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CIA to be stonewalled in Pak: Malik See on Page 8
Commonman will have his day: PM See on Page 8
Syria blasts village near Turkish border See on Page 8
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Pir Mazhar says no oneis immune from critique
Karachi, Sunday, June 19, 2011, Rajab-ul-Murajjab 16, Price Rs12 Pages 8
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Waterand Power Syed Naveed QamarSaturday said the government wasmaking all out efforts to resolve theissue of Karachi Electric SupplyCompany (KESC), which should notbe politicised.
Responding a Point of Order raisedby Parliamentary Leader of MQM DrFarooq Sattar, Naveed Qamar said thatthe Prime Minister had already takennotice of the matter and various meet-ings have been held to resolve it ami-cably.
He hoped that the KESC manage-
ment and workers union would soonreach an amicable agreement to endthe crisis.
Earlier, Farooq Sattar of MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) urged thegovernment to constitute a committeecomprising federal ministers and rep-resentatives to resolve the KESCissue.
He said," At the time when we aretalking about budget and economicmanagement, it is imperative that wepaid heed to the energy issue that isvital for industrial growth".
See # 6 Page 7
KESC issue shouldn'tbe politicised: Qamar
Says solar energy to domestic users soon
KARACHI: The challan in thecase of unarmed SarfarazShah's killing by Rangers per-sonnel was presented before anAnti Terrorism Court (ATC) onSaturday, local media reported.
Public Prosecutor, IrshadIqbal Cheema submitted thechallan which includes state-ments of 46 witnesses, two ofthem eye witnesses.
Fourteen pieces of evidencein connection with the casehave been gathered including aweapon, blood-soaked clothes(of Sarfaraz Shah) and a cell
phone belonging to one of theRangers personnel.
On the other hand the twocases against Sarfaraz Shahhave been discarded while afresh case of carrying illegalarm against the Rangers' partin-charge under Section 13-Dhas been registered.
According to police, onWednesday, June 8, SarfarazShah was shot at and then leftto die by the Rangers personnelin the Shaheed Benazir BhuttoPark within the jurisdiction of
See # 1 Page 7
Sarfarazcase challan
in ATC's court
Case against Rangers party in-charge on cards
ISLAMABAD: The NationalAssembly Saturday approved20 demands for grants worthRs0.141 trillion for the CabinetDivision with majority of voteswhile rejecting 144 cutmotions presented by theOpposition.
Finance Minister Dr HafeezShaikh presented the demandsof Cabinet Division in theHouse while the Oppositionmembers Shireen Arshad Khan,Tahria Aurangzaib, MalikShakir Basir, Raja MuhammadAsad, Saira Afazal, NuzhatSadiq, Asia Nasir, AnushaRehman, Khalida Mansoor,Shahnaz Salim, ParveenMasood Bhatti, ArshadLaghari, Chaudhary SaoodMajeed, Qudsia Arshad andAkhtar Kanju submitted their
cut motions.Opening the debate on cut
motions, PML-N Central leaderSardar Mehtab Ahmed KhanAbbasi alleged that CabinetDivision was not working prop-erly under rules and regulations.
He said that sufferings ofpeople have increased manifolddue to poor performance of thedivision.
He criticised CapitalDevelopment Authority (CDA)for becoming the den of corrup-tion and suggested that a highpowered committee should beformed to look into its affairs.
He said that contracts werebeing awarded to blue-eyedpeople by violating the rulesand regulations while theauthority was bringing not onlya bad name to the government
but was a burden on nationalexchequer also.
PML-N lawmaker, ZahidHamid said that size of federalcabinet was too large as com-pared to the other countries. Healleged that performance offederal cabinet was not up tothe mark despite 45 ministersand demanded that the size ofcabinet should be reducedkeeping in view the current cri-sis situation.
PML-N lawmaker ShahidKhakan Abbasi said that itwas ironic that the govern-ment has allocated Rs98 mil-lion for purchasing helicop-ters while a meager amount ofRs0.4 million has been ear-marked for making Urdu ourofficial language.
See # 3 Page 7
Rs0.141tnnodded forCabinet DivNA OKs over Rs500bn for Defence Division
KABUL: The United States is in con-tact with the Taliban about a possiblesettlement to the near decade-long warin Afghanistan, Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai said on Saturday, thefirst official confirmation of USinvolvement in negotiations.
Karzai said that an Afghan pushtoward peace talks had not yet reacheda stage where the government and
insurgents were meeting, but their rep-resentatives had been in touch.
"Peace talks are going on with theTaliban. The foreign military andespecially the United States itself isgoing ahead with these negotiations,"Karzai said in a speech in Kabul.
"The peace negotiations between(the) Afghan government and the
See # 5 Page 7
Karzai confirms USin talks with Taliban
ISLAMABAD: Minister of State forForeign Affairs and Economic AffairsDivision Hina Rabbani Khar Saturday toldthe National Assembly that additionalfunds had been allocated for some depart-ments of the ministries being transferred toprovinces under 18th Amendment.
Winding up debate on cut motions aboutthe Cabinet and Establishment Division,Hina Khar said the 18th Amendment waspassed by the Parliament and the ministrieswere transferred to the provinces with con-sultation of the political parties. However,some of their attached departments wouldremain with the federal government underthe decision of 18th AmendmentImplementation Commission.
She said some members of the NationalAssembly (MNAs) had questioned the
large size of Cabinet during the budgetdebate which was wrong. She clarified thatpresently there were only 29 federal minis-ters, nine ministers of state, four advisorsand three special assistants to the PrimeMinisters and no one else was taking suchbenefits.
She said that a question was also raised inthe House that the developing countrieswere minimising their cabinet expenditures.
It is a matter of pleasure that Pakistan isalso among such countries with cutting itsexpenditures by 18 per cent reducing itsCabinet Division budget from Rs 224 mil-lion to Rs180 million.
The Minister of State said that the basicreason of increase in expenditures of theCabinet Division was raise in the salariesof government employees.-APP
Provinces-boundministries slecteddepts to get funds
ISLAMABAD: The PrivatisationCommission (PC) is invitingExpressions of Interest (EOI)s fromLead Manager/Book Runner(s), forthe Secondary Public Offering ofPakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL)approximately 2.5 per cent(21,105,688) shares through domesticstock exchange(s). Presently, GoPholds 70.56 per cent of PPL shares.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) isa frontline supplier in energy sector,contributing almost 25 per cent of thecountry's total natural gas suppliesbesides producing crude oil, naturalgas liquid and liquefied petroleum gas.Its proven recoverable reserves are2.87 Tcf of natural gas, 14.8bbl ofoil/NGL and 316,000 tonnes of LPG.
PPL is listed on all three stockexchanges in Pakistan.
Lead Manager/ Book Runner (s)who has recognised equity sales anddistribution capabilities and demon-strable track record of successfullymanaging and executing similar trans-actions will manage the Transaction.In addition to the public offer for sale,the appointed Lead Manager/Bookrunner(s) may recommend other suit-able capital market structural alterna-tives under the prevailing capital mar-ket conditions in order to maximisevalue extraction for GOP and bringlong term benefits to PPL.
The interested Parties (IPs) havebeen advised to submit EOIs along
See # 4 Page 7
Lead manager, bookrunner(s) wooed for
PPL’s 2nd public offer
Powerdemandjumps to
18,000MWISLAMABAD: The presentdemand of electricity reached18,000 megawatt, while thecountry's generating capacity is13,240 megawatt resulting in ashortfall of 4,760 megawatt.
According to PakistanElectric Power Company, thereason behind the current short-fall is the reduction in the pro-duction of electricity theIndependent Power Producers(IPPs) due to the shortage of oiland gas supply.
A private channel reported asthe electricity demand goes upin Lahore, an increase has alsooccurred in the unscheduledload shedding. The city is fac-ing a load shedding of 10 to 12hours a day.
The scheduled electricity loadshedding in Karachi is 10 hoursbut the power has been suspend-ed for 14 hours a day in the city.
See # 8 Page 7
Mandviwalasees $10bn
Pak-Indtrade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan andIndia can increase trade volumeup to $10 billion by removingbarriers and reducing additionalcosts and also reduce depend-ence on other global sources oftrade which are relatively costly.
Chairman of Board ofInvestment (BOI) Saleem HMandviwala this said during ameeting with Indian CommerceMinister Anand Sharma on thesidelines of InternationalEconomic Forum in StPetersburg. The BOI Chairmanon a three-day visit to Russia toattend the Forum, said a mes-sage received here from StPetersburg on Saturday.
See # 2 Page 7
No strikeat fieldoffices,
FBR clarifiesISLAMABAD: A spokesper-son of the Federal Board ofRevenue (FBR) Saturday saidno strike was being observed atfield offices.
FBR spokesperson RiffatShaheen Qazi in a statementissued here clarified reportsappeared in a section of thepress that FBR officials at somefield locations have gone onstrike to press their demands forupgradation of posts of IncomeTax Inspectors to BS 16.
She said the FBR manage-ment had it verified that noofficials were on strike at thereported field formations.There was normal workingthere.
The employees, she said, hadalso strongly refuted such newsor rumours of strike and reiterat-ed their commitment to achievethe assigned revenue targetsduring the current month.
See # 7 Page 7
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassadors designate to Singapore, Iran and Tajikistancalled on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr.-APP
See on Page 2
Some departments to stay with Fed: Hina Khar
2 Sunday, June 19, 2011
KARACHI: Karachi Port Trust, inline with rising shipping demands,has enabled container terminalslocated at Karachi harbour to han-dle ships of draft 12.5 meters.
It is a quantum leap and is boundto provide enormous benefits toship owners who could now availdiscounts through deployment ofmother vessels and can also takethe benefits of economy of scales.
Karachi Port Trust is continuous-ly working to achieve a depth of 14meters which is the maximum forthe vessels calling in the region.
Besides this, KPT has taken theinitiative to reduce port charges forregular caller vessels. KPT has alsointroduced a special tariff forPakistani flag vessels and a specialport tariff for employing PakistaniOfficers and Crew. The port author-ity has successfully negotiated anunprecedented reduction in theKarachi Dock Labour Board Cesscharges by 20 percent. The eveninggathering was hosted to mark thedeepening of terminal draft to 12.5meters which was well attended by
official of various sector from portsand shipping industry.
Speaking on the occasion thechief guest, Chairperson KPT, Mrs.Nasreen Haque said that the currenttrend of revamping and moderniz-ing ports and port related facilitieshas become a global imperative.
"We at KPT are acutely aware ofthis phenomenon and endeavourdiligently to keep pace with it, sheadded. She stressed upon the sin-gular interest which centres aroundthe quick turnaround and ability tomatch the ever deepening draft ofmodern post Panamax ships andthat KPT under her watch hasalong bee cognizant of this vitaldevelopment which has become anintegral part of our conceptualvision. Presenting the statistics shesaid that the cargo handling byKPT in 2004-2005 was over 28million tonnes while in 2009-2010it rose to 41 million tonnes show-ing a whopping increase of morethan 45%.
Haque said that KPT handledsimilarly 0.9 million tonnes of con-
tainers (TEU) in 2004-2005 whichgrew to over 1.47 million tonnes in2009-2010. She said further thatour progress does not end here butthe competent services and facili-ties has led to an increase in shipcalls from 1768 ships in 2004-2005to 2146 ships in 2009-2010 andsimilarly gross registered tonnage(GRT) of ships has increase from34 to 55 million during the sameperiod.
With regards to the deepening ofKarachi Harbour, the chairpersontermed the deepening of two metersas a milestone achievement andvowed to keep the trend in continu-um foreseeing shipping demands.She said that this 12.5 meters depthwill allow 300 meters length overall (LOA) ships to call on KarachiPort. She said opined that in linewith our set goals we are forgingahead and will be able to welcomedeeper draft vessels in 6 weeks timewhich was well applauded by theshipping community gathered onthe occasion to conclude the pro-ceedings of the day. NNI
KPT terminals now able tohandle 12.5m draft vessels
KARACHI: Sindh Education Minister,Pir Mazharul Haque has said that theprovincial government has allocated anamount Rs7 billion in the annual budg-et for education besides introducing afew reforms in education sector.
Addressing at a dinner hosted bylocal entrepreneur Hanif Gohar tohonor business leader and President,Pak-India Chamber of Commerce andIndustry, S M Muneer at a local hotelwherein President, PakistanBusinessmen and Intellectuals Forum(PBIF), Mian Zahid Husain andChairman, Korangi Association ofTrade and Industry, Syed Johar AliQandhari were the guests of honor,minister said that his government ismaking various measures to improvestandard of government schools in theprovince. He pointed out that duringdemocratic regime a total of 1,100ghost schools were detected and theirpremises have been vacated from locallandlords who made them their'Auta'aq'.
He stressed the need to continue dem-ocratic process and those generals whobroke the constitution should be takento task. "The nation should hang thosegenerals who dare to break Pakistan 'sconstitution", minister said adding thatno one has immunity from criticismwhether they are generals or politi-cians. While paying glowing tributes toS M Muneer for his services to thebusiness community and general mass-es he invited business representatives tohis native city Dadu where Muneerwould be honored by the residents ofDadu and present him the key of thecity. Speaking on the occasion thePresident, Federation of PakistanChambers of Commerce and Industry(FPCCI), Senator Haji Ghulam Ali saidthat the business community has savedPakistan from default by continuingindustrial activities and generatinghuge revenue to run the government butit's a pity that present government is notfurther squeezing businessmen formore taxes but strangulating them inorder to destroy the local industry andcreating more and more unemploy-ment.
Citing the example of present govern-ment of Turkey and its Prime Minister,Tayyiap Erdogan who by giving busi-ness community top priority, has madeTurkey Europe's most progressiveeconomy. He lamented the governmentfor fighting USA 's so-called war onterror, said that we are still lookingtowards USA without realizing the factthat USA is the biggest enemyofPakistan .
S M Muneer while speaking on theoccasion categorically rejected theimposition of sales tax on import ofmachinery and said that business com-munity would never accept it and fightits levying until the government with-draws it. He expressed his sheer con-cern over the deteriorating law andorder situation and worsening conditionof trade and industry due to uncontrol-lable load-shedding and power outagesdue to ongoing confrontation betweenKESC management and unions.
He said that Karachi 's situation hasnow become unbearable and govern-ment should immediately take stringentaction to restore power supply andmaintain law and order.
Mian Zahid Husain has expressed hisdismay over curtailing developmentbudget under PSDP (Pakistan SpecialDevelopment Program).
"Government should not compromisewith the most important sector in thebudget as only development budget canensure trade and industrial activities inthe country. He said that FBR shouldbring more and more people into taxnet but it should be through propercheck and balance. Johar Ali Qandhariemphasized that education sectorshould have been given first priority inthe budget. He showed dismay overgovernment's decision not to bring agri-culture sector into tax net.
He pointed out that agri-sector haspaid only a meager amount of Rs300million. "I am sure that this amount isgenerated by Korangi Industrial Areagenerates on daily basis".
Vice President, FPCCI, KhalidTawab, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, MPA,Amanullah Masood and Hanif Goharalso spoke on the occasion. NNI
Pir Mazharsays no oneis immune
from critique
PTCL takes1LINK intocorporatecustomer'sportfolio
KARACHI: PTCL turnedanother milestone by theentry of 1LINK(Guarantee) Limited in itscorporate customer's port-folio.
In this regard, PTCL willprovide Data Centre servic-es, MPLS connectivity for30+participant banks andlong-haul connectivity.
1LINK (Guarantee)Limited is a consortium ofmajor banks that owns andoperates the largest repre-sentative shared financialservices network ofPakistan. The synergy offinancial institutions work-ing together for a commongoal has steadily increasedthe strength and services of1LINK (Guarantee)Limited.
1LINK (Guarantee)Limited has become awidely acknowledgedbrand with an increasingnumber of member banks.The company is serving asa catalyst for the develop-ment of e-Banking in thecountry.
PTCL, the largesttelecommunication serviceprovider in the country ispleased to provide thisprestigious institution abouquet of its services.These services offersecure, reliable and inte-grated end to end connec-tivity solutions to cater1LINK's requirements.PTCL further aspires toequip 1LINK (Guarantee)Limited with its state of theart services.
The agreement signingceremony was held atPTCL's Data Centre,CTHBuilding, I. I.Chundrigar Road, Karachion June 16, 2011.
The event was graced bythe presence of ChiefExecutive Officer Mr.Khayyam Mehmood Buttand Vice President Head ofTechnology & OperationsMr. Akber Sultan from1LINK Guarantee Limited,Senior Executive VicePresident (South) Mr.Abdullah Yousef,Executive Vice PresidentCS&PD Mr. Niaz .A.Malik, General ManagerCorporate Sales Mr.Kamran Mehmood, SeniorManager Corporate SalesMr. Salman Saad Khan andKey Account Manager Mr.Javaid Bhatti from PTCL.
SEVP BZS Mr. AbdullaYousef said "PTCL is heav-ily investing in ICT assetson behalf of our customersso that they can focus ontheir core competencies.PTCL is deeply committedto provide technology ofinternational standards toGovernment, Financial andEnterprise markets so thatit can play a major role inthe development of thecountry". -APP
KARACHI: Considering theimportance of inclusion of youngblood in different functional areasof the Bank, NBP has hired young,energetic and fresh graduates asManagement Trainee Officers(MTOs) under the umbrella of itsManagement Trainee Program.
The newly hired ManagementTrainees have joined GeneralBanking, Human Resource,Information Technology and Audit.
With the current induction of 256Management Trainees, the Bankhas so far hired 1,400 plus high cal-iber business graduates on meritthrough rigorous selection processunder the auspices of the Instituteof Bankers Pakistan.
Dr Mirza Abrar Baig, GroupChief Human Resource
Management & Administrationwhile addressing the new inducteesof Batch XIV under theManagement Trainees program saidthat the team work and positiveattitude are at the heart of careerbuilding efforts of any young grad-uate.
These two elements will help inachieving goals and meeting thechallenges to come, he said.
" Like any other progressive anddynamic corporate entity NBP isalso strengthening its employeebase in line with best internationalHR practices. We are focused oncapacity building of the bankthrough induction of high calibertalent from the market and strength-ening the functional areas aftertheir comprehensive training. This
will help improve the customerservice and internal controls in thebank going forward.
Dr. Abrar encouraged the induc-tion of females as ManagementTrainees through open competitionand assured that female empower-ment shall continue to be substra-tum of NBP policy", he said.
NBP possess a progressive devel-opment plan for high caliber busi-ness graduates who want to maketheir career in banking, he said.
He said that through itsManagement Trainees Program theBank strives to tap young anddynamic talent and looks forwardto impart all the desired capabilitiesto groom them into a pool of talent-ed future leaders and growthengines for the Bank. NNI
NBP’s human resourcingsets some new standards
ISLAMABAD: The PakistanMicrofinance Network (PMN) andInstitute of Management Sciences(IMSciences), Peshawarhave signed aMemorandum of Understanding, initiat-ing the PMN Academic LinkagesProgram at the prestigious university.
The Memorandum was signed bySyed Mohsin Ahmed, CEO of PMN,and Dr. Nasser Ali Khan, Director ofIMSciences, marking the beginning of acollaborative relationship between thetwo organizations.
In the MoU, PMN agrees to sharemicrofinance data and opportunitieswith IMSciences students, where theywill be informed of projects, internshipsand job vacancies at all PMN memberorganizations. IMSciences will recipro-cate by informing PMN of applicantsfor jobs and projects and allow microfi-nance material to be displayed and dis-tributed on the campus.
The Academic Linkages Initiative byPMN is part of the Network's capacitybuilding objective. Since its inception,capacity building has been one of theNetwork's primary concerns, taking intoaccount both the training and non-train-ing needs of its members. Building aca-demic linkages will allow PMN to drawquality human resource and buildknowledge platforms through contribu-tions from both the practitioner and aca-demic realms.
The two organizations will alsoencourage an exchange of dialogue andinformation by facilitating researchforums and participating at lectures andconferences arranged by the other.IMSciences will coordinate with PMNin inviting guest speakers on microfi-nance related subjects to the campus.
PMN collaborates with practitionersto collate and compile discourse onmicrofinance, adaptable across businessprograms in the country. Inserting abody of knowledge at the level of theacademic institution will translate into ahealthier turn out of interns, employees,researchers and instructors for theindustry in the future while increasingoptions for the students and faculty.
PMN is an association of 26 retailmicrofinance providers (MFPs) andrepresents approximately 95% of themicrofinance market in Pakistan. It ispositioned to engage with and facilitatethe stakeholders in the industry andfocuses on serving as an informationhub, promoting an enabling environ-ment and building the capacity of stake-holders.
The Institute of ManagementSciences, Peshawar, is an innovative,and enterprising business school dedi-cated to providing management educa-tion based in cutting-edge research andcomprehensive training. Unlike conven-tional academic institutes, IMSciencesbroadens its educational focus inresponse to new trends in the develop-ing field of management.
Based on the social values of integri-ty, honesty, professional excellence anda broad vision of life, the Institute aimsto provide educational experience thattransforms its students into businessleaders at par with international man-agers, executives, and entrepreneurs.Since its inception in 1995, the school'sacademic rigor and avant-gardeapproach to management educationhave produced alumnae that shape theworld of business at regional, national,and international level. NNI
PMN, IMSciences,
ink MoU to set up
academic linkages
FAISALABAD: People enjoy at the Chenab River side during pleasant weather on Saturday. -Online
LAHORE: Poor nomadic children wash their clothes in rainwater accumulated at roadside on Saturday. -Online
Sunday, June 19, 20113
Worn out by a fast-paced life andfaster-paced television shows butlack a vacation budget? Take a
five-day cruise along Norway's scenicfjords, all free and streamed live onNorwegian public television.
For 8,040 minutes straight -- includingall the boring bits -- viewers can follow theHurtigruten MMS Nordnorge cruise shipand its roughly 670 passengers and crew asthe vessel steams north along Norway'sjagged coastline.
The "minute-by-minute" coverage start-ed on Thursday and includes all on-boardannouncements and views from 11 cam-eras focusing on the spectacular fjords,boat traffic around the ship, officers on thebridge and the mostly elderly passengersstrolling the decks and taking in thescenery.
"It is slow, it is very slow," said RuneMoeklebust, the project manager for the
show running on the NRK2 channel."It is the opposite to everything else on
TV -- that's why it stands out and why,apparently, people want to watch."
Preliminary viewing data is encouraging,Moeklebust told Reuters, with 1.3 millionof Norway's 4.9 million residents at least"stopping by" NRK2 between 8 p.m. and 3a.m. on the first day.
With a peak audience of 325,000 andsome 160,000 glued to the broadcast forthe entire 7-hour period, the "live docu-mentary" grabbed more viewers thanNRK2's usual programing.
Passengers, mostly from Norway andGermany, booked tickets for the 1,460 nau-tical mile voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes,a Barents Sea port near the Russian borderdeep in the Arctic, without knowing theywould be part of what NRK said is set to bethe world's longest uninterrupted livebroadcast.
They were informed about the live-broadcasting plan by mail and in meetingsafter boarding in Bergen on Thursday.
"Some say it's like watching paint dry butit's so fun to sit in the master control roomand mix the cameras," said Moeklebust,adding that 22 NRK crew were aboard thevessel providing the non-stop coverage.
Moeklebust said the idea for the cruiselivecast came after the success of his previ-ous minute-by-minute coverage from atrain making a 7-hour trip between Osloand Bergen, which was viewed at least inpart by 1.2 million people in 2009.
"That night we realized just how muchpeople wanted to see TV like this and westarted thinking about what would be theultimate Norwegian voyage," he said. "Formany Norwegians, this is the most impor-tant trip of their lives... which tells the storyof their coastline and shows its fantasticscenery."
“Very slow” live cruise show a hit on Norwegian TV S
amsung Electronics andother Asian technologystocks tumbled on
Friday on fears the sputteringglobal economy will crimpdemand for computers andTVs and hurt earnings at chipand panel makers for the restof the year.
Investors, who had expectedJapan's earthquake threemonths ago to lift prices ofmemory chips and flatscreens, dumped shares oftech firms in South Korea,Taiwan and Japan.
The tech sector serves as thebellwether for global con-sumer demand and its outlookhas been soured by the debtcrisis in Europe and sluggishU.S. job and housing markets.
"The tech momentumappears to be dead," said ChaKyung-jin, a fund manger atGolden Bridge AssetManagement, which ownsSamsung shares.
"Expectations have been low-ered on the global economyand tech earnings in the sec-ond half."
Shares in SamsungElectronics, the world'sbiggest technology firm byrevenue, slid 3.4 percent in itsbiggest daily decline in threemonths.
Hynix Semiconductor, theworld's No.2 memory chip-maker, skidded 6.1 percent,and LG Display, which viesfor the world's top flat-screenmaker title with Samsung,tumbled 6.8 percent, amidlowered earnings expecta-tions. In Japan, ElpidaMemory lost 2.8 percent andTaiwan's Nanya Technologydropped 7 percent, while AUOptronics and Chimei Innoluxlost 5.1 percent and 4.1 per-cent, respectively.
"There are concerns thattech firms may see little earn-ings recovery in the secondhalf after posting poor second-quarter earnings. There is tra-ditionally high demand in thesecond half, but seasonalitymay be weak this year becauseof macroeconomic difficul-ties," said Park Jong-min, afund manager at INGInvestment Management.
"Businesses are reluctant tobuild up inventory because ofmacroeconomic uncertaintiesand as they have already piledup components after theMarch 11 quake on fears of aparts shortage," he said. INGowns shares of Samsung and
Hynix.The regional MSCI technol-
ogy index lost 1.8 percent onFriday. The U.S. PhiladelphiaSemiconductor Index shed 1.1percent on Thursday, and hasfallen 16.5 percent in fourmonths.
LOWERED EARNINGSOUTLOOK
Global PC shipments, whichin recent years grew by doubledigits annually barring 2009and serve as a key growthdriver of the memory chipindustry, are set to grow byonly 5 percent this year asconsumers opt for populartablets and smartphones.
Samsung, which is set toupdate the market with its sec-ond-quarter earnings estimatesin the first week of July,declined to comment on thecurrent quarter's results.
"Second-quarter is a typical-ly weak season but the marketcondition was slightly worse
than usual because tightnessthat many people had expectedafter the quake didn't reallyhappen due to weak demand,"said a senior executive at amajor Korean electronics firm.The official declined to benamed because he was notauthorized to speak to themedia.
Analysts' expectations for arecovery in the loss-makingflat screen businesses ofSamsung and LG Displayhave now been pushed backfrom the second quarter as TVsales remain weak.
Samsung' second-quarteroperating profit is forecast tobe around 4 trillion won($3.66 billion), ThomsonReuters I/B/E/S data showed,compared to 5 trillion won ayear ago. Earnings expecta-tions were being downgradedfurther. "We recently loweredour second-quarter operatingprofit forecast on SamsungElectronics to 3.6 trillionwon," said Jin Seong-hye, ananalyst at Hyundai Securities.
Hynix is seen posting a 553billion won operating profitfor the quarter ending in June,according to Thomson ReutersI/B/E/S, compared with a 1trillion won operating profit ayear earlier. "I cut my consen-sus forecast (for Hynix's sec-ond-quarter earnings) to 420billion won, but I am alsohearing talk in the market of360 billion won," said JamesSong, an analyst at HIInvestment & Securities.
Samsung, other Asian tech shares tumble on earnings worries
Hackers struck Malaysianwebsites for a second day onFriday, an Internet regulatorsaid, as the country scrambledto bring its government portalback online after the latest out-break in a cyberwar waged byonline activists.
The attacks followed a warn-ing by Internet vigilante groupAnonymous, which said itplanned to target the Malaysiangovernment's official portalwww.malaysia.gov.my to pun-ish it for censoring WikiLeaks.
In the attacks, which startedin the early hours of Thursday,91 Malaysian websites werehit, including 51 governmentwebpages. Fewer attacks werereported on Friday.
The official governmentwebsite was back online onFriday and most other websiteshad recovered, said HusinJazri, chief executive ofCyberSecurity Malaysia,which is responsible for pro-tecting the country's cyber-
space borders."Our focus now is to halt the
attack and to help the victimsto get their websites up andrunning as usual," Husin saidin a statement. "The attack isstill ongoing but at a reducingrate compared to yesterday."
Husin did not say how manywebsites were attacked onFriday. Local media reportedthat Malaysian hackers alsoparticipated in the attack thatwas first announced this weekby Anonymous, which fre-quently tries to shut down thewebsites of businesses andother organizations it opposes.
Husin said police had identi-fied some of the hackers butgave no further details. Policeofficials were not immediatelyavailable to comment.
State news agency Bernamaquoted Science, Technologyand Innovation MinisterMaximus Ongkili as saying 90percent of the hackers wereMalaysians.
Anonymous gained notorietywhen it temporarily crippledthe websites of MasterCardand Paypal that cut off finan-cial services to WikiLeaks, thewebsite that aims to hold gov-ernments and corporations toaccount by leaking secret doc-uments. Hackers have alsostruck multinational firms andinstitutions, from the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency toCitigroup to the InternationalMonetary Fund.
Anonymous members crip-ple websites by overwhelmingthem with traffic in what arecommonly known as "denial ofservice" attacks. The hackinggroup has also brought downwebsites in Syria, Tunisia,Egypt and India for politicalreasons.
The spate of attacks byAnonymous and other groupshas raised concerns that gov-ernments and the private sectormay unprepared to defendthemselves.
Hackers strike Malaysian websites for a second day
GooglebackedXunlei
postponesup to $200mnNasdaq IPO
HONG KONG: Xunlei Ltd, aChinese Internet platform com-pany in which Google Inc has asmall stake, decided to post-pone its initial public offeringof up to $200 million in theUnited States because of unfa-vorable market conditions, IFRreported on Friday, quoting a
source with knowledge of thedecision.
Shenzen, China-based Xunleihad planned to start meetingson June 17 with investors togauge demand for its IPO, saidIFR, a Thomson Reuters publi-cation.
The decision comes as aslump in global equity marketshas forced several companies topostpone or cancel their IPOplans. Companies delaying orcancelling IPOs include U.S.lender Ally Financial Inc,Australian mining start-upResourcehouse Ltd andChinese auto parts companyNanning Baling Technology CoLtd.
Contributing to the weakmarket sentiment are recentallegations that U.S.-listedChinese companies have usedfraudulent accounting to inflatetheir books as they joined U.S.exchanges via reversetakeovers.
Harbin Electric was the latestto be fall under a cloud ofdoubtful accounting. Its sharescollapsed on Thursday after areport from a short-seller ledinvestors to bail out of the U.S.-listed Chinese maker of electricmotors.
"I think it's more because ofthe (weak) sentiment and thevolatility in the market," saidLinus Yip, chief strategist atFirst Shanghai Securities.
"Concerns about corporategovernance among Chinesecompanies is only one of themany factors that is dampeningthe already weak sentiment onIPOs market both locally and inthe U.S," Yip said.
Sean Shenglong Zou,Xunlei's co-founder, is thecompany's biggest shareholderwith a 27.5 percent stake, whileGoogle owns 2.8 percent of theshares.
The company had filed to listits shares on the Nasdaq underthe symbol "XNET." Xunleiplanned to use proceeds fromthe offering to invest in tech-nology, infrastructure and prod-uct development and to acquiredigital media content, accord-ing to its IPO prospectus.
The amount of money a com-pany says it plans to raise in itsfirst IPO filings is used to cal-culate registration fees. Thefinal size of the IPO can differ.
JPMorgan and DeutscheBank were hired as lead under-writers for the offering.
Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling haslaunched a new website called "Pottermore,"
but fans of the boy wizard will have to wait tosee what it entails as the entry page says simply"Coming Soon...."
The site, www.pottermore.com, was launcheda month ahead of the release of the eighth andfinal Potter movie on July 15.
Some Potter fan sites, which have been instru-mental in generating a large and loyal fan basefor the movies and seven-book series on whichthey are based, were given a sneak preview ofthe mysterious new website.
"It is, in a word, breathtaking," wrote LeakyCauldron, one of the leading Potter sites. "That
is all we are permitted to say at the moment."Rowling and Potter studio Warner Bros. have
never shied away from building up the hypeahead of key releases in the series.
The Harry Potter novels have sold more than400 million copies worldwide, while the sevenmovies released so far have grossed some $6.4billion in ticket sales. Rowling has been billedthe "world's first billionaire author."
A spokeswoman for Rowling confirmed thatthe site was genuine. "We can confirm thatPottermore is indeed the name of J.K. Rowling'snew project. She will be announcing it soon,"she said. "It is not a new book, but we won't saymore than that!"
JK Rowling launches newHarry Potter website
Microsoft Corp made available onThursday a Windows 7-compatibletest version of the software behind its
hit Kinect motion-sensing game device, in thehope that developers will invent a host of"hands-free" features for standard PCs.Microsoft's Kinect, launched last year, is asensing camera and microphone device thatplugs into the Xbox 360 console, allowingusers to play games purely with gestures andvoice commands.
The hugely successful device is seen by someas a blueprint for future computing, and wasimmediately attractive to hackers who devisedways of making it work on standard computers.
Microsoft was at first hostile to such attempts,but by releasing a beta version of the Kinectsoftware development kit is showing that it isinterested to see what developers will make ofthe technology. The software kit, whichMicrosoft insists is for noncommercial use atthis point, can be downloaded here .
Microsoft releases Kinectsoftware for developers
Oracleseeks
billionsin lawsuit
againstGoogle
Oracle Corp is seeking dam-ages "in the billions of dol-lars" from Google Inc in apatent lawsuit over the smart-phone market, according to acourt filing.
The disclosure on Thursdaywas the first time either sidepublicly mentioned thecumulative scale of Oracle'sdamages claims.
Oracle sued Google lastyear, claiming the Websearch company's Androidmobile operating technologyinfringes Oracle's Javapatents. Oracle bought theJava programing languagethrough its acquisition of SunMicrosystems in January2010.
Some see the lawsuit as asign of a growing businessrivalry between the two com-panies.
The case is also part of awider web of litigationamong phone makers andsoftware firms over whoowns the patents used insmartphones and tablets, asrivals aggressively rush intoa market in which Applejump-started with iPhone andiPad.
Barring any settlements, atrial between Oracle andGoogle is expected to beginby November.
Google has called an Oracledamages report "unreliableand results-oriented," andasked a U.S. judge in SanFrancisco to ignore it, courtdocuments show. In disputingOracle's methodology,Google also asked the courtto keep private some dam-ages information Google dis-closed in a court filing.
Oracle then accused Googleof trying to conceal the factOracle's damages claims inthe case are in the billions,according to a document filedon Thursday. Oracle said itdid not object to having theinformation about its dam-ages become public.
Due to Oracle's stance, U.S.District Judge William Alsupordered Google on Thursdayto make public the damagesinformation by Friday.
A Google representativedeclined to comment.
The case in U.S. DistrictCourt, Northern District ofCalifornia, is OracleAmerica, Inc v. Google Inc,10-3561.
Disclaimer:All reports and recommendations have been prepared for your information
only. Summary and Analysis are not recommendation to buy or sell. This
information should only be used by investors who are aware of the risk inher-
ent in securities trading. The facts, information, data, indicators and charts
presented have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their
accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. The Financial Daily
International and its employees are not responsible for any loss arising from
use of these reports and recommendations.
Avoidingcompleteblackout
According to the latest report electricity short-
fall in the country has reach 5,000MW and this
menace could be attributed to non-availability of
adequate quantity of fuel with the power plants.
Added to this has been the closure of the IPPs as
they were not being paid in time. They had ini-
tially expressed the intention to call the sovereign
guarantees, but on the second thought considered
it more apt to contain generation rather than cre-
ating an embarrassing situation for the govern-
ment.
Earlier the experts had warned the Government
of Pakistan (GoP) to avoid such a situation by the
whiz-kids have no tradition of listening to the
experts and they also believe they can make any
one and everyone accept their terms. However,
they don't understand the basic point 'no fuel no
generation'. Be it the state owned utility or the
IPPs if they don't have the funds to buy the fuel
how can they continue generation.
Many of the citizens were shocked to read the
news like power plants have to stop generation
because of non-availability of fuel or water level
in dams dropping to dead level because Pakistan
faced historic devastations from floods in August
2010. They wonder where all that water has
gone. This ghastly situation has emerged only
because Pakistan has failed in constructing any
other dam after completion of Tarbela in 1976.
Ideally, since then four dams with an aggregate
capacity of 20,000MW should have been built.
Failure in constructing new dams can be attrib-
uted to lack of political will, inability to solicit
financing and above all the perception that since
little water is available there is no need to con-
struct the reservoirs. The reduced availability of
water is mainly due to failure of Pakistan in stop-
ping India from constructing dams on the rivers
ultimately supplying water to Pakistan.
Experts are of the view that the devastation
from last year's flood could have been less severe
had there were enough facilities for storing water.
They also warn that due to climate change
Pakistan is likely to witness both the extremes,
deluge and drought. This adversity could only be
minimised by constructing dozens of smaller
water storage facilities along with hydel power
generation plants.
Lately, thermal power plants were being run on
lower capacities to overcome cash crunch. The
time has come to give exemplary punishment to
consumers indulging in pilferage. If timely
recovery is ensured cash flow of power distribu-
tion companies can be improved substantially.
According to the experts reducing of one per cent
of T&D losses can improve cash flow by Rs2 bil-
lion. At present T&D losses of distribution com-
panies hover above 30 per cent, excluding tech-
nical losses. Catch the thieves plunging the
country into the darkness before it is too late.
4Sunday, June 19, 2011
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief: Amir A. Ashary
Editor: Shakil H. Jafri
Executive Editor: Manzar Naqvi
Honorary Advisory Board
Haseeb Khan, FCA
Asim Abbas Ashary, CPA
Akhtar M. Zaidi, FCA
Dr. A. Hadi Shahid, FCA
Muhammad Arif
S. Muneer Hussain Rizvi
Khurram Shehzad, CFA
Prof. Zakaria Sajid (KU)
Zahid Bukhari SVP HBL (retd)
Ismat SabirHead office
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The Financial Daily InternationalVol 4, Issue 226
Chrystia Freeland
Sometimes the conventionalwisdom is right. The ArabSpring really is the most
important political event since the1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe.So it makes sense to find out what theEast Europeans make of the uprisingsin the Middle East and North Africa
and to ask what they think it will taketo transform the promise of theserebellions into a lasting politicaltransformation.
A good place to look for thoseanswers this week was Budapest,where Central European University,one of the intellectual centers of theregion's political and economic tran-sition, is celebrating its 20th anniver-sary.
The scholars and activists whogathered here to toast those twodecades strolled along the sunnybanks of the Danube, listened to aspecial concert of Liszt and Mahler -and spent a lot of time debating thelessons of their revolution for theArab Spring.
Here are four of them:
- The first is that selling democracyhas become harder now than it was20 years ago. That's because, asAryeh Neier, the human rightsactivist and head of the Open SocietyFoundations, explained, the equationof prosperity and democracy, whichwas universally acknowledged in1989 and the period that followed,has broken down today.
"In 1989, the US had succeeded inconveying the view that economicprosperity and political freedom gohand in hand," Mr. Neier said. "Thatis by no means so certain today. Therise of China and the difficulty theWest continues to have in recoveringfrom the financial crisis have brokenthe link between prosperity and free-dom."
- A second big idea was that whiletechnology has probably made it eas-ier to rebel against authoritarian gov-ernments, it has also made it tougherto build enduring, deeply rooted dem-ocratic polities to replace them.
Ivan Krastev, a Bulgarian politicalscientist and one of the world's lead-ing thinkers about democracy andauthoritarianism, argued that thecommunication revolution had creat-ed a "fragmentation of the publicspace." Instead of all of us being partof a single public debate, the Internetand social media have allowed us allto consume only "the informationthat confirms our biases." That maybe useful when you are trying tobring together a crowd to topple atyrant, but, as Krastev explained, itmakes constructing the commoncivic space upon which a functioningdemocracy depends much harder.
- The third big idea was a historicalone. Wanda Rapaczynski was one ofthe leading creators of Poland'svibrant free press. But she identifieda critical external force in her expla-nation of what made the revolutionsin Poland, Hungary and the CzechRepublic succeed: Europe and thepromise of membership in theEuropean Union.
"How did we get so lucky?"Rapaczynski asked. "The mostimportant role was played by ouraspiration to join NATO and the EU.We had to carry out reforms in accor-dance with EU guidelines and dead-lines. We made tremendousprogress."
Rapaczynski described the reforms
that preceded membership in theEuropean Union as a period of "spon-sored transformation" and pointedout that "once the pressure of thebeauty contest was off, the pace ofreform slowed." At a moment whenmany are questioning the value andthe durability of the European exper-iment, Rapaczynski's reminder of thepositive power the European idea hashad in the eastern half of theContinent is timely.
- The fourth lesson of CentralEurope for the Arab Spring camefrom the founder and chief benefactorof Central European University:George Soros. Soros, who fledBudapest as a teen-ager and made hisfortune in the United States, suggest-
ed that the history of his homelandoffered an example for the Arab rev-olutions that was both cruelly realis-tic and ultimately inspiring.
"Reflecting on the Arab revolu-tions, one very important factor isthat people were willing to sacrificetheir lives for a common cause,"Soros said. "That is a memory, a his-toric event, that will change thosecountries forever. It is irreversible."
That's the positive part of Soros'slesson. But here is the dark cloud tothat silver lining:
"Revolutions are rarely successful.They often end in tragedy. But theychange the behavior of that countryafterwards. The 1956 HungarianRevolution was repressed. But it car-ried with it the seeds of the successfulrevolution in 1989."
At a time when many of us in theWest - and on the Arab street - arelooking for instant results from theJasmine Revolution, Soros's conclu-sion is both heartening and frighten-ing. Sometimes, as with Hungary's1956 uprising, a successful rebellioncan take 33 years to work.
That long view may be one of thegreatest gifts Central Europe has tooffer Egypt, Tunisia and their neigh-bors. Pretty soon, we will start towrite the obituaries of the ArabSpring. We will begin to talk abouthow the promise of Tahrir Square hasbeen squandered by the chaotic andcorrupt governments the brave peo-ple on the street propelled into office.But, as with 1956 in Hungary, 1968in Prague and 1980 in Gdansk, revo-lutions can be successful even if ittakes decades for their promise toflower.
Listening to these friends andpatrons of Central Europe's success-ful revolutions prompted one bigquestion. It was left unspoken - and
that is probably appropriate, since itis most properly asked on the banksof the Nile, not the banks of theDanube. It is this: Where is theEuropean Union and where is theGeorge Soros for the Middle East andNorth Africa?
The party this week in Budapestwas a testament to the power ofsmart, committed outsiders to help arevolution deliver results in less thanthree decades. The European Unioncan still help, by admitting Turkey,not a participant in the Arab Spring,but an essential example for theMuslim world.
As for Soros, it is probably askingtoo much to expect this octogenarianto be the patron saint of the ArabSpring, as he was for the revolutionsof 1989. But the Arab world, too, hasits democracy-loving billionaires. Itis time for them to step up to theplate. Come visit Budapest - whereone professor told me this week, "Imay be the only academic in townwho didn't study on a Soros scholar-ship" - to appreciate how rich thereward could be.-Reuters
Hungary’s Revolution& the Arab Spring
Amie Ferris-Rotman
The gaggles of giggling school-girls in their black uniformsand flowing white hijabs seen
across Afghanistan's cities have becomesymbolic of how far women's rightshave come since the austere rule of theTaliban was toppled a decade ago.
While women have gained back basicrights in education, voting and work, con-sidered un-Islamic by the Taliban, theirplight remains severe and future uncer-
taina sAfghan leaders seek to negotiate with theTaliban as part of their peace talks.
The United States and Nato, whohave been fighting Taliban insurgentsfor 10 years in an increasingly unpop-ular war, have repeatedly stressed thatany peace talks must abide byAfghanistan's constitution, whichsays the two sexes are equal.
But President Hamid Karzai's reti-cence on the matter, constant opposi-tion by the Taliban, and setbacks evenat the government level cast a shadowon the prospects of equality for the 15million women who make up abouthalf the population.
"I am not optimistic at all," saidSuraya Parlika, 66, a Nobel Peace Prizenominee and member of the upper houseof the Afghan parliament. "We do notknow the agenda of the talks and thisworries all women in Afghanistan."
"Women are at risk of losing every-thing they have regained," she toldReuters in her office at the All AfghanWomen's Union, the country's mostprominent women's rights group thatshe set up 20 years ago.
The dangerous business of fighting forwomen's rights in Afghanistan highlightsjust how precarious their situation is.
Parlika said Taliban militants havetried to kill her eight times. In the latestattempt, gunmen tried to shoot herthrough a window at her home but
missed and blew a hole in the wall.Others, such as the headmaster of a
girls' school near Kabul, are not solucky. He was gunned down by theTaliban last month for educating girls.
MIXED MESSAGESWashington and Nato have backed
Karzai's peace plan, which includesreintegrating mid-level Taliban fightersand reconciling with some leaders aswell as talks.
One of the main conditions in the talksis that insurgents renounce al Qaeda.The Taliban have rejected any talks untilall foreign troops have left the country.
US President Barack Obama has saidUS troops, who make up 100,000 out ofaround 150,000 foreign forces, willbegin to come home gradually fromJuly, with Nato eyeing a full handoverof security responsibilities to theAfghans by the end of 2014.
"What they (women) fear is a power-sharing agreement between leaders thatdoes not take their interests intoaccount," said Martine van Bijlert, co-director of the Afghanistan AnalystsNetwork in Kabul.
"At the moment there is no one stand-ing up as a guarantor of the process, noone who says it's really important this isdone well. There are a lot of mixedmessages," she told Reuters.
Some have accused Karzai of holdingback on women's rights to curry politi-cal support in the more conservativesections of society. One example is hispassing of a family law in 2009 thatlegalised marital rape for Shi'ites, whomake up 15 per cent of the population.
In March, Karzai sacked the deputygovernor of southern Helmand provinceafter two women performed withoutheadscarves at a high-profile concert.
Parlika said physical attacks onfemale lawmakers, and internal pres-sure from their male counterparts not topress women's issues, mean their pres-ence in government is more about sym-bolism than actual change.
"The situation surrounding womencan get very dark indeed," said oneWestern official who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity.
"There are lots of challenges thatneed to be overcome and the interna-tional community must stay focused tomake sure women are protected," saidthe official, an adviser in the talks.
RURAL VS. URBANUnderlying the rights women have
regained on paper since US-backedforces overthrew the Taliban are theenormous social and economic hurdlesthey face in a country where more than40 per cent live below the poverty line.
Rights groups and Western officialswarn of a "rural versus urban" split,saying the vast economic and religious
divide means women in the countrysidehave not benefited from the end ofTaliban rule and continue to live muchas they did before.
Some warn this paves the way forwomen's rights being forgotten in theevent of Taliban peace talks.
"Afghanistan is totally male-dominat-ed, women suffer terribly, and this isworse in rural areas where they are eco-nomically dependent on men and wherethey cannot express their own will,"Parlika said.
Ancient traditions such as 'baad',when a woman is given as compensa-tion for crimes, are common in thecountryside, where female illiteracy isover 90 per cent and child marriages arestill widespread despite being illegal. Inthe Taliban strongholds of the south andeast, many women still seek permissionfrom a male relative to leave theirhomes, and the rule of law is upheldeither by Taliban "courts" or by tribalelders, which almost always favor men.
For Hasina Aimaq, the manager of aneponymous fashion house sponsored bya non-governmental organisation forwomen, finding seamstresses for herbusiness in northern Baghlan provinceis a constant struggle.
"There are always problems with thefather, always. They would even preferthem to beg than earn money fromwork as they think learning a skill isbad," Aimaq told Reuters next to a col-lection of high-heeled shoes with geo-metric silk patterns.
Aimaq said her 75 teenage femaleworkers, who make velveteen purplejackets and delicate floral scarves, regu-larly receive written threats from theTaliban, urging them to quit working.
"They tell us to stay at home, but wewill keep coming to work and keepsewing," she said, adjusting her navyblue hijab.-Reuters
How will Afghan Womenfare in Taliban Reconciliation?
The Arab Spring
really is the most
important political
event since the
1989 revolutions in
Eastern Europe. So
it makes sense to
find out what the
East Europeans
make of the upris-
ings in the Middle
East and North
Africa and to ask
what they think it
will take to trans-
form the promise
of these rebellions
into a lasting politi-
cal transformation.
Listening to these friends and patrons of Central
Europe's successful revolutions prompted one
big question. It was left unspoken - and that is
probably appropriate, since it is most properly
asked on the banks of the Nile, not the banks of
the Danube. It is this: Where is the European
Union and where is the George Soros for the
Middle East and North Africa?
While women have gained back basic rights in
education, voting and work, considered un-
Islamic by the Taliban, their plight remains
severe and future uncertain as Afghan leaders
seek to negotiate with the Taliban as part of
their peace talks.
5 Sunday, June 19, 2011
Australia's power industry hasvoiced fears the government couldhatch a new carbon-reduction plan
that is even worse for generators than itsfirst proposal, which had sparked warn-ings of bankruptcies, shutdowns andelectricity market chaos.
The Energy Supply Association ofAustralia, which represents coal-fired,gas and renewable energy suppliers,backs the concept of imposing a cost oncarbon emissions but is lobbyingCanberra hard for safeguards againstsudden industry turmoil.
Association chief executive Brad Pagesaid there was greater risk this timearound of political miscalculation infinalizing the policy, saying clumsydesign and implementation could cause acascading series of asset write-downs anddebt defaults.
"We think it has the potential to beworse," Page told Reuters in a phoneinterview on Wednesday, just a fewweeks before the government is due tounveil its revised scheme.
"What we saw from our modeling (onthe original plan) was that about 15 per-cent of the installed capacity of electrici-ty on the east coast would close prema-turely," he said, noting the additionalpotential for turmoil in traded electricityprices. Page said the original plan wouldhave led to around $10 billion in assetwrite-downs, delivering a shock to theindustry that even renewable energyproviders -- among the main beneficiar-ies of a carbon-reduction scheme --would dread. "I think the companies seethat for the whole of the industry to makethat transition, it needs a fair bit of carewith all the elements of it," he said.
The government wants to cut nationalcarbon emissions by at least 5 percent by2020, from 2000 levels. The precise tar-get might not be decided for a few years,but it plans to move ahead anyway andimpose a tax on carbon emissions from2012, followed within three to five yearsby the introduction of national trading ofcarbon pollution permits.
It is expected by the end of this monthto announce the level of the tax, expect-
ed to be around A$20 ($21) per tonne ofcarbon emitted, as well as compensationfor households and worst-affected indus-tries, such as coal-fired power stations.
Coal accounts for 54 percent ofAustralia's energy production and elec-tricity generation in turn makes up 37percent of national emissions, helping toput Australians among the rich world'sworst greenhouse-gas polluters per head.Coal-fired power plants generate about80 percent of Australia's electricity, withbrown-coal plants the dirtiest, and thehigher the pollution per unit of power,the higher the carbon cost. Uncertaintyover future carbon costs, and thereforepower prices, clouds investment plans.
BLACK BOXThe government's original plan,
rejected by the previous parliament, wassimilar in its basic architecture to thecurrent plan -- at least a 5 percent reduc-tion target, and transitioning from aneffective tax to a carbon market -- butthe power lobby fears the devil could bein the detail of the revised version.
Page notes that since the originalscheme's demise, the government hascome to rely on Green lawmakers toensure its legislation is passed, injectinga new element of uncertainty.
He noted that the government hadgiven the Greens a strong role in formu-lating the new scheme by appointing
them to a policy committee that wouldneed to sign off on it.
"I regard that as a black box," Pagesaid, referring to the Multi-PartyClimate Change Committee (MPCCC),which is operating as a quasi sub-com-mittee of cabinet. "There is a big risk atthat MPCCC stage that the right dealdoes not come out the other end."
Page was also critical of recommenda-tions made by Canberra's official cli-mate-change adviser, Ross Garnaut,who recently recommended the govern-ment offer guarantees on power-compa-ny debt rather than hand out compensa-tion such as free permits.
Under the original plan, generatorswould have received free permits worthA$6 billion, covering 13 percent of thecoal-fired sector's emissions over thefirst five years of the scheme and then 9percent over the following five years.
But with Garnaut and the Greensopposed to that kind of compensation,the industry is again ratcheting up itswarnings about the likely fallout forAustralia's energy security.
COST OF UNCERTAINTYThe Greens accuse the electricity sec-
tor of special pleading, and Garnaut alsosuggests it is being overly alarmist, butthe government's own energy regulatorsaid in a report leaked on Thursday thatGarnaut's assessment was flawed.
Bankers advising the industry are alsoconcerned. David Roseman, global headof infrastructure, utilities and renewablesfor Australian bank Macquarie Group,agrees that political uncertainty is aproblem for the industry, especially forfuture investments. "You are partlydependent on government decisions.You are dependent on carbon pricing andgovernment regulations," Roseman toldReuters this week. "That's a very bigcloud hanging over any investment deci-sions." The electricity industry, includ-ing generation and transmission, willneed up to A$82 billion in new invest-ment by 2030, according to governmentestimates, though Garnaut argues that acarbon price will simply skew invest-ment to low-carbon alternative energysources such as gas and renewables.
Even after the government unveils itscarbon tax, and overall compensationarrangements for industry and house-holds, industry uncertainty could con-tinue. With investment horizons span-ning 20 years or more, generators willneed to hedge their exposure to majormovements in electricity prices, but thismay not be possible until the industryknows some crucial policy detailswhich, according to the government,may not be forthcoming for some years.
Page said a trajectory for annual reduc-tion targets would need to be decidedbefore instruments such as futures con-tracts could be developed, as well as theamount of international carbon creditsthat could be brought into the countryonce the scheme moved from a tax tocarbon trading. Carbon trading firmCOzero agrees with the power lobby,saying market and investment uncer-tainty are likely to remain in the elec-tricity sector until such details areknown. "The market needs to know thesupply and demand fundamentals andwithout a (specific) target there's reallyno way of setting a forward price,"COzero chief executive NicholasArmstrong said, referring to a forwardcarbon price.
"It makes our job very, very risky, andI would hate to be running a A$1 billioncompany that had to make 20-yearinvestment decisions.
Australia fears even ‘worse’ carbon Ian
The operator of Japan's crisis-hit nuclear power plant said itstarted an operation to clean up radioactive water later Friday,
after several glitches that delayed the plan.Large and growing pools of radioactive water were in danger of
spilling into the sea within a week unless the plan got under way,officials had said earlier this week.
Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, has pumped massiveamounts of water to cool three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichiplant that went into meltdown after a March 11 earthquake andtsunami disabled cooling systems.
But managing the radioactive water has become a majorheadache as the plant runs out of places to keep it. Around110,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water -- enough to fill 40Olympic-size swimming pools -- is stored at the plant.
Tepco, with help from French nuclear group Areva, U.S. firmKurion and other companies, has been test-running a system inwhich radioactive water is decontaminated and re-used to cool thereactors. But in a setback that delayed the plan by about a week itsaid water had leaked from a facility used to absorb cesium onThursday. Tepco official Junichi Matsumoto told reporters that theoperator was aiming to use some of the cleaned water to cool thereactors within the next few days, which would not require thepumping in of fresh water.
DUMPED IN OCEANIn early April, the utility dumped about 10,000 tonnes of water
with low-level radioactivity into the ocean, prompting criticismfrom neighbors Chinaand South Korea.
Even if the water treatment is successful, Tepco would next facethe problem of dealing with highly radioactive sludge that will beleft over from the decontamination process. It is unclear where thesludge will be stored in the long-term.
Despite the mounting challenges, Tepco aims to complete initialsteps to limit the release of further radiation from the plant 240 km(150 miles) northeast of Tokyo and to shut down its three unsta-ble reactors by January 2012.
Tepco announced Friday, as expected, that it had not made sig-nificant changes to its timeline.
The operator said that storing high radiation sludge likely toresult from the treatment of contaminated water and improvingthe conditions for their workers during the approaching summerwere extra areas it was looking into.
Measures for the workers include access to more doctors andbody counters that measure exposure to radiation and new restingareas away from the summer heat, Tepco said.
The ultimate goal is to bring the reactors to a state of "cold shut-down," where the uranium at the core is no longer capable of boil-ing off the water used as a coolant. That would allow officials tomove on to cleaning up the site and eventually removing the fuel,a process that could take more than a decade.
Japan plant starts clean-up ofradioactive water
US cancer death rates arecontinuing to fall, but not allsegments of the population arebenefiting, the AmericanCancer Society said Friday.
Overall, the group predicts1,596,670 new cancer cases inthe United States and 571,950deaths in 2011.
Death rates for all cancertypes fell by 1.9 percent a yearfrom 2001 to 2007 in men andby 1.5 percent a year in womenfrom 2002 through 2007.
Steady overall declines incancer death rates have meantabout 898,000 who wouldhave died prematurely fromcancer in the past 17 years didnot, the organization said.
Americans with the leasteducation are more than twiceas likely to die from cancer asthose with the most education,according to the group's annu-al cancer report.
Death rates for all cancertypes have fallen in all racialand ethnic groups among bothmen and women since 1998with the exception ofAmerican Indian/AlaskaNative women, among whomrates were stable.
Black and Hispanic menhave had the largest annualdecreases in cancer death ratessince 1998, falling by 2.6 per-cent among blacks and 2.5 per-cent among Hispanics.
New cases of lung canceramong women fell after risingsteadily since the 1930s. Thedecline comes more than adecade after lung cancer ratesin men started dropping and
reflects differences in smokingtrends among U.S. men andwomen, who took up smokinglater in the last century thanmen.
Lung cancer is expected toaccount for 26 percent of allcancer deaths among womenin 2011 and remains the No. 1cancer killer of both men andwomen in the United States.
Breast cancer comes in No. 2for women. Prostate cancer isthe second most commonkiller of men, and colon canceris the third-leading cause ofcancer deaths for both sexes.
These four cancers accountfor almost half the total cancerdeaths among men andwomen.
Cancer rates vary consider-ably among racial and ethnicgroups. For all cancer types,black men have a 14 percenthigher rate of new cases and a33 percent higher death ratethan white men, while blackwomen have a 6 percent lowerrate of new cancer cases and a17 percent higher death ratethan white women.
The report found cancer ratesin the least educated were 2.6times higher than in the mosteducated. This was most pro-nounced in lung cancer,reflecting higher smoking ratesamong those with less educa-tion.
Thirty-one percent of menwith 12 or fewer years of edu-cation are smokers, comparedwith 12 percent of collegegraduates and 5 percent of menwith advanced degrees.
Cancer deathrates continue drop: report
Since 1998, the U.S. has required that grain prod-ucts be fortified with the B vitamin folic acid tohelp prevent certain birth defects. Now a new
study questions the need for women to get even morefolic acid from a pill.
In a study of nearly 6,400 U.S. women who gavebirth between 1998 and 2008, researchers found thatas the women's intake of folic acid from food rose,there was a steady decline in their risk of having ababy with spina bifida -- a serious birth defect of thespine. However, there was no evidence of a furtherbenefit when women took folic acid in pill form --whether in a multivitamin or a single supplement --around the time of conception. The findings "raise thepossibility" that in the era of fortified grains, folic acidsupplements offer no added protection against spinabifida, Dr. Martha M. Werler and her colleagues atBoston University report in the journal Epidemiology.That would stand in contrast to current recommenda-tions for women of childbearing age. Experts advisethem to get 400 micrograms of folic acid per day --before conception, as spinal cord defects take shapevery early, before many women know they are preg-nant. And to get that much folic acid, they would needto take supplements as well as eat fortified foods.
The recommendation is aimed at preventing neuraltube defects, severe malformations of the brain andspine. They include spina bifida, where the spine fails toclose during early fetal development, and anencephaly,a usually fatal defect where much of the brain neverforms. And the current findings should not deter womenfrom taking supplements to get the recommendedamount of folic acid, according to a researcher notinvolved in the study. "I hope women realize that until
more work is done, they should continue to follow thisimportant recommendation to reduce their risk of hav-ing a baby with a neural tube defect," Dr. Deborah L.O'Connor, of the University of Toronto and Hospitalfor Sick Children in Ontario, Canada, said in an email.
In a recent study, O'Connor and her colleagues foundthat less than 1 percent of Canadian women were ableto get the recommended 400 micrograms of folic acidfrom food alone. (Canada also requires that folic acidbe added to grain products.) A number of studies havefound that since the U.S. began requiring folic acid for-tification of flours, breads, cereals, pasta and othergrain products, rates of neural tube defects have waned.In 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention, about 18 per 100,000 live newbornshad spina bifida, the lowest rate ever reported.
For the new study, Werler's team wanted to knowwhether, in the era of fortified grains, additional folicacid from supplements seems to further cut the risk.They compared 205 mothers who gave birth to a babywith spina bifida between 1998 and 2008, with 6,357mothers who had a healthy baby. All of the women wereasked whether they had used folic acid supplements inthe two months before and after conception. They alsocompleted questionnaires on what their diet habits hadbeen before pregnancy. Overall, the researchers foundthat for every 100 micrograms of folic acid that womenconsumed from food each day, the risk of having a babywith spina bifida dipped by 13 percent. That includedfolic acid in fortified grains, as well as folate (the natu-ral form of the B vitamin) in foods like spinach, aspara-gus, dried beans and peas, and orange juice. However,folic acid from pills was not linked to a benefit.
Overall, 41 percent of the women said they'd used
folic acid supplements at least four days per weekaround the time of conception. But their risk of havinga baby with spina bifida was the same as that of womenwho hadn't used supplements. "Our study findings raisethe possibility that supplementation with folic acid dur-ing the months immediately preceding neural tube clo-sure does not offer further benefit in reducing the riskof a spina-bifida-affected pregnancy," Werler and hercolleagues conclude. There are major caveats, though,the researchers say. One issue is that women wereasked to recall their diets and supplement use. It's pos-sible that, knowing folic acid is linked to spina bifida,some women with affected infants said they took sup-plements when in fact they had not.
O'Connor agreed. "It is very possible that there wasrecall bias in the study among women who had a babywith a neural tube defect who felt uncomfortableacknowledging they did not regularly consume a folicacid supplement as recommended." It would also bedifficult, she noted, for the mothers to accuratelyrecall their pre-pregnancy diets. O'Connor also point-ed out that in the early days of fortification, manufac-turers added more folic acid to their products thanthey do now. "The amount of fortification has comedown over the years and is likely to come down fur-ther as manufacturers become more comfortable withhow much needs to be added to food to meet labelclaims," she said. The bottom line, according toO'Connor, is that women who might become pregnantshould continue to follow current folic acid recom-mendations. "As a rule I hope women appreciate theyshould not discount well-established health recom-mendations based on a single study," she said. "Morework in this area needs to be done." -Reuters
Study questions extrafolic acid need for women
Negotiators made scant progresstoward salvaging theUnitedNations' Kyoto Protocol for
fighting climate change beyond 2012 attwo weeks of talks ending on Friday,delegates said.
"When you look at the progress ...it isvery uneven," said Adrian MaceyofNew Zealand, chairing a session oftalks among 180 nations in Bonn aboutthe Kyoto Protocol, which risks dyingbeyond 2012 due to lack of support.
Developing nations accused richnations of reneging on promises toextend Kyoto, which now binds almost40 nations to cut emissions until 2012.Kyoto's future has become the mainfocus after a U.N. summit in 2009failed to agree a new treaty.
"Progress in Bonn has been hamperedby parties with the biggest historicalresponsibility for emissions," theAlliance of Small Island Statessaid ofrich nations that have burned carbon-
emitting fossil fuels since the 18th cen-tury Industrial Revolution.
The alliance says its members are onthe front line of climate change, includ-ing more powerful storms, droughts,floods and rising sea levels. Developingnations say that the rich must take thelead and extend Kyototo unlock actionby the poor.
Japan, Canada and Russia have saidthey will not make cuts in an extendedKyoto and are instead demanding a newglobal deal with greenhouse gas curbsto be observed by all, including bigemerging nations led by China andIndia. And Kyoto backers led by theEuropean Union say they are unwillingto go it alone and will extend the pactonly if all major emitters sign up forcurbs.
UNITED STATESFurther complicating Kyoto's fate, the
United States never ratified the 1997U.N. deal, arguing that it unfairly omit-
ted targets by major emerging emitterssuch as China and India and would costU.S. jobs. Washingtonsays it will notjoin. Advances in Bonn were largely ontechnical issues, such as working outnew ways of sharing clean energy tech-nologies or setting up a green fund toaid developing nations. Little headwaywas made on broader issues of emis-sions cuts or cash.
In talks about slowing deforestation,for instance, the text agreed to ask fornew ideas by a September 19 deadline."That's a step forward," saidDonaldLehr of the Ecosystems ClimateAlliance. "But it's not enough. It's tooslow." The talks also postponed deci-sions on four separate items meant tospeed up and expand the clean develop-ment mechanism, which allows richnations to invest in emission-cuttingprojects such as wind or solar power inpoor nations.
As the final sessions were held, the
United Nations was scrambling tomuster cash to hold a new U.N. session,as hoped by many delegates, beforeannual talks among environment minis-ters in Durban, South Africa, inNovember and December. Manynations have been reluctant to pay.
The meeting had opened with callsfor swifter action after the InternationalEnergy Agency said that global carbondioxide emissions rose by 5.9 percent in2010, to a record level, despite promis-es of cuts.
"The contrast between what's happen-ing with emissions and the pace of talkshere is alarming," said Samantha Smith,of the WWF Internationalconservationgroup. Still, she said that there wereexamples of progress around the world,such as programs by Brazil andIndonesia to slow deforestation, backedby donors led by Norway. "The processhas produced successes, but not here,"she said.
UN climate talks make scant progress
India, Hotel operators invest, EducateHilton coaches Indian hotel owners
Equity is sometimes the price to pay for entry n Accor has $250mn in India
NEW YORK: In the United States, big hotelchains get to float above the fray. Indiabrings them down to earth.
At home, and in some markets abroad,companies like Marriott International, whichowns the Courtyard and Fairfield brandsandStarwood Hotels & Resorts, owner ofSheraton and W, have virtually eliminatedreal estate risk.
They have sold all or most of their ownhotels, and instead make money by franchis-ing their well-known names. This businessstrategy of minimizing in-house resources isknown as "asset-light."
But in India, hotel companies are finding ithard to grow without getting bogged down inbulky assets like land and, well, hotels. (Fora graphic: http://r.reuters.com/jyr22s )
"All the brands, they still want to do theasset-light model, but they understand insome cases the price to pay for entry is to putsome capital, some equity into it," said SriSambamurthy, whose real estate firmWestPoint Partners is investing in India.Sambamurthy used to manage global realestate projects for Barry Sternlicht'sStarwood Capital. Rapid expansion in Chinalends credence to the lodging industry'sclaim that its future lies mainly in emergingmarkets. But in India, growth will be slower,and more expensive.
CRITICAL MASSIn India, foreign operators see providing
affordable lodging for middle-class domestictourists and business travelers as the bestgrowth opportunity, as the country already
has a longstanding luxury hotel tradition.The key to developing mid-level product
lies in quickly building enough propertiesthat consumers become familiar with thebrand and confident that they will find thehotels where they need them.
Investment helps speed things up, saidChristian Karaoglanian, chief developmentofficer for French hotelier Accor, which hasput $250 million into the country.
"In China, it's easy to be asset-light.They're building hotels and they're lookingfor managers," Karaoglanian said. "In India,we like to be a part-owner. The only way togrow, and to grow fast, is to invest."
Family-owned Carlson, which owns theRadisson and Park Plaza brands, acquiredone of its Indian partners outright and owns
24 percent of another venture, said ChiefExecutive Officer Hubert Joly.
COMPROMISESKaraoglanian believes that other operators
looking to tap demand fromIndia's middle classwill increasingly need to invest in order to staycompetitive. Even Starwood is not ruling outinvesting its own equity. Distribution is key tothe growth of brands in the middle of the mar-ket, said Dilip Puri, managing director in Indiafor Starwood. Marriott recently announced ajoint venture with hotel developer SAMHI tobuild a portfolio of 15 Fairfield by Marriotthotels targeting the Indian business traveler.Marriott has invested $30 million in the effort."It's not our business model to own hotels or toput equity into hotels. That's not to say that ifour equity is required to make a project work
we won't put equity in," said Navjit Ahluwalia,senior vice president of development in India.Some companies, like Hilton Worldwide andWyndham Worldwide, maintain they areexporting their asset-light model to Indiadespite others' insistence that it will not workthere. Even Hilton acknowledges that expan-sion in India requires more investment instaffing and support to owners, said AbhijitDas, who directs development there for thecompany. Hilton does not intend to actuallyinvest in any of the Indian properties that carryits brands. But doing business in India stillimplies an unusual degree of commitmentfrom foreign brands, Das said.
"We have to do a lot more education inIndia," he said. "We have to walk the devel-opers through international standards."
6Sunday, June 19, 2011
International
JAKARTA: While Indonesia's most notorious Islamistwas sitting in a cell awaiting his fate, militants linked tohis supposedly peaceful Jema'ah Ansharut Tauhid groupshot policemen while trying to rob a bank and wounded30 people in a suicide bombing at a police mosque.
The attacks could signal further mergers of militantsplinter factions with Islamist groups not previouslyinvolved in terror as they recruit young men left behindby a booming economy and unite in their opposition tominorities, non-Muslims and pluralism -- the bedrock ofthe world's largest Muslim community.
Judges on Thursday jailed frail cleric Abu BakarBashir, 72, the spiritual leader behind the 2002 Balibombings, for 15 years for aiding a group that planned tokill President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was effec-tively a life sentence. "There's the potential for smallcells forming for joint actions at a local level, and it's nota good development," said Sidney Jones, an expert onIslamic militancy at the International Crisis Group inJakarta. These militant groups are showing a shift in tac-tics, away from Western targets such as luxury hotels andnight clubs towards domestic institutions such as thepolice, and symbols of pluralism, in their push for anIslamic state.
A move towards Islamic law would worry investorssuch as consumer giantUnilever and threaten the long-
term unity of an archipelago with sizeable Christian pop-ulations in the east. The country was riven by violent sec-tarian conflict early last decade, so at stake is continuedpolitical and social stability that has encouraged foreigndirect investment to pour into the country in recent years.
There has been an escalation of attacks and religiousintolerance this year, with police failing to stop mobbeatings of the minority sect Ahmadi, the burning of twochurches and an attack on a court after demands for astiffer sentence against a Catholic man guilty of distrib-uting anti-Islamic material.
"The Islamic militant network used to be moved by theinternational Muslim agenda, but now it is motivated bythe dynamics of the Islamic movement in Indonesia,"said Andi Widjajanto, a terrorism expert fromtheUniversity of Indonesia. While previous militantgroups such as Jemaah Islamiah, seen as an arm of alQaeda and whose goal was a pan-Southeast Asiancaliphate, were influenced by issues such as the U.S.presence in the Middle East and attacked Westerners, thenew ones are domestically focused on makingIndonesiamore Islamic. A series of parcel bombs was sent to policeand proponents of pluralism in Jakarta, while groupshave used anti-Ahmadi sentiment to whip up popularsupport, according to the head of the country's anti-terroragency, Ansyaad Mbai.
Police said they found similarities in the parcel bombsto those used by Islamic groups a decade ago in sectari-an conflicts in far-flung eastern provinces.
"These are new methods, but we suspect a connectionwith old players," said police spokesman Boy RafliAmar. The nervous mood in the capital was highlightedby a advertising stunt that backfired when a firm sentcoffins and notes saying "your time has come" to mediaorganisations to promote a book -- only for jumpy editorsto call the police. Militants exploited this by a fake threatto explode 36 bombs when Bashir's verdict wasannounced, prompting a security clampdown across thecapital. "This is a campaign of fear that at the same timeis exhausting the police," said Widjajanto.
IMPUNITYThe changing nature of the militant threat was high-
lighted at the trial of Bashir, which regularly attractedcrowds of not only his supporters, but also members ofthe FPI -- a Muslim vigilante group mostly known forsmashing up bars. Yudhoyono called this month foradherence for the national pluralist ideology and hascalled for groups using violence to be disbanded, butnone has been so far and few arrests made.
An FPI member, Munarman, who is also a lawyer forBashir, told reporters outside the court that if Yudhoyonokept pushing pluralism and the disbanding of Islamic
groups, then Muslims were ready to "Ben Ali"Yudhoyono -- a reference to deposed Tunisian PresidentZine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Such comments in public show the apparent impunitythat such groups have, and analysts say the lack of actionagainst them highlights the president's ineffectiveness.
"A feeble response from the administration highlightsthe president's wariness of irking Islamic parties, as wellas weaknesses within the cabinet," said Jakarta-basedrisk analyst Kevin O'Rourke.
Bashir labelled his 15-year sentence un-Islamic, strik-ing to the heart of an argument the government does notwant to have, since being seen as un-Islamic would be avote loser as parties start to jockey for the 2014 elections.
These issues are also likely to distract the governmentfrom planned reforms on land acquisition, infrastructureand labour laws, which investors say are already longoverdue. There are no signs portfolio investment flowshave been affected by recent attacks or religious intoler-ance, with many investors bullish on aG20 economy thatcould win an upgrade to an investment grade sovereignrating in the next year.
"I think the market has already priced in the threat ofterrorism," saidEugene Leow, economist at SoutheastAsia's top bank DBS. "It is simply a cost of doing busi-ness in Indonesia."
n
n
China doubts high, short sellers descend on hong kong
INDONESIA CLERIC'S JAILING
FAILS TO EASE FIGHT ON TERRORn Diverse groups united on Islamist agenda
n Militants switching tactics from Western to local targets
n Investors see govt as weak, but still bet on economy
HONG KON: To bet against Chinese equities after thecountry's main stock index has been in a bear market for3-1/2 years requires strong conviction.
After a two-month steep decline in Hong Kong's market,some hedge funds and other investors have been ignoringbargain prices in some sectors and what still appears to bea generally positive outlook onChina's economy, and areincreasingly putting on short positions on Chinese stocks.
From macro-focused funds to fast money chasingmomentum, Hong Kong speculators are now joining thelikes of high profile hedge fund managers such as JimChanos and Hugh Hendry by shorting China.
They suspect that talk emanating from the West of aChinese internet bubble and questions about China Inc'scorporate governance following controversies surround-ing Sino-Forest and Harbin Electric will keep the bearmarket going long enough to profit on their strategies,which often depend on momentum and historical pricetrends.
"The overseas paranoia on China has heightened consid-erably after the accounting issues and Sino-Forest rightnow is creating a lot of uncertainty," said a Hong Kong-based hedge fund manager, who spoke on condition ofanonymity because he is not authorized to speak to themedia.
The investor, who employs a market neutral strategy
meant to benefit from both rising and falling prices, hasshort positions in Hong Kong-listed stocks in the gamingand property industries, both fairly liquid segments of themarket.
Casino stocks have been big outperformers so far thisyear. For example, Wynn Macau is up 30 percent year-to-date and Sands China is up 11 percent, compared with a5.1 percent drop in the benchmark Hang Seng Index .
THE SHORT OF ITThe Hong Kong market has seen a ramp-up in short-
selling activity and there may be more to come with theHang Seng falling to new lows for the year this week.Short-selling in Hong Kong has picked up to levels notseen in about eight months by some measures, with theaverage daily turnover on the short side this month 35 per-cent higher than that seen over the past three months.
Short-selling in Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong,called H-shares, has also ramped up in the past severalweeks, even in the widely-owned banking sector wherevaluations on some of the most well capitalised financialinstitutions are close to historic lows.
On Wednesday a fifth of the turnover generated by trad-ing of China Construction Bank , Agricultural Bank ofChina and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China --which are some of China's largest banks -- was shorted.
These stocks are trading at forward 12-month price-to-
earnings ratios, significantly below their long-term aver-ages, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
But funds are setting aside the fundamentals of Chinesebanks, often considered a proxy for the economy, and tar-geting them for shorting opportunities partly because theytend to be less volatile than other sectors and borrowingtheir relatively liquid stocks is easy. Short interest inChina Construction Bank, China's top mortgage lender,has spiked. While the average daily short-interest this pastquarter has been around 4 percent, in June that has tripled.According to DataExplorers, only 3.1 percent of the stockavailable to lend is currently out on loan, suggesting thereis ample supply for anyone looking to go short.
COVERING CALLSMany investors are not necessarily going structurally
short on China, but there is growing demand for strategiesthat will protect their portfolios. "What we are seeingwhen it comes to Hong Kong and China long/short hedgefunds are actively looking at short-term, stock-specifictactical strategies," said Nicolas Boulay, head of AsiaPacific equity derivative sales at Deutsche Bank in HongKong. One example is call overwriting on sectors thathave significantly outperformed the broader market andwhere market players believe the upside is limited, such asChinese cement makers and Macau casino operators, saidBoulay. In such a strategy, rather than an outright short,
investors who are long certain shares sell call options - theright to buy a security for a fixed price at a later date - togenerate additional income and get some protection incase the shares slide. Despite the Hang Seng gettingknocked down 10 percent in the past two months, impliedvolatility -- the likely future price fluctuations that factorsdirectly into the cost of buying options -- has remained rel-atively flat. That means investors could still look to buyputs going out three months at the index level in HongKong that are still relatively cheap, said Boulay.
While some economists are trimming growth forecastsfor China, it is still expected to expand at more than 9 per-cent this year, with strong profit growth.
However, worries over corporate governance in Chinaprompted by a spate of controversies involving reversemergers and creative accounting, stubbornly high inflationand a red hot property market, combined with the escalat-ing euro zone debt crisis, have made foreign investorscagey. With these risks not about to go away anytimesoon, short sellers in Hong Kong may be getting comfort-able. "In all my years of investing, there has always beena divergence betweenChina bulls and bears, but the diver-gence has never been so huge," saidMark Matthews, Asiahead of research at Julius Baer, in Hong Kong at an eventhosted by the Swiss private bank. "Bears are firmly inthe driver's seat."
BEIJING: The failure of China and Russia to clinch agas pipeline deal on Friday is unlikely to be the end ofthe story as the world's top producer and consumer ofenergy can both see a pact makes sense.
After years of negotiations and increasingly optimisticrhetoric that a deal would be struck before or during avisit by China's President Hu Jintao to the St Petersburgeconomic forum, the bubble of belief in a deal appears tohave burst. The stumbling block? Price. The two sideshad long said the price of gas to be delivered -- via twopipelines, then one, and now two again -- was the soleremaining obstacle. But they seemed to wave away theseriousness of the divide by promising the deal would befinalised in mid-2011.
The fact that President Hu went to St Petersburg withhis foreign ministry trumpeting the near-certainty of adeal appears to suggest it was the Russians who pulledthe plug on the provisional agreement.
Russia may be betting that China, which is facing itsworst power shortages in seven years this summer, can-not afford to say no to 68 billion cubic metres of Russiangas to feed its burgeoning gas market annually from2015. But Hu may console himself that if Russia'sGazprom won't deal, there are many other wannabe sup-pliers queueing up to talk to Beijing.
OTHER SUPPLIERSChina already has a 30 bcm pipeline bringing gas from
Turkmenistan and may build a smaller pipe fromMyanmar. China's triumvirate of state oil firms is alsoplanning a rash of gas import terminals that will pop upalongChina's coast, to be supplied by ships arriving fromAustralia, Qatar and elsewhere.
That smorgasbord of suppliers gives Hu the confidencethat he can walk away from St Petersburg without a deal,whereas Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev, likeVladimir Putin before him, has very few export options
beyond increasing dependence on Europe -- exactly theproblem the China deal was meant to solve.
China also holds a wild card in the shape of its own gasindustry which could be gigantic, if some experts' predic-tions about the potential of shale gas are realised. In thatcase, China's reserves would rival Russia's, andMoscowwould have to kiss goodbye to any chance of selling toChina. But that remains a pipe dream because shale gasdevelopment has barely begun in China, and in the shortterm President Medvedev, and Gazprom's export chief,his namesake Alexander Medvedev, may both be bank-ing on Hu feeling the heat at home this summer.
China's latest electricity crisis has rammed home theimportance of finding alternatives to coal, easily China'sdominant fuel. China is already placing huge expectationson hydropower, nuclear and wind, and gas could be the bestavailable option. The failure to sign in St Petersburg willrekindle memories of past mutual suspicion, and again raise
uncomfortable questions about why the two countries -- onea huge seller and one a huge buyer of natural resources --punch so far below their weight in bilateral trade.
The only major ventures the former Cold War frene-mies have undertaken together have been two long-termoil deals, both struck at moments where Moscow had lit-tle choice but to accept Beijing's terms.
One was $6 billion to help Russia break up the defunctYUKOS oil firm, and which funded six years of cheapoil shipments to China. The second was a $25 billionlifeline to Russia's economy in the depths of the globalfinancial crisis for oil to be supplied along the EastSiberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline, a route thatopened last year.
The fact that the ESPO pipeline got built shows thatpoliticians in both camps can see the strategic impor-tance of the bigger picture, and for the same reason a gasdeal is likely, one day.
China russia gas deal still in the Pipeline
Sunday, June 19, 2011 7
CONTINUTIONS
TOKYO: Japan's TakedaPharmaceutical Co shares fellafter U.S. regulators saidTakeda's Actos diabetes drug canraise the risk of bladder cancer ifused for more than a year andthat a warning should be added tothe top-selling drug's packaging.
Last week, France andGermany suspended sales ofActos over similar fears, andattention had shifted to the U.S.Food and Drug Administration,which oversees the biggest mar-ket for Actos.
"The FDA's action isextremely mild, when com-pared with the measures takenby France or Germany," saidJefferies analyst NaomiKumagai. "The FDA is not tak-ing Actos off the shelves or ask-ing doctors to stop prescribing
it. It is merely telling profes-sionals to inform patients of therisk-benefit balance."
"This on its own will not havean immediate impact on sales.Still, it is certainly not a posi-tive," she said.
Takeda's shares were down1.1 percent at 3,670 yen afterflirting with a three-month low,against the Nikkei's 0.9 percentfall. The FDA, which is con-ducting an ongoing 10-yearstudy of Actos, said thatpatients who had the highestcumulative dose of the drughad an increased risk of bladdercancer, but that Actos did notlead to an increased risk ofbladder cancer in the studyoverall. Takeda is set to losepatent protection for Actos inthe U.S. market soon, and will
be exposed to competition fromgeneric pills next summer. Itsaid in a statement that it wouldadd the appropriate warnings.
Actos, which has capturedclose to $5 billion in world-wide sales for Takeda, is alsounder review by the EuropeanMedicines Agency, based inLondon. Its decision couldhave an impact on the FDA,analysts said. Actos competeswith Merck and Co's Januviaand Janumet, which uses a dif-ferent mechanism. Actosbelongs to the same drug classas GlaxoSmithCline'sAvandia, which was pulledfrom the European market andhad its use restricted in theUnited States last September,after studies linked it to heartrisks.
Takeda shares down after FDA warning
on top drug
WASHINGTON: Pfizer Inc's(PFE.N) stop-smoking drugChantix can lead to a smallincrease in cardiovascular prob-lems such as heart attacks forpatients who already have car-diovascular disease, U.S. drugregulators said on Thursday.
The Food and DrugAdministration is changing thelabel for Chantix after review-ing the results of a clinical trial.
An independent randomizedtrial of 700 smokers with car-diovascular disease who weretreated with Chantix or a place-bo showed that Chantix waseffective in helping paients quitsmoking for as long as oneyear.
However, patients who tookthe pill were also slightly morelikely to have a heart attack or
other adverse cardiovascularevent versus patients on aplacebo.
Many smokers who try toquit do so to prevent the risk ofheart attacks, which may nowbe associated with Chantix.
"The known benefits ofChantix should be weighedagainst its potential risks whendeciding to use the drug in smok-ers with cardiovascular disease,"the FDA said in a statement.
The FDA said it is alsorequiring Pfizer to evaluate thecardiovascular safety ofChantix by conducting a large,combined analysis of random-ized, placebo-controlled trials.
Pfizer's non-nicotine pill hasalready come under fire forpsychiatric side effects, whichhave crimped global sales and
prompted the FDA to issue arestrictive "black box" warninglabel for the drug.
Investors had high hopes forthe drug -- called Champix inEurope -- when Pfizer firstlaunched its smoking-cessationaid in 2006, but reports of seri-ous side effects have preventedstrong sales growth.
Annual sales are now about$800 million, making the pill amoderate-sized product for theworld's biggest drug maker.
Chantix has been associatedwith agitation, depression andsuicidal thoughts, and, in clini-cal trials, linked with night-mares. Psychiatric symptomshave occurred in people with-out a history of mental illnessand have worsened in peoplewho already had mental illness.
Pfizer stop-smokingpill raises heart
risk: FDA
Moody's seesincreased
pressure onEU drug
pricesLONDON: Pressure on drugprices in Europe is likely tointensify, especially in coun-tries with big budget deficits,ratings agency Moody's said onWednesday in a downbeatassessment of the global phar-maceuticals industry.
"National health programmesin these countries may seek toimpose further drug price cutsto help repair public finances,adding to the negative pressureon pharmaceutical companies'cash flows," senior analystMarie Fischer-Sabatie said.
Drug prices were in the firingline for most of 2010 asEuropean governments tackledrunaway budget deficits, withexpensive medicines proving acommon target for countriesincluding Greece, SpainandGermany.
Since the beginning of 2011,governments have announcedfewer measures to reduce theirmedicines bills, but Moody'ssaid pricing pressure had notgone away.
"Further price cuts are likelyin the future, especially incountries that are facing sover-eign debt crises or very largebudget deficits," Fischer-Sabatie said.
Such measures are likely, onbalance, to spur the use ofgeneric drugs, especially sincesome European countries grap-pling with major deficits, suchas Spain and Portugal, use farfewer generics compared withthe United States and evenother parts of Europe, sheadded.
Overall, Moody's said its out-look for the global pharmaceu-ticals industry was negative,with earnings growth expectedto slow in 2011 and pressure onprofits likely to increase in2012. -Reuters
n Pfizer's Chantix linked to more heart attacks FDA
n Pfizer must test cardiovascular safety of Chantix FDA
n Chantix already linked to psychiatric side effects
n US regulator says Actos drug can raise risk of bladder cancer
n Says warning should be added to label
n France, Germany last week suspended sales of the drugn Takeda shares down 1.1 percent vs 0.9 percent fall in Nikkei
The American unit ofBelgian pharmaceutical com-pany UCB SA (UCB.BR)pleaded guilty on Thursdayand will pay $34.4 million tosettle criminal and civilcharges that it illegally pro-moted a drug for migraines.
The company pleadedguilty to one count of pro-moting the epilepsy treat-ment drug, Keppra, in theUnited States in 2004 for
migraine treatment withoutthe necessary approval fromthe Food and DrugAdministration, the U.S.Department of Justice said.
The drug was onlyapproved by the FDA to helptreat those who have seizuresfrom epilepsy.
"Today's guilty plea andUCB's $34 million payoutshould remind drug compa-nies that try to cleverly
design off-label marketingschemes that we will notallow them to compromisepatient safety," said U.S.Attorney Ronald Machen.
The case is the latest settle-ment by a major pharmaceu-tical company over toutingdrugs in the United States foruses that have not beenapproved by the FDA,known as off-label promo-tion.
UCB to pay $34.4 mlnover illegal drug promotionn Illegal drug promotion occurred in 2004 in US
n UCB to pay $25.8 mln to settle parallel civil case
the Boat Basin police station. Afsar Khan later filed an FIR against Sarfaraz accusing him of
attempting robbery and resisting against police. The case wasproved wrong and dismissed after the investigations.
Police sources said that Sarafarz was carrying an artificial pistolbut another FIR was registered against him that stated that he wascarrying a real illegal gun. However, after the recovery of artifi-cial pistol, the second FIR was also discarded.
In the recent developments, preparations have been made toregister a case against the Rangers' party in-charge, Sub-Inspector Rehman for providing original arm to Rangers underSection 13-D.
The already arrested accused Afsar Khan, in his earlier record-ed statement to the police, said that Shah was trying to rob CIDpoliceman Alam Zaib and his family inside Shaheed BenazirBhutto Park before he was killed by the Rangers personnel.
Zaib, however, told the police that the victim was not trying torob him or his family and Khan registered a fake case against him,police sources said.
At the time of incident, Alam Zaib was present in the park withhis girlfriend and not wife, and the two exchanged harsh argu-ments for the same reason.
The investigation and joint interrogation teams have alsorecorded separate statements of Alam Zaib and his girlfriend.
Rangers' sub-inspector and the primary petitioner are alreadyfacing charges for registering a fake case against Sarfaraz underSection 182 and 211.-Agencies
Continued from page 1No #1
The International Economic Forum is one of the world's leadingdiscussion forums, bringing together prominent politicians, cor-porate executives and experts to deliberate on key issues of theglobal economy.
During the meeting both the sides agreed to resolve the majordefiance of illegal trade between the two countries.
The BOI chief opined," The trade which is taking place throughinformal channels adds additional costs to the traders which areultimately borne by the end consumers of both the countries".
Talking about the reluctance of business community's interac-tion, the
Indian minister stated that this is due to the misperceptionswhich are impeding such direct contacts which should be clearedthrough encouragement to the business communities by the lead-ers of both sides.
He also expressed that the visa policies should also be revisedto facilitate and encourage the investors.
Mandviwala said "We should revive our relations in the contextof major economic developments currently taking place in theworld and in view of Russia's growing dependence on the easternworld".
He added it was essential to increase economic relations withRussia in such a way that the countries of South Asia become anessential part of the revising economic strategy of Russia.
The BOI head stated that the trade communities of both sidesshould have a closer interaction with each other to explore theopportunities in the field of trade and investment.
Anand Sharma stated that business communities were encour-aged to realise that Pakistan has revised its long positive list ofimports other than smaller negative list thereby increasing theopportunities of trade with India.
He added that economic prosperity in two countries would bringpeace and India wants to see Pakistan a stable and strong country.
The BOI chief invited the Indian Commerce Minister to visitPakistan and encourage Indian business community to come toPakistan. In the end both sides assured that the initiatives taken byboth side in the field of investment and trade will be realized withenthusiasm and warm response.-APP
Continued from page 1No #2
He said that Rs220 million have been allocated for the mainte-nance of the parliament building whereas just Rs156 million wereallocated for Board of Investment. Similarly instead of construct-ing additional parliament lodges, the government should spendthe amount for constructing offices for parliamentary members.
Moreover the Lower House also approved eight demands forgrants of over Rs505 billion for the Defence Division with major-ity of votes while rejecting all cut motions, presented by theOpposition. Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh presented thedemands of Defence Division in the House. In his cut motion,PML-N leader Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan Abbasi said Pakistanneeded a competitive defence system. He said resolution of issueswas the preferable way, he added.
He opposed the construction of the GHQ in the Capital city.Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said as compared to other sectors, allo-
cation of Rs500 billion for defence was excessive.Ashan Iqbal said over Rs1,800 billion spending on defence and
debt servicing would not lead the country towards progress and pros-perity. He said that the nation was proud of soldiers who were sacri-ficing their lives in defending the country's borders. He, however,stressed the need for setting objectives of national security for which,he said the government should initiate dialogue with all stakeholders.
"We have to introduce world-recognised management practicesin army as well as civilian organisations to ensure transparencyand good performance", he said. He suggested that Survey ofPakistan should be brought under either the Agriculture Ministryor the Meteorological Department. He said that $5 billion couldbe earned if GHQ land in Islamabad was auctioned.
As well three demands for grants worth Rs5.7 billion for theCommunication Ministry were also approved with majority ofvotes while rejecting 29 cut motion presented by the Opposition.
Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh presented the demands inthe House while the Opposition members Dr Nelson Azeem,Chaudhry Saeed Majeed, Qudsia Arshad and others submittedtheir cut motions. Opening the debate on cut motions, PML-N'sAhsan Iqbal said that National Highway Authority (NHA) hasfailed to provide modern communication facilities to the masses.
He suggested that effective system should put in place to checkoverloading on all highways. PML-N Chaudhry Saood Majeedsaid that the government should devise a concrete policy for com-munication in the country as it was pivotal for progress and pros-perity of the country. He said that National Highway Authority(NHA) has been affected due to corruption and added accounta-bility system should be devised to check this problem.
Shahnaz Salim said that recruitments in NHA were not beingmade on merit and people were appointed on hefty perks and priv-ileges with out following set procedure. She alleged NHA award-ed toll plazas contracts to blue-eyed people.-APP
Continued from page 1No #3
with non-refundable processing fee of $2,500 or equivalentPakistani Rupees containing no more than 15 pages, a statementof technical qualifications comprising experience of equityresearch, sales and distribution capabilities, commitment toPrivatisation Program, knowledge of the Oil & Gas Industry andPPL, advisory to entities for domestic & international listings,competence and commitment of the team.
The Request For Proposal ("RFP") package inviting Technicaland Financial proposals would be dispatched/e-mailed to the IPsas and when EOIs are received. The last date for the submissionof the Technical & Financial proposals is July 20, 2011.-NNI
Continued from page 1No #4
Taliban movement are not yet based on a certain agenda orphysical (meetings), there are contacts established."
The US Embassy in Kabul declined immediate comment.Karzai was speaking the day after the U.N. Security Council
Continued from page 1No #5
He said that the government should take immediate measures to resolve the issue as early as possi-ble. Qamar also told the house that the government and the private sector have launched a number ofprogrammes to provide solar energy to the domestic consumers living in remote areas of the country.
Responding to a call attention notice moved by Syed Zafar Ali Shah and others, the FederalMinister said that under the Alternative Energy Development Board solar energy has been extendedto Thar and certain areas of Balochistan.
He said that a non-governmental organisation has also solar electrified fifteen hundred homes atNoshki and Dalbadin. He, however, said that the solar energy is only feasible in the areas which areoff-grid and where the transmission lines cannot be taken.-Agencies
Continued from page 1No #6
The spokesperson further said the issue of upgradation of posts was under consideration by a highpowered committee comprising senior members of Federal Board of Revenue.-APP
Continued from page 1No #7
The Karachiites are also facing an acute water shortage due to the absence of electricity.The daily power outage increased up to 16 hours a day in rural areas of the country. NNI
Continued from page 1No #8
split the U.N. sanctions list for Taliban and al Qaeda figures into two, which envoys said could helpinduce the Taliban into talks on a peace deal in Afghanistan.
But despite hopes that talks with the Taliban could provide the political underpinning for the USstaged withdrawal from Afghanistan, the discussions are still not at the stage where they can be adeciding factor. Diplomats admit there have been months of preliminary talks between the two sides,but the US has never confirmed any contacts. And so little is known about the exchanges that theyhave been open to widely different interpretations.
There are also many Afghans, among them women's and civil society activists, who fear talks withthe insurgents could undo much of the progress they have made since the 2001 ouster of the Talibangovernment. The closest anyone in the US establishment has come to publicly acknowledgingefforts to kick-start talks was when Defense Secretary Robert Gates said this month there could bepolitical talks with the Taliban by the end of this year, if the NATO alliance kept making militaryadvances on the ground.
Afghanistan's neighbors are nervous about plans for a strategic partnership with the United States,which may include long-term bases on Afghan soil, Karzai also warned. "The issue of strategic part-nership deal with US has caused tensions with our neighbors," Karzai said. "When we sign thisstrategic partnership, at the same time we must have peace in Afghanistan."
That is unlikely however, as the deal is expected to be concluded in months, and even the mostoptimistic supporters of talks expect the process to take years.
If successful, the deal might ease worries among those Afghans who fear the United States willpull out too quickly, leaving a weak, impoverished government to fend off militants, and those whoworry the foreign forces they see as occupiers will never leave.
President Barack Obama is expected to announce next month how many troops he plans to with-draw from Afghanistan as part of a commitment to begin reducing the US military presence fromJuly and hand over to Afghan security forces by 2014.
The United States is on the verge of announcing a "substantial" drawdown of American troopsfrom Afghanistan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday.
"There's going to be a drawdown. I am confident that it will be one that's substantial. I certainlyhope so," the leading Senate Democrat said during an interview with PBS Newshour.
There currently are about 100,000 US troops fighting in Afghanistan, up from about 34,000 whenObama took office in 2009.-Reuters
staying not far from there on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey.He said those refugees were relying on a bakery in Bdama forto feed themselves. Abdul-Rahman
said now the refugees will not be able to go to Bdama to get bread.The uprising has proven to be the boldest challenge to the Assad family's 40-year dynasty in Syria.
Assad, now 45, inherited power in 2000, raising hopes that the lanky, soft-spoken young leadermight transform his late father's stagnant and brutal dictatorship into a modern state.
But over the past 11 years, hopes dimmed that Assad was a reformist, but rather a hardliner deter-mined to keep power at all costs.
On Friday, 12 people were killed in the central city of Homs, two in the eastern town of Deir el-Zour and two in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, one in the northern city of Aleppo. A boy believedto be 16 years old, who was in the streets protesting, and another person died in the southern villageof Dael, the Local Coordination Committees said.-Reuters
Continued from page 8No #9
and failed than not to have tried at all. And do not become jaded like people of my generation -instead, be optimistic and challenge conventional thinking."
He noted that finance/capital was not a constraint. "It is the limitations of our imagination and willing-ness to take a risk. Of course, you need a lucky break but a brilliant idea will invariably get one', the SBPGovernor added. Mr. Kardar observed that it was a special breed of people that voluntarily takes risk.
'Such a career will not be easy to launch as you may end up following many dead leads; you willhave to do a lot of leg-work, and there is no guaranteed reward; you will not have the luxury of goinginto the same office every morning, but will have to explore a new path every day, he said.
It might sound positively intimidating but this can be the difference between living a life that meanssomething and living a life with nothing more than good means, he said. He said that it was the differ-ence between walking down the road less travelled as opposed to a well-trodden path; of taking risksover tip-toeing around life'. SBP governor told his audience to "never lose faith". Even if you haveno connections; talent, energy and ability to work hard are the best cards that you will be holding evenin this society in which we know connections are more potent factor for personal progress. For ensur-ing success you need to back it up with hunger coupled with a determination to defy the social and eco-nomic factors that discourage or fail to facilitate development of entrepreneurial behavior."
He stressed upon the young graduates to work hard to earn the respect of their peers and subordi-nates, especially in an increasingly competitive environment. "'It is hard work that can even turn fail-ure into success. With sheer determination you can take on challenges, unfazed', he said, adding thatthere were no short cuts in life", he said. SBP governor observed that life was about making choic-es involving trade-offs without any guarantees of success. 'But there is nothing like making it inyour own homeland - that is where you get a real kick. That is why even those who have done wellacross the seas yearn for recognition here. Exploit the spate of opportunities available to you if youlook around', he added. Kardar expressed the hope that the young LUMS graduates would remain inPakistan to serve their country. 'This may not seem very exciting at this point, but once you get abetter sense of the economic and political challenges facing the developed world in the next 18months, Pakistan will end up looking really good', he added.
'You have a wonderful start to life, and you owe this to yourself and let me use a hackneyed term,your country, that gave your parents the ability to give you this start. Now it's time to give back.This country and its less fortunate people need you,' the SBP governor added.-NNI
Continued from page 8No #10
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Sunday, June 19, 20118
ISLAMABAD: Zhang Hongwei, Chirman Orient Group of China met Federal Minister for Finance Abdul HafeezShaikh in Finance Ministry.-APP
ISLAMABAD: Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza Gilani hassaid that the government is com-mitted to provide relief to thecommon people and the Budgetfor the fiscal year 2011-12 hasbeen prepared on this line. Hesaid that the public and mediahave acknowledged it as a bal-anced and pro-people Budget.
According to press releaseissued here, the Prime Ministerwas talking to KhawajaMuhammad Khan Hoti, MNAwho called on him at PM'sHouse on Saturday.
The Prime Minister said thatthe additional allocation of
resources to the provinceswould be spent on the publicwelfare schemes to address thepressing problems of the com-mon man. He hoped that theOpposition would appreciatepositive steps of the govern-ment taken in the larger interestof the country.
Khawaja Muhammad KhanHoti, MNA thanked the PrimeMinister for his keen interest inthe public welfare. He also dis-cussed the debate and sugges-tions put forth by the parlia-mentarians on various budget-ary proposals. Overall politicalsituation was also discussed in
the meeting.Meanwhile Prime Minister
approved the appointment ofHamad Ghazavi as DeputyManaging Director of PTV.
PM while interviewingHamad Ghaznavi at PM HouseSaturday morning for the postof Deputy MD, PTV has saidthat public media organisationshave to adopt modern and inno-vative methods of broadcastingto enhance their reach to themasses.
The Prime Minister approvedhis appointment after the inter-view, according to PM Housespokesman.-Online
Commonman tohave his day: PM
Gilani OKs appointment of Hamad Ghazavi as Deputy MD, PTV
ISLAMABAD: FederalInterior Minister RehmanMalik has made it clear that noforeign agency includingUnited States CentralIntelligence Agency would beallowed to operate in the coun-try, adding that, SupremeCourt's verdict on SaleemShahzad and Sarfraz Shahwould be implemented.
While talking to media menoutside the Parliament house,the minister said, drug and landmafias are responsible forunrest in Karachi.
Those involved in Karachiunrest will be taken to task.The Rangers including FormerDG Rangers have played animportant role to clean Karachifrom target killings and crime.During last 5 months, 48 Policeofficers lost their lives in targetkillings. The media should por-tray our brave soldiers asheroes, he said.
The minister while con-demning the murder of
Saleem Shahzad, a journalist,said that the agencies and lawenforcement agencies shouldnot be criticised without anyjustification. The date ofSaleem Shahzad's cell phonewas not erased and it cannotbe deleted, he said. The caseof Saleem Shahzad murderwas in the Supreme Courtand its verdict would beobeyed.
Replying to a question, hesaid, no foreign agency wouldbe allowed to operate in anyarea of the country. Pakistan isa sovereign state, he said,adding that, no compromisewould be made on nationalsecurity. Foreigners residingillegally in Pakistan are beingexpelled, he said.
Over 5000 Passports, whichwere stolen from Karachioffice, were cancelled to avoidthe possibility of these pass-ports falling into the wronghands, he said. Investigationwith regard to stolen of
Passports is underway, headded.
Malik said that those pass-ports could have been used byterrorists and smugglers.
Yesterday Malik directedDirector General ofImmigration and Passport toterminate the stolen passports.
He ordered probe intoalleged involvement of staffand other security aspects. TheInterior Minister also called forreports into possession of pass-ports without deploying securi-ty.
He feared that these pass-ports could fall into the handsof militants.
No progress had been madeso far regarding theft of over 5,000 passports from KTAA onJune 5. Out of these, 25 pass-ports were of foreigners.
When asked about FormerHome Minister Sindh DrZulfiqar Mirza, he said, he is abrave man and he respectshim.-Agencies
Malik says CIA to be
stonewalled in PakSays drug, land mafias responsible of unrest in Karachi
Says 5,000 passports stolen in Khi cancelled
BOYNUYOGUN REFUGEECAMP, Turkey: Syrian troopsbacked by tanks and firingheavy machine guns swept intoa village near the Turkish bor-der Saturday, the latest in aseries of intensified army oper-ations in the northwest wherethere have been heavy clashesbetween loyalist troops anddefectors.
The Local CoordinationCommittees, a group that docu-ments anti-government protests,said troops backed by six tanksand several armored personnelcarriers, entered Bdama in themorning. The village is about12 miles (20 kilometers) fromthe Turkish border.
The British Foreign officeurged Britons in Syria to leavethe country "immediately." In astatement posted on the websiteof the British Embassy in Syria,the Foreign Office said Britonsshould leave "now by commer-cial means while these are stilloperating."
It said those who chose toremain in Syria should know
the British Embassy inDamascus would be able toprovide a normal consular serv-ice in the event of a "furtherbreakdown in law and order."
Britain, France, Germany andPortugal are also sponsoring adraft resolution at the U.N.Security Council to condemnSyria.
The attack on Bdama came aday after Syrian forces sweptinto Maaret al-Numan, a townon the highway linkingDamascus, the capital, withSyria's largest city, Aleppo.Saturday's assault on Bdamawas about 25 miles (40 kilome-ters) to the west.
Also Saturday, the commit-tees raised the death toll inFriday's anti-govnermentprotests to 19.
The three-month uprising hasproved stunningly resilientdespite a relentless crackdownby the military, pervasive secu-rity forces and pro-regime gun-men. Human rights activistssay more than 1,400 Syrianshave been killed and 10,000
detained as President BasharAssad tries to maintain his gripon power.
Bdama is adjacent to Jisr al-Shughour, a town that wasspinning out of governmentcontrol before the militaryrecaptured it last Sunday.Activists had reported fightingin Jisr al-Shughour betweenloyalist troops and defectorswho refused to take part in acontinuing crackdown on pro-testers seeking Assad's ouster.
The fighting in the area, thatstarted nearly two weeks ago,displaced thousands of peopleincluding some 10,100 who aresheltered in Turkish refugeecamps. On Friday, U.N. envoyAngelina Jolie traveled toTurkey's border with Syria tomeet some of the thousands ofSyrian refugees.
Rami Abdul-Rahman of theSyrian Observatory for HumanRights told The AssociatedPress that the takeover ofBdama will affect about 2,000Syrian refugees who are
See # 9 Page 7
Syria blitzes villagebordering on Turkey
RAWALPINDI: The trial ofLeT's Zakiur Rehman Lakhviand six other suspects chargedwith involvement in theMumbai attacks was adjournedon Saturday for a week as nojudge was available to conductproceedings in the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court hear-ing the case.
Rana Nisar Ahmed, who hadbeen hearing the case since hewas appointed judge ofRawalpindi's anti-terroristcourt no. III in November 2010,was transferred shortly after thelast hearing on June 11.
No new judge has beenappointed for the court thougha hearing was scheduled fortoday, sources told PTI.
The case was placed before aduty judge, who adjourned ittill June 25, they said.
The sources said it wasexpected that a new judgewould be appointed before thenext hearing.
Ahmed's transfer marked thefourth change of the judge con-ducting the trial of the suspects.
Ahmed had also been con-ducting the trial of five suspectscharged with involvement inthe 2007 assassination of for-
mer premier Benazir Bhutto.He was transferred hours
after he issued a permanentarrest warrant for formerPresident Pervez Musharraf forfailing to cooperate with inves-tigators probing Bhutto's assas-sination.
Ahmed had constantlypushed prosecutors to ensureMusharraf's appearance incourt.
Experts said Ahmed's suddentransfer could affect proceed-ings in the Mumbai attacks caseas any new judge will needtime to acquaint himself withthe details of the complex case.
The trial has been marred bydelays and technical hitchessince proceedings began in2009.
At least one of the threejudges who previously heardthe case was changed after hereceived threats from militantgroups, sources said.
Shahbaz Rajput, one of thelawyers defending the sevensuspects, said the repeatedchanges of the judge wasaffecting proceedings anddelaying the case. "The accusedare suffering for no reason," hetold PTI.-Online
26/11 case trialput off for a wk
ISLAMABAD: After severecriticism of PML-N and otheropposition parties and refusalof Justice (retd) Fakhruddin GIbrahim to become part of com-mission the government hasdecided to reconstitute thecommission to make it viable.
According to reliable sources,the government had constituteda five members commissionheaded by Supreme CourtJudge Justice Javed Iqbal in thelight of the joint resolutionpassed in the incamera sessionof the parliament to probe theAbbottabad incident in whichOsama Bin Laden was killed ina unilateral US action.
The commission consisted ofJustice (Retd) Fakhruddin GIbrahim, Lt Gen (retd) NadeemAhmed, Abbas Khan and
Ashraf Jahnagir Qazi.However after severe criti-
cism by PML-N and otheropposition parties and refusalof Fakhruddin Ibrahim tobecome part of the commis-sion the commission wasshelved.
Govt technocrats held severalsessions and analysed varioussuggestions by PPP seniormembers and reached to theconclusion that the commissionmust be reconstituted. Sourcessaid that prior to the forming ofnew commission the oppositionleader Ch Nisar would also beconsulted after which the com-mission would conduct itsprobe and would present isreport and recommendations tothe govt.
Sources told that PML-N
wants inclusion of Justice (retd)Bhagwan Das and SCBAChairperson Asma Jahangirinto the commission and havestarted lobbying in this regard.
In this regard Federal LawMinister Maula Baksh Chandiosaid that government is contin-uing consultation regardingforming of new commission.
He said that Abbottabad oper-ation and attack on PNSMehran base are not regularincidents and they should beprobed and their inquiry wouldbe completed. In response to aquestion he said thatAbbottabad commission is notyet completed but it would becompleted and if deemed nec-essary consultation with ChiefJustice of Pakistan would alsobe held.-Online
Abbottabad commissionlikely to be restructured
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan'sAmbassador to China MasoodKhan on Saturday saidPakistan was expecting recordcotton production of over 15million bales in the 2011-12crop year as farmers were sow-ing in a wider area afterdomestic prices doubled a yearago.
In an interview with ChinaTextile News, a Chinese lan-guage daily which focuses ontextile related matters, theAmbassador said Pakistanachieved record cotton produc-tion of 14.6 million bales in2004-05, but the output fellsharply after that until now.
The ambassador said thegovernment was targeting asowing area of 8.5 millionacres, up by 8 per cent fromthe last year, working out aplan to prevent pest and virusattacks, and ensuring seedavailability.
He said Pakistan was thefourth largest producer andthird largest consumer of cot-ton. The textile sector con-tributed 60 per cent to the totalearnings of the country,accounts for 46 per cent of themanufacturing and providesemployment to 38 per cent ofthe manufacturing labourforce.
Cotton and textile accountfor about two-thirds of thecountry's exports and they pro-vide livelihood to more than10 million families, he added.
Ambassador Khan saidincreased cotton productionwas necessary to achieve 4.2per cent growth rate target in
the next financial year startingin July 2011.
"Our growth rate slipped to2.4 per cent last year due to thehuge losses suffered by oureconomy on account of mas-sive floods. Gains in cottoncan redeem the economy," hesaid.
"The good news is thatPakistan's textile industry hadmade its mark in the globalmarket in the past six decades;and it has proved its continuedstrength even in the post-quo-tas era.
"Remarkably, it has survivedtwo serious challenges - theinternational financial crisisand the devastating floods lastyear," he said.
The Ambassador emphasisedthat in order to ensure robustgrowth of our textile industry,the government was payingattention to the development ofsupport industries of machin-ery, dyes and chemical.
Talking about Pakistan-China bilateral trade,Ambassador Masood Khansaid it has seen positive trendson all fronts. Last year, forinstance, the overall volumerose to $8.7 billion registeringa cumulative year on yeargrowth of 28 per cent --Pakistan's exports increased by37.44 per cent.
"We want to move forwardwith speed and efficiency toachieve the overall target of$15 billion in the next three tofour years. Secondly, we aretaking measures to reduce thetrade deficit of $5.2 billion inChina's favour. For that pur-
pose, we have invited officialChinese purchase missions tovisit Pakistan and place ordersfor Pakistani products forChinese market," he said.
In 2009, he said, the globalshortage of cotton caused by ashortfall in Chinese crops ledto an exponential growth in theexternal demand for Pakistancotton yarn. China itself pro-cured huge quantities of yarnfrom Pakistan. This trend con-tinued in 2010 though at aslightly lower pace.
He said overall, textile relat-ed exports to China are 65 percent of the total Pakistaniexports to China. In 2010, forinstance, Pakistan exportedcotton yarn, fabrics, cotton,cotton wastes, home textiles,garments, knitted fabrics, andcarpets to China in big quanti-ty.
He said agreements havebeen signed between Pakistaniand Chinese institutions fordevelopment of hybrid cottonseeds, including of BT cotton,to improve the yield and quali-ty of cotton in Pakistan.
Ambassador Khan said nextyear, Pakistan is launching thenext Five Year (2012-1216)Pak China DevelopmentProgramme on Trade andEconomic Cooperation(FYDP). This programmeincludes collaboration on anInstitute of Textile andClothing.
Ambassador Masood Khansaid Pakistan and China facesimilar challenges related tohigher labour wages and pro-curement of raw material.-NNI
Record cottonreckoned in yr
Kardartells new
generationto take risk
KARACHI: Governor StateBank of Pakistan (SBP) ShahidH Kardar has advised the newgeneration of Pakistan to takerisk, be an outlier and 'makeyour mark' in society.
Speaking at the Convocationof the Lahore University ofManagement Sciences (LUMS)on Saturday, he observed thatthose who have a fire in theirbelly and the urge and determi-nation to pursue their dreamsand take on the world ratherthan simply play safe would bethe great achievers.
'However, whichever pathyou choose to traverse, remem-ber, in this highly competitiveage of specialization you cantake up any profession and be asuccess, provided you are thebest at it There is always roomat the top - at the bottom youget trampled over', he told theLUMS graduates.
Kardar opined that "outlierschange society and history, andoften for the better. 'Yes, not allof you can become outliers, butsome of you will."
It takes the strength of one'sconviction to veer away fromthe beaten path and explore;and when you explore some-thing new, you learn muchmore,' he added.
He advised the graduatingstudents of LUMS, "do not bedaunted by risk or the fear offailure - it is better to have tried
See # 10 Page 7
30-yearrainfallrecordbroken
ISLAMABAD: Heavy rainblessed the twin cities ofRawalpindi and Islamabad,Lahore, AJK and different areasof the country on the nightbetween Friday and Saturday,bringing a pleasant change inthe weather to some extent.
According to MetrologicalDepartment, the recent showersin different areas of the countryhave broke 30 years old recordof rainfall in the month of June.
53 millimeter rain wasrecorded in Lahore. There werealso reports of rain inFaisalabad, Balakot, Jhelum,Sialkot, Kotli, Mangla, Murree,Kakol and Rawlakot.
Highest level of 59mm ofrain was recorded in Syedpurarea of Islamabad. The rain hadalso disturbed flight schedulein Lahore and Islamabad.
According to PIA authorities,most flights bound for Lahorewere re-scheduled or sent toIslamabad, causing problemsfor the passengers.
A flight bound for Bangkoktook off one hour late andanother flight for Islamabadhad been canceled.-Online
SC roster fornext week's
hearingsissued
ISLAMABAD: SupremeCourt (SC) has issued roster inrespect of the cases to be takenup for hearing during the nextweek from June 20 to 24.
As per media reports 2benches will hear the cases atIslamabad, 2 in Lahore registryand one bench in Peshawar.
Islamabad Bench No 1 willcomprise Chief Justice ofPakistan (CJP) IftikharMuhammad Chaudhry, JusticeTariq Pervez and Justice AmirHani Saleem and IslamabadBench No 2 will be consistingof Justice Javed Iqbal andJustice Nasirul Mulk.
Lahore Bench No 1 willinclude Justice MehmoodAkhtar, Justice Shahid Siddiquiand Justice Asif Saeed Khosawhile Lahore Bench No 2 willcomprise Justice Arif HussainKhilji and Justice Saqib Nisar.
Peshawar bench will consistof Justice Anwar ZaheerJamali and Justice GhulamRabbani.-Online
Indian HighCommissionvehicle hits,injures youthISLAMABAD: ReportedlyIndian High Commission's carhas hit and injured a youngsterhere on Saturday.
The injured youngster name-ly Amir Shahzad was immedi-ately rushed to PIMS hospitalfor first aid treatment.
According to media reports,Shehzad was walking down theNazim Uddin road in sector F-6/1 when the car of SecondSecretary of Indian HighCommission hit him.-Online
