earnings reports by blue-chip exporters thisweek are out of the way. Many in the market appear to think theirfull-year guidance figures won't be very good," said HajimeNakajima, deputy general manager at Cosmo Securities.
Toyota Motor Corp will lower its dollar/yen rate assumption by10 yen to 80 yen for the October-March second half of the busi-ness year, which will cut its operating profit for the period by 150billion yen ($1.84 billion), the Yomiuri newspaper said onMonday. Toyota closed down 1.1 per cent at 2,893 yen.
The head of a Japanese steel industry body said on Monday theyen's current rate is too high and an appropriate rate for Japanesemanufacturers would be around 90 yen to the dollar.
Still, investors were reluctant to sell Japanese shares too heavily onprospects that Japanese corporate results in general would be good,traders said. "There is a limit to the anticipated amount of aggressiveselling of Japanese as we expect earnings in general to be strong,"said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi InvestmentManagement. KDDI decided to launch the buyback because itsstock was depressed and it had no plans for major acquisitions or anyother big investments, Tadashi Onodera, who will step down as pres-ident in December, told a news conference in Tokyo.-Reuters
cent to 6,105.80 points. Elsewhere, the FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.4 per cent by 1006 GMT,while the MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan gained 1.7 per cent.-Reuters
Bibi, Shakora Bibi, Aniba Bibi, Allah Ditta, Sarfaraz, Arshad and Iqbal.The injured have been shifted to DHQ hospital while three injured have been shifted to Jinnah hos-
pital in precarious condition. RPO confirmed 6 killings and several injuries in bomb blast and saidthat one injured is in precarious condition. He said that remote control bomb was planted in milkdrum placed on a motorbike. He said that after bomb blast the mausoleum was closed and bomb dis-posals were sought. He further told that people were offering Fajr prayer at the time of blast.
According to initial police report, the terrorists were between ages of 35 to 40. About ten-kiloexplosion was used in bomb. He also confirmed 6 deaths. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari,Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, four chief ministers, political and religious leadership has con-demned the blast outside the shrine of Baba Farid Ganj Baksh and said that elements involved insuch incidents cannot be Muslims and they are anti-state elements who want to destabilise Pakistan.
Furthermore, after the deadly bomb blast outside the shrine of Hazrat Baba Farid the security ofall the shrines all over Pakistan have been beefed up. According to the details provided by thesources, apart from the increase in the number of security personals the administrations of theseshrines have been asked to improve the existing security conditions inside the shrines by only let-ting the entry routes open and strictly follow the security protocol by body searching the people thor-oughly and be on the look out for any suspicious items. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #9
monthly fuel adjustment charges. After the hearing of the applications, Nepra rejected supplementcharges amounting to Rs95o million sought by central power purchase agency and decided to scaledown power tariff by 36 paisas per unit. The new tariff will be applicable to all consumers and the ben-efit of reduction in tariff will be allowed to the consumers in the electricity bills of November. -Online
Continued from page 1No #10
sidelines of an industry event in Dubai. "The copper deposits are relatively low grade and we esti-mate the cash cost to be 85 cents per pound," Borries said. "Once production starts we are planningto double our investment in the project, so we'll add another $3 billion," he added.
The provincial government owns 25 per cent of the project, while the remaining is owned byTethyan Copper, Borries said. Under the current plan the government would need to come up withits own equity, but we can also finance them with a very low interest rate. We are also looking atemploying 90 per cent of the workforce from the local community." -Reuters
Continued from page 1No #11
Parliament and Opposition on recent strategic dialogue. According to details, PML-N said in theprivilege motion that recent Pak-US Strategic Dialogue was very important but government did notdiscuss with opposition, parliament and legislators about the dialogues. -Online
Continued from page 1No #12
Shah, a former finance minister. "The issue is how the government is spending the money it isalready raising." Pakistan's tax to gross domestic product ratio is approximately 10 per cent, one ofthe lowest in the world. "Asking donors for cash to reconstruct and rehabilitate the flood-affectedareas without looking inwards for relief shows the lack of political courage on the government's part,"said Asad Iqbal, chief investment officer at Faysal Asset Management Ltd. Pakistan relies heavily onforeign aid. Its balance of payments is still vulnerable and the country is committed to $11 billion IMFloan programme agreed to in November 2008. "The IMF and World Bank aid is linked to fiscalreforms and bilateral agencies are also joining in. Pakistan at this point simply cannot survive with-out these external flows," said Sayem Ali, economist at Standard Chartered Bank Ltd.
"There are key segments such as agriculture which are almost exempt from taxation," said AsifQureshi, director at Invisor Securities Ltd. "Of course agriculture is the vote bank and most parlia-mentarians are from a rural background and so they try and keep outside the tax net to a largeextent," said Shah, the former finance minister. -Reuters
Continued from page 1No #13
out sugarcane crushing soon, a private news channel reported Monday. Meantime, in Punjab, theex-mill price of sugar has slipped to Rs79.50/kg from Rs81. The sugar price whittled down by onerupee to Rs78.50/kg in the wholesale market. Pakistan Sugar Mills Association's Chairman JavedKiani told the news channel that a shipload of 20,000 tonnes of imported raw sugar is expected onOct 26; of this five mills imported at least 4000 tonnes. Kiani said sugar price is expected to godown, as the crushing season has set in. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #14
on a front line thus they must be careful and limit their activities to a certain extent.Sources further added that formal report has also been sent to the MQM coordination committee
in which it has been cautioned to all the leaders to restrict their activities. -Online
Continued from page 1No #15
briefing. It was disclosed that the total receivables of the company standing at Rs146 billionwhereas PSO has to pay Rs85 billion to refineries, he added. Thus, a net gap of Rs61bn is still beingfinanced through bank borrowings. Thus there is no improvement in its receivables as cash starvedgovernment's first priority is to fund the fiscal deficit.
Continued from page 1No #16
Similarly, for some other products, any rise in domestic prices would be capped by low interna-tional prices. It is important to note that prices of dairy products were already continuing on a sec-ular rise, even prior to the floods, due to sustained strong domestic and external demand. Livestocklosses in the flood would exacerbate this rising trend, but only to a small extent, the Report added.
The Report also acknowledged that the worsening in most of the Pakistan's macroeconomic vari-ables has further complicated the monetary debate in FY11.
"On the one hand, there is the argument that the central bank should respond to the rising infla-tionary pressures and excessive increase in the fiscal deficit, and on the other, the demand-shockstemming from the flood damages argues for a countervailing monetary easing to help revive the fal-tering economy," it added. State Bank's report for FY10 said that while developments marked animprovement from the FY09, fundamental structural weaknesses in the economy remained un-addressed. For example, some key reforms failed to gather traction:
--persistent disagreements led to the deferment of a proposed expansion of the tax net through theintroduction of a broad based GST-- the proposed restructuring of public sector enterprises, toimprove efficiency and lower the fiscal burden, did not take place-- after some initial work, therewas little or no progress in either resolving the energy sector debt chain (the so-called circular debtproblem) or substantially improving electricity supply.
Continued from page 1No #17
pointed out that a substantial number of borrowers, 47,911 to be precise having loans of Rs500,000and below were allowed write-off under BPD circular No.29. It was agreed in the meeting that the apexcourt must be facilitated by providing all necessary information/data and all efforts should be made todeal with respect to write-offs. The participants of the meeting were of the view that this initiative ofthe Supreme Court could be used as an opportunity and hoped that it would result in discouraging will-ful defaults, improve recovery position and bring stringent laws on recovery. The meeting resolved thatthey are committed to adhere to the directives of the Supreme Court to satisfy the apex court.
Continued from page 1No #18
witnessed in the corresponding period last year. The decline in repatriation of profit is mainly driv-en due to contraction in earnings of foreign companies operating in the country primarily due to slow-down in local economy. Furthermore, depreciating Pak rupee in last three-year also contributed todecline in dollar repartition. During the period under review, profit repatriation on account of foreigndirect investment (FDI) stood at $104.3 million which representing 83.5 per cent of total repartitionwhile on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) it stood at $20.6 million (16.5 per cent of total repartition).
Telecommunications sector remained the major contributor to this outflow in terms of dollar, astheir companies sent $50 million as against $37 million send abroad by the sector in 1QFY10.
Similarly, repatriation of profit by the financial business rise to $24.1 million compared to $4.4million during the same period last year. Furthermore, power sector witnessed repatriation of $10million against $5.1 million in the identical period last year.On the other hand, oil and gas explo-ration companies have transferred $7.3 million profit/dividend in 1QFY11 by depicting 27 per centdecline against $10 million transferred in the same preceding period.
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.
ISLAMABAD: Nationwide poverty
survey, being carried out under
Benazir Income Support Programme
(BISP), would be completed till June
2011, increasing the number of its ben-
eficiaries up to 5 million families.
She said that BISP is translating
Shaheed BB's vision into reality and it
has become an effective programme in
the social sector of the country.
Talking to APP, Chairperson BISP
Farzana Raja said the process of survey
is absolutely free and the only prerequi-
site to be part of survey is holding of
National Identity Card (NIC).
She said that the poverty survey has
been started throughout Pakistan and
survey teams of the BISP would be vis-
iting door to door to collect the data of
deserving families.
"This nonpartisan-based countrywide
poverty survey is translating the dream
of Shaheed BB into reality and the data
collected under the survey would help
develop social sector programmes for
the coming years," she said.
Terming it a milestone step for pover-
ty reduction from the country, Farzana
said the government of Pakistan
People's Party is striving hard to
improve the lot of the poor segments of
society following the vision of Shaheed
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
The programme was initiated to serve
the poor people of Pakistan and it's not
a tool to achieve political mileage.
Therefore, various prestigious interna-
tional organisations are ready to assist
BISP keeping in view its transparent
mechanisms and its non political and
nonpartisan based coverage.
Farzana said the pro-poor initiatives
of BISP are not just limited to Rs one
thousand monthly income supports. It is
a comprehensive programme aiming at
poverty reduction from the country con-
siderably.
The vocational training under
Waseela-e-Rozgar has already been
launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
which will also be expanded to other
parts of the country as well, she said.
The Chairperson said that the
government of Pakistan Peoples
Party would complete its five-year
term. -APP
BISP, BB’s dream come true: Farzana
BISP to enroll 5mn beneficiaries till June 2011
ISLAMABAD: Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza Gilani hassaid that supremacy of theParliament is imperative forpromotion of the democraticculture and ensuring good gov-ernance in the country.
He further said that the quali-ty of debate and business of theParliament show the serious-ness of the political leadershiptowards national issues andtheir settlement.
He was talking to Minister ofState for Parliamentary Affairs,
Mehreen Anwar Raja whocalled on him along with agroup of the Parliamentariansat PM House here Monday.
Prime Minister stressed theneed of taking the Oppositioncriticism in a positive perspec-tive and special effort should bemade to establish a cordialworking environment.
He also asked the MOS forParliamentary Affairs that coor-dination between theGovernment and the Parliamentin connection with the legisla-
tion should be maintained andbills of immediate natureshould be prioritised.
He said every possible sup-port should be provided to theParliamentary Committees intheir conduct of business sothat legislations could be expe-dited and made more meaning-ful.
Mehreen Anwar Raja briefedthe Prime Minister about thedetails of scheduledParliamentary business of the
See # 3 Page 11
Democracy hinges onHouse supremacy: PM
Political leadership serious towards national issues
Minimum deterrence to be maintained: Wyne meets Gilani
ISLAMABAD: President AsifAli Zardari has said thatPakistan and UK share com-mon stance to neutralise thethreat posed by extremists'elements and underlined theneed for greater internationalcooperation to counter themenace.
He expressed these viewswhile talking to Theresa May,British Home Secretary andMinister for Women andEquality who called onPresident Asif Ali Zardari atAiwan-e-Sadr on Monday
British High CommissionerAdam Thomson, SpecialAdvisor Nick Timothy andother senior officials wereaccompanying the British
Home Secretary.From Pakistan side, Interior
Minister Rehman Malik, ArbabMuhammad Zahir, Minister forNarcotics Control, M SalmanFaruqui, Secretary General tothe President, YasmeenRehman, advisor on WomenDevelopment, Senator SughraImam, Foreign SecretarySalman Bashir and other seniorofficials were present duringthe meeting.
Matters related to Pak-UKbilateral relations and cooper-ation, strategic dialogue, fightagainst militancy, floodsrelief and rehabilitationworks, trade access to EU forPakistan's goods, multifacetedcollaboration between
Pakistan and United Kingdomand various measures takenby the government for womendevelopment and empower-ment were discussed duringthe meeting.
The President, during themeeting said that Pakistan andthe UK have longstanding rela-tions which are based on sharedinterests and mutual respect.
He emphasised the need tofurther strengthen strategicand cooperative ties betweenthe two countries.
President said that both thecountries have a commonenemy and both share commonstance to neutralise the threatposed by extremists' elements.He, however underlined the
need for greater internationalcooperation to counter the men-ace.
The democratic dispensationevolved domestic consensusagainst the extremists elementsand all that is needed is capaci-ty enhancement for effectivelydealing with the threat of ter-rorism, he remarked.
British Home Secretary andMinister for Women andEquality Theresa thanked thePresident for meeting andassured British government'scontinued support to the demo-cratic dispensation in overcom-ing difficulties due to waragainst terrorism and the devas-tation caused by unprecedentedfloods. -Agencies
Pak, UK put headstogether on issues
KABUL: At-least 15 insurgents werekilled in a Nato-air strike overnight insouthern Helmand province, aspokesman for the alliance saidMonday.
US Captain Ryan Donald, aspokesman for the Nato-ledInternational Security AssistanceForce (ISAF), said he had heard alle-gations of civilian casualties butthey had not been backed up byreports.
"Current reports show we only killedTaliban. We are aware of allegationsof civilian casualties," he said, addingin addition to the 15 dead, six insur-gents were detained.
A spokesman for the provincial gov-ernor said initial reports showed up to15 militants may have died, includingtwo Taliban commanders, and he had
not received reports of any civiliandeaths.
Foreign forces in Afghanistan havestepped up the use of air strikes inrecent months since General DavidPetraeus took control of US and Nato-led troops in the summer, as they try togo after mid-level insurgent com-manders.
Dawood Ahmadi, spokesman for thegovernor of Helmand, said initialreports from intelligence officialsshowed up to 15 militants were killed,including two commanders.
"We have had no reports of civiliancasualties but we are still investigat-ing," said Ahmadi, adding the raid hadtaken place in Baghran district, aremote area in the north of theprovince where there was no govern-ment presence. -Reuters
Nato blitz mowsdown 15 Taliban
Nato jets pound hideouts in Helmand
LONDON: British Petroleumis selling its interests in fourGulf of Mexico deepwaterfields to Marubeni Oil and Gasof Japan for 650 million dollarsjust months after acquiringthem, the British group saidMonday.
The cash deal comes as BPlooks to sell up to 30 billiondollars (21.4 billion euros) ofassets by the end of 2011 tohelp meet its financial obliga-
tions from the Gulf of Mexicooil spill.
BP acquired the interests inthe four fields -- Magnolia,Merganser, Nansen and Zia --from US group Devon Energyin March as part of a wideracquisition of assets in the Gulfof Mexico, Brazil andAzerbaijan.
"When BP acquired Devon'sGulf of Mexico assets it wasclear that these four fields did
not fit well with the rest of ourbusiness in the region," saidAndy Hopwood, BP executivevice president, Strategy andIntegration.
"We therefore decided theywould be of more value toanother company than to BP,"he added in a statement. BPhopes to complete the deal inearly 2011.
And it expects the Gulf of See # 5 Page 11
BP sells four fieldsto pay for oil spill
Japan co to buy stakes in $650mn
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan StateOil (PSO) sold 275,850 tonnesof gasoline in first quarter ofthe current financial year whichis the highest ever quarterlysales in its history.
However, the quarter wasmarked by downward trend inthe country's fuel consumptiondue to the devastation of com-munication infrastructure andclosure of some power entitiescaused by the recent floods, thecompany's official said.
Despite the company's mar-ket share in the black oil andwhite oil segments stood at82.2 per cent and 54.7 per centrespectively contributing to anoverall market share of 68.4 percent, the official said.
The source said the overallblack and white oil consump-
tion was down by 6.9 per cent.In white oil the industry was
down by 5.8 per cent, whileblack oil consumption wasdown by 7.9 per cent in theperiod under review.
However, during the secondquarter of the financial yearwith the onset of rehabilitationand construction activities inflood affected areas, involvingincreased transportation, HSDconsumption in the country islikely to improve.
Furthermore, with winterapproaching fuel oil and Mogasconsumption is expected to wit-ness a surge due to shortfall ofgas which will have a positiveimpact on PSO's market share.
During the period the compa-ny registered profit after tax of
See # 1 Page 11
PSO sales soarto record high
275,850 tonnes gasoline sold in 1Q
Corruption in Projects
PAC seeksreport
ISLAMABAD: PublicAccounts Committee (PAC)while taking note of allegedcorruption in utilisation ofdevelopment funds for mem-bers of parliament has soughtreport from ministry of localgovernment and rural devel-opment in respect of thedevelopment projects.
PAC met here Mondayunder its chairman ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan here Mondayto review audit objects onPakistan Railways accountsand misuse of official vehiclesby respective departments.
Chairman Prime MinisterInspection Commission toldcommission had 14 vehiclesunder it control which wereused during the inspection ofvarious projects.
No one knows inspectioncommission is doing what",Chaudhry Nisar remarked.
Chairman commission toldthe commission had inspected10 projects last year and sentthe report to prime minister."We don't know what actionhas been taken in thisrespect", he added.
Interior ministry told thecommittee that ministry washaving 31 vehicles, NADRA,143 and Islamabad adminis-tration 666 vehicles. Interiorminister had only one vehicleunder his use , ministry furthertold.
Chairman APC directed theministries to return the extravehicles held by them or seekthe approval in regard to theirutilization. If misuse of anyvehicle was proved afterNovember, 1 then the respon-sibility would rest withrespective secretary, hewarned.
Presenting audit para aboutPakistan Railways, audit told15699 out of 39132 additionalland of Pakistan railway wasbeing used effectively and theremaining 20357 acres landhad gone under the illegaloccupation of Qabza mafia.
A 4-member special com-mittee was constitutedunder Sardar Ayaz Sadiqwhich would present itsreport till November, 30 inthis matter. -Online
G20 Protest
Seoul onhigh alert
SEOUL: South Korean policeare on high alert for "terror-like" protests being planned bya group of former navy com-mandos during next month'sG20 summit in Seoul, the coun-try's police chief said Monday.
National Police Agency chiefCho Hyun-Oh said that more than100 veterans of the UnderwaterDemolition Team (UDT), an elitenaval combat unit, plan "very vio-lent" rallies to press their demandsfor bigger pensions.
See # 4 Page 11
NA bodyurges toacquire
new techISLAMABAD: NationalAssembly Standing committeeon science & technologyMonday emphasised that tech-nology must be introduced totake maximum benefit fromThar coal.
The committee met under thechairmanship of Dr Abdul KadirKhanzada in PCSIR head office.
Evaluating the performanceof different departments ofPCSIR the committee recom-mended that technology bedeveloped to utilise the indige-nous materials available in thecountry in the field of science &technology to save the foreignexchange, said a press release.
The committee recommend-ed that sufficient funds bereleased for the PCSIR