profitepaper pakistantoday 29th November, 2012
2
Thursday, 29 November, 2012 ISLAMABAD ONLINE T HE Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) has urged the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to take independent decisions to determine a new price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in order to provide relief to the masses. He said that OGRA must set aside the pressure of influential CNG association cartel and should take independent decision to fix new CNG price. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, President Pakistan Economy Watch Dr.Murtaza Mughal said CNG cartel had minted billion of rupees from the consumers and therefore now it was reluctant to sell gas at lower rates. “State owned gas companies should take over the CNG stations if CNG owners are not ready to sell gas at low rates to provide relief to the consumers,” he said adding that Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) should also take action of CNG cartel that had deprived the consumers of CNG by secret call of strike to CNG station owners to shut down outlets. He said CNG station owners have been seen to repeatedly ignore the apex court directions to sell gas at low rates which has deprived the customers of any relief. He, however, said that OGRA should take into account all valid suggestions of the stakeholders to settle on a new price formula of CNG as per the directions of apex court. “The decision of OGRA to solicit public opinion to determine the prices of CNG for which held public hearing in three major cities of the country including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi is highly significant,”Dr. Murtaza added. OGRA should fix CNG price to provide relief to masses: PEW HONG KONG AGENCIES Asian markets fell Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street, as traders fret US lawmakers will not agree a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Forex dealers also ran for cover after the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said “little progress” had been made in cross-party talks on the looming tax hikes and spending cuts due to come in on Jan- uary 1 that would tip the US into recession. Tokyo fell 0.84 percent by the break, Hong Kong lost 0.64 percent, Sydney shed 0.46 percent, Shanghai was 0.45 percent lower and Seoul slipped 0.90 percent. Reid’s comments raised the spectre of another long battle between Republicans and Democrats, similar to last year’s row over raising the country’s borrowing cap, which led to the United States losing its AAA credit rating. “The difficulties with solving the US ‘fiscal cliff’ are coming to a head again and may present a good selling opportu- nity for investors,” said Kenichi Hirano, market analyst at Tachibana Securities. The news hit Wall Street shares. The Dow ended 0.69 percent lower, the S&P 500 lost 0.52 percent and the Nasdaq slid 0.30 percent. The losses came despite data showing US consumer confidence rose in November to its highest level since Febru- ary 2008, while a separate report said home prices rose in September, a fresh sign of recovery in the crucial housing market. Also Tuesday the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) warned that failure to reach a deal would likely see the world’s number one economy fall back into recession, which would have a global knock-on effect. And Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said a temporary fix with no clarity on tax and regulatory policy could have destructive effects. Currency traders have also been spooked, with euro and dollar falling against the yen after enjoying a recent rally on hopes for a US deal, while the Greek bailout success had also been priced in. The euro bought $1.2929 and 105.90 yen in early Asian trade Wednesday, compared with $1.2938 and 106.30 yen in New York late Tuesday. The dollar was at 81.90 yen against 82.16 yen. The yen has seen selling pres- sure in recent weeks after the man ex- pected to become prime minister after next month’s election vowed to press for more aggressive monetary easing to lift the economy. Focus has moved to Wash- ington as Greece debt concerns abate after the country was eventually given long-frozen bailout cash on Tuesday. After marathon talks in Brussels, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros ($56 billion) in loans and on the need to grant significant debt relief for decades to come. Greece must still meet a series of agreed conditions but “the decision will certainly reduce the uncertainty and strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece,” said European Central Bank President Mario Draghi. On oil markets New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery, was down seven cents to $87.11 a barrel in the morning, and Brent North Sea crude for January climbed four cents to $109.91 in volatile trade. Gold was at $1,740.20 at 0230 GMT compared with $1,746.42 late Tuesday. Asian shares slip on US fiscal cliff fears EU reaches compromise on ratings agency rules BRUSSELS AGENCIES The European Commission, European Parliament and European Council have reached compromise on new rules meant to govern credit ratings agencies, EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said on Tuesday. “I welcome the important agreement reached today on additional rules for credit rating agencies which aim to reduce the over-reliance on ratings, eradicate conflicts of interest, and establish a civil liability regime,” Barnier said in statement. These agencies “will have to be more transparent when rating sovereign states,” Barnier added, as well as “respect timing rules on sovereign ratings and justify the timing of publication of unsolicited ratings of sovereign debt” in order to avoid destabilising financial markets. ISLAMABAD ONLINE Social protection systems in most Asian countries fall far short of meeting the needs of the poor and vulnerable even though better safety nets can be affordable for poorer countries. A new study from Independent Evaluation at the Asian Develop- ment Bank (ADB) said despite high economic growth in much of the region, public spending on social protection in Asia and the Pacific is lower than in any part of the world except for sub-Saharan Africa. Recent economic and financial crises, food and fuel emergencies, and the rapidly increasing fre- quency of natural disasters have starkly exposed the inadequacy of the region’s national social protec- tion systems to guarantee a mini- mum level of subsistence and meet people’s basic needs. “Governments around the world tend to scramble to adopt social protection programs in times of crisis,” says the Director General of Independent Evaluation Vinod Thomas. “But comprehen- sive systems built in stable years are much more effective in coping with the human impact of future economic or political crises or nat- ural disasters.” Widening wealth gaps are also drawing attention to the need for greater social protection in Asia, where income disparities over the past two decades have widened in 11 countries that account for more than four-fifths of the region’s population. All countries spend on the poor in some form or another, although there are considerable country variations in the levels and effec- tiveness of the spending. Concerns over the cost of universal social protection are deterring some countries, but well-targeted safety nets are not prohibitively expen- sive, says the study. In the Philippines, for exam- ple, the government’s conditional cash transfer program to uproot extreme poverty costs less than 0.5 per cent of the country’s gross do- mestic product, yet reaches 15 mil- lion people. The program makes regular cash payments to mothers condi- tional on their children attending school and public health clinics. After just three years of implemen- tation, evaluation findings show positive results on elementary ed- ucation school enrollment and beneficiary households spending more on the health and education of their children. SAARC’s power lag = 50,000MW ISLAMABAD: The leaders of business community and have reiterated the need tap energy potential in South Asia which is must for maintainable growth and economic revival. These observations surfaced in a seminar titled, “Energy Cooperation in South Asia Commitment and New Dimensions” organized by SAARC CCI in New Delhi in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. After inaugurating the seminar, Gireesh B. Pradhan, Secretary Ministry of New and Alternative Energy, India emphasized for energy cooperation and stressed a shift towards alternative energy. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, President Saarc CCI said that un-interrupted supply of energy at affordable price was needed to sustain this economic growth. The region is faced with 50 thousand MW of electricity which needs collective efforts to transform South Asia from an energy-starved to an energy efficient region. Speaking on the occasion, Tariq Sayeed, former president of SAARC CCI said that South Asia has 150,000 MW of hydropower potential and .5 million MW solar and wind power potential but the region was faced with 50,000 MW shortfall. Since the energy demand in the region would be doubled by 2020, there was dire need to invest in energy related projects, said Sayeed. P.S. Bami, President India Energy noted that 300 million people only in India had no access to electricity despite the fact that India had more potential of energy production against energy demand. ONLINE ISLAMABAD AGENCIES Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI said that the traders of the Federal Capital were facing severe housing problems and demanded that small plots or flats should be allocated to these traders as they played vital role for the development of Islamabad. Mian Muhammad Aslam, Former MNA and Vice President of Jamat-e-Islamai Punjab visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) for addressing business community of Federal Capital. Zubair Farooq Khan, Deputy Chief of Jama’at-i-Islami, Islamabad was also present on the occasion. Speaking on the occa- sion, Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI lauded the dynamic role of Mian Muhammad Aslam for social welfare of the common people. He also in- formed the Former MNA about various prob- lems faced by business community. ICCI President highlighted the problem of balanced rent control because non-existence of a balanced rent law in the federal capital was the main cause of rising rent disputes between ten- ants and landlords. Bakhtawari demanded that the representa- tion of traders in the CDA board of directors is essential that help in creating a bridge between the citizens and the local administration to un- derstand the rapidly increasing problems of the city and giving their input in the policy making and decision-making process of mega projects. He said that the traders of the Federal Capi- tal were facing severe housing problems and de- manded that small plots or flats should be allocated to these traders as they played vital role for the development of Islamabad. He also proposed that the CDA should also consider a separate housing society for the traders. Mian Muhammad Aslam, Former MNA and Vice President of Jamat-e-Islamai Punjab said that he would provide his full support in execu- tion of balanced rent control act. He asked Pres- ident of ICCI to make a proposal regarding all concerned issues and assured his support for solving these problems of business community on priority basis. Munawar Mughal, former President ICCI thanked Mian Muhammad Aslam and Zubair Farooq Khan for visiting ICCI and was of the view that political leaders were not fulfilling their colossal promises after winning elections. He stressed all political parties to demonstrate their responsibility and uphold the decent dem- ocratic values and norms in their ranks for pros- perity of our country. ADB eyes social protection for the poor ICCI clamours for traders’ residential concerns PRO 29-11-2012_Layout 1 11/28/2012 11:12 PM Page 1
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profitepaper pakistantoday 29th November, 2012
Transcript of profitepaper pakistantoday 29th November, 2012
Thursday, 29 November, 2012
ISLAMABAD
ONLINE
THE Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) has urgedthe Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) totake independent decisions to determine a newprice of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in orderto provide relief to the masses. He said that
OGRA must set aside the pressure of influential CNGassociation cartel and should take independent decision to fixnew CNG price. In a statement issued here on Wednesday,President Pakistan Economy Watch Dr.Murtaza Mughal saidCNG cartel had minted billion of rupees from the consumersand therefore now it was reluctant to sell gas at lower rates.“State owned gas companies should take over the CNG stationsif CNG owners are not ready to sell gas at low rates to providerelief to the consumers,” he said adding that Competition
Commission of Pakistan (CCP) should also take actionof CNG cartel that had deprived the consumers of
CNG by secret call of strike to CNG stationowners to shut down outlets. He said CNGstation owners have been seen to repeatedlyignore the apex court directions to sell gas at
low rates which has deprived the customersof any relief. He, however, said that OGRAshould take into account all valid
suggestions of the stakeholders to settle on anew price formula of CNG as per the
directions of apex court. “The decision ofOGRA to solicit public opinion to
determine the prices of CNG for whichheld public hearing in three major cities
of the country including Lahore,Islamabad and Karachi is highlysignificant,”Dr. Murtaza added.
OGRA shouldfix CNG price toprovide reliefto masses: PEW
HONG KONG
AGENCIES
Asian markets fell Wednesday, followinglosses on Wall Street, as traders fret USlawmakers will not agree a deal to avertthe fiscal cliff.
Forex dealers also ran for cover afterthe Senate Majority Leader Harry Reidsaid “little progress” had been made incross-party talks on the looming tax hikesand spending cuts due to come in on Jan-uary 1 that would tip the US into recession.Tokyo fell 0.84 percent by the break, HongKong lost 0.64 percent, Sydney shed 0.46percent, Shanghai was 0.45 percent lowerand Seoul slipped 0.90 percent.
Reid’s comments raised the spectre ofanother long battle between Republicansand Democrats, similar to last year’s rowover raising the country’s borrowing cap,which led to the United States losing itsAAA credit rating.
“The difficulties with solving the US‘fiscal cliff’ are coming to a head again
and may present a good selling opportu-nity for investors,” said Kenichi Hirano,market analyst at Tachibana Securities.
The news hit Wall Street shares. TheDow ended 0.69 percent lower, the S&P500 lost 0.52 percent and the Nasdaq slid0.30 percent. The losses came despite datashowing US consumer confidence rose inNovember to its highest level since Febru-ary 2008, while a separate report saidhome prices rose in September, a fresh signof recovery in the crucial housing market.
Also Tuesday the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD) warned that failure to reach a dealwould likely see the world’s number oneeconomy fall back into recession, whichwould have a global knock-on effect.
And Richard Fisher, president of theFederal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said atemporary fix with no clarity on tax andregulatory policy could have destructiveeffects.
Currency traders have also beenspooked, with euro and dollar falling
against the yen after enjoying a recentrally on hopes for a US deal, while theGreek bailout success had also beenpriced in.
The euro bought $1.2929 and 105.90yen in early Asian trade Wednesday,
compared with $1.2938 and 106.30 yenin New York late Tuesday.
The dollar was at 81.90 yen against82.16 yen. The yen has seen selling pres-sure in recent weeks after the man ex-pected to become prime minister after
next month’s election vowed to press formore aggressive monetary easing to liftthe economy. Focus has moved to Wash-ington as Greece debt concerns abateafter the country was eventually givenlong-frozen bailout cash on Tuesday.
After marathon talks in Brussels, theeurozone and the International MonetaryFund agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros($56 billion) in loans and on the need togrant significant debt relief for decades tocome. Greece must still meet a series ofagreed conditions but “the decision willcertainly reduce the uncertainty andstrengthen confidence in Europe and inGreece,” said European Central BankPresident Mario Draghi. On oil marketsNew York’s main contract, West TexasIntermediate (WTI) for January delivery,was down seven cents to $87.11 a barrelin the morning, and Brent North Seacrude for January climbed four cents to$109.91 in volatile trade.
Gold was at $1,740.20 at 0230 GMTcompared with $1,746.42 late Tuesday.
Asian shares slip on US fiscal cliff fears
EU reaches compromise
on ratings agency rules
BRUSSELS
AGENCIES
The European Commission, EuropeanParliament and European Council havereached compromise on new rules meantto govern credit ratings agencies, EUInternal Market Commissioner MichelBarnier said on Tuesday. “I welcome theimportant agreement reached today onadditional rules for credit rating agencieswhich aim to reduce the over-reliance onratings, eradicate conflicts of interest, andestablish a civil liability regime,” Barniersaid in statement. These agencies “willhave to be more transparent when ratingsovereign states,” Barnier added, as wellas “respect timing rules on sovereignratings and justify the timing ofpublication of unsolicited ratings ofsovereign debt” in order to avoiddestabilising financial markets.
ISLAMABAD
ONLINE
Social protection systems in mostAsian countries fall far short ofmeeting the needs of the poor andvulnerable even though bettersafety nets can be affordable forpoorer countries.
A new study from IndependentEvaluation at the Asian Develop-ment Bank (ADB) said despite higheconomic growth in much of theregion, public spending on socialprotection in Asia and the Pacific islower than in any part of the worldexcept for sub-Saharan Africa.
Recent economic and financial
crises, food and fuel emergencies,and the rapidly increasing fre-quency of natural disasters havestarkly exposed the inadequacy ofthe region’s national social protec-tion systems to guarantee a mini-mum level of subsistence and meetpeople’s basic needs.
“Governments around theworld tend to scramble to adoptsocial protection programs intimes of crisis,” says the DirectorGeneral of Independent EvaluationVinod Thomas. “But comprehen-sive systems built in stable yearsare much more effective in copingwith the human impact of futureeconomic or political crises or nat-
ural disasters.”Widening wealth gaps are also
drawing attention to the need forgreater social protection in Asia,where income disparities over thepast two decades have widened in 11countries that account for more thanfour-fifths of the region’s population.
All countries spend on the poorin some form or another, althoughthere are considerable countryvariations in the levels and effec-tiveness of the spending. Concernsover the cost of universal socialprotection are deterring somecountries, but well-targeted safetynets are not prohibitively expen-sive, says the study.
In the Philippines, for exam-ple, the government’s conditionalcash transfer program to uprootextreme poverty costs less than 0.5per cent of the country’s gross do-mestic product, yet reaches 15 mil-lion people.
The program makes regularcash payments to mothers condi-tional on their children attendingschool and public health clinics.After just three years of implemen-tation, evaluation findings showpositive results on elementary ed-ucation school enrollment andbeneficiary households spendingmore on the health and educationof their children.
SAARC’s power lag = 50,000MW ISLAMABAD: The leaders of business community and have reiterated the need tap energy potential inSouth Asia which is must for maintainable growth and economic revival. These observations surfaced in aseminar titled, “Energy Cooperation in South Asia Commitment and New Dimensions” organized bySAARC CCI in New Delhi in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry. After inaugurating the seminar, Gireesh B. Pradhan, Secretary Ministry of New and AlternativeEnergy, India emphasized for energy cooperation and stressed a shift towards alternative energy. VikramjitSingh Sahney, President Saarc CCI said that un-interrupted supply of energy at affordable price was neededto sustain this economic growth. The region is faced with 50 thousand MW of electricity which needscollective efforts to transform South Asia from an energy-starved to an energy efficient region. Speaking onthe occasion, Tariq Sayeed, former president of SAARC CCI said that South Asia has 150,000 MW ofhydropower potential and .5 million MW solar and wind power potential but the region was faced with50,000 MW shortfall. Since the energy demand in the region would be doubled by 2020, there was direneed to invest in energy related projects, said Sayeed. P.S. Bami, President India Energy noted that 300million people only in India had no access to electricity despite the fact that India had more potential ofenergy production against energy demand. ONLINE
ISLAMABAD
AGENCIES
Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI said that thetraders of the Federal Capital were facing severehousing problems and demanded that smallplots or flats should be allocated to these tradersas they played vital role for the development ofIslamabad.
Mian Muhammad Aslam, Former MNA andVice President of Jamat-e-Islamai Punjab visitedIslamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry(ICCI) for addressing business community ofFederal Capital. Zubair Farooq Khan, DeputyChief of Jama’at-i-Islami, Islamabad was alsopresent on the occasion. Speaking on the occa-sion, Zafar Bakhtawari, President ICCI laudedthe dynamic role of Mian Muhammad Aslam forsocial welfare of the common people. He also in-formed the Former MNA about various prob-lems faced by business community.
ICCI President highlighted the problem ofbalanced rent control because non-existence ofa balanced rent law in the federal capital was themain cause of rising rent disputes between ten-ants and landlords.
Bakhtawari demanded that the representa-tion of traders in the CDA board of directors isessential that help in creating a bridge betweenthe citizens and the local administration to un-derstand the rapidly increasing problems of thecity and giving their input in the policy makingand decision-making process of mega projects.
He said that the traders of the Federal Capi-tal were facing severe housing problems and de-manded that small plots or flats should beallocated to these traders as they played vitalrole for the development of Islamabad. He also
proposed that the CDA should also consider aseparate housing society for the traders.
Mian Muhammad Aslam, Former MNA andVice President of Jamat-e-Islamai Punjab saidthat he would provide his full support in execu-tion of balanced rent control act. He asked Pres-ident of ICCI to make a proposal regarding allconcerned issues and assured his support forsolving these problems of business communityon priority basis.
Munawar Mughal, former President ICCIthanked Mian Muhammad Aslam and ZubairFarooq Khan for visiting ICCI and was of theview that political leaders were not fulfillingtheir colossal promises after winning elections.He stressed all political parties to demonstratetheir responsibility and uphold the decent dem-ocratic values and norms in their ranks for pros-perity of our country.
ADB eyes social protection for the poor
ICCI clamours for traders’
residential concerns
PRO 29-11-2012_Layout 1 11/28/2012 11:12 PM Page 1
02
Thursday, 29 November, 2012
Major Gainers
COmPANy OPEN HiGH LOW CLOSE CHANGE TURNOVERUniLever Pak 9700.00 10185.00 10185.00 10185.00 485.00 3,460Nestle Pakistan Ltd. 4699.00 4900.00 4900.00 4900.00 201.00 20Rafhan Maize Prod. 3700.00 3799.00 3799.00 3799.00 99.00 20Bata (Pak) XD 1565.55 1643.00 1620.00 1637.67 72.12 2,550Unilever Food 4150.00 4357.00 4200.00 4200.00 50.00 600
Major LosersWyeth Pak Limited 926.00 890.00 890.00 890.00 -36.00 50Sanofi-Aventis Pak 349.00 332.00 332.00 332.00 -17.00 100Bhanero Tex. 282.00 290.00 275.00 275.00 -7.00 1,400Pak Gum & Chemical 169.77 171.50 163.03 163.50 -6.27 8,200Gillette Pak 108.30 102.89 102.89 102.89 -5.41 1,500
Volume Leaders
Fauji Cement 6.90 7.07 6.89 6.94 0.04 40,180,000K.E.S.C. 6.56 7.17 6.40 6.62 0.06 35,091,000Dewan Cement 5.18 5.90 5.28 5.48 0.30 19,497,000Lafarge Pakistan 5.31 5.54 5.30 5.38 0.07 15,252,500Engro Corporation 95.27 99.91 95.65 97.53 2.26 14,507,000
Interbank RatesUS Dollar 96.4542UK Pound 154.4232Japanese Yen 1.1800Euro 124.6478
Dollar EastBUy SELL
US Dollar 96.90 97.40Euro 123.78 125.11Great Britain Pound 153.27 154.89Japanese Yen 1.1662 1.1785Canadian Dollar 96.20 97.72Hong Kong Dollar 12.24 12.44UAE Dirham 26.15 26.40Saudi Riyal 25.65 25.85Australian Dollar 99.82 102.33
Business
TOKYO
AGENCIES
THE euro slipped in Asian trade onWednesday after a buying spreesparked by Greece’s bailout dealfizzled owing to lingering concernsover Europe’s sovereign debt
problems.The single currency bought $1.2935 and
105.95 yen in Tokyo morning trade, comparedwith $1.2938 and 106.30 yen in New York lateTuesday. The dollar fetched 81.89 yen against82.16 yen.
“A weaker euro-dollar rate than prior to thenews yesterday of a deal to keep Greece fundedand its debt levels contained, partly reflects aclassic ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’ re-
sponse,” National Australia Bank said.The eurozone and International Monetary
Fund agreed Tuesday to trim Greece’s heavydebt load and release the latest batch of rescuefund amounting to 43.7 billion euros in ex-change for promised austerity reforms.
“The whole Greek situation was obviouslybuilt into currency markets so it’s sold offsince,” said Tim Kelleher, ASB’s head of FX in-stitutional sales New Zealand.
“I don’t think the euro is going anywherefast,” he told Dow Jones Newswires.
Worries about the US “fiscal cliff” of spend-ing cuts and tax hikes, due to come into effecton January 1 unless a divided
US congress strikes a new spending deal,may also weigh on the euro, dealers said.
It “tends to be negative for equities” andthat tends to lead to a sell-off of higher-yielding “risky” units, which will drag the
euro lower”, Kelleher said. The euro was also weighed on un-
certainty over an independence driveby debt-hit Spain’s Catalonia re-
gion, dealers said. A raft of USeconomic data released Tues-day, however, gave a boost to
sentiment about the health ofthe world’s biggest economy. US
consumer confidence rose thismonth to its highest level since Febru-
ary 2008, while US home prices rose inSeptember, a fresh sign of recovery for
the country’s troubled housing market.
French ambassador signspartnership agreement with AKCSP
KARACHI: The French Ambassador to Pakistan,Mr. Philippe Thiébaud, signed, at his Residence, apartnership-agreement with the Chairman of AgaKhan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP), Mr.Akbarali Pesnani on the 28th of November 2012for a total budget of 175.000$. This eventemphasizes the ambition of the FrenchGovernment to reinforce its cooperation directlyto the local communities in Pakistan. Theobjective of this collaboration with the AKCSPaims at encouraging skill development of theyoung population and artistic expressions topromote diversity and sustainable development,which is one of the major components of theFrench cultural cooperation in Pakistan. Twoprojects have been developed for the promotion ofcultural diversity of the Northern part of Pakistan;in the regions of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral whichoffer an exceptional range of natural and culturalresources.
Wateen recognised as CiscoTelePresence partner LAHORE: Wateen, Pakistan’s leading convergedcommunications provider, announced today that ithas achieved TelePresence Video ExpressAuthorized Technology Provider (ATP) status fromCisco. This designation recognizes Wateen ashaving fulfilled the training requirements andprogram prerequisites to sell, deploy and supportCisco TelePresence Video products and solutions atthe Express level. By this new addition, nowWateen’s customers can feel “Virtually” realpresence of all required business executives in anymeeting, business discussion or critical businessplanning exercise. The ATP program is an exclusive“invitation only” program from Cisco and Wateenhad to meet a number of requirements and criteriaamong them the rigorous Cisco certified personnellevels required to qualify and earn the CiscoTelepresence Video Express ATP status.
‘America is responsible forsuffering of Pakistanis’KARACHI “America has a responsibility for someof the things that the average Pakistani hassuffered.” This was stated by Todd Shea, Founder ofComprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS),in an interview appearing in the current issue ofSouthAsia magazine. CDRS provides healthcareservices and education to millions across Pakistan.The organization has also been involved in post-earthquake relief work in the country since 2005. Inthe exclusive interview to SouthAsia magazine,Todd Shea said, “I tell people … to be careful ofwhat you read in the papers and be careful about
letting that be your only perception. I had learnedlong ago to believe the media only so much becauseI had been duped into believing propaganda. In thelast 7 years, in the American media, I’ve heard 2% ofthe truth about Pakistan, 100% of the time. Andhere, I’ve seen the other 98%.”
Launch of the British Council’s Education UK VirtualExhibition 2012
LAHORE: The British Council inaugurated thethird Virtual Exhibition 2012 under its EducationUK (EUK) programme. Facilitating Pakistanistudents towards educational opportunities thatmay be available for them in the UK, the VirtualExhibition through an interactive online platformhas been reaching out to thousands of potentialstudents for the last three years. The Exhibitionwas formally launched in a ceremony in Lahoretoday. On this occasion, Richard Weyers, DirectorPunjab, British Council said, “The British Councilis delighted to be leading the way in providingvirtual opportunities for students to connect withUK universities. We have a record breaking 32 UKuniversities involved in this year’s exhibition and
we hope this will benefit many thousands ofpotential students in Pakistan.”
Urbansole unveils new collection
LAHORE: Urbansole, a well known footwearbrand in Pakistan, offers its customers both casualand formal footwear collection of shows, sandals,mocs and boots. Urbansole organised anexhibition at a local hotel, to launch itsSpring/Summer Collection 2013. Kashir Zorain(Brand Manager, Urbansole), Jawad Musaddiq(Director, Urbansole) and Shahid Nawaz Cheema(BDM) along with national and internationaldealers and distributors attended the exhibition.
CORPORATE CORNER
Euro slips after buyingon Greek rescue fizzles
ISLAMABAD: Dr Asim Hussain Advisor to the Prime Minister onPetroleum and Natural Resources discussing the upcomingPak-US Energy dialogue with US Ambassador to Pakistan H.E.Richard Olson, who called on the Advisor last week.
Raja Riaz hailswheat support price
FAISALABAD
APP
Opposition leader Punjab Assembly RajaRiaz Ahmad has welcomed the decisionof Economic Coordination Committee(ECC) to increase wheat support price.Talking to APP here on Wednesday, hesaid that it would not only help farmersto get reasonable price of their producebut also encourage them to increase theyeild. Raja Riaz said that PakistanPeople’s Party represents the poor andsteps have been taken by the federalgovernment to make the farmers self-reliant. He said that PPP led governmenthad increased wheat support price twiceduring the last four and a half yearstenure which indicates pro-farmerpolicies of the government.
Oil prices mixed in
Asian trade SINGAPORE
AGENCIES
Oil prices were mixed in Asian tradeWednesday as investors focused on USbudget talks and doubts emerged over ahow a bailout deal for debt-strappedGreece would be implemented. New York’smain contract, West Texas Intermediate(WTI) for January delivery, was downseven cents to $87.11 a barrel in themorning, and Brent North Sea crude forJanuary climbed four cents to $109.91 involatile trade. Oil prices are “weigheddown... by concerns about key US budgettalks”, Phillip Futures said in a marketcommentary. “As markets cautiouslygreeted news of a deal to release emergencyaid to debt-laden Greece, oil traders eyedthe looming US ‘fiscal cliff’ as the latest signstruggling fuel demand could face furtherheadwinds.” US lawmakers are working tohammer out an agreement on the budgetfor next year that requires painfulcompromises from both Republicans andDemocrats, and negotiations have beenmarked by bitter political bickering. If nodeal is reached before the end of the year, apoison pill of tax hikes and massivespending cuts, including slashes to themilitary, comes into effect and would likelysend the world’s biggest economy back intorecession. The initial euphoria over thedebt deal reached between Greece and itscreditors has also died down as both sidesmove to implement its terms.
ISLAMABAD
APP
Fruit and vegetable export from thecountry during the first four months ofcurrent financial year recorded in-crease of 4.21 percent and 10.97 per-cent respectively.
During the period from July-Octo-ber 2012 about 120,794 metric tonsfresh fruits of different varieties worthUS$ 81.48 million exported as com-pared to the 135,323 metric tons valuingUS$ 78.18 million during the same pe-riod of last year.
According the data of Pakistan Bu-reau of Statistics (PBS), during first four
months of current financial year about65,113 metric tons vegetables costingUS$ 31.75 billion exported which wasup by 10.97 percent as compared to106,752 metric tons of US$ 28.6 millionduring same period of last year.
The export of fruit and vegetableswitnessed increase in their exports indollars term, however, the export inquantity term witnessed reducing trendduring last four months of current fi-nancial year, the data revealed.
Meanwhile, the export of sugar dur-ing the period under review recorded100 percent increase as about 126,819metric tons of sugar worth US$ 70.29million exported.
From the period from July-October2012, the export of meat and meatpreparations also increased by 30.64
percent as about 22,836 metric tons ofmeat and meat preparations valuingUS$ 7.37 million exported as comparedto 19,062 metric tons worth US$ 59.4million exports of same period lastyear,, it added.
The data revealed that during thefirst four months of current financialyear the export of all other food itemsrecorded 30.64 percent increase asagainst the last year’s export.
During the period from July-Octo-ber country earned US$ 343.26 mil-lion by exporting different foodcommodities where as it was recordedat 328.15 million during same periodlast year.
FrUIt, vegetAble export InCreASe by 4.21, 10.97%
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