Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Owais]

NFC award on equalisation basis demanded

ISLAMABAD (March 04 2007): The nationalist leaders on Saturday demanded that National Finance Commission award not be allocated on the sole criteria of population but on the basis of equalisation where under developed areas that are rich in resources should get a bigger share.

They also urged the government to transfer all the subjects to provinces except defence, foreign affairs and currency to strengthen the federating units. They were speaking at a roundtable discussion on 'Federation in Pakistan and the Conflict in Balochistan' organised by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in collaboration with the Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO).

The speakers included Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch, Hasil Bazinjo, Senator Aga Shahid Bugti, Senator Abdul Rahim Mandokhail, Amanullah Karnani, Naila Qadri, Dr Kaiser Bengali while spokesman of Balochistan government Raziq Bugti and Senator Dilawar Abbas represented the government.

Comparatively analysing the situation, former Canadian Minister for Justice and National Revenue Martin Cauchon said that in the Canadian Constitution, provinces have numerous taxation powers while the federal government only has the right to impose personal and corporate taxes.

He said that Canada is following the principle of equalisation to ensure equal benefits to all its citizens, regardless of which province they live in.

Cauchon also shared the experience of Quebec as a unique province in Canada that attained provincial autonomy over language, culture, and a separate legal system.

Renowned Economist Kaiser Bengali suggested that Federal Divisible Pool (FDP) should be distributed horizontally rather than vertically keeping in view the level of deprivation and underdevelopment of the small provinces.

He said that out of the total revenue collection of Rs 716 billion, Rs 307 billion are generated from non-tax revenue, which is not included in the FDP and recommended for its inclusion.

He added that of the total non-tax revenue of Rs 307, almost 10 percent (Rs 30 billion) is contributed only by Pakistan Petroleum Limited, which is in Balochistan. He further said that out of the 45 percent provincial share in the FDP, Balochistan is getting only 5 percent due to its distribution on population basis, which he termed unjust.

Besides, Sindh is not getting its due share from the NFC award due to its distribution on the basis of population despite contributing highest contributor of total taxes, he maintained. Kaiser further said that Gwadar Port is not economically feasible for Balochistan, as there is no interline of the port in the province, whereas there is neither industry nor any export base in Balochistan to be benefited from the port.

Out of the total length of Kachi Kanal, two-third falls in Punjab and only one third in Balochistan, he said and added that Coastal Highway is also constructed for strategic purpose and hence not beneficial for the local population. He added construction of Kalabagh dam would badly affect the livelihood of Baloch fishermen, he observed.

Pakistan National Party secretary general and Baloch leader Mir Hasil Bazinjo said that before the creation of Pakistan, there were five nations - Baloch, Pushtoon, Sindhi, Seraiki and Begalis - who were enjoying all the fundamental rights, which should be restored to strengthen the federating units.

He regretted that agreements regarding the fate of Balochistan were made without taking the provincial assembly and people of Balochistan into confidence. Even the provincial cabinet and the government is formed by the Inter Service Intelligence here in Islamabad, he alleged.

Senator Abdul Rahim Mandokhail of the Pakhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party said that except currency, foreign affairs and defence, all other subjects should be transferred to provinces.

Naila Qadri said that funds should be distributed according to the backwardness of the provinces rather on the basis of population. She alleged that for the first time Baloch women were killed, raped and harassed by the government officials.

In the name of mega development schemes, another type of colonial infrastructure is being developed in the province to transfer its resources to other areas, she maintained.
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=534776&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

Plans to build 'Marble City' in Risalpur
ISLAMABAD (March 04 2007): Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) and NIP jointly presided over stakeholders meeting for the development of the first Marble City in Risalpur, at the PASDEC office in Islamabad.

Pakistan Stone Development Company (PASDEC) is committed to development of the dimensional stone sector in Pakistan, laying special stress on the introduction of modern quarrying techniques, up gradation of existing quarries, and the establishment of Marble Cities with common facility training centers. Leading stakeholders from across the nation were invited to discuss their needs and put forward their requirements for first the marble city whose modalities are currently in the development/finalisation stage.

"Once the sector is organised and we are able to show the world the finest marble and granite processing in this Marble City, we will be able to attract joint ventures. This will be in form of direct foreign investment as well as partnerships in trading abroad," said the Chairman PASDEC, Ihasan Ullah Khan. He also formed committees to discuss and put forwards legitimate view-point and incorporate stake holders input in the upcoming marble city, in Risalpur.

Mohsin Syed, Director General North, National Industrial Parks Management Company (NIP) was of the view point that stake holders should come forward and optimise their capabilities in the first Industrial Estate of its kind in the marble & granite sector in Pakistan, where as PASDEC in co-operation with NIP would provide all out support in terms of banking, technical assistance, human resource, and export marketing.

The stakeholders also put forward some demands that include lower interest rates on borrowed capital, government subsidies, and security of investment. They showed un-wavering confidence in PASDEC's efforts and the leading role being played by its Chairman. They also showed confidence in the leadership of Mr Mohsin Syed for his proven track record. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in Khairabad, NWFP on the March 15, 2007.-PR
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=534789&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

Super Highway being converted into six-lane Motorway


ISLAMABAD (updated on: March 04, 2007, 14:14 PST): Hyderabad-Karachi Super Highway will be converted on to six-lane Motorway (M-9) within two years, a source in National Highway Authority told APP on Sunday.

He said the road would form part of a wider network connecting the principal and populous cities of the country. The project will cost Rs6.3 billion and the scope of works includes expansion of the road from four to six lanes and provision of service areas.

The source said the authority had signed a concession agreement for the construction of 136km M-9, with the Standard Construction firm in September last year. But there had been some objections over the approval of the project.

However, on January 16, 2007 after a comprehensive briefing by the NHA on this project National Highway Council (NHC) approved the M-9 project.

It may be mentioned here that M-9 will be country's first major project built on build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis whereby the contractor would construct the project and operate it for 25 years before handing it over to the government.

The project would generate Rs9 billion under collection of toll tax, while the revenue share of NHA would be Rs20 billion in 25 years. Eleven interchanges and 10 pedestrian underpasses would be built along the motorway.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/

 

[Neo]

Sunday, March 04, 2007

‘If there is a war-like situation’: Country’s economy may be affected adversely: adviser

LAHORE: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah said Saturday that any war-like situation in the region may have a negative impact on Pakistan’s economy.

“The whole region, right from Central Asia to Western China, is booming with economic growth and any disturbance in the peace of the region would affect it badly,” he said, adding: “President Pervez Musharraf has recently conducted an extensive visit of the region including the Middle East to avoid any such conflict in the region.”

He was responding to media queries after being briefed by Regional Commissioner Income Tax Haji Ahmed Khan, on the operations of the Regional Tax Office Lahore

However, he said, Pakistan’s economic growth is more dependant on domestic factors, therefore it would be resilient to any such shock, but still Pakistan is trying hard to avoid any turmoil in the region. When pointed out that major industrial sectors like textile, sugar and cement are terming the government’s present approach of shifting its reliance on other sectors like construction, telecom, automobile and chemicals etc as ‘hostile’, Dr Shah said that such shifting of reliance cannot be avoided by any developing country, as it happened in Japan, Korea and other countries.

He said the industrialists should understand that competition is the hallmark of a free market economy and they would have to compete in order to survive. When pointed out that the industrialists are under the impression that the government has failed to facilitate them like the competitors, Dr Shah said that the government has done its best to facilitate the industry but it cannot offer a ‘monthly cheque’ to them in the name of facilitation.

“We are trying to minimize the problems faced by the industry, but the industrialists should understand that there’s no room for subsidies now,” he added.

On energy prices, the adviser said that they are equal to the competing countries and the latest increase of 10 percent in the electricity tariff is introduced after freezing it for the last three years that skyrocketed the WAPDA losses. He expressed the hope that foreign direct investment (FDI) would reach to $6billion at the end of this fiscal year. When he was asked about the rising trade gap, Dr Shah commented: “It is manageable.”

He said the government would not allow increase in ghee and flour prices and proper interventions would be made to stabilise the market. Earlier, he applauded the role played by the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) in generating substantial revenues, after introducing an across the board reforms in the department.

While mentioning that the government was spending $150 million on reforms process, Dr Shah said the economic turnaround in Pakistan was due to the impressive performance of the CBR and the 9/11 incident.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\04\story_4-3-2007_pg5_5

 

[Neo]

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Pakistan slams EC’s trade policy

* Declining share in exports to Europe discriminatory, points out ambassador

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has criticised the European Union’s tariff peaks and tariff escalations, especially in textile, clothing and leather products at the World Trade Organisation, while highlighting the dichotomy in the European trade regime.

During the trade policy review of the European Commission, Pakistan questioned the EC’s trade regime. Pakistan said that the European trade policies tended to undermine the multilateral trading system, and that while they helped some developing countries in some kind of trade preferences, they discriminated against the remaining developing countries.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to WTO, Geneva, Dr Manzoor Ahmed, while commenting on the EC’s trade regime, said that the EU is Pakistan’s single largest trading partner, accounting for 26% of our total exports and 17% of our total imports. However, more recently, our trade with the EU has not been keeping pace with our international trade growth. The EU’s share in Pakistan’s global exports has declined from 28% to 26% per annum, as our exports to Europe came down from $4.20 billion in 2004 to $3.83 billions in 2005.

He said that our overall exports during 2005 declined by 9%, while exports of textile and clothing declined by 15%, despite the fact that the EU’s import of these items increased by 7%. This is obviously having an adverse impact on our industrial growth, economic stability, employment generation and social security.

Dr Manzoor mentioned that our exporters attribute this fall in exports, which is only restricted to the EU market, to what they claim as “discriminatory and unstable trade policies” being adopted by the EU. There is a common perception in Pakistan that the EC trade policy has recently undergone a clear shift in treating similarly placed countries differently.

In addition to tariff peaks on products of our export interest, our competitive exports are repeatedly subjected to anti-dumping duties. Except for short periods, our bed-linen exports have been subjected to anti-dumping investigation or anti-dumping duties for the last 14 years. Perhaps this is a record period for an anti-dumping duty.

He said when our exporters found a niche and started exporting value added ethanol instead of the raw material molasses, which they had been doing for a long time, they found themselves faced with several hurdles. Not only duty concession was withdrawn but they were also subjected to anti-dumping investigations. After one year of investigations, the EU dropped its claim. However, in the meantime most of our newly established distilleries got shot down. As a result our exporters are back to export of raw material for the EU distilleries.

Stringent and frequently changing regulations on TBT and SPS measures are also among the main factors hampering our trade with the EC Member states. Our products like fish, fruits and vegetables are the hardest hit in this regard, he added.

Our business community is finding increasingly hard to get visas for business trips. The new entrepreneurs making exploratory and matchmaking deals are routinely refused visa for not having traveled to Europe before, he said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\04\story_4-3-2007_pg5_6

 

[Janbaz]

Rice exports to remain above $1b despite high prices

Javed Mahmood looks into the ongoing rice prices trend and its impact on exports in FY07. Iran and Dubai have emerged as two leading buyers of Pak rice from July-Dec 2006 period
Despite rapid increase in the domestic prices of rice, the exports of the commodity are set to surpass one billion dollars in financial year 2006-07. Rice exports details obtained by Money Plus show that from July-January period of the FY07 the country had fetched 603 million dollars by exporting rice. Although there had been overall decline of 2.87 per cent in the exports of rice in value from July-January FY07, the export of basmati rice has marked a substantial increase of 24 per cent in foreign exchange and 23 per cent in quantity during the period under review.
The non-basmati rice, however, has depicted 28 per cent decline in quantity and 8 per cent decline in dollars terms.
In seven months of this fiscal the rice export in quantity stood at 1.647 million tons as against 1.974 million dollars rice exported during the corresponding period of last financial year. The country had sold overseas 0.565 million tons basmati rice and 1.081 million tons non-basmati rice.
In 2005-06 the total rice exports amounted to 1.2 billion dollars for the first time and in 2006-07 the exporters are in a bid to raise more foreign exchange than the previous financial year’s benchmark as the demand of basmati has suddenly shot up in the international market.
Country-wise rice export details show that Pakistan has generated 495 million dollars by exporting basmati and non-basmati rice to more than 120 countries in the world from July-December period of FY07.
Interesting to note is that the rice exports have edged up by 100 million dollars from July-December period of FY07 as during the same period of previous financial year the rice exports attracted 395 million dollars.
Dubai and Iran have emerged as the two leading buyers of Pakistani rice. Pakistan has exported 115 million dollars rice to Dubai in six months of this fiscal, whereas rice export to Iran showed over 100 per cent increase and amounted to 76 million dollars, from 32 million dollars in the corresponding period of last financial year.
The other major importers of Pakistani rice are the United States 10.22 million dollars, Yemen 14.52 million dollars, United Kingdom 14.40 million dollars, Sharjah 11.15 million dollars, South Africa 12 million dollars, Bahrain 10.30 million dollars, Oman 19.42 million dollars, Qatar 12.515 million dollars, Saudi Arabia 15.60 million dollars, Mauritius 12.60 million dollars, Kuwait 11.63 million dollars, Kenya 28.76 million dollars, Kuwait 11.63 million dollars, Iraq 3.533 million dollars, Canada 7.27 million dollars, China 3.11 million dollars, Croatia 14.05 million dollars while France has imported 3.24 million dollars.
There is a long list of countries that have imported rice from Pakistan having value of six million dollars a less than it.
Regarding rice exports to Iran, the exporters said that traditionally Iran authorities are shy of importing rice from Pakistan in bulk. But in FY07 the Iranian authorities concerned have placed more orders for the import of rice from Pakistan that has been evident from surprising increase in exports to the said brethren country in six months of this financial year.
During recent bilateral parleys Iranian authorities have shown interest to importing about half a million tons of rice from Pakistan this year that would ultimately boost the overall rice exports.
Meanwhile, rice exporters and dealers said that for the first time the domestic prices of different varieties of rice have increased by 8-10 rupees per kg during the past few weeks on the ground that the demand and export of rice have marked a significant increase in the current financial year.
The price of aromatic old basmati price has increased to 50-55 rupees per kg in Karachi from 40-45 rupees previous benchmark at the retail stage while in Lahore the retail price of basmati rice has increased from 32 to 40 rupees a kg.
Surprisingly, the new crop of basmati rice is being sold by the domestic retailers between 35-40 rupees per kg in Lahore and 40-45 rupees a kg in Karachi while old basmati rice, which is more tasty than new crop, is being sold above 50 rupees a kg in Karachi and 40-45 rupees in Lahore.
In 2005-06 the total output of rice stood at 5.35 million tons out of which 2.7 million tons were exported that generated 1.2 billion dollars worth foreign exchange. The export of basmati rice amounted to 0.9 million tons while non-basmati rice export in quantity remained at 1.8 million tons.
It is no more a secret that during the past few years the aromatic Pakistani basmati rice is penetrating rapidly in different countries because of its taste and unique aroma.
The new entrant in basmati rice import from Pakistan is Tunisia. In December 2006 for the first time Tunisian companies have imported 600 metric tons basmati rice from Pakistan and the companies have pledged to import more rice from here as they have found Pakistani basmati matchless in taste, size and aroma.
Exporters said that in collaboration with foreign missions of Pakistan they were introducing basmati rice by offering gift packs and inviting foreigners at dinners and luncheons where the delicious variety of rice is served to the guests.
This business tactics has proved very effective in enhancing exports of basmati rice to different countries, which used to eat non-basmati rice or inferior quality and tasteless basmati rice.
Exporters say that within the food group the rice sector has emerged as a leading sector in raising foreign exchange through exports. For example, the food group had attracted 1.1 billion dollars through exports and the rice sector alone had fetched 603 million dollars from July-January FY07, the largest amount of foreign exchange raised by any food item or sector.
They have maintained that by introducing value addition in exports of rice the exporters could generate much more than one billion dollars through rice exports every year. They have pointed out that a few years ago the rice exports had stuck up to around 600 to 650 million dollars. But with the introduction of brand-name and value addition the overall exports of rice have steadily increased to 1.2 billion dollars in 2005-06.
They are of the view that the government should offer incentives to stakeholders in rice sector such as millers, dealers and farmers so that this sector could be developed further to enhance production of rice and its exports in the years to come.

The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/5/bnews2.php

 

[Janbaz]

Poor in Pakistan must have access to microcredit: Nobel laureate suggests

ISLAMABAD (March 05 2007): Bangladesh Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has said that the Pakistan government has done a lot of things in micro-finance sector for poverty alleviation and uplift of the poor. In a program 'A conversation with Professor Yunus' held here, he said the measures included creation of microfinance and Khushali Bank, political support and the friendly policies of its central bank.

He suggested that Pakistan "has to ensure access to microcredit to the poor" to achieve the desired result in the right direction. In Bangladesh, he said, 80 percent poor people have access to micro credit. As many as 1.2 billion people around the planet lack access to basic necessities, and microfinance could be their pathway out of despair, he added.

Yunus runs Bangladesh's Grameen Bank, a leading advocate for the world's poor that has lent more than $5.1 billion to 5.3 million people. The bank is built on Yunus's conviction that poor people can be both reliable borrowers and avid entrepreneurs. According to the 2005 State of the Microcredit Summit Campaign Report, in 1997 only about 7.6 million families had been served by microcredit world-wide, and as of December 31, 2004, some 3,200 microcredit institutions reported reaching more than 92 million clients. Almost 73 percent of them were living in dire poverty at the time of their first loan, he said.

Professor Yunus was awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2006, pioneers of the microfinance movement and long-standing allies of the United Nations in the cause of development and the empowerment of women.

An energy enterprise, Grameen Shakti sells around 1,500 home solar-panel systems per month throughout rural Bangladesh and is growing 15 percent a year without subsidies, he said. Professor Yunus said Grameen has initiated a project called Struggling Members Program that serves 55,000 beggars.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance Omer Ayub Khan held an informal meeting with the visiting Bangladesh Nobel Laureate, Professor Muhammad Younas.

Both leaders discussed matters of mutual interest and the prevailing economic situation in the two brotherly countries, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Younas expressed satisfaction over the pace of growing economic and developmental activities in Pakistan. He was of the view that if this economic development process continued, Pakistani people would achieve more progress and prosperity in the days to come.

Omar, while welcoming the guest, said that Pakistan's prudent economic policies have started to produce results and the country is progressing on fast track. He gave an overview of Pakistan's fast growing economy and improvement in macro economic indicators achieved by the present government after introducing structural reforms covering various sectors including fiscal, financial, tax and banking.

He said that there is consistency in the policies and the government is determined to continue to follow the path of privatisation, de-regulation and liberalisation. Later, he hosted a lunch for the visiting distinguished guest at the lush green Daman-e-Koh.

Professor Muhammad Younas is the pioneer of micro-financing in Bangladesh. He introduced concept of loaning to the poor, and set up Grameen Bank to lend small loans to enable the poor entrepreneurs to establish their business to earn livelihood in an easy way.

A large number of high-ups and senior government officials, including Advisor to Ministry of Finance Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Secretary Finance Tanvir Ali Agha, Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Dr Kamal Hayat, President of Khushhali Bank Ghalib Nishtar, senior official of World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Ministry of Finance were present on the occasion.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=535218&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

Tourist traffic increased manifold: minister

ISLAMABAD (March 05 2007): Minister for Tourism Nilofar Bakhtiar has said on Sunday that the number of foreign tourists coming to Pakistan had increased manifold. She, however, called for enhancing security measures to effectively market country's treasures archaeological, adventure, religious. The minister was addressing a seminar on Security of Tourists.

She said President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz were providing all out support to promote tourism in the country. Nilofar called upon the participants to put forth recommendations that would guarantee more tourist traffic flow to the country.

Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan, based on its diverse cultures, peoples and landscapes. The variety of attractions range from the ruins of ancient civilisations such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in field and winter sports.

Pakistan is a home to several mountain peaks over 7000m, which attracts adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially K2, Nanga Parbat, GI, GII, and Broad Peak.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=535265&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

Pakistan achieves cotton production target
S. A. AZIZ SHAH
KARACHI (March 05 2007): The much awaited periodical cotton report was released the other day by the Pakistan Cotton Ginners' Association according to which by 1st of March, 07, seed-cotton equivalent of 12.240 million local weight bales against 12.386 million local weight bales same period last year.

The shortfall is 1.187 percent. Total unsold stock of lint cotton has been mentioned at 1.206 million bales. This time, local mills have purchased 10.927 million bales against 10.495 million bales same time last year ie 4.12 percent increase. This time, unsold stocks are higher than last year. Finally, cotton crop would close around 12.5 million bales and the government's target of 12.5 million bales would be achieved.

Encouraged by better return, cotton growers would be tempted to grow more cotton next season. In Sindh, area under so called Bt. Cotton varieties is increasing year by year on higher yield (good for the growers), higher Ginning Out-turn (good for the ginners) and better fibre properties (good for the spinners). Now, the government appears quite serious in adoption of GMO technology which would increase cotton productivity and production remarkably.

Pakistan has to adopt all necessary measures to increase its cotton production to the level of domestic cotton consumption. Cotton scenario has changed in the last seven years. Annual domestic cotton consumption has increased to the level of 15.5 - 16.0 million bales in 2006-2007 whereas cotton production is at 12.5 million bales.

Thus, cotton shortfall of around 3.0 million bales is met from imported cotton. Instead of making expansion in forward process, greater expansion has been made in back process ie spinning sector. To reap the benefits of free trade policies under World Trade Organisation (WTO), Pakistan should move fast in forward process of manufacturing finished goods like textile products including apparels and garments.

The increase in cost of production is making spinning sector uncompetitive and unviable. In case of slump in textile market, sale of yarn becomes very difficult and unsold stock accumulate to such an extent that production is reduced and mills occur losses. However, production of finished goods can absorb increase in production cost to a greater extent in view of higher return. It appears quite difficult for Pakistan's textile sector to live more on production of yarn and grey cloth than on production of finished products and garments as the return ratio between yarn and garments is around 1:20.

Therefore, it becomes imperative that Pakistan textile sector must go for maximum value-addition for creating greater employment opportunities and strengthening its economy failing which textile giants of the region such as China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam would make Pakistan as the raw material producing and warehousing country.

Lint cotton prices in the local market remained steady and the ginners did not show any relaxation in prices despite slow buying by the mills. This season, local spinning mills purchased some 0.432 million bales more cotton than last season and are now slow in buying. Better grade cotton is selling between Rs 2,550 and Rs 2,600 while average grade cotton between Rs 2,450 and 2,550 while low grade down to Rs 2,300 per maund ex-gin. There are reports in the market that some exporters have also made sales of about 10,000 bales of cotton mostly low grade to India at rates around US Cents 50.50 - 51.50 on CNF Mumbai basis. Mills are holding large stocks of unsold yarn / cloth which is moving slowly. Cotton market has not as yet found any definite direction although there are some indications of firming up of lint cotton prices. India's famous variety Shanker-6 is now quoted higher at US Cents 58 / 59 CNF Karachi. Now reports of next crop sowing intentions, weather forecasts and crop forecasts would be the guiding factors in determining cotton prices in the next couple of months. The cotton outlook has released estimates of cotton area, production and yield of cotton producing countries in 2007-2008 season. Cotton trade expect reasonable increase in cotton prices in next season on cotton statistics of some prominent cotton countries.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=535302&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

Rs 96 billion may be spent on power distribution

LAHORE (March 05 2007): The government plans to spend about Rs 96 billion for improvement of power distribution system over next two years in the country. Chairman Wapda Tariq Hameed said the project to be undertaken by National Transmission and Despatch Company is aimed at removing shortcomings in power supply system.

It will help address grievances of domestic and commercial consumers besides reducing line losses. He said Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing bulk of financial assistance for improving power transmission system.

About power generation projects, Tariq Hameed said Wapda has been entrusted with task of completing mega hydel projects.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=535278&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

We’ve raised people’s buying power: PM

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Through the consistent policies of the government, which are a hallmark of the current administration, Pakistan has been able to increase the disposable income available to the people, which in turn has enabled consumer industry to flourish in the country, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Speaking during ‘Round Table: The Way Forward’, an interactive session hosted by CEO WorldCall Salmaan Taseer (to be telecast on Business Plus tonight at 8pm), he said that in order for any industry – be it automobiles, telecommunication or banking – to progress, consumers must have the purchasing power necessary to buy the products or services offered by various sectors.

Talking to the heads of major Pakistani companies that were also present in the programme, he said that one of the major problems facing Pakistan was the lack of trained and skilled manpower. He said that with the recent expansion in the hospitality, automobile, construction and telecom industries, the availability of trained professionals was a major issue that needed to be addressed. He said reforms had helped industry grow to the point where Pakistan had moved from 3 percent to 45 percent teledensity in a span of three years and 93 percent of automotive parts were being manufactured within Pakistan.

He said that the government was working on to develop five-year plans for specific industries and then share those plans with all stakeholders and develop it with their consent, so that progress could be achieved hand-in-hand with the private sector.

Mobilink CEO Zohair Khaliq, CEO Glaxo Smithkline Salman Burney, CEO Habib Bank Zakir Mehmood, CEO Atlas Honda Saqib Shirazi and JS Bank President Jahangir Siddiqi were also present in the discussion.

Daily Times.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\05\story_5-3-2007_pg1_2

 

[Owais]

250 expatriates to attend investors conference
ISLAMABAD (March 05 2007): The Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis is holding a two-day 'Overseas Pakistanis Investment Conference' here from Monday. The main objective is provide a platform to overseas Pakistanis to interact with the private sector and policy makers in the country, besides being instrumental in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan, an official told APP here on Sunday.

Highlighting the features of the Conference, he said that the conference would also provide an ideal opportunity to bring together all relevant stakeholders from federal and provincial governments, local business people and potential overseas investors for identifying areas of investment opportunities and forming trade and joint venture partnership.

So far, he said, around 250 overseas Pakistani investors have confirmed their participation in the moot, while, more than 200 local businessmen have shown interest to participate in the conference. Due to the policies and efforts of the government, he said, the overseas Pakistanis in different part of the world including the UK, US, Europe and the Middle East and Far East regions are keen to invest in Pakistan.

He said that 64 Pakistani investors from US would attend the conference, 55 from United Kingdom, 9 from Canada and 3 from Italy. He said that the response from Middle East has been satisfactory as 23 and 19 overseas Pakistani investors are coming from Saudi Arabia and UAE. Remaining are from other countries.

The official said that Pakistani investors had shown interest in 30 areas, and the highest indication of their investment is of $500 million, $496 million and $372 million was recorded in power plants, construction and agri farming, respectively, while an investment of $906 million was offered in services, tourism, light engineering, information technology, pharmaceutical and export sectors.

Top bosses of the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, including Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, would highlight the plans, efforts and achievements of the Ministry and its departments, the official added. A number of technical sessions will be also held during the moot in which Minister for Privatisation and Investment Zahid Hamid, Chairman National Vocational and Technical Education Commission Altaf Saleem and other senior officials would participate.

"The four provinces and interested parties have also been asked to announce incentives and bring projects to the conference, which could be of interest to expatriates", he said.
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=535216&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Janbaz]

Musharraf for innovative micro-financing methods to eradicate poverty

RAWALPINDI (updated on: March 05, 2007, 20:10 PST): President General Pervez Musharraf has directed the country's finance managers to develop innovative methods for extending micro-finance credits at the grassroots level to help enhance job opportunities and eradicate poverty.

The president said this during a meeting with Managing Director of Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Dr. Mohammad Yunus who called on him here at his Camp Office on Monday.

Advisor to PM on Finance Dr. Salman Shah, Minister of State for Finance Omer Ayub Khan, Secretary General Finance Naveed Ahsan and President Khushali Bank Ghalib Nishtar were also present during the meeting.

General Pervez Musharraf directed the finance team to exchange ideas with the Grameen Bank so that its successes could be replicated in Pakistan. He said that the poorer sections should benefit sooner rather than later from the economic turnaround in the country and must have the resources to stand on their own feet.

He said with the availability of financial resources people can be empowered to set up their small scale businesses, which on the one hand would bring a perceptible change in their living and on the other create greater employment opportunities.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/

 

[Janbaz]

ABN Amro to buy 93.4 percent stake in Prime Bank

KARACHI (updated on: March 05, 2007, 16:01 PST): Dutch bank ABN Amro agreed to buy a 93.4 percent stake in Prime Bank for 13.8 billion rupees ($227 million), the latest in a series of acquisition by foreign banks in Pakistan.

Foreign banks have been attracted to Pakistan's financial sector by reforms that have laid the platform for rapid growth and rising incomes, analysts say.

Major banking reforms pushed through by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the finance minister President Pervez Musharraf poached from Citibank and then promoted to premier, have helped the economy's rehabilitation.

ABN Amro, which started a due diligence review of the mid-sized Pakistani lender in October last year, will also launch a tender offer for all remaining shares of Prime Bank, it said in a statement.

With 52 billion rupees worth of assets and 41 billion rupees in deposits, Prime Bank is Pakistan's 19th largest bank. It has a network of 69 branches in 25 Pakistani cities, ABN Amro said.

The price represents over four times the net asset value of Prime Bank, as of the end of September 2006, and values the bank at about $243.66 million.

The price of 54 rupees per share of Prime bank is about 2 percent higher than its last closing of 53.00 rupe

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/

 

[Neo]

March 05, 2007
Cost of wheat production

By Jumo Bajkani & Muhammad Afzal Qaisrani

WHEAT is the staple food of the people. Pakistan ranks 10th among the wheat-producing countries of the world with an average per annum yield of 22 million tons.

Wheat crop area in the country during 2003-04 was 8.2 million hectares with a production of 19.5 million tons averaging 2,373kg per hectare. The area growing wheat in Balochistan was 0.34 million hectares with a production of 0. 663 million tons which averaged 1,946 kg per hectare during the same period. The province has an area of 4.1 per cent under wheat cultivation with a production of 3.4 per cent of the country’s yield.

The province produces 60 per cent of its requirement, while the deficit is met through imports from other provinces. There has been considerable decrease in yield because of late sowing of the crop, non-availability of improved quality of seeds, shortage of fertiliser, poor management practices, less rain during early stage of the crop and high temperature at the time of formation of grains.

Balochistan has been endowed with a variety of environmental condition which favours growing of a large number of crops. The major wheat-producing districts are Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Bolan, Loralai, Khuzdar, Kharan and Kachhi. Among them, Nasirabad and Jaffarabad have the largest canal-irrigated land and Loralai is a rain-fed wheat-producing district.

Of the area under wheat cultivation in the province about 0.311 million hectares are canal irrigated and 0.30 million hectares rain-fed. In rain-fed areas, wheat is cultivated at the end of rainy season which occasionally receives winter showers. The farmers are mostly unaware of how much they are spending on the cultivation of the crop and what is their income from the crop.

A study was carried out to ascertain the cost of wheat production in irrigated (canal & tube well) and rain-fed farming system. The objective of this study was to review the current status of wheat production system, to estimate the cost of production in irrigated and rain-fed areas and to analyse the benefit-cost ratio.

The study was focused on Nasirabad and Loralai districts of Balochistan as representatives of irrigated and rain-fed areas. Sixty wheat growers were selected randomly and interviewed on their respective farms. Thirty growers were selected from each district for the collection of data.

The results presented in the table below show the total cost of production, gross revenue, net revenue, cost-benefit ratio and input cost. Furthermore, revenue per rupee of input cost and per crop day (rupee) was also calculated.

The total cost of production was estimated and determined to appraise output and input relationship. Moreover cost of production calculated in tube well- irrigated area was Rs7,328 followed by Rs2,954 in rain-fed in Loralai, and Rs6,742 in canal-irrigated area of Nasirabad district. The results of non-irrigated areas are similar to those obtained by Akhtar and Zia (1995). They studied wheat production and related input situation in different ecological zones of the Punjab and found almost similar production cost in barani areas. The average gross revenue was Rs10,025, Rs9,485, Rs4,080 in canal-irrigated, tubewell and rain-fed areas respectively.

The inter-district comparison shows that the net return was Rs2,151 from irrigated land followed by Rs1,126 from non-irrigated land in Loralai and Rs3,283 in Nasirabad district.

The cost-benefit ratio was 1:1.4, 1:1.2 and 1:1.3 in Nasirabad and Loralai irrigated and rain-fed districts, respectively. The revenue per rupee of input cost computed for district Nasirabad and Loralai (irrigated and non-irrigated) was 2.88, 2.44 and 2.51 respectively. Similarly, revenue per crop day was Rs62.66, Rs49.92 and Rs21.47 in Nasirabad and Loralai (irrigated and non-irrigated) districts respectively. It is evident that our farmers are not achieving the potential yield. However, in the broader sense, two possible options either through better crop management or intensification, the yield can be increased without bringing more area under cultivation. The following recommendations/ suggestions have been made for the improvement of better yield.

Wheat growers should be encouraged to adopt better management practices and motivated to adopt scientific methods from local and available sources such as, research stations, progressive growers and extension agents. Particularly, they should be educated about timely planting of wheat, appropriate use of fertiliser and ways to get rid of weeds.

The government must play an important role in training of the farmers on crop management through agriculture extension department.

Majority of farmers were not satisfied with the quality of seed in the study area. They complained that non-availability of improved, disease-free certified seeds of high yield wheat varieties were the main constraint in growing wheat on a large-scale in the province. The agriculture extension department should provide improved and certified seeds to wheat growers in close collaboration with research institutes.

Load shedding was yet another problem hampering wheat cultivation in the study area. The period of load shedding ranged between 10 to 15 hours within 24 hours. The duration of load shedding must be reduced. On the other hand, introduction of rainwater harvesting technique can enhance water availability for farmers.

The rainwater losses are enormous in the study area, which can be controlled by building dams, mini-dams and water reservoirs to increase underground water table.

Timely credit facilities must be provided to the farmers for purchase of inputs so that they cultivate the crop in time. Wheat growers normally purchase inputs from commission agents on high prices in absence of credit facility.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/05/ebr7.htm