Wednesday, 21 November, 2012

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

DEPUTy Governor StateBank of Pakistan KaziAbdul Muktadir has out-lined four key aspects forD-8 central banks’ coop-

eration for promoting inclusive eco-nomic growth amongst theDeveloping-8 countries.

In his opening remarks at a work-shop on “Central Banks Monetary andFinancial Cooperation for Promoting In-clusive Economic Growth in D-8 coun-tries” at a local hotel in IslamabadWednesday, he said “we need to deliber-ate on sustaining growth in the New Eco-nomic Order and enhancing cooperationthrough trade and capital inflows amongthe D-8 countries”.

He said the D-8 economies have wit-nessed remarkable growth despite slowrecovery in the global economy. ‘As theD-8 economies accelerate to a newphase, it is critical for central banks towork towards deeper economic and fi-

nancial integration through sound mon-etary policies and macroeconomic man-agement. However, regional economicand financial integration should bebased on greater exchange rate flexibil-ity, freer capital mobility, transparentrules and regulations’, Mr. Abdul Muk-tadir added.

He said that sustainability of eco-nomic growth can only be ensuredthrough incentives to encourage invest-ment in innovation and technology, andpromotion of entrepreneurship. ‘In-creased cooperation and deeper eco-

nomic integration will enable D-8 coun-tries to respond effectively to global chal-lenges,’ SBP Deputy Governor added.

Stressing the need for cooperation topromote innovative Financial InclusionPolicies in the D-8 countries, he said thatdeveloping dynamic risk managementframework and innovative financialstructures can help the banking industryto exploit the huge potential of micro,small and medium enterprises.

SBP Deputy Governor said that be-sides sharing experiences of policy anddevelopment interventions for financial

inclusion, ‘we should also share ourprogress on innovative financial servicessuch as branchless banking’.

Abdul Muktadir said that the truespirit of Islamic Financial system is theway forward that may help the global fi-nancial system to recover and regainthe lost trust of stakeholders. ‘The Is-lamic banking industry is expected togrow considerably to play its criticalrole towards the economic growth inany economy. Global Islamic financialindustry stands at US$ 1.1 trillion andrecent reports suggest that global Is-lamic finance market will continue itsupsurge and is likely to grow 20 percent annually between 2011-15 andthereby double in value to reach aboveUS$2 trillion,’ he added.

He also stressed upon the need to es-tablish information exchange and pro-mote peer learning amongst D-8 centralbanks and added that D-8 countries witha population of over a billion have astrong potential to be a major economicforce in the world.

He said that fostering a stable bank-ing system is the key to ensuring sus-tainable development. ‘However, recentexperience of the global financial andEuro crisis has clearly demonstratedthat cooperation and coordinationamong central banks, especially fromemerging markets and developing coun-

tries, is necessary to diversify and insu-late their economies from global shocksand also learn from each other’s experi-ences that would help in achieving theirrespective economic goals,’ Mr. AbdulMuktadir added.

SBP Deputy Governor observed thefinancial meltdown in advancedeconomies in 2008 unleashed a globalcrisis which followed by great recession.‘The central banks around the worldtherefore had to adopt both conven-tional and unconventional policy toolsto dampen the impact of global crisis,’he added.

Central banks identify fourkey areas for cooperation

Trade among D-8 memberstates is risingcontinuously: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister RajaPervez Ashraf on Tuesday underlinedparticipation of traders in D-8 BusinessForum from the member countries is amatter of satisfaction. He was address-ing the D-8 Business Forum 2012 in Is-lamabad on Tuesday. The PrimeMinister said the forum is vital for theelimination of poverty from the mem-ber countries. He said trade is continu-ously on the rise among the membercountries. The Prime Minister said thatthe incumbent democratic governmentof Pakistan is determined to encourageprivate investment in the country. RajaPervez Ashraf congratulated the Feder-ation of Pakistan Chambers of Com-merce and Industry for assuming thechairmanship of the D-8 FCACI for nexttwo years. He expressed his confidencethat FPCCI will play its leadership rolein a pro-active manner. Prime Ministersaid that Pakistan is blessed with skilledlabour and is geographically located ata very significant place. He said cooper-ation among the members is increasingunder the preferential trade. The PrimeMinister assured the participants of hisgovernment’s support to strengtheneconomic relationsamong the D-8 block.He also expressed thehope that the deliber-ations among the par-ticipants willgenerate tangible out-come for thesocio-eco-nomic up-lift of ourpeople inthe daysto come.ONLINE

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Developing 8 countries (D8) should diversify theireconomies by creating new opportunities via increasedtrade relations with an objective to improve the positionof Muslim developing countries in the global world.

These remarks were made by Mr.Zafar Bakhtawari,President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry(ICCI) during a meeting at Chamber House. He said theD-8 member states must strengthen their technologicaland industrial cooperation to consolidate nationaleconomies and ensure accelerated economic growthand development. ICCI President said that the tradeamong member states was stood around $129billionthat is only 6 percent of the world trade which needs tobe increased by promoting business-to-business link-ages among the member countries. He said that there

is no doubt that agriculture and food security, trans-portation, energy and industries, including small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are major priorityareas of cooperation among the D-8 countries.

He was of the view that implementation of tariffconcessions under the preferential trade agreement isneed of the hour which would lead the D8 communitytowards Free Trade agreements as well as greater eco-nomic integration. ICCI President urged the D8 coun-tries to achieve the $500billion trade target which is setby Prime Minister of Pakistan, Raja Pervaiz Ashrafthrough bringing closer the business community of themember countries which would help in deepening ourtrade and open new vistas for joint ventures.

Mr.Bakhtawari said that D8 countries have largeMuslim population which is 60 percent of the entireMuslims population have huge cheap labour force, po-tential human resource, vast internal market, scope for

rapid technology transfer and relatively common socialvalue systems. Therefore, we need now is to strengthenour mutual cooperation, communication and initiativethrough exchange of expertise, knowledge and transferof renewable technology. He said that Islamic countriesown major production of oil and other valuable naturalresources but the trade volume of these countries withEurope and America is far greater as compared to theirmutual trade. Thus, the level of economic and commer-cial cooperation among Muslim countries should be in-creased, he maintained.

Commenting upon the geographical location ofPakistan, ICCI President urged the other Muslim coun-tries to invest in Pakistani areas such as energy, power,infrastructure housing, oil and gas exploration andHalal food products as there was enormous potentialand prospects of cooperation with Muslim states in allthe sectors.

Increase technological, industrialcooperation among D-8 countries: ICCI

D-8 Summit to deliver positivemessage to world: analystsISLAMABAD: Analyst Dr Ashfaq Hassan said that D-8 summit has many signifi-cant aspects especially with reference to economy and all member countries aremaking effort to increase trade. Talking to a private news channel, he said Pak-istan can improve its image through D-8 conference. The conference will deliver apositive message to the world. He said every government will advance D-8 agendaand we are facing temporary crisis which will be overcome . “I think it is in the in-terest of D-8 to promote trade,”he added. He said world is looking towards Asiadue to worst economic situation of Europe and problems in US so Pakistan has keyrole in the region. He said that Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia have stableeconomies and Iran is oil rich country. He said the conference is making effort topromote mutual investment and trade. Analyst Mian Ibrar also said that D-8 isvery important for Pakistan because it is a gateway for the three blocks SAARC,Middles East and Central Asia. D-8 trade is increasing with the passage of timeand the group will play a key role in the region in current situation, he said. APP

ISLAMABAD: A group photo of senior officials from central banks from D-8 Summit countries at a local hotel. INP

‘D-8 countries capableof improving theireconomies by tradecooperation’ISLAMABAD: Analyst Dr. AsimullahBakhsh has said that D-8 countrieshave capacity to improve theireconomies due to trade cooperation.Talking to a private news channel, hesaid that D-8 member countries couldprovide products of good quality inagriculture and industrial sectors. Hesaid that these countries should setrealistic goals. He added that membercountries should remove tradebarriers especially custom duties. Inresponse to a question former seniorpresident of Rawalpindi Chamber ofCommerce Raja Amir Iqbal said thatD-8 countries could achieve theirtrade target of 500 billion dollars in2018. He said that Indonesia,Malaysia and Turkey could invest inPakistani textiles and auto parts if ourenergy problem is resolved. He saidthat Pakistani businessmen could takeadvantage by enhancing exports toTurkey, Egypt and Nigeria. APP

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02

Wednesday, 21 November, 2012

Major Gainers

COmPAnY OPEn HIgH LOw CLOSE CHAngE TUrnOvErUniLever Pak 9501.00 9600.00 9600.00 9600.00 99.00 20Colgate Palmolive 1235.00 1296.75 1290.00 1290.00 55.00 350Rafhan Maize Prod. 3500.00 3550.00 3525.00 3550.00 50.00 100Bata (Pak) XD 1344.99 1380.00 1300.01 1380.00 35.01 2,450Island Textile 654.61 687.34 684.34 687.34 32.73 600

Major LosersIndus DyeingXD 564.00 549.98 535.80 549.98 -14.02 1,400Siemens Pakistan 750.00 787.50 740.00 740.00 -10.00 1,900IGI Insurance 133.58 132.01 126.91 126.91 -6.67 162,500Ismail IndustrXD 130.00 123.50 123.50 123.50 -6.50 1,500Gillette Pak 120.63 118.00 114.60 114.60 -6.03 2,000

Volume Leaders

Fauji Cement 6.87 7.15 6.70 6.77 -0.10 70,958,500Jah.Sidd. Co. 16.86 17.27 15.86 15.87 -0.99 26,280,500Maple Leaf Cement 13.02 14.02 12.85 13.95 0.93 23,973,500Bankislami Pakistan 8.68 9.68 8.75 9.64 0.96 16,486,500Azgard Nine 8.73 9.11 8.13 8.26 -0.47 16,048,500

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 95.9595UK Pound 152.6332Japanese yen 1.1806Euro 122.7802

Dollar EastBUY SELL

US Dollar 96.40 96.90Euro 122.44 124.00Great Britain Pound 152.27 154.17Japanese Yen 1.1660 1.1805Canadian Dollar 95.59 97.29Hong Kong Dollar 12.21 12.44UAE Dirham 26.10 26.40Saudi Riyal 25.58 25.85Australian Dollar 98.81 101.50

Business

HONG KONG

AGENCIES

ASIAN markets rose again Tuesdayon growing confidence that USpoliticians will agree a deal toavert a fiscal cliff but the eurotook a hit as France lost its top-

notch credit rating. The decision by Moody’s to downgrade

French debt staunched the single currency’srise, which had been stoked by hopes that eu-rozone leaders will agree to hand Greece its lat-est batch of bailout cash.

Tokyo, which has risen about five percent inthe past three sessions on expectations of freshmonetary easing, added 0.18 percent in earlytrade, while Hong Kong climbed 1.02 percentand Sydney was 0.34 percent higher.

Shanghai advanced 0.23 percent and Seoulwas up 0.63 percent. Wall Street pro-vided a strong lead as markets opened for thefirst time since Republicans and Democrats onFriday pledged to work on a budget that wouldavoid the fiscal cliff of tax hikes and spendingcuts due on January 1 that would tip the econ-omy into recession.

Global shares have tumbled in recent weekson fears the two parties would not find a com-promise but the comments from Congressionalleaders have soothed fears. The Dow climbed1.65 percent, the S&P 500 jumped 1.99 percentand the Nasdaq surged 2.21 percent. The rallywas also boosted by figures showing that existinghome sales rose 2.1 percent in October from Sep-tember and home builder confidence improvedfor a seventh straight month in November.

However, European woes continue to nag. OnMonday it was France in the spotlight afterMoody’s cut its gold-plated AAA credit grade byone notch to “Aa1” and maintained a negative out-look, meaning another downgrade was possible.

It cited the the country’s “disproportionatelylarge” exposure to the troubled countries on Eu-rope’s periphery. Fellow ratings agency Stan-dard & Poor’s made a similar move in January.The euro, which has been enjoying a rally, suf-fered as a result. In early Tokyo trade it bought$1.2774 and 103.93 yen, compared with $1.2778and $103.99 yen in New york late Monday.

The single currency had risen to $1.2816 and104.25 yen shortly before Moody’s made its an-nouncement. The dollar was trading at 81.35 yenin Tokyo, compared with 81.40 yen in New york.The yen remains under pressure — which haslifted the Nikkei index — after the frontrunner tobecome Japan’s next prime minister in Decem-ber polls said he would embark in an aggressivepolicy of monetary easing to help the economy.

Investors had been buying the euro on alikely agreement between regional finance min-isters to hand Athens the latest instalment ofcash it needs to avoid bankruptcy.

They will try Tuesday to reach a frameworkagreement at a meeting on Greece and heal asplit with the International Monetary Fund overa key debt reduction target.

“We are headed for an agreement, but apartial one,” said a European diplomat whoasked not to be named.

Education key to Pakistan’ssuccess, says UK envoy

KARACHI: The one key issue that has potentialto transform Pakistan’s future is education. Thiswas said by British Deputy High Commissionerand Director UK Trade and Investment,PakistanMr Francis Campbell at a receptionhosted by him at his residence to introduce LSBF(London School of Business and Finance) CountryHead for Pakistan, Faisal Azeem. Mr Campbellsaid that yet another UK education institution ofhigher learning had come toPakistan to put downroots and make the already close ties between thetwo countries even stronger. He added that hehoped to increase trade and investment betweenthe two countries to 2.5 billion pound sterling by2015. Country Head Faisal Azeem in his addresssaid the LSBF hopes to introduce their 360 degreeCareer Development Programme in Pakistan. Hesaid this is a unified course that is globallyrecognized and prepares students to face thechallenges of the 21st century. He added that itwas state-of –the art education that guaranteedemployment to students but certain terms andconditions apply.

Cathay Pacific releasescombined traffic figuresKARACHI: Cathay Pacific Airways today releasedcombined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair trafficfigures for October 2012 that show a small increasein passenger numbers compared to the same monthlast year, albeit with a drop in load factor. Cargoand mail tonnage showed a year-on-year increasefor the second month in a row. Cathay Pacific andDragonair carried a total of 2,405,027 passengers inOctober – an increase of 1.0% compared to thesame month last year. The passenger load factor fellby 1.8 percentage points to 78.3%, while capacity,measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs),dropped by 3.1%. For the year to date, passengernumbers have risen by 5.4% compared to a capacityincrease of 4.1%. The two airlines carried 138,608tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of1.9% compared to October 2011.

‘School Of Tomorrow’ conferencetackles global issuesKUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan’s first overseaseducational conference, the fourth School ofTomorrow Conference opened to a crowd of over600 delegates from 11 countries around the world atthe Sunway Hotel Resort and Spa in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia on Tuesday. The 2-day educationconference organised by Beaconhousebroughtteachers, school leaders, change agents,policymakers and government officials from acrossPakistan, Malaysia, UAE, Oman, UK, USA,Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Philippines andIndonesia. The conference explores the future oflearning and schools. This conference also marksthe 37th anniversary of the Beaconhouse SchoolSystem, the largest school system of its kind in theworld. Richard Gerver, a renowned inspirationalspeaker and author of ‘Creating Tomorrow’sSchools Today’, delivered the keynote address tointernationally recognised delegates as well asteachers and school heads from public and privateschools in Malaysia.

Seminar on ‘Investment inPakistan in Current Situation’KARACHI: PAF KIET in collaboration with TheFinancial Daily (TFD) organizing a Seminar on“Investment in Pakistan in Current Situation” onWednesday, November 21, 2012 at 5:30 PM atAuditorium of PAF KIET, City Campus. Mr. TariqIqbal Khan, Renowned Economist of Pakistan andFormer Chairman National Investment Trust(NIT), Mr. Atiq-ur-Rehman, Chairman BankingCommittee Karachi Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (KCCI) and Muhammad Arif, Editor At-Large TFD and Ex Director State Bank of Pakistan(SBP) will address the Seminar.

UBL Funds completes 10 YearsKARACHI: UBL Fund Managers, one ofPakistan’s leading Asset Management Companiescompletes 10 successful years of providinginvestment services to Pakistan today. UBL Fundswith an array of both Islamic & conventionalinvestments products has been catering to clientsof various age groups and social standing, helpingthem achieve their financial goals. On thisoccasion, Mir Mohammad Ali, CEO UBL Fundssaid, “We are proud to have achieved severalmilestones in these 10 years; the most importantwas to be able to deliver services through a clientcentric approach focusing on superior customerservice and need-based products whilemaintaining high ethical standards”.

CORPORATE CORNER

Asian markets up on UShopes, euro eases

KARACHI: H.E. Adam Thomson CMG, British HighCommissioner to Pakistan and Mr. George Turkington,Head of Department for International Development,Humayun Javed Khan Head of Corporate Communications,along with senior officials of the British High Commissionvisited the KSBL Campus.

KARACHI: Consul General Mr. Ali Ahmed Al Qassimi, hosteda reception on the Occasion of the 42nd National Day ofthe Sultanate of Oman at a local hotel. Picture showsConsul General of Japan Mr.Akira Ouchi, Mrs.Ouchi, withother Omani diplomats.

Crude down on profit-taking,French rating cut SINGAPORE: Crude was down in Asia Tuesday as traders tookprofits and ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the Frenchgovernment bond rating, analysts said. New york’s main contract,light sweet crude for delivery in January, shed 31 cents to $88.97 abarrel and Brent North Sea crude for January delivery fell 18 cents to$111.52. “Today there’s a bit more of a risk-off theme with the French

downgrade and a bit of profit-taking on the back of yesterday’s bigmove,” said Jason Hughes, head of premium client

management for IG Markets Singapore. Crude surgedmore than $2 on Monday as violence intensified in

the Israel-Gaza conflict, sparking fresh concernabout supplies from the crude-rich Middle

East. Israeli strikes killed 32Palestinians on Monday, taking

the Gaza death toll to 109 asUN chief Ban Ki-moon

joined efforts to end the worstviolence in four years. AGENCIES

You’ll have gas,

Dr Asim tells

domestic consumers

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

Dr. Asim Hussain, Advisor to the PrimeMinister on Petroleum and NaturalResources had said that supply of NaturalGas to domestic consumers is the toppriority of the Government. He said thiswhile meeting Parliamentarians includingMNAs Engineer Khurram Dastagir Khan,Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Zahid Hamid, MuftiAjmal Khan, Mazhar Hayat Khan,Roshan-ud-Din Junejo , Senator BazMuhammad and Senator Zahid Khan whocalled on the Advisor regarding problemsfaced in supply of Natural Gas to theirrespective constituencies today inIslamabad. The meeting was alsoattended by Managing Director andSenior Management of Sui Northern GasPipelines Ltd. The Parliamentariansapprised the Advisor regarding progresson gas supply schemes in their respectiveconstituencies, on which the Advisor onPetroleum issued directives to SNGPL forexpediting work. Dr. Asim Hussaininformed the Parliamentarians that a siteoffice of SNGPL is being established inthe Ministry premises to cater for publiccomplaints and providing up-to-dateinformation on gas supply / connectioncases. He further assured that all caseswould be dealt on merit so that the publicis facilitated.

NEW YORK

AGENCIES

A Moody’s downgrade of France’s sovereignrating wiped out a good part of the euro’s gainsMonday, the eve of a crucial eurozone financeministers meeting on Greece’s debt crisis.

The euro dropped after Moody’s cutFrance’s gold-plated AAA credit grade by onenotch to “Aa1” and maintained a negative out-

look, meaning that another downgrade waspossible. Moody’s cited the France’s “dispro-portionately large” exposure to the troubledcountries on Europe’s periphery.

The euro bought $1.2778 at 2230 GMT,down from $1.2816 a half hour earlier. Still, ithad gained ground from $1.2741 late Friday.The euro also dropped to $103.99 yen, downfrom 104.25 yen shortly earlier but up from103.60 yen late Friday.

The European currency had advanced onrenewed hopes that eurozone finance ministers,meeting Tuesday, “will agree to release funds toGreece,” said David Gilmore at Foreign Ex-change Analytics. “That buys time for officialsto come up with a more permanent solution andputs the risk on trade back on the table.” Thedollar fell against the Swiss currency, to 0.9423francs from 0.9452 late Friday, while the poundbought $1.5904, up from $1.5880.

France downgrade steals euro gains

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