01

BUSINESS

BSunday, 14 April, 2013

KARACHI

ISMAIL DILAWAR

SoFt international commodityprices and the ever-burgeoningremittances are expected to ridthe dollar-hungry economy of

its current account woes in FY 13, butpolitical “intangibles,” weeks ahead ofthe May 11 general elections, appear tobe dominating the country’s economicfortune, according to State Bank of Pak-istan (SBP) quarterly reports.

Concerned over “persistent struc-tural problems” that keep haunting theailing economy, the central bank saidlocal investors were reluctant to go forlong-term investment because of thepre-polls uncertainty looming largeon the country’s political spectrum.

“Intangibles appear to bedominating Pakistan’s economicoutlook,” the State Bank of Pak-istan (SBP) observed in its quar-terly reports, jointly issued onSaturday for the July-Dec FY 13‘State of Economy’.

“With a caretaker governmentpaving the way for general elec-tions in May 2013, domestic in-vestors are understandably reluctant totake a long-term view,” it said addingthat “this uncertainty cannot be denied”.

the regulator said it was a mustfor the caretaker government to priori-tise addressing stubborn structuralproblems in public sector enterprisesand the energy sector.

Similarly, it said, concrete stepswere needed to enhance the resource-constrained country’s revenue collec-tion in an equitable manner.

the bank lamented that the July-Dec period although saw the FBR col-lecting only 5.7 percent more taxes, theoutgoing political government’s currentexpenditures had grown by 31 percentin the first quarter only.

Recording the country’s domesticdebt, swelling by Rs 691 billion in1HFY13, the central bank said the cash-strapped government depended on thestate bank for budgetary support duringthe second quarter. “the fiscal pictureexplains the federal government’s com-pulsion to borrow,” it said.

the consolidated fiscal deficit in

the first half of fiscal year 2013, thebank said, was to widen by 2.6 percentof the GDP, owing to the inflow of $ 1.8billion in Coalition Support Fund fromthe United States.

the review period saw the coun-try’s external debt contracting by $ 1.9billion, of which $ 1.3 billion was owedto the IMF. Repayments sans fresh in-flows pressured the country’s Balanceof Payment and exchange rate that, ide-ally, should be countered by running amuch larger current account surplus.

terming trade flows as “benign”for in the said time period, the SBPsaid the dollar-hungry country’s im-port bill had shrunk by 3.3 percentdue to decreased imports and softercommodity prices.

the textile exports upped by 8.6percent owing partly to the duty-freeaccess granted to Pakistan by the Euro-pean Union (EU) in November 2012.

However, the country’s fallingdollar reserves, the bank said, weregiving way to “perceived vulnerabili-ties” in the external sector. “It is notthe size of the current account imbal-ance, but the fall in foreign exchangereserves that is dampening senti-ments,” the central bank said.

the scheduled repayments to IMFpulled down the SBP’s dollar reservesby $ 1.8 billion despite a current ac-count surplus of $ 218 million in

1HFY13. “the fall in reserves has occasion-

ally exerted pressure on the rupee-dollar parity coinciding withmonetary policy decisions and pay-ments to IMF,” it said.

the SBP, however, feels that evenwith scheduled repayments to the IFIs,the SBP’s foreign exchange reserveswould be adequate to meet all foreignexchange obligations.

the central bank also takes com-fort from easing global commodityprices and strong home remittancesthat, it says, would offset pressure onthe country’s current account in

FY13’s remaining months.“Soft commodity prices and

strong remittances, should keepthe current account containedwithin one percent of the GDPdeficit,” the SBP projected.

Having sent back home$ 7.1 billion during1HFY13, the overseas Pak-istanis are expected toremit over $ 14 billion by

the end of this year. Domestically, the bank

was happy to note that demandfor private loans had increased

with the formerly risk-averse bankslending Rs 146.5 billion more to pri-vate businesses compared to lastyear’s Rs 86.1 billion.

this trend, the central bank said,was helping large-scale manufacturingthat could counter the weather-drivenlosses in the agricultural sector.

Except sugarcane, almost all cashcrops including cotton, rice and wheatremained below target. Wheat underperformed despite increase in supportprice in November 2012.

the manufacturing sector waslikely to continue improvement with al-lied sub-sectors showing consistentgrowth since FY12.

on inflation, the SBP still feels thatthe average inflation rate for FY13would remain within the fiscal target.

the central bank said the resilienceof the informal sector was pushing theformal economy forward. “there areindications of foreign interest in joint-projects in the country’s real estate sec-tor,” it said.

Political ‘intangibles’ drivingPakistan’s economic fate

Concerned over “persistent structural problems” that keep

haunting the ailing economy,the central bank says local investors are reluctant to gofor long-term investment

because of the pre-polls uncertainty looming large on the country’s political

spectrum

PetroleumMinistry refuses toremove 2 MDsdespite ECP orders

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of

Petroleum has refused to remove the

Managing Directors (MDs) of Sui

Northern and Sui Southern from their

offices despite orders of the Election

Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Ministry of Petroleum sources said the

ministry has refused to remove both

the MDs and has sent reply to this

effect to ECP. Earlier, the ECP had

issued written orders to the Ministry of

Petroleum to remove MD Sui Southern

Haroon Zahir Siddiqui and MD Sui

Northern Haroon Siddiqui from their

offices as they both could influence

the elections through gas schemes.

Replying to the ECP’s letter, the

Ministry of Petroleum said that the

allegations levelled against both the

MDs are baseless and they would not

be removed from their offices. Sources

said that the Ministry of Petroleum had

also said that the two companies had

not launched any gas scheme during

the current year. ONLINE

PQA case: SC to resumehearing on 17thISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of

Pakistan will resume on April 17,

hearings of irregularities in the Port

Qasim Authority appointments (PQA)

case pertaining to 686 illegal

appointments from Grade 2 to 21 in

PQA by the Ports and Shipping

Ministry. The court would also resume

hearing of a petition of sacked

secretary of PQA, Abdul Jabbar

Memon challenging his removal. A

three-member bench of the apex

court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar

Muhammad Chaudhry will hear the

case about 686 illegal appointments.

Notices have been issued to the

Attorney General of Pakistan,

Advocate General Sindh, Advocate

Anwar Mansoor Khan and the Chief

Secretary Sindh to appear before the

court. Earlier in December 2012, the

Supreme Court was informed that

more than 250 new appointments had

been made in the PQA from Grade 2

to Grade 19 despite a stay order

issued by the apex court after 686

illegal appointments from Grade 2 to

21 were made in the authority last

year. The SC had already declared

that majority of these appointments

were made from specific

constituencies and these should be

declared illegal and a new

advertisement should be made in this

regard as the appointments were

against provincial, regional quota and

merit policy. ONLINE

ICCI, EUdialogue forenhancing EU-Pak trade ties

ISLAMABAD

NNI

Pakistan has unique geographical andstrategic geo-political location andconsidered to be the hub of trade in SouthAsia, therefore EU countries should alsoconsider Pakistan for enhancing trade andinvestment, said Zafar Bakhtawari of theIslamabad Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (ICCI).He was addressing a dinner hosted byICCI in honour of EU envoys in Pakistanincluding Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, Headof the Delegation and Ambassador of theEuropean Union to Pakistan, PetrosMavroidis, Ambassador of Greece,Ambassador of France, Austria, CzechRepublic, Romania, Italy, Poland, Spain,UK Deputy Head of Mission and SwedishDeputy Head of Mission.Speaking on the occasion, Lars-GunnarWigemark said that Pakistan and EUenjoyed political and economic relationsand EU has supported Pakistan in anumber of sectors. He said that Pakistanwould get the GSP plus status by the endof this year which will give a bettermarket access of Pakistani Products to EUmarkets.Bakhtawari said that European Union(EU) was the largest trading partner ofPakistan with an annual trade volume ofover 10 billion euro. He said that Pakistanattached great importance to itsrelationship with the EU regional bloc asits annual GDP accounts to $17 trillionwhich was higher than GDP of US whichis around $15 trillion and China’s GDP of$7 trillion.Bakhtawari urged all the EU ambassadorsdesignated in Pakistan to support thecountry for grant of GSP Plus status whichwould provide easy access to Pakistaniproducts in EU market and furtherenhance Pakistan’s volume of trade withEU countries. Petros Mavroidis, ambassador of Greece,said that Pakistan and Greece need toimprove their commercial and economicrelations to promote bilateral trade andinvestment by taking advantage of newbusiness opportunities.

Pakistan would get the GSP plus status by the end of

this year which will give Pakistani products a better

market access to EU markets. — Lars-Gunnar

Wigemark, EU envoy to Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: A scrap

worker cuts metal at his

workshop on Saturday. INP

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BUSINESSSunday, 14 April, 2013

1st ever branchlessbanking mobile app forOmni account holdersKARACHI

PRESS RELEASE

United Bank Limited’s Branchless Banking Division,

Omni has introduced another unique feature, a Mobile

App, to enhance the customer’s experience with the

service. This is a first ever in the Branchless Banking

industry, with UBL Omni the only Bank to offer such a

service. The penetration of mobile phones is at an all

time high and the growth of the Smartphone market

has led to widespread use of mobile apps for

everything in a person’s daily life. The Omni mobile

App aims to tap into this growing market by giving

Omni customers a secure and convenient channel for

accessing their account and conducting transactions.

Samsung introducesGALAXY MegaKARACHI: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global

leader in digital media and digital convergence

technologies, today announced the Samsung GALAXY

Mega, a device that combines the portability and

convenience of a smartphone with the power,

multitasking capabilities and extensive viewing

experience of a tablet. The newest addition to the

GALAXY family balances an optimal viewing experience

on a 6.3-inch HD screen, yet is ultra-thin and portable

enough to put into a pocket or hold in one hand. The

GALAXY Mega offers a mix of popular smartphone and

tablet features such as an effortless user experience, a

split screen, multitasking between video and other

apps and more. “We are aware of a great potential in

the bigger screen for extensive viewing multimedia,

web browsing, and more,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head

of IT & Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are

excited to provide another choice to meet our

consumers’ varying lifestyles, all while maintaining the

high-quality features of the award-winning GALAXY

series.” PRESS RELEASE

CORPORATE CORNER

02

B

KARACHI: Ambassador of Romania Emilian Ion and

Honorary Consul General Tariq Saud at a flag hoisting

ceremony at the Consulate premises. PR

KARACHI: Brigadier Mujtaba Tirmezi, Director ISPR,

awards a shield to Syed Ibne Hassan, Divisional Head-

Corporate Communication Division of the National Bank, in

appreciation of the NBP’s role in hosting a skiing event. PR

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

THE Pakistan Association ofAutomotive Parts & Acces-sories Manufacturers (PAA-PAM), opposing tDAP’s

restrictions on local exporters who ap-plied for exhibiting at a US Auto Fair,has sought the Authority’s support forparticipation of local auto engineeringcompanies in the show.

PAAPAM Chairman Munir Banaand Vice Chairman Usman Malik ex-pressed disappointment over lack ofsupport from the trade DevelopmentAuthority of Pakistan, which insteadof facilitating and increasing the num-ber of exhibitors in AAPEX, a fair inthe United States, is only consideringcompanies that have a valid visa forthe United States.

He said, “We have potential largeexporters that wish to participate inthe fair but don’t have the requisitevisa to attend. And instead of assisting

exporters in obtaining visa, the Au-thority has imposed restrictions onseveral participants as per past prac-tice; visas are issued after recommen-dation letters from tDAP. With morethan 7 months to go before the showstarts, tDAP demand for valid visafrom exhibitors is ridiculous. We havewritten several letters, requestinglocal office as well as tDAP Karachiheadquarters and CEo himself to ad-dress our concerns but they did notbother to respond to our request.”

the leaders of auto engineeringsector lamented the bureaucratic ap-proach of tDAP creating lack of mu-tual cooperation between theexporters and concerned governmentsagencies. Bana said that this practicewill badly hurt the exports of AutoEngineering sector which otherwisehas a strong potential.

“tDAP has been hosting a Pak-istan Pavilion at this show since 2004.the US is a huge market and this par-ticular show is the largest show in the

auto oE and after-market sectors.this recent change in policy is a sur-prise and shock for regular attendeesof this particular show,” he said.

Munir Bana said that tDAP wasassigned to work with exporters inclose liaison for promoting trade andmaximizing exports from Pakistan.He said that tDAP was also tasked tohelp facilitate exporters’ capabilitiesand capacities. However, all thesegoals were just on paper while theground situation is that tDAP hadfailed to provide any worthwhile sup-port to exporters for improving ex-ports, he added.

Vice Chairman Usman Maliksaid that PAAPAM members partic-ipating in AAPEX are falling underthe clause “h” of the participationpolicies. “We would like thesemembers to be exempted from thepolicy and allowed to participateunder full subsidy offered by the au-thority. the cost of participation hasalso reached an unsustainable level.tDAP has reduced the subsidy from80:20 to 60:40 and the subsidy al-lowed on freight of samples has alsobeen withdrawn.

PAAPAM opposes TDAP visacondition on exporters

TDAP has been hosting a

Pakistan Pavilion at this show

since 2004. The US is a huge

market and this particular

show is the largest show in the

auto OE and after-market

sectors. This recent change in

policy is a surprise and shock

for regular attendees of this

particular show.

MunIR BAnA

chAIRMAN PAAPAM

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

Shafqat Sultana, President of FirstWomen Bank Ltd (FWBL), on Satur-day said her organisation would con-tinue to empower womenentrepreneurs.

Sultana said this while inaugurat-ing the Islamabad Expo 2013 organ-ised by Islamabad Women Chamberof Commerce and Industry (IWCCI).

She said that such events generateeconomic activity, bring talent to lime-light and encourage women–led busi-nesses as national prosperity is closelylinked to the success of its women.

Sanaullah Aman, Member CDA,Shahina Waheed of UNIDo, Arfa

Iqbal of tDAP, IPALMo, SMEDA,representatives of KhushhalibankLtd., Italian Development Coopera-tion Agency, multinationals, educa-tional institutions, diplomats, formerpresident IWCCI Samina Fazil, Pres-ident IWCCI Farida Rashid and oth-ers were also present on the occasion.

Shafqat Sultana said that FWBLwill continue to support business-women to remove obstacles that hin-der their growth. Pakistan’ssustainable future requires significantparticipation by women in the eco-nomic activities and our aim is to helpthem flourish, she said.

“My institution is committed tothe development of the next genera-tion of women entrepreneurs and

business leaders in Pakistan,” shesaid, adding that we are focusing onwomen micro-entrepreneurs andother neglected sectors.

Empowered and financially lit-erate women can help us attain goalof creating a socially just, demo-cratic, and gender responsive soci-ety, the banker with 37 years ofexperience said.

Shahina Waheed said thatwomen-owned enterprises should en-hance their competiveness and in-crease their sales. Enhanced linkagesamong business community are thefoundation of a sustainable Pakistan.

Sanaullah Aman said that exposoffer great networking opportunitieswhich are critical to explore invest-

ment probabilities and experiencinglatest products.

Arfa Iqbal said that such moveshelp sharpen skills of the partici-pants which guarantee success infuture, she said.

Samina Fazil and Farida Rashidalso spoke on the occasion. they saidthat women entrepreneurs couldclimb ladder of success by makingnew friends, customers, analyse andshare their success and failures, anddiscuss issues of mutual interest.

the business leaders stressedthat best way to increase sales is tolook deeply into all business relatedmatters, continue research and im-prove presentation which is criti-cally important.

First Women Bank vows continued support to female entrepreneurs

ISLAMABAD

ONLINE

A high-level team of the country’seconomic managers will leave forWashington on April 18 to holdtalks with the IMF and the WorldBank to seek a critical bailoutpackage for the country’s ailingeconomy. the delegation which willinclude the governor State Bank of

Pakistan, chairman Federal Board ofRevenue and secretary Ministry ofFinance will hold talks with officialsof the International Monetary Fundand the World Bank from April 19to April 21.A spokesman of the FinanceMinistry said that upcoming talksare very crucial in the context ofcurrent macroeconomic situation,adding that the issue of getting a

new loan package from the IMFcould also come under discussion.“Approaching IMF for assistance isnot insulting,” the spokesman said,adding that the IMF was establishedto help countries in need of financialassistance.Pakistan’s foreign exchangereserves are running critically lowmainly due to low foreign inflowsand high debt payments.

Pakistan to negotiatecritical bailout

package with IMF, WBApproaching the

IMF for assistance isnot an insult.

FInAnCe MInIStRy SpoKeSMAn

Eight-hour load shedding in city fatal

for industries. — Dr Arshad Vohra,

chairman SITE Association

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