Over 0.7m visitorseyed as KCCIlaunches 10thMy-Karachi mootKARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has

launched its 10th Annual International

My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony

Exhibition 2013 scheduled to be

organized from 5-7 July here at Karachi

Expo Centre. Siraj Kassam Teli,

Chairman Businessmen Group and

former President KCCI, told briefing that

the KCCI’s My-Karachi Oasis of

Harmony Exhibition, since last one

decade, was depicting the strong image

of Karachi as economic, financial,

commercial and industrial hub of

Pakistan. He said in My-Karachi – Oasis

of Harmony as usual, domestic as well

as foreign business communities were

participating to synchronize their trades.

President KCCI Muhammad Haroon

Agar said the vision and prime objective

to organize this regular event was to

project and promote the true image of

Pakistan with all its potentials and

strengths in general and Karachi in

particular. STAFF REPORT

Jewelry exportssurge 138% in 8-month of FY13ISLAMABAD: The exports of gems and

jewelry in the country has witnessed

sharp increase of 16.99 percent and

138.73 percent respectively during first

eight months of current financial year

against the same period of last year.

The jewelry exports during the period

under review were recorded at US$

1.21 billion while during last year, the

exports stood at US$ 506.3 million. The

gems exports stood at $2.74 million

during July-February 2012-13 against

the exports of $2.343 million during

July-February (2011-12). According to

data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

(PBS), the jewelry exports of the

country on month on month basis

decreased by 48.07% and increased by

72.22% during February 2013 when

compared February 202 and January

2013 respectively. The jewelry exports,

decreased from $147.969 million in

February 2012 to $$76.841 million in

February 2013. APP

01

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

DIRECTOR General GeologicalSurvey of Pakistan (GSP) DrImran Ahmed Khan has op-posed the construction of up-stream mega projects like

Bhasha dam on Tarbela that is located inzone-4 that is vulnerable to severe earth-quakes.

DG GSP made these remarks whilebriefing the Senate standing committee onPetroleum and Natural resources with Sen-ator Muhammad Yousaf in the chair.

The DG said that it is feared that in fu-ture an earthquake with magnitude of 9may hit the zone-4 where Tarbela dam islocated and another big reservoir over thedam will be affected due to it and Tarbeladam would also be on stake. He said that

construction of water reservoir like BhashaDam in the area may result into another se-vere incident like Attabad Lake case.

He said during last few decades eightsevere earthquakes erupted in this areatherefore major reservoirs should not beconstructed in this area. The DG said thatGwadar port is also located in the zone-4where billion of rupees are being invested.He said that Geological Survey of Pakistanhas conveyed the authorities about it andopposed the construction of Sighar housesin Gawadar but no one took notice so far.

Standing Committee recommended himto submit that report before the committee.Committee said if Bhasha dam is located inzone-4 is vulnerable to natural calamitiesthen why India is constructing dams and In-ternational donors are providing financial aidfor it? The DG GSP failed to satisfy thequeries of the legislatures in this regard.

DG further added thatseismic hazards that de-stroyed the Taxila civi-lizations are presentin the MargallaHills that maycause destructionin capital in fu-ture.

B r i e f i n gabout Rekodiqlandmine inBalochistan, DrKhan apprised thecommittee that thislandmine is worth tril-lions of dollars and mostprecious gemstones in theworld are present in this mine.He said that total reserves in this mineare more than five billion tones.

Legislative body directed him to givecomplete report regarding layer of Rekodiqin the province. At this occasion, DG an-nounced that after next fifteen to twentydays a pilot project of days 8 megawatt lo-

cated in Thar coal would beoperation and if it will

succeed then coal cul-ture would further

develop in thecountry.

S t a n d i n gc o m m i t t e eshowed con-cerns over theperformance ofthe department

and said thatmonthly expenses

of the departmentare Rs 250 million

while no output hasbeen seen. Chairman of the

committee Senator MuhammadYousaf said that this department has

been failed to deliver therefore it should beclosed. DG geological survey of Pakistaninformed the committee that in Arsenic ispresent in few villages of KPK and Punjaband 83% of population of these areas is vul-nerable to cancer and other severe diseases.

BuSIneSS

BWednesday, 27 March, 2013

Resolution of oil and gas issues would bring new investments

in the sector. — ICCI President Zafar Bakhtawari

Committee members ask

GSP DG why India isconstructing dams

with financial aid frominternational agencies

if reservoirs likeBhasha Dam

are located in seismic zones

BAGHDAD

INP

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) hasformally undertaken development andexploration of Gas fields in Diyala andWasit Provinces of Iraq, after winning thecontract last year.

The initial contract to this effect has

already been approved by the Iraqi Coun-cil of Ministers. The fields are spreadover areas of 6,000 sq km. The winningbid was a major success for PPL, and ithas become the first-ever Public SectorCompany of Pakistan to enter into inter-national exploration and production, saidPakistan ambassador to Iraq Shah M.Jamal, while talking with the visiting

media delegation here Tuesday.The contract won by the PPL is basi-

cally a service contract on which dollar5.38 per barrel of oil eventually extri-cated would be paid by the governmentof Iraq. The PPL has also worked out theprice of crude oil and condensate withgas to incorporate it in the contract. Now,the project is going through implementa-tion process, he added.

Ambassador Jamal further said, thecontract paved the way for Pakistani in-vestment of approximately dollar 100million in development of the gas fieldsand export of Pakistani skilled and un-skilled manpower to Iraq oil sector.

He said there are bright prospects forother Pakistan companies to come to Iraqfor finding investment opportunities andto develop more and more economic col-laboration between the two countries.

Pakistani businessmen need to ex-plore here the available opportunity torun their business in various fields likehealth and education in the long-termbasis, he added. The Iraqi governmenthas already assured its all-out supportto Pakistani entrepreneurs for undertak-ing joint ventures with their Iraqi coun-terparts.

PC proposes 14percent increasein power tariff

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

The Planning Commission (PC) has proposed14 percent increase in power tariff. The 14percent raise in power tariff has beenrecommended in a report issued by PSagainst ministry of water and power whichwas worked out in collaboration with US aid,says TV channel. Report says power sector isfacing crisis and is suffering loss of billion ofrupees. The entire responsibility of such hugeloss rests with ministry of water and power.Report further states power sector is incurringloss to the tune of Rs 100 billion monthlyunder fuel adjustment surcharge head and theconsumers are not being billed under actualtariff. Subsidy allowed on electricity bills beabolished and it be allowed to deservingconsumers only. Power tariff be increased by14 percent. The problems facing the powersector cannot be sorted out unless the tariff isenhanced in phases, report said.

290,000 telephoneconnections blockedfor grey traffic

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Authority (PTA) has so far blockedaround 290,000 telephone connections forbeing involved in grey traffic. Over 50,000connections were blocked after October 2012as part of non-system activities presently beingcarried out by the authority. An official sourceTuesday told APP that the PTA had a technicalsystem to monitor international telephone traf-fic. The system became operational in May2008 and was expanded in early 2009. Hesaid that the aim of system, installed with thefunding of Long Distance International (LDI)operators, was to monitor all internationalvoice traffic being terminated into Pakistan foridentification of illegal channels employed bygrey operators. He said that the system moni-tored IP and SS7 traffic on submarine cables toidentify illegal calls brought in the country bygrey operators and to record CDRs of LDI li-censees for revenue assurance. APP

PPL undertakes oil and gasexploration work in Iraq

Imran ahmed says constructIon of upstream megaprojects rIsk devastatIon by earthquakes

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The economic observers expect the cen-tral bank to keep the discount rate intactat 9.5 percent for next couple of monthsdespite foreseeing the Consumer PriceIndex (CPI) inflation for March clockingin at 6.75% YoY rise, 68-month low, com-pared to 7.38% YoY recorded in February.

On MoM basis, the CPI to register anincrease of 0.77% compared to a declineof 0.3% observed during Feb’13. Withthe Mar’13 inflation remaining in single-digit, the average inflation of 9MFY13should further be lower at 8%. The NFNEcore inflation has been continuously hov-ering near double-digit since Nov’12, av-eraging 10.2% YoY in 8MFY13.

“Excluding food and energy pricethis rise, in our view, is attributable to ris-ing government borrowing for budgetarypurposes, which to date stands at Rs 766billion (Rs 7,109bn in stock), “said a re-

port issued Tuesday by Arif Habib Re-search. Furthermore, it said, potentiallyhigher imported inflation as well as a sub-stantial rise in public sector borrowing re-quirements will result in persistentinflationary pressure in 2HCY13.

So far the current level ofinflation has not beendriven by the food fac-tor single-handedly.Fluctuating energyprices have alsoresulted in infla-tionary pres-s u r e sdomestically.However, inMar’13 particu-larly, the foodinflation (0.94%MoM) is expectedto have contributedto the overall headlineinflation along with ex-

pected increase in clothing and footwear(0.9% MoM).

“Although easing inflationary con-cerns have aided in the easing cycle(Dec’12 MPS), we think SBP’s focus willremain shifted towards containing upside

risks to inflation from both sup-ply and demand-side fac-

tors, going forward,along with depreciat-

ing currency(FY13TD 3.8%),”the report said.

H o w e v e r ,c o m m o d i t yprice (in particu-lar that of crudeoil) has not yetposed major risk

to inflationarypressures in

FY13TD, in ourview. But, a further rate

easing will likely cause a

sharp PKR depreciation, thus paving wayfor imported inflationary impacts, goingforward. The report said the SBP was ex-pected to keep the discount rates on hold inthe upcoming Apr-13 monetary policy, at9.5%. While looking ahead, the SBP’s fore-casts for inflation look similar to ours as wellas the street consensus. However, beyondFY13, our forecasts for inflation are consid-erably higher (~10% YoY E) and so do SBP’srecent talk-terms, suggesting indications forhigher inflation in 1HFY14. Thus, in ouropinion a rate easing in the following month’spolicy would be more of a surprise, thoughroom does exist.

GSP head opposes BhashaDam on ‘technical grounds’

So far the current level of

inflation has not beendriven by the foodfactor. Fluctuatingenergy prices have

also resulted ininflationary

pressures domestically

SBP likely to keep policy rate unchanged despite rise in inflationbl

ocke

d

16-17 Business Pages (27-03-2013)_Layout 1 3/27/2013 3:54 AM Page 1

BuSIneSSWednesday, 27 March, 2013

Major Gainers

ComPany oPen HigH Low CLoSe CHange TurnoveruniLever pak 10910.00 11100.00 10900.00 11100.00 190.00 1,740sanofi-aventis pak 361.00 377.00 355.00 377.00 16.00 1,100philip morris pak. 297.16 312.01 297.00 311.62 14.46 70,900mithchellsfruit 305.00 318.00 300.00 316.50 11.50 300pak gum & chemical154.00 159.00 152.00 158.95 4.95 4,200

Major Losersbata (pak) 1325.00 1385.00 1259.00 1259.00 -66.00 250fazal textile 242.74 230.61 230.61 230.61 -12.13 200gatron Ind. 190.00 180.50 180.50 180.50 -9.50 500clariant pak. Xd 221.00 220.90 213.40 213.64 -7.36 4,600Indus dyeing 456.00 448.99 440.04 448.99 -7.01 200

Volume Leaders

p.I.a.c.(a) 6.82 7.55 6.60 7.40 0.58 38,797,000trg pakistan Ltd. 7.81 7.98 7.46 7.60 -0.21 11,799,000fauji cement 8.53 8.68 8.35 8.42 -0.11 10,523,500Lotte pakpta 7.30 7.78 7.27 7.61 0.31 8,240,000maple Leaf cement 17.54 17.67 16.88 17.20 -0.34 8,194,500

Interbank Ratesusd pkr 98.4024gbp pkr 149.3060jpy pkr 1.0447euro pkr 126.6144

ForexBuy SeLL

uk pound sterling 149 150euro 128.59 129

australian dollar 101.5 102us dollar 99.1 99.35canadian dollar 97.25 97.5china yuan 13.5 14japanese yen 1.028 1.15saudi riyal 26.2 26.45uae dirham 27 27.25

Enthusiasticparticipation inToyota ‘Dream Car’ Art ContestKARACHI: The first phase of the 7th Toyota

Dream Car Art Contest organized by Indus Motor

Company concluded at a grand event here. More

than 300 schools from across Pakistan and

participated in the contest, which was conducted

from January to March, 2013. The 7th Toyota

Dream Car Art Contest will be culminated in a

series of three regional events with the first

being held in Karachi, followed by similar events

in Lahore and Islamabad which will take place

next month. In all, ten thousand entries were

received from all over the country, highlighting

the enthusiasm of the children and their schools.

Besides a large number of schools, special

children from vocational schools also

participated in the nationwide contest. The three

thousand entries received from Karachi schools

were displayed at the event, showcasing the

immense talent and imagination of the

participating children. Speaking on the occasion,

Mr. Parvez Ghias, CEO, Indus Motor Company,

said that the TOYOTA Dream Car Art Contest is a

first of its kind activity in Pakistan, and added,

“The idea behind this initiative is to provide an

opportunity to children to express their dreams

and use their imagination through art by

drawing a ‘Future Dream Car’. We also want to

engage them in the creative process of designing

a car. Who knows, we may already have ‘Future

Car Designers’ in the making.” PRESS RELEASE

JS Investmentsannounces interimdividend for JS Cash FundKARACHI: The Chief Executive Officer under the

authority of the Board of Directors of JS

Investments Limited has announced interim

dividend for JS Cash Fund for the period ending

on March 31, 2013 with a payout of Rs 0.50 per

unit which was approved for the Unit Holders of

JS Cash Fund. Unit Holders who have opted for

cash payout will receive cash payment while Unit

Holders who have opted for bonus units were

allocated units at the ex-dividend net asset

value at the close of business on March 22,

2013. The above entitlement will be paid to the

Unit Holders, whose names appeared in the

register of Unit Holders at the close of business

on March 22, 2013. Interim dividends have

already been distributed @ Rs 5.00 from JS Cash

Fund. PRESS RELEASE

Five Star Textileslaunches JJ Valaya’sSignature CollectionKARACHI: Five Star Textiles launched JJ Valaya’s

exclusive Signature Collection “Fashion Beyond” as

their Spring/Summer Collection 2013 in a grand

fashion show at the Pearl Continental Hotel. This is

the first time that a major Indian design guru has

teamed up with a leading Pakistani textile brand to

create a lawn collection. Mr. Valaya is a leading

Indian premier design guru and luxury brand in his

own right based in Delhi. While talking about his

inspiration, Mr. Valaya said, “Creativity, like music,

is a universal language that creates its own

relationships, a sense of camaraderie that

transcends all boundaries and unifies people

through its brilliance and beauty.” He also

expressed his desire for the people of the two

countries to come together through greater

cultural and artistic exchanges. Misha Shafi,

Pakistan’s famous singer and model, is the brand

ambassador of the Spring/Summer 2013 range by

Five Star Textiles. The fashion show featured

several leading models of Pakistan along with

Misha Shafi, as well. The event was well attended

by celebrities and cream of Lahore. Speaking on

the occasion, Muhammad Asif, CEO Five Star

Textiles expressed great pride in Five Star Textiles'

initiative in being the first in introducing the

people of Pakistan to the international flavours

through Mr. JJ Valay's Signature Collection

“Fashion Beyond Borders” Collection. He also

stated that Five Star Textiles represents lifestyle

more than just style. PRESS RELEASE

First woman branchmanager of NIT

KARACHI: MD NIT, in pursuance of his policy of

“equal opportunity for all” has appointed Anisa

Anwer as Manager of NIT’s newly inaugurated

Branch at University Road Karachi. Anisa Anwer had

joined NIT in 1993 as assistant. Her outstanding

performance paved the way for her promotions and

she became Marketing Officer in 2003. She worked

in many branches of NIT at Karachi and proved her

capabilities as marketing professional. Anisa Anwer

has the honour of becoming 1st woman manager of

NIT. PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Secretary and Chairman Sindh Bank Limited Raja Muhammad Abbas presides over the

Bank's Annual General Meeting on March 25. President/CEO Sindh Bank Muhammad Bilal Sheikh, Additional

Chief Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan, Directors Afzal Ghani, Shahid Murtaza and M Naeem Sahgal were also

present on the occasion. PR

SHEIKHUPURA: Nestle Executive Vice President Jose Lopez cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the

new EGRON 2 Project at the Sheikhupura factory. PR

02

B

Power generation to be increased by 5,000 MW next

month. — Water and Power Secretary Rao Sikandar

Banking spreadsdip to 8yrs low of6.18pc in February

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The banking spreads, based on outstandinglending and deposit rates, struck an eight-year record low of 6.18% last month inFebruary, said the industry observersTuesday. They said the last time such levelswere witnessed was in April-05 whenspreads on outstanding loans and depositsstood at 5.94% in April-05 consequential to a7.49% average lending rate whereas averagedeposit rates stood at a meager 1.55%. On ayearly basis, the banking spreads haddeclined by a massive 112bps YoY from alevel of 7.30% in Feb-12. Whereas depositrates stepped down by 51bps YoY (to 5.34%)in Feb-13, the positivity induced by suchwas more than nullified by a turn down inaverage lending rates which fell by 163bpsto a level of 11.52%. On a monthly basis thetrend was, however, the same but with muchless intensity as the spreads on outstandinglending and deposit rates fell by a slender3bps. “Such was the outcome of a sizeabledecline in average lending rates, down by8bps, however 5bps decline in deposit ratesbalanced the latter translating into a 3bpsdecline in spreads,” said Muniba Saeed ofInvestCap Research. Fresh spreads depicteda similar trend, falling by 4bps on a monthlybasis whereas the same declined by 166bpsYoY to 4.45% in Feb-13, she said. Depositrates on fresh deposits prevailing at analtitude of 6.08% in Feb-13 whereas lendingrates stuttering at 10.53%, directs the futurepath for banking spread.

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

PRESIDENT IslamabadChamber of Com-merce and Industry(ICCI), ZafarBakhtawari has

said that current energycrisis is holding backprogress of businessesand industries, there-fore, any pending courtcases against oil andgas companies shouldbe decided immediately.

While chairing ameeting of energy and pe-troleum sector entrepre-neurs, President ICCI, ZafarBakhtawari said that resolutionof the oil and gas company’s issueswould bring new investments in the oiland gas sector of Pakistan. He appealed to the ChiefJustice of Pakistan to take urgent notice for settlinglitigation issues of gas exploration companies.

ICCI President also called upon the Govern-ment to give high priority to investments in theoil and gas sector to explore and exploit these nat-ural resources for the benefit of the country.

He was responding to the reports that litiga-

tion concerning various oil and gas fields hascaused a loss of more than $2 billion to the coun-

try’s largest oil and gas explorationcompany in one year and delayed

energy projects.He said that payments

for oil import bill is thekey factors that has putpressure on fragileeconomy, adds to theelectricity genera-tion cost, hittinghard the ordinaryconsumers as wellas raising the cost ofproduction for manu-

facturers. He said thatGovernment should

give immediate attentionto run the existing power

units by converting themform expensive fuels to cheaper

options like coal-fired deriving coalfrom Thar coal fields and other renewable energysources for cutting the oil import bill.

ICCI President expressed concern over soar-ing oil import bill which is touching the alarmingfigure of $16billion and comprises almost 40 per-cent of Pakistan’s total import bill that resultingin a huge trade deficit thus puts pressure on thelocal currency.

ICCI calls forimmediate resolutionof oil and gas cases

Payments for oil import bill is thekey factors that has

put pressure on fragileeconomy, adds to theelectricity generationcost, hitting hard the

ordinary consumers aswell as raising the cost

of production formanufacturers

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