profit.com.pk Thursday, 10 November, 2011Pages: 8

EU trade concession packagestumbles again at WTO

Economics of politicalrallies Page 3Civil servants resist cut in perks Page 8

g bangladesh follows india, unexpectedly opposes the facility g dhaka’s objection shocking for islamabad

pakistan tomiss wheatsowing target

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The country might miss thewheat sowing target this year,as farmers are reluctant to

cultivate wheat owing to the highestever input cost and low wheat supportprice. Agri Forum Pakistan has askedthe government to immediatelyincrease the support price to Rs1,250per maund and ensure ureaavailability at control price. AgriForum Pakistan Chairman,Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal pointedout that the government had fixed thewheat sowing target of 22 million acre,but only 14 per cent of the targetedarea (three million acre) could bringunder wheat crop. Farmers were leastinterested in sowing wheat, asproduction cost had reached toRs1,025 per maund against thesupport price of Rs950 per maund. Onaverage, farmers had to bear the lossof Rs2,100 per acre due to low supportprice, he maintained.In an open letterto the Prime Minister, Syed YousafRaza Gillani, he stated that there wasa dire need to ensure easy availabilityfertilisers. he asked the governmentto import 1.5 million tonnes of ureaand bind fertiliser manufacturers tomention retail price on fertiliser bagsin order to avoid exploitation andprofiteering. Mughal said that farmerswere getting urea fertiliser at Rs1,800per bag, as profiteers were chargingunjustified profit of Rs500 per bag.The subsidy offered to farmers wasdirectly going in to the pockets offederal minister and officials of theNational Fertilisers. he further addedthat if the government could not takeany of these steps, it shouldimmediately fix the imported ureaprice equivalent to locally producedcommodity. he estimated that thecounty might face a wheat productionshortfall of 2-3 million tonnes, due tothe least interest of farmers. hefurther stated that the governmenthad fixed the wheat support price ofRs950 per maund some three yearsago, but the input costs had beenincreased by 165 to 225 per cent in theprices of fertilisers, seeds, electricityand pesticides.

KARACHI

WAQAR HAMZA

The grant of $500m an-nounced by Russia for Pak-istan Steel Mills (PSM) wouldnot be of the same monetary

value once they have evaluated the exactcost required for rehabilitation. This willtake place after a technical survey of themills in the coming four weeks. FederalSecretary, Ministry of Production, JavaidAwan while talking to Profit said a teamcomprising 20 experts from Russia is tovisit the mills in the coming four weeksto carry out a technical survey, and afterthat they would gauge the exact cost re-quired for the rehabilitation and expan-

sion of the mills. This in turn could beless than the announced grant. however,PSM workers termed it another gimmickof the current government.

pointleSS grantAwan said this grant is pointless untilboth governments sign an agreement.Already, numerous announcements re-garding rehabilitation and expansion ofthe mills have yet to materialise. Talk-ing to Profit, a representative of thePSM Joint Action Committee, MirzaMaqsood, said the prime minister madea similar announcement during his visitto Russia last year. Yet no progress has

been made so far. The current govern-ment has dissolved three boards of themills instead. The federal secretary fur-ther said this is a three-year projectaimed at increasing production capacityof the mills from 1.1m tonnes to 1.5mtonnes per year. A team of 20 expertsfrom Russia will visit the mills for atechnical survey, he added. After theevaluation an agreement would besigned between both countries.

Still a non-entity“This grant will be in the form of a loan,and we may need more than the an-nounced amount once technical evalu-

ation is completed. But at the momentwe cannot say anything, so we have towait till the signing of the agreement inthis regard,” Javaid said.

On the other hand, workers at themills demand a proper working system,adding that the enterprise is being runon an adhoc basis for more than a year.This despite the fact that the govern-ment has restructured new laws for theboard of directors, but it is still a non-entity without any powers.

Mirza Maqssod further said thisnewly announced grant from Russia isgoing to add on the liabilities PSM al-ready has, and it is possible that Russiamight ask for management control ofthe mills in lieu of this grant.

political interFerence

he said the PSM strongly needs a haltto political interference, full empower-ment of the BoD, and recovery of themoney the mills lost due to corruption.“The mills are going through massivecrisis, and the administration ironi-cally demanded the 27 per cent in-crease in the salaries of the lower staff;so one can understand how seriousthey are in their efforts to make themills come out of the crisis,’ he added.It is pertinent to mention that, accord-ing to the federal secretary of the min-istry of production, Russiangovernment has recently announced$500m grant for the expansion and re-habilitation of PSM.

Russian grant for Pakistan Steel Mills to be evaluatedg 20 russian experts to visit mills for technical survey g mill workers demand proper system

KARACHI

GHULAM ABBAS

The much awaited trade concessions packageoffered by european Union (eU) has stumbledagain at World Trade Organisation (WTO), withBangladesh now opposing the facility for Pakistan.

Shocked by dhakaPakistan, which was expecting the approval of the “two yearsunilateral tariff concession” package proposed for Pakistanon almost 75 items to be exported to eU, after the Indianannouncement to withdraw its objection over the facility,was shocked when Dhaka opposed the bill in the session ofcouncil for trade in goods of WTO held on November 7. Inthe recently held WTO meeting in Geneva, Bangladesh hasopposed the move through a short statement that implied ithad some concerns over the trade facility. Bangladesh, whichalso exports textile items to european countries, stood tooppose the unilateral concession proposed by eU toPakistani textile makers as an aid measure following thedevastative flood in the South Asian country last year. It isworth mentioning here that eU had announced concessionsfor Pakistan on 75 tariff lines on September 16, 2010, whichwere subject to the WTO wavier. But the concession packagefaced repeated objections raised by India in the internationalorganisation. “It was much unexpected” said Mohsin Aziz,Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association while talkingto Profit on Wednesday, adding that objections raised byDhaka were not justified as the country’s exports would notbe affected by the limited package offered to Islamabad onhumanitarian grounds.

UnrealiStic apprehenSionBangladesh, which has exported textile items worth $10billion during the previous financial year – as compared toover $1 billion worth of textile related exports fromPakistan – would not be affected by the expected increaseof $2 billion to $3 billion share of Pakistan in the $80billion eU market. “As Bangladesh has already beengiven the Least Developed Country (LDC) status onhumanitarian basis under which its exports areexpected to be over $15 billion during currentfinancial year, Dhaka should not object the limited tradepackage also offered on humanitarian ground,” Mohsinsaid. Negating the perception that Bangladesh competeswith Pakistan for textiles sales to the european market, theAPTMA Chairman said under the special facility, available

under the umbrella of LDC and other positiveaspects like lower cost of doing business inDhaka, Bangladesh had no competition withPakistan in the european textile markets.

one StUmbling blockaFter anotherhe said as the next sessionof WTO was scheduled forNovember 30, the governmentshould take the issue seriously andhold talks with the Bangladeshigovernment before the meeting in orderto approve the much delayed facility.eU proposed trade preferences for Pakistanitextile makers were opposed at the time whenboth the Union and Pakistan expected its

approval from WTO.Following that,

the

Indianobjection wasconsidered the onlystumbling block in the way ofthe trade facility. But unexpectedly aBangladeshi complaint effectively haltedprogress yet again, seemingly out of the blue.however, sources in the ministry of commerce saidIslamabad would discuss the issue with Bangladeshiofficials and it was expected that the matter wouldbe resolved before the next session.

The rising cost of livingand corruption 2

Fact checkIt is pertinent to note that the tradeconcessions being offered to Pakistan by theEU are only temporary, intended for theduration of two to three years mostly as an

abridging mechanism. This is mainlydue to the fact that a new

GSP plus scheme isexpected tocome into

effect in 2014,where Pakistan

would be in agood position to

benefit from duty freetreatment under GSP plus

for a much greater number of products. Mostimportantly while designing the package EUadopted a win-win approach which is to saythat they tried to ensure that there were little

if any consequent commercialdisadvantages for EU

memberstates or

other tradingpartners of the EU

such as India orBangladesh.

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Thursday, 10 November, 2011

02

DuRDAnA nAjAm

SINCe it is not unusual so I would notlabel it as news, but the matter of fact isthat almost 50 per cent of Pakistanis didnot buy sacrificial animals this eid. Not

because they had lost interest in religion but thehefty cost that has come to accompany theobligation has gone too far out of the reach of anordinary person. Many did not perform the ritualwhile most opted for the sharing arrangementswherein seven people share a cow or fourteenshare a camel. The cost of meat selling at Rs600per kg has too become a reference point for thesellers in pricing animals. Similarly high cost oftransportation owing to expensive petroleumproducts and a troubling supply and demandequation have factored in to become reasons forhigh priced animals in the market. however,keeping in view the religious obligation attached tothis sacred ritual, provincial governments wouldhave had devised a strategy to make sacrificialanimals available, accessible and affordable to acommon folk. The prices of goats and sheep hadincreased with price of `A’ category goat or sheepsurging from Rs20,000 to Rs35,000. The price of`B’ category had increased from Rs15,000 toRs25,000 and `C’ category to Rs12,000 and above.A cow had a price tag of Rs80,000, and a categorycow comes somewhere around Rs150,000. Sincewe are not taking into account the “status maniasyndrome” therefore, talking about 500,000 cowor goat named “Bodyguard” or “Shela” makes littlesense. We, in Pakistan, make commodities intrigueby inflating their prices hyperbolically throughthings unimaginable for country having nucleararsenal in its repertoire. Look what have we donewith the prices of sugar, urea wheat and Godknows what not? Businesses cannot run efficientlywhen the variable costs keep shifting or for thatmatter when prices of input become a constantnag. This leaves little room for the company tothink about innovation or development, since thattoo requires stability or for that matter somecooling off period.

price hike

A country without light, withoutairplanes, without railroad, withoutgas and without clean cricketers, is aperfect case of failure andclasslessness. Drones and corruption hascome to rule Pakistan today – interestingly,both killing the poor and benefiting the rich. It isinteresting to note that corruption is costingPakistan $2 billion annually. The perception costis another story that has almost put Pakistan onthe back burner as far as doing business inPakistan is concerned. The very immediate effect of corruption comes inthe form of price hike. We have seen thishappening during the wheat crises in 2008, sugarcrisis 2009 and now urea crisis brewing on thehorizon in 2011. One is surprised to learn that in32 years the price of urea grew Rs750 per bag,but it just took 24 months to add another Rs1060to it to bring the cost of single urea bag toRs1800. There is a common agreement to the fact

thatPakistan has oneof the finest urea

manufacturing infrastructures in the world withan equally remarkable surplus productioncapacity – and yet there is shortage! Although themonster identified is the ministry of energy andMineral resources that has imposed gascurtailment plan on the industry even afterpromising uninterrupted gas supply round theyear; nonetheless the blackmailers in the garb ofhoarders could not be ruled out as well. Pricedifferential between provinces is another factorthat has made urea an intriguing commodity.

corrUption the price Shooter Corruption eats not only into the fibres of morallives but takes the best out of the social lives as well.Being contagious, it transmits itself to othersflawlessly, especially to the one, with a weak moralimmunity. Though, one has to have a real hard shellto assimilate the indignity packaged in corruption,the easy instalment of perks and privileges stringedto corruption, makes the journey interesting andendurable. Throughout our history we have hadenough of these hard shelled people and entities,rendering us a faceless nation in the global arena.Watching the analysis over the incapacitation of thecricketer trio comprising Salman Butt, MuhammedAsif and Amir, one narration that kept leaping intoevery analysis was the corrupt leadership ofPakistan that has turned the country into a pit ofdarkness, with the result that flouting rulesbecomes a piece of cake for an ordinary folk. Like astab through the heart, one could not do much, noteven curse the anchor or the participant, the realityis so sharp and unmistakable. More than anything,corruption is always a top bottom phenomenon,giving enough reasons to the poor living on themargin, to buy corruption on the pretext ofdeprivation powerlessness and economic seclusion.Corruption brings economic seclusion. It widensthe gap between people, putting them

into the

category ofhaves and haves

not. It transforms thepopulation equation by making

top 20 or bottom 20 a staggeringdivisional stratagem.

rich coUntry oF poor people Imran Khan began his speech on that eventfulday of, 30th October 2011, with a very importantnote; he reminded all of us that it is thelocomotive of good intention that takes any causeto its desirable conclusion. With this he went onto stir our conscious on a reality saddled with

liabilities; that Pakistan isnot a poor country, supporting hisargument by all those gloriousestimation of the reservoirs – copper, gold, coal,and gas – of Pakistan waiting to be tapped tochange the fate of this country. The argument,though had nothing new about it, but given thebaggage of corruption lugged on each of us,without our choice, the anticipation of not beingpoor and only poorly led, has come like a freshbreeze. At this point one is disposed to think andthink hard that why do we have to face a seriousenergy crisis at the cost of our creativity,productivity and development, when we are not,by divine or by the design of our fate, resourcedeficient. It is a serious concern! The same goeswith the food crisis according to the AsianDevelopment Bank Food Price Index forPakistan has increased 100 per cent in eightyears. In 2001 the index was at 100, it reached216 in 2009. With prices up by 45 percent fromthe previous two years, food inflation has shotup more than 20 per cent in the last six months.Again a serious concern given the agri-basedsociety and infrastructure we have and theresources that we possess.

let the poor Foot the billWhat happens when light goes out… stagnation.This is the right word that comes to our mind notbecause it best describes the situation one facesbut because this is what really happens. All ouractivities stop progressing, stop adding value orjust jet get locked into the cobweb of policyfailures, policy lapses and policy interventions ofsomebody just not bothered by the crisis as itinflicts the poor. As a result the level ofproductivity has hit an all-time low. We talk, lament and getworried aboutelectricity crisis thatPakistan is goingthrough withthe

consequenceof having our

industry almost closed or nearclosure. The results of this marginalblackout has grown so ugly that amajor chunk from the formal economyhas moved into the informal one to

reducethe cost of productionby cutting on fixedcosts and by gettingaway from the minimum wage and legal taxburden. The onus of all this twist falls on thepoor – with minimum wages, no social securityand more blackmailing. It is all aboutmismanagement, skewed priorities andindifference. I am told that WAPDA’s feasibilitieson new viable and practical projects aregathering dust for a long time. “There isabsolutely no dearth of electricity in this county,if there is dearth, it is of political will, and cleanintentions. even WAPDA could produce cheapelectricity using gas, but unfortunately theromanticism with growth and development couldnever take the true flight,” said Dr NoorMohammad, Magistrate WAPDA. “I am at painto find the big fishes enjoying the crisis at thecost of the poor who are burdened not only withunnecessarily high-priced electricity but theliabilities of line losses, actually incurred by thewell-to-do people, are passed on to them aswell.” As a result, the crux of the matter is thatcorruption is bad not because it makes thesystem stink, but because it makes somebodyrich at the expense of others. People loseopportunities, they miss chances and areelbowed out from the big picture of the society. Itis said that the administrative cost of PIA, SteelMill and Pakistan Railways is inexorably highand the punishing factor is the excessemployment given to people not made for thejob. employment, used as an instrument ofobligation, has not only blighted theaforementioned industries but had taken thechance from many, actually deserving the jobs toprove themselves. It’s the worst kind ofapartheid. Missing on religious obligations maynot count much, given the level of corruption we

are living in, but it does show that we have lostthe true taste in life.

The rising costof living and

“Durdana Najam is afreelance financial feature

writer, she can be reached atdurdananajam456@hotmail.

com”

debate

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ELeCTIONeeRING time has arrivedonce again. The season for big rallies,it seems, has started in real earnest. Ifthere is one clarion call that is heardfrom nearly every rostrum, it is the

call for bringing in real economic change this timeand not like the promises that were made by somefrom time to time and for one reason or the otherthey could not have been realised. In more thansixty years of our history of economic develop-

ment, every decade hasannounced and prom-ised to usher in somerevolution or the other.

Revolutions are arare phenomenon in his-tory. In the last two cen-turies, very fewsocio-economic revolu-tions have happenedand not with very pre-dictable results. Thegreater development ineconomic terms has oc-curred through theprocess of evolution. De-

spite history being full of wars in one period or theother, it is the marketplace of innovation, scientificdiscoveries and major inventions that has driventhe economic development of mankind. From thetimes of stone-age when implements could becarved out of hard substances man arrived in theiron age to make use of this remarkable metal. Bygradually understanding the forces of nature, manlearnt to harness the forces to his advantage.

ever since 1947, Pakistan’s economic develop-ment has oscillated between extreme goals. In theelectioneering process there were very few occa-sions when the political leadership gave a cleareconomic manifesto. This is not to say that the po-litical process is totally devoid of sloganeering butthere must be some link between the political ma-

neuvering and real ground realities. It is acceptedthat colonial times were not very conducive fordemocratic and economic thought to develop. Butagain it was a propitious time to have learnt a fewbasic truths about the mechanism of the market-place. Through great development of politico-socio-economic thought in the nineteenth and thetwentieth centuries, we came to understand thecomplex phenomenon of running an economy inturbulent as well as peaceful times.

In Britain, there used to be a massive shift ineconomic policies every time the governmentchanged from the conservatives to labour and viceversa. here, in our country, there was a remark-able change in economic policies after the elec-tions of 1970. The shift to a little left of centeraltered the shape of the economy in many ways.But the policies of the eighties were a mere hotch-potch of make-believe theories of economic fea-tures whose contours were not clearly discernible.A shift to the right of center should have beenmore clearly defined and adhered to. A great effortwas launched in the nineties to remedy the ills andkick-start an ailing economy, but no governmentlasted long enough to bring any substantial differ-ence in real economic terms.

The need of the times is to clearly outline theeconomic policies for the future plan of action.The electioneering process must delineate thecontours of economic policy each political partywishes to pursue if elected to govern. The eightiesand the nineties were good times to advance eco-nomically, when third world economies benefittedfrom the expansions of the international economy.Now, in the second decade of the twenty first cen-tury, we need to catch up in many areas of eco-nomic development. Twenty years ago, there werenot many developing countries that showed signsof adhering to good economic policies. But nowthere are many countries in the world which havemade good strides in economic development. Theavailability of economic statistics of many work-able models makes it easier for us to follow sensi-ble policies to achieve more desirable results. Weneed to have strong faith that in the coming elec-tions. Stakeholders must present and subse-quently follow clear policies and economic goalsinstead of just indulging in sloganeering.

The writer has served as consultant to theUnited Nations and developing economies on the

issues of trade and development and can bereached at amjadriazzz@yahoo.com

IT is hoped that Sui Southern GasCompany’s (SSGC) impressiveperformance last year, adequatelyreflected in shareholder appreciation,will push more proactive measures as

another winter of inadequate gas supply sets in.All eyes will be on the $200 million natural gasefficiency project with the world bank, designedto bring about a phased reduction inunaccounted for gas losses over a five yearperiod by rehabilitating approximately 5,000kms of ‘aging pipelines’.

In the gas sector, like others where supply-demand dynamics are upset, it is extremelyimportant to cut unnecessary line losses inconjunction with acquiring fresh supplysources and routes to limit downside pressureon industry and households. With the summercrippling industry, manufacturing andindividuals alike due to inefficient electricitymanagement, gas shortage over the winter isset to further retard far too many once-productive growth engines. The SSGC hasembarked on the right course with the world

bank program, along with fast track LNGimport through a third-party regime, netting1.4 billion cubic feet gas by ’12. These areprime examples that with necessary politicalwill present, supply bottlenecks can beovercome in time to protect the economy’slifeline in the near to medium term.

Such steps are important not just from theeconomic point of view. They also have adirect bearing on the ruling party’s politicalfortunes. As noted often in this space,electioneering will gain momentum hereon.The gas shortage issue has been gatheringpace for some time now, actually sinceelectricity was still the prime concern, withimminent gas shortage further upsettingproducers and households. Yet the world onthe street is that Islamabad has been usuallyslow in reacting. While it is understood thatthere will be considerable time lags betweenannouncement of adequate measures and on-ground results, those at the helm must be seenproactively posturing against unfair shortagesinstead of lazily reacting to emergencies.

Gas losses

Electioneering mustdelineate thecontours ofeconomic policyeach political partywishes to pursue

Economics of

political rallies

Amjad Riaz

Felicitating fair trade

Can you give me the source of one millioncubic meter of Pakistani granite and mar-ble? Apparently the price is 10 per cent bet-ter than what Pakistan gets from China. Ifsupply proves reliable, joint developmentcan also be undertaken (with financial in-vestment) for value added products like fin-ished tiles etc. This move might providemore than its fair share of dividends. It canalso provide local employment and multi-plying export value (estimate a ten yearhorizon). Also, would you like to buy tea(wholesale) at a cost of one-sixth the retailprice in Pakistan? I would be grateful if apiece regarding the aforementioned querieswere to be published.

ALI AHmED

ISLAMABAd

Pakistan: Failing economy?

The answer to the question that hasbeen proposed by the writer is thatPakistan is not a failed state. Justbecause the current government isnot performing well does not meanthat Pakistan has failed in any way.There is generally a down fall in theeconomy around the world. Greecehas been declared a failed economyand state. We should remember thatthe Argentinian economy crashed afew years back but stabilised itselflater on. Similarly, after the fall ofSoviet Union, people had to stand inqueue for hours for a loaf of bread.At least, the situation in Pakistan isnot that bad.

ALI AsgHAR

LAHORE

E D I T O R I A L

Brighter weeks to follow

The opening three days ofthe ongoing week beingthe eid holidays, this wasone long weekend stretch-ing over five days on the

go. Despite no trading, yet there are afew good things to report. After theall-pervading gloom of the last week ofOctober, the KSe-100 index added396 points – almost cancelling out theprevious week’s loss of 463, to getwithin touching distance of the land-mark 12,000.

The overall gain being a hand-some 3.4 per cent notwithstanding,the areas of concern must havebeen low volumes: the averagebeing slightly above 70 million –around 20 million less than the av-erage this last year.

The upward push this last weeklargely came through buying in the oiland fertiliser sectors. Now this rally isgoing to sustain, and not just remainlimited to these two sectors but in-clude the banking sector too.

The weekend’s news that the gov-ernment had decided to swap the mas-sive energy sector circular debt andcommodity loans, to be precise Rs313billion and Rs78 billion respectively,with the five-year Pakistan Invest-ment Bonds and year-long treasurybills, is likely to provide a massivecheer to the oil marketing companiesand the banking sector.

As an aside, one must mention,

the immense pre-debt swap buying inthe oil sector. Apparently some in-vestors had advance insider informa-tion of the impending move and afterthe late October bear-run thatprompted them to buy the oil sectorshares on the cheap.

Be that as it may, one really cluedin market analyst Mr Ali Malik, CeOof the First National equities, be-lieves that things are definitely goingto be a whole lot brighter in theweeks to follow. “In recent times, themarket has never really been in afreefall. But the resolution of thecrippling circular debt will have aconsolidated effect in providingstimulus to the market, which meansenhanced values and better volumeson a steady basis”, said he.

With foreign traders’ interest inour stock market taking a plunge dur-ing the last year despite its relativeprofitability, for the bourses the reso-

lution of the saidissue that has doggedthis government forthe best part of thelast four years mayindeed be what thedoctor ordered. Asalluded to earlier,this gives the oilmarketing companies the strapped-up cash and at the same time im-proves the liquidity position of thebanks. With this resolved, both thesesectors can only head one way: up.

With fertiliser already slated forphenomenal growth, with prices ofscrips constantly maintaining a steadyupward curve, the overall impact islikely to be phenomenal.

For the Average Joe Investor,one little tip, but please do yourown research and take independentadvice before your committing yourcash to it. Bank Alfalah, under a

new managementand with improvedperformance, islikely to offer a de-cent return by Janu-ary 2012. Currentlybeing traded atRs11.47, value-wisethis is indeed a

cheap option – available at slightlymore than its base price.

At close on previous Friday, thelast trading session at the KSe, withupwards of 3.5 million shares tradedit was easily the best by a distanceamongst the banks in terms of tradevolume. In terms of capital gain onthat particular day, it was amongst aclutch of top four banks.

Take your pick, personally thoughmy interest is whetted.

The writer is Sports and MagazinesEditor, Pakistan Today

Agha Akbar

For comments, queries and contributions, write to:

email: profit@pakistantoday.com.pk ph: 042-36298305-10 Fax: 042-36298302 website: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

babUr SaghirCreative Head

hammad raZaLayout Designer

Shahab JaFryBusiness Editor

ali riZviNews Editor

mUneeb eJaZLayout Designer

T h u r s d a y, 1 0 N o v e m b e r, 2 0 1 1

Resolution of thecrippling circular debtwill have a consolidatedeffect in providingstimulus to the market

kUnwar khUldUne ShahidSub-Editor

maheen SyedSub-Editor

average Joe inveStor

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/10/2011 1:03 AM Page 3

Monday,07 November,2011

Pakistan has neveropposed Bangladesh andinstead let it grow in theEU market

aptma chairman, mohsin aziz04news

LAHORE

Staff Report

ALL Pakistan TextileMills Association(APTMA) Chair-man Mohsin Azizsaid objections

raised by Bangladesh about Pak-istan on GSP plus status in the eUmarket are unfounded. Pakistanwould never be a threat toBangladesh’s apparel industry in

the european Union market, hesaid. It may be noted that in a re-cent meeting held in the euro-pean Commission, Bangladeshhas objected entry of eight itemsof the clothing sector of Pakistanto the eU market.

Chairman APTMA termedthis move as unfair and saidthat Pakistan has never op-posed Bangladesh and insteadlet it grow in the eU market. Asa result, Bangladesh exports to

the eU have reached to $16 bil-lion today in clothing sectorfrom merely $2 billion a fewyears back, he said. Pakistan,on the contrary, has peaked toa mere $1.5 billion in clothingsector in a market of $80 bil-lion in total, he added.

Chairman APTMA saidBangladesh has already devel-oped strong inroads to the eUdue to its Least DevelopedCountry (LDC) status and is

therefore, enjoying afavourable environment andmarket access. he said entry ofclothing sector products ofPakistan to the eU would notyield any significant new in-vestment in the country as thisstatus, if allowed, would be forinitial period of just two yearsand thus, it would only activatethe idle and unutilised capaci-ties until 2014. Therefore,there is no threat to

Bangladesh market, he added.Mohsin said that the

Bangladesh clothing sector has al-ready grown; having a huge shareof $16 billion in the eU market,and it is growing constantly witha comparatively low cost of doingbusiness against Pakistan. In fact,Pakistan qualifies for market ac-cess to the eU on humanitygrounds similar to Bangladeshafter being severely hit by naturalcalamities including flood, earth-quake along with terrorism etc.Therefore, he said that, Pakistanneeds special favour and a broth-erly country like Bangladeshshould not oppose it.

Chairman, APTMA hasurged the federal governmentand the ministry of commerce totake up the issue on ministerialas well as foreign level in thelarger interest of the country’sexports. he said that this issue ismore important than the MFNstatus to India and demands im-mediate attention of the govern-ment policymakers. he alsoexpressed the hope that Pakistangovernment would takeBangladesh government intoconfidence and would ensure abrotherly relationship based oncomplimenting each other ratherthan competing each other.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association(PSMA) has urged the government tospeed up the process of sugar buying

through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan(TCP) in order to start sugarcane crushingseason on time. Working under the ministryof commerce, Trading Cooperation floated atender last week for buying 0.2 million tonsugar. The crushing season of the sugarcanewould be started the moment TCP approvesthe tender, PSMA Chairman Javed Kayani saidin an issued statement. Mr Kayani said that itwould enhance the liquidity of sugar millswhich would enable millers to make promptpayments to sugarcane growers during thenext crushing season. he said that thesugarcane production is expected to be around54 million tonnes and production of sugar isforecasted to be around five million tonnes.he said that it would be a record production ofsugar in the history of the country. During thelast six weeks, sugar prices have fallen fromRs10 to Rs12 per kg which proves that thesugar stocks are more than demand.

KARACHI

PPI

The Union of Small andMedium enterprises(UNISAMe), has invitedthe attention of Prime Min-ister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gi-

lani to economic challenges faced bythe country and take immediatesteps to save the nation from theworsening situation.

President UNISAMe, ZulfikarThaver said it is crucial that the primeminister urgently directs the finance,commerce and ministries to accept the

fact that the country is facing economicchallenges and take immediate steps toovercome this serious situation.

he invited the attention of thePrime Minister to the fact that thesituation demands the need for ex-pert advice on the economic aspectsto revitalise the finance, commerceand industry of the country. hepointed out that the expenses of allthe ministries should be curtailed im-mediately and austerity measuresshould be put in place.

he said the rupee is depreciat-ing, inflation and cost of productionis increasing, energy supply is low,

law and order is poor, corruption ishigh, flood relief work and rehabili-tation is very poor, unemployment,common man is unable to surviveand businesses are closing downdue to losses.

he urged the government to takemeasures such as rewarding exporterswith higher rate of exchange to boostexports and importers with a lower rateof exchange to reduce the cost of rawmaterial and packing materials.

Government should impose heavyduties on import of luxury goods andon imports of those goods which aremanufactured in the country but yet

imported for the elite.Government should declare

amnesty to expatriates by providing apreferential rate of exchange and taxthem at a reasonable rate to provide anincentive to bring back their wealthback into the country.

every effort must be made to fill theenergy gap and the government shouldimport electricity or settle the circulardebt to overcome power outages.

Floods have caused a tremendousloss to farmers and the governmentshould take steps to ensure fast rehabil-itation to enable them to get back towork, he emphasised.

B’desh should not raise objections on

Pak-EU trade deal: Chairman APTMAg bangladesh objects entry of eight items of pakistan’s clothing sector to the eU marketg chairman aptma hopes for a friendly relationship between bangladesh and pakistan

SME union calls for remedial stepsto save country from economic setback

pSma urgesgovt to speed upsugar buying

Shipping activityat port Qasim

KARACHI

APP

FOUR ships carrying containers atQICT, furnace oil at FOTCO, palmoil at LCT and sun flower at FAP

have arrived at Port Qasim, said a reportissued by Port Qasim Authority. Berthoccupancy was maintained at 55 per centwith a total of five ships namely, M.V.Maersk Kolkatta, M.V.Brindisi, M.T.Quetta, M.T. Bunga Angelica and M.V.Kiran Africa which are currentlyoccupying berths to load/off load goods.Containers of palm oil, furnace oil andsun flower seed were also handled at theport. Cargo handling operations werecarried out smoothly at the Port where acargo volume of 122,378 tonnes,comprising 97,062 tonnes import and25,316 tonnes was handled. M.V. MaerskKolkatta and M.V. MSC Brindisi sailed offto other destinations. M.T AsphltMerchant carrying chemical, M.V Safina-2 carrying rice, M.T olympic serenity withfurnace oil and M.V Nelemaersk carryingcontainers are presently at the outeranchorage of the port.

GREEcE: Greek debt crisis hastaken a toll on unemploymentas this homeless man seeksrefuge on a street. reuters

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/10/2011 1:03 AM Page 4

05

Thursday,10 November,2011

news

CORPORATE CORNERetihad airways operatesits first flight to maldivesLahore: etihad Airways, the national airline of theUnited Arab emirates, marked its inaugural flight tothe Republic of the Maldives by touching down inMalé to a colourful welcome in the capital. eY flight278 was honoured with a traditional water cannonsalute and the 146 passengers were greeted by localBodu beru (big drum) dancers and singers performingon the tarmac. “This is a very exciting day for etihadAirways and we are thrilled to add another new desti-nation, particularly one that is so important to theleisure traveller. We look forward to developingstrong ties between UAe and Maldives and take ourresponsibility to bring more people to this part of theworld very seriously,” etihad Airways’ Chief executiveOfficer, Mr James hogan, said. The airline will oper-ate a daily return service from its home base in AbuDhabi to Malé International Airport. PRESS RELEASE

There has been noproper understanding ofthe problems beingfaced in Italy

Swedish Finance minister anders borg

LAHORE: Mian Amir inaugurates dolce sweets alongwith the cEO, dolce sweets, Mian Aslam. Press reLeAse

ABU dHABI: Mobilink's director Marketing (Jazz), MoiedJaveed presenting the Jazz cup to Misbah-ul-Haq,captain of the Pakistan cricket Team. Press reLeAse

ROmE

REUTERS

ITALIAN borrowing costsreached breaking point onWednesday after PrimeMinister Silvio Berlusconi'spromise to resign failed to

raise optimism about the country'sability to deliver on long-promisedeconomic reforms.

Italian 10-year bond yields shotabove the 7 per cent level that iswidely deemed unsustainable, re-flecting investors' concerns that theymay not get their money back,prompting German Chancellor An-gela Merkel to issue a call to arms.

Merkel said europe's plight wasnow so "unpleasant" that deep struc-tural reforms were needed quickly;warning the rest of the world wouldnot wait. She called for changes ineU treaties after French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy advocated a two-speed europe in which euro zonecountries accelerate and deepen in-tegration while an expanding groupoutside the currency bloc stayedmore loosely connected -- a signalthat some members may have to quitthe euro if the entire structure is notto crumble. Portugal and Irelandwere forced to seek eU-IMF bailoutswhen their borrowing costs reachedsimilar levels and clearing houseLCh. Clearnet sounded anotheralarm by increasing the margin it de-mands on debt from the euro zone'sthird largest economy, effectivelyraising the cost of holding Italianbonds. The european Central Bank,the only effective bulwark againstmarket attacks, wasted no time in-tervening to buy Italian bonds in

large amounts. "The eCB is buyingaggressively," one trader said.

Italy has replaced Greece at thecenter of the euro zone debt crisisand is on the cusp of requiring abailout that europe cannot afford togive. Unlike Greece, an Italian de-fault would threaten the entire europroject. having lost his majority in akey parliamentary vote, Berlusconiconfirmed he would resign after im-plementing urgent economic re-forms demanded by the europeanUnion, and said Italy must then holdan election in which he would notstand. he opposed any form of tran-sitional or unity government --which the opposition and many inthe markets favour -- and said pollswere not likely until February, leav-ing a three-month policy vacuum inwhich markets could create havoc.

"It is a step in the right direc-tion," Swedish Finance Minister An-ders Borg said when asked aboutBerlusconi's plan to resign. "Therehas been no proper understanding ofthe problems being faced in Italy."

even with the exit of a man whocame to symbolize scandal andempty promises, it will not be easyfor Italy to convince markets it cancut its huge debt, liberalize the labormarket, attack tax evasion and boostproductivity. "There is no guarantee(Berlusconi's) successor will be ableto do a better job. Just keep youreyes on the Italian yield for now,"Christian Jimenez, fund managerand president of Diamant Bleu Ges-tion, said. While Italian bonds blewout, worries that the debt crisiscould be infiltrating the core of theeuro zone were reflected in thespread of 10-year French govern-

ment bonds over their Germanequivalent blowing out to a euro erahigh around 140 basis points.

FRUSTRATIONPolicymakers outside the euro

area kept up pressure for more deci-sive action to stop the crisis spread-ing. Christine Lagarde, head of theInternational Monetary Fund, told afinancial forum in Beijing that eu-rope's debt crisis risked plunging theglobal economy into a Japan-style"lost decade. "Our sense is that if wedo not act boldly and if we do not acttogether, the economy around theworld runs the risk of downward spi-ral of uncertainty, financial instabil-ity and potential collapse of globaldemand ... we could run the risk ofwhat some commentators are al-ready calling the lost decade."

Berlusconi has reluctantly con-ceded that the IMF can oversee Ital-ian reform efforts. euro zone financeministers agreed on Monday on aroadmap for leveraging the 17-na-tion currency bloc's 440-billion-euro($600 billion) rescue fund to shieldlarger economies like Italy and Spainfrom a possible Greek default.

But there are doubts about theefficacy of those complex plans, andwith Italy's debt totaling around 1.9trillion euros even a larger bailoutfund could struggle to cope.

Lagarde said she was hopeful thetechnical details on boosting the eu-ropean Financial Stability Fund(eFSF) to around 1 trillion euroswould be ready by December.

Many outside europe are callingon the eCB to take a more active roleas other major central banks do inacting as lender of last resort. Ger-man opposition to that remains im-

placable, seeing it as a threat to thecentral bank's independence.

German central bank chief JensWeidmann, a key member of theeCB, rejected a separate proposal touse national gold and currency re-serves or IMF special drawing rightsto boost the bailout fund, welcomingopposition from Merkel to the same.

But with the eCB just about theonly buyer of Italian bonds, accordingto traders, it will have to act more ag-gressively to contain the latest wave ofcrisis, despite internal opposition toits bond-buying program. It could callon limitless power if it began printingmoney as the Federal Reserve andBank of england have. But for it, andBerlin, that is a step too far.

GREEK STANDOFFWith the markets' fire turned

firmly on Italy, Greece's struggle tofind a new prime minister becamesomething of a sideshow, but onewhich demonstrated the difficulty intaking decisive action anywherewithin the euro zone. Greek politicalleaders scrambled to agree on a newpremier to lead the country backfrom the brink of bankruptcy, after aplan to name a former eCB officialappeared to fall apart.

The aim is to establish a "100-day" government to push a 130 bil-lion euro bailout plan, including a"voluntary" 50 per cent writedownon Greece's debt to private sectorbondholders, through parliament byFebruary. The socialist and conserva-tive parties had wanted former eCBvice-president Lucas Papademos tolead a government of national unitybut he appears to have made de-mands about his level of influencewhich they could not swallow.

US stocks slumped, following a two-day advance in the Standard &Poor’s 500 Index, as a surge in Ital-

ian bond yields to euro-era records bolsteredconcern that europe’s sovereign debt crisis

is worsening. Bank of America Corp. (BAC)and Morgan Stanley tumbled at least 3.1 percent, following losses in european lenders,after LCh Clearnet SA raised the extracharge it levies on clients for trading Italian

government bonds and index-linked securi-ties. General Motors Co. (GM) slumped 8.4per cent after abandoning its target for eu-ropean results. Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBe)sank 12 per cent on plans to cut jobs as itlessens its focus on older products.

The S&P 500 sank 2.5 per cent to1,243.88 as of 10:10 a.m. New York time,after rising 1.8 per cent over the previous twodays. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost272.50 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 11,897.68.The Stoxx europe 600 Index decreased 2 percent, erasing an earlier advance, as the 10-year Italian note yield topped 7 per cent forthe first time in the euro era.

“It’s just like a scary movie as it neverends,” Keith Wirtz, who oversees $16.7 bil-lion as chief investment officer at Fifth ThirdAsset Management in Cincinnati, said in atelephone interview. “The overarching prob-lem is that most of the economies in europecan’t sustain the size of their governments.We’re going to have this headache for a longtime to come. That’s what’s causing angst.”

The so-called deposit factor for Italianbonds due in seven-to-10 years will be raisedto 11.65 per cent, the French unit of LChClearnet said in a document dated yesterday.That compares with a charge of 6.65 per centannounced on Oct. 7.

PROTECT AGAINST LOSSESClearing houses guarantee that in-

vestors’ trades are completed by standing inthe middle of two counterparties, and raisemargin requirements to protect themselvesagainst losses should one side of the trade

fail.Stocks rose yesterday as Prime Minister

Silvio Berlusconi’s offer to resign boosted op-timism Italy would appoint a new leader whocan tame the debt crisis. Greek Prime Min-ister George Papandreou’s talks on formingan interim government dragged into a thirdday as a near-agreement with the biggest op-position party stalled on european demandsfor written commitments.

“The Greek flu is hitting Italy,” JamesMcDonald, chief investment strategist atNorthern Trust Corp. in Chicago, whichmanages $643 billion, said in a telephone in-terview. “The pressures on the political sys-tem have led to Berlusconi’s resignation, andnow the market says -- this is fine and dandy,but who’s going to be the new leadership?Until they know that and the new leader-ship’s willingness to implement reforms,they are going to require higher compensa-tion through higher yields on Italian bonds.The risk is that this feeds on itself.”

BANKS TUMBLEAmerican banks tumbled as a gauge of

european lenders sank 4.2 per cent. TheKBW Bank Index sank 3.5 per cent as all 24stocks retreated. Bank of America lost 3.1 percent to $6.33.Morgan Stanley (MS) retreated6.4 per cent to $16.22.

General Motors slumped 8.4 per cent to$22.93. The automaker, which hasn’t turnedan annual profit in europe in more than adecade, fell after rescinding its target forbreak- even results in the region. europe op-erations lost $292 million before interest and

taxes in the quarter.GM said it no longer expects to break

even on an eBIT basis before restructuringcosts in europe, citing “deteriorating eco-nomic conditions.” Adobe slumped 12 percent to $26.88. The reduction of 750 jobs,mostly in North America and europe, willcost $87 million to $94 million before taxes,the company said. After the costs, net incomewill be 30 cents to 38 cents a share, com-pared with a previous forecast of 41 cents to50 cents.

THWART RECOVERYConcern that europe’s debt crisis may

thwart a global economic recovery sent theMorgan Stanley Cyclical Index down 3.3 percent. The Dow Jones Transportation Averageof 20 stocks slumped 2.7 per cent. FedexCorp. (FDX), operator of the world’s biggestcargo airline, slipped 3.2 per cent to $80.35.Apple Inc. (AAPL), the biggest technologycompany, lost 2.1 per cent to $397.68.

energy and raw material producersdropped as the dollar rose, reducing the ap-peal of commodities. Alcoa Inc. (AA), thelargest U.S. aluminum producer, slid 3.7 percent to $10.39.Chevron Corp. (CVX) fell 3.1per cent to $105.52.

The S&P 500 may halt its biggest gain in20 years, according to two indicators studiedby technical analysts at UBS AG. October’s 11per cent rally, which was the biggest monthlyadvance since 1991, failed to leave the S&P500 above its 200- day average, limiting thepotential for a rally, the Zurich- based ana-lysts wrote in a report yesterday. BLOOMBERG

US stocks slump as Italy bond yields soar

Italian borrowingcosts at breaking point

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/10/2011 1:03 AM Page 5

top 5 perForMers sector wiseSymbol open high low cUrrent change volUme Symbol open high low cUrrent change volUme

Food ProducersAbdullah Shah 8.00 8.00 7.00 8.00 0.00 53Colony Sugar Mills 1.75 1.75 1.70 1.74 -0.01 23,501Engro Foods Ltd. 23.52 23.90 22.50 22.54 -0.98 91,748Habib Sugar Mills 28.10 28.50 27.50 27.88 -0.22 70,820Habib-ADM Ltd.XD 11.58 11.70 11.50 11.50 -0.08 2,995

Household Goods(Colony) Thal 1.70 1.11 1.11 1.11 -0.59 1,000AL-Qadir Textile 11.25 11.25 11.25 11.25 0.00 500Amtex Limited 1.67 1.70 1.45 1.60 -0.07 132,822Annoor Textile 13.00 14.00 14.00 14.00 1.00 1,000Artistic Denim XD 18.50 18.50 18.25 18.49 -0.01 1,049

Personal GoodsAHCL-NOV 31.00 31.00 29.45 29.51 -1.49 376,500AHCL-OCT 30.82 30.82 29.28 29.32 -1.50 516,500ANL-OCT 4.01 4.25 3.90 3.95 -0.06 24,500ATRL-NOV 120.42 121.50 117.90 119.21 -1.21 201,000ATRL-OCT 119.16 120.30 116.50 117.71 -1.45 200,000

Future ContractsAbbott Laboratories 102.49 103.00 101.00 102.10 -0.39 1,283Ferozsons (Lab) Ltd. 80.00 80.00 78.10 80.00 0.00 45GlaxoSmithKline Pak. 68.92 68.26 67.01 68.06 -0.86 1,557Highnoon (Lab) 28.09 28.09 27.65 28.09 0.00 100IBL HealthCare XD 10.92 11.92 10.99 11.92 1.00 25,154

Pharma and Bio TechP.T.C.L.A 10.89 10.98 10.65 10.71 -0.18 470,873Pak Datacom LtdXD 35.03 34.01 34.01 34.01 -1.02 500Telecard Limited 0.95 1.00 0.90 0.90 -0.05 68,502Wateen Telecom Ltd .68 1.70 1.52 1.65 -0.03 152,954WorldCall Telecom 1.13 1.19 1.00 1.06 -0.07 235,458

Fixed Line TelecommunicationP.T.C.L.A 11.47 11.77 11.42 11.64 0.17 4,752,418Pak Datacom Ltd. 31.65 32.66 31.65 32.66 1.01 1,430Telecard Limited 1.09 1.09 1.01 1.03 -0.06 194,249Wateen Telecom Ltd 1.51 1.68 1.47 1.50 -0.01 449,333WorldCall Telecom 1.32 1.35 1.15 1.28 -0.04 649,632

ElectricityGenertech 0.50 0.50 0.36 0.50 0.00 1Hub Power Co.XD 36.38 36.50 36.10 36.10 -0.28 1,022,035Japan Power 0.75 0.77 0.70 0.71 -0.04 38,682K.E.S.C. XR 1.70 1.70 1.56 1.60 -0.10 752,756Kot Addu PowerXD 41.36 41.80 41.25 41.53 0.17 220,355

BanksAllied Bank Ltd 63.16 64.00 62.50 62.69 -0.47 32,694Askari Bank 11.15 11.29 10.75 10.89 -0.26 944,906B.O.Punjab 5.94 6.08 5.79 5.83 -0.11 319,287Bank Al-Falah 11.15 11.35 10.70 10.89 -0.26 1,929,563Bank AL-Habib 29.95 30.20 29.55 29.91 -0.04 175,090

Non Life InsuranceAdamjee Ins XD 49.64 49.50 48.60 49.40 -0.24 6,785Ask.Gen.Insurance 8.50 8.50 8.10 8.47 -0.03 1,651Atlas Insurance 34.49 35.00 33.86 33.99 -0.50 1,110Central Ins Co. 48.67 50.00 48.00 49.79 1.12 3,909Century Insurance 7.16 7.50 7.06 7.50 0.34 1,500

Life InsuranceAmerican Life 14.50 14.50 13.50 14.50 0.00 2East West Life Assur 1.40 2.34 1.40 1.40 0.00 1EFU Life Assur 65.53 68.80 65.53 65.53 0.00 157

Financial ServicesAMZ Ventures A 0.32 0.35 0.22 0.30 -0.02 9,463Arif Habib InvesXD 15.89 15.50 14.89 14.89 -1.00 13,487Arif Habib Ltd. 17.96 18.34 17.20 17.71 -0.25 19,659Dawood Equities 0.88 1.09 0.86 0.86 -0.02 9,495Invest & Fin.Sec. 7.26 7.26 7.25 7.25 -0.01 2,100

Equity Investment Instruments1st.Fid.Leasing Mod 1.70 1.50 1.50 1.50 -0.20 15,000AL-Noor ModarXD 3.98 4.00 3.60 4.00 0.02 25,100Allied RentalModXDXB 19.90 19.90 19.88 19.90 0.00 3,700Atlas Fund of Fund 6.00 6.10 5.90 5.90 -0.10 414,000B.F.ModarabaXD 5.56 5.56 5.00 5.56 0.00 7

MiscellaneousCentury Paper 14.13 14.35 13.90 14.02 -0.11 7,408Pak Paper Prod.XD 32.07 33.00 32.00 32.07 0.00 135Security Paper 35.05 36.20 34.50 35.60 0.55 15,179Johnson & Philips 8.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 -1.00 693Pakistan Cables 32.68 33.88 32.00 32.14 -0.54 1,104P.N.S.C.XD 16.03 16.06 16.00 16.00 -0.03 6,201Pak.Int.Con. SD 69.29 70.99 70.00 70.00 0.71 1,504TRG Pakistan Ltd. 1.70 1.78 1.65 1.75 0.05 70,965Murree BreweryXDXB 71.00 73.20 70.00 70.15 -0.85 7,612Shezan Inter.XD 112.81 112.81 109.00 112.81 0.00 5Pak Tobacco Co. 65.32 65.50 62.08 62.59 -2.73 400Philip Morris Pak. 140.00 140.00 133.00 140.00 0.00 2Shifa Int.Hosp.XD 29.85 29.51 29.10 29.28 -0.57 31,895Hum Network XD 16.49 16.50 16.50 16.50 0.01 1,500P.I.A.C.(A) 2.00 2.24 1.89 2.20 0.20 90,999P.T.C.L.A 10.75 10.95 10.68 10.80 0.05 551,671Telecard Limited 1.00 1.09 1.00 1.06 0.06 8,455Wateen Telecom Ltd 2.01 2.20 2.00 2.12 0.11 977,923WorldCall Telecom 1.16 1.24 1.11 1.14 -0.02 311,371Sui North GasXDXB 17.93 18.29 17.95 18.07 0.14 1,466Sui South GasXDXB 20.40 20.50 20.00 20.33 -0.07 40,702

Symbol open high low cUrrent change volUme

Oil and GasAttock PetroleumXD 403.85 404.69 396.00 396.87 -6.98 61,485Attock Ref.XD 118.78 120.40 116.10 117.57 -1.21 833,559Byco Petroleum 6.89 6.98 6.75 6.77 -0.12 399,510Mari Gas Co.XB 91.01 93.80 89.30 92.03 1.02 91,674National Ref.XD 325.19 334.90 308.94 310.82 -14.37 314,938

ChemicalsAgritech Ltd. 15.00 15.00 14.00 15.00 0.00 1,500Arif Habib CoXDXB SD 30.83 31.05 29.29 29.30 -1.53 2,485,646Biafo IndustriesXD 68.59 71.99 65.17 70.64 2.05 855Clariant Pakistan 140.69 143.49 137.50 139.79 -0.90 4,017Dawood Hercules 38.96 40.80 37.06 37.39 -1.57 244,529

Industrial metals and MiningCrescent Steel 23.90 24.70 23.25 23.59 -0.31 40,885Dost Steels Ltd. 1.45 1.50 1.41 1.45 0.00 8,285Huffaz Seamless Pipe 8.93 9.00 8.60 9.00 0.07 3,035Int. Ind.Ltd. 34.98 35.00 34.00 34.50 -0.48 25,300Inter.Steel Ltd. 11.56 11.52 11.00 11.00 -0.56 63,850

Construction and MaterialsAl-Abbas Cement 2.00 2.00 1.90 1.92 -0.08 26,799Attock CementXD 51.11 51.99 50.81 51.02 -0.09 108,952Berger Paints 11.79 12.00 11.60 11.91 0.12 4,762Bestway Cement 8.11 9.11 8.11 8.11 0.00 100Cherat Cement 7.66 8.19 7.50 8.01 0.35 197,042

General IndustrialsCherat PackagingXD 29.62 30.40 28.14 28.14 -1.48 14,022ECOPACK Ltd 2.49 3.25 2.21 3.08 0.59 614,084Ghani Glass LtdXD 41.17 42.00 39.12 39.60 -1.57 16,802MACPAC Films 7.72 7.95 7.01 7.65 -0.07 993Merit Pack 22.00 22.00 20.95 22.00 0.00 70

Industrial EngineeringAdos Pakistan 6.93 7.90 6.93 6.93 0.00 10AL-Ghazi Tractors 184.30 184.30 184.30 184.30 0.00 90Bolan CastingXD 28.50 28.50 28.25 28.26 -0.24 5,055Ghandhara Ind. 7.00 6.90 6.25 6.70 -0.30 5,004Hinopak Motor 108.00 108.00 102.60 108.00 0.00 2

Automobile and PartsAgriautos Indus.XD 58.00 58.00 58.00 58.00 0.00 2,000Atlas Battery Ltd. 169.52 170.00 168.50 168.94 -0.58 240Atlas Honda Ltd. 117.00 118.00 117.00 117.94 0.94 302Dewan Motors 2.63 2.79 2.43 2.51 -0.12 39,802Exide (PAK) 168.53 169.99 168.53 168.53 0.00 31

BeveragesMurree Brewery Co. 110.49 111.43 109.00 111.18 0.69 1,170Shezan Int’l 150.02 150.00 145.05 145.58 -4.44 203

Mutual Funds

Fund offer repurchase navAlfalah GHP Cash Fund 501.2900 501.2900 501.2900 Askari Islamic Asset Allocation Fund 114.7196 111.8516 111.8516Askari Islamic Income Fund 103.6501 102.6136 102.6136 Askari Sovereign Cash Fund 100.6900 100.6900 100.6900 Atlas Income Fund 519.3500 514.2100 514.2100 Atlas Islamic Income Fund 519.0900 513.9500 513.9500Atlas Money Market Fund 516.9700 516.9700 516.9700 Atlas Stock Market Fund 453.1500 444.2600 444.2600 Crosby Dragon Fund 82.9800 81.3500 81.3500

Fund offer repurchase navHBL Money Market Fund 100.2768 100.2768 100.2768 HBL Multi Asset Fund 87.0103 85.3042 85.3042 HBL Stock Fund 97.6745 95.2922 95.2922 IGI Income Fund 101.8987 100.8898 100.8898IGI Stock Fund 112.3545 109.6141 109.6141 JS Principal Secure Fund I 121.5000 111.5200 117.3900 JS Principal Secure Fund II 104.1200 96.5000 101.5800 KASB Cash Fund 0.0000 0.0000 100.1087Lakson Equity Fund 106.3763 103.2779 103.2779

Markets

Thursday, 10 November, 2011

06top 10 sectors

52% 01%Construction & Materials

Chemicals Food Producers

02%Electricity

02%10%

Fixed Line Telecommunication

01%General Industrials

Financial Services

09%Banks10%Oil & Gas05%Personal Goods07%

International Oil PriceWTICrude Oil

$94.78

BrentCrude Oil

$110.50

STOCK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Index Change Volume Market ValueKSE-100 11957.30 +149.84 47,314,598 3,423,852,841LSE-25 3190.08 +40.59 1,849,389 66,889,284ISE-10 2642.25 +51.49 23,100 1,198,175

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change TurnoverBata (Pak) Ltd. 775.00 813.75 775.00 812.31 37.31 276Siemens Pak 900.00 924.75 860.00 924.75 24.75 150Wyeth Pak Limited 679.40 713.37 690.00 701.73 22.33 127P.S.O. 249.16 261.50 252.00 260.94 11.78 2,357,503National Ref.XD 322.00 334.50 320.61 331.31 9.31 178,048

Major Losers

Nestle PakistanSPOT 3200.00 3200.00 3100.10 3152.15 -47.85 411Attock Petroleum 433.56 440.00 421.00 424.74 -8.82 135,810UniLever Pak Ltd. 5611.34 5749.99 5507.00 5603.60 -7.74 12Service Industries 205.00 209.99 200.00 202.05 -2.95 612Rafhan Product 2607.67 2700.00 2599.99 2604.86 -2.81 106

Volume Leaders

Engro Corp 130.18 136.40 132.25 135.84 5.66 4,657,687Jah.Sidd. Co. 5.83 6.18 5.82 6.08 0.25 4,307,582Fatima Fert.Co. 23.97 24.47 23.62 24.17 0.20 4,166,506Bank Al-Falah 11.02 11.50 11.07 11.47 0.45 3,677,519D.G.K.Cement 21.55 21.94 21.60 21.81 0.26 3,028,266

Bullion MarketPer Tola (PKR) Per 10 Gm (PKR) Per Ounce US$

Gold 24K 56,826.00 48,771.00 1756.00Gold 22K 51,608.00 44,245.00 –Silver (Tezabi) 1133.00 973.00 35.05Silver (Thobi) 1025.00 880.00 –

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 86.0200UK Pound 137.6836Japanese Yen 1.1020Euro 118.3979

Buy SellUS Dollar 86.00 86.70Euro 117.40 119.67Great Britain Pound 136.56 139.09Japanese Yen 1.0891 1.1120Canadian Dollar 83.45 87.36Hong Kong Dollar 10.85 11.19UAE Dirham 23.28 23.64Saudi Riyal 22.80 23.14

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/10/2011 1:04 AM Page 6

07

Thursday,10 November,2011

closing bell

A B C D E F G H

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

White to play and mate in three moves

AdMIRABLE cAREER

cHESS

BOONdOckS

dILBERT

GARFIELd

BALdO

sudoku solution

crossword solution

chess solution

Today’s soluTions

1.Qxg7+ kxg72.Rg4+ kh83.Bf6# *

Finances are much on

your mind today,

which could be good or bad

for you. See if you can make

the best of your situation, as

your mental state is perfect

for handling money and

writing up budgets.

ariesTry not to focus too

much on the

spiritual today --

there is a time and a place for

everything. If it feels right to

go shopping or clean house,

now is a good time to handle

physical possessions.

taurusDo you really,

deeply understand

what's going on? It may be a

hard nut to crack, but you

should be able to get it by

the end of the day. It could

take all of your mental

energy, though!

gemini

Socializing is

perfect right

now, as your energy is more

grounded and you feel more

secure and confident. Step

up and introduce yourself to

someone new and see where

things go.

cancer

It's entirely likely

that you are the

only one thinking about safety

today -- so make sure you

speak up if you spot

something that seems off to

you! It could be a blocked fire

exit or something bigger.

Your self-

conception might

not match up with reality all

that well today, so see if you

can get your people to give

you serious feedback while

you handle the stress that

comes along with it.

leo

Things are weird

and getting weirder -- but

you don't mind it this way!

Your energy may be a bit

off for the time being, but

the good news is that you

are well prepared to handle

things.

aQuarius

Your energy is

still running

strong, and you may find

yourself getting along really

well with someone you'd

never expect to. It could be a

romantic thing or something

more platonic, but enjoy it!

virgo

Try to reach out

and share your

feelings with someone --

preferably someone important

to you, but potentially

anyone. You might start a new

and vital dialogue, so be

ready for anything at all.

piscescapricorn

Life is more

comfortable for

you right now, thanks to an

influx of healthy physical

energy that spreads out from

your core to encompass those

around you. It's a good day

for relaxation.

libraThings get really

crazy -- the word 'havoc'

comes to mind -- but

you can make it through. In

fact, you might prove so

adept at handling the chaos

that you find yourself in a new

position really soon!

scorpioSomeone needs

reassurance that you

are on their side, so do what

you can to oblige them in

any way you can today. It

might take all you've got,

but the payoff will be worth

it when it comes.

sagittarius

BRIdGE

cROSSWORd

Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row,

column and each of the squares contains all the digits.

the object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to

satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3

box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

HOW TO PLAy

WORd SEARcH

ACROSS

1. 1 Instrument for measuring radioactivity (6,7)

2. 8 Ribbed fabric (3)

3. 9 Large land mass — exercising self-restraint (9)

4. 10 Good-natured (8)

5. 11 Scottish hillside (4)

6. 13 Thick soup (6)

7. 14 Temple (anag) (6)

8. 16 Bunch of hair, feathers, grass etc (4)

9. 17 Intrepid (8)

10. 20 Rime (4,5)

11. 21 Play on words (3)

12. 22 Protected area for plants and animals (6,7)

DOWN

1. Irish policeman (5)

2. 2 Actually (2,5,2,4)

3. 3 Switch (8)

4. 4 Light source (6)

5. 5 computer operating system (4)

6. 6 death personified (3,4,6)

7. 7 Back away (7)

8. 12 Rubbish — it rusted (anag) (8)

9. 13 Eat heartily — help with some task — contribute

money (5,2)

10. 15 Swallow greedily (6)

11. 18 Irish poet and playwright, d. 1909 (5)

12. 19 At a great distance (4)

abbreviate

altitude

apparent

cancer

cedes

cherish

cream

empty

gloss

health

linger

lonely

mail

manage

mate

mete

morose

mother

mumble

poet

pound

ream

renew

roan

spoon

stole

summer

talent

theory

tier

tinder

tore

tradition

tram

upend

volunteer

weapon

woman

SUdOkU

“Of course I

can accept

criticism. Who

should we

criticize first?”

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/10/2011 1:04 AM Page 7

Thursday,10 November,2011

withholding of the summarygoes against the austeritydrive of the government andagainst the spirit of thecabinet’s decision

news

08 official sources

LAHORE

IMRAN AdNAN

The trend of sacrificing animalson eid-ul-Azha has been de-clining constantly due toswelling prices of sacrificial an-

imals. Conservative estimates suggestthat the country had witnessed a steepdecline of around 20 per cent in sacrific-ing animals this year.

hide and skin dealers in provincialcapital estimate that the Muslims in thecountry had hardly sacrificed some 4.8to 5.2 million animals during three daysof eid-ul-Azha, while previous yearshides and skin collection figures werehovering around six million animals.

Though, dealers point out, price ofanimals during eid-ul-Azha always re-main high in comparison to normal daysdue to high demand, but this year animalprices showed extraordinary increase.They estimated that on average sacrifi-cial animal prices were almost doubledwhen compared to the previous year;mainly because of inflation, high trans-portation cost, recent floods and smug-gling of animals to Afghanistan.

Speaking to Profit, Lahore Chamberof Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for-mer Senior Vice President Sheikh

Muhammad Arshad, who is a noted hideand skin dealer in Lahore Chamra Mandinear Misri Shah, said that initial hideand skin collection numbers suggestedthat some five million animals have beenslaughtered during the three days; thenumbers were equally divided betweensmall and big animals.

Sheikh Arshad, former senior vicepresident of Lahore Chamber of Com-merce and Industry, and leading traderof hides and skins in Lahore ChamraMandi – the largest market of Pakistanthat deals in animal hides and skin –said that around 5 million animals wereslaughtered this year with a ratio of 50per cent each divided between large andsmall animals.

he disclosed that the price of hidesand skins had registered an increase ofover 25 per cent this year as cow and calfhide was being traded at Rs3,500 toRs4,500 per piece, which was availableat Rs2,800 to Rs3,000 per piece in 2010.A similar trend was being seen in theprices of sheep and goats skins as thesewere being changing hands at Rs700 toRs750 per piece that was available atRs400 to Rs450 last year, he added.

Responding to a query, Arshad saidthat inflation had changed the sacrifi-cial habits of masses as hide and skin

collection numbers had shown thattraders received more hides of cows,camels and calves, while some three-four decades ago hide dealers only re-ceived 10 per cent of the hides of biganimals. he underlined that smugglingof live animals to neighbouring coun-tres was the major reason in additionalprice hike.

Another dealer at Lahore ChamraMandi said that Muslims always pre-fer to choose healthy animal for sac-rifice on eid-ul-Adha. Three days ofeid-ul-Azha are considered as theprice season for hide and skin deal-ers, tanners and leather merchants.he estimated that around Rs170 bil-lion trading activity, including saleand purchase of sacrificial animalsand their hides, was being conductedduring the three days of eid-ul-Azhain different parts of the country.

he said as the sacrificing trend wasdeclining the prices of hides and skinswere increasing rapidly, which was agreat concern of leather product manu-facturers. he further stated that theshortage of raw material (hides andskins) was pushing the prices of leatherproducts in local and international mar-kets that would ultimately hurt theleather goods exports from Pakistan.

KARACHI

ISMAIL dILAWAR

The foreign investment on crises-hitPakistan’s stocks market hasmarked an enormous decline of 79

per cent or $125.851 million during thefirst five months of current financial year,FY2011-12. A number of negatives, led bythe on-and-off diplomatic face-off betweenUSA and Pakistan, made the investorsfrom some 21 foreign destinationswithdraw $284.506 million during July-November. Whereas, according to StateBank data, net cumulative inflow of foreignportfolio investment stood at $ 158.655million during the review period. The post-May 2 strain in Pak-US mutual tiesreflected adversely on level of Americaninvestment in terrorism-hit Pakistan’sequity market from where the Americaninvestors, perhaps succumbing toWashington’s strain ties with Islamabad,withdrew $118.364 million. On the otherhand, the inflows accounted for a meager$75.338 million. This shows a decrease of57 per cent. United Kingdom comes secondin terms of investment withdrawals thatamounted to $ 74.012 million against $21.239 million inflows shrinking thecumulative investment flow to $ 52.773million. Luxemburg and Switzerland aretwo other countries where the investors’confidence has been shattered the most,resulting in big respective outflows of$32.389 million and $23.005 million fromPakistan. Inflows from these countrieswads recorded at $11.393 million and

$11.753 million during the said period.Other international destinations, fromwhere the inflow of portfolio investmentinto Pakistan set in negative includeAustralia, Canada, hong Kong, Ireland,Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and SouthAfrica. The amount of withdrawals fromthese countries accumulated, respectively,to $ 4.871 million, $0.158 million, $8.605million, $5.169 million, $12000, $ 11000,$0.509 million and $24000. While $1.521million came from the investors inAustralia, $ 82000 from Canada, $4.244million from hong Kong, $ 0.845 millionfrom Ireland, $ 27000 from Singapore.The inflows from Malaysia, South Africaand Korea remained zero. The countriesand regions from where Pakistan equitiesattracted more investment includeMauritius, Japan, Bahamas, China,Germany, Kuwait, Netherlands andSweden. The investors from thesedestinations invested $22.67 million,$2.213 million, $1.968 million, $0.910million, $1.231milliion, $ 5000, $ 23,000and $ 0.624 million. Withdrawals by theinvestors from these countries stood at$7.1 million, $1.810 million, $0.123million, $15,000 and $0.590 million andzero from Kuwait, Netherlands andSweden. With overall foreign investmentdeclining in Pakistan, the analysts believethat if the authorities failed to improve thedeteriorating law and order situation plusthe recession-hit global economy did notembark on the recovery path Islamabadwould find itself in hot waters in terms offoreign financing in the not distant future.

Trend in animal sacrifice declining due to inflated prices

IsLAmABAD

AMER SIAL

hIGheR ranked government officershave successfully thwarted theattempt of the government toimplement the transport

monetisation package, that would have takenaway the top mandarins privilege of chauffeurdriven cars, by compensating them with cashgrant of Rs40,000 to Rs70,000 per monthdepending upon their grades.An official source said that the summary waswith the Prime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani for the last four months and he still hasto make up his mind about approving it orrejecting it. If the decision is not made by thePM then the national exchequer may incur a

loss of Rs1.6 billion on the allocation for newcars, as the pressure for approving new cars ison the rise. “Withholding of the summary goesagainst the austerity drive of the governmentand against the spirit of the cabinet’sdecision,” he said. Faced with a severefinancial crisis, the government has decided toreduce its expenditures and take austeritymeasures. The recommendations were a partof the austerity plan drafted by the financeministry and approved by the federal cabinetbut were to be implemented by each of therespective ministry. According to the initial plan of the ministry offinance the monetisation package was to beoffered to 1391 senior officers (grade 20 andabove) at the start of new fiscal year. They wereto be given assistance of Rs40,000 to Rs70,000

along with their monthly salary from 1stAugust. They would have to forego theirvehicle, driver, maintenance and petrolallowances that would enable a saving of overRs100 million per annum. The governmentwould also be saving the Rs1.6 billion worth ofallocation that it made for purchasing newvehicles during the next fiscal year.The finance ministry has recommended thecabinet division that officers opting for themonetisation package will not be entitled to useany of the project vehicles. At present, otherthan the official vehicle, senior officers illegallyuse a large number of their departments’vehicles and in some cases they start projectsjust to get perks like allowances and vehiclesfor their personal use.The package was to be initially offered by the

federal government and there was no bindingon the provincial governments to follow suitbut they could also offer a monetisationpackage on similar grounds to control theirexpenditures, the source said; further addingthat since it has fizzled out at the federallevel so it could be implemented at theprovincial level.The perks of officers in Grade 20 and abovecost the government Rs4.7 billion and if theadministrative expense were included itreached Rs6 billion annually. Themonetisation would reduce the currentexpense on perks to Rs3 billion. Currently civilservants are receiving perks in addition totheir cash pay including transportation,housing, plots, land, membership to clubs andmembership of boards.

g priveleges of civil servants cost the government rs4.7 billion g recommendations part of austerity plan g monetisation can reduce expenses by rs3 billion

Civil servantsresist cut in perks

eid-Ul-aZha

pm gilani to take Final deciSion

g inflation has changed sacrificial habits of masses

Foreign investment on pakistanequity market down by 79pc

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