profit.com.pk

ECB to take all necessary measures forprices: Noyer Page 02

Wednesday, 25 April, 2012

The president does have acalming effect of sorts abouthim. Be it addressing media

frenzy about a (possible) flight tosafety, or soothing upset businesslobbies, his presence cannot be faultedfor leaving too much unanswered fortoo long. So it was when he sat downwith aptma the other day, theirconcerns about diminishing markets,decreasing exports and dilapidatedproduction all settled in turn, quiteamicably. And while energy shortageprompted a call to the petroleumminister, with promise of 5-dayuninterrupted supply, the lowerinterest rate demand got a favourablenod as well. Very interesting. Simply put, aptma has two simpledemands. (It has had them for sometime actually!). ensure adequateenergy and cheaper credit for thecountry’s largest industrial sector, 45per cent non-farm labour forceemployer and 60 per cent exportrevenue contributor. And really that isabout all it is in need of, for the timebeing. Two questions come up quickly.One, why did it take the president allthe way till the end of the government’sterm to realise the sector’s centrality toGDP growth (9 per cent)? Two, whatdid his spokesman really mean(Farhatullah Babar), quoting him,implying industry will needed “out ofthe box solutions” to grow and succeedand so on and so forth? As is evident by the demands, solutionsneeded are quite straight forward.Without energy, industry can and willnot reach its production possibilityfrontier. And without credit, investment,both local and foreign, will not come.Plain and simple. Now all that needsdoing is ensuring the 5-dayuninterrupted supply promise ishonoured, and restoring sanity tomonetary policy. That, of course, willmean the government must overcome itsaddiction to cheap money, retreat fromthe money market, and stop crowdingout private sector investment. Text-bookreally, nothing out-of-the-box about it.

COMMENT

Not so out-of-the-boxsolutions

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

AN exhaustive analysis of infla-tionary trends in Pakistan inter-estingly reveals that ex-factoryprices of cement per bag have

not increased in proportion to other con-struction industry inputs in the last tenyears, which has rendered the balancesheets of most cement companies impairedand the industry has been recording hugefinancial losses.

During the last financial year i.e. 2010-2011, 11 cement units suffered loss beforetaxation aggregating to Rs5.681 billionwhile 7 cement units, of which 2 are locatednear Karachi in close proximity to the seaport, earned profit of Rs5.982 billion. Atthe end of last fiscal, industry debts to fi-nancial institutions have risen to a massive

Rs125.3 billion and cement units located inthe North are particularly challenged andare unable to service their debts.

According to data compiled, the priceof bricks has gone up by Rs 2,800 per 1,000in just 6 months of the current fiscal, whileit increased only by Rs 2,400 in the 10 yearperiod from 2000 to 2010. The currentprice of 1,000 bricks is Rs 7,000 which wasRs 4,200 in the year 2010-11. While theprice of the same number of bricks was Rs1,800 in the year 2000 and reached Rs4,200 by the year 2010.

Similarly, steel prices have increasedby Rs 6,000 per ton in just 4 years since2007-08 and prices witnessed increase ofRs 30,000 in just one year from Rs 40,000per ton to Rs 70,000 per ton from 2006-07to 2007-08. Prior to this massive increase,steel prices increased on average by Rs3,000 in the 7 year period from 2000 to

2006.In addition to this, provincial tax on

mining has been at the rate of Rs33 per tonfor last three years, which was Rs18 in thefinancial year of 2008-09. This almost dou-bled in just one year. In the year 2000 itwas Rs12 per ton and reached to Rs18 withthe increase of Rs6 in the nine years from2000 to 2008-09. There was an increase ofRs15 in just one year in the year 2009-10.

The mentioning of input cost increasein packing prices would not be out of placehere as it has witnessed the increase ofRs7.54 per bag in the last 4.6 years, while ithad the increase of only Rs3.11 in 8 yearsfrom 2000-01 to 2007-08. Currently onebag costs Rs 20.65, and the price of one bagwas Rs 13.11 in the year 2007-08, while itwas just Rs 10 in the year 2000-01. Thismeans the price of one bag doubled in tenyeaRs. In contrast to the above, ex-factory

price of a cement bag was Rs179 in the year2000-01 and now it stands at Rs370 by thisfinancial year. Despite rapid increases ininput costs, cement prices increased onlyby Rs 139 per one bag. The compoundedannual growth rate of cement prices was6.28% in the last ten years, which is wellbelow the inflation rate.

Besides all this, the devaluation of Pak-istani rupee against the US dollar hasplayed very negative role for the cement in-dustry by dint of its heavy impact on almosteverything. In the year 2000-01 one USdollar was costing Rs63, and now it is atRs91. There was a devaluation of Rs5 in the8 years from the year 2000-01 to 2007-08,but gained pace and the Pakistani rupee gotdevalued by about Rs23 in last 5 yeaRsOnedollar was at Rs68 in the year 2007-08 andnow after 6 months of the current financialyear it has reached to Rs91.

g Inflationary trends in Pakistan playing havoc with cement industry: Experts g Cement companies’ balance sheets areall over the place g Cumulative loss of cement units for last FY was Rs 5.681b g Steel prices fare no better

FAILING TO CEMENT PRICES

g 40 years and a lot of whining andunbounded volumes of confusionlater, govt decides to withdrawprotection from motorcycle industry

LAHOREIMRAN ADNAN

T he federal government has decided to openmotorcycle manufacturing after a longprotection of four decades as the CabinetCommittee on Investment (CCOI) has

directed the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to slashtariff for new entrants and Completely Built Unit(CBU).Official documents made available to Pakistan Todayshow that the tariff reduction decision was made inthe recent CCOI meeting that instructed the MOC to

cut tariff for new entrant and CBU. “The CCOIunanimously recommended tariff reduction for newentrants from 15 per cent to five per cent for fiveyears duration and CBU from 65 per cent to 35 percent”, and directed the MoC to move a summary tothe CCOI accordingly. The MoC has prepared thatsummary as per direction, which would be submittedin the forthcoming CCOI meeting. Documentsfurther indicate that a follow-up meeting of tariffrationalisation case of Motorcycle Project in Pakistanwas held on 5th April 2012 in which representativesof motorcycle industry and committee membersunder the Chairmanship of Planning CommissionDeputy Chairman participated. The chair inquiredabout the issues in the tariff rationalisation ofmotorcycle industry of Pakistan. The Chairman /Minister of State of Board of Investment (BOI)Saleem h Mandiwala pointed out that the high tariffrates were the main hurdle in attracting investmentin the motorcycle industry in country. he suggestedthat there was need to rationalise these rates for newentrants. Similarly, the Deputy Chairman PlanningCommission, Dr Nadeem-ul-haq observed thatartificial barriers needed to be removed and noprotection to local industry after long period of 40years of its running “holistic approach pertaining toduty is required rather than imposition/reduction ofduty on Components and Sub components”, heasserted. The National Tariff Commission Chairmanin its presentation highlighted the background of thecase and stated that earlier a meeting of the tariffrationalisation committee was held on January 18th,2012, wherein it was decided that NTC inconsultation with engineering Development Board(eDB) would conduct a study and put-forth therecommendations pertaining to rationalisation of

duty on Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and CBUwithin a month’s time. NTC after doing all thenecessary procedures considered the following issuesin consultation with major stakeholders:“Whether the domestic industry is adequatelyprotected or the protection offered an industry is orthe higher side; and “Whether the incentive in theexisting scheme for new entrants are adequate ornot? he further added that in-depth analysis of theissues revealed the following with regard to motorcycle industry in Pakistan: “The industry survivedbehind high tariff walls. however, due to lack ofcompetition the industry could not be developed asan efficient industry and remained as a ‘negativevalue added industry’. This conclusion is true forboth motorcycle industry and the vendor industry”.“Due to infinite protection, which at present isprohibitive for imports of parts as well as CBUmotor cycles, manufacturers heavily dependedon easy resulted into lack of research an,development and innovation”. “The Industryis as old as 40 years and no more a ‘nascentindustry’. Therefore argument ofnascent industry could not applyto the existing industry. It alsocannot be argued that theindustry could not achievevolume of productionnecessary or achieving theeconomies of scale”. “Theprotection of the vendorindustry increased overtime in-spite of tradeliberalisation in othersectors, after the end of‘Deletion Policy’ in 2005.

There is a lack of policy for new entrants inmotorcycle industry and they are heavily dependedup on clones of ‘honda 70’ and Chinese parts only.The existing vendor base of the parts manufacturershelped the mushroom growth of copying assemblersbut discouraged the research and development. Itseems essential that existing manufacturer as well asnew entrants be encouraged to carry out researchand development and innovations”, document

stated. In the light of the in-depth analysis’, the NTC hasrecommended to maintainzero and 5 per cent tariff for

raw material and sub-component while tariff

reduction to 5 per centfrom 20 per cent for

component and sub-assemblers.

OVER-PROTECTED

On yer bike,mate!

PRO 25-04-2012_Layout 1 4/25/2012 12:14 AM Page 1

news02Wednesday, 25 April, 2012

NEW YORKREUTERS

eUROPe’S central bank willtake “all necessary meas-ures” to stabilise prices,and banks and govern-

ments should see its recent excep-tional measures as a “window ofopportunity” to make improve-ments, eCB governing council mem-ber Christian Noyer said on Monday.

Noyer was one of two eCB poli-cymakers to speak about the impor-tance of remaining focused on thecentral bank’s mission of keepingprices in check. Recent funding op-erations to help stave off a liquiditycrunch have raised worries about in-flation among hard-liners. “Firstand foremost, we are providing pricestability and will continue to take allnecessary measures to fulfill thismandate,” Noyer, who is also gover-nor of the Bank of France, said at aconference at the New York Stockexchange. “Moreover, our recent ex-ceptional and temporary measuresshould be seen as a window of op-portunity for banks to strengthentheir balance sheets and for govern-ments to step up their efforts in aless troubled financial environ-ment.” German Bundesbank headand eCB governing council memberJens Weidmann, speaking at a sepa-rate event in New York, also dis-cussed the importance of thismandate, saying monetary policymust not lose sight of its primary ob-jective to maintain price stability inthe euro area.

“Monetary policymakers mustdo what is necessary once upsiderisks for euro-area inflation in-crease,” Weidmann said. “Deliver-ing on its primary goal ofmaintaining price stability is essen-tial for safeguarding the most pre-cious resource a central bank cancommand: credibility.”

Berlin opposes any extension ofthe eCB’s mission and sees cappinginflation as the best way to promotegrowth, as that keeps down mediumand long-term interest rates.

The eCB held rates at a record

low of 1 percent earlier this month,while eCB President Mario Draghidismissed a German-led push for thebank to start planning an exit fromemergency measures.

The bank also pumped over 1trillion euros into the financial sys-tem with twin 3-year funding opera-tions, or LTROs, to stave off a creditcrunch late last year. Some at theeCB are concerned that the movecould fuel inflation pressures. Noyersaid the positive effects from theLTROs have already materialized.“It is too early to assess the extent towhich these measures will ‘trickledown’ to the financing of the realeconomy,” he added at the Paris eu-roplace Financial Forum.

“But the fact that more banksparticipated in the second opera-tion... indicates that the money isnow closer to small- and medium-sized enterprises than it was before.”“SLEEP MODE”: eCB governingcouncil member ewald Nowotnyalso weighed in on Monday, sayingit makes sense for the central bankto wait and observe the performanceof the low-interest loan operations.

Nowotny, who is also governorof the National Bank of Austria,characterized the bank’s bond-buy-ing program as being in “sleep

mode,” but said new targeted meas-ures can be decided if need be. Thenew policy measures could be takenif stress makes a comeback in eu-rope, “but I don’t see a need now,”Nowotny said in a speech at NewYork University. “This is a commonview” of eCB monetary policymak-ers, added Nowotny. Any new bond-buying would meet strong resistancefrom the Bundesbank, which has op-posed the reactivation of the Securi-ties Market Program (SMP). Theprogram went unused for the sixthweek in a row last week, the banksaid on Monday, showing no sign ofresponding to Spain and Italy’s slip-ping back into the market’s sights inthe debt crisis. Over the weekend,top eCB policymakers attending theInternational Monetary Fund’sspring meetings rebuffed the IMF’scall for the bank to cut its policy in-terest rate below 1 percent and beprepared to provide more publicfunding to banks to reduce the riskof a new flare-up of the crisis. Weid-mann said the eCB will raise inter-est rates when there is a growingrisk of prices rising above its target,and warned that employing tooloose a policy now would increaserisks to financial and price stabilityin the future.

KARACHI,STAFF REPORT

BOARD of Directors of the MCB Bank metTuesday under the chairmanship of MianMohammad Mansha to review the bank’s

performance and approve the financialstatements for the first quarter that endedMarch 31. According to Muhammad Kafeel Y.Burney, head of Public Affairs, the bank hasregistered outstanding results for the 1QCY2012by posting profit before tax of Rs 8.7 billion andprofit after tax of Rs 5.6 billion with an annualincrease of 10% and 12%, respectively. The netmarkup income of the bank, Burney said, wasreported at Rs 10.7 billion whereas non-markupincome increased by 20% to Rs 2.4 billion. TheAdministrative expenses witnessed a controlledincrease of 11% over corresponding period lastyear. however, there was a significant decreasein the provisioning expense of 94%, said he.Financial position of the bank, he said,

strengthened with Rs 13.4 billion rise in assetsbase closing at Rs 666.6 billion as of March 31.Total investments increased by Rs 11 billion ofwhich addition of Rs 10 billion was contributedby PIBs. Gross advances also increased by 2% toRs. 252.8 billion during the first quarter whilethe infection ratio improved to 10.39% (Dec2011: 10.75%) as a result of 2% decrease in non-performing loans over December 2011. Thedeposits increased by 4% (YoY: 11%) to Rs 512.1billion, with 8% increase in savings accounts, 3%increase in current accounts and 2% decrease interm deposits. This improved the CASA ratio to82% compared to 81% as of December 31, 2011.earnings per share (ePS) for the quarter came toRs 6.14 compared to Rs. 5.46 for March 31, 2011.Return on assets improved to 3.42%, return onequity improved to 28.09% whereas book valueper share stood at 88.94. According to Burney,the bank’s Board declared cash dividend of Rs3.0 (March 31, 2011: cash dividend Rs. 3.0 pershare) for the said quarter.

LAHORESTAFF REPORT

eVeRY year, ACCA Pakistan submits itsbudget proposals to the Federal Boardof Revenue (FBR) and the theme for

the budget proposals 2012-13 is strategy forgrowth. ACCA Pakistan’s budget proposalssupport fair taxation policies by makingrecommendations aimed at enterprisegrowth, social equality, environmentconversion and promoting savings andinvestments. In order to facilitate industry,government and financial expert engagementand perspective sharing on the shape of theupcoming Federal Budget, ACCA Pakistan isorganising a Pre-Budget Seminar at Serenahotel, Islamabad on 27 April 2012. Strong fiscal policies backed by long termstability are the need of the hour for asustainable economic growth of Pakistan.Fiscal measures with long term strategy are

required to create opportunities forinvestment, industrialisation andemployment generation. Power shortagesand inflation are the two key challengesfaced by our economy and the improved taxcollection system can lead the growth ofbusiness in the country. In the session,ACCA Pakistan and other experts willdiscuss various recommendations on theupcoming budget 2012-13. The seminarspeakers include Mumtaz haider Rizvi,Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR),Yaser Sakhi Butt, President, IslamabadChamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI),Malik Munir, Member ACCA PakistanTaxation Sub-committee, and Ayla Majid,Vice Chairperson, ACCA Pakistan MembersNetwork Panel along with Arif Masud Mirza,head of ACCA Pakistan and Noor Aftab, headof ACCA Islamabad. The seminar will beattended by economists, employers andmembers from the financial fraternity.

MCB’s makingmoney alright!

LAHORE STAFF REPORT

IzhAR Construction, Phrma healthPakistan and Model Steel earned laurels forthe country by winning prestigious Muslimexcellence & Competitiveness

Corporations’ Award (MeCCAward) at aprestigious ceremony held in Istanbul. The threePakistani business entities were among the 40companies from the Islamic countries who wonthis award at a ceremony held in the presence ofpresidents of chambers of commerce andindustry of Islamic countries as well as topmanagers of successful organizations fromIslamic countries.To celebrate this unmatched and marvelousaccomplishment of these Pakistani companies,the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, SeniorVice President Kashif Younis Meher andCommissioner MeeCAwards for Pakistanhasnain Reza Mirza during a meeting with theChief executive Officers of these companies at theLahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry paidrich tributes to them for earning respect forPakistan. The LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikhsaid that it is a great achievement that would go along way in giving good name to Pakistanicompanies working around the globe.

The LCCI Senior Vice President Kashif YounisMeher said that these Pakistani companies bywinning MeeCAwards have proved that they aresecond top none. he said that it was a great thingthat the MeeCAwards Certificates were handedover by the President of MeCCAward Dr.Mohammad Nahavanian, Assistant SecretaryGeneral of Islamic Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Ms Attia Nawazish Ali in the presence ofhundreds of businessmen from the Islamic world. The Chief executives of Izhar Construction andPharma health Pakistan, Yaqoob Tahir Izhar,Khawaja shahzeb Akram and Manager BrandingAmir Dar received the appreciation certificates fromthe LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh while theLCCI former President Mian Muzaffar ali was alsopresent on the occasion. earlier, the CommissionerMeeCAwards for Pakistan hasnain Reza Mirzagave a detailed briefing on the selection criteria ofMeeCAwards. he said that only those companieswere selected which either had received theirNational Business excellence award, ordemonstrated a satisfactory performance insustainable improvement, identified byMeCCAward Secretariat. The countries recognizedfor Islamic World appreciation are Azerbaija,Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait,Kazkhstan, Tunis, Syria, UAe, Malaysia, Qatar, Iran,Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

ISLAMABAD APP

PAKISTAN and Libya needto improve theircommercial and economic

relations to promote bilateraltrade and investment by takingadvantage of new businessopportunities.This was stated by the head ofLibyan Mission, Abdel SalamMahdi Ali al-Rqxi while talkingto President, IslamabadChamber of Commerce andIndustry (ICCI), Yassar SakhiButt here on Tuesday.The head of Libyan Mission saidthat both the countries havecommon historical relations thatcould provide a sound base forpromoting and strengtheningtrade and economic ties.he informed that Pakistanibusiness community could get

new lucrative opportunities inLibya in sectors of textiles,leather, pharmaceutical andconstruction.There is an increasing demandfor Pakistani sheep in Libya,thus, Pakistani businessmen shouldconsider Libya for joint venturesin the area of common interest.Speaking on the occasion,President ICCI said thatPakistan and Libya has stillunexplored market forbusinessmen of both countries. he said frequent exchange ofbusiness delegations andestablishing direct B2B contactsare the options which should beused to exploit untappedbilateral trade and investmentpotential in both countries.President ICCI said thatPakistan and Libya have lowtrade volume which should

further be enhanced throughemphasizing on non-traditionalitems for the mutual benefit ofthe people of two countries.he said Pakistani productsincluding rice, sports goods,surgical instruments,pharmaceutical, leather & textileproducts could be exported toLibya and proposed that Libyanbusinessmen should look intothe opportunities to developbusiness relation in theidentified areas. Yassar Sakhi Butt alsounderlined the need to enhancecooperation in the field ofdefense and LiquefiedPetroleum Gas that wouldprovide an opportunity to boththe countries to come closer. ICCI President said that thebusiness communities ofPakistan and Libya have to play a vital role forpromotion of bilateral trade andtheir greater mutual interactionis needed to achieve the ultimateobjectives. he ensured full support of ICCIin emerging trade andinvestment activities adding thatorganizing of joint culturalshows was the option whichcould be used to exploituntapped bilateral trade andinvestment potential in bothcountries.

LCCI lauds the three musketeers Historical relations: CheckReligious commonality: CheckEconomic ties: Err…

DOuGH MINTINGPRICE PuZZLE

LINE OF ATTACk

MECCAWARD PAkISTAN-LIbYA TRADE RELATIONS DISCuSSED AT ICCI

ACCA comes up with the strategy for growth

g Izhar Construction, Phrma Health Pakistan and Model Steel earn laurels forthe country g Trio among 40 award-winning companies from the Islamic world

ECB to take all necessarymeasures for prices: Noyer

g Profit before tax up to Rs8.7b in first quarterg Net income Rs 10.7b, non-markup income up by 20pc to Rs 2.4b

PRO 25-04-2012_Layout 1 4/25/2012 12:14 AM Page 2

news

Wednesday, 25 April, 2012

03

New SAP Managing Director for Pakistan, emerging markets

KARACHI: SAP Pakistan recently announced theappointment of Darren Rushworth as executiveManaging Director of SAP Pakistan and the emerg-ing Markets. The appointment comes into effectfrom April 01, 2012. “Darren has lived in Asia for 16years and has extensive experience in Sales, Market-ing, Strategic Alliance and Management. Beforejoining SAP, Rushworth was the Managing Directorand the Vice President of a software company inAsia Pacific for more than 20 years. Darren has beenin the information technology industry for over 20years, the past 16 based in Asia. he is very experi-enced in doing business in Pakistan and the adjoin-ing region and has been involved in initiatives andpromoting private-public partnerships through ac-ademic programs across the expanse. On the occa-sion of the announcement, Rushworth said, “I amexcited to be part of SAP Pakistan and the emergingMarkets as the region is poised to grow further. Weare also confident that we can meet this year’s tar-gets and effectively address the company’s 4 points,namely technology innovation, SMe solutions,ecosystems and cloud computing.” PRESS RELEASE

3rd generation Intel Core processorsbring exciting new experiences to the PCISLAMABAD: Intel Corporation today introducedthe quad-core 3rd generation Intel® Core™ proces-sor family, delivering dramatic visual and perform-ance computing gains for gamers, media enthusiastsand mainstream users alike. Available now in pow-erful, high-end desktop, laptop and sleek all-in-one(AIO) designs, the new processors are the first chipsin the world made using Intel’s 22-nanometer (nm)3-D tri-Gate transistor technology. The combinationof Intel’s cutting-edge 3-D tri-gate transistor tech-nology and architectural enhancements help makepossible up to double the 3-D graphics and hDmedia processing performance compared with

Intel’s previous generation of chips. PRESS RELEASE

Engro Corp announces new president, CEO ISLAMABAD: The Board of Directors of engroCorporation Limited today announced the appoint-ment of Muhammad Aliuddin Ansari as the newPresident & CeO of engro Corp. Mr. Ansari takesover the Company from the outgoing President &CeO, Asad Umar who had served engro for over 27years in various roles before taking over as the Pres-ident in 2004. Prior to joining engro Corp. Muham-mad Aliuddin was the CeO of Dewan Drilling,Pakistan’s first independent Oil & Gas drilling Com-pany. he started off his career as an InvestmentManager at WorldInvest/ Bank of America in Lon-don and has also served as the CeO of AKD Securi-ties and COO, emerging europe for Credit LyonnaisSecurities. he has also served on the board s ofLucky Cement, the Karachi Stock exchange, Na-tional Clearing Company of Pakistan and Al MeezanInvestment Management. he has been a member ofthe engro Corp board since 2009 and is also on theBoard Audit Committee and is the Chairman of theBoard Investment Committee. PRESS RELEASE

PTCL holds painting extravaganza onenergy conservationISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Com-pany Limited (PTCL ) held a painting exhibition on thetheme of “energy Conservation for Future Genera-tions” for its employees and their families as part of itsemployee engagement drive. held at the PTCL head-quarters, the colorful exhibition was inaugurated byPTCL President & CeO, Mr. Walid Irshaid. Senior ex-ecutive Vice President hR, Mr. Syed Mazhar hussain;Director Jharoka Art Gallery, Mrs. Nahida Raza; Sen-ior Art Professor, Ms. Geytee Ara; and ContemporaryArtist & Curator, Ms. Shehlla Moazzam were also pres-ent on the occasion. More than 500 paintings weresubmitted by PTCL employees and their families fromall over Pakistan, which were evaluated by the guestartists. Of these, 40 paintings have been short-listedfrom all regions for participation in the final event ofthe ‘Painting extravaganza’ to be held later this month.Following its inauguration, the exhibition was openedfor all employees to visit along with their families andenjoy the colorful display of paintings depicting PTCL’srich diversity of age groups and regions. PRESS RELEASE

Four brothers Group Pakistan celebrates 3rd anniversaryKARACHI: Internationally famous and Pakistan’stop agricultural organization Four Brothers Group

Pakistan is today celebrating its 3rd birthday withgreat zest and enthusiasm, the organization whichhas achieved ultimate and tremendous hallmarks inthis short span of time. The Group went to the peakof success due to the high profiled vision and mis-sion of Group’s Chairman engr. Jawed SalimQureshi and due to the untiring efforts of thegroup’s employees. In these 3 years, the Group man-aged to open Pakistan’s largest agricultural fran-chise network Tarzan Markaz spread all over thecountry with more than 600 branches providinghigh quality agricultural products and services atthe same time. The group also opened top of the linefranchise network BioTraders across the countrywith presently more than 300 branches. GroupChairman’s peaked vision managed the Group’s em-ployees work hard and launched Corporate Farmingon over more than 5000 acres land all over Pak-istan, which is a new and diversified concept in thePakistan agro history. PRESS RELEASE

APC by Schneider Electric DeliversWhite Paper on Data Centre Management SoftwareLAHORE: APC by Schneider electric, a globalleader in integrated critical power and cooling serv-ices, has published a new White Paper on ‘how DataCentre Management Software Improves Planningand Cuts Operational Costs’. The document demon-strates the ability of data centres to help businessesrespond more quickly to changing market demandsand mark a significant growth on the bottom line. Ac-cording to Uptime Institute, a division of the 451Group, the market for data centre infrastructuremanagement (DCIM) systems will grow fromUS$500 million in 2010 to US$7.5 billion by 2020.Forecasts indicate that challenges of higher-densitycomputing, dynamic workloads and the need for ef-ficient energy consumption will drive demand forsoftware to help organisations plan, operate at lowcost, and analyse systems for workflow improvement.Furthermore, Uptime Institute suggests IT and busi-ness executives are aware that improved physical in-frastructure planning, minor system reconfiguration,and small process changes can save significant finan-cial spend on energy and operations. however, onlyhigher visibility, more control, and improved au-tomation can help deliver on the commitment of pro-ducing business value. PRESS RELEASE

4TH Pakistan Oil & Gas Forum 2012 inIslamabad on May 12LAHORE: The 4Th Pakistan Oil & Gas Forum2012 organized annually by Shamrock Conferences

International will be held on May 12 at the Serenahotel Islamabad. The theme of this year’s premieroil & gas meeting is “energy to Drive Pakistan andResources to Fuel Growth”. The Minister for Petro-leum & Natural Resources, Dr. Asim hussain hasbeen invited to inaugurate the conference whichcomes at a crucial juncture in the quest for address-ing the country’s energy challenges and thepipelines dilemma. The Secretary Petroleum, Mr.M. ejaz Choudhry, is expected to deliver theKeynote Address and highlight the salient featuresof the new Petroleum Policy 2012. PRESS RELEASE

HbFCL condemns defamatory campaign by vested interestsLAHORE: The house Building Finance CompanyLimited (hBFCL) strongly condemns the concertedcampaign being carried out by unscrupulous vestedinterests, to defame the country’s leading housingfinance institution and its management through themedia. Recent news reports appearing in variousnewspapers and an online portal bear highly defam-atory and malicious allegations that distort facts andaim at spreading mistrust and confusion. It is sur-prising that an organization like Transparency In-ternational Pakistan (TIP) which projects itself asthe protector of public interest, has apparently alsobeing misguided by this nefarious campaign by re-leasing statements to the media, without even exer-cising basic transparency itself by first seekinghBFCL’s viewpoint on these issues. PRESS RELEASE

IkRF, bISP sign MOu regarding mutualcooperationTEHRAN: Federal Minister and ChairpersonBISP Madame Farzana Raja, on her second day ofhigh level visit to Iran, signed an important MoUwith head of Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation(IKRF) Mr. hossein Anvari. According to thisMoU, both parties express their willingness tostrengthen the humanitarian and relief activitiesfor the promotion of social security of needy anddisadvantaged people, which will strengthen andsafeguard their well-being, honor and dignity.This agreement further calls for closer relationsbetween the humanitarian organizations of thetwo countries, in collaboration of IKRF and BISP.By signing this agreement BISP and IKRF haspledged for utilizing their useful experience inpresenting successful management and support-ive models in the field of social services includingemployment through vocational & technical edu-cation, providing livelihood and health services,providing shelter and education for the needy andempowerment of women. PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change Turnover

UniLever Pak Ltd 5930.00 6215.00 5900.00 5971.83 41.83 49Bata (Pak) XD 649.17 681.62 650.00 678.19 29.02 96Indus Motor Company 270.65 283.75 262.10 280.17 9.52 1,739Shezan Inter. 129.49 135.96 124.10 135.89 6.40 1,208National Foods 122.58 128.70 121.00 128.37 5.79 18,837

Major Losers

Rafhan MaizeXD 2717.88 2750.00 2582.00 2590.31 -127.57 306Indus Dyeing 384.61 365.50 365.38 365.40 -19.21 121Nestle PakXD 4318.45 4530.00 4252.00 4301.05 -17.40 225Colgate Palmolive 791.00 805.00 776.00 781.00 -10.00 60Packages Ltd.XD 102.74 105.00 97.61 98.35 -4.39 43,739

Volume Leaders

Engro Polymer 12.82 13.82 12.88 13.09 0.27 27,867,103P.T.C.L.A 13.27 14.27 13.20 13.92 0.65 22,743,410Jah.Sidd. Co. 18.83 18.98 18.00 18.09 -0.74 18,563,518Lafarge Pakistan 5.41 5.53 4.85 5.15 -0.26 14,894,981Fauji Cement 6.88 7.02 6.68 6.77 -0.11 12,882,622

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 90.7126UK Pound 146.0110Japanese Yen 1.1096euro 119.4504

Dollar EastBuy Sell

US Dollar 91.00 91.60Euro 119.48 120.60Great Britain Pound 145.88 147.21Japanese Yen 1.1033 1.1133Canadian Dollar 90.98 92.32Hong Kong Dollar 11.57 11.74UAE Dirham 24.70 24.90Saudi Riyal 24.20 24.39Australian Dollar 93.24 95.55

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

The bulls kept dominating Karachistocks market on Tuesday withbenchmark, KSe 100-share indexgained 49.15 points. The day saw the

index closing up by 0.35 percent at 14,132.59pointsagainst 14,083.44 points of first working dayof the week Monday. higher globalcommodities, rising local and export cementprices, expectations for stronger quarter-endresults played a catalyst role in bullishsentiments at KSe, said Abdul Azeem, ananalyst at InvestCap.On Tuesday, the trading volumes at the ready-counter were recorded higher at 297.163million shares against 213.340 million sharesof the previous day. The trading valueincreased to Rs 8.864 billion compared to Rs5.367 billion of the previous session. Theintraday high and low, respectively, stood at14,223.39 and 14,083.44 points.he added that the Pakistan Stocks closedhigher amid renewed institutional & foreigninterest lead by third tier stocks. The marketcapitalization increased to Rs 3.617 trillion

from Rs 3.605 trillion a day earlier. Of thetotal 372 traded scrips, 171 gained, 145 lostand 56 finished as unchanged.The free-float KSe-30 index also gained 16.46points to close at 12,382.87 points against theprevious 12,366.41 points. D.G.K Cement wasthe day’s volume leader counting its tradedshares at 35.756 million with the opening andclosing rates standing at Rs 44.71 and Rs42.59, followed by Lafarge Pakistan, FaujiCement, P.T.C.L.A and National Bank XDXBwith turnover of 25.307 million, 20.969million, 19.626 million and 12.882 millionshares respectively.According to analyst the Index remained overa narrow range amid investor interest inselected oil, cement and banking stocks aheadof key quarter end earning announcementsdue next week.On the future market, the turnover remainshigher by over one million shares to 24.885million against 23.426 million shares ofMonday. The UniLever Pakistan Limited XDand Rafhan Maize XD, up Rs 149.43 and Rs113.88, led highest price gainers while, WyethPakistan Limited XD and Bata Pakistan XD,down Rs 37.71 and Rs 31.57 respectively, ledthe losers.

Bulls cementauthority, indexup 49 points

PMEX announceslisting of 10ozgold futures contract

KARACHISTAFF REPORT

PAKISTAN Mercantile exchangeLimited (PMeX) has announcedthe listing of the gold 10 ounces

futures contract this week. Trading in thenewly-inducted contract started rightafter the listing.PMeX has currently three contracts atthe months of June, July and Augustexpiries. The listing of the 10 oz goldcontract has added further depth to themarket for the investors who activelyinvest and trade regularly in thecommodity.PMeX 10 Oz gold contracts are cashsettled futures contracts. Trading Unitfor the contract is 10 Troy Ounces andthe price quotation is in US dollars pertroy ounce while the tick size is .10 pertroy ounce.Primary advantage of the contract is toprovide market participants with moreoptions to trade and hedge over atransparent platform.PMeX will continue to follow the tightrisk management procedures andcontrols that it has pioneered in Pakistanand that have stood it in good stead,especially in recent times of immensevolatility in the international markets.

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