International Zardari vows to fortify China ties See on Page 12 Govt's steps made Fed firm, says PM See on Page 12 Visa process for Hajj to begin from 15th See on Page 12 Yearly(Jul, 2010 up to 29-Jun-2011) Monthly(Jun, 2011 up to 29-Jun-2011) Daily (29-Jun-2011) Total Portfolio Invest (18-Jun-2011) 237.09 -7.93 -3.51 2825 -31.41 30.31 2.20 -1.12 -0.88 0.83 0.07 SCRA(U.S $ in million) Portfolio Investment FIPI (30-Jun-2011) Local Companies (30-Jun-2011) Banks / DFI (30-Jun-2011) Mutual Funds (30-Jun-2011) NBFC (30-Jun-2011) Local Investors (30-Jun-2011) Other Organization (30-Jun-2011) (U.S $ in million) NCCPL Forex Reserves (25-June-11) Inflation CPI% (Jul 10-May 11) Exports (Jul 10-May 11) Imports (Jul 10 - May 11) Trade Balance (Jul 10 - May 11) Current A/C (Jul 10- May 11) Remittances (Jul 10 - May 11) Foreign Invest (Jul 10-May 11) Revenue (Jul 10 Apr 11) Foreign Debt (Mar 11) Domestic Debt (May 11) Repatriated Profit (Jul- Apr 11) LSM Growth (Apr 11) GDP Growth FY10E Per Capita Income FY10 Population $17.47bn 14.00% $22.45bn $36.55bn $(14.11)bn $205mn $10.10bn $1.74bn Rs 1147bn $59.54bn Rs 5873bn $725mn 0.88% 4.10% $1,051 176.49mn Economic Indicators Index Close Change KSE 100 12496.03 72.73 Nikkei 225 9816.09 18.83 Hang Seng 22398.10 336.92 Sensex 30 18845.87 152.01 SSE COMP. 2762.08 33.59 FTSE 100 5936.13 80.18 *Dow Jones 12401.77 140.35 Global Indices Subscribe now Tel: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428 Email: editor@ thefinancialdaily.com www.thefinancialdaily.com Imran hints ‘conditional coalition’ with MQM Karachi, Friday, July 1, 2011, Rajab-ul-Murajjab 28, Price Rs12 Pages 12 ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet Thursday approved Ramadan Relief Package envis- aging subsidy up to Rs 2 billion to ensure uninterrupted avail- ability of essential food items to people during the holy month. Food items including flour, ghee, oil, dal channa would be provided at subsidized rates while white channa, basen and dates would be available at reduced prices at the outlets of Utility Stores Corporation through out the country. The ECC meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Water and Power, Syed Naveed Qamar. ECC also approved sum- maries related to Furnace Oil Blending in Pakistan, Uniform Gas Load Management Policy, Re-lending of KFW Loan for Keyal Khawar Hydro-Power Project in accordance with new re-lending policy of the Government, Tax exemption for WAPDA for Second Sukuk Company Limited, 1100 MW Kohala Hydro Power project and additional security issues of Uch Power Private Limited and extending NOC for award- ing of contract to KRL for the development of Uch-II Development Project. On the summary moved by the Ministry of Petroleum and See # 17 Page 11 Rs2bn Ramadan Package nodded Qamar Chairs Economic Coordination Committee Ahmed Siddique KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange has shown a decent performance during the fiscal year 2010-11 as the benchmark KSE 100-Index while gaining 28.5 per cent ended at 12,496 points. Though the overall capital market environment was depressing in the outgoing fis- cal year 2010-11, benchmark KSE 100-Index gained 28.5 per cent (including dividends). Interestingly, the consumer giant Nestle Pakistan, which is hardly owned by few investors, contributed 26 per cent to this gain. Nestle's volume last year was just 1100 shares a day and its price jumped by 228 per cent. In spite of this headline increase in Index, there must be See # 14 Page 11 KSE adds 28.5pc during FY10-11 'Without Nestle KSE rises 21pc' ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Thursday submitted separate applications in the National Assembly and Senate secretariats for allocation of seats in the oppo- sition benches after it quit the fed- eral and provincial governments. MQM deputy parliamentary leader Haider Abbas Rizvi sub- mitted the application to the NA Secretariat and Senator Col Tahir Hussain Mashhadi sub- mitted applications to Senate Secretariat. It may be recalled here that the strength of the MQM in the Sindh Assembly is 51 MPAs, while there are 25 MQM mem- bers in the National Assembly and six in Senate. Talking to media men MQM deputy parliamentary leader said that his party has become party of opposition after sub- mitting application for alloca- tion of seats in the Opposition benches in Upper and Lower Houses. It was very difficult to continue alliance with govern- ment, he said. See # 13 Page 11 MQM seeks Opp benches Submit applications in NA, Senate Two-day CNG closure in Sindh ISLAMABAD: Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided to defer hike in gas tariff and to keep CNG stations in Sindh closed for two days a week, media reported on Thursday. This was decided in a meet- ing of ECC chaired by Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar. The committee, under gas load management plan, See # 18 Page 11 Returns on NSS unchanged ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday announced that the rates of return on National Saving Schemes shall remain unchanged. The existing rates of return on different National Savings Schemes are 13.55 per cent for Defense Saving Certificates, 13.44 per cent for Regular Income Certificates, 13.33 per cent for Special Saving Certificates Account and 9 per cent for Savings Accounts. See # 15 Page 11 Reserves ease to $17.47bn Staff Reporter KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell slightly to $17.47 billion in the week ending June 25, from $17.52 billion a week earlier, the cen- tral bank said on Thursday. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to $14.02 billion from $14.11 bil- lion a week ago, while those held by commercial banks rose to $3.45 billion from $3.41 bil- lion, the SBP said in a statement. See # 16 Page 11 Govt cuts POL prices Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday night announced cut in petroleum prices by three rupees, media reported. According to the media reports, officials said petrol was reduced Rs3 per liter, High Speed diesel by Rs two per liter while the price of light diesel was slashed Rs1.13. Officials said the prices were slashed in the wake of current reduction in international oil markets. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has issued notification in this regard. Earlier it was anticipated that the prices of POL products were likely to be reduced up to Rs 5.45 per liter from July 1. See # 19 Page 11
Transcript
International
Zardari vows to fortify China ties See on Page 12
Govt's steps made Fed firm, says PM See on Page 12
Visa process for Hajj to begin from 15th See on Page 12
ISLAMABAD: The EconomicCoordination Committee of theCabinet Thursday approvedRamadan Relief Package envis-aging subsidy up to Rs 2 billionto ensure uninterrupted avail-ability of essential food itemsto people during the holymonth.
Food items including flour,ghee, oil, dal channa would beprovided at subsidized rateswhile white channa, basen anddates would be available atreduced prices at the outlets ofUtility Stores Corporationthrough out the country.
The ECC meeting waschaired by Federal Minister forWater and Power, Syed NaveedQamar.
ECC also approved sum-maries related to Furnace OilBlending in Pakistan, UniformGas Load Management Policy,Re-lending of KFW Loan forKeyal Khawar Hydro-PowerProject in accordance with newre-lending policy of theGovernment, Tax exemptionfor WAPDA for Second SukukCompany Limited, 1100 MWKohala Hydro Power projectand additional security issuesof Uch Power Private Limitedand extending NOC for award-ing of contract to KRL for thedevelopment of Uch-IIDevelopment Project.
On the summary moved bythe Ministry of Petroleum and
See # 17 Page 11
Rs2bn RamadanPackage nodded
Qamar Chairs Economic Coordination Committee
Ahmed Siddique
KARACHI: The KarachiStock Exchange has shown adecent performance during thefiscal year 2010-11 as thebenchmark KSE 100-Indexwhile gaining 28.5 per centended at 12,496 points.
Though the overall capitalmarket environment wasdepressing in the outgoing fis-cal year 2010-11, benchmark
Interestingly, the consumergiant Nestle Pakistan, which ishardly owned by few investors,contributed 26 per cent to thisgain.
Nestle's volume last year wasjust 1100 shares a day and itsprice jumped by 228 per cent.
In spite of this headlineincrease in Index, there must be
See # 14 Page 11
KSE adds 28.5pcduring FY10-11
'Without Nestle KSE rises 21pc'
ISLAMABAD: The MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) onThursday submitted separateapplications in the NationalAssembly and Senate secretariatsfor allocation of seats in the oppo-sition benches after it quit the fed-eral and provincial governments.
MQM deputy parliamentaryleader Haider Abbas Rizvi sub-mitted the application to theNA Secretariat and Senator ColTahir Hussain Mashhadi sub-mitted applications to SenateSecretariat.
It may be recalled here that
the strength of the MQM in theSindh Assembly is 51 MPAs,while there are 25 MQM mem-bers in the National Assemblyand six in Senate.
Talking to media men MQMdeputy parliamentary leadersaid that his party has becomeparty of opposition after sub-mitting application for alloca-tion of seats in the Oppositionbenches in Upper and LowerHouses. It was very difficult tocontinue alliance with govern-ment, he said.
See # 13 Page 11
MQM seeksOpp benches
Submit applications in NA, Senate
Two-day CNG
closure in
SindhISLAMABAD: EconomicCoordination Committee(ECC) has decided to deferhike in gas tariff and to keepCNG stations in Sindh closedfor two days a week, mediareported on Thursday.
This was decided in a meet-ing of ECC chaired by FederalMinister for Water and PowerSyed Naveed Qamar.
The committee, under gasload management plan,
See # 18 Page 11
Returnson NSS
unchangedISLAMABAD: The federalgovernment on Thursdayannounced that the rates ofreturn on National SavingSchemes shall remainunchanged.
The existing rates of returnon different National SavingsSchemes are 13.55 per cent forDefense Saving Certificates,13.44 per cent for RegularIncome Certificates, 13.33 percent for Special SavingCertificates Account and 9 percent for Savings Accounts.
See # 15 Page 11
Reservesease to
$17.47bnStaff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan's foreignexchange reserves fell slightlyto $17.47 billion in the weekending June 25, from $17.52billion a week earlier, the cen-tral bank said on Thursday.
Reserves held by the StateBank of Pakistan (SBP) fell to$14.02 billion from $14.11 bil-lion a week ago, while thoseheld by commercial banks roseto $3.45 billion from $3.41 bil-lion, the SBP said in a statement.
See # 16 Page 11
Govt cuts POL pricesMonitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday night announced cut in petroleum prices by threerupees, media reported.
According to the media reports, officials said petrol was reduced Rs3 per liter, High Speed dieselby Rs two per liter while the price of light diesel was slashed Rs1.13. Officials said the prices wereslashed in the wake of current reduction in international oil markets. Oil and Gas RegulatoryAuthority (Ogra) has issued notification in this regard. Earlier it was anticipated that the prices ofPOL products were likely to be reduced up to Rs 5.45 per liter from July 1. See # 19 Page 11
Friday, July 1, 20112
ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Human Right Mustafa Nawaz Khokar addressing during a National Education Seminar organized
by Private School Network at Islamabad. -INP
KARACHI: Administrator Jamshed Town Syed Aqeel Tazeem Naqvi inspecting “Clean & Green Karachi”
campain at Jamshed Town Karachi. -Staff Photo
ISLAMABAD: InternationalFinance Corporation (IFC), a mem-ber of the World Bank Group, ishelping improve access to financeand support the growth of smallbusinesses in Pakistan through anagreement with Habib Bank toexpand the bank's small businesslending programs.
According to a statement of theIFC issued here on Thursday, IFCand Habib Bank will initially targetthe Lahore region-home to 45 per-cent of the country's small and medi-um businesses-where IFC will helpHabib Bank design and roll outfinancial services and banking prod-ucts aimed at small businesses.
These products and services willthen be launched country-widethrough Habib Bank's extensivebranch network.
"This mandate will not only helpHabib Bank better serve the smalland medium-sized business sector in
Pakistan, but will also improve ourprocedures and develop the capacityof Habib Bank to support this mar-ket segment as it continues to grow,"said Mubashar Maqbool, Head ofHabib Bank's Commercial & RetailLending Department.
Kaiser Nasseem, Head of IFC'sBank Advisory Services in theMiddle East and North Africaregion, said, "Through this projectwith Habib Bank, IFC is helpingexpand small businesses' access tofinance and supporting sustainableeconomic growth in Pakistan.
The small business sector is adriver of job creation and economicgrowth, and supporting it is animportant part of IFC's work."
Many banks regard lending tosmall and medium businesses asrisky and lack the tools and tech-niques to efficiently serve them.
By helping improve Habib Bank'sability to offer financing to these
businesses, IFC's participation willdemonstrate the benefits of lendingto this market segment to otherbanks in Pakistan.
With over 1,450 domestic branch-es, Habib Bank has the strongestretail banking network in the coun-try.
This network, coupled with HabibBank's long experience serving thesmall and medium enterprises willenable Habib Bank to develop anddeliver the new products.
Pakistan is a priority country forIFC. For the past three years, IFC'sinvestments and advisory serviceswork have increased in Pakistan topromote private sector growth.
IFC's strategy in Pakistan for fis-cal years 2009 to 2011 focuses onmobilizing investments in powerand infrastructure, and providingaccess to finance to micro, small andmedium enterprises through finan-cial intermediaries. -Agencies
IFC, HBL join handsto uplift SME sector
KARACHI: ZONG host a lunch in honour of Matthew East, Chairman
International Student Identity Card (ISIC) Association on his visit to Pakistan at the
occasion of ISIC launch in Pakistan. Picture show East (Sitting Center), Amer Siraj
(Sitting 3rd L) along with ZONG and Alive Asia officials. -Staff Photo
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous
Ashiq Awan in a group photo with the officials of Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting on the eve of inauguration of Electronic Media Relations Wing
(EMRW) at PID. -APP
KARACHI: The Golden Jubilee media launch of ICAP was held in Karachi.
Picture shows (L-R): Members Conference Committee Nadeem Yousuf and Adnan
Pervez Muslim, Chairman Conference Committee ICAP and Shoaib Ahmed,
Secretary ICAP. -Staff Photo
KARACHI: Corp Commander Lt Gen Muhammad Zahirul Islam presideing over
the DHA Executive Board Meeting held at Headquarter 5 Corps. PR
SSUETintroducesattendance
systemKARACHI: The Sir SyedUniversity of Engineeringand Technology (SSUET)has introduced biometricshand punch attendance sys-tem.
An official of the institu-tion said here Thursdaythat the implementation ofthe system was reviewed ata meeting held under thechairmanship ofChancellor ZA Nizami.
It was attended amongothers by Vice-ChancellorProf Dr Sayed NazirAhmed, Faculty Dean DrNajib Ahmed, RegistrarShah Mahmood HussainSyed, and Director FinanceMunawar Hasan.
The meeting wasinformed that this systemwill replace the manualcard punching attendancesystem.
The salient featuresinclude automatic payrollprocessing, recording oftimings of arrival anddeparting teaching andnon-teaching staff.
It was pointed out that atpresent three machineshave been installed at threedifferent entry points andeach machine can enroll9,000 users. -APP
Administratorinspectscleaning
workStaff Reporter
KARACHI: AdministratorKarachi Fazlur Rehman hassaid that city governmenthas almost completed thecleaning of storm waterdrains in city and now thecitizens would not haveany trouble in case of nor-mal rains during monsoon.Still the cleaning of allsmall and big drains in citywill continue.
He expressed these viewswhile inspecting the cleaningof storm water drains duringa visit of different towns.EDO Municipal ServicesMasood Alam, Works depart-ment officers and concernedtown administrator accompa-nied him on this visit.
On the visit of BanarasChowk, AdministratorKarachi directed to speedup development works offlyover and roads beneathand around the bridge sothat this could be finishedsoon and the people resid-ing in the suburban areascould be provided with bet-ter transportation facilities.He said city governmentwill make this very impor-tant junction beautiful byconstructing beautiful andwell standard roads here.
While inspecting thecleaning of Gujjar Nullah inLiaquatabad, AdministratorKarachi directed concernedofficials to carry on thiswork without delay. Thisdrain passes through centerof city and its overflowcauses difficulties to resi-dents therefore it must becleaned continuously.
Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The DefenceHousing Authority (DHA)will establish a universityin the metropolis to belaunched from Septemberthis year.
This was informed at themeeting of the DHAExecutive Board held onThursday chaired by itsPresident, Commander 5Corps Lt GeneralMuhammad Zahir UlIslam, at the CorpsHeadquarters here.
The Administrator DHA,Brig Aamer Raza Qureshi,briefed the ExecutiveBoard on DHA's megaprojects and other admin-istrative cum functionalmatters of the Authority.
The Executive Board gaveapproval for establishmentof DHA `Suffa' University.
The DHA constituentcolleges with upgradedacademic resources/ facili-ties will form theUniversity campuses.
The University is sched-uled to be launched in
September this year andthe academic sessionwould start from January2012.
President of theExecutive Board directedDHA to ensure thatUniversity maintains high-est educational standardsin all its undertakings withstrong focus on researchactivities to make the ven-ture academically and eco-nomically viable.
The University will ini-tially offerundergraduate/post graduatecourses in the disciplines ofEnglish, economic, businessadministration, mass com-munication and fine arts.
However, contemporaryscience and technologydisciplines would soon beadded which will be theforte of the newUniversity.
Executive Board wasinformed that a significantheadway has been madetowards making the CogenPlant operational whichwas lying closed sinceMay 2010.
DHA plans newuniversity in Khi
I S L A M A B A D :President Federation ofPakistan Chambers ofCommerce and Industry(FPCCI) Senator HajiGhulam Ali has askedThe Federation of IndianChambers of Commerceand Industry (FICCI) tosupport Pakistan getWorld TradeOrganisation (WTO)trade concessions.
In a letter to Harish CMariwala, PresidentFICCI, Senator GhulamAli, who is also VicePresident IslamicChamber of Commerceand Industry, said thatIndia's help will helpfoster trade ties betweenthe two neighbors.
India has been oppos-ing trade-concessionpackage offered by theEuropean Union toPakistan, but is alsoblocking a move to becounted as a Least
Developed Country(LDC) at the WTO, theletter said.
The President ofFPCCI further said inthe letter that Pakistansays it is an LDCbecause of the setback toits economy on accountof natural calamities andthe war on terror. As anLDC, it merits to be eli-gible for EU conces-sions which India disap-proves that may spoilbilateral ties.
"India should not try toharm friendly ties whichare being normalizedthrough hard labour,"said Senator GhulamAli. He asked Mariwalato use his good offices tostop India from oppos-ing concessions toPakistan. India shouldno more be in the fore-front of a group ofnations opposing themove aimed at benefit-
ting Pakistan's economy.'Mohali spirit,' should
not be dogged by the tra-ditional mindset as thevisit of Prime MinisterPrime Minister YousafRaza Gilani, his meetingwith Indian counterpartDr. Manmohan Singhand recent commerce-secretary level talkshave help melt ice butthe confidence buildingmeasures are once againbeing threatened,Senator Ghulam Alisaid.
He asked FICCI toplay role to shun misgiv-ings and ensure an envi-ronment that benefitboth the neighbors.
"India should be happyif Pakistan get a conces-sion that can boost ourailing economy as a sta-ble Pakistan is also inthe New Delhi's inter-est," the letter conclud-ed. -Agencies
India urged tohelp Pak forWTO grants
FPCCI head writes to Indian counterpart
SAI yells at gashike proposals
KARACHI: Chairman SITE Association of Industry(SAI), Abdul Wahab Lakhani has criticized thePetroleum Ministry for proposing to the EconomicCoordination Committee (ECC) for increasing gasprices from 1st July 2011. He said that the proposaldoes not carry any weightage because the prices of gaswere raised in January 2010 of all the sectors includingindustrial sector.
Now the government is planning to increase gas ratesby 10-15 per cent for domestic 15-20 per cent for indus-trial and 100 per cent for fertilizer sector on the adventof the next financial year taking the plea that the over allobjective of the gas price rationalization is to bring inuniformity in fuel prices and remove all subsidies sothat full cost of gas is recovered from consumers.-PR
MUMBAI: The Indianrupee weakened in the June-quarter, ending a threestraight quarterly rise, aslocal shares dragged, but theeuro's surge during the peri-od helped limit the fall,traders said.
Global oil prices andprogress of the south-westmonsoon would be key to therupee's direction in theSeptember quarter, they said.
The partially convertiblerupee ended 44.6950/7050per dollar, 0.4 per cent high-er from Wednesday's close of44.86/87, but 0.25 per centweaker quarter-on-quarter.
"In the current scenario,rupee is seen in 44.50-44.80range and could breach 45 ifour imports on account of oilreally start hitting and thereis not much correspondingcapital inflows," saidAshutosh Khajuria, presidentof treasury at Federal Bank.
"Rupee could touch 45.80(per dollar) only if oil pricesstay above $100 a barrel andthere is poor monsoon athome. But the rise will be
capped at 46." The one-month onshore
forward premium was 24.50points versus 24.25 lastclose, the three-month at74.50 points from 73.50 andthe one-year was at 253.50points from 249.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contractswere quoted at 44.84, weak-er than the onshore spot rate.
In the currency futuresmarket, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contractson the National StockExchange were at 44.8850,and on the MCX-SX and theUnited Stock Exchange bothwere at 44.8875. The totalvolume was at $8.49 billion.-Reuters
Indian rupee snaps3 qtrs of rising trend
3Friday, July 1, 2011
Currencies Rate
Karachi: The following are the London Inter-Bank Offered Rates (LIBOR).
British Members Association Interest Settlement Rates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia 7/5/2011 11/2/2010 4.75%
Major Central Banks Overview
Division of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)KARACHI, July 1,2011 Treasury Management Division of National Bank ofPakistan (NBP) Monday issued the following Exchange rates:
Revaluation RatesTreasury Bills / PIBs / FIBs Holding Applicable for July 1, 2011
NEW YORK: The euro rose against theUS dollar on Thursday and headed for asecond quarterly gain as Greece passedcrucial bills to avert immediate defaultand on expectations that euro-zone inter-est rates will rise again next week.
Month-end flows also supported theeuro, helping propel it to a three-weekhigh above $1.45 earlier in the session.The euro also climbed to a 15-month highagainst a broadly weaker sterling andjumped to a two-week high versus theSwiss franc.
Greece approved detailed austerity andprivatization bills on Thursday in a cru-cial vote to secure emergency internation-al aid. But analysts said longer-term dan-gers still lurk with credit insurance mar-kets pricing in an 80 per cent chance ofGreece defaulting within five years.
The euro climbed to a high of $1.4522on trading platform EBS, but it wasunable to hold gains above resistance at$1.45 and retreated to $1.4487, still up0.4 per cent onthe day. The eurois on track for a2.4 per cent gainthis quarter andan 8.2 per centgain in the firsthalf of the year.
Traders citedoffers from sovereign names ahead of areported options barrier at $1.4550.Support is seen in the mid-$1.44 region..
Some analysts said the euro could rallytowards $1.5000, but many remainedwary about whether Greece will be ableto implement harsh austerity measures
and expected the euro's rise to be limited.Investors will now likely turn atten-
tion to talks on private-sector participa-tion in a new Greek assistance program.
German Finance Minister WolfgangSchaeuble said he had reached agree-ment with German banks and heexpected a euro-zone deal on Sunday,based on a French plan for a voluntarydebt rollover.
The euro rose 0.5 per cent to 90.30
pence, having hit a 15-month high of90.70 pence, the strongest level sinceMarch, 2010. It rallied 1.4 per cent to1.2211 Swiss francs.
The dollar was flat at 80.75 yen, ontrack for a loss of 2.9 per cent this quarterand a 0.6 per cent loss for the first half ofthis year.
The European single currency alsofound support after the European CentralBank signaled it would raise interest ratesagain next week as data showed inflationin June well above the bank's target.
Increasing concerns about the US debtsituation could also sour sentiment for thedollar as Washington struggles to raise itsbudget limit.
The New Zealand dollar earlier climbedas high as $0.8320, its strongest levelsince it was floated in 1985. -Reuters
Euro rises broadly as Greecepasses austerity plan
SHANGHAI: The yuanended flat against the dollaron Thursday, locking in a1.94 per cent gain for the firsthalf of the year, a relativelyslow pace of appreciationthat traders expect to quickenin the second half.
Many mainland forextraders started out the yearexpecting the yuan to gain byaround 3 per cent in the firsthalf, but uncertainty in glob-al markets prompted Beijingto be more conservative inletting it rise, they say.
The yuan closed at 6.4640on Thursday, a rise of just 0.2per cent for the month ofJune following a similar paceof gain in May and comparedwith a 0.9 per cent rise itmarked in April.
The slowdown in apprecia-tion has coincided withrenewed concerns overdefault by some Europeangovernments on their debt.
Several forex dealers saidthey expect the pace ofappreciation to pick up againin the second half as some ofthose worries subside, poten-tially gaining 3-4 per cent inthe final six months of the
year.Bank of China Ltd said in a
report on Thursday thatChina is "very likely" towiden the daily trading bandof the yuan against the dollarto introduce greater currencyflexibility in the near term.
Dealers also reported thatsettlement demand at the endof the first half was boostingthe yuan a bit.
Spot yuan traded between6.4629 and 6.4680 versus thedollar, above the daily mid-point and little changed fromWednesday's close of 6.4635.
Before trade began thePBOC set the yuan's mid-point at 6.4716 versus thedollar, only two pips strongerthan Tuesday's 6.4718.
The Chinese currency hasappreciated 5.6 per cent sinceit was depegged from thedollar in June 2010.
Benchmark one-year dol-lar/yuan non-deliverable for-wards (NDFs) were bid at6.3840 in late trade,unchanged from the previousday's close. Their impliedyuan appreciation in a year'stime was at 1.37 per cent. -Reuters
Yuan ends flat, postsH1 gain of 1.9pc
LONDON: Sterling slid to a 15-month low against a trade-weighted basket of currenciesand the euro on Thursday onmonth- and quarter-end selling,with more losses likely asinvestors add to bearish bets onthe view that UK rates will staylow in the near term.
The single currency was boost-ed by news that Greece's parlia-ment had approved a second billof austerity measures and by
favourable interest rate differen-tials.
European Central BankPresident Jean-Claude Trichetreiterated his hawkish biastowards inflation, backing strongmarket expectations that thebank will raise rates next week.The euro rose to 90.705 pence,its highest level since mid-March 2010, with traders citingsteady month-end demand froma euro-zone central bank and aUS investment bank.
It was last trading at 90.40pence and a close above theearly May high of 90.43 pencewould be seen as technically
bullish, potentially allowing atest of the March 1, 2010 high of91.50 pence then the late Oct,2009 high of 92.40 pence.
Analysts said the approval ofthe austerity measures had put torest immediate worries about adefault by Greece and the risk ofcontagion. This was likely togive a short term boost to riskiercurrencies.
Investors will turn their atten-tion to the next policy meeting of
the European Central Bank,which in contrast to the Bank ofEngland, is in the midst of mon-etary tightening.
Sterling losses against the eurosaw it give up gains against thedollar and put it on track for itsworst monthly percentage fallsince November. It hovered nearits 200-day moving average of$1.6039, down 0.1 per cent onthe day.
It had fallen to as low as$1.5973 with traders citingoffers below $1.5970 while onthe upside option expiries at$1.6120 are likely to checkgains. -Reuters
Sterling falls broadlyas bearish bets rise
SINGAPORE: The SouthKorean won hit a near two-monthhigh and the Malaysian ringgitbreached a technical resistanceon Thursday as real moneyaccounts and leveraged fundsbought emerging Asian curren-cies after Greece moved a stepcloser to international aid andavoid default.
The ringgit edged up 0.4 percent against the dollar in the sec-ond quarter, compared with a 1.8per cent advance in January-March period.
With increasing hopes on anaid to Greece, emerging Asiancurrencies are expected to gainmomentum, dealers and analystssaid. The won hit a near two-month high against the dollar asoffshore players such as realmoney accounts chased it andforeign investors kept buying
local stocks. Exporters also pur-chased the local currency.
Importers bought dollars, espe-cially under 1,070 per dollar, buttheir dollar demand was absorbedby supplies from offshoreinvestors. Some investors werewary of possible dollar-buyingintervention by the foreignexchange authorities to slow downthe currency's strength, othersdownplayed the possibility. Earlierthis month, authorities were spot-ted selling dollars to cap the won'sweakness, according to dealers.The South Korean currencystrengthened to as firm as 1,067.3,the strongest since May 2.
It has room to fall more, proba-bly to the dollar/won's low of1,064.9 on May 2, but it has afirm support at 1,057,dollar/won's high on July 2,2008, days before the pair fell
below 1,000 line. The ringgitbriefly breached a 55-day mov-ing average as interbank specula-tors bought it with the euro'srebound to above $1.45.
Continuous expectations ofinflows for Bumi Armada's initialpublic offering next month alsosupported the Malaysian curren-cy. The ringgit appreciated asmuch as 0.7 per cent to 3.0115per dollar, breaking through theaverage of 3.0155. The ringgitmay strengthen further, but it willface resistances around 2.9800-3.0000. The Singapore dollargained 0.4 per cent against theUS dollar on demand of lever-aged funds and stop-loss sales ofthe greenback. The city-state cur-rency may strengthen further,probably to 1.2265, the low ofUS dollar/Singapore dollar onJune 7. -Reuters
Asian currencies
Won at 2-mth high, ringgitbreaches resistance
WELLINGTON/SYDNEY: The New Zealanddollar powered to a post-float high against thegreenback on Thursday, while the Australian dollarscaled a 26-year peak on sterling as investors piledinto risk assets after Greece moved a step closer tosecuring emergency loans.
While markets had positioned for such an out-come, what little profit-taking that emerged on a'buy-the-rumour-sell-the-fact' move was quicklyovercome buy fresh buying, traders said.
This saw the kiwi rise to $0.8320, the highestsince the currency was floated in March 1985,surpassing the previous peak around $0.8301 seton June 9. A raft of local data was generally pos-itive and pointed to a pick up in activity in thesecond half of the year.
Similarly, the kiwi surged against sterling,touching a 26-year post-float high at NZ$1.9374per pound. It also notched reasonable gainsagainst the euro and yen.
The trade weighted New Zealand dollargained 1.2 per cent against a basket of five main
currencies to its highest level in three years. The kiwi, however, was little changed against
the Aussie, which kept pace with its gains. TheAussie bought NZ$1.2946, compared withNZ$1.2936 on Wednesday.
The Aussie last traded at $1.0737, having risenas high as $1.0751, up more than half a centfrom late New York levels. The rally from an 11-week low around $1.0390 on Monday has prob-ably flushed out a lot of short positions.
Technically, this rise has seen the Aussie breakout of a wedge formation in the charts, easingthe threat of a downside test as signalled by arecent bearish trend of lower highs and lowerlows. Immediate resistance is seen at $1.0775,the June peak and also the 61.8 per cent retrace-ment of the May 2-June 27 decline.
Sterling slid below A$1.5000 for the first timesince 1985, reaching a low around A$1.4984.Against yen, the Aussie hit a four-week high of86.49 amid talk of Japanese demand at the Tokyofix, in part from newly launched toshins. -Reuters
NZ$ hits post-float high, Aussiejumps to 26-yr top vs stg
Swiss franc
down vs euro
after Greek voteZURICH: The Swiss franc fellagainst the euro on Thursdayafter Greece's approval of aus-terity measures reassured mar-kets and prompted investors tomove into riskier assets.
The Swissie is seen as a safe-haven investment and as aresult it has risen strongly dueto the uncertainty in the euro-zone, but growing risk appetitepushed it below the 1.20 barri-er versus the euro on Thursday.
At 0752 GMT, the franc was0.4 per cent lower against theeuro compared to the New Yorkclose, trading at 1.2086 pereuro, pulling further away froma record of around 1.1808 hitearlier this week.
St. Gallen Kantonalbank ana-lysts said in a note the Greekapproval of the individual lawsin the austerity package couldpush the euro up to about 1.22francs per euro.
"That level should be used tosell (the euro) as the trend con-tinues to be downwards," theyadded. Against the dollar, thefranc was near flat, trading at0.8341 per dollar.
Switzerland's economy min-ister said on Wednesday thestrong Swiss franc was not atemporary phenomenon and thegovernment was doing every-thing possible to support thecountry's export industry. -Reuters
Greece passes second austerity law, fears ease for now
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Makingcentral bank
vibrantWhile celebrating anniversary of the creation of
Pakistan's central bank, it is necessary to high-
light the importance of its autonomy. Though,
on books the central bank enjoys the full auton-
omy, the reality is contrary. Of lately, one of its
biggest functions seems to be conducting
OMOs and auction of Treasury Bills and
Pakistan Investment Bonds. Similarly, in an
attempt to contain inflation in the country, the
tight monetary policy stance has been followed
but the success has been limited, mainly
because Pakistan suffers from cost-push infla-
tion, which can't be contained by following tight
monetary policy.
It has been observed that the government has
not been able to contain its expenses, which lead
to excessive borrowing. Interestingly the central
bank has issuing cautions but could do little. It
seems almost impossible that the central bank
could refuse to obey the orders of ministry of
finance. One such example is that on each
Treasury Bills auction a target is announced but
hardly adhered to because the quantum of
acceptance is determined by the ministry and
not the bank. The extra appetite for funds often
results in higher cutoff yields.
One of the latest decisions of the central bank
instructing the commercial banks to abolish the
condition of minimum balance and also impos-
ing penalty for not meeting this requirement
deserves appreciation. For years accountholders
have been full of complaints but the central
bank could do little as it was said that banks
were free in determining service charges.
Earlier, the central bank has taken a courageous
step when it made payment of 5 per cent return
on deposits mandatory. However, banks fiddled
by determining profit of monthly average/end of
the quarter balance rather than daily balance.
This allowed them to pay the least to the depos-
itors.
The credit for increasing lending to the agri-
culture sector also goes to the central bank. The
banks have failed in meeting agri-lending target
and only they could be held responsible for the
prevailing. One could still recollect the days
when commercial banks were willing to pay the
penalty than extending credit to the farmers.
The security of agriculture loans could have
been ensured through crop insurance. However,
the banks at the best are insuring credit and not
the crops. It is necessary to mention that crop
insurance can't be made successful without
active participation of the government.
It is also necessary to point out that the inter-
est rates being charged on agri loans, micro
finance and housing finance are very high.
These types of loans are need of the time.
Many countries have faced precarious situation
as they could not ensure food security.
Similarly, small and medium enterprises are
considered backbone of the economy.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to increase
lending to these priority sectors.
4Friday, July 1, 2011
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 SabirHead office
111-C, Jami Commercial Street 11, Phase VII, DHA KarachiTelephone: 92-21-35311893-6 Fax: 92-21-35388428
While giving concludingremarks in an academicactivity of a business and
administration institute one of the polit-ical figure in the capacity of honourableguest proudly marked the contributionof his party in healing wounds ofnational economy in nutshell and oneof the supporting logic to his argumentwas prospering stock market activitiesin which index has multiplied its valueby three times in same number of years.
The guest speaker was not wrong infiguring out numbers but it fails to testthe truth specially form the views andmind of students with sharp minds,richly blessed inquisitiveness andbroader vision. This also triggered abrainstorming and heat able debateamongst youth.
A student with good knows how ofstock market blasted that we were avery highly traded market and hadgone back nine years in terms of vol-umes in the outgoing financial year.Average daily volumes in the cash andfutures market of Rs 4.4 billion a dayin the outgoing financial year was
down 40 per cent from fiscal 2010mainly led by the absence of big play-ers due to their specific issues and indi-vidual concerns on the new tax. Is itreally exceptional and needs attentionbecause as far as I know investmentactivities throughout world as a wholeare on declining side, one of theyoungee playing with his cell phoneshouted to mark the participation.True, But Pakistan is lagging farbehind lowest in Asia even from theBangladesh market which is in the ini-tial stage of capital market reforms. Ithink there is no IPOs these days, oneof the student with least interest inmarket affairs asked. There are andthere have been a few regular IPOs innear past but the traditional feve
r and craze of collecting NIC of kithsand kin and filling out application is nomore there. Efforts to exempt CGTseems to be dieing natural death butusers guide for CGT issued by CBR ismore like a technical manual ofChinese made electronics. This isindeed a nicely prepared and presenteddocument with well done for those con-tributed but its users needs to gothrough at least week formal training .
One of the girl student added that sheknows many stock brokerage house areplanning to shut down their operationonly because they have nothing to do.Some of the old and seasonal stockmarket members themselves are spend-ing most of the time on social networksmaking effort to inspire or impress peo-ple with their knowledge and wisdomand spending time in search of goodand pretty faces because they havenothing to do.
Another fellow marked his participa-tion by contributing that Pakistan wasdowngraded in equity markets of theworld by MSCI after the crash of 2008from the list of emerging marketswhere it remained for a long period of14 years and its upgradation to emerg-ing market remains a dream coming farfrom reality while UAE much youngerin age may take the status of emergingmarket to whom we taught the basics.In frontier markets we are graded alongBangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
There was no leader there but onlystudents when all this debate was tak-ing place but they are the leaders offuture.
The have the concerns, they under-
stand the issue and are going to takesmart steps when ever opportunity isgiven.
Time never waits and this is the righttime to cure the aliment as we can notwait for our youth for this.
We should not live in fallacies andfools paradise that our market is grow-ing rather it is shrinking, declining andsinking.
One quarter of portfolio of our mar-ket is with foreign investor is not aguaranteed and all time sustainableinvestment and could be taken out anytime when relatively better opportunityseems any where in the world.Additionally consistent decline in vol-umes reflects gradual loss or lack ofinterest of investors.
There is a definite need to focus onstock market growth and it can onlyhappen when a plan is devised wholeheatedly to attract inland and foreigninvestors by facilitating them alongwith assurance of complete protectionof their funds. Mere upward move ofindex do not depict growth of a marketit is enhanced and sustainable activitiescoupled with investors confidencereflects growth.
Is Our MarketReally Growing
Top exporter SaudiArabia is struggling tosell more crude to Asia
because rival producer Russiahas taken an expanding shareof the world's fastest-growingmarket by pumping more oilinto the region.
To get an edge in the com-petition with Russia and shipmore barrels into Asia, theSaudis will have to take thenext painful step in reducingglobal oil prices -- slashingtheir own.
The kingdom has ignoredopposition from fellow OPECmembers and moved to boostoil supplies to cool prices thathave slowed economicgrowth. Most of any increasein Saudi supplies would floweastwards to feed rapid Asianeconomic expansion.
Russian supply to northeastAsia is almost five times morethan in 2008 as crude flowsthrough Russia's East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO)pipeline.
"Not only will the Saudisneed to amend official sellingprices (OSPs) to a level thatwould entice refiners, but youmay also see competitionfrom alternatives," said HarryTchilinguirian, head of com-modity markets strategy atBNP Paribas in London. "Andif ESPO keeps building up,the pressure keeps on grow-ing."
A glut in North Americancrude markets has made itunprofitable to send ESPOcrude to the U.S. West Coast,leaving more supply in Asia.The U.S. typically absorbs thesurplus.
The emergency release ofoil stocks by InternationalEnergy Agency membersJapan and South Korea, twoof the region's top consumingnations, is adding even moreoil to the market. With somuch crude on offer, refinershave been reluctant to sign upto buy more from SaudiArabia.
ESPO is also higher qualitythan most Saudi crude, givingrefiners that lack capacity toprocess heavier crude littleincentive to buy more Arabgrades.
Oil pumped through theESPO pipeline has changedthe game in Asia, previouslyalmost captive to Middle Eastsellers. Russia sells 300,000bpd to China, while another600,000 bpd can be shipped tothe Pacific and onto theAmericas and even Europe.
OPEC member SaudiArabia and independent pro-ducer Russia pump almost aquarter of the globe's crude,each holding a similar shareof about 10 million bpd.While the Saudis haverestrained output since thefinancial crisis with OPEC
agreements, Russia's non-alignment has allowed it topump freely.
RUSSIAN ESPORussia is pumping ESPO
crude directly to Chinathrough a new pipeline sec-tion that opened this year,obviating the need for someimports from Saudi Arabia. Inaddition, rising exports of eastSiberian oil through theRussian Pacific port ofKozmino have gained accept-ance among refiners in threecontinents.
"Saudi Arabia and Russiawill always be competing formarket share in most regions,"said John Vautrain, director atPurvin & Gertz energy con-sultants in Singapore, addingthat "from a geopolitical per-spective, they both have inter-ests to supply a diversifiedbase of customers in Europe,Asia, and the U.S."
"The waterborne nature ofESPO from Kozmino isallowing Russia to targetnortheast Asian markets that itcould not reach economicallybefore, and it's also betterquality than most of the Saudicrude," Vautrain said.
Five ESPO cargoes due toload in Kozmino by earlyAugust have yet to be sold asthe arbitrage to the U.S. WestCoast remains closed.
More supplies are adding tothat surplus this week, with
tenders for late-August andearly-September lots. Therelease of crude from theStrategic Petroleum Reservein the United States may keepthe arbitrage closed.
Tightness for Brent-relatedgrades in Europe because ofLibya's civil war and widediscounts for crude priced offthe Dubai benchmark, includ-ing ESPO, have createdunprecedented opportunitiesfor east Siberian cargoes tomove as far away as Spain, atleast on paper.
That could mean moreRussian crude producedhalfway round the world andpriced off Dubai is shipped tofill a gap that the Saudis couldnot plug in the Mediterranean.
"The ESPO quality is closerto the Libyan crude," a tradingsource familiar with purchas-es of Saudi crude said. "It'salso attractive versus crudefrom West Africa, which islinked to more expensiveBrent."
The discount of Dubai crudeto Brent widened to $9.20 abarrel on June 15, the biggestsince October 2004, less thana week after the Saudis sig-nalled they would increasesupplies to Asia. That dis-count prompted Repsol-YPF,Spain's largest oil company, tobuy a cargo of ESPO Blend.
"There may be more oppor-tunistic purchases of ESPO
Blend by European refinerssubject to freight conditions,"Tchilinguirian from BNPParibas said.
"Brent is supported by alimited spare productioncapacity in light quality crudeand Dubai will be kept underpressure as OPEC Gulf pro-ducers try to place additionalmedium to heavy barrels inthe market."
The competition for marketshare in Asia is the latest in along tussle between the twogiants of the oil producingworld. Moscow provoked theire of some OPEC membersafter failing to deliver onpledges to trim output in linewith record cuts by theOrganization of the PetroleumExporting Countries in late2008.
The race between the two toconquer the Asian oil marketcould benefit consumers fromChina to the U.S. as it putspressure on prices just as theglobal economic recovery fal-ters under the burden of highenergy costs.
"There has never really beenmuch cooperation betweenRussia and OPEC," said GregPriddy, global oil analyst atEurasia Group in Washington."The Saudis have neverexpected Russia to cooperateor share their burden as aswing producer." -Reuters
Saudis Need To Undercut Russia To Sell Asia* Saudis struggle to sell additional oil in Asia * Rising Russian supply to force Saudi
prices down * European refiners eye ESPO rather than Saudi crude
Abright spot for PresidentBarack Obama in the bleakU.S. economic picture should
be that many of the "swing" statescrucial to his 2012 re-election bid areweathering the recession relativelywell.
But unfortunately for Obama, vot-ers in those states are just not seeingthe light.
Voters in Virginia, Pennsylvaniaand some other battlegrounds wherethe election will likely be decided arenot optimistic about the economy,even though their rates of unemploy-ment -- the most politically sensitiveeconomic statistic -- are below the9.1 percent national rate.
Americans tend to blameWashington for nationwide economicproblems, so Obama will face a toughfight to turn the economic data to hisadvantage in states where he and hiseventual Republican rival will befocusing most of their attention.
"People tend to vote based on theirperceptions of the state of the econo-my, and the national news dialogue isabout the struggling economy andhigh unemployment, so even in theswing states that are doing betterthat's reality for most voters," saidMark Rozell, a political scientist atVirginia's George Mason University.
"Americans ... tend to look to pres-idents as managers of the national
economy and if Virginia's doing bet-ter, I think (Republican Governor)Bob McDonnell gets the credit in theminds of the voters," he said.
Among states seen as neither firmlyDemocratic nor Republican ahead ofthe November 2012 vote, Virginia hasa 6.0 percent unemployment rate andPennsylvania and Wisconsin are bothat 7.4 percent.
Obama, a Democrat, won all three -- as he did most of the swing states --in 2008 when he soared to the WhiteHouse in a campaign fueled largelyby voter unhappiness over the weakeconomy under his Republican prede-cessor George W. Bush.
But since that election, Republicanshave won governors' races inVirginia, Pennsylvania andWisconsin, and the states' congres-sional delegations have turned moreRepublican. Polls also show votersthere are worried about the economy,and view the Democratic presidentless favorably.
"It's all comparative and it's all rel-ative," said Matt McDonald, a partnerat the Republican-aligned HamiltonPlace Strategies consultancy inWashington.
"The number that people areexposed to nationally is bad," he said.
BLEAK ECONOMIC INDICA-TORS
Obama is still ahead in most polls
against possible Republican chal-lengers, led by front-runner MittRomney.
Weak unemployment is only oneworrisome economic indicator. U.S.consumer spending failed to rise inMay, breaking 10 straight months ofgains. And the number of Americansfiling new claims for unemploymentbenefits rose last week, suggestinglittle improvement in the labor mar-ket.
Although the election is 17 monthsaway, Obama will face an uphill bat-tle convincing voters to feel betterabout the country's prospects if thingsdo not improve.
"At this point, it's awfully hard tosee an Obama commercial that says'It's morning again in America,'" saidCharles Franklin, a professor of polit-ical science at the University ofWisconsin and a founder ofPollster.com.
Pennsylvania -- which has 20 of the270 electoral votes needed to win thepresidency -- is considered particu-larly crucial for Obama's 2012 hopes.
After reeling in the 1980s and1990s from the decline of steelmak-ing and other key industries, the statehas lower unemployment than thenational average for the first time inmodern history, noted TerryMadonna, a political scientist atPennsylvania's Franklin & Marshall
College.Obama won in Pennsylvania by an
unusually large 10 percent margin in2008, but polls show his job approvalrating there -- about 45 percent -- isabout the same as it is nationally.
"They still say in my state as wellas almost every other state that thecountry is moving in the wrong direc-tion," Madonna said.
While better economies are nothelping Obama much in relativelyrobust swing states, economic weak-ness could hit hard in those that arereeling from the downturn, includingfour states now considered battle-grounds. Joblessness is at 9.7 percentin North Carolina, where Obama ekedout a win with a 0.3 percent margin in2008. In Michigan, it is 10.3 percent,although the state has benefited fromObama's bailout of the auto industry.
Unemployment in Nevada, whichObama won by 10 percent in 2008, isthe country's worst, at 12.1 percent.
And in Florida, the biggest swingstate with 29 electoral votes, andwhere Obama edged his Republicanrival John McCain by just 3 percentin 2008, unemployment is at 10.6percent. "The last four states areboth battlegrounds and economical-ly worse off than the nation, makingthe political battle over the econo-my very important there," Franklinsaid. -Reuters
Weak Economy Shadows Obama* Obama weak even in states where unemployment lower * Voting on perception of
country's direction * Obama leads polls, but 2012 race seen tougher than 2008
Friday, July 1, 2011 5
European shares hit near-4-wkhigh after Greek vote
Indonesia, Malaysia set recordhighs, others firm
South East Asian stocks
Symbol Close Vol (mn)FATIMA 16.64 7.95 BAHL 29.47 4.44 FFBL 42.15 3.50 ENGRO 163.25 2.64 BAFL 9.57 2.62
Symbol Close ChangeNESTLE 5,475.09 68.89
WYETH 987.00 47.00
SIEM 1,084.21 32.99
BATA 614.02 14.02
COLG 769.25 13.51
Symbol Close ChangeULEVER 5,225.49 -173.15RMPL 2,624.57 -94.68PMPK 170.05 -8.06ATBA 217.02 -4.22PSO 264.58 -3.33
Plus 115Minus 129Unchanged 84
Top 5 Volume Leaders
Major Losers
Major Gainers
KSE-100 Index
LSE-25 Index
ISE-10 Index
Active Issues
Opening 12,423.30
Closing 12,496.03
Change 72.73
% Change 0.59
Turnover (mn) 65.93
Opening 3,061.08
Closing 3,051.12
Change 9.96
% Change 0.33
Turnover (mn) 2.60
Opening 2,683.01
Closing 2,722.83
Change 39.82
% Change 1.48
Turnover (mn) 0.05
HONG KONG: Hong Kongand China shares ended a toughmonth on a positive note onThursday on hopes that a turn-around in Chinese shares canlast, supported by valuationsand anticipation of solid corpo-rate earnings.
Helping shares in Hong Kongwas short-covering ahead of along weekend, as Friday is apublic holiday.
Markets in Hong Kong andShanghai have underperformedAsian peers in the second quar-ter after outperforming most ofthem in the first three months.Weighing on the two marketshave been fears of escalatinginflation, slowing growth in theChinese economy and shadycorporate governance practicesamong some Chinese firms.
With investigations into allegedabuses under way plus data sug-gesting that fears of a hard land-ing in China could be overblown,some analysts feel the tide is turn-ing. A Reuters poll on Thursdayshowed that in June, mutualfunds in China raised their rec-ommended equity weightings toan eight-month high.
The benchmark Hang SengIndex closed up 1.5 per cent at22,398.1 points on Thursday,which left it down 5.4 per centfor the month, its worst Juneperformance in three years. Theindex is down 2.8 per cent sofar in 2011.
In a bullish sign, gains on theday came in acceleratingturnover, which rose to HK$74billion, 7 per cent more than the20-day average.
"The market valuation forChina is low enough right nowthat we don't need too manycatalysts for a rebound," saidWilliam Fong, a senior invest-ment manager who runs Chinaportfolios at Barings AssetManagement in Hong Kong.
Peaking inflation and strongcorporate earnings expected inJuly were likely to be triggersfor a more sustainable rally,said Fong, adding that he wasoverweight on consumptionand technology and under-weight on banks as policy risksremained.
HSBC Holdings Plc was thetop boost for the benchmarkindex, closing up 1.5 per centon easing worries over the eurozone's banking sector afterGreece lawmakers voted for afive-year austerity plan. Thestock hit a roadblock at theHK$78 level, its March low,now seen as stiff resistance. Sofar this year, shares of HSBCare down 3.3 per cent.
LARGE CAPS LEADSHANGHAI
China shares recorded theirfirst monthly gain in threemonths, boosted by large capplays with institutional namesseen cautiously optimistic on
China's growth outlook in theirend-of-month window dress-ing.
The benchmark ShanghaiComposite Index finished up1.2 per cent to 2,762.1 points,ending the second quarter down5.7 per cent. It is down 1.6 percent year-to-date.
BYD Co, the Chineseautomaker backed by US bil-lionaire Warren Buffett, surgedas much as 46 per cent on itsShenzhen market debut asinsurance counters outper-formed on the day, boosted byoptimism that a turnaround inmainland markets would liftinvestment income, which ben-efits from rising equity prices.
Ping An Insurance Group ofChina Ltd and China LifeInsurance Co Ltd gained 2.1and 3.3 per cent in Shanghairespectively, lifting its HongKong listings by more than 2per cent apiece.
"Risk-reward is becomingmore positive for investorstowards the life insurancenames," said Mark Kellock,Barclays Capital's head ofresearch for Asia ex-Japaninsurance.
Valuations are "lookingcheap" relative to growthprospects in these companiesand it looks there is someshorter-term confidence backin the Chinese market,Kellock said.-Reuters
Hong Kong closesout grim
China shares gain
Nawaz Ali
KARACHI: Karachi StockExchange ended the last ses-sion of fiscal year 2010-11 ona bullish note on Thursday justbelow 12,500 points due tobuying mainly in oil and fertil-izer stocks. However,investors' participationremained low.
The benchmark KSE-100index gained 73 points toclose at 12,496 points, KSE-30 index grew by 25 points toclose at 11,586 points andKSE all-share index rose by46 points to close at 8,663
points."KSE 100 index gained 73
points on the back of renewedbuying interest in OGDC &ENGRO", said Jawad Khan,equity dealer at JS GlobalCapital.
OGDC jumped 2.8 per centover market rumors of foreignfunds buying, while ENGROedged up 1.5 per cent afternews that government is con-sidering increasing gas pricesfor fertilizer sector by 100 percent and ENGRO shall benefitdue to 10 year feed gas pur-chase agreement, he added.
Trading activities began
with 9 points into the posi-tive zone after that marketsaw some mix activities dur-ing the first half of the daymoving on both sides of theindex. Then in the later half,buying primarily in oilstocks and in some fertilizerstocks and Nestle kept theindex into the positive zonewhich gradually consolidatedthe gains. Apart from abovementioned reasons hopes ofbetter then expected corpo-rate results too supported thebulls.
Zohaib Zaheer, analyst atAba Ali Habib Securities said
that on the last day of the fis-cal year, equities posted adecent gain despite low vol-umes as participants hope thatthe new financial year wouldadd some strength in terms ofhigher corporate earnings inleading base shares.
The index touched an intra-day high of 12,543 points (+ve120) however, due to someprofit taking at higher levelsgains were reduced and itfailed to close the sessionabove 12,500 points.
Investor participation sawsome improvement as 65.9million shares exchanged
hands which were 4.4 millionshares more as compared to aturnover of 61.5 million sharesa day earlier.
Fatima Fertilizer was themost traded scrip of the daywith 7.95 million shares fol-lowed by Bank Al-Habib with4.44 million shares and FaujiFertilizer Bin Qasim with 3.5million shares.
Though, market closed inthe positive zone the activeissues side showed a differentpicture as out of total 328active issues; 129 declinedand 115 advanced while 84issues remained unchanged.
Gains chipped due toprofit-taking at KSE
TOKYO: The Nikkei averageended slightly higher onThursday though it pulled backafter hitting a fresh seven-weekpeak, partly encouraged bystrong performances in otherAsian markets.
The Nikkei ended the April-June quarter up a tad and set tobeat many of its peers, support-ed by signs that Japanese com-panies are recovering fast fromdamage after the devastatingearthquake in March.
Power companies made heftygains, with Kyushu Electric ris-ing 4.2 per cent after the gover-nor of Saga prefecture, home toa 36-year-old nuclear plantoperated by the utility on thesouthern island of Kyushu, sig-nalled he was not opposed torestarting reactors there.
If there is such a restart itwould be the first among 35reactors shut for regular main-tenance or kept idle since theMarch earthquake and tsunamitriggered a radiation crisis atthe Fukushima Daiichi nuclearplant on the northeast coast.
"It's true that we are seeingreassuring factors, such as a
recovery in industrial output,and that some in the market aregetting optimistic. But it'sanother question how manyinvestors will actually put theirmoney into stocks now," saidMasato Futoi, a manager ofcash stock trading at TokaiTokyo Securities.
But others say that as the sup-ply chain recovery is expectedto accelerate from July,investors are increasing theamount of Japanese stocks intheir portfolios.
The benchmark Nikkeiclosed Thursday up 0.2 per centat 9,816.09, after rising to9,849.69, the highest since May11. The broader Topix rose 0.6per cent to 849.22.
RECOVERY HOPES On the quarter, the Nikkei was
up 0.6 per cent, outperformingmany other markets, includingthe US S&P 500 , which hasfallen 1.4 per cent, and ex-JapanAsian-Pacific shares , whichhave lost 1.0 per cent.
Confidence was furtherboosted by data on Wednesdayshowing Japan's industrial
See # 12 Page 11
Nikkei edges upon hopes
MUMBAI: Indian sharesdeclined for the second straightquarter after rising for the pre-vious eight as spiralling infla-tion and a slowdown in eco-nomic growth dispelledinvestors, and kept the outlookfor the quarter ahead subdued.
"The market could be range-bound in the September quar-ter," said R. K. Gupta, manag-ing director of Taurus MutualFund.
Gupta said that it was diffi-cult to ascertain whether for-eign institutional investors(FIIs) would continue theirbuying as domestic woes pre-vailed and euro zone issueswere still not completelyresolved.
"It depends on what FIIs'appetite is like, for which glob-al cues need to be watched.But, a runaway rally is not like-ly."
Foreign funds have been netbuyers of only $322 million ofIndian shares so far in 2011.They had pumped in a record$29.3 billion in 2010.
The progress of monsoonrains, which arrived in June andare a key to India's trillion-dol-lar economy, will be eyed formore cues.
On Thursday, the 30-shareBSE index closed 0.81 per cent,or 152.01 points, higher at18,845.87 points, with 21 com-
ponents advancing. The gains in the day were
supported by firm world equi-ties as investors breathed a sighof relief after Greece took astep closer to avoiding the eurozone's first sovereign default.
The 50-share NSE indexfirmed 0.8 per cent to 5,647.40.
Trade was volatile towardsthe close of day as monthlyderivative contracts expired onthe NSE.
The BSE index fell 3.1 percent in the quarter ended June,but notched a 1.9 per cent gainin June -- its first monthly gainin three months.
It is down 8.1 per cent in2011, making it one of theworst performing major mar-kets in the world.
The realty sector indexdropped the most this quarter --falling 14.6 per cent -- as risinginterest rates and spirallingproperty prices drove awaybuyers, with the top-listeddeveloper declining 21.6 percent in the period.
On the other hand, the con-sumer goods sector rose nearly10 per cent this quarter and wasthe best performing sector,powered by the consumptionstory in Asia's third-largesteconomy.
Sector majors ITC,Hindustan Unilever and
See # 10 Page 11
Indian sharesoutlook subdued
US stocks mid-morning
Wall Streetrallies forfourth day
NEW YORK: US stocksgained for a fourth straight dayon Thursday as equity marketsrallied into the end of the quar-ter, boosted by a surprisinglystrong report on manufacturingin the US Midwest.
Business activity in theregion grew more than expect-ed this month, lifted by a jumpin new orders. That helped easerecent concerns about the econ-omy that have weighed on mar-kets over the past two months.
"The case for a weakening atthe national level is now lessstrong," said Pierre Ellis, senioreconomist at DecisionEconomics in New York. "Thereally good news is that ordersjumped back up."
The Dow Jones industrialaverage gained 129.30 points,or 1.05 per cent, to 12,390.72.The Standard & Poor's 500Index rose 11.25 points, or 0.86per cent, to 1,318.66. TheNasdaq Composite Indexadded 28.15 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,768.64.
The S&P 500 moved aboveits 50-day moving average at1,317, a level where analystssaid the index would meetresistance.
The S&P 500 has gainedmore than 3 per cent in its bestthree-day run in three monthsas the Greek parliament onWednesday adopted austeritymeasures to avoid a debtdefault. On Thursday, lawmak-er passed a law that will permitimplementation of the plan thatwas demanded by Europeanofficials.
The S&P 500 is down lessthan 1 per cent this quarter,while the Dow is up 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq is off 0.5per cent.
Much of the recent rally hasbeen traced to end-of-quarterwindow dressing by fund man-agers, who typically sell losersand buy winners to make theirportfolios look better.
The Federal Reserve ends its$600 billion bond-buying pro-gram, known as QE2, onThursday and has not offeredany hints of more monetaryeasing. Markets were volatilein May and June, partly on con-cerns about QE2's end.
First Solar Inc surged 9.3 percent to $141.64 after the solar
See # 11 Page 11
Dhiyan
The bullish activities in the market are expected tocontinue moving forward where the KSE-100 indexcan cross 13,000 levels. We therefore recommend theinvestors to stay in the market and invest with longterm horizon. They can take positions in stocksbelonging to E&P and fertilizer sectors. Marketwould be positive today.
Khurram Shehzad, Head of Research Invest CapMarket is expected to show bullish activities in the short-run
where it may face resistance at 13000 levels. Any relaxation in
Margin Trading System (MTS) rules, better than expected result
announcements by the listed companies as well as upcoming mone-
tary policy are main market triggers. Investors are advised to invest
in oil & gas and fertilizer sectors. Today market tends to show mix
activities with low volumes.
RESULTS POSSIBLE TRIGGER
FERTILISER000 tonnesUrea Offtake (Jan to Apr 11) 1,714
Urea Offtake (Apr 11) 487
Urea Price (Rs/50 kg) 1,234
DAP Offtake (Jan to Apr 11) 215
DAP Offtake (Apr 11) 55
DAP Price (Rs/50 kg) 4,050
AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLERPAK SUZUKI MOTORUnitsProduction (July 10 to Apr 11) 71,096
Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 69,203
Production (Apr 11) 7,220
Sales (Apr 11) 7,510
INDUS MOTOR COProduction (July 10 to Apr 11) 42,670
Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 41,940
Production (Apr 11) 4,219
Sales (Apr 11) 4,681
HONDA ATLAS CARProduction (July 10 to Apr 11) 14,062
Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 13,754
Production (Apr 11) 1,582
Sales (Apr 11) 1,640
DEWAN FAROOQ MOTORSProduction (July 10 to Apr 11) 186
Sales (July 10 to Apr 11) 203
Production (Apr 11) -
Sales (Apr 11) -
BANKING SECTORScheduled bank (Rs in mn)Deposit (May 27,11) 5,220,669
Advances (May 27,11) 3,087,531
Investments (May 27,11) 2,341,433
Spread (April 11) 7.52%
OIL MARKETING CO(000 tons)MS (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 1,867
MS (Apr 11) 196
Kerosene (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 134
Kerosene (Apr 11) 14
JP (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 1,148
JP (Apr 11) 117
HSD (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 5,719
HSD (Apr 11) 567
LDO (Jul 10 to Apr 11)) 44
LDO (Apr 11) 2
Fuel Oil (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 7,252
Fuel Oil (Apr 11) 739
Others (Jul 10 to Apr 11) 143
Others (Apr 11) 15
PRICES (Ex-Refinery) RsMS (1 May 11) 62.83
MS (1 Apr 11) 59.35
MS % Chg 5.86%
Kerosene (1 May 11) 73.63
Kerosene (1 Apr 11) 68.95
Kerosene % Chg 6.79%
JP-1 (1 May 11) 73.86
JP-1 (1 Apr 11) 70.88
JP-1 % Chg 4.20%
HSD (1 May 11) 78.79
HSD (1 Apr 11) 75.02
HSD % Chg 5.03%
LDO (1 May 11) 71.55
LDO (1 Apr 11) 65.27
LDO % Chg 9.62%
Fuel Oil (1 May 11) 57,253
Fuel Oil (1 Apr 11) 56,777
Sector Updates
FTSE 100 up1.5 per cent
LONDON: Britain's top sharesrose sharply on Thursday afterthe Greek parliament passed asecond austerity bill to secureemergency funds, with riskierassets such as oil stocks, banksand miners leading the chargehigher.
The FTSE 100 index closedup 89.76 points, or 1.5 per cent,at 5,945.71, its fifth consecu-tive day of gains, managing toclose out the quarter in slightlypositive territory.
A surprisingly strong reporton manufacturing in the USMidwest, which helped allevi-ate recent concerns about theglobal recovery, furtherenhanced investors' appetite forrisk.
Lloyds Banking Group ledthe banks higher, jumping 9.7per cent, as investors welcomedplans by its new ChiefExecutive Antonio Horta-Osorio to target a leaner groupin a radical overhaul.
"There will be some materialdowngrades near term, but inthe medium term a markedimprovement," Atif Latif,director of trading at GuardianStockbrokers, said.
See # 9 Page 11
Friday, July 1, 20116
Volume 65,925,554
Value 2,850,503,890
Trades 39,494
Advanced 115
Declined 129
Unchanged 84
Total 328
Current 8,663.10
High 8,694.01
Low 8,599.64
Change h46.56
Current 12,496.03
High 12,544.38
Low 12,400.10
Change h72.73
Current 11,586.49
High 11,626.69
Low 11,550.21
Change h25.02
Market KSE 100 Index All Share Index KSE 30 Index
Current 20,936.20
High 21,072.36
Low 20,926.46
Change i50.74
KMI 30 IndexSymbolsAlert ! Unusual Movements
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
Sui Southern Gas Company Limited
SSGC closed up 1.02 at 21.67. Volume was 173 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 13 per cent wider than normal.
The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs2.230 billion which trans-
lates into an Earning Per Share of Rs2.66 for the nine months of fiscal
year (9MFY11).
SSGC is currently 8.1 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely high when com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect very strong flows of volume into SSGC (bullish). Trend
forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on SSGC.
RSI (14-day) 48.28 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 110,759.62
MA (10-day) 21.39 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 14,072.35
MA (100-day) 23.30 Revenue (Rs in mn) 107,736.78
MA (200-day) 23.57 Interest Expense 5,015.89
1st Support 21.02 Profit after Taxation 4,399.15
2nd Support 20.42 EPS 10 (Rs) 6.554
1st Resistance 21.95 Book value / share (Rs) 20.97
2nd Resistance 22.28 PE 11 E (x) 6.11
Pivot 21.35 PBV (x) 1.03
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
CSAP closed down -0.14 at 26.12. Volume was 902 per cent above
average (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 12 per cent wider than
normal. The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs467.274 million
which translates into an Earning Per Share of Rs8.28 for the nine
months of fiscal year (9MFY11).
CSAP is currently 2.2 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is extremely low when com-
pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume
indicators reflect very strong flows of volume out of CSAP (bearish).
Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on CSAP.
RSI (14-day) 37.70 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 4,436.30
MA (10-day) 26.42 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 2,622.61
MA (100-day) 27.48 Revenue (Rs in mn) 3,704.39
MA (200-day) 26.71 Interest Expense 121.91
1st Support 25.70 Profit after Taxation 416.55
2nd Support 25.30 EPS 10 (Rs) 7.378
1st Resistance 26.50 Book value / share (Rs) 46.45
2nd Resistance 26.90 PE 11 E (x) 2.37
Pivot 26.10 PBV (x) 0.56
Crescent Steel & Allied Products Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
MLCF closed down -0.12 at 2.06. Volume was 167 per cent above aver-
age (trending) and Bollinger Bands were 50 per cent wider than normal.
The company's loss after taxation stood at Rs1.565billion which trans-
lates into a Loss Per Share of Rs3.26 for the nine months of fiscal year
(9MFY11).
MLCF is currently 20.5 per cent below its 200-day moving average and
is displaying a downward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the
average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volume indicators
reflect volume flowing into and out of MLCF at a relatively equal pace.
Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on MLCF.
RSI (14-day) 36.82 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 26,094.94
MA (10-day) 2.21 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 4,134.21
MA (100-day) 2.31 Revenue (Rs in mn) 13,630.51
MA (200-day) 2.60 Interest Expense 2,059.48
1st Support 1.95 Loss after Taxation (2,583.96)
2nd Support 1.85 EPS 10 (Rs) (6.941)
1st Resistance 2.20 Book value / share (Rs) 11.11
2nd Resistance 2.35 PE 11 E (x) -
Pivot 2.10 PBV (x) 0.19
Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited
Technical AnalysisFundamental Highlights
As on Jun 30, 2010
KTML closed up 0.05 at 3.95. Volume was 181 per cent above average(trending) and Bollinger Bands were 30 per cent narrower than normal.The company's profit after taxation stood at Rs140.023 million whichtranslates into an Earning Per Share of Rs0.65 for the nine months offiscal year (9MFY11).KTML is currently 20.2 per cent below its 200-day moving average andis displaying a downward trend. Volatility is relatively normal as com-pared to the average volatility over the last 10 trading sessions. Volumeindicators reflect very strong flows of volume out of KTML (bearish).Trend forecasting oscillators are currently bearish on KTML.
RSI (14-day) 35.22 Total Assets (Rs in mn) 17,057.30
MA (10-day) 4.27 Total Equity (Rs in mn) 3,361.27
MA (100-day) 4.52 Revenue (Rs in mn) 10,693.34
MA (200-day) 4.96 Interest Expense 1,072.77
1st Support 3.70 Profit after Taxation 277.86
2nd Support 3.39 EPS 10 (Rs) 1.909
1st Resistance 4.26 Book value / share (Rs) 23.10
2nd Resistance 4.51 PE 11 E (x) 4.56
Pivot 3.95 PBV (x) 0.17
Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited
OIL AND GAS
Performance of SR Oil and Gas Index
Open High Low Close Change % Change
1,523.37 1,552.64 1,515.47 1,539.29 15.92 1.05
Turnover Total cos Defaulter cos Listed cap Market cap 5-Day High
From barter system topaper currency notes,to start of banks in
fifteenth century in UK,the world experienced agreat struggle of humanadvancement, spread overthousands of years. Evensince (15th century) thestructure of banking kepton improving and advanc-ing till present time, whenbanking has become anintegral part of all humanactivities. With the mightyspread of banks all over theworld there arose a direneed of some organizationin each and every countryto supervise, advise andregulate the banking affairsin the interest of generalpublic as well as the coun-try it self. Such institutionwhich supervise and regu-late the banks are called bydifferent names such asCentral Bank, ReserveBank, Federal Bank, StateBank etc. In most of the countries
these controllers arebacked by governments,usually ministry offinance. These banks areusually authorised for theissuance of currency, tomanage inflation anddeflation, to manage for-eign currency etc. Further these supervisorybanks are also to raise cap-ital for government's needsby selling its securities andbonds. After partition of the subcontinent, Pakistanemerged on world map ason 14th August 1947, andcentral bank of the countrywas established as on 1stJuly 1948. Father of thenation Quaid e AzamMohammad Ali Jinnah per-formed the opening cere-mony of the State Bank ofPakistan. For the benefitsof all Pakistanis I intend toquote here the full speechof the great Quaid deliv-ered at the opening cere-mony, just to realize thatwhat high opinion the greatQuaid had for the newlyborn country and its peopleand where we stand today. Quaid-e-Azam's SpeechOn the occasion of theOpening Ceremony of theState Bank of Pakistan on
1st July, 1948."Mr. Governor, Directorsof State Bank, Ladies andGentlemen.The opening of the StateBank of Pakistan symbol-ises the sovereignty of ourState in the financialsphere and I am very gladto be here today to performthe opening ceremony. Itwas not considered feasibleto start a Bank of our ownsimultaneously with thecoming into being ofPakistan in August last year.A good deal of preparatorywork must precede the inau-guration of an institutionresponsible for such techni-cal and delicate work asnote issue and banking. Toallow for this preparation, itwas provided, under thePakistan Monetary Systemand Reserve Bank Order,1947, that the Reserve Bankof India should continue tobe the currency and bankingauthority of Pakistan till the30th September, 1948. Lateron it was felt that it wouldbe in the best interests ofour State if the ReserveBank of India were relievedof its functions in Pakistan,as early as possible. TheState of transfer of thesefunctions to a Pakistan
agency was consequentlyadvanced by three monthsin agreement with theGovernment of India andthe Reserve Bank. It was atthe same time decided toestablish a Central Bank ofPakistan in preference toany other agency for man-aging our currency andbanking. This decision leftvery little time for the smallband of trained personnel inthis field in Pakistan tocomplete the preliminariesand they have by their untir-ing effort and hard workcompleted their task by thedue date which is very cred-itable to them, and I wish torecord a note of our appreci-ation of their labours.As you have observed, Mr.Governor in undividedIndia banking was kept aclose preserve of non-Muslims and their migra-tion from Western Pakistanhas caused a good deal ofdislocation in the econom-ic life of our young State.In order that the wheels ofcommerce and industryshould run smoothly, it isimperative that the vacuumcaused by the exodus ofnon-Muslims should befilled without delay. I amglad to note that schemes
for training Pakistannationals in banking are inhand. I will watch theirprogress with interest and Iam confident that the StateBank will receive the co-operation of all concernedincluding the banks andUniversities in pushingthem forward. Bankingwill provide a new andwide field in which thegenius of our young mencan find full play. I am surethat they will come for-ward in large numbers totake advantage of the train-ing facilities which areproposed to be provided.While doing so, they willnot only be benefitingthemselves but also con-tributing to the well-beingof our State.I need hardly dilate on theimportant role that theState Bank will have toplay in regulating the eco-nomic life of our country.The monetary policy of thebank will have a directbearing on our trade andcommerce, both insidePakistan as well as with theoutside world and it is onlyto be desired that your pol-icy should encourage max-imum production and afree flow of trade. Themonetary policy pursuedduring the war years con-tributed, in no small meas-ure, to our present day eco-nomic problems. Theabnormal rise in the cost ofliving has hit the poorersections of society includ-ing those with fixedincomes very hard indeedand is responsible to agreat extent for the prevail-ing unrest in the country.The policy of the PakistanGovernment is to stabiliseprices at a level that wouldbe fair to the producer, aswell as the consumer. Ihope your efforts will bedirected in the same direc-tion in order to tackle thiscrucial problem with suc-cess.I shall watch with keennessthe work of your ResearchOrganization in evolvingbanking practices compati-ble with Islamic ideas ofsocial and economic life.The economic system ofthe West has createdalmost insoluble problemsfor humanity and to manyof us it appears that only amiracle can save it fromdisaster that is not facingthe world. It has failed todo justice between manand man and to eradicatefriction from the interna-tional field. On the con-trary, it was largely respon-sible for the two worldwars in the last half centu-ry. The Western world, inspite of its advantages, ofmechanization and indus-trial efficiency is today in aworse mess than everbefore in history. Theadoption of Western eco-nomic theory and practicewill not help us in achiev-ing our goal of creating ahappy and contended peo-ple. We must work our
destiny in our own way andpresent to the world aneconomic system based ontrue Islamic concept ofequality of manhood andsocial justice. We willthereby be fulfilling ourmission as Muslims andgiving to humanity themessage of peace whichalone can save it andsecure the welfare, happi-ness and prosperity ofmankind.May the Sate Bank ofPakistan prosper and fulfilthe high ideals which havebeen set as its goal.In the end I thank you, Mr.Governor, for the warmwelcome given to me byyou and your colleagues,and the distinguishedguests who have gracedthis occasion as a mark oftheir good wishes and thehonour your have done mein inviting me to performthis historic opening cere-mony of the State Bankwhich I feel will developinto one of our greatestnational institutions andplay its part fully through-out the world."Q u a i d - e - A z a mMuhammad Ali Jinnah1st July, 1948Under the state bank ofPakistan order 1948, thestate bank was charged
with the duty to regulatethe issue of banks notesand keeping reserves witha view to securing monito-ry stability in Pakistan andgenerally to operate thecurrency and credit systemof the country to its advan-tage. A large section of the statebank's duties were widenedwhen the State Bank ofPakistan Act 1956 wasintroduced. It required thestate bank to "regulate themonetary and credit sys-tem of Pakistan and to fos-ter its growth in the bestnational interest with aview to securing monetarystability and fuller utiliza-tion of the country's pro-ductive resources". InFebruary 1994, the StateBank was given full auton-omy, during the financialsector reforms.On January 21, 1997, this
autonomy was furtherstrengthened when thegovernment issued threeAmendment Ordinances(which were approved bythe Parliament in May1997). Those includedwere the State Bank ofPakistan Act, 1956,Banking CompaniesOrdinance, 1962 andBanks NationalizationAct, 1974. These changesgave full and exclusiveauthority to the StateBank to regulate the bank-ing sector, to conduct anindependent monetarypolicy and to set limit ongovernment borrowingsfrom the State Bank ofPakistan. The amend-ments to the BanksNationalization Actbrought the end of thePakistan Banking Council(an institution establishedto look after the affairs ofNCBs) and allowed thejobs of the council to be
appointed to the Chief.The State Bank of Pakistanhas also been entrustedwith the responsibility tocarry out monetary andcredit policy in accordancewith Government targetsfor growth and inflationwith the recommendationsof the Monetary and FiscalPolicies Co-ordinationBoard without trying toeffect the macroeconomicpolicy objectives.The state bank also regu-lates the volume and thedirection of flow of creditto different uses and sec-tors, the state bank makesuse of both direct and indi-rect instruments of mone-tary management. Duringthe 1980s, Pakistanembarked upon a programof financial sector reforms,which lead to a number offundamental changes. Dueto these changed the con-duct of monetary manage-ment which brought aboutchanges to the administra-tive controls and quantita-tive restrictions to marketbased monetary manage-ment. A reserve moneymanagement programmehas been developed, forintermediate target of M2,which would be achievedby observing the desiredpath of reserve money - theoperating target.State Bank of Pakistan haschanged the format anddesigns of many banknotes which are currentlyin circulation in Pakistan.These steps were taken toovercome the problems offraudulent activities. Thus the conclusion is thatit has a great role to in themonetary life of a country,which if it plays right,could safeguard the econo-my along with ensuringgrowth in a satisfactorymanner.
Six Decades of Vigilance,Regulations & Excellence
63rd Anniversary of
9Friday, July 1, 2011
LONDON: Gold fell onThursday, although still headingfor an 11th consecutive quarterlygain, as growing investor confi-dence that Greece would avoid adebt default dented perceivedsafe-haven assets.
The euro maintained gainsagainst the dollar after the Greekgovernment passed a law toimpose steep budget cuts tosecure ane m e r g e n c ybailout andavoid the euro-zone's first sov-ereign default.
Gold hasover the pastthree monthsbeen a major beneficiary ofinvestor anxiety over Greece'spotential to affect the rest of theeuro-zone economy, the tripledisaster in Japan and the outlookfor global economic growth.
The precious metal is set for aquarterly rise of 5.5 per cent,compared with declines of 1.4per cent in the S&P 500, 4.8 percent in crude oil and 2.8 per centin emerging equities.
Spot gold was down 0.5 per
cent at $1,503.81 an ounce by1412 GMT after rising for twostraight sessions. US gold wasdown 0.4 per cent at $1,504.30.
Gold's safe-haven appeal islikely to be retained in the after-math of the Greek debt crisis,but prices may be trapped in arange in the short run due to lackof speculative interest.
"We need to see if fund buying
is coming back, which willlargely depend on whether therewill be more stimulus plans inthe United States after the cur-rent round of quantitative easingends," said Ronald Leung, aphysical dealer at Lee CheongGold Dealers.
So far in the second quarter ofthe year, investor buying ofphysical gold, as reflected bychanges in holdings of the metalin exchange-traded funds, has
picked up relative to the firstquarter of the year.
Between March and June sofar, some 2.101 million ouncesof gold have flowed into themajor ETFs, according toReuters data, compared with anoutflow of 2.271 million ouncesin the first three months of theyear.
Silver was last down 0.8 percent at $34.48 anounce, on coursefor a 7 per centquarterly loss, itsfirst after ninestraight quarterlygains and its worstsince the thirdquarter of 2008,
when the global financial crisiswas approaching its mostintense.
Spot palladium outperformedthe precious metals complex, ris-ing 1.3 per cent to $755.97.Platinum was last down 0.4 percent at $1,717.74 an ounce, hav-ing hit three-month lows thisweek and set for its first quarter-ly decline in a year, down 2.7 percent in the second three month of2011. -Reuters
Gold falls after Greekwin on austerity
LONDON: Oil prices heldnear $112 a barrel on Thursdayas high inflation and uncertain-ty about the InternationalEnergy Agency's emergencystock release plan balancedagainst a weaker dollar.
Comments from EuropeanCentral Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet reinforcedexpectations of aninterest rate hikenext week, whichtraders and ana-lysts said couldstifle economicactivity and ener-gy demand.
Concerns lin-gered that Greece could runinto further problems evenafter Wednesday's initial voteto pass an austerity plan toavert bankruptcy.
"It's not finished for Greeceyet; there is a last vote," saidThorbjorn Bak Jensen, an oilanalyst at Global RiskManagement. "If the systemtightens up well, Greece does-n't need a rate rise."
ICE Brent crude was 40cents lower at $112 a barrel at1400 GMT, paring early lossesof more than $1, after jumping
more than 3 per cent onWednesday. US crude was at$94.84 a barrel, up 7 cents,after gaining 2 per cent in theprevious session.
The International EnergyAgency has sent conflictingsignals to the market this week,saying on Wednesday it was upto operators to decide whether
to release crude oil or oil prod-ucts as part of the emergencyrelease plan.
The Netherlands joinedGermany in clarifying it wouldhold a tender to release crudeoil as part of the IEA pro-gramme. The Dutch stockpil-ing agency said up to 700,000barrels of crude oil would beoffered on Friday.
Other countries includingBritain, France and Italy saidthey were not planning on ten-ders but would reduce mini-mum strategic stock reserve
requirements instead. The table provided by the
International Energy Agencyon Monday, which showed thebreakdown of crude and prod-ucts on its website, was purelyindicative, Didier Houssinsaid.
But the agency could decidewhether to repeat the release
around thethird week ofJuly, RichardJones, IEAdeputy execu-tive director,said late onWednesday.
In theUnited States, oil stocks tight-ened as crude imports droppedand gasoline inventories fellunexpectedly. Crude suppliesfell for a fourth straight week,government data showed,dropping 4.4 million barrels,much more than forecast, to359.5 million barrels.
But on the other hand, OPECoil output is forecast to rise inJune mainly due to extra oilfrom Saudi Arabia, Kuwait andthe United Arab Emirates, aReuters survey found onThursday. -Reuters
Oil holds at $112 asinflation worries stir
Europeanvegetableoil prices
ROTTERDAM: The follow-ing were the Thursday'sRotterdam vegetable oil price'sat 21:00 PST.
SOYOIL: EU degummedeuro tonne fob exmill Jul11900.00-10.00, Aug11/Oct11908.00-10.00, Nov11/Jan12918.00-10.00.
30-Jun-2011 TOLAGOLD MON Per Tola 49443.00 49443.00 49300.00 49300.00 1 49338.00 49300.00 10
30-Jun-2011 TOLAGOLD TUE Per Tola 49393.00 49393.00 49355.00 49355.00 - 49393.00 49355.00 1
30-Jun-2011 TOLAGOLD WED Per Tola 49,380 49,425 49,350 49,374 22 49,411 49,374 18
30-Jun-2011 TOLAGOLD THU Per Tola 49,439 49,440 49,301 49,392 38 49,301 49,392 38
30-Jun-2011 TOLAGOLD FRI Per Tola 49,500 49,540 49,281 49,281 27 49,320 49,281 30
30-Jun-2011 SUGAR SE11 Per Kg 64 64 64 64 - 64 64 -
Note: Traded Volume reflects the trades from 06:00 pm of previous day to 06:00 pm of current day
Tokyo rubber
hits 2-wk highBANGKOK: Tokyo rubberfutures rose to a two-week highon Thursday on the back offirm oil prices and hopes thatGreece was closer to securinginternational aid, but risingsupply capped gains, dealerssaid.
The benchmark rubber con-tract on the Tokyo CommodityExchange for December deliv-ery rose 7.2 yen to settle at365.0 yen ($4,520) per kg. Itrose to an intra-day high of366.4 yen, the highest sinceJune 22.
The most-active rubber con-tract on Shanghai futuresexchange for September deliv-ery rose 805 yuan to finish at31,865 yuan ($4,930.153) pertonne.
"I think TOCOM pricesshould remain strong afterprices finished at major supportlevel of 365 yen," said a Tokyo-based dealer.
Brent held above $112 onThursday, buoyed by tighterUS oil stocks and a weaker dol-lar after an initial favourablevote on austerity measures byGreece's parliament. -Reuters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani farmers place bundles of wheat together after harvesting in a field of
Gujar Khan some 55kms south-east of Islamabad. -Agencies
KUALA LUMPUR:
Malaysian palm oil futuresfell 1.2 per cent on Thursdayas traders booked profit onconcerns that lower-than-expected exports data andhigh production could leadto record stocks.
Although cargo surveyorsreported Malaysia's palm oilexports in June rose above1.4 million tonnes -- repre-senting a six per cent growthfrom May -- output is likelyto rise at much faster pacethanks to favourable weath-er.
"If we compare exports forthe first 25 days and the fullmonth, the difference issmall. It indicates exportshas slowed down at the endof the month," said a traderin Kuala Lumpur.
The benchmark Septembercrude palm oil contract on
Bursa Malaysia Derivativesfell 37 ringgit to 3,072 ring-git ($1,012.024) a tonne.Overall traded volume stoodat 22,711 lots of 25 tonneseach, lower than the usual25,000 lots.
Traders are turning theirfocus to the US AgricultureDepartment report due at1230 GMT for further mar-ket cues.
The report is expected toshow tight supply due to badweather and floods in keypart of US grain and soybeanplanting regions, based onsurveys of 88,000 growers.
US soyoil for July deliveryrose 0.3 per cent onThursday, and the mostactive January 2012 soyoilcontract on China's DalianCommodity Exchangeclimbed 0.7 per cent duringAsian trade hours. -Reuters
Palm oil dropson rising
stock concerns
Sugar edgesoff 4-mth
high,coffee firms
LONDON: ICE raw sugarfutures eased back from four-month highs on Thursday, sup-ported by lower-than-expectedBrazilian output and a weakerdollar, while frost in someBrazilian growing areas andtight robusta supplies under-pinned coffee.
Cocoa futures prices were lit-tle changed in thin volumes,with upside weighed by amplesupplies from West Africa.
ICE raw sugar futuresjumped over 5 per cent to tradeat a fresh four-month high, sup-ported by lower-than-expectedcrush data in Brazil as dealersexpressed concerns over coldweather, and later prices easedback slightly.
Expectations of further sup-port by Greece's parliament forausterity measures had alsosupported the softs complex,including sugar.
ICE October raw sugarfutures reversed gains and weredown 0.48 cent or 1.8 per centto 26.44 cents a lb at 1415GMT. Front-month July rawsugar futures touched a four-month high of 30.88 cents a lbearlier on Thursday.
Liffe August white sugar wasdown $9.50 or 1.2 per cent to$757.20 per tonne in thin vol-ume of 2,751 lots.
ICE arabica coffee futuresrose, supported by the weakerdollar and reports that frost hadreached at least two minor cof-fee regions in top growerBrazil's Parana state, althoughit was unlikely to put a majordent in next year's output.
ICE September arabica cof-fee futures were up 3.85 cent or1.5 per cent to $2.6455 per lb inlight volume of 6,286 lots at1417 GMT.
Liffe September robusta cof-fee futures were up $14 or 0.6per cent to $2,486 per tonne.
ICE cocoa futures were littlechanged, supported by the soft-er dollar, but ample suppliesfrom West Africa restrictedupside price potential.
ICE September cocoa was up$3 or 0.1 per cent to $3,122 pertonne in light volume of 5,052lots at 1418 GMT.
Liffe September cocoa wasup 13 pounds or 0.7 per cent to1,972 pounds a tonne in moder-ate volume of 9,016 lots. -Reuters
NEW YORK: Most US
cotton futures closed lower
on Wednesday, in another
light-volume session,
before release of a key gov-
ernment plantings report
due early Thursday, brokers
said.
Benchmark December
cotton on ICE Futures US
fell 0.61 cent to finish at
$1.2140 per lb, moving
from $1.1981 to $1.2466.
Total market volumes
remained depressed, with
10,372 lots traded late in
New York, about half of the
30-day norm, Thomson
Reuters preliminary data
showed.
"It looks like another con-
solidation day before the
acreage report," said Mike
Stevens, an independent
cotton analyst in Louisiana.
He said, the market contin-
ued to ignore mixed signals
from outside markets,
where another down day in
cotton on China's
Zhengzhou Commodity
Exchange was countered by
broader strength in the
Reuters-Jefferies CRB
index.
Most market participants
took a cautionary position,
ahead of the annual planted
acreage report due from the
US Agriculture Department
at 1230 GMT on Thursday.
Cotton analysts believe
US 2011 cotton sowings
will reach around 13.26
million acres, the highest in
five years, as farmers plant
as many acres as they can to
offset adverse growing con-
ditions in much of the
South. -Reuters
NY cotton endsdown ahead ofUSDA report
LONDON: Copper hit its high-est in two months on Thursday,supported by investors' greaterappetite for risky assets after thesafe passage of Greece's austerityplan, as well as positioning aheadof the end of the first half.
Three-month copper on theLondon Metal Exchange closedat $9,430 -- its highest since end-April -- compared with a close of$9,320 a tonne on Wednesday.
Copper's gains came against abackdrop of optimism in othermarkets that Greece is on its wayto averting a default, cutting therisk sovereign debt crisis couldspread across the euro-zone andderail the global economic recov-ery. The LME options marketwas also supportive of highercopper prices, noted Citi, with alarge pool of open interest at the$9,500 strike. Prices tend togravitate towards large areas ofopen interest. Options for theJuly contract expire next week.
Copper's chart picture has alsoimproved, with the metal break-ing above its 100-day movingaverage around $9,362, a keybuy signal watched by funds.
Earlier a report showed busi-ness activity in the US Midwestgrew more than expected thismonth, helped by a jump neworders. But other data showed thenumber of Americans filingclaims for employment benefitsbarely fell last week, suggestingthe labor market was strugglingto regain momentum.
LME copper stocks fell for asixth session, by 1,775 tonnesnet, the latest data showed, andhave now dropped around 12,000tonnes from 13-month highstipped earlier this month.
Copper demand is expected toundergo a soft patch over thenext few months, but most ana-
lysts expect consumption to rampup towards the end of the thirdquarter. Longer term, prospectsremain set for higher pricesagainst a backdrop of growinginfrastructure and consumergoods demand not just from topconsumer China, but also otherfast-growing economies likeBrazil, said Barclays Capital.
Boosted by copper, other metalsalso advanced, with lead ending at$2,684 a tonne -- a new high sincemid-April -- compared with a$2,634 close. Zinc, which also hitits highest since mid-April, endedat $2,365 from $2,317 a tonne.Nickel, which hit a one-month-high, closed at $23,425 a tonne,up from $23,075. Aluminiumended flat at $2,532 a tonne andtin closed at $26,050 from$25,845 a tonne. -Reuters
Copper gains onrelief over Greece,
end of H1
Shanghai copper higherThe most-active September
copper contract on the
Shanghai Futures Exchange
surged 2.6 per cent, closing
the session at 69,860 yuan
per tonne, catching up with
previous gains in London.
Indian sugarsteady as
profit-takingkicks in
MUMBAI: India's sugarfutures were steady onThursday after rising to theirhighest level in more than amonth in the previous sessionas profit-taking outweighedlower supplies for July, ana-lysts and dealers said.
At 3:08 pm, the most activesugar for July delivery on theNational Commodity andDerivatives Exchange was 0.18per cent lower at 2,756 rupeesper 100 kg. The contract rose to2,783 rupees in the previous ses-sion, the highest level since May18. In Kolhapur, a key market intop producer Maharashtra, themost traded S-variety rose by1.33 per cent to 2,672 rupees($59.78) per 100 kg.
"Profit-taking hit the market.Exports decision and lower quotafor July have been providing sup-port to prices," said AshwiniBansod, a senior analyst at MFGlobal Commodities India.
India has issued a formalorder for exports of an addi-tional 500,000 tonnes of sugarapproved by a panel of minis-ters last week, governmentsources said on Tuesday.
India has made available 1.56million tonnes of non-levy sugarfor July, lower than the 1.65 mil-lion tonnes it had released lastmonth, the government said in astatement on Tuesday. Non-levy,or free-sale sugar, is sold bymillers in the open market, butthe quantity each mill can sell isfixed by the federal governmenton a monthly basis. -Reuters
Mixed outlook as OPEC supply up, US stocks down
Friday, July 1, 201110
HONG KONG:International CricketCouncil's decision to put banon the appointments, on polit-ical basis has been postponedfor next two years due to theopposition of Pakistan,Bangladesh and South AfricaCricket Boards during theAnnual ICC meeting in HongKong.
On the last day of AnnualICC's Conference, ICC unan-imously supported a proposalto amend the ICC Articles ofAssociation in order to limitthe exercise of political influ-ence in acquiring good posts.
The above said decision hasbeen suspended for the nexttwo years due to the opposi-tion built by three membersout of eleven comprisingPakistan, Bangladesh andSouth Africa. ICC directedits all members to convey hismessage to their governmentsthat national federationsshould be autonomous andfree from interference fromgovernment in the adminis-tration of their affairs.
In this regard, ICC soughtfor the recommendationsfrom each member in an year,failing which would give full
authority to amend the ICC'sconstitution.
After that ICC would onceagain give time span of oneyear to the boards to imple-ment them in their boardswhereas final decision wouldbe taken in 2013 in thisregard. Several memberstried to curtail politicalappointments but failed to doso.
ICC Chief ExecutiveHaroon Lorgat said: "This isa significant step towardsachieving best practice and,together with the independentgovernance review, I amexcited by the commitment ofthe ICC to introduce best pos-sible corporate governance."
Format of ICC globalevents The Associate andAffiliate members, whilewelcoming the return to a 14-team format for the ICCCricket World Cup 2015,expressed some disappoint-ment at the decision to main-tain a 12-team ICC WorldTwenty20 in 2012 (SriLanka) and 2014(Bangladesh).
Haroon Lorgat said: "TheICC acknowledges their dis-appointment but the decision
to have 14 teams in the ICCCricket World Cup and 12-teams in the ICC WorldTwenty20 is a return to thecurrent format for ICCevents.
We know that developmentis central to the ICC and ournew Strategic Plan 2011-15 isdesigned to build a bigger,better global game." ICCPresident Sharad Pawar andMr Lorgat thanked the mem-bers for their contribution tothe great sport of cricket.
Both the President andChief Executive acknowl-edged the contributions ofShashank Manohar (BCCI),Jack Clarke (CricketAustralia) and Laurie Pieters(Namibia) who were attend-ing their final ICC AnnualConference. On the week, MrPawar said: "Tough decisionsoften have to be made andthis week has been no differ-ent. However, I am confidentthat we have made decisionswhich are in the best interestsof cricket. There have beenchallenges, as always, but thegreat community of cricketshowed that it was ready andcapable of facing those chal-lenges."
ICC annualmeeting; fierce
opposition fromPak, BD and SA
Harperwithdraws
fromDominica TestBARBADOS: Umpire DarylHarper has withdrawn from thethird Test between the WestIndies and India in Dominicathat begins from July 6. Harperwill be replaced in what was tobe his final outing as a memberof the elite panel by RichardKettleborough .
He decided to step down "inthe wake of some unfair criti-cism," according to ICC gener-al manager Dave Richardson.Harper had been removed fromthe elite panel in May alongwith Asoka de Silva. His deci-sions in the recent KingstonTest had also attracted somecriticism with MS Dhoni say-ing that "if the correct decisionswere made, the game wouldhave finished much earlier andI would have been in the hotelby now."
Richardson, though, defend-ed Harper's decision-makingrecord. "The reality of the situ-ation is that Daryl's statisticsshow his correct decision per-centage in Tests involving Indiais 96 per cent, which is consid-erably higher than the interna-tional average for top-levelumpires. "We have every faithin Daryl to finish the series andwhile we regret his decision wedo respect it. The real shame isit deprives him of the opportu-nity to sign off as a Test matchumpire in a manner befittingsomeone who has served thegame so well since making hisinternational debut back in1994." Harper stood in 95Tests, 174 ODIs and 10 T20Is,making his international ODIdebut in 1994 at Perth and hisTest debut in November 1998. -Online
Sharapova,Azarenka closeon noisy final
LONDON: Maria Sharapovaand Victoria Azarenka willratchet up the decibel levelslater on Thursday when two ofthe loudest women players ontour look to win theirWimbledon last-four encoun-ters and set up a noisy final.
Fourth seed Azarenka ofBelarus, whose wailing duringmatches has upset the AllEngland club, meets CzechPetra Kvitova in the first semion Centre Court.
Sharapova, the favourite asformer champion despite beinga seed lower than Azarenka,will grunt her way throughagainst Sabine Lisicki knowingthe German wildcard hasalready knocked out FrenchOpen champion Li Na and thefiery Marion Bartoli. -Reuters
NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings, the IPLchampions, and Mumbai Indians will be part ofthe same group in the Champions LeagueTwenty20 starting September this year. Thetournament, which runs from September 23 toOctober 9, will be preceded by a qualifierphase from which three teams will progress tothe main round to compete with seven others.The qualifiers will be held in Hyderabadbetween September 19 and 21, while the maintournament will be spread across three cities -Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
The ten teams in the tournament proper willbe divided into two groups of five, withChennai, Mumbai, New South Wales Blues,Cape Cobras and one team from the qualifierphase comprising Group A. Group B includesRoyal Challengers Bangalore, Warriors, SouthAustralia Redbacks and two teams (ranked 1and 3) from the qualifier round. Bangalore take
on Warriors in the tournament opener at theChinnaswamy Stadium. The top two teamsfrom each group advance to the semi-finals (inBangalore and Chennai), and the winners playthe final in Chennai.
The teams in the qualifiers are divided intotwo groups of three. Kolkata Knight Riders, ateam from England and Auckland, championsof the HRV Cup, form Group A. The CaribbeanT20 champions Trinidad and Tobago, anotherteam from England and one team from SriLanka make up Group B. The top teams in eachpool followed by the next highest ranked teamwill progress to the Champions League.
The new Future Tours Programme (FTP)includes an official window for the ChampionsLeague, enabling international stars to partici-pate in the competition, jointly organised bythe boards of India, South Africa and Australia.-Online
Chennai, Mumbai insame group for CLT20
NEW DELHI: SouravGanguly has welcomed theICC's decision to make theDRS mandatory for interna-tional Tests and ODIs, sayingthat there would only be moreimprovements ahead for all theparties involved. Ganguly toldESPNcricinfo that he under-stood India's reluctance to usethe system because, "they hadtheir reasons".
Ganguly was a part of theIndian team which played thefirst series in which the DRSwas used, against Sri Lanka in2008. In the immediate after-math of that series, the Indianteam had expressed its lack ofconfidence in the technology tothe BCCI. "At the time we werenot convinced by the cameraangles in use at the time,"Ganguly said. "We were notconvinced they were right.There was so much negativityaround it that we didn't think it
worked. Hopefully there'smuch more consistency aroundit now."
Ganguly, who left Sri Lankaafter the Test series, said he didnot know whether the Indianteam had made its concernsabout the camera angles knowneither to the match referee orthe broadcasters.
After the 2008 series,Ganguly got a first-hand viewof the DRS during his televi-sion commentary stint at the2011 World Cup. "The changeswere huge, the technology wasjust far better this time," hesaid.
Making the DRS mandatoryfor Tests and ODIs, he said,was a step forward for the gameitself. "Would I have liked tohave played under the DRS?It's hard to say now, but youaccept technology and you getused to it - and that's probablywhat would have happened. In
the case of the DRS, playerswill get better using it as theygo along."
Ganguly said it was impor-tant that players' opinions onthe technology that involvesthem directly are heard, andany changes and improvementsalso communicated to them.
Ganguly was in Hong Kongon the invitation of the ICC tospeak at its annual conference.Along with Shane Watson thismorning, he addressed the FullCouncil's members' forum, thelast event of its annual confer-ence. On his first visit to HongKong, Ganguly held a clinic foryoung players at the KowloonCricket Club yesterday, wherehe was asked what he thoughtabout cricket in Hong Kong. Heglanced around at KCC's smallground with its short bound-aries and said with a smile,"When I played, I loved hittingsixes." -Online
Ganguly welcomesDRS implementation
LES HERBIERS: The"ridiculous" possibility that hecould soon be stripped of twoof his Tour de France titles willnot deter Alberto Contadorfrom seeking a fourth victory inthe race, the Spaniard said onThursday.
The 28-year-old, who testedpositive for the banned anabol-ic agent clenbuterol in lastyear's Tour, was cleared by theSpanish federation earlier thisyear only for the InternationalCycling Union (UCI) andWorld Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) to appeal the decisionbefore the Court of Arbitrationfor Sport.
A ruling is expected in earlyAugust, but Contador, who alsowon the Giro d'Italia this sea-son, is keeping his mind firmlyfocused on the Tour whichstarts on Saturday.
"It would be totally ridiculous
that they take my victory awayfrom me," Contador, who hassaid the positive test came afterhe ate contaminated meat, tolda news conference in front ofsome 200 reporters.
"We know the Tour de Franceis the race where you have themost pressure on your shoul-ders, just look at how manyjournalists are here.
"Of course there's not pres-sure only on the road but alsooff, especially recently. I'maware of that but what's impor-tant is to focus on the race, tokeep my goal in mind."
Speaking to Reuters by theSaxoBank Sungard team bus,his brother Fran said Contadorwould not be distracted fromhis goal.
"He is cool. He is a tough nutto crack. He has the experienceof this kind of situation," hesaid.
'RESPECT RULES'Contador is used to pressure
off the road during the Tour.In 2007, he was repeatedly
grilled by the media on analleged link to the OperationPuerto doping scandal, but thatdid not prevent him from win-ning his first Tour. He stronglydenied any involvement andwas never charged.
In 2009, Contador survivedpressure from Lance Armstrongwithin his Astana team to bag asecond Tour title.
Last year, the slenderSpaniard also faced media andcrowd pressure after he tookadvantage of an Andy Schleckmechanical problem to claimthe yellow jersey.
Team boss Bjarne Riisimplored reporters and fansalike to abide by the rules andlet his rider do his job. -Reuters
Tough Nut Contador FocusingOn The Tour, Not Doping Case
HONG KONG: International Circket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat poses after a news conference following its annual conference in Hong Kong. Reuters
Singer Cliff Richard and television presenter GloriaHunniford sit on Centre Court
LONDON: Andy Murray of Britain is escorted after a training session oncourt 17 at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London. -Reuters
LONDON: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic hits a return to Victoria Azarenka ofBelarus during their semi-final match at the Wimbledon tennis championships. Reuters
11Economy & ContinuationsFriday, July 1, 2011
two countries. He said his daughter, Asifa Bhutto Zardari, hasalready said she would learn Chinese language.
Zardari said, "China's civilization renaissance is a definingtheme of the 21st century."
He said with the Chinese economic rise, the gravity of globalpower has shifted from the Euro-Atlantic to the Asia-Pacificregion.
As a result, Asia is widely perceived as the continent of the 21thcentury, he added.
President Zardari said, "Pakistan takes great pride in the eco-nomic transformation and achievements of China and hopes tolearn from the Chinese experience and emulate China's develop-ment model with Beijing's help." - APP
Continued from page 12No #1
They out-rightly rejected the increase in gas tariff and said thatit would be better if the gas companies control line losses, intro-duce efficiency in their system and control gas theft.
They urged the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to look intothe matter and stop Ogra from making any further increase in gastariff.
The huge 20 per cent increase in gas prices planned by the gov-ernment is likely to cast devastating repercussions on the nationaleconomy and oust the export-oriented industries from the interna-tional export market therefore it would be wiser on the part of thegovernment if the plans for hike in gas tariff are shelved.
Meanwhile, in a press release issued here on Thursday, theLCCI president Shahzad Ali Malik, senior vice president SheikhMohammad Arshad and vice president Sohail Azhar said that theincrease in gas tariff would further jack up inflation, whichaccording to official figures at present is around 15-16 per cent.
"The textile is one of the most value-added and export-orientedsectors in Pakistan which accounts for more than 60 per cent oftotal exports of the country. Ninety five per cent of its inputs arelocally produced and by making energy out of their reach, govern-ment is in fact curbing the use of local inputs", they added.
They said that even the slightest raise in the cost of production,at this critical juncture, would, therefore, spell doom and oustPakistani merchandise from the international export market whichwould deprive the exchequer of much-needed valuable foreignexchange to the tune of billions of dollars.
The LCCI office bearers argued that the contention which hasbeen portrayed by gas companies time and again that their pricesare cheaper than several other countries is illogical because theprices quoted by them are not co-related with the cost of livingindex and hence do not depict the true picture.
They urged the Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gillani, not togrant approval to any such proposal aimed at earning bad namefor the government in the larger interests of the economy. - Online
Continued from page 12No #2
He said the intending pilgrims belonging to same districts willbe accommodated in one flight and one building. While, the PIAwill allot terminals in advance to save the time of the intendingpilgrims, he said.
The official said the ministry will also launch an awarenesscampaign to facilitate the intending pilgrims; Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) in this regard has already been inked withRadio Pakistan and Pakistan Television (PTV).
He said 64 programmes have been recorded to guide the intend-ing pilgrims to perform their religious obligations. - APP
Continued from page 12No #3
that the contractors were not ready to work on government rates.He also said that they have spent amount of Rs162 million to raisethe height of Akbar flood bund. Another Rs170 millions was spentin Bahawalpur area.
Chairman Federal Flood Relief Commission showed his con-cerns over possible flood in Shahdra region in Lahore. It wasobserved that Shahdara area of Lahore could be vulnerable evenif there is a flood of 0.1 cusec due to heavy encroachments.Minister directed the relevant authorities to chalk out an evacua-
Continued from page 12No #4
Qaeda that have used Abbottabad as a transit point fromIslamabad into Waziristan." - Online
Continued from page 12No #5
Khurram Jehangir Wattoo, Mir Ahmadan Khan Bugti, SyedInayat Ali Shah, Ch Muhammad Barjees Tahir, Muhammad HanifAbbasi, Begum Shahnaz Sheikh, Abdul Waseem, Syed Haider AliShah, Muhammad Usman Advocate, Sh Aftab Ahmad, NazarMuhammad Gondal and Rana Afzaal Hussain. - APP
Continued from page 12No #6
surplus of Rs80 billion currently and a further Rs142 billion tobe transferred to provinces on June 30.
Continued from page 12No #7
militants while one security personnel embraced martyrdom ina landmine explosion.
Operation commander of Pakistan Army Aftab Ahmed informedthe media that the operation had continued for three days against40 militants who entered into Pakistan's territory.
Pakistan Army was also helped by Civil Aviation during theoperation. Aftab further told miscreants have spread 115 land-mines in the area of 75 meters which were rendered ineffective bythe army. - Online
Continued from page 12No #8
Lloyds' peer Royal Bank of Scotland advanced 4.6 per cent. RBS was also boosted by newspaper reports that Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group is in advanced talks to buy an Australia-based infrastructure advisory unit of RBS and its portfolio of pub-lic-private project-finance assets.
BG Group was the standout performer among integrated oils up4.7 per cent, after the British gas producer doubled its best esti-mate of its oil and gas reserves in Brazil's Santos basin to six bil-lion barrels.
British oil services firm Petrofac, however, fell 2 per cent, shed-ding some of the gains it made in the run up to its latest update.Despite this being in-line, an analyst said he was surprised by theannouncement of the impending retirement of Petrofac's chieffinancial officer.
CAUSE FOR CHEER The Greek vote cleared the last obstacle to the next slice of aid
from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund,but strategists and traders cautioned that the country is merely
Continued from page 5No #9
Britannia Industries jumped between 11.5 per cent and 28.6 per cent in the April-June quarter. Banks also logged a loss for the quarter, on worries higher interest rates and slowing growth may
crimp demand for loans. Leading lenders State Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank shed 13 per cent and 1.9 per cent respec-
tively. -Reuters
Continued from page 5No #10
panel maker won conditional loan guarantees from the US Department of Energy worth $4.5 bil-lion for three of its largest projects.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #11
output jumped 5.7 per cent in May, rising at a much faster pace than in the previous month, ascompanies made steady progress in restoring supply chains hit by the earthquake.
Shares in Calsonic Kansei soared 11 per cent to 483 yen after the auto parts supplier forecast a 5.5per cent rise in sales on Wednesday to 790 billion yen for the financial year ending March 2012, anda 35 per cent increase in net profit to 21 billion yen.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 2.1 per cent to 390 yen after Deutsche Securities raised itsrating to "buy" from "hold", citing likely profit growth in domestic banking.
The brokerage said the bank's average return on equity was 6.4 per cent in the year that ended inMarch, but that it expects an increase to 7.3 per cent in the year ending in March 2013.
Universe Co, which runs supermarkets in northeast Japan, jumped 21 per cent to 1,498 yen afterthe supermarket operator said it would merge through a share swap with Arcs Co, which controlschains in Hokkaido.-Reuters
Continued from page 5No #12
tion plan in case of floods.Secretary irrigation Sindh government informed the minister
about the progress of the work to counter possible flood. He saidthat all 41 schemes pertaining to flood response will be complet-ed till 30th July.
He also briefed the participants about post-flood plans. Ministershowed his concern on no breaching section in the wholeprovince.
Pre-flood preparedness by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, though, wasfound to be satisfactory. Secretary irrigation department told thatprovincial government had completed 98 per cent work in theprovince.
A flood emergency cell had been established in the province,removal of encroachments is in progress and emergency machin-ery is installed.
Secretary irrigation Baluchistan province told that they hadcompleted 80 per cent work and the work in most vulnerable areashad been completed. FFC chairman objected his statement andtold that only 45 per cent work was completed in the province.
Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department briefedthe participants about radars and early warning system. He saidthat all seven radars were in working order to keep an eye onchanging weather conditions. He also said that they were takingimages from satellite and Chinese met office was cooperatingwith them.
Representatives of district government Rawalpindi and disastermanagement office also briefed about their plans especially thesituation of Nala Lai. They said they were all prepared to meet theunseen situation. - NNI
"kicking the can down the road". "We seem to be heading back towards the 6,000 barrier again but I'm still far from confident.
Obviously it's another short-term successful solution to the crisis, but I've got no confidence that anymeasures actually voted in by the Greek parliament will actually be enacted by the Greek people,"Martin Dobson, head of trading at Westhouse Securities, said.
Strategists also warned that the FTSE 100's rally could have been inspired by end-of-quarter win-dow dressing by fund managers to make their portfolios look better, and the fact that the FederalReserve's bond-buying programme has drawn to an end could make further gains from equity mar-kets more difficult.
"Don't get suckered into thinking that the sell-off is over... I think we're on rather dangerousgrounds," David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global, said.
"Near-term, the market is using the votes (from Greece) to take things higher, but we're also see-ing window dressing... We start into the second quarter earnings season in the US next week and ifthings do disappoint, all the major indices could be hit very very hard... Expectations are pretty highstill."
One factor traders said could counter these potentially negative catalysts would be a resurgence ofmerger and acquisition activity.
On the FTSE 250, the London Stock Exchange advanced 11 per cent on speculation it couldbecome a takeover target for Middle East investors Borse Dubai and the Qatar Investment Authority,after its aborted $3.5 billion bid for Canada's TMX Group.-Reuters
Replying to a question, he said, his party would not become party of any conspiracy to deraildemocracy in the country. We would play effective role of opposition, Rizvi added.
When asked about alliance with Pakistan Muslim League (N), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and otheropposition parties, he said, together we can give tough time to government.
The meeting between Quaid MQM Altaf Hussain and President Asif Ali Zardari was not sched-uled, he said, adding that, MQM was trying best to improve its relations with political parties.
About Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad, he said that he was the citizen of Pakistan and will come Pakistan again.He said that all false cases against Ishrat had finished. - Agencies
Continued from page 1No #13
few investors who have made money as volumes declined by 40 per cent in FY11 to 9-year lowand the gains were led by illiquid stocks like Nestle and Unilever.
On the other hand, offshore investors remained active, as according to the figures of NationalClearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), there was a net foreign buying of $279 millionduring FY11 mainly due to Pakistan equity market trading at a discount of nearly 40 per cent com-pared with regional markets.
The market capitalization increased to Rs 3.28 trillion from Rs 2.73 trillion, registering a surge of20.4 per cent.
According to Research Analyst of Topline Securities, without Nestle, the Index gained 21 per cent.For a common investor, market has increased by 21 per cent and not 28.5 per cent, he added. Andthat is also endorsed by 21 per cent gain posted by free float based KSE 30 Index.
This should be classified as normal return which is in line with last 20-year average annual returnof 20 per cent from Pakistan equities.
However in light of the fact that average 1-year T-Bill generated 13.8 per cent in FY11, the returnof 21 per cent from stocks is not very impressive considering the market and company risk alongwith issues related to tax filing, he said.
KSE has witnessed 2 Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) worth Rs 1.1 billion in the fiscal year 2010-11 as compared to 8 equity offerings worth Rs4.33 billion during same period last year.
That's why; the cumulative value of 2 IPOs offered in FY11 was 74.6 per cent lower than identi-cal period last year.
International steels was the only IPO which oversubscribed by receiving a subscription amount ofRs 402 million against offered amount of Rs 387 million.
This stock is nearly 1 times oversubscribed. Pakgen Power was the worst IPO in terms of under-subscribed as company only manages to attract Rs 267 million against offered amount of Rs 707million.
Continued from page 1No #14
The rate of return on Pensioner's Benefit Account and Behbood Savings Certificates - the schemesexclusively meant for pensioners, widows and senior citizens - shall continue to be 15.36 per cent. - APP
Continued from page 1No #15
Pakistan's forex reserves have grown steadily thanks to higher export proceeds, as well as recordinflow of remittances, hitting an all-time high of $17.95 billion during the week that ended on March26. Reserves have since eased slightly on debt repayments. Remittances sent by overseas Pakistaniscrossed $10 billion for the first time, hitting $10.1 billion in the first 11 months of the 2010/11 fiscalyear, an increase of 25.20 percent compared with the same period last year, according to SBP data.
Foreign exchange reserves were boosted in January by more than $633 million when the UnitedStates provided funds for military and logistical support for Pakistan's campaign against a Talibaninsurgency. In May 2010, Pakistan received $1.13 billion in the fifth tranche of an $11 billionInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme. Pakistan and the IMF ended talks lastmonth in Dubai to discuss budget targets for 2011/12 fiscal year.
Continued from page 1No #16
Natural Resources the ECC approved Furnace Oil Blending in Pakistan to acquire blending tech-nology for socio-economic benefits, additional employment opportunities and increased invest-ment in oil sector. It may be added here that this is for the first-time the blending of furnace oiltechnology will be introduced in country. Pakistan has already sufficient infrastructure to blendhigh viscous.
The ECC directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to ensure proper monitoringsystem at the time of blending and SOPs be drawn. The monitoring system would function underthe supervision of OGRA and Hydro Carbon Development Institute of Pakistan and the IPPs wouldbe its consumers. After much deliberations and discussions on the Uniform Natural Gas LoadManagement Policy proposed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to the ECC, itwas decided that gas supply to two IPPs would continue for the next five months and the other twoIPPs would be asked to resort to other fuels on which the price differential would be given to them.
The approved summary on natural gas load management policy has proposed curtailment of CNGsupply to CNG stations for three and two days for the Provinces of Punjab and Sindh respectively.
The gas saved by the proposed curtailment would be used for power generation in Sindh and tofacilitate fertilizer, industrial and power sector in Punjab on equitable basis so that consistent sup-ply of power is ensured. Re-lending of Keyal Khawar Hydro Power Project was also been approvedby the ECC. At the request of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the committeedeferred the proposal for the revision in gas sale prices for the next two or three days so that thematter may be discussed at the Cabinet level or with the Prime Minister.
The committee, however, accepted the economic rationale for the revision of gas sale prices and forthe removal of distortion in the prices. Tax exemption for WAPDA Sukuk Company has already beenapproved by the Ministry of Finance which has granted exemption for the payment of income tax.
The ECC also approved modification of tariffs by NEPRA allowing operation of gas based IPPson back up fuel (HSD) with full cost recovery, whatever period gas is not available to them.
The summary for this project was earlier submitted to the Prime Minister who desired that thesame may be discussed at the ECC for decision. KRL has already shown its acceptance to under-take this project by lowest bidding and fast track its completion within the stipulated time. -Agencies
Continued from page 1No #17
approved closure of CNG stations for two and three days a week in Sindh and Punjab respective-ly. In the meeting Rs2 billion was approved for Ramadan package.
It is pertinent to mention here that a day before, federal minister for petroleum and naturalresources Dr Asim Hussain had said that government was taking solid steps to solve gas crisis,adding that gas load management plan was being chalked out.
Dr Asim further said there was proposal to approve the increase in gas tariff by 10 to 15 per centfor domestic consumers, 15-20 for commercial and 100 percent for the fertiliser industry.-Agencies
Continued from page 1No #18
According to sources, it was expected that total 6.3 percent reduction will be made in the petrole-um products prices.
Continued from page 1No #19
ATHENS/BERLIN: TheGreek parliament approveddetailed austerity and pri-vatisation bills on Thursdayin a crucial vote to secureemergency funds and avertimminent bankruptcy, butlonger-term dangers stilllurk.
Lawmakers voted 155-136for the implementing lawsafter backing a deeplyunpopular 28 billion five-year euro austerity plan onWednesday, removing thelast obstacle to the next sliceof aid from the EuropeanUnion and the InternationalMonetary Fund.
The euro and world stocksrose to three-week highsafter the vote as investorsexpressed relief that thespectre of a sudden summerdefault had been avoided,despite fierce public opposi-tion to deeper pay andspending cuts.
The European Union's toptwo officials, Herman vanRompuy and Jose ManuelBarroso, hailed the vote asan "act of national responsi-bility" and said conditionswere now in place to dis-burse the urgently needednext tranche of loans toGreece.
Euro zone finance minis-ters will take the decision ata meeting on Sunday. TheIMF is set to follow suit onJuly 5.
That 12 billion euro loanwill prevent Greece default-ing in mid-July or Augustand shift the focus to a sec-ond assistance package like-ly to be about the same size
as last year's 110 billioneuro bailout.
Credit insurance marketsare still pricing in a nearly80 percent chance of Greecedefaulting on its 340 billioneuro debt mountain -- 150percent of annual economicoutput within five years.
Greek bond yields fellonly slightly and there was awidespread sense that reliefmay be very short-lived.
"The Greek situation hasbeen kicked down the roadfor a couple of weeks andthe immediate prospect of adefault is off the agenda fornow," said Michael Hewsonof CMC Markets.
"Getting this vote throughis one thing, but all it isdoing is delaying theinevitable ... Given what isgoing on on the streets ofAthens, you have to ques-tion whether Greece canimplement these measures."
In Berlin, FinanceMinister WolfgangSchaeuble said he hadreached agreement withGerman banks on privatesector participation in a newassistance programme,based on a French plan for avoluntary debt rollover.
German institutes werelikely to contribute 3.2 bil-lion euros through thisscheme -- barely one-tenthof the sum sought from pri-vate bondholders. Frenchbanks and insurers have thebiggest exposure among for-eign holders of Greek debt.Greek banks have littlechoice but to roll over theirown holdings.
Prime Minister GeorgePapandreou's socialist gov-ernment may find it hard toenforce tax increases andstate asset sales against mas-sive public resistance, whilea violent fringe always pres-ent in Greek politics hasburst to the fore.
Vasso Papandreou, a for-mer EuropeanCommissioner and memberof the prime minister'sPASOK party who is notrelated to him, told parlia-ment she would vote for thelaws as a patriotic dutyalthough she feared theeconomy would deteriorateas a result.
"Germany is preparing theground for our official bank-ruptcy as soon as this canhappen without cost to theGerman banks," she said,venting a feeling widelyshared among Greeks, whosay they are suffering tosave European bankers.
Rioters armed with stonesand clubs fought severalhours of running battles withpolice firing huge clouds ofteargas in central Athensuntil the early hours of themorning, leaving guttedshop-fronts, shattered win-dows and a field of debris.
"The problem forPapandreou is not in parlia-ment," said CostasPanagopoulos, head ofALCO pollsters. "It is whatis happening outside parlia-ment: not in SyntagmaSquare, which is just a fewhundred protesters, but withthe whole of Greece's 11million people." -Reuters
Greek lawmakersback reforms,
clears way for aid
ECB flagsJuly rate riseas inflationstays high
BRUSSELS: The EuropeanCentral Bank signalled it wouldraise interest rates again nextweek as data on Thursdayshowed inflation in June sta-bilised well above the bank'starget.
The European Union's statis-tics office said consumer pricesin the 17 countries using theeuro were 2.7 percent higher inJune than a year earlier, thesame as in May. Economistspolled by Reuters had forecasta figure of 2.8 percent.
The ECB aims to keep infla-tion below but close to 2 per-cent and raised its refinancinginterest rate in April by 25 basispoint to 1.25 percent to curbprice growth -- its first hike intwo years.
"It is of paramount impor-tance that the current rise ininflation does not give rise tobroad-based inflationary pres-sure," ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet told theEuropean Parliament's eco-nomic and monetary affairscommittee just before the fig-ures were released.
"The current monetary policyis accommodative and ... as Isaid we are in a state of strongvigilance," he said.
The phrase "strong vigi-lance" has regularly beendeployed to signal a rate hikeat the next meeting, includingbefore April's move. The ECBmeets on interest rates nextThursday.
The euro hit a fresh three-week high against the dollar inresponse. It also remained sup-ported as Greece moved a stepcloser to securing internationalaid after voting in favour ofausterity measures.
"There are signs that eurozone price pressures are start-ing to ease, although much willclearly depend on oil pricedevelopments," said HowardArcher, economist at IHSGlobal Insight. -Reuters
Printed & Published by Amir Abbas Ashary at DRC Printing Press for Data Research Communication (PVT) LTD, 111-C, Jami Commercial Phase VII, DHA Karachi.
Friday, July 1, 201112
LONDON: President Asif Ali Zardari exchanging views with UK Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi.-Online
BEIJING: President Asif AliZardari highlighting the impor-tance of Pak-China relationssaid Pakistan will continue toencourage exchanges betweenits political parties and theCommunist Party of China(CPC) to further enhance andstrengthen these friendly ties.
In a written interview withXinhua, on the occasion of 90thanniversary of the foundationof the CPC on July 1, PresidentZardari said, this year has beendesignated as the "Year ofChina-Pakistan Friendship."
A series of activities arebeing held in the political, eco-nomic, trade, military, cultural,sporting and education fields tocelebrate the 60th anniversaryof the establishment of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations.
President Zardari saidexchanges of delegations ofpolitical parties are also animportant component of thecelebrations of the friendshipyear.
He congratulated CPC on its90th anniversary of the founda-tion of the party and appreciat-ed the role of the CPC in thetransformation of China.
President Zardari who is also
Co-Chairman Pakistan PeoplesParty said, "The relationshipbetween the CPC and PPP isold and strong; the sagaciousleaders of our two countriesdecades ago laid the foundationfor the solid trust that existsbetween Pakistan and China."
He paid tributes to the wis-dom of the "architects" of thePakistan-China friendship andespecially mentioned ShaheedZulfiqar Ali Bhutto andChinese leaders Mao Zedongand Zhou Enlai.
President Zardari said theclose ties between the CPC andPPP played an important role incementing ties between the twocountries. He described Pak-China friendship as model rela-tionship.
He said, "No other relation-ship can match this time-testedpartnership."
President Zardari said the twocountries greatly value theircherished friendship and havecomplete trust in all bilateral,regional and global issues.
The close friendly and coop-erative relations betweenPakistan and China are also afactor of peace and stability forthe region and beyond, he said.
Zardari said, "I have confi-dent that through our jointwork, the torch of the Pakistan-China friendship will be carriedforward from generation togeneration, century to centuryand millennium to millenni-um."
When asked about newgrowth points for bilateral rela-tions, Zardari said the goodwillbetween China and Pakistanmust act as a precursor foradding greater "commercial"and "cultural" content to theeconomic and public diploma-cy between the two countries.
He said consolidating theeconomic content of China-Pakistan relationship is a majorpriority for Pakistan in thefuture.
"We plan to make use of thevast potential for bilateral eco-nomic cooperation," he said.
He pointed out that there areabout 120 Chinese enterprisesalready in Pakistan, andPakistan welcomes Chineseinvestments in domestic megaprojects.
The President said there isstill need to promote people-to-people contacts between the
See # 1 Page 11
Zardari vows tofortify China ties
People-to-people contact stressed
ISLAMABAD: A meeting wasconducted here on Thursday inMinistry of Water and Power toreview pre-flood preparations,which was chaired by NaveedQamar.
Heads of concerned depart-ments said that they were readyto tackle the possible calamity.
Chief engineer floods Punjabirrigation department said thatalmost 85 per cent work wascomplete in the province andrest 15 per cent would be com-
pleted till 15th of July. Major work was in progress
along Indus River. Warningshave already been issued on15th of June to meet the possi-ble catastrophe.
However, minister showedhis displeasure over slowprogress of the province in tak-ing pre-flood measures.
In reply he said that slowpace of the work was due tohigh cost of construction and
See # 4 Page 11
Pre-floodarrangements
widely reviewed
Briefings by provinces
ISLAMABAD: The process todispatch passports of theintending pilgrims to Saudiembassy for stamping Hajj visawould be started from July 15.
An official of Ministry ofReligious Affairs told APP:"banks have been asked to sub-mit passports to the ministry asit has been decided to dispatch7,000 passports daily to Saudiembassy for stamping visa."
He said the whole processwill be completed within 10 to12 days. The process of submit-ting applications was started onMay 15 and within the ten days;about 76,000 applications had
been received on May 26 byvarious banks. While the num-ber of intending pilgrims hadreached to 86,000 on May 29.
Later on all the 86,000 Hajjapplicants have been declaredas eligible for performing theHajj 2011.
He said the process to hirebuildings for intending pilgrimswould be completed soon.Pakistan International Airlines(PIA) is set to issue Hajj flightschedule on July 1 and the rele-vant information would be dis-patched to the successful pil-grims by August 15.
See # 3 Page 11
Visa process for Hajjto begin from 15th
Hajj applicants reach 86000
LAHORE: Pakistan Industrialand Traders Associations Front(PIAF) has urged the govern-ment to withdraw plans aimedat a massive increase in gasprices as it would be disastrousfor major export earning sec-tors including textiles.
According to a handoutissued here on Thursday, thePIAF chairman Sohail Lashari,senior vice chairman NadirKamal Osman, vice chairmanJunaid Iqbal Sheikh and chair-man Lahore TownshipIndustries Association (LTIA)Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry saidthat government has no justifi-cation for making tariff hikerecommendation in the wake ofirritating energy crisis, bad lawand order situation, high elec-tricity rates and markup in dou-ble digits.
The industrial productionsare already at its lowest ebb andany further increase in gas orelectricity prices is bound tocause irreparable loss to theover all economy therefore itwould be wiser to keep thedecision pending, they added.
They said that if the inputcost for doing business inPakistan would remain higherthan that of neighboring coun-tries, it would convince the for-eign investors not to put theirmoney in any new venture inPakistan.
They said that acute powershortage has already pushed theindustrial sector to the wall anda large number of industrialworkers had lost their jobs, thegovernment should avoid anyanti-industries step.
See # 2 Page 11
Govt urged notto up gas prices
Business fraternity in one voice
ISLAMABAD: SecretaryMinistry of Petroleum andNatural Resources MuhammadEjaz Chaudhry said onThursday domestic consumerswould not be able to affordPak-Iran project's gas.
Briefing National AssemblyStanding Committee onPetroleum and NaturalResources that met here withTalib Hassan Nakai in the chair,the secretary said the gas fromPakistan-Iran gas pipelines costaround Rs8.50 per unit whichcould be used for power gener-ations, industries and fertiliz-ers.
He said that government hadtwo options to meet the coun-try's growing energy needs-either to import or explore newhydrocarbon resources toensure availability of electricityand gas in the country.
He said that Pak-Iran projectwould start supply from 2014and adding if it got late then gas
crisis would multiply.About the LNG project the
secretary said progress wasbeing made and 17 internation-al bidders had shown interest insupply of energy and gas toPakistan.
The committee was informedthat presently the country wasfacing gas shortfall of 2.5 bil-lion cubic feet against demandof 6 billion cubic feet.
He said if the situation con-tinues to persist the gas loadshedding could be extendedfrom two days.
The secretary said the SSGCand SNGPL had recovered Rs4billion during the last 48 daysand disconnected around 370illegal connections in twomonths, mainly in Punjab.
The secretary informed that90 per cent of gas developmentprogrammes were being com-pleted under the PM schemeswhile 10 per cent belonged tothe SSGC and SNGPL.
The committee took seriousview about the malpractices ofprovision of 500 CNG connec-tions despite ban imposed in2007.
The MD OGDCL AsifSindhu said Rs600 million hadbeen allocated for the develop-ment schemes in next financialyear and Rs310 million wasspent on development schemesin Baluchistan last year.
The committee also showedconcern over constant increasein prices of petroleum products.
The committee recommendedthat report should be presentedabout illegal grant of CNG con-nections.
The body also recommendedthat ban on MNA's gas devel-opment schemes should be lift-ed in order to provide the basicfacility to their respective areas.
The committee was attendedby Nawab Ali Wassan, MianAbdul Haq alias Mian Mitha,
See # 6 Page 11
Pak-Iran project's gascostly for households
ISLAMABAD: Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza Gilani hassaid that the government hastaken a number of key stepssuch as the restoration of origi-nal character of Constitutionthrough the 18th and 19thAmendments, 7th NationalFinance Commission Award,political ownership to war onterror, Aagaz-e-Haqooq-e-Baluchistan initiative, thestrengthening of Parliamentand other state institutions, pro-women and pro-minorities'reforms and Gilgit-BaltistanEmpowerment & Self-Governance Order 2009.
He observed that these initia-
tives of democratic governmenthave made the federationstrong.
The Prime Minister was talk-ing to MNA, Begum NasimAkhtar Chaudhry who calledon him at PM House here onThursday.
The Prime Minister said thatthe federal government wouldcontinue providing assistanceto all the provincial govern-ments in the implementation ofdevolution of functions as perthe 18th Amendment.
He said that all the existingdevelopment projects would becompleted and a comprehen-sive strategy has been prepared
to target the projects which arenear completion first.
He said that funds have beenallocated in a judicious mannerkeeping in view the require-ment of the area and irrespec-tive of the party affiliationamong the public representa-tives.
He urged the public represen-tatives to enhance the level ofmonitoring over the ongoingprojects for their better man-agement.
Begum Nasim AkhtarChaudhry informed the PrimeMinister about the status of theongoing development projectsin her area. - NNI
Govt's steps madeFed firm, says PM
WASHINGTON: Militantorganisations are "real cancer"within Pakistan and the nationhas a challenge to eradicate ter-ror forces within its borders, atop White House official said.
"My view is that there is areal cancer within Pakistan,from the standpoint of militantorganisations," John Brennan,assistant to the US President forHomeland Security andCounterterrorism, said in hisspeech at the Paul Nitze Schoolof Advanced InternationalStudies.
"Whether you're talkingabout al Qaeda, whether you'retalking about the PakistaniTaliban or TTP, Haqqani group,Lashkar-e-Taiba, others, thereis I think a general recognitionin the United States as well asthroughout the world, thatPakistan has a real challengeahead of it to uproot and eradi-cate the forces of militancywithin Pakistan," he said inresponse to a question.
The official said, "ThePakistani government and thePakistani people have to be
very honest with the challengethat they face domestically, thatit is an area that has served as atraining ground, as a launchingpad to carry out attacks."
He said people of Pakistanare also victims of terror acts,which they witness on a "dailybasis".
"Not just against other coun-tries, against the United States -- against Pakistanis. You know,men, women and children on adaily basis in Pakistan arebeing horrifically murdered bythese, you know, attacks, sui-cide attacks. They're anythingbut suicide; they're homicideattacks. They kill by thescores."
Brennan hoped Pakistan gov-ernment and other concernedinstitutions are going tobecome even more aggressivein taking the battle to the forcesof militancy and terrorism.
"So this is something that Idon't know how many people inal Qaeda, in the senior leader-ship ranks, knew exactly whereOsama was."
"But he is someone who
knew that if he, you know, let itbe known of his whereabouts,you know, his days were goingto be numbered. I think he was-- he became, then, confidentand relaxed in Abbottabad."
"I think he was totally takenby surprise when our braveSEALs confronted him thatnight," Brennan said.
"So again, I have not seenanything (evidence of top Pakleadership knowing about it).This is one of the big questionsthat we had right away and weraised it at the senior-most levelsof the Pakistani government.They tried to figure out the samething: you know, what gives.But, you know, Pakistan is alarge country," the official said.
He said, "It's one of their les-sons learned right now in termsof what they need to do to makesure that they're aware of what'shappening in places likeAbbottabad. Doesn't mean thatall these miscreants are hidingin a cave somewhere inWaziristan. There have beenindividuals in the past from al
See # 5 Page 11
US calls terror outfitsreal cancer in Pakistan
Forces kill40 militantsin operation
MOHMAND AGENCY: Thesecurity forces have killed fortymilitants while several othersustained serious injuries dur-ing the three-day operationlaunched here in MohmandAgency.
According to media reportson Thursday, the securityforces launched operationagainst the militants inShongrai area of MohmandAgency and killed forty
See # 8 Page 11
Nepra holdsraise in
power tariffISLAMABAD: NationalPower Regulatory Authority(NEPRA) has reserved thedecision on the applicationfrom eight distribution compa-nies to increase 61 paisa perunit on account of fuel adjust-ment charges.
Except KESC, eight powerdistribution companies haverequested Nepra to allow forincrease in tariff of electricityby Rs0.61 per unit undermonthly fuel adjustmentcharges, which would beimplemented from the monthof May.
The hearing was held onthese applications on Thursdayafter which the decision waskept reserved by the Nepraauthorities. - Online
IDB askedto help hold
budgetdeficitStaff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The govern-ment has decided to pursueother donors to contain thebudget deficit in view of delayin release of $30 million duesunder the Coalition SupportFund coupled with suspensionof IMF standby arrangementsince last calendar year.
According to reports, federalgovernment has requestedIslamic Development Bank forthe immediate release of $160million to bridge the ever-widening fiscal deficit.
Earlier, spokesman of thefinance ministry Rana AssadAmin also confirmed that gov-ernment has approached theIDB to make up for the short-fall in foreign inflows resultingfrom the delay in CSF dues.Earlier IDB had offered a cred-it line of $400 million on com-mercial terms but the govern-ment refused.
However, top officials infinance ministry were not san-guine for release of IDB fundsin outgoing fiscal year whichpassed yesterday. Expertsbelieve owing to delay of $300million CSF funds the budgetdeficit would more aggravateto exceed far ahead of set tar-gets of 5.4 per cent.
According to officials offinance ministry the fundsdemanded from IDB are half ofthe CSF amount overdue. Theinflows from IDB would beused for financing unlike theCSF dues which were receiptsfor the expenses incurred duringthe latest previous fiscal year.
The total expendituresamounted to Rs2274 billionduring the out going fiscal yearwhereas the federal revenuereceipts amounted to Rs1238billion while the provinces had
See # 7 Page 11
Sayeedacalls on
PresidentISLAMABAD: ChairpersonConservative Party and UKcabinet minister BaronessSayeeda Warsi called onPresident Asif Ali Zardari onThursday in London.
She was accompanied byBritish High Commissioner toPakistan Sir Adam Thomsonand Steven Wignall.
Chairman Pakistan People'sParty Bilawal Bhutto Zardariwas also present during themeeting.
Pak-UK bilateral relations,mutual cooperation, waragainst terror, the role of Pak-origin citizens in UK was dis-cussed during the meeting.
Others who attended themeeting included secretarySalman Faruqui, Pakistan'sHigh Commissioner to UKWajid Sahamsul Hassan,spokesperson FarhatullahBabar and other senior offi-cials. - NNI
Pak protestsas Afghanarmy fires
mortarsISLAMABAD: AfghanNational Army (ANA) fired 3mortar rounds which fell 900meters inside Pakistan territoryat Angoor Adda in sector SouthWaziristan, according tosources.
No loss has been reportedhowever Pakistan has lodgedprotest for this unprovoked fir-ing.
On 29th June ANA also firedmortar rounds which fell atAngoor Adda. The ANA troopsfired mortar shells in theAngoor Adda area without anyprovocation.
ANA troops also targeted amarket in Angoor Adda,destroying shops and causingcivilian casualties. The attackwas retaliated by Pakistanitroops immediately.
The border clash is ominousas it came at a time whenPakistan-US relations are attheir lowest ebb.
Earlier this month Pakistanand Afghanistan had agreed toupgrade a joint commission toexpedite the reconciliationprocess in an effort to restorestability to the region. - Online
