profit.com.pk

Pharmaceutical industry could do withsome anti-depressants Page 02

Tuesday, 17 April, 2012

TheRe is definitely a pattern in Islamabad’sinitiative to reach out in search of new tradeand investment markets. Russia, India,

Australia and now South Africa. We seem to havedeveloped a special liking for emerging economies,and it helps if they are commodity plays. The latestmove – to reach out to South Africa – builds on earliermomentum. not only does it (potentially) tap a vibrantemerging market, it also makes inroads to the entirecontinent. As it turns out, South Africa is truly thegateway to greater Africa, both in diplomatic terms (itsposition and influence in continental bodies) and inlogistical matters (it borders or leads to mostimportant countries). Then South Africa is also a commodity heavyweight.even if markets are jittery now, its gold musclebrought rare advantages right through the long recentmonths when international finance went through oneof its most bitter bouts with risk aversion. Moreimportantly, its post ’94 trajectory notes remarkableand continuous improvement in manufacturing andindustry, hence its stable production base and healthyearning. Good advances all in all. Yet, as we always point out,such adventures lack necessary punch so long as ourown production base (read value added exports) is notup to the mark. Despite breakthroughs, our exports areminiscule, and our investment potential lacking byglobal standards. So, while the impressive outreachcontinues, it is just as important, if not more so, tomake sure we have sellable items to take to diversemarkets driven by value addition. And in mostcountries this effort is taking us closer to, we find thislesson well learnt and implemented.

cOmmEnT

And now South Africa

REUTERS

ROME/MADRID

SPAIn and faced growingmarket pressure on Monday,stoking fears of a new phase inthe euro zone debt crisis as

Madrid’s budget problems threatened todrag in other southern europeaneconomies.Yields on Spanish 10-year bonds haveclimbed over 6.1 percent, nearing levelsthat caused general market panic whenItaly was in the same position late lastyear.Italian 10-year yields stood at almost 5.6percent, while the yield on safe-havenGerman Bunds was just over 1.6 percent,the lowest since the height of thefinancial turmoil in 2008.“We are back in full crisis mode,” saidRabobank strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor.Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-largesteconomy, is at the centre of the crisis asconcerns grow about some of its banksand the impact of the austerity policiesof Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’sconservative government on a strugglingeconomy. As the psychological boostfrom huge injections of cheap cash bythe european Central Bank earlier thisyear has faded and the sustainability ofSpanish public finances is questioned,the has been thrust back on to theagenda of International Monetary Fundmeetings this week.Madrid said it would have to imposefurther cuts on regional governments,some of which have failed to paycontractors’ bills for months, andacknowledged that the economy hadtipped back into its second recessionsince 2009.“It is looking more and more likely thatSpain is going to have some form of abailout. Assuming there is not an (eCB)intervention you would not see a cap onSpanish yields, they would just keep

increasing,” Graham-Taylor said.The eCB has intervened onlysporadically since flooding the marketwith funds in February and appearsreluctant to resume bond purchases.Governing Council Member Klaas Knotsaid on Friday he hoped the bank neverhas to use the program again.In an interview with the daily el Mundo,economy Minister Luis de Guindos saidfirst quarter growth figures, due on April30, would show a similar pattern to thelast quarter of 2011, when the economycontracted 0.3 percent, but would not beworse.“If you had asked me two months ago, Iwould have expected the first quarter of2012 to be much worse than the last

quarter of 2011. But that is not going tobe the case,” he said.In Rome, new Italian growth forecasts,which had been expected on Mondaywere delayed until Wednesday, but asimilarly bleak picture is expected whenthey are announced.On Monday, economy MinistryUndersecretary Gianfranco Polillo saidRome was set to lower the forecast for2012 output, which predicts a 0.4percent contraction for the euro zone’sthird biggest economy.But he said the new forecast wouldprobably come in better than theeuropean Commission’s forecast of a 1.3percent contraction.DANGEROUS: The market tensions

have caused growing political frictionbetween the two countries and ItalianPrime Minister Mario Monti wasforced to phone Rajoy last week to tryto soothe his anger at a series ofcomments from Italy blaming theturmoil on Madrid.Monti received some encouragement onMonday from ratings agency Fitch,which called the government’s fiscalplans “credible” even if prospects of itfulfilling a pledge of a balanced budgetby 2013 were receding.The Italian cabinet had been due to meetlater on Monday to cut its growthforecasts for 2012 but approval of thelatest government macroeconomicprojections was put off until Wednesday

as budget experts worked to meetrequests for additional information fromthe european Union.Officials said the lower forecast shouldnot affect the pledge of a balancedbudget in 2013 made by former PremierSilvio Berlusconi and taken on byMonti’s technocrat government.“I can say today that we expect toachieve the targets as announced.There may be variations but they won’tchange the overall framework,”european Affairs Minister enzoMoavero Milanesi said.APPROVAL RATING FALLS: Thefresh market crisis, following months ofrelative calm at the start of the year, hasadded to the problems facing Monti aftera honeymoon phase in which he washailed for rescuing Italy from thescandal-filled Berlusconi years.A poll on Monday from the SWP pollinginstitute showed Monti’s approvalratings at 47 percent, still way aboveany of the political parties but welldown on the 59 percent he enjoyed justover a month ago.Difficult reforms of labor market rules tomake it easier for companies to dismissstaff have roused opposition from tradeunions and the left while failing to gainfull support from business leaders andthe centre-right.A renewed outbreak of politicalsquabbling, ahead of local elections onMay 6, has underlined the challengefacing Monti and the broader leadershipof the european Union as they seek toconvince markets that a solution to thecrisis is possible.“The mistake that a lot of politicians andordinary citizens are makingunfortunately is to expect all ourproblems to be solved and the recessionto be over tomorrow,” former ForeignMinister Franco Frattini, now a seniorfigure in the centre-right PDL party, toldReuters. “It’s just not possible.”

Spain, Italy waist-deep into eurozone quagmireEURO YIKES

KARACHI

ISMAIL DILAWAR

The bigger banks are bracingfor a financial impact theanalysts estimate at 6 to 10percent on their earning per

share as the central bank scaled upthe minimum deposit rate to six per-cent from the previous five percent.

“The minimum profit rate wouldbe 6.0 percent p.a on all Pak Rupeesaving deposits with effect from May01, 2012,” SBP notified the commer-cial banks last Friday.

The notified rate of profit wouldbe applicable on all existing and newsaving deposits including term de-posits, the regulator clarified.

According to economic observers,the upward revision of the depositrate came as the State Bank movedagainst lofty banking spreads and ris-ing banking sector profits, primarilybeing driven through investments inthe risk-free government securities.

Given the prevailing recessionaryclimate and resultant increase in the

banks’ bad debts which have soaredbeyond Rs 600 billion, the banks haveadopted a risk-averse behavior to-wards private lending that create eco-nomic activity thus ensuring growth.

The analysts believe that SBP’smove was despite the fact that the reg-ulator had already allowed individualdepositors and investors to invest inthe government papers through anIPS account which would shun banks’intervention and therefore their incre-mental spreads.

Though against market economyand sector efficiency, the centralbank, while increasing minimum rateof deposits, made it clear to banks toprovide some level of respite to depos-itors while pinpointing concerns withrespect to the banking in Pakistan asbeing limited to only funding fiscaldeficit of the government instead oftaking risk, finding investment av-enues through building partnershipswith the private sector etc.

“Looking at the secondary mar-ket rates, mainly KIBOR, treasurybills and Pakistan Investment Bonds

(10-year), one can easily deduce thefact that high risk-free rates (T-billsyields parallel to risky KIBOR rates)themselves induce banks to go forinvestments in the government pa-pers instead of lending to the privatesector in first place,” said KhurramSchehzad, head of research at In-vestCap.

The analyst said the ePS impacton the bigger banks ranges 6 to 10percent since smaller banks had al-ready been running with higher costof deposits i.e. in 7-9 percent range inorder to fetch higher deposits. Theimpact of mandatory increase in thedeposit rates stood remote for themwhile big-5 banks, having average costof funds around 5.2 percent, due tohigh CASA mix, would have an esti-mated impact on their annualizedearnings with 1 percent increase indeposit rates, provided no pass-onthrough KIBOR or higher bids for T-bills/PIBs in the upcoming auctions.

As far as the numbers go, total de-posits of the scheduled banks stood atRs5.92 trillion as of Mar-12 (Rs5.87

trillion in CY11) while savings ac-counts hold a 38 percent share in thetotal deposit mix i.e. Rs 2.25 trillionas of March-12.

In the total savings account size,big-5 banks hold 56 percent sharewhile the rest of the industry standswith 44 percent.

In this regard, since big-5 banksstand with the lowest cost of funds,a 1 percent mandatory increase inthe deposit rates is expected to leadto a 6 percent to 10 percent impacton the big-5 banks’ CY12e earnings(annualized).

“As the secondary market yieldshave lately been on the rise on ac-count of rising liquidity crunch in themoney market with central bankfunding the gap increasingly throughOMOs with T-bills and PIBs auctionsahead, we believe spreads have al-ready improved a bit while big-5banks still have enough muscles topass on the partial increase in depositrates through re-rating of lendingrates on a quarterly or semiannualbasis,” said Khurram.

THE BIGGER THE BITTER

Big five all set to face the musicg If you’re a big bank, increased deposit rates are going to give you a 10pc walloping g Pundits say SBP’s manoeuvrehas its origin in lofty banking spreads, rising profits g Pool old big-5 own 56pc of the total banking share... Gulp

PRO 17-04-2012_Layout 1 4/17/2012 12:46 AM Page 1

news02Tuesday, 17 April, 2012

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

AMeRICAn Business Council(ABC) has pointed out thatthe pharmaceutical compa-nies are facing an out-of-

stock situation for over 800psychotropic drugs due to delay inquota allocation and if the matter is notresolved with urgency it will have a po-tential negative impact on US invest-ments as well as on the lives of manyPakistani patients.

The ABC, the largest single-countrybusiness chamber representing over 65US companies operating in Pakistan, inits letter to the federal government saidthat the issue of quota allocation is alsoseriously effecting the operations of itsthree member companies namely PfizerPakistan, Abbot Laboratories and John-son and Johnson. The ABC said thatpharmaceutical companies are facing anout-of-stock situation for over 800drugs such as anxiolytics, psychotic, coldand cough, syrups, anti-anxiety, anti-de-pression and epileptic medicines.

experts believe that vacuum cre-ated by the absence of these drugs can-not be filled by alternative optionskeeping millions of patients from theirtreatment. “There is an urgent need torelease quota allocations for the rawmaterials of these products to avoid se-rious implications”, they added.

The developing country like Pak-istan, where one per cent of the popula-tion suffers from severe and 10 per centfrom mild mental disorders and the so-cial issues of depression and anxiety aremanifold. The prevalence of depressionin the general population in Pakistanhas been reported to be from 10-25 percent in males and 25-66 per cent n fe-males and the total population sufferingis 60 per cent depression, 14.5 per centschizophrenia, 29 per cent psychoso-matic disorders. If not treated properly,the tragic result of anxiety disorder canlead to suicides. The healthcare profes-sional dealing with psychological issuesagree that non-availability of psy-chotropic drugs may have conse-quences beyond control and may havean impact on suicide rates and causeother severe complications. This cansignificantly impact the fabric of society.

The unavailability of high quality,safe and efficacious drugs will pave wayfor counterfeiters, black marketers andspurious drugs to flood the local mar-ket. This will endanger the lives of manypatients putting at risk their health andtreatments. A recent tragic example isof the Pakistan Institute of Cardiology(PIC) incident which claimed the livesof more than a hundred patients. Thishappened due to low safety profile med-icines. The ABC said that the shortagewill also give rise to serious economicimplications for the country in terms of

lower tax collection and negative for-eign direct investment (FDI). The inter-national community is monitoring thecurrent situation very closely to evalu-ate the policies and protection extendedby the government to foreign investors.In absence of any action by the author-ities it is forecasted that the multipliereffect will further have a negative im-pact on the economy of Pakistan. Thesituation may lead to shut down of op-eration which will have a direct and in-direct impact on employment in thepharma industry, a significant loss inexports, tax loss for the government, in-troduction of new life saving drugs willbe compromised and impact future in-vestment plans by the pharma industry.

“Our member companies in thebusiness of manufacturing and supply-ing pharmaceutical products to themarket are highly compliant and haveproven the safety and efficacy of theirmedicines. These companies follow ahighly stringent global process fromprocurement of raw materials to thefinal production and release to the mar-ket, ensuring that the patients get onlythe best treatments. They highly valuepatient’s life and security and the trustthat healthcare professionals place onus”, ABC said. The American BusinessCouncil requested to release the quotaallocations on an urgent basis to ensurea steady supply of medicines in the bestinterest of the patients.

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The Securities andexchange Commissionof Pakistan (SeCP) has

granted licences to ten non-profit associations underSection 42 of the CompaniesOrdinance, 1984 during theJanuary March period.According to the details, out often licences, three associationseach were granted licences inthe social services andhealthcare sector, two each inart and education sector. Insocial services sector, WishesFoundation intends to developthe rural areas, while CnFAPakistan Center for enterpriseand Development has beenestablished to work for

economic development of theunder-privileged classes of thesociety and Institute ofDevelopment and economicAlternatives has been formedto promote and manage policyresearch and advocacy for thesocio-economic development.In the healthcare sector,Federal Liver Transplantendowment Fund havingCapital Administration andDevelopment Division(CADD), Cabinet Secretariat,as its promoter has beenformed to promote livertransplant facilities and toprovide financial support toneedy patients for livertransplant at the PakistanInstitute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) Islamabad.The Asian Society of

neurological Surgeons hasbeen set up to promotescience and practice in thefield of neurological surgeryand care. Pashuma healthFoundation has been formedto aid and run thalassemiahospitals, and other centersconnected with the care of thehuman body, both in urbanand rural areas of Pakistan. Inthe arts sector, an associationnamely Institute forPreservation of Art andCulture has been establishedto conduct research andtraining in the field of Art andCulture and to support, andencourage projects concernedor dealing with thepreservation and reuse ofarchitectural structures andsites in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

The Competition Commission ofPakistan (CCP) on Monday issued apolicy note to the federal government, all

provincial governments, and the administrationof the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT),recommending that the present practice ofprice determination of fresh milk be reformedto address competition concerns. The policynote recommends that any members ofassociations, associations themselves or anystakeholders from the marketplace must not beinvited to and must not participate in anyformal or informal meeting in which the priceof fresh milk is decided. It further recommendsthat the price of fresh milk must be based oncareful and independent analysis undertakenby respective government officers working asthe members of the price review committee. By

engaging in negotiations with milk sellersassociations and milk retailers association, thegovernment itself becomes a party to aprohibited practice. Also, such agreementsunder the auspices of the government promotepractices that are a violation of the CompetitionAct, 2010. Therefore, CCP believes that thegovernment at any level must not provide anypatronage to anticompetitive practices that mayencourage collusive behaviour. CCP tookcognizance of various news items reporting thatthe local authorities set the price of fresh milkafter consulting dairy farmers’ associations. Itgathered relevant information, and found thatthe officers involved in the price control work,survey markets to ascertain milk prices.Afterwards, negotiations between members ofthe price control committee, the government’sprice control staff and the respectivestakeholders including associations take placeand a price is agreed upon.

SEcP grants licenses to 10 non-profit associations

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

The Lahore Chamber of Commerceand Industry has said that thegovernment should take the Privatesector on board if it is really

interested in jobs creation and powergeneration. In a statement issued hereMonday, the LCCI President Irfan QiserSheikh indicated that the lack of skilledhuman resource, energy deficit, high cost ofdoing business, government policy of heavyborrowing and non availability of cheapermoney to the businessmen had badlyaffected the industrialization process in thecountry. The LCCI President said that jobcreation is only possible through expansionin economic activities that has come to agrinding halt due to gas and energyshortages. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that thegovernment would have to strengthen theprivate sector to achieve its economic goalsand continuous supply of cheaper energyand a cut in interest rate are prerequisite toit. The LCCI President said that the businesscommunity was unable to understand thelogic behind highest ever interest rateswhile same could be curtailed by bringingdown the banking spread. While in thesupply of electricity could be ensured to theindustry by controlling electricity pilferage. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said Lahore is thesecond largest industrial city of the countryafter Karachi but the energy situation in the

part is very bad that is leading to industrialclosures and massive lay-offs what to talk ofprovision of jobs to new graduates. IrfanQaiser Sheikh said that the country’sreliance on costly thermal power is jackingup the cost of production and import bill.The country needs an urgent shift in itsenergy-mix in favor of hydle power and localfuels. he said that the 175 billion tons ofThar coal reserves with a price tag of $ 13trillion in the international market, areenough to provide 100,000 MW ofelectricity for 100 years.Uninterrupted and affordable powersupplies can turn Pakistan into aneconomic powerhouse. The LCCI Presidentalso hoped that the government wouldearmark funds for the early completion ofIran-Pakistan gas pipeline and LnGterminals to keep the industrial wheelrunning especially in Punjab that has bornethe brunt of recent suspension of gassupplies to industry in the country. Rising risk perception about investing intoPakistan is hitting hard the Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) that fell sharply in recentmonths and needs to be tackled through acomprehensive policy approach by involvingChambers of Commerce in the country.Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that all thedeveloped countries accord specialimportance to economic issues and thechallenges. But in Pakistan the situation isthe other way round and the economy is onthe bottom of government’s to-do list.

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

COnSTRAInTS in agricultureresearch and innovation,lack of coordinatedplanning, monitoring and

evaluation, inappropriate investmentin research projects, focus on routineresearch rather than problem solvingapproach and little commercialisationof research output are among themajor hurdles in agriculturedevelopment in the country. Theseobservations were made by the PunjabAgricultural Research Board (PARB)Chief executive Dr Mubarik Ali. hewas addressing the members of theFarmer Associates Pakistan (FAP) atFAP executive Committee meetinghere on Monday. The meeting washeld under the chairmanship of FAPDirector Sultan hameed. PARB Chiefexecutive Dr Mubarik Ali highlightedthat the role of research andinnovation in instigating sustainablegrowth in the agriculture sector andeconomic uplifting of ruralcommunities in the Punjab province.Quoting a World Bank research, hesaid that innovation system in theprovince had contributed about half ofthe overall three per cent growth in theagriculture sector since 1971, whereasin monetary terms, its contribution

stood billions of dollars.he said that lack in agricultureresearch and innovation had badlyaffected the agriculture growth duringrecent decade, which resulted inincreased production – andmarketing-costs and turned the sectoruncompetitive in internationalmarkets. he pointed out that thePARB was created to overcome someof these constraints, but unless privatesector like FAP, politicians andgovernment take keen interest inboosting the solution-based researchand innovation system in theprovince, the agriculture sector willcontinue growing at 2-3 per centinstead of its potential of 6-8% annualgrowth. he told FAP that farmers,being the main beneficiaries of thesolution-based innovations, shoulddemonstrate their concerns on itsplight and demand appropriateinvestment to resolve its constraints.While explaining the achievements ofPARB, Dr. Mubarik Ali informed thatwithin a span of just 2 and a half year,53 solution-based research projects incrops and livestock sectors have beenoperationalized costing less than Rs.200 million a year. Unless theseprojects reaches to 200 and annualinvestment on solution-based researchreaches to Rs. one billion along withRs. 2 billion a year subsidy to promote

these innovations to the stakeholders,the high growth targets in theagriculture sector cannot be achieved.Without such investment, farmers willcontinue achieving low yields, theirincomes will remain abysmale andPakistan will continue loosingcompetitiveness in internationalmarkets. Discussing the crop wiseprojects in details he informed that 8projects on wheat , 6 on cotton, 4 onrice, 3 on sugarcane, 4 on vegetable,7 on fruits, 11 on livestock and 6miscellaneous projects are inoperation under PARB, whichattempts to resolve major issues likeCLCV in cotton, BLB in rice, stemrust in wheat, drought, salinity, frost,& cold tolerance in various crops,and specify Standard OperatingProcedures (SOP) for disease freeand economically-viable seedling inpotato, olive and date palm. Fewprojects have completed theirresearch phase and researchproducts from these are now beingcommercialized. These include SOPfor direct seeding, Controlledatmosphere technology for mango,pepper, and apple for long distancehaulage, indigenous skin-coatingmaterial, indigebous material forprotecting wheat in storage, droughttolerant wheat, protecting wheatfrom aphid, etc.

Taking private sector on board wouldcreate jobs, generate power: LCCI

Agriculture Research Board moans abouteverything you can think of… and more

SEcTIOn 42, cOmPAnIES ORDInAncE 1984

mILK mATTERS

ALL ABOARD mOAnInG mInnIE

Giving milk price determination a rethoughtg ccP issues policy note for reforming determination of fresh milk prices

Pharmaceutical industry coulddo with some anti-depressants

THE ABc OF PHARmAcEUTIcAL STRUGGLES

g American Business council urges govt to allocate quotag Pharmaceutical companies has no stock for over 800 drugs

PRO 17-04-2012_Layout 1 4/17/2012 12:46 AM Page 2

news

Tuesday, 17 April, 2012

03

PTcL Peshawar wins ‘Region of themonth’ award

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan TelecommunicationCompany Ltd (PTCL) has awarded its Peshawarregion team with the ‘Region of the Month’ shield inrecognition of its outstanding efforts for provision ofbest customer care and outreach services providedduring February 2012. PTCL executive VicePresident Customer Care, Kamran Malik (right)presented the award to Regional General ManagerPeshawar, Muhammad Khalid (left) at a ceremonyheld in One-Stop Shop Peshawar . Other PTCLofficials were also present on the occasion.

Qatar Airways bringing together someof region’s most prolific leaders

DOHA: Qatar Airways is proud to be the OfficialCarrier of the 2012 TeDx Summit in Doha this weekbringing together some of the Middle east’s mostprolific thought leaders and speakers. The week-longevent, which starts tomorrow (April 16), takes place inthe Qatari capital for the first time. It is being hostedby the Doha Film Institute. Over 700 delegates willmeet for workshops, collaborative projects, regionaland cross-regional brainstorming, talks, special events

and cultural activities during the event, which ends onApril 20. The opening night of the summit at theKatara amphitheatre in Doha will feature renownedspeakers from the Arab world and beyond.

Turkish Embassy, coca-cola collaboratefor Turkish cultural FestivalISLAMABAD: embassy of the Republic of Turkey,Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited (CCBPL) andIslamabad Marriott hotel held a two day TurkishFood and Cultural festival at the Five StarInternational Marriott hotel, on the 15thand 16thApril, 2012. The festival was a showcase of Turkishfood and culture that included Authentic Turkishfood, Music and Folk dance. Chef ertan Karabostanand Ugur Ozanlar were especially flown in fromAnkara’s JW Marriott hotel for live cooking ofTurkish food.The festival will now head to Karachi.Cultural exchanges between the two brotherlycountries will further stretghen our ties, food andmusic were the two binding forces on display at theMarriott. Turkey and Pakistan have alwaysmaintained a close relationship whether it isbusiness, trade or people to people contacts. Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited being a Turkishinvestment is a prime example of this historicalrelationship. Furthermore Coke as part of its livepositively philosophy has sponsored this culturalexchange of food and music to bring the people ofthe two countries closer. PRESS RELEASE

PmEX gets membership of world bodies of futures exchangesKARACHI: Pakistan Mercantile exchange hasacquired memberships of Association of FuturesMarkets (AFM) and World Federation ofexchanges (WFe). Both are prominent bodieswhere exchanges, financial market institutions andother industry participants come together to workfor the development and growth of exchange-traded Futures Markets. The AFM is anot-for-profit association formally established in1998 to promote the development of newderivatives exchanges worldwide from establishedto the emerging markets. PMeX ManagingDirector Samir Ahmed received an invite andattended the 15th Annual AFM Conference inBudapest last month. Represented PMeX forformal induction as an Associate Memberm,Ahmed spoke on “The Derivatives Market Outlookfor emerging Markets in Asia” alongsiderepresentatives from TAIFeX, nYSe euronext andIstanbul Stock exchange. With the inclusion ofPMeX, AFM now has 34 members out of 26countries. PMeX also participated at the World

exchange Congress 2012, titled “Maintaining aCompetitive edge” where PMeX COO Amjad Khanspoke on “Preparing your exchange for remoteaccess nodes and Foreign Markets”. STAFF REPORT

President Engro corporation takes early retirement ISLAMABAD: After more than twenty-seven yearswith engro, Asad Umar President and CeO of engroCorporation has decided to take early retirementand pursue other interests. Mr. Umar joined exxonChemical Pakistan Limited in February 1985 as aBusiness Analyst. his career progressed throughvarious assignments in different divisions of thecompany and he was appointed CeO of engroPolymer & Chemicals in October 1997. In January2004 he became the President and CeO of engroCorporation (then known as engro Chemical.) Mr.Umar has not only provided leadership in theorganization at various levels, but has also been anactive contributor on various boards both insideand outside engro. In his eight years as Presidentand CeO of engro Corporation, Mr. Umar hasdramatically transformed a chemical company intoa major Pakistani conglomerate. PRESS RELEASE

WAPDA installs 6 desalination plantsalong manchar lakeLAHORE: The Pakistan Water and PowerDevelopment Authority (WAPDA) has completed thetask of installing six desalination plants alongManchar lake for providing potable water to thepopulace residing in the areas adjacent to the lake.The honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan, during thehearing of a suo-moto notice, had directed WAPDAand the Sindh Government to install desalinationplants along the lake to provide contamination-free,safe drinking water to the fishermen folk of the area.The water treatment plants installed by WAPDA incompliance with the orders of the Supreme Courthave cumulative design capacity of 6000 liters perhour. Over 2,000 families of fishermen folk (about16,000 to 20,000 persons) are being facilitated withquality potable water (total dissolved solids 200 -300 particles per million) by treating high salineeffluent of Manchar lake (total dissolved solids 5000- 7000 particles per million). WAPDA has also madearrangements for effective operation andmaintenance of the plants. In addition to the sixplants mentioned above, is also installing anothersix plants of the same capacity on behalf of theSindh Government. These plants, expected to beoperational by April 30, will provide safe drinkingwater to another 16,000 to 20,000 people alongManchar lake. STAFF REPORT

CORPORATE CORNER

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change Turnover

UniLever Pak LtdXD 5824.57 5997.99 5652.00 5873.33 48.76 17Colgate Palmolive 755.00 792.00 780.00 790.60 35.60 67Bhanero Tex. 204.00 210.00 200.10 209.57 5.57 209Lucky Cement 120.94 126.98 121.00 126.37 5.43 3,199,676Packages Ltd.SPOT 105.02 110.27 107.01 110.25 5.23 558,640

Major Losers

Nestle PakXD 4356.08 4549.00 4142.00 4281.97 -74.11 89Bata (Pak) XD 634.16 665.00 615.00 620.42 -13.74 63MCB Bank Limited 174.90 173.90 166.16 168.73 -6.17 1,581,944Sanofi-AventisSPOT 190.77 187.90 182.50 184.22 -6.55 341Ferozsons (Lab) Ltd. 76.50 74.99 72.68 72.68 -3.82 7,324

Volume Leaders

Jah.Sidd. Co. 18.77 19.10 17.77 17.79 -0.98 28,789,435Fauji Cement 6.15 6.86 5.85 6.76 0.61 25,499,461Dewan Cement 6.46 6.48 5.46 6.27 -0.19 19,506,100D.G.K.Cement 38.42 40.34 37.30 40.30 1.88 16,738,334Lafarge Pakistan 4.91 5.30 4.55 5.24 0.33 14,376,036

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 90.6904UK Pound 143.5811Japanese Yen 1.1238euro 118.0064

Dollar EastBuy Sell

US Dollar 90.80 91.30Euro 118.04 119.10Great Britain Pound 143.34 144.59Japanese Yen 1.1185 1.1282Canadian Dollar 89.84 91.13Hong Kong Dollar 11.55 11.71UAE Dirham 24.65 24.84Saudi Riyal 24.15 24.33Australian Dollar 93.03 95.30

KARACHI

STAFF REPORT

The day saw the benchmark100-share index decreasingby 28072 points to

13,770.71 points against 13,799.43points of last week. AhsanMehanti, Director at Arif habib In-vestments Limited., said that thePakistan Stocks closed lower amidthin trade after institutional profit-taking in banking stocks on SBPraise of minimum rate to 6pc ondeposits in the policy announce-ment on April13.

Total numbers of Shares of360 companies were traded onfirst working day of the week Mon-day, and at the end of the day total141stocks closed higher, total 143are declined while 76 remainedflat. The overall value of sharestraded during the day was Rs 2.610billion. The trading volumes at theready-counter were recorded lowerat 261.021 million shares against380.025 million shares of the pre-vious week. The trading value de-creasing to Rs 6.234 billioncompared to Rs 8.859 billion of theprevious session. The intradayhigh and low, respectively, stood at13,822.94 and 13, 571.81 points.Market capitalization declined to

3.531 trillion from 3.537 trillion.The index recovered from days lowon investor interest in bluechipfertilizer and oil sector stocks onstrong valuations in the quarterend earnings announcement ses-sion at KSe, viewed Mehanti. KSeAll share-index ended the day at9,679.91 points, down 15.63 pointsor 0.91 percent, KSe 30-indexstopped the day at 12, 085.60points, down 20.16 points or 0.17percent while the KMI 30-indexslumped by 216.55 points or 0.91percent to end the day at 23,917.37. he added that the Uncer-tainty in global stocks and com-modities on europe debt criseskept foreign interest on lower side.

Jahangir Siddiqui Companywas volume leader of the day,28.789 million shares and loose Rs1.02 to close at Rs 17.79, followedby Fauji Cement, Dewan Cement,D.G.K Cement and Lafarge Pak-istan with turnover of Rs 25.499million, Rs 19.506 million, Rs16.738 million and 14.376 millionshares respectively. The UniLeverPakistan Limited XD and ColgatePalmolive, up Rs 48.76 and Rs35.60, led highest price gainerswhile, nestle Pakistan XD and BataPakistan XD, down Rs 74.11 and Rs13.74 respectively, led the losers.

Institutional profit-takingallows bears to curb bullsurge, KSE down 28 pts

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

STRIKe being observed onthe call of Federal Rev-enue Alliance (FRA) em-

ployees Union across the countryby employees of the FederalBoard of Revenue (FBR) enteredin to 10th day on Monday andFRA members also observedtoken hunger strike to make theirmovement more convincingagainst the proposal of promotionof senior auditors as AssistantCommissioner (Inland Revenue).

Federal Revenue Alliance(FRA) employees Union workersvowed to continue their move-ment till the acceptance of theirdemands. A spokesman of theUnion claimed that employees ofthe Lahore Dry Port and employ-ees of all the RTOs joined theunion in this movement.

FRA employees Union Presi-dent Mian Abdul Qayyum, ChiefOrganizer Malik Aamir Riaz,President Lahore Region Syednaeem Abbas Shah and othersaddressed the workers on this oc-casion and said that hunger strikeof the employees would shake theanti-employees elements sittingin Finance Division.

FRA employees Union Presi-

dent Mian Abdul Qayyum speak-ing on this occasion said thatsoon those elements would failwho wanted to usurp the rights ofthe employees. he said that em-ployees would be succeeded intheir struggle and today’s hungerstrike is a symbol of trust of theemployees in FRA leadership. healleged that FBR employees werebeing exploited through out thecountry. he said that strike hadparalyzed the revenue collectionwork through out the country. hesaid dual policy of the bureau-cracy concerned had also exposedand funds of the FBR employeeshad been freezed and finance di-vision was playing the role ofsilent spectator on it.

Mian Abdul Qayyum andother speakers said that theirdemands are restoration offreezed 100 per cent special atthe earliest, up gradation andpromotion of FBR inspectorsfrom grade 14 to 16, withdrawalof notification of promotion ofauditors as Unit In Charge/As-sistant Commissioners LandRevenue and their promotionaccording to their own careerpath. Up-gradation of class-ivemployees and approval for giv-ing recruitment to children ofFBR employees.

PBIT ’s ITALIAn JOB

BenvenutoPBIT VC apprises Italianambassador on investmentopportunities in Punjab

LAHORE

STAFF REPORT

AMBASSADOR of Italy, VincenzoPrati, called on Vice Chairman ofPunjab Board of Investment &

Trade (PBIT), Dr. Miftah Ismail, andChief executive Officer, Dr SajidYoosufani accompanied by FirstSecretary of Italian embassy, Dr.Federico Bianchi. The meeting centeredon the investment potential of Punjaband the opportunities it has to offer tothe Italian investors.Speaking on the occasion, VC PBIT, Dr.Miftah Ismail, apprised the Ambassadoron the investment opportunities inPunjab with special emphasis on sectorscrucial to capacity building like miningand infrastructure development, energy,agriculture and livestock. he said thatPBIT is fully committed to realize theChief Minister Punjab’s vision ofsustainable development in Punjab. hefurther added, “PBIT, backed by a strongpolitical will and commitment, willassure one hundred percent support forevery business endeavor by Italian firmsto invest in Punjab”,Ambassador Vincenzo Prati conveyed astrong expression of interest on behalf ofItalian investors to invest in Punjab. hesaid that the fashion industry of Punjabwill play a pivotal role in improving theimage of Pakistan in the Western worldand there is a lot of potential forcollaboration between Pakistani andItalian fashion designers especiallythrough Milan Fashion week. “Punjab isfull of opportunities for Italian investorsand the presence of Italian companieshere is a strong evidence of that”, theItalian Ambassador further added.It was reiterated that the Italian embassyin Islamabad would ensure that muchmore Italian companies take interest ininvesting in Punjab, especially in theareas of agricultural value addition,infrastructure development, fashion,textile and telecommunications.

FRA puts the bite on FBRFOOD FOR THOUGHT

g FRA continues to say no to food, yes toshakeup in finance division

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