Saturday, 26 November, 2011profit.com.pk

ISLAMABAD

AMER SIAL

StAte owned Oil and Gas Develop-ment Company Limited (OGDCL)has made gas discovery at Zinblock in Balochistan and estimates

of the reserve size, quality and daily supplyare being finalised.

An official source said gas pressure wasassessed at 1000 pound square inch (psi)which indicates a big reservoir. However, heshared no information on the size of thereservoir, its quality and potential daily gassupplies, and said “the technical team is theprocess of evaluating all of these things”.

National flag carrier, OGDCL started ex-ploratory drilling in the block located in DeraBugti district and first well X-1 was spud inMay this year. the company had obtainedexploration license for Zin block in 1996. Butdue to law and order issues, it could not bedrilled for last 14 years.

In industry circles, Zin block is consid-ered a very prospective block as it is sur-rounded by major natural gas producingfields of Pirkoh, Loti, Sui and Uch. Work onthe site was started in 2010, when govern-ment provided required security to the com-

pany. If drilling proves successful the gasfrom the field will start flowing within nextone year, the source said.

A major discovery in the block will makegovernment enhance security for companiesinterested in oil and gas exploration in thehydrocarbon rich province to overcome se-vere energy crisis due to estimated 2 bcfdshortfall in gas supply.

the country’s first major discovery ofSui gas field located in Dera Bugti was madein 1952. Its neighbouring district of Kohluis attributed by experts as the most prospec-tive area for finding major conventional hy-drocarbon reserves. OGDCL has applied forsecurity clearance for four licenses in thedistrict including Kohlu, Jandran, JandranWest and Kalchas.

OGDCL is the largest upstream com-pany in the country having a portfolio of 77fields, out of which 45 fields are 100 percent owned and operated, and 32 are non-operated fields. As of December 2010, itholds 48 per cent of the country’s recover-able oil reserves, and 37 per cent of thecountry’s recoverable gas reserves. In termsof production, currently OGDCL delivers 56per cent of Pakistan’s oil output, and 22 percent of its gas production.

KARACHI

GHULAM ABBAS

tHe highly frustrated businesscommunity of Karachi has de-cided not to pay the monthlyelectricity bills to Karachi

electric Supply Company (KeSC)against the 12 hours’ long loadsheddingin the industrial sector.

As the prolonged outages haveparalysed life in the industrial areas ofthe city, the over 50,000 industrialistsof the country’s financial hub will notpay the utility bill until restoration ofthe uninterrupted power supply fromKeSC, Mian Abrar, President KarachiChamber of Commerce and Industrytold Profit on friday.IndustrIalIsts notdefaultIng: Instead of paying theelectricity bill to KeSC, the industrialistsof the city’s seven industrial associationswould submit the bills to offices of sevenAssociations trade and Industry whichincluded S.I.t.e. Association, federal BArea Association, Landhi Association,North Karachi Association, KorangiAssociation, S.I.t.e. Super HighwayAssociation and Bin Qasim Association,in protest against the unjustified powerbreakdowns which have almost stoppedactivities in the sector, he said.

through pay orders, the business-men would submit the billed amount atthe offices of various associations toshow that the industrial consumers werenot defaulters of the privately run publicutility. But despite the regular paymentmade to KeSC, the company was delib-

erately making power shortages in orderto get gas and subsidised fuel supplyfrom the government organisations.CompetItIveness InInternatIonal market: Underthe present 12-hours loadshedding inthree cycles, is actually the breakdownsof power supply for 24 hours as theindustries could not run their machineswith frequent and prolonged outages.Besides KeSC’s policies had pushed costof production up, leaving the industriesnon-competitive in the internationalmarket. According to Abrar, this was thefirst time the businessmen of the citywere forced to withhold payment of themonthly electricity charges as hours’long loadshedding in the industrial areashad taken a heavy toll on industries.this, he said would also badly affectexports and the expected revenuegeneration for the national exchequer.

He further alleged that the manage-ment of the company was only focusingon how to steal money from the crisishit consumers instead of spendingmoney on infrastructure, power gener-ation and distributions.

earlier, KCCI members in a meet-ing attended by chairman of the BMGgroup and former president of KCCISiraj Kasim teli, KCCI President MianAbrar Ahmad, Zubair Motiwala, IrfanMoton, Nisar Sheikhani, Yunus Bashir,Zia Ahmad Khan, Majyd Aziz, MahtabChawla and tariq Malik, it was decidedthat a series of protests would be or-ganised against power break downsstarted after, what KeSC claims, thecurtailment of gas supply from Sui

Southern Gas Company.power CrIsIs CrIpplIngIndustry: It was decided that ifthings did not change and the KeSC didnot bring down loadshedding, theywould not pay power bills to the KeSCand deposit the same along with payorder with the respective associationsfrom Monday. If the KeSC continuedits highly deplorable policy, 17,000industries of Karachi would be forcedto close down and traders and workerswould also be involved in the protestbecause they were also being hit by thepower utility’s policy.

the concerned businessmen, in-dustrialists, traders of the city had alsostaged a protest sit-in at the KarachiPress Club (KPC) on Wednesdayagainst power load shedding in the in-dustrial zones of the city.

According to sources the loadshed-dings were purely blackmailing tacticsstarted employed by KeSC to get the in-dustrialists support for pressurisingSSGC to restore the gas supply to amaximum level.pay your power BIlls orfaCe dIsConneCtIon; kesC’swarnIng to kCCI: On the otherhand KeSC, in a statement hasslammed the announcement made bythe KCCI, in which the trade bodymembers seem to have made a deci-sion to refrain from paying the powerdues to the utility. KeSC denouncesall such acts and considers it as anopen violation, given the fact that thesituation and the reasons behind thecurrent power crisis, brought about bythe massive and forced curtailment ofgas supply to the power utility is a factwell known to them.

KeSC has explicitly stated that allthose power consumers, especiallyIndustrialists who do not pay theirbills on their respective due dates,their power supply will be discon-nected without fail because KeSC hasa zero tolerance policy against willfuldefaulters. KeSC cited that the billswhich are up for payment pertain tothe previous month’s power con-sumption, of a time when all the in-dustrial consumers were enjoyingexemption from load shedding intheir industrial zones, which hasbeen a standard policy of KeSC forthe past two years.

ISLAMABAD

AMER SIAL

After being informed that the bankshave flatly refused to provide any loan tothe loss making Pakistan Steel Mill(PSM), the government decided to pro-

vide a sovereign guarantee for rs6 billionloan, to keep the entity operational till itsfinancial restructuring, business plan isapproved. An official source said the de-cision was made at the Cabinet Commit-tee on restructuring, chaired by thefinance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikhon friday. PSM, the source said, decriedduring the meeting that no bank wasready to give loan to the state owned en-

tity which was faced with a loss of rs1 billion per month due tounder capacity operations. the steel mill is operating on only20 per cent production, even though a production level of 70per cent was required to reach break even. It was pointed outthat there was shortage of raw material and if imports were notmade immediately the mill would close down. the restartingwould be more expensive than the financial assistance soughtat present. the committee decided to provide guarantee tobanks to enable raw material procurement.

the committee was informed that an assistance of rs11billion was required to enhance the production output to 80per cent that will make the entity profitable. It will also re-quire long term restructuring of debts. When some ministersexpressed concerns on the financial plan, the committee wasinformed that PSM was a profitable entity during 2001-2008period. It suffered heavy losses during the tenure of the pres-ent government. CCOr directed empowering of the board of

directors of PSM to make them more accountable and ratio-nalising the custom duty on the raw materials. It was decidedthat the five year business plan will be considered by the eco-nomic Coordination Committee of the cabinet for final deci-sion. the approval of the new business plan is required toconclude an investment deal with russia that has assured aninvestment of $500 million in the upgradation of the steelmill. the mill has production capacity of 1.1 million tonneswhich would be increased to 1.5 million tonnes. the companyhas 17,000 employees and their salary bill is more thanrs700 million per month. PSM incurred loss of rs26 billionin fiscal year 2008-09, rs11 billion in 2009-10 and rs11 bil-lion in 2010-11. the government helped the entity byrescheduling its loans of rs7 billion and providing cash as-sistance of rs3 billion in the fiscal year 2009-10 while ithelped in restructuring loans of rs8 billion and injected acash assistance of rs2 billion in 2010-11.

50,000 industrialistsboycott KESC

Govt agrees on sovereign guarantee for pSm

Gas discoverymade at Zin block

KSE sheds 81 points on institutional profit-taking ahead of SBP policy Page 4

Pages: 8

Steel millS criSiS

electricity bill payment

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/25/2011 11:37 PM Page 1

debate02Saturday, 26 November, 2011

KunwAR KHuLDune SHAHID

WItH the current power predica-ment, and the relentless bursts ofload shedding, there is a dire needto enhance our repertoire to meetthe growing energy requirements.

Both industry and indeed the masses are bearing thebrunt of the dearth of electricity on a daily basis, andhence, the clamour to ameliorate matters has beengrowing more vociferous day by day. Amidst suchstate of affairs, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline prom-ises to be a knight in shining armor, as far as theprospect of bolstering our gas shortage is concerned.Initially, India was very much a part of the project,but our eastern neighbours have absconded; citingsecurity related concerns. the pipeline has been amassive undertaking, and with its initiation a longway down the memory lane, the project has come along way. And after various brands of antagonisms,it seems to be on the brink of completion.

OriGinPakistani civil engineer, Malik Aftab Ahmed Khan,conjured up the idea to reinforce Pakistan’s gas re-serves and gave a design proposal of the potential proj-ect. In his article titled “Persian Pipeline” published inmid 1950s by the Military College of risalpur, AftabAhmed highlighted the blueprint of the entire proposaland also outlined the means for its protection. theneed for it to be protected arose because the draftedout pathway overlapped with many antagonistic re-gions, that were hell bent upon ensuring that the proj-ect was not initiated. Aftab Ahmed suggested smallbattalion-size cantonments should be set up along thepipeline’s proposed route through Baluchistan andSind, which would keep the hostility in check.

cOnceptualiSatiOnWhile Malik Aftab Ahmed Khan’s idea was con-structively intriguing, it did have its creases thatneeded to be ironed out. Hence after being inter-mittently shelved, the groundbreaking idea wasconceptualised in 1989 by rajendra K Pachaurialong with Ali Shams Ardekani, former Deputy for-eign Minister of Iran. the concept of an Iran-Pak-istan pipeline was further extended to includeIndia, and this mammoth project was being toutedas the ‘Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline’ – IPI pipelineor the Peace pipeline. Dr Pachauri expounded thedesign to both the Iranian and the Indian govern-ments and received a positive riposte from the Iran-ian hierarchy. During the annual conference ofIAee (International Association of energy eco-nomics) in 1990 Dr Ardekani also backed the idea.

rOutethe South Pars field is the origin of this historicalpipeline project and the proposed length of thepipeline is 2,775 kilometers. Starting off from Asa-louyeh in Bushehr province in Iran, 1,172 kilometersof the aforementioned 2,775 kilometers of the pipeline

(around 42 per cent) extends within the domainof Iran. from Asalouyeh the route is traced towardsIranshahr; the distance covered in this segment is 902kilometers. from Iranshahr to the Iran-Pakistan bor-der, the pipeline runs for a further 270 kilometers be-fore it enters Pakistan. After entering Pakistan, thepipeline’s proposed path is via Baluchistan into Sindhand Punjab. from Khuzdar, there would be a tributaryen route to Karachi and the main pipeline wouldprogress till Multan. from Multan, the pipeline canbe extended to Dehli. Nonetheless, if China were toshow interest in the project, the route could be modi-fied accordingly to accommodate the South-eastAsian giant. Owing to concerns regarding Baluchi in-surgents, an alternative pathway from Iran to the mar-itime boundary between India and Pakistan off Kutchhas also been proposed. If this idea is to be pursued,one branch would then run into Pakistan, while an-other one would branch off to Kutch.

prOSpectSthe Iran-Pakistan pipeline project promises to bearenough fruits to drag Pakistan out of the current en-ergy quagmire. the initial capacity of the projectwas touted as 22 billion cubic meters of natural gasper annum, which was going to gradually evolve to-wards 55 billion cubic meters per year. Neverthe-less, after the project has been restricted to thestature of a bilateral matter between Pakistan andIran, the numbers being prognosticated are 8.7 bil-lion cubic meters of annual gas supply as the con-tracted numbers, and up to 40 billion cubic metersof maximum gas supply has been promised. the ra-dius of the pipeline is 28 inches, making its diame-ter 56 inches and circumference approximately, 176inches. the cost surrounding the project is said tobe $7.5 billion. And while it is clear that the pipelinealone cannot act as our saviour and we would haveto explore our reserves as well, it is unambiguousthat it would go a long way in aiding our cause.

1990sDeliberations over the pipeline project betweenIran and Pakistan began in 1994, which was fol-lowed by the preliminary agreement in 1995. It wasdecided that the pipeline was going to trace its start-ing point in the South Pars gas field and would runall the way to Karachi. As further plans unravelledunder the political hangover, Iran further proposedto extend the pipeline to India and hence in febru-ary 1999, the initial agreement was signed betweenIran and India. With Iran, Pakistan and India beingan enigmatic triangle of prospect, cooperation,scepticism and tension, the pipeline has been a ropyaffair going to and fro and fluctuating in synchronywith the political turmoil that epitomises the region.Such a trend was at its apogee as the world movedinto the new millennium.

2000sPost 9/11, when American influence was reigningsupreme in the region, the project was duly af-fected. United States being fiercely antagonistic to-

wards Iran, and the Indo-Pak relationshipsoscillating with the tide; the aforementioned

triangle then became an inscrutable quadrilateral.It was all quiet on the pipeline’s front in the firsthalf of the previous decade, after developmentsbegan to resurface from 2007 onwards. In febru-ary 2007, Pakistan and India agreed to pay Iran$4.93 per million British thermal units($4.67/GJ); however, some of the clauses of theagreement were still up for negotiation. In August2008, Iran iterated its desire to see China enterthe project that would make it a gargantuan SouthAsian project that could rewrite all history books.2009 saw India abandon the project, owing to theproclaimed security concerns; the fact that Indiahad signed a civilian nuclear deal with US in 2008also triggered the decision. even so in 2010, Indiareiterated its desire to be a part of the project andinvited Pakistan and Iran for trilateral talks. How-ever, like in most global matters, the most daunt-ing influence was that of the United States ofAmerica. In January 2010, US called on Pakistanto completely abandon the project, with Iranianhostility towards the US rising and Pakistan beingflaunted as a pivotal ally in America’s War on ter-ror. US vowed to provide assistance for a liquefiednatural gas terminal and also promised to aid theimport of electricity from tajkistan throughAfghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, if Pakistan wereto leave the project. Nevertheless, on 16th March2010, Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement onthe pipeline which has been followed by Iranianannouncement in July 2011 that it had completedthe construction of its section.

recent menacetarget killings in Hazara are escalating and os-tensibly as a warning to the Pakistani hierarchy,who plan on undertaking the construction worknow that Iran has nearly completed its side ofthe project. Jundallah is said to be involved inattacks in Sistan-Baluchistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is the principal antagonist in Baluchis-tan that is threatening to upset the applecart ofnot only the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, but the re-cently signed tAPI deal as well. these attemptsare under the hangover of the US-Pakistan en-ergy dialogue and Pakistan-Iran Joint economicCommission (JeC) and are intended to ward offpotential investors in the projects.

baluchiStan’S cOOperatiOn

Balochi hostility regarding the project – while in-dubitably veritable – has quite often been overexaggerated as well. the province is now makingall the right noises as far as a positive outlookand approach towards the project are concerned.Chief Minister Baluchistan, Nawab MohammadAslam raisani has been buoyant about the proj-ect and recently announced that the governmentof Baluchistan has agreed to give land for theproject. the land to be allocated is in the districtsof Gwadar and Lasbella, which is an integralroute, as far as the pipeline’s passage throughBaluchistan is concerned. the chief minister

however, expressed hisdesire to see the contract of

the proposed work on the pipeline throughBaluchistan be given to local contractors, whichwould in turn bolster the economy of a provincethat has unfortunately lagged behind the rest asfar as economic prosperity is concerned.

neGOtiatinG price fOrmulaPakistan has recently articulated its desire to ne-gotiate over the gas price formula with Iran, in ac-cordance with the price mechanism that has beensettled under tAPI (turkmenistan AfghanistanPakistan India) gas pipeline project with turkmengovernment. According to the initial agreementbetween tehran and Islamabad, Pakistan was topay 78 per cent of crude oil parity price to Iranafter a mutual consensus was reached from bothsides. However, after the tAPI project has beensigned, Pakistan wants to revisit the numbers withIran. According to reports, the new numberscould save up to $100 million from the $1.25 bil-lion that were going to cost in the construction ofthe Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.

apprOachinG cOmpletiOnPetroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain, recentlyproclaimed that the pipeline project would be cul-minated by the end of 2013, asserting that “firstgas flow is targeted by the end of 2014”. thiscomes after the Iranian hierarchy is on the vergeof completing their side of the deal by construct-ing the pipeline up till the Iran-Pakistan border.Dr Asim Hussain also exclaimed that the govern-ment was pursuing a new petroleum explorationand production policy that would bolster theprospects of investment within the realms of oiland gas exploration in the country. Such incen-tives when coupled with the IP and tAPI projectsbode well for the revolution in the energy sectorin our part of the world.

epilOGueAs things stand in Pakistan, we are in dire needto an inkling of inspiration to improve ourmulti-pronged crises. We need to tap into ourown reserves and further pursue projects alongthe lines of the Iran-Pakistan pipeline, and thetAPI project is another major step in the rightdirection. the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project hasstood the test of time and has proven itself to bea steadfast quest towards the enhancement ofbilateral ties and trade between two forthcomingnations and towards the amelioration of powershortages. Despite a plethora of opposition andanimosity, the project continues to surge to-wards its desired goal. the project has weath-ered all storms and hopefully, we shall soon seeit being proved as one of the most lucrative dealsin the history of the region.

The writer is sub-editor Profit. He can be reachedat khulduneshahid@gmail.com

g iran-pakistan gaspipeline hasweatheredstorms, counteredantagonisms andhas stood the test of time

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/25/2011 11:38 PM Page 2

INterNAtIONAL financial hubs assumea singular importance in times of turmoil,especially recession as deep as the one un-leashed by the epic collapse of LehmanBrothers in 2008. the intense amalgama-

tion of different and differing persuasions theseplaces play host to gives rise to just the kind of chat-ter that investors need to know. So I remain extraalert whenever I’m in Hong Kong, Singapore, orDubai, carefully listening to workers and executivesfrom different parts of the world to judge how

much my own interpre-tation of events is inkeeping with others’.

Strange as it seemedat the outset of the down-turn, these are days ofoverwhelming consen-sus. While the immediatepanic of the recessionfeatured all sorts ofanalyses, and the inte-

grated money-printing international responsedrew as many challengers as it did supporters, nowthere is little denying that europe holds the key topresent crisis, at least in the immediate term. Andas investors and financial authorities across theworld, and of course especially in europe, scrambleto save the euro, they are not pricing in the negativespill over this drama will have on Asia, seeminglydecoupled from the crisis far away.

In fact, I hear less people trumpet the risingstar of Asia’s emerging economies that only re-cently were hailed as leading the international bot-toming out of the recession. As much as europeansand Americans fret about the disaster in europe’speriphery, Asians complain of the possibility of col-lapsing exports as prime target markets across theAtlantic falter. for, no sooner than the euro’s col-lapse will American banks start falling, compro-

mising the two biggest towers of the internationalfinancial system. And once eU and US economiesrecord another few quarters of negative growth,Asia’s export engines will start grinding to a haltone by one. As a rule, when an entire bloc’s exportsto other blocs are squeezed, their growth slows, andsubsequently intra-regional trade also diminishes.

therefore, whenever the federal reserve re-leases minutes of its meetings, whenever Merkeland Sarkozy call another conference, and wheneverthe oil market fluctuates on whether or not the eco-nomic north is on the verge of a double-dip reces-sion, Asia’s decision-makers watch with markedconcern. Alas, in an age when sentiment can anddoes influence market forces, sometimes evenmore than actual events, Asia has been strikinglybehind the curve in talking up european andAmerican markets, its little efforts drowning in theloud market cry fearing imminent doom.

Asia has also suffered from not positioningitself proactively in the crossroads of interna-tional finance. Give or take a few (like HongKong and Singapore), few leveraged the un-precedented integration of the international fi-nancial system over the last decade and a half.even China’s mammoth growth machine, saveits exports and currency dramas, has been moreof an introvert, focusing on its own internal dy-namics. Only India, that too to an extent, ven-tured into the furious cross-currents thatdefined high finance till recently.

Pakistan is perhaps the most mysteriouscase. After suddenly exploding into the interna-tional stage in the aftermath of 9/11 and the re-cession early in the last decade, it disappearedjust as quickly after the elections of feb ’08.Ironically, democracy was not accompanied byfinancial and economic prudence, and relation-ships forged over a decade were not exploitedproperly. Now caught in persistent stagflationand sub optimal growth, its finance managersmust immediately make arrangements for forg-ing new trade deals, and alter production accord-ingly. Very soon, most of its limited markets, forits limited exports, will dry. If it had stayed in themainstream of international finance, it wouldhave seen this coming. If it fails to do so evennow, there can only be further retardation, andalienation.

The writer is a freelance financial journalist

THe October slowdown in textileexports is not really alarmingonce you explore its underlyingreasons – chronic energyshortage to industry and

inability to expand owing to an un-accommodative monetary environment. thesurprise at the slowdown is quite alarming,though, especially when it registers withgovernment functionaries. Immediatelyfollowing the budget announcement, werepeatedly pressed for increased patronageto both manufacturing and industry, and theunderlying need to incorporate valueaddition into the export mix. Yet littlechanged despite the finance ministry’sambitious budgetary projections, and near-criminal power shortage continued tocompromise production savagely.

If things weren’t bad enough, the tightmonetary stance ruled out whatever littlehope of stimulating investment andexpansion remained. And even with thephased central bank rate cuts, thegovernment is overwhelmingly present in

the borrowing market, still crowding out theprivate sector. With the government’s othermain revenue generation arm, taxcollection, still shy of crucial reforms,Islamabad’s fiscal condition is about tochange from bad to much worse.

It’s not just that fiscal authorities have hita road-block half way through the fiscal. therewere signs right from the beginning that thetime-buying bandwagon the government haddecided to step on was running on borrowedtime. So once again important targets will bemissed, and no matter what authorities say,there will again be painful cuts in thedevelopment budget. And since the gloomypicture owes to the government’s inability toeven protect its small export basket, one thingIslamabad cannot claim presently is aprudent, medium-to-long-term outlook. Sixmonths of continuous reminders have hadlittle affect on the government. It is hoped thatthe export shock will at least push it into amore proactive posture. failing that, nothingshort of the ballot box will bring some sensewhere it is needed.

Diminishing exports

Pakistan shouldposition itself at thecentre of internationalfinancial flows

Cross roadsof high finance

Zayn Usmani

Planning and economic growth

Mr tarin has outlined an extremely press-ing issue. Over the years, disparities be-tween the rich and the poor have sharplyincreased, with the rich getting phenome-nally richer and so on. If we trace back thehistory, we see that recession has affectedthe rich as well, but they rebounded verystrongly from all the downturns. We cansay that capitalism to some extent doeshave the capacity to restore economic bal-ance, if used in the right manner. the eco-nomic problem and the uneven distributionof wealth in Pakistan can only be min-imised if the middle and lower incomegroups also participate fully in the eco-nomic process instead of relying on the po-litical and strategic institutions.

MAHAM OMeR

ISLAMABAd

Sugarcane export

I personally believe that we havebeen extremely negligent on thesugar cane front. It is one of themost lucrative crops that we can findin our part of the world but in myhumble opinion its utility has notbeen proper. And it’s not just aboutthe sugarcanes we have been ignor-ing the agriculture sector for a longtime. Agriculture has been our back-bone throughout history and unfor-tunately we have been criminallynegligent regarding our backbone.We are hell bent upon implementingthe MfN status but as is customary,we are also being insensitive towardsthe farmers’ concerns. things needto change, and quick.

MARyAM AjMAL

LAHoRE

E D I T O R I A L

The water bomb

FOr those of us who feel that the pil-ing up of nuclear arsenal in itselfthreatens the future of South Asia,are blatantly mistaken. the policymakers, the intermediaries and the

stakeholders are all convinced that peace will besustainable only when the Kashmir issue be-tween Pakistan and India is addressed, howeverthe problem has now escalated beyond merelythe Kashmir dispute. According to a WorldBank report, water scarcity in South Asia, is ex-pected to reach unprecedented levels in thecoming years. It explained that as demand rises,

with the 1.5 billion strong population growingalmost by 1.7 per cent each year, it is almost likedropping the entire population of North Koreaon the region every year.

Add this to the long list of woes of Pak-istan that is combating terrorism, radicali-sation, political uncertainty, economiccrisis, power shortage, fiscal mismanage-ment, and any other predicament humanlyimaginable. As the economies of South Asia,grow every year the growth comes at thecost of feeding the rising demand of food.Industries, require water, agriculture re-quires water, food requires water, andpower generation requires water.

Pakistan’s storage capacity of waterpresently stands at approximately 9 per cent ofaverage annual flows, compared with the aver-age world capacity of 40 per cent. Add this tothe fact that by 2030, Pakistan will be the 5thlargest populous country of the world and youfind yourself in dire straits. to top it off, India’sconstruction of Baglihar dam that Pakistan al-leges is being built with gated spillways in vio-

lation of the provisions of the Indus Watertreaty, will give the neighbouring regional rivalgreater control over Pakistani waters.

former water expert of the World Bank,John Briscoe who advises Pakistan on water is-sues said, “the Baglihar decision allowed areservoir on a river coming into Pakistan, andnow a precedent is set.” the water bomb in Pak-istan is ticking with every passing second, as thewater reserves are fast depleting. According toestimates, water availability is expected to de-crease to 800 cubic meters by 2020, from 5000cubic meters in 1947.

Intriguingly the per MW cost of electric-ity produced from the Baglihar project ismuch higher than the average per MW costelsewhere in India. Moreover, studies esti-mate that for the Baglihar dam to produce900 MW of electricity, it would require 860cumecs of water, however flows of Chenabreduce considerably in winters, so much sothat flow in winters reduces to up to 50cumecs. reports indicate that India has built14 hydropower plants on Chenab and is in

the process of buildingmore projects that willeventually enable it tocompletely block waterof the Chenab river foralmost a month.

According to a reportpublished by the US Sen-ate in february this year, the cumulative effectof the 33 plus projects of India, at various stagesof completion on the rivers that affect this re-gion, ‘could give India the ability to storeenough water to limit the supply to Pakistan atcrucial moments in the growing season.’

the latest row between the two countries isover the Kishanganga hydropower project,where the complicated design entails India di-verting waters of Neelum, some 22 km down amountain tunnel to turbines, clearly in violationof the IWt. there are almost 5000 dams inIndia, whereas Pakistan boasts of a figure thatbarely exceeds 20 dams. As far as India is con-cerned, in the case of controversial dams, itseems that the arch rival will get away happy in

the end, as the interna-tional arbitration that tookplace in Hague permittedIndian design, despite or-dering suspension of itsconstruction for certain as-sessments. regardless,India will most probably

finish the dam before Pakistan constructs theNeelum project downstream.

While many drone about the need for cul-tural exchange to promote harmony betweenthe neighbouring countries, such harmony can-not be fostered in the presence of an existentialthreat to the survival of the people of the region.Pakistan’s concerns over water are habituallydismissed in the International media, claimingthat these are merely excuses to pick a fight withIndia, but the water bomb of region has the po-tential to set the spark for a localised conflictwith far reaching repercussions.

The writer is News Editor, Profit. Hecan be reached at ali.rizvi7957@gmail.com

Ali Rizvi

For comments, queries and contributions, write to:

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

babur SaGhirCreative Head

hammad raZaLayout Designer

Shahab JafryBusiness Editor

ali riZviNews Editor

muneeb eJaZLayout Designer

S a t u r d a y, 2 6 N o v e m b e r, 2 0 1 1

Our water availabilityis expected to decreaseto 800 cumecs by2020, from 5000cumecs in 1947

Kunwar Khuldune ShahidSub-Editor

maheen SyedSub-Editor

Profit for e-paper_Layout 1 11/25/2011 11:38 PM Page 3

Saturday,26 November,2011

04news

founder president iwcci, Samina fazil

Some misconceptions associated withMFN have made the whole issuedisputable which should be clarified toallay the fears of business community

KSE sheds 81 points on

institutional profit-taking

ahead of SBP policy

KARACHI

STAFF REPoRT

tHe Karachi stocks market afterthursday’s recovery once againturned bearish and lost 81.27 points

on friday on what the analysts said institu-tional profit-taking ahead of the centralbank’s policy announcement new week.

Last trading day of the week saw thebenchmark 100-share index plunging by0.6 per cent to 11,648.14 points from theprevious 11,729.41 points.

“Bearish activity witnessed in stocksacross the board on institutional profit-tak-ing ahead of SBP policy announcementnext week,” said Arif Habib Investments’Ahsan Mehanti. the intraday high and lowwas, respectively, recorded at 11,755.23 and11,612.17 points, showed the KSe website.

the trading volumes once again nose-dived to the record low level of 28 millionand was recorded at the ready-counter at28.176 million shares compared to 50.796million shares traded on thursday.

the trading value also depreciated tors1.4 billion compared to rs2.5 billion ofthe previous day. Of the total 310 scripstraded, 78 advanced, 123 declined and 109remained unchanged.

the KSe 30 index also remained nega-tive by 126.59 points and closed at

10932.00 having climbed to the intradayhigh of 11080.58. the lowest dip the indexsaw during friday’s session was 10907.75.the trading volume and value, respectively,amounted to rs15.040 million and rs1.339billion. “Major fall in global stocks andcommodities on concerns for the US eco-nomic growth and europe debt crises af-fected the investor sentiment,” Mehantisaid. the analyst said the day marked theforeign investors continuation to engage inlimited offloading in the blue-chip stocks atthe Karachi bourse.

“trade remained thin despite OGrAannouncements for raise in local gas tariff,easing concerns for rising circular debt inthe country,” added Mehanti, who is a di-rector at the Arif Habib Securities.

fauji fertiliser Bin Qasim was volumeleader of the day having counted its tradedshares at 3.5 million. the fertiliser giant’sshare price set in the red zone with a lossof rs1.94 to close at rs56.55.

Other best performers included BankAl-falah, Oil and Gas, Azgard Nine, Na-tional Bank of Pakistan, engro Corpora-tion, fauji fertilizer XD, Arif HabibCompany SD, Jahangir Siddiqui Companyand Lotte PakPtA who counted theirtraded shares at 3.1 million, 1.3 million, 1.3million, 1.2 million, 1.1 million, 1.1 million,1.1 million, 1.0 million and 0.788 million.

industrialists concernedover alarming rise in banks’ nplskaraCHI: the trade and industry has shown its utterdismay over the alarming rise in the banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs). In a joint statement, Patronin-Chief Korangi Association of trade and Industry, S MMuneer, Chairman ehteshamuddin, Vice Chairmen,Hasham A razzak and tariq Mailk and former Chairman,Mian Zahid Hussain, expressed concern over the recentSBP report that shows an abnormal surge by 24 per centfrom rs494 billion to rs629 billion only in one year.Muneer said he had already shown his apprehension thatthis would prove a death knell for the local as well asexport-oriented industry. STAFF REPoRT

industrialists criticise energy tariff increaselaHore: Pakistan Industrial and traders Associationfront (PIAf) and leaders of business community whilestrongly criticising the proposed 11 to 14 per cent increasein gas and 31 per cent increase in the hydel-electricitytariff, urged Prime Minister Syed Yousaf raza Gaillani toreject OGrA and NePrA anti-industry summaries inlarger interest of the country. PIAf Chairman SohailLashari, Lahore township Industries AssociationChairman Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry and Auto PartsManufacturers and exporters Association Chairmantahir Javed Malik said that massive increase in one-go inelectricity tariff and gas prices is not only anti-industrybut anti-masses. STAFF REPoRT

argentina seeks joint ventures in pakistanIslamaBad: tremendous amount of economic,commercial and political activities between Argentina andPakistan would have to take place for enhancing bilateraltrade relation between the business communities of bothcountries. Ambassador of Argentina, rodolfo J MartinSaravia, made these remarks while talking to President,Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yassar SakhiButt during his visit to ICCI. STAFF REPoRT

Iraqi envoy invitesPakistani investment

LAHORe

STAFF REPoRT

AMBASSADOr of IraqDr rushdi Al-Ani hasinvited Pakistanibusinessmen to initi-ate joint ventures

with their Iraqi counterparts asabundant investment and businessopportunities are available there. Hewas speaking at Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (LCCI).

Ambassador said Iraq also isin dire need of manpower fromPakistan to complete its projectsin construction, manufacturingsector and agriculture. Dr rushdisaid Iraq also needs Pakistan’shelp in education, health and en-gineering sectors therefore Pak-istani educationists, doctors andengineers should avail opportuni-ties in this oil rich country. He in-formed participants that PrimeMinister of Pakistan would soonvisit Iraq where he would be sign-ing a number of economy relatedagreements also. Ambassadorurged LCCI President to arrange asector-specific delegation to Iraqso that the businessmen couldhave firsthand knowledge of busi-ness facilities being offered byIraqi government.

Speaking on the occasion, LCCI

President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh saiddespite the fact that Pakistan andIraq are members of Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation (OIC) and alsohave close, friendly, and cooperativerelations since 1947 but these pro-longed ties do not reflect in bilateraleconomic relations.

He said Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry was readyto play an effective role to promotetrade and economic cooperationbetween the two countries. LCCIPresident said Pakistan was capa-ble of exporting textile products,auto parts, marble, medicines, sur-gical items, footwear, edibles,wheat and rice.

He said Pakistani constructioncompanies which, if provided properinformation, can evaluate Iraq as apotential market. Likewise Iraq canbenefit from cheap and abundantlabour available in Pakistan for thispurpose. Pakistani engineers, doc-tors, technicians have earned a goodname the world over and they wouldbe welcomed by Iraq.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said cham-bers of commerce, like LCCI, canplay a very constructive role inbridging the gap of information andinteraction between businessmen ofthe two countries. He said in the do-main of educational aids and sta-tionery, Iraq will find Pakistan to be

a dependable supply source. Pub-lishing houses in Pakistan are com-petent enough to cater to specificneeds of Iraqi educational system.Our publishing setup is making op-timum use of enhancements in Ara-bic script software and you wouldfind their workmanship to be of therequired standard.

LCCI President also offered helpto the visiting diplomat in Informa-tion technology tools in develop-ment of tele-communicationlinkages in Iraq. “Pakistan has therequired-trained human resource todevelop information portals, web-sites according to the needs of theIraqi government.”

Pakistan major items of exportto Iraq over the years have includedsalt, stone, lime & cement, cereals,machinery, plastic products, articlesof iron and steel etc; whereas, plas-tics, fruits, milling products,starches, wheat gluten, aircraftparts, machinery and etc are im-ported from Iraq.

LCCI executive committeemembers Ghulam MurtazaShoukat, Ilyas Majid Sheikh, Hus-nain raza Mirza, and former ex-ecutive committee MemberAmjad Ali Java were also presentin the meeting and highlighted anumber of issues coming in theway of two-way trade.

india-pakistanreach broad pact oneasy business visas

new DeLHI

MoNIToRING dESK

Asenior Indian ministry officialinformed that India has reachedan agreement with Pakistan to

liberalise visa regime for their businesspersons. In this regard, a cabinet note isexpected to be ready in 7-8 days. "On ourside, it has to go to the Cabinet throughthe ministry of external affairs," JointSecretary in the Commerce MinistryArvind Mehta said at a fICCI. India andPakistan at both sides should grantmultiple entry visas, as per the clauses ofthe proposal. He said the 'police reporting'would also be done away with under theproposal. "the note by MeA will be readyin 7-8 days for consideration of theCabinet," Mehta said addressing themeeting attended by a business delegationfrom Pakistan. A broad agreement on theissue has been reached between India'shome ministry and interior ministry ofPakistan, he said. Mehta also sought toallay concerns among Pakistan'sbusinessmen that normalisation ofbilateral trade would result in swarming ofPakistani market with Indian goods. "Donot be fearful of the future because thingsare changing," he said, adding there areseveral safeguards under South Asian freetrade Agreement for domestic industry.Present on the occasion, Pakistan HighCommissioner Shahid Malik said that non-tariff barriers (NtBs) exist in India onPakistani goods.

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05

Saturday,26 November,2011

news

CORPORATE CORNERetihad airways earns ‘airline of the year’title by arabian business magazine

karaCHI: etihad Airways, the national carrier ofUnited Arab emirates, has been named ‘Airline of theYear’ by Arabian business magazine. Judges said theaward was made in recognition of etihad Airways’financial performance and service offering, as well asthe remarkable speed of its expansion. etihadAirways Chief executive Officer, James Hogan said,“We are delighted to be named as ‘Airline of the Year’by Arabian business magazine. 2011 has been anexciting year for etihad Airways. PRESS RELEASE

md Kashf foundation participates inthe Global microcredit Summit 2011laHore: Ms roshaneh Zafar, Managing Directorof Kashf foundation, participated in the GlobalMicrocredit Summit in Valladolid Spain from the14th–17th November, 2011. the Microcredit SummitCampaigns are the largest microfinance gatheringsin the world, which assemble a full range of

stakeholders including practitioners, advocates,investors, UN agencies, donors, domesticgovernment agencies, and many more. At theconference, Ms Zafar presented her paper entitled“from Micro-to Small and Medium enterprise: Howdo you grow with your clients, especially women, andallow them to graduate to institutions that can meettheir expanding needs” which gave an overview ofthe challenges faced by NPOs in serving low-incomefemale clients under the paradigmatic shift towards amore commercialised model. PRESS RELEASE

ptcl evO wi-fi cloudintroduces revised packagesIslamaBad: Pakistan telecommunicationCompany limited (PtCL) eVO Wi-fi cloud hasintroduced new exciting packages for its valuedcustomers. eVO Wi-fi Cloud is Pakistan’s firstintelligent mobile Wi-fi device that puts the world ofcontent, services and connectivity in the palm of theuser’s hand. the new revised packages have beenintroduced to accommodate the recently implementedGSt on the product. With the massive savings bundleoffer, customers can enjoy unlimited internet accessfor 3months at the price of two months. PRESS RELEASE

tetra pak launches‘tetra pak media awards’ laHore: tetra Pak, the world’s leading foodprocessing and packaging solutions company, haslaunched the “tetra Pak Media Awards” to supportand further encourage the media to increasinglyreport on key environmental and food safety issues

in Pakistan. the awards will be given in four distinctcategories – print, electronic, online andphotograph – and will be given to works ofjournalism covering environmental or food safetyrelated issues. PRESS RELEASE

cOmSatS organisesan international workshop IslamaBad: Department of Meteorology atCOMSAtS Institute of Information technology,Islamabad organised an international workshopon ‘Climate Change and SustainableManagement of Water resources in Asia-Pacificregion’, in collaboration with United Nationseducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNeSCO), Higher education Commission ofPakistan (HeC), COMSAtS-HQ and DAAD,Germany. resource persons from Asia and thePacific region enlightened the participants of theworkshop on various climate and water relatedtopics. the workshop aimed at providingnetworking opportunities to national andinternational researchers, educationists, andothers working on mitigation of adverse affectsof climatic change. PRESS RELEASE

Jinnah-rafi foundation observes 63rddeath anniversary of late m rafi buttlaHore: 63rd death anniversary of M rafi Butt,a close associate of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad AliJinnah, will be observed on Sunday, November 27,2011, under the auspices of Jinnah-rafifoundation. PRESS RELEASE

KARACHI: Suhail Bin Matar Al-Ketbi, Consul General ofUAE to Pakistan, is with the sponsors and organisers,after the interaction with the media regarding theholding of the largest single country exhibition of UAEin Pakistan, “MAGNIFICENT 7”. PRESS RELEASE

We all stated our confidence in the ECB and its leadersand stated that in respect of the independence of thisessential institution we must refrain from makingpositive or negative demands of it

french president nicolas Sarkozy

POLLUtION limits in the onlytreaty curbing greenhousegases may lapse at the end ofnext year because of a rift be-tween richer countries and

developing ones over how to combat globalwarming. China, India, Brazil and their al-lies are pushing for an extension of theKyoto Protocol, which requires industrial-ized nations to cut emissions through 2012.Japan, Canada and russia refuse to signthat plan, and the U.S. never ratified it.

the impasse risks undermining the$142 billion a year market designed to capcarbon-dioxide linked to burning fossilfuels, which are blamed for damaging theclimate, and stunting investments in re-newable energy that jumped 32 per cent toa record $211 billion last year. Negotiatorsfrom 190 countries will gather for twoweeks of United Nations climate talksstarting Nov. 28 in Durban, South Africa.

“We need an international agreementto have any formal new targets, and it’sequally clear that those new targets are along way from being agreed,” Henry Der-went, president of the Internationalemissions trading Association and a for-mer U.K. climate envoy said on Nov. 21.“We are just going have to live withouttargets for a reasonable period of time.”

CARBON PERMITS SINK

european Union carbon permitsdropped as much as 11.5 per cent today,losing almost one-fourth of their valuethis week, as slower economic growthand europe’s debt crisis held back fac-tory production. United Nations emis-sions credits plummeted to a record lowof 4.6 euros in a move that reflected con-cerns about the outcome of the climatesummit, said Per Lekander, a Paris-based analyst at UBS AG.

“In the middle of the most serious fi-nancial crises since World War II and with

several world leaders facing elections, cli-mate mitigation is on the back-burner andneither Asia nor U.S., and possibly also noteurope, will sign up to anything which iscostly,” Lekander said. “It would be a bigsurprise to me if Durban didn’t become an-other Copenhagen,” he said, referring tothe 2009 summit that disappointed in-vestors. the talks under the UN frameworkConvention on Climate Change aim to out-line a future for the market-based mecha-nisms including carbon trading sketchedout in the 1997 Kyoto treaty. they’re alsotalking about how to implement a fund thatwould channel part of the $100 billion ayear industrial nations have pledged in cli-mate aid to developing nations.

‘VERY LOW CHANCE’

Last year’s talks in Cancun, Mexico,left open the most difficult issue ofwhether to extend emissions limits inKyoto or start afresh with a new treaty.Developing nations such as China andIndia didn’t have requirements for cuttingback carbon under Kyoto and since havebecome two of the three biggest polluters.

“With current positions that coun-tries are starting with in Durban, I’d giveKyoto extension a very low chance,” saidNiklas Hoehne, director for energy andclimate policy at ecofys, a Dutch consult-ant that has the eU among its clients.“this is the last moment to save” theKyoto treaty, and “if it’s lost, we’re in abottom-up mode when everybody pro-poses what they want to do -- a differentand weaker system.” failure to extendKyoto would cast a shadow over long-term prospects for limiting global warm-ing. Should countries give up on agreeingto targets after the current limits expirein December 2012, the treaty’s relevancewould diminish. President Barack Obamaisn’t scheduled to attend the talks in Dur-ban and has stepped back from pushing

climate measures through the U.S. Con-gress after the Senate rejected carboncap- and-trade legislation.

KYOTO ‘LESSONS’

“One of their lessons from the Kyotoexperience was they won’t get ahead of theU.S. Congress,” said Dirk forrister, headof President Bill Clinton’s 1997 task forceon climate. “We have a divided Congress.Some want action on climate change. Oth-ers don’t want to mention the words.”

the eU is asking the talks to agree ona timeline for adopting a new treaty thatwould replace Kyoto. the 27-nation bloc,which has adopted a law to cut green-house gases by 20 per cent in 2020 com-pared with 1990 levels, is ready to sign upfor a new commitment period underKyoto if other countries agree on whenthey’ll adopt a legally binding global deal.

eU Climate Commissioner ConnieHedegaard has ruled out moving withoutpromises for emissions cuts from other na-tions. “Let’s be frank: At best we could onlyget the eU, Norway and maybe two or threemore countries to sign up for a second Kyotoperiod,” Hedegaard said this week in Oslo.“that will not make any difference whatso-ever for the overall trend in global emissions.It would also take away pressure from othercountries, both developed and developing, toengage in more ambitious climate action.”

‘NOT SPOILING PARTY’

China says goals for developing coun-tries should be voluntary, and India urgesindustrialized nations to take account oftheir historical responsibility to clean upthe emissions they created in past decades.“We in developing countries are not spoil-ing the party,” Indian environment Minis-ter Jayanthi Natarajan said in New Delhi.“We’re not refusing to cooperate. You allknow how far we’ve walked, how far we’vegone to cooperate, how much action devel-oping countries are taking voluntarily to re-duce their carbon footprint.” South Africa,which is hosting the climate talks, wants toavoid having the effort to constrain globalwarming fizzle on its soil. “We cannot fromconference to conference repeat the samerhetoric without getting to a practical im-plementation,” Cedric frolick, house chairin the South African Parliament, said in anOct. 31 interview. “We simply cannot affordfor Durban to become the graveyard of theKyoto Protocol. BLooMBERG

Kyoto pollution curbsmay lapse on UN deadlock

KARACHI: Mr Muhammad Akram of Karachi receivinghis Mega Lucky draw Prize, a Suzuki Cultus, in aceremony marking the end of ‘Haier Pakistan WashingMachine Promotion campaign’. PRESS RELEASE

ISLAMABAd: Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Fahimreceiving an award shield during 2nd BosporusRegional Cooperation Summit at Istanbul. PRESS RELEASE

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top 5 perForMers sector wiseSymbOl Open hiGh lOw current chanGe vOlume SymbOl Open hiGh lOw current chanGe vOlume

Food ProducersAL-Noor Suger Mills 55.09 55.09 52.35 55.09 0.00 35Bawany Sugar 11.10 12.00 11.10 11.10 0.00 1Clover Pakistan 51.41 53.00 51.41 51.41 0.00 100Colony Sugar Mills 1.90 1.90 1.63 1.63 -0.27 14,431Crescent Sugar 12.00 13.00 12.99 12.99 0.99 771

Household GoodsAL-Abid Silk Mills 23.34 23.60 23.34 23.34 0.00 2Diamond Ind. 8.20 9.03 8.20 8.20 0.00 2Hussain Industries 3.90 3.90 3.80 3.90 0.00 6Pak Elektron Ltd. 4.20 4.40 4.20 4.25 0.05 8,650Tariq GlassXD 8.65 8.89 8.65 8.65 0.00 10

Personal GoodsAmtex Limited 1.31 1.44 1.30 1.38 0.07 26,864Artistic Denim XD 19.50 19.45 19.00 19.01 -0.49 74,958Ashfaq Textile 7.10 8.10 8.10 8.10 1.00 5,000Azam Textile 1.35 1.40 1.34 1.35 0.00 5,200Azgard Nine 3.71 3.85 3.62 3.66 -0.05 672,596

Future ContractsAHCL-DEC 29.94 29.94 29.80 29.89 -0.05 9,000AHCL-NOV 29.94 29.76 29.55 29.61 -0.33 34,500ANL-DEC 3.74 3.80 3.71 3.75 0.01 1,286,500ANL-NOV 3.74 3.80 3.65 3.65 -0.09 1,354,000ATRL-DEC 127.13 127.50 127.00 127.23 0.10 12,000

Pharma and Bio TechAbbott Laboratories 102.51 103.20 102.50 102.74 0.23 6,920Ferozsons (Lab) Ltd. 76.66 78.00 76.66 76.66 0.00 100GlaxoSmithKline Pak. 69.25 69.90 69.00 69.00 -0.25 3,312Highnoon (Lab) 29.29 29.50 28.70 29.38 0.09 3,502IBL HealthCare XD 12.78 13.29 12.80 13.18 0.40 9,773

Fixed Line TelecommunicationP.T.C.L.A 10.80 10.95 10.70 10.74 -0.06 873,286Pak Datacom LtdXD 34.50 34.50 34.00 34.50 0.00 50Telecard Limited 0.96 1.00 0.89 0.90 -0.06 179,056Wateen Telecom Ltd 1.85 2.00 1.82 1.88 0.03 2,098,153WorldCall Telecom 1.11 1.17 1.05 1.06 -0.05 74,429

ElectricityGenertech 0.36 0.42 0.32 0.32 -0.04 3,307Hub Power Co.XD 37.11 37.15 37.00 37.01 -0.10 416,249Japan Power 0.68 0.68 0.64 0.65 -0.03 164,679K.E.S.C. 1.63 1.71 1.63 1.70 0.07 232,001Kohinoor Energy 17.01 17.00 16.61 17.00 -0.01 300,022

BanksAllied Bank Ltd 62.23 62.80 62.10 62.23 0.00 216Askari Bank 10.95 11.00 10.80 10.86 -0.09 77,973B.O.Punjab 5.69 5.80 5.62 5.65 -0.04 350,983Bank Al-Falah 12.07 12.31 12.00 12.04 -0.03 5,499,424Bank AL-Habib 29.87 30.00 29.75 30.00 0.13 71,128

Non Life InsuranceAdamjee Ins 47.94 47.59 46.80 47.07 -0.87 15,293Atlas Insurance 36.49 36.49 35.27 36.49 0.00 2Century Insurance 7.23 6.80 6.36 6.51 -0.72 10,100Cres.Star Insurance 2.40 2.99 2.00 2.01 -0.39 1,123EFU General Ins 36.61 36.51 36.50 36.51 -0.10 1,713

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

Financial ServicesAMZ Ventures A 0.35 0.33 0.25 0.25 -0.10 36,032Arif Habib Investmen 16.40 16.40 15.56 16.40 0.00 101Arif Habib Ltd. 16.03 16.29 15.96 15.97 -0.06 2,207Dawood Cap.Man XB 1.25 1.29 0.75 1.25 0.00 4Dawood Equities 1.09 1.07 0.83 0.86 -0.23 631

Equity Investment Instruments1st.Fid.Leasing Mod 1.52 1.53 1.53 1.53 0.01 2,500Allied RentalModXDXB 21.64 22.45 21.64 21.64 0.00 1Atlas Fund of Fund 5.86 5.85 5.85 5.85 -0.01 29,600B.R.R.GuardianXD 2.00 2.00 1.72 2.00 0.00 493Cres. Stand.ModXD 0.49 0.44 0.34 0.42 -0.07 69,931

MiscellaneousCentury Paper 13.02 13.19 12.76 13.00 -0.02 3,002Pak Paper Prod. 31.00 31.35 31.25 31.25 0.25 1,055Security Paper 36.00 36.75 36.00 36.48 0.48 2,501P.N.S.C.XD 14.14 15.00 14.87 14.94 0.80 2,947Pak.Int.Con. SD 69.00 70.25 69.00 70.17 1.17 5,493TRG Pakistan Ltd. 1.49 1.52 1.44 1.50 0.01 271,654Murree BreweryXDXB 69.00 69.99 67.01 69.00 0.00 113Shezan Inter.XD 115.96 121.75 112.13 115.96 0.00 3Feroze 1888 Mills 13.05 14.05 13.15 13.05 0.00 2Pak Elektron Ltd. 4.01 4.40 4.00 4.01 0.00 2,252Tariq GlassXD 8.50 8.81 8.18 8.50 0.00 4,402Pak Tobacco Co. 59.69 60.00 59.95 59.69 0.00 50Shifa Int.Hospitals 29.70 30.95 30.00 30.86 1.16 1,100Hum Network XD 15.46 16.45 15.50 15.46 0.00 2Media Times Ltd 7.96 8.90 8.00 7.96 0.00 14P.I.A.C.(A) 2.03 2.05 2.00 2.01 -0.02 17,99P.T.C.L.A 10.81 10.87 10.65 10.70 -0.11 459,847Telecard Limited 0.82 0.85 0.80 0.81 -0.01 56,284Wateen Telecom Ltd 2.01 2.06 1.92 2.00 -0.01 190,716WorldCall Telecom 1.08 1.10 1.03 1.05 -0.03 27,048Sui North GasXDXB 17.44 17.59 17.25 17.25 -0.19 9,562Sui South GasXDXB 19.69 19.99 19.66 19.70 0.01 5,882EFU Life Assur 68.86 69.40 69.40 68.86 0.00 50Pace (Pak) Ltd. 1.57 1.73 1.51 1.55 -0.02 165,663Netsol Technologies 10.03 10.15 9.85 10.08 0.05 351,004

SymbOl Open hiGh lOw current chanGe vOlume

Oil and GasAttock Petroleum 411.14 412.75 406.10 406.99 -4.15 18,325Attock Refinery 126.72 127.68 125.01 125.37 -1.35 226,908Burshane LPG XD 23.22 23.89 23.22 23.22 0.00 1Byco Petroleum 7.20 7.38 7.19 7.25 0.05 1,147,404Mari Gas Co.XB 96.00 97.00 93.15 93.74 -2.26 47,325

ChemicalsAgritech Ltd. 15.00 15.48 15.00 15.00 0.00 1,002Arif Habib CoXDXB SD 29.85 29.90 29.45 29.51 -0.34 252,944Bawany Air Products 5.00 5.25 5.00 5.25 0.25 1,000Clariant Pakistan 156.34 156.74 155.00 155.18 -1.16 2,897Dawood Hercules 39.08 39.35 38.50 38.62 -0.46 15,788

Industrial metals and MiningDost Steels Ltd. 1.51 1.59 1.46 1.48 -0.03 71,503Huffaz Seamless Pipe 9.20 9.48 9.06 9.06 -0.14 2,002Int. Ind.Ltd. 33.86 33.00 32.18 32.53 -1.33 16,754Inter.Steel Ltd. 10.80 11.00 10.77 11.00 0.20 5,352Siddiqsons TinXD 6.97 7.25 6.97 6.97 0.00 205

Construction and MaterialsAl-Abbas Cement 1.91 2.19 1.90 1.90 -0.01 3,005Attock Cement 52.50 52.52 52.40 52.49 -0.01 1,288Bal.Glass 1.95 1.98 1.95 1.95 0.00 100Berger Paints 14.18 13.70 13.70 13.70 -0.48 500Buxly Paints 6.00 6.50 6.00 6.00 0.00 1

General IndustrialsCherat Packaging 28.15 28.60 27.80 27.86 -0.29 14,445ECOPACK Ltd 3.10 3.15 2.85 3.11 0.01 110,806Ghani Glass LtdXD 39.88 40.50 39.00 39.34 -0.54 1,261MACPAC Films 9.00 9.38 8.53 9.38 0.38 502Packages Limited 89.50 92.00 85.03 88.55 -0.95 17,243

Industrial EngineeringAL-Ghazi Tractors 169.86 172.00 168.00 169.86 0.00 68Bolan CastingXD 28.00 28.55 28.00 28.00 0.00 4,001Ghandhara Ind. 6.94 7.40 7.34 7.38 0.44 500Hinopak Motor 96.11 95.76 91.31 95.76 -0.35 11K.S.B.Pumps 26.95 27.13 25.61 26.95 0.00 418

Automobile and PartsAgriautos Industries 60.27 60.99 60.27 60.27 0.00 50Atlas Battery Ltd. 172.01 172.01 172.00 172.01 0.00 100Atlas Honda Ltd. 125.27 126.00 125.00 125.00 -0.27 500Bal.Wheels XD 26.00 25.99 24.70 24.84 -1.16 537Dewan Motors 2.15 2.60 2.11 2.13 -0.02 79,586

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

Mutual Funds

fund Offer repurchase nav

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

fund Offer repurchase nav

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

Markets

Saturday, 26 November, 2011

06top 10 sectors

49% 01%Construction & Materials

Chemicals Real Estate Investments

03%Electricity

01%03%

Fixed Line Telecommunication

17%Equity Investment Instruments

Financial Services

09%Banks10%Oil & Gas04%Personal Goods04%

International Oil PriceWTICrude Oil

$95.53

BrentCrude Oil

$107.75

STOCK MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Index Change Volume Market ValueKSE-100 11648.14 -81.27 22,531,291 2,533,096,420LSE-25 2993.02 -64.99 1,126,368 40,707,460 ISE-10 2615.22 -20.05 19,339 419,623

Major Gainers

Company Open High Low Close Change TurnoverNestle PakistanXD 2759.94 2897.93 2800.01 2876.54 116.60 52Bata (Pak) Ltd. 770.00 799.00 740.00 788.74 18.74 131Service Industries 193.81 201.87 193.00 201.87 8.06 607AL-Ghazi Tractors 165.01 167.77 166.65 167.66 2.65 226Clover Pakistan 51.49 54.06 54.06 54.06 2.57 200

Major Losers

Siemens Pak 860.00 818.00 817.00 817.00 -43.00 502Colgate Palmolive 590.05 575.00 575.00 575.00 -15.05 100National Ref.XD 306.47 309.65 299.00 300.17 -6.30 50,048Engro Corporation 131.27 131.40 125.00 126.40 -4.87 1,137,908Linde Pakistan Ltd. 104.64 103.00 100.02 100.11 -4.53 2,010

Volume Leaders

Fauji Fert 58.49 58.69 56.25 56.55 -1.94 3,532,635Bank Al-Falah 11.99 12.25 11.81 12.01 0.02 3,179,744Oil & Gas 154.55 156.00 152.05 153.21 -1.34 1,363,773Azgard Nine 3.45 3.58 3.32 3.43 -0.02 1,362, 639National Bank 43.17 43.65 41.99 42.10 -1.07 1,233,402

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

Gold 24K 55,062.00 47,257.00 1,680.00Gold 22K 51,608.00 44,245.00 –Silver (Tezabi) 1,023.00 878.00 35.05Silver (Thobi) 1025.00 880.00 –

Interbank RatesUS Dollar 87.7640UK Pound 135.5251Japanese Yen 1.1335Euro 116.4277

Buy SellUS Dollar 87.50 88.20Euro 115.58 116.97Great Britain Pound 135.28 136.78Japanese Yen 1.1247 1.1336Canadian Dollar 82.79 85.07Hong Kong Dollar 11.11 11.37UAE Dirham 23.83 24.02Saudi Riyal 23.34 23.51Australian Dollar 84.22 86.81

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Saturday,26 November,2011

news

07

ISLAMABAD

JALALUddIN RUMI

Central Asia regional economicCooperation (CAreC) hasapproved over 100 CAreC-

related projects worth $17 billion. theprojects include six land transportcorridors that cover 3,600 kilometersof roads and 2,000 kilometers ofrailways. they traverse the CAreCregion north-south and east-west;linking europe, east Asia, South Asia,Middle east, and beyond; connectingall member countries.Secretary economic Affairs DivisionAbdul Wajid rana and officials fromministry of commerce and finance

represented Pakistan at the 10thministerial conference at Baku,Azerbaijan.Asian Development Bank (ADB) hasallocated $4.7 billion over the nextthree years to support Central Asiaregional economic Cooperation(CAreC), 2020’s goals of tradeexpansion and improvedcompetitiveness.ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda, whileannouncing the allocation for CAreC2020 goals at ministerial conferencesaid we stand ready to assist inaccelerating the development ofphysical infrastructure connectivity,the development of economic corridors,and the improvement of the knowledge

base needed to support CAreC’spriorities.established in 2001, CAreC bringstogether Afghanistan, Azerbaijan,China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz republic,Mongolia, Pakistan, tajikistan,turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Itpromotes the implementation ofregional projects in energy, transport,and trade facilitation from northernChina to Caucasus and europe, andfrom Kazakhstan to the warm waterports of Karachi, Gwadar and beyond.About 4,000 km of road and 2,250 kmof railway lines have been built orupgraded, opening up corridors oftrade and opportunity. Streamlinedcustom procedures are moving people

and their businesses across borders,faster and at a less cost. the electricitytransmission lines and upgraded powerplants are beginning to boost the vitalenergy trade in the region that willbring prosperity and security.the ministers and seniorrepresentatives of developmentagencies have discussed support for thenew 10-year strategy for Central Asiaregional economic Cooperation(CAreC) programme.the six multilateral institutionssupport the work of CAreC thatincludes ADB, european Bank forreconstruction and Development,International Monetary fund (IMf),Islamic Development Bank (IDB),

United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP), and World Bank.ADB has served as the CAreCsecretariat since 2001.the multilateral institutions at theforum echoed their support for thework of CAreC and some also offeredsubstantial financial assistance over thenext decade. Senior representatives ofbilateral agencies from france,Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, andUnited States also attended the forumand supported CAreC 2020. thethree-day conference wrapped up witha ministerial retreat where participantsdiscussed how CAreC countries couldindividually and collectively contributeto a prosperous Asia by mid-century.

carec approves over 100 projects worth $17 billion

minister textile industry,makhdoom Shahabuddin

LAHORe

IMRAN AdNAN

POLItICAL rivalry among federaland provincial governments havejeopardised the availability of af-fordable food for masses. federal

government has announced wheat supportprice of rs1,050 per maund for the nextwheat crop and Punjab government is likelyto follow suit to save its vote bank for theforthcoming election.

economic managers in the countryhave ignored the fact that Pakistan hasbeen getting bumper wheat crops sincethree seasons. the country has some 10million tonnes of wheat stocks availableagainst the national requirement of 4.5million tonnes. food departments’ go-downs still hold 2009’s wheat crop grainson which the government has paid millionsof rupees on account of bank markup andincidental charges.

Simple arithmetic shows that even afterfulfilling national requirement, the countrywill have some 5.5 million tonnes of surpluswheat. the estimated value – at the rate ofrs950 per maund – of available wheat stockis rs237.50 billion, which was borrowedfrom commercial banks by federal andprovincial governments.

Conservative estimates suggest thatgovernment has paid around rs700 mil-lion on account of incidental charges at therate of rs100 per maund. In addition, gov-ernment has paid over rs100 billion tovarious banks on account of mark-upagainst borrowed money.

economic experts point out that thecountry is constantly paying the price ofcontradictory and flawed economic policies.they point out that in 2008 federal govern-ment gave jump of over 52 per cent to wheatsupport price by increasing its price fromrs625 to rs950 per maund, which resultedin that bread (roti) prices were reportedly

increased from rs2 to rs6. Meanwhile,provincial government introduced politi-cally motivated ‘Sasti roti’ scheme to arrestbread price that attracted huge criticismfrom opposition and media.

Historic price figures show that 52 percent increase in wheat support price inflatedflour price by 23 per cent, which gave toughtime to Punjab government. It had to takeover the control of nearly 72 mills in theprovince, as flour millers were reluctant toreduce wheat flour price. the whole provin-cial machinery was witnessed in controllingthe price of wheat flour and sasti roti.

economic pundits have once againpredicted that by increasing wheat sup-port price, government has once again letthe genie out of the bottle. they believedthat though wheat support price increasewould help political leadership in gainingpopularity in rural areas, but it wouldbring skyrocket inflation in rural andurban areas alike.

they underscore that latest increase inwheat support price has increased its priceeven from international markets, which willnot only stop wheat products exports butalso encourage smuggling. Industry expertsindicate that flour consumption has alreadyshrunk by 20 per cent as bakery and confec-tionary products consumption has droppedremarkably, during recent years. flourmillers estimate that a 20-kilogram wheatflour bag will touch rs700 when new cropwill hit markets.

economic pundits suggest that insteadof increasing commodity prices, governmentshould focus on controlling prices of agricul-ture inputs.. Despite having surplus wheatstock in the country, they underline, neitherPakistan could export wheat or wheat prod-ucts, nor could it provide affordable food tomasses. And this is only because of flawedeconomic policies that may backfire for rul-ing parties in the forthcoming general elec-tions, they concluded.

public sector enterprises including,pakistan railways, pia and some otherorganisations are being rehabilitated asmost of them are sick for the last 40 years

KARACHI

STAFF REPoRT

LONGStANDING circulardebts, which have piled up tothe “high point of” rs179 bil-lion, have made financial sit-

uation of Pakistan State Oil (PSO)“untenable”. “Now with total receiv-ables standing at the high point ofrs179 billion, PSO’s financial situa-tion has become untenable,” saidstate-owned oil supplier in a state-ment.

It said huge problem caused bynon-payments from power sector andairline had crippled PSO’s liquidityposition and may lead to an inevitablebreakdown in supply chain resultingin fuel shortages in the country.

Despite repeated non-paymentsfrom power sector, PSO has struggledto supply fuel worth an average ofrs32 billion to power entities on amonthly basis. Despite this, thepower sector namely HUBCO,WAPDA and KAPCO have continu-ously defaulted on their payment ob-ligations to PSO. An average shortfall

of rs10 billion per month has beenrecorded in payments from the powersector for the past 6 months, withrs5.2 billion being disbursed to PSOin the month of November.

“A similar situation is occurringwith the continuous default by PIA,”the company said adding that nationalcarrier had been violating its agree-ment with PSO by failing to make reg-ular payments for the fuel it receives.

Keeping in view national interest,PSO had supported PIA in every pos-sible way including borrowing frombanks and accommodating Airline’srequests for deferred payments to en-sure uninterrupted fuel supply to theairline.

As of today, PIA owes PSO rs4.3billion. And while their payments hadbecome irregular, the carrier had in-creased its daily average fuel upliftfrom rs60 million to rs70 millionworth of product. National carrierhad promised to pay back rs1.0 bil-lion of its outstanding dues by end ofOctober. However; they not only vio-lated this commitment, they recentlystopped their daily fuel payments to

PSO as well. “the situation has nowreached a critical level; continuousnon-payment by these entities has leftPSO cash-strapped and unable tomeet its payment obligations to bothlocal and international suppliers,”PSO said.

In case immediate payments arenot received by defaulting entities, beit power sector or the national carrier,import of future fuel cargoes wouldhave to be deferred as the companyhad exhausted its financing re-sources.

With domestic production of fueloil already in doldrums, any reduc-tion in import would result in fuelshortages, increased load sheddingand disruption of flight schedulesnation wide, PSO warned. If facedwith this situation PSO would be leftwith no choice but to discontinuesupplies to any defaulting customeruntil its outstanding receivables arerecovered. PSO said given the criti-cal level of circular debt and mount-ing receivables, living up to thecredo of “PSO never stops” was achallenge on its own.

g hubco, wapda and Kapco pay rs10billion less than agreed g pia to clear rs4.3billion of outstanding dues g fuel import would have to be deferred

punjab to follow federal govtwith wheat support price

KARACHI

STAFF REPoRT

eNGrO Corporationhas made someexecutive level

changes on the helm of itssubsidiaries, engroPowergen QadirpurLimited, engro fertiliserLimited and engro Polymerand Chemicals Limited(ePCL), the shareholders atKarachi Stock exchangewere informed.According to thecorporation, KhalidMansoor, the current chiefexecutive officer of engroPowergen, would replace

Khalid Siraj Subhani, thechief executive of engro’s100-per cent-ownedsubsidiary, engrofertiliser. the latter,whereas, would take overePCL in the same capacityafter the early retirementof ePCL’s chief executive,Asif Qadir. “the newchanges would take effectfrom January 1 (2012),” thecompany said in a notice toKSe. the notice has alsobeen dispatched to themanagement andshareholders of theconcerned firms at thestock exchanges in Lahoreand Islamabad.

engro undergoes executive level changes

KARACHI

STAFF REPoRT

KHAWAJA IqbalHassan,President, chiefexecutive and

founder of NIB BankLimited (NIB), hasresigned from his post forreasons unknown.“We write to inform youthat Mr Khawaja IqbalHassan has submitted hisresignation,” the bankinformed its shareholdersat the country’s three stockexchanges in Karachi,Lahore and Islamabad.NIB’s Board of Directors

accepted the resignation ofMr Hassan noting the“significant contributions”made by the founder of thebank to develop NIB into arespected brand name inthe country.the Board, the bank said,has designated AamirZahidi, an existing directorof the bank, as the interimpresident and chiefexecutive of the bank.the President-designatewould, however, formallybe taking charge of thebank after the central bankapproves his appointmentand resignation of MrHassan, NIB said.

nib’s founder Khawajaiqbal resigns

Supply of fuel in dangeras Rs179bn circulardebt cripples PSO

g federal govt announced wheat support price of rs1,050 permaund g black-marketing has increased urea production costfrom rs5,000 to rs6,000 per acre

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