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LAHORE (October 04 2008): The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is vigorously carrying out feasibility studies and engineering designs for various hydropower projects with accumulative generation capacity of more than 25,000 MW and most of these studies are at an advanced stage of their completion. These studies, which are under way, include Bunji (5,400 MW) and Kohala (1,100 MW).
After the completion of these projects, the installed capacity is expected to be around 42,000 MW by the end of year 2016, sources told Business Recorder on Friday. Sources said Pakistan had been blessed with ample water resource, but it could develop only 13 percent storage capacity of the annual flow of its rivers, and that too were fast depleting due to sedimentation.
Under the Wapda's National Water Resource and Hydropower Development Programme - Vision 2025 - five mega hydropower projects are to be completed by 2016 with the generation capacity of 9,500 MW. Two projects were ready for awarding construction works, while three projects were in the stage of feasibility studies and preparation of tender documents, the sources added.
According to the sources, Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project has 969 MW installed capacity and will generate 5.15 billion KWh of annual energy. The project is expected to be completed in 2016. Diamer Basha Dam project, having total capacity of 4,500 MW, will produce annual energy of 16.7 billion KWh. The project had a live storage of 7.9 billion m3. The expected year of commission was 2016 with an approximate cost of 9.5 billion dollars, the sources said.
The sources said that today, the total generation capacity exceeded 17,366 MW and all big cities, towns, and a large number of big villages had the benefit of electricity. The number of consumers had also gone up to over 17.7 million, the sources said, adding that length of the lines had crossed the figures of 447,349 kilometres and the number of grid stations had increased to with 601 transmission capacity of more than 12,745 MVA.
To bridge the supply-demand gap and to do away with the load shedding, the Wapda on its part was taking many a corrective measures, which included improvement in power plants efficiency, energy loss-reduction through erection of extra high tension lines of 500 KV capacity and replacing old and worn out and overloaded distribution lines and transformers with that of high capacity etc, the sources said. According to sources, the Wapda's SCARP programme has raised new hopes for the control of the twin menace of salinity and water logging, which had gathered menacing proportions as a result of the unlined irrigation system.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
KARACHI: Low economic activity affected sales of steel products in the month of Ramazan and after Eid the prices of those products were expected to come down as a result of a fall in the international market, said Karachi Iron and Steel Merchants Association President Shamon Baqar Ali.
Prices of billets had decreased internationally but if power and gas tariff increased and the rupee depreciated there would be a small decline in local steel prices, he said. Shahab Ahmed, co-partner in Amaan Steel, said the demand of steel was disappointingly low as the country faced a sharp economic slowdown and uncertainty on the political front. Like all other sectors, the steel industry had also been badly affected with lacklustre business activity.
We had stopped all our operations well before a week from Eid and work will resume from Monday next week. Our workers have gone to their hometowns in upcountry areas for Eid holidays and we would make the most of this time and complete maintenance work of the factory, he said.
There had been a complete halt to our business since July this year. Both supply and demand sides are presenting a gloomy picture, he said, adding the steel sector was facing the brunt of low economic activity.
Pakistan Steel Re-rolling Mills Association Chairman Ali Ahmed said slack economic activity and small number of government projects had hit sales of steel products.He said the construction sector had been very slow during the last three months, especially in the last month which saw insignificant steel demand.
We are not very much hopeful of a better change in near future as government policies are not supporting the steel industry. Industries had already stopped operations from Saturday as all workers are on Eid holidays. Most of our workers hail from Punjab and it is expected that industry operations will resume next week, he said.
Re-rolling mills of the city would remain closed for about 10 days due to the Eid season. But the fact is that high production and low demand have irked steel producers, especially in Ramazan usually a period of slow activity.
Steel and cement are two most important contributors to the construction industry but unfortunately high prices of the two commodities in the country have played an important part in dwindling construction activities during the last one year. A lacklustre construction business affects demand of mildbars (sarya), forcing re-rolling steel mills to trim their production.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
KARACHI: After assuming charge of a navy merchant ship at a very young age, Haleem Siddiqui thought it was time for him to move on and sail into the world of commerce instead. Little did this seafarer know then that for doing so, he will have to brave through a tumultuous sea of Pakistani politics in the bargain.
Even now, as Chairman of the Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT), the only such facility in the private sector which is owned by a Pakistani, he claims that all odds are against him.
However, there is good news in the near future. On October 5, 2008, when a ship carrying two sophisticated sea-to-shore quayside cranes for his terminal anchors at Karachi port, he will have a different reason to prove that Pakistanis can compete with any foreign terminal operator.
You must come and see them. It will be something so different, an enthusiastic Siddiqui, 67, said about the cranes, which help load and unload cargo from a ship. PICT already has four quayside cranes, two mobile harbor and 10 rubber tired gantry cranes.
For PICT the importance of new addition to terminal facilities is much more than just competing with other private operators. It is over and above the contractual obligations which Siddiqui had committed when he was finally allowed to set up the terminal after a battle of more than 20 years.
His lifelong struggle has its roots in advice given by his father almost 50 years ago. I remember it very well. He told me whatever work you do, do it whole heartedly otherwise you will go nowhere. Age was an important factor and I had to firm up my mind then.
Born to a doctor in 1941 in Lucknow, Siddiqui was fascinated by traveling to different places. After college, he migrated to Pakistan in 1958 when only 17. By the next year he was on the seas, living his dream onboard the ship Pakistan Promoter. Back then there were no marine academies, he recalled. We used to go straight to the ship for training.
For 12 more years, he remained affiliated with merchant navy, completed his masters and worked with different Pakistani and international shipping companies. By the time he decided to move on, in 1971, he was already commander of a ship. There were not many qualified people in the marine services industry, he said recalling how new shipping lines were fast coming up against lackluster growth in service providers on port.
A strong foresight backed by experience of service in merchant navy had made Siddiqui conscious of the changing trends in the shipping industry. He decided to venture into the stevedoring business despite having no experience in this particular field.
Life is a gamble. One has to take risks, he said about the decision to quit the job and invest whatever he had saved in the business. I had my wife and a son and no liability as such. I must say my wife was supportive. I told her if something happened, Ill just pick up my bag and go to sea again.
Just like that, he bought a partnership into a struggling stevedoring company, Premier Mercantile Services and jumped into the world of cargo handling. Stevedoring is loading and unloading cargos from a ship. It looks very simple but seriously it is not, he said in a recent interview with The News. While loading and unloading cargo, you are playing with the stability of a ship, you are also responsible to safely store cargo according to its nature and considering the voyage it is bound to make.
Aware of the shift in mode of transportation, which started in 70s, from conventional shipping to containerization, Siddiqui knew it was imperative to equip his company with modern equipment.
We kept on investing in the business and hardly took anything home. This is something which ship owners started to see as we improved and avoided even invisible damages to containers, he said, adding big names like Cowasjees and Dinshaws slowly disappeared from the ports and shipping scene as they did not keep pace with changing trends.
In the ensuing years Premier Mercantile Services Limited had established its name as a leading company in the stevedoring business. In December 1981, he wrote to authorities that he wanted to establish a container terminal at Port Qasim, which was being constructed 50km from Karachi center.
I still remember we wrote to Port Qasim suggesting that we were interested in developing a container terminal, he said, lamenting They laughed at me. They said it was not possible for container ships to come there.
An opportunity to prove him right was to present itself soon. In early 80s dock labor at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) went on strike and Siddiqui pushed forward the idea of handling the ships at Port Qasim.
Overnight we shifted all the equipment to Port Qasim and handled seven ships there. I was the first one to that, he said, adding that made Port Qasim Authority (PQA) realise the importance of its location and finally in 1983 invitations were sought for construction of a container terminal there.
His company also participated but the contract was awarded to Dubais Al-Ghurair despite the fact that Premier Mercantile was handling bulk of the cargo at Pakistani port. Al-Ghurair which had no experience of handling container cargo did not invest anything till 1996.
Similarly in 1990 when KPT invited firms to develop the infrastructure, his company also participated. Again we were rated the best technically and financially as we had the backing of IFC (International Financial Corporation).
This project which would have made Karachi port the first in the world to move from public to private sector was made hostage by labor unions that were backed by the ports administration, he claimed.
During that period, Siddiqui went to court and finally on September 15, 1993, Supreme Court ruled in his favor. Admiral Tasneem, Chairman KPT, ringed me up the same day and said lets sign the agreement without any delay.
However, just when he was near achieving his ambition, a decision to venture into politics turned everything against him. That same year he ran for a seat in parliament and was elected member of national assembly on a Pakistan Muslim League (PML) ticket, which as a party did not do well at the polls.
Nawaz Sharif dragged me into politics, he said recalling the time he got acquainted with the politician who was loved by industrialists for his business friendly policies. The government formed by Pakistan Peoples Party created every hurdle in my way and the project was cancelled in 1995, he said.
While he took the battle to the court again, foreign companies were preferred for setting up container terminals at KPT and Port Qasim. His fortune did not change even when PML was voted into government in 1997. When the PML government decided to set up a new terminal, Siddiquis company was disqualified on the pretext that he was in politics. And again he went to court. It was not until 2002, when then President Pervez Musharraf was in power that KPT had to negotiate with his company following orders of high court.
Finally the PICT was commissioned in 2004. The growth it has shown in last four years has been phenomenal. From around 90,000 twenty foot equivalent container units (TEUs) it handled in its first year, growth has jumped 420 per cent to more than 472,000 TEUs in fiscal year 2008.
Now as Haleem Siddiqui is increasing the number of quayside, rubber tired gantry and mobile harbor cranes in anticipation of increase in cargo handling, there is another challenge facing him.
Ports are the barometer of an economy, he said, adding that We are the first industry to get hit when trade slows down and that has started happening. These are mixed blessing for the maverick shipping man turned politician. Despite the obvious downturn, he says he is hopeful. From a man who has done so much, these are encouraging words indeed.
KARACHI: The continuous expansion of the cement industry is fuelling the demand for imported coal in the current financial year, a leading coal importer told Daily Times.
It is expected that the cement industry would consume 3.2 to 3.5 million tonnes of coal this year.
Najeeb Balgamwala, a leading coal importer said that the reason for the rise in import was the massive capacity expansion undertaken by the cement industry. In the previous year the industry used 2.9 million tonnes of coal and until this month importers have brought around 0.7 million tonnes of coal for cement companies.
Pakistan imports coal mainly from South Africa, Indonesia and China. The country has also imported coal from Australia and Russia but in very small quantities. He said that it is expected that the country would import around 4 million tonnes during the current fiscal year, as the cement industry is expanding.
According to him the coal import would have been much higher but some of the local companies have started to buy local coal because of the high prices of imported coal.
Previously the companies bought about 0.3 to 0.5 million tonnes from importers, but as the prices of the coal rose the demand has reduced, he added.
Pakistan started importing coal a few years ago as the demand from the cement companies surged after the industry switched its plants from oil to coal to decrease its cost of production.
Pakistan has around 180 billion tonnes of coal reserves, with the reserves in Thar at an estimated 175 billion tonnes. Pakistan produces 3.2 million tonnes of coal every year, but most of it is not of good quality. As local coal mines are not mechanised, miners have to go 500 to 1000 feet deep, which increases cost of production.
A coal washing plant, which was imported form united Kingdom was set up last year at Dhabeji costing Rs 50 million with a capacity to purify 2000 tonnes of coal per day. Both local and imported coal is being washed in the plant making local coal useable for the companies.
Three more plants are currently being installed in Punjab. Coal-washing plants ensure that the coal has little impurities that reduces the production cost of cement industry. Cement makers have to use expensive imported coal because the locally available coal do not meet their specific requirement.
Coal is the cheapest source of thermal energy used in industrial sector and has the ability to replace other expensive fuels such as furnace oil. Local coal has a higher sulphur content than imported that makes it unable to produce the required heat level. This makes it acceptable for power plants, but not for cement plants.
Pakistan, India and China are three countries in the world having reserves sufficient for the next 250 years.
ISLAMABAD: The Government has estimated the potential of unexplored oil at 9 billion barrels and gas reserves at 80 trillion cubic feet in Balochistan province, sources in Petroleum Ministry told Daily Times.
Sources said that if only 5 percent of the said oil and gas reserves is explored, Balochistan would receive the additional royalty of Rs 25 billion on both oil and gas. The province would have an additional royalty of Rs 11 billion on oil and Rs 14 billion on gas reserves per annum. They said that total oil production in the Balochistan province stood at 22 million barrels that is contributing to 18 percent of the total requirement of oil in Pakistan. They said that Balochistan has demanded the federal government to take action against the oil and gas exploration companies that were granted licenses around 10 years ago but they had not started work on exploration activities.
Sources said that Balochistan government has also demanded the federal government to cancel the licenses of those oil and gas exploration companies that were delaying the exploration activities eying the higher profits and margins in the future. Balochistan government believes that oil and gas exploration companies were just playing delaying tactics that resulted in reduction of gas production in Balochistan province. They said that gas production in Balochistan has reduced to 23 percent of total potential which was 53 percent in 1990.
Sindh province was producing 70 percent gas, Punjab 5 percent and North West Frontier Povince (NWFP) at 2 percent. Balochistan has assured to provide security for undertaking the exploration activity by the companies.
These oil and gas fields are located in Qala Abdullah, Qala Saifullah, Bar Khan, Khazdar, Dera Bugti and Kohlu. Sources said that the law and order situation in these areas was under complete control excluding Dera Bugti and Kahlu. They also assured that Frontier Corps would also provide the security in the areas of Dera Bugti and Kahlu to initiate exploration activities.
Some oil and gas explorations companies had got the licenses to initiate the oil and gas exploration activities in Balochistan province on 16 gas fields around over 12 years ago but these companies have not started the exploration activities yet.
Following the protest of Balochistan, federal government has given warning to the oil and gas exploration companies involved in delay of the exploration activities to start the operating activities otherwise their licenses would be cancelled.
* Cotton sowing areas more than 10% behind the target
ISLAMABAD: The countrys cotton production is likely to remain 12 million bales from sowing areas of 2.875 million hectares, against the annual target 14.1 million bales from 3.20 million hectares set by the government for the outgoing Kharif season 2008-09.
Last year, the government had achieved cotton output of 11.65 million bales from 3.05 million hectares sowing areas.
Cotton areas sown this season were provisionally reported at 2.969 million hectares, which was over 10 percent less than the target and almost six percent less than the last year.
The province-wise shortfall of cotton areas recorded was: Punjab 2.294 million hectares (mh) against the target 2.520mh, showing a net area shortfall 8.9 percent of the target area.
In Sindh, the target area for cotton sowing was 0.630mh and actual areas sown was 0.540mh showing a 14.28 percent shortfall of the targeted area.
Similarly in Balochistan and NWFP, the targeted cotton area was 0.050 mh, but the actual area under cotton sowing recorded 0.023 mh, showing an 18 percent shortfall of the targeted areas under cotton sowing.
Officials in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) attributed the inability to achieve the target of cotton crop sowing areas to the late release of irrigation water in the early season and power disruption.
Besides, farmers in some areas were reportedly more interested in cultivating rice on account of its higher prices.
Regarding the current crop condition, the officials said the average plant population and number of bolls are reported to be more than last year, both in the Punjab and Sindh. Among various insect pests, incidence of white fly, mealy bug and mites was higher than last year in Punjab. Cotton leaf curl virus of low intensity was recorded in the districts of Multan, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Khanewal and Muzaffargarh.
Cotton prices are likely to remain at soaring levels with lower production and comparatively higher consumption. He said lack of expertise in fighting cotton virus and minimising crop from heavy rainfall, around 20 percent crop in the Punjab and interior Sindh has been affected.
Pakistan would not able to achieve next cotton crop target in 2008-09 unless production of quality seeds, supply of quality inputs and water availability is not assured, a MINFAL official said.
About world cotton production, the officials said that it was expected to decline by 6 percent in 2008-09 to 113.6 million bales (480 lbs each) due to the decline in world cotton area caused by increased competition from alternative crops.
The world yield was projected down by one percent to 779 kg per hectare from the record of 787 kg per hectare reached in 2007-08, but it would remain the second highest yield to date.
They said that the projected decrease in world production in 2008-09 was driven by an expected fall of production in the US to 13.8 m bales from 19.2 million bales of last year. Production was also expected ton decline significantly in Turkey, China (mainland), Brazil and Egypt.
The officials further informed that the world cotton mill use was expected to decline by one percent in 2008-09 to 120.5 million bales, due to slower global economic growth and higher prices of cotton relative to polyester. Cotton mill use is expected to decrease in 2008-09 in Turkey, the US, Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, Thailand, Russia, China (Taiwan) and the Republic of Korea. However, cotton mill use is expected to continue to increase, more slowly in China.
KARACHI: The Pakistani venture Hashoo Foundation has been selected as a finalist in World Challenge 08, the worldwide competition that rewards projects and small businesses that have shown enterprise and innovation.
The northern areas of Pakistan are among the poorest and most isolated regions in the country. Effective development assistance has yet to reach these hilly, remote areas and it is the women and children who are most affected.
The only workable and sustainable solution is to capitalise on local resources, building on what is achievable as well as culturally acceptable.
The Hashoo Foundation assists local beekeepers to boost their income by selling high-quality honey through a network of five-star hotels in Pakistan.
Through the project, honeybee farmers are able to earn more than twice the price they would in the local market, while making the most out of their skills and environment without placing pressure on the local ecosystem.
BBC World News will broadcast six 30-minute programmes profiling each of the 12 World Challenge 08 finalists, showing how their projects and businesses are changing lives.
Newsweek magazine will mirror the programmes content in a six-part series of advertorials. The audience and readers are then invited to vote online at theworldchallenge.co.uk for their favourite project or business from October 1,2008. The winner will receive a $20,000 grant while two runners up will each receive $10,000 to help develop their initiative. app
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected a United States offer of conducting a free of cost geological survey in the country due to security concerns to its strategic assets, sources said on Friday.
Petroleum Ministry sources told Daily Times that the US has been insisting time and again on being allowed to conduct of the survey, which could help expose the unexploited natural resources of the country. The US authorities will also scan the areas being surveyed using satellite equipment that could expose the security assets of Pakistan, the sources said. This is the reason Pakistan did not allow the US government to conduct a geological survey, they added.
The sources said that the US offer had been previously rejected by the former government that cited the same concerns, but US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte had again made the offer to the coalition government during his visit to Pakistan. They said Negroponte had also asked former petroleum minister Khwaja Asif to allow the survey, who had declined the offer after then Petroleum secretary Farrukh Qayum and the IT minister opposed the proposal.
The Petroleum Ministry sources said that Pakistan was rich in gas, oil, copper, gold and coal reserves, but needed the geological survey to explore these resources. They said that Pakistan has large reserves of gold and could become the fifth largest exporter of gold if the reserves were exploited.
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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari during his maiden visit to China later this month will seek Beijings investment in building Pakistans biggest dam, official sources reveal.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Salman Farooqui in a meeting with Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Lou Zhao Hui last week conveyed Islamabads desire to finance the $8bn Diamer-Bhasha dam, an official said yesterday.
The government wants to sensitise the Chinese leadership about Pakistans development priorities before the important visit of the president, he said, adding that the two officials also discussed the progress on the development projects being executed by the Chinese companies in Pakistan.
The issues related to Pakistan-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad and Beijing, Thar Coalfield block-2 and mining and power generation projects, Rediq copper project and Pakistan-China Haier Ruba Industrial Zone were highlighted in the meeting.
The Diamer-Bhasha dam will be built on the Indus river and after completion will have an annual 6.4mn ft surface water storage capacity, which will supplement irrigation supplies during low flow periods.
The dam is expected to also harness renewable source of clean and cheap energy through installed capacity of 4,500MW and reduce dependence on thermal power and save on fuel imports. The project would pay back its cost in ten years. The government has recently allocated Rs116bn for the land acquisition.
The sources said the Planning Commission has also sought Chinese investment in the Thar coal project. The Shenhua Group Corporation of China was earlier tasked to complete the $1.5bn Thar coal project.
The company left the mega venture and decided to roll back its plan for setting up coal-fired power plants in Sindh due to differences on tariff issue with the government.
The project was expected to add 1,000MW to the national power grid in three years. The main reason for the companys withdrawal was the power tariff rate offered by Pakistan, which the Chinese side deemed insufficient to continue power generation.
Pakistan offered 5.7 cents per unit tariff against the Chinese company demand of 6.5 cents per unit. Farooqui has assured the Chinese to remove all impediments related to the execution of various projects by the Chinese investors.
Farooqui informed the ambassador that most of administrative and financial matters related to the Chinese projects have been resolved at appropriate level and instructions have been issued to facilitate the Chinese companies.
The Chinese ambassador expressed his satisfaction on the efforts of the government of Pakistan to remove the hurdles in implementation of the projects and hoped their speedy completion. Internews
Planning Commission deputy chairman Salman Farooqui in a meeting with Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Lou Zhao Hui last week conveyed Islamabads desire to finance the $8bn Diamer-Bhasha dam, an official said yesterday.
The government wants to sensitise the Chinese leadership about Pakistans development priorities before the important visit of the president, he said, adding that the two officials also discussed the progress on the development projects being executed by the Chinese companies in Pakistan.
The issues related to Pakistan-China Friendship Centre in Islamabad and Beijing, Thar Coalfield block-2 and mining and power generation projects, Rediq copper project and Pakistan-China Haier Ruba Industrial Zone were highlighted in the meeting.
The Diamer-Bhasha dam will be built on the Indus river and after completion will have an annual 6.4mn ft surface water storage capacity, which will supplement irrigation supplies during low flow periods.
The dam is expected to also harness renewable source of clean and cheap energy through installed capacity of 4,500MW and reduce dependence on thermal power and save on fuel imports. The project would pay back its cost in ten years. The government has recently allocated Rs116bn for the land acquisition.
The sources said the Planning Commission has also sought Chinese investment in the Thar coal project. The Shenhua Group Corporation of China was earlier tasked to complete the $1.5bn Thar coal project.
The company left the mega venture and decided to roll back its plan for setting up coal-fired power plants in Sindh due to differences on tariff issue with the government.
The project was expected to add 1,000MW to the national power grid in three years. The main reason for the companys withdrawal was the power tariff rate offered by Pakistan, which the Chinese side deemed insufficient to continue power generation.
Pakistan offered 5.7 cents per unit tariff against the Chinese company demand of 6.5 cents per unit. Farooqui has assured the Chinese to remove all impediments related to the execution of various projects by the Chinese investors.
Farooqui informed the ambassador that most of administrative and financial matters related to the Chinese projects have been resolved at appropriate level and instructions have been issued to facilitate the Chinese companies.
The Chinese ambassador expressed his satisfaction on the efforts of the government of Pakistan to remove the hurdles in implementation of the projects and hoped their speedy completion. Internews
KARACHI (October 04 2008): A fresh inflow $0.3 million of portfolio investment in the country's equity market was witnessed during the two trading sessions of the outgoing week. According to National Clearing Company of Pakistan (NCCPL) data, the cumulative flow of this mode of investment was recorded at negative $350.022 million on September 30, 2008.
The week started with a positive trend as $256,393 came in the country on Monday. The trend continued on Tuesday as another $54,548 came in the country on the second day of the week. The market remained closed on the remaining days of the week on account of Eid-ul-Fitr.
KARACHI (October 04 2008): Non-availability of funds is the root cause of the stock market crisis and a fresh injection of around Rs 40 billion is needed to stabilise the market close to 9,000 points level, analysts said. "The market needs fresh injection of funds without any delay as each passing day is affecting investor morale and confidence", Muhammad Sohail, senior analyst at JS Global Capital Limited said, in his research report.
Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has hinted that the price floor mechanism would come to an end sometime in October. The floor, implemented last month, has kept the market largely immune to some negative developments, including the worsening economic situation, with reserves falling to a 6-year low of $8.8 billion. The situation in tribal areas is getting tense that resulted in Islamabad bomb blast.
Moreover, the recent global liquidity crunch, led by US financial crisis, has sent shock waves in major international markets with some high profile casualties. And the rising cost of leveraging has seen Continuous Funding System (CFS), share financing, rates reaching a 5-year high of 30 percent.
He said that non-availability of funds is the major issue. However, no concrete steps have yet been taken to provide liquidity to the market. "Few shares buy-back have been announced, but unfortunately the process is slow while market needs fresh injection without any delay.
Regarding the continuous outflow of foreign investment from the country's equity market, he said that there has been a common trend of shift of funds from emerging markets, with an outflow of $35 billion in the last four months. Moreover, Pakistan's worsening economic situation, with depleting foreign exchange reserves, downgrading of sovereign debt rating by S&P to B from B+ in May 2008 and 21 percent depreciation of the Pak rupee so far in 2008 have compounded worries. The recent price floor mechanism has further affected foreigners' confidence who still hold shares worth $2.3 billion (25 percent of the market free float).
"If availability of funds is less than the actual requirement, we could see the index falling 12-25 percent to 7,000-8,000 levels after the lifting of the price floor mechanism", Sohail said and added this assumption is based on historic trends using years 1999 and 2002 as proxies for a worst case scenario.
"However, we expect recovery in the medium term in case Pakistan's external account position improves in the first half of the calendar year 2009", he said and added "Though reaching our original target of 14,000 looks difficult, we can expect a recovery in medium term". Our view is based on the assumption that the worsening economic situation would force the government to go for an IMF programme and this would hence help improve the investor confidence and pave the way for fresh foreign inflows into Pakistan".
LAHORE (October 04 2008): 'Pakistan is still a safe country to do business and Malaysians are urged to invest in Pakistan.' The High Commissioner for Pakistan to Malaysia, Lieutenant General Tahir Mahmud Qazi (Retd) stated this in an interview with a renowned Malaysian Journalist, R Ravichandran of Bernama News Agency in Kuala Lumpur.
In an email message, Pakistan High Commission told Business Recorder on Friday that the High Commissioner has assured Malaysian business community and the public in general that no foreign company has quit the country and in fact some international companies were investing in Pakistan at present.
He noted that in the World Bank's 'Doing Business Report 2009,' Pakistan was placed well above major world economies such as China and India in the ranking among 181 economies of the world, describing this as a show of confidence in Pakistan by the world.
Qazi urged Malaysian investors to invest in Pakistan's power and energy and oil and gas sectors, as they possessed huge potential. Another area of interest was construction, where Pakistan with some 162 million people is in need of more than 500,000 new houses annually, he said.
The High Commissioner further said, despite the incidences of bomb blasts and terrorism, the latest being the Marriott Hotel bombing, the overall security situation in the South Asian country was under control. 'Well, this is the time to come and invest. Those who take the initiative, are always the winners. I urge Malaysians businessmen to take the initiative and be among the winners,' he added.
Further, Qazi said that important thing was the will and capability to tackle terrorism and in this context he stressed that Pakistan's armed forces, being one of the best in the world and the government, are capable of overcoming this threat.
HYDERABAD (October 04 2008): Federal Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar has said that the government is determined to bring the country out of the economy crisis with the co-operation of the people and the national unity, adding that soon the country will witness a new era of development.
The Finance Minister expressed these views in an informal talk with the guests and a group of mediamen, who visited him at his residence here on Eid day to exchange Eid greetings. Syed Naveed Qamar said that it was the first Eid for the leaders and workers of Pakistan Peoples Party after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, therefore, the party leadership had decided to celebrate Eid in a simple manner.
The vision and courage of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto remained in the hearts of the party leaders and workers and it was the reason that the party leadership with the support of masses had defeated anti-democratic forces and restored democracy in the country in its true form, he said.
Though the country was suffering multiple internal and external issues, the present government had prepared an effective strategy to bring out the country of the economic crisis and move the country towards progress and prosperity.
The sacrifices of the leaders and workers were the great honour for the party and the present government would not disappoint the people, who reposed their full confidence in PPP leadership, the minister said, and added that the problems, including price hike, load shedding, shortage of wheat and unemployment would be resolved soon as the government had initiated concrete measures.
The minister met the party leaders, Regional Police Officer of Hyderabad, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Hyderabad Zone, District Co-ordination Officers (DC)) and District Police Officers (DPOs) of Hyderabad and Tando Muhammad Khan districts and exchaged Eid greetings.
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Islamabad, Oct 4 (PTI) Pakistan plans to have a communications satellite by 2011 as part of its National Satellite Development Programme, a top official said today.
The country currently has the leased satellite Paksat-1, and this will hopefully be replaced with the state-of-the-art Paksat-1R communications satellite in three years, said Air Commodore Arshad Hussain Siraj, Secretary of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
SUPARCO is working on the National Satellite Development Programme, which includes a communications satellite, a remote sensing satellite, satellite launching vehicle and human resource development, he said.
Pakistan is also a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation, launched in collaboration with China and aimed at making regional countries self-sufficient in space technology, Siraj said. The APSCO is patterned after the European Space Agency.
The organisation is likely to become fully functional by the end of this year next year. China is contributing "major support" for the organisation, he added.
Siraj said space programmes are costly and no individual country has the capacity to complete a satellite project on its own. The APSCO will provide an opportunity for regional countries to help each other, he said. PTI
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