Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Janbaz]

Cars import declines by 26 per cent

ERUM ZAIDI
KARACHI - The import of motor cars under the category of completely build unit has declined by 26.27 percent while the import of motor cars in CKD (completely knocked down) and SKD during the month of January 2007 has decreased by 10.29 percent. The import of auto parts and accessories has declined by 30.44 percent, the Nation learnt on Wednesday.
During the month of January, the overall imports of vehicles of different categories and engine power have decreased by 34.46 percent.
Market sources told The Nation that present declining trend in import of cars is expected to continue in the coming months of current fiscal because under the Auto Industry Development Program (AIDP), the government has restricted import of more than 5 years old small cars.
On the other hand, sources in Pakistan Automotive Parts Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) said that auto manufacturers were facing a number of problems mainly because of inconsistent government policies. The demand of vehicles in the country is much higher than their production capacity.
Source further said that local investment in auto sector has exceeded $ 1.5 billion. Automative industry has grown at an average rate of 30 percent per annum for the last 4 to 5 years. He urged the PAAPAM member firms should manufacture sophisticated parts like pistons, engine values, gasket, camshafts steering mechanism etc. Small second hand cars having engine capacity of 800cc or below are being imported mainly from Japan and these cars are much expensive in Japan in terms of cost.
They told that the decision to control import of used cars would be better for the local auto industry as well as for the government in terms of controlling the rising trade deficit.
Mid range capacity cars are more commonly imported. The brands that witnessed most of the imports were Toyota Vitz , Toyota Corrola and Mitsubishi Lancer.

The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/1/bnews5.php

 

[Janbaz]

$600m plan to explore and mine uranium

By Ihtasham ul Haque

ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: The government has prepared a $600 million extensive plan for exploring and mining uranium deposits in the country to fuel future nuclear power plants (NPPs).

Informed sources told Dawn on Wednesday that uranium deposits so far discovered in `Siwalik rocks’ in some parts of central Punjab were of low grade. However, by applying new mining technique, good quality uranium could be produced at a competitive rate with a view to progressively developing the uranium mining sector.

The mineral sector is required to produce 350 tons of yellow cake (U3O8) per year by 2015 for meeting one-third requirements of the planned NPPs.

The mining of uranium will be undertaken at three sites -- Bannu Basin, Suleman Range-3 and Suleman Range-4 in Dera Ghazi Khan -- to produce the required fuel for NPPs. Through these NPPs, the government wants to produce 8,800mw of electricity by 2030.

The sources said that Pakistan had been forced to develop its own uranium resource programme as none of developed countries was ready to supply the required amount of uranium to help feed Pakistan's reactors.

The directorate general of mining projects has been entrusted with the task of developing new uranium resources. He will ensure indigenous source of fuel supply for nuclear power plants.

All the needed management structure and manpower requirements, including specialised skills, will be provided to the director general of mining projects during execution and operational phases.

The Dawn.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/01/top5.htm

 

[Janbaz]

UK investor shows interest in CSIBL

By Nasir Jamal

LAHORE, Feb 28: A Gujrati-speaking UK based investor is said to have shown keen interest in the acquisition of Crescent Standard Investment Bank Limited (CSIBL), which is in dire need of an urgent equity injection for survival.

“The prospective buyer is very keen on acquiring the bank,” Crescent Standard’s administrator Badr-Ud-Din Khan told Dawn by telephone on Wednesday, rejecting the perception that the bank was struggling to survive.

He said the investor had already completed due-diligence of the bank. The process of due diligence, which was allowed after the prospective buyer opened an account of 100,000 euros as an evidence of his interest in the bank, took almost one month to complete, he said.

The interested group is at present said to be preparing its offer with necessary documentation, including a comprehensive business/action plan demonstrating the feasibility of its proposal that will guarantee the protection and payment of depositors and creditors and also ensure long-term solvency of the bank,” a press announcement said. The administrator said the announcement would facilitate this process through direct contact with the entities concerned.

The announcement warned that the “accomplishment of the acquisition essentially warrant full understanding and agreement of all stakeholders, especially depositors and creditors”.

Mr Khan said the negotiations concerning acquisition had progressed well so far and the bank administration was optimistic about a positive result. He did not disclose the name of the interested group or the details of the ongoing negotiations with it. He also refused to say anything on the amount of equity injection the bank requires for long-term survival.

“The interested group does not like to disclose the details at this stage,” he said. The announcement said “as the negotiations involve sensitivity of crucial nature, disclosure of further information at this stage may be detrimental (to the deal)”.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on August 30 last year appointed administrator for the Crescent Standard and suspended its board of directors and restrained Anjum Salim from officiating as its CEO.

The unprecedented action was taken under Sections 282E and 282F of the Companies Ordinance, 1984 after months of exhaustive investigations into the bank’s affairs, which revealed severe and deliberate violation of the legal requirements and serious financial irregularities including but not limited to illegal maintenance of parallel accounts, concealment of the bank’s assets, unauthorised massive funding of group owned companies, unlawful investments in real estate and stock market, etc., the commission said in its press announcement issued to explain the reasons behind its action.

The SECP said the administrator had been appointed with a view to taking immediate action for protecting the interests of depositors and stakeholders and for stemming the fast eroding asset base of the bank, and for ensuring that the bank’s affairs were managed in a clean, transparent and professional manner.

The Dawn.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/01/ebr2.htm

 

[Janbaz]

New Islamic bank launched

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, Feb 28: Another Islamic Bank, Emirates Global Islamic Bank (EGIBL), has been launched with six branches in Pakistan.

The official launch was celebrated in Karachi and the Governor State Bank, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, was invited as the chief guest.

The bank has been sponsored by the Emirates Investment Group of UAE and Al-Rajhi family of Saudi Arabia.

Chairman of the bank, Sheikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qassimi of the ruling family in Sharjah, and other dignitaries attended the launching ceremony.

Dr Akhtar praised the banking industry and expressed satisfaction over the foreign investment in the banking industry.

“We wish to become leading Islamic commercial bank in Pakistan by developing a profitable domestic business capable of being leveraged for international opportunities,” said President and CEO Syed Tariq Husain of the bank.

The bank has entered a technical cooperation agreement with RHB Islamic Bank Berhad, the fourth largest bank in Malaysia.

The Dawn.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/01/ebr8.htm

 

[Janbaz]

Rural economy rapidly expanding: PM

By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that rural economy in Pakistan is rapidly expanding as reflected in the increased demand for goods particularly cell phones, motorcycles and consumer goods in the rural areas.

The Prime Minister said this while talking to a delegation led by the Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Pakistan, Tore Johnsen, at the PM’s House Wednesday.

The Prime Minister said that government has provided an investor-friendly environment, as all sectors of the economy are open for business. With a population of 160 million and a growing middle class, Pakistan is fast turning into a major market economy and a manufacturing and servicing destination in the region, he said.

The Prime Minister said that government’s philosophy of deregulation, liberalization and privatisation coupled with transparency and openness of government’s policies and the level playing field provided to investors has made Pakistan an investment friendly country and investments today are at an all time high.

The Prime Minister was informed that Telenor had invested about $950 million in Pakistan by the end of last year, and has plans to invest more than $500 million this year. He also said that the company has more than 11,500 direct and indirect employees and has launched services in more than 1100 destinations within two years.

He said telecom is among the fastest growing sectors of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes two per cent of GDP, which is expected to rise further. The country has 50 million phones including cellular and fixed lines and the teledensity has increased from four per cent in 2003 to 35 per cent in 2007, he said.

The Prime Minister said that because of consistency in policies, teledensity in the country has reached 35% and the telecom sector has attracted an investment of over $2 billion, creating thousands of jobs. He said we are expecting an investment of about $4-5 billion in the next five years.

The News.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=44886

 

[Janbaz]

Telecom investment reaches Rs550bn: Awais

By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Telenor Pakistan on Wednesday signed extension of an ongoing frame agreement with leading telecom manufacturers Nokia and Siemens involving deployment of radio network equipment, core network elements and other services until 2009. The agreement is likely to result in extension of $750 million orders to the two vendors.

Under the agreement, Nokia will increase Telenor Pakistan’s network coverage and capacity in most of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, AJK and northern regions of Pakistan, including Islamabad.

Nokia will provide Telenor Pakistan with its state-of-the-art radio and transmission network, including microwaves. A wide range of services will support the radio network roll-out and operation, including turnkey maintenance services, hardware support services, and services for the deployment of the GSM network, including network planning, site acquisition, civil works and telecom implementation.

“The agreement with Siemens will allow Telenor Pakistan to market value-added services for its customers and open up new ways of further increasing its subscriber base in Pakistan,” said Vice President & GM Siemens Networks GMBH & Co KG Headquarters Middle East Dr Jan Cron while speaking on the high profile occasion attended by two ministers and PTA Chairman Shahzada Alam.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Information Technology Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari claimed that Pakistan’s telecom sector had received about Rs550 billion investment so far while Rs300 billion were likely to be added to the sector in the coming two to three years.

He said the arrival of world’s biggest phone company China Mobile in Pakistan in recent days had further established the worth of country’s telecom sector as an ideal place for investment for big players who were now converging on Pakistan to participate in the phenomenal growth being recorded on a consistent basis.

He said the pace of growth in telecom sector was likely to step up in coming days with the arrival of China Mobile in the cellular market and the government also firmly poised to spend millions of dollars from the Universal Service Fund to add up about 1000 new BTSs (basic transmission stations) and cell sites in remote areas which were not commercially attractive for the existing players.

Minister for Investment and Privatisation Zahid Hamid said the $750 million contract between three leading telecom players reflected confidence in the investment climate offered to them in the country.

Shahzada Alam Malik said the telecom sector currently constituted 2 per cent of the GDP which was expected to rise to 3 per cent in the next three to four years.

The News.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=44889

 

[Janbaz]

'Pak-UK economic ties may create more jobs'

LAHORE (March 01 2007): Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that further promotion of educational and economic ties between the Britain and Pakistan would result large scale job opportunities to the people of both the countries, which would help eliminate poverty and ensure prosperity of the people.

He stated this in a meeting with a delegation of investors of Britain led by Treasurer of Liberal Democratic Party of UK, Lord Clement Johns. Provincial Minister for Law Raja Muhammad Basharat, Chief Secretary Punjab Salman Siddique and other high-ranking officials were also present.

The Chief Minister informed British Lord about foreign and local investment, budget making, financial system and procedure of recovery of taxes. He informed the delegation that implementation of reforms in all sectors has been made possible through good governance and better financial management in the province.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that vast opportunities of socio-economic development are present between UK and Pakistan and atmosphere is conducive for foreign investment in the province. He said that government is focusing on industrial development through public-private partnership for providing job opportunities and eliminating poverty in the province. He said that local and foreign investment is being increased through establishment of industrial estates in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot and other cities.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that free treatment facilities are being provided to the patients in emergency wards of 11 teaching hospitals under Health Sector Reforms Programme whereas free treatment facilities are also being provided in Basic Health Units (BHU) in rural areas. He said that in the past there were no doctors in these BHUs but due to attractive package of transport, residence and salary to the doctors given by present government, 95% doctors have reached in these BHUs and people of far-flung areas are getting health facilities at local level. He said that through Emergency Ambulance Service 1122, patients are being shifted to the hospitals within 7 to 10 minutes as a result of which thousands of patients are receiving timely medical aid.

The Chief Minister said that a mega project costing Rs 6 billion is being implemented for the conservation of historical places and cultural heritage in Walled City of Lahore. He said that this project would promote tourism and beautification of old Lahore. In addition, four five-star hotels are being constructed in Lahore through foreign investment so that facilities of international standard could be provided to the increasing number of tourists, he added.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said that Pakistanis living in Britain are playing an important role in the development of the country. He said that with the visit of Lord Clement, relations between Pakistan and UK would further be promoted.

On this occasion, Lord Clement said that UK-based Pakistanis are playing a vital role for the socio-economic and cultural development of Britain which has provided an opportunity to the people of both the countries to benefit from each other experiences. He lauded the measures taken by the Punjab Chief Minister for the development of the province and said that new vistas of development and prosperity will open due to these measures.

Lord Clement further said that he is willing to set up an international company about legal matters in Pakistan, on which Chief Minister assured his full cooperation.

Business Recorder.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=533901&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

March 01, 2007
FDI to reach $6bn: minister

ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan said on Wednesday that privatisation of Pakistan's key industries is one of three pillars on which continued growth and diversification of country's economy depends.

Speaking at the Middle East IPO summit being held in Dubai, Omar Ayub Khan said the other two pillars are deregulation and liberalisation.

By formulating economic policy based on these three pillars the government has been able to boost growth, reduce poverty and improve income distribution, as well as diversify economy, he said, adding, the size of middle class has grown which has a greater “propensity to consume”.

Pakistan's GDP is forecast to expand seven per cent in the current fiscal year from 6.6 per cent in 2006 to reach about $135 billion. Foreign direct investment is forecast to reach $6 billion for fiscal year 2007 and it has already crossed $3 billion, Omar said.

Pakistan's trade liberalisation and privatisation programmes are based primarily around the banking, electricity, telecommunications and energy sectors.

Over the past 15 years, Pakistan has raised more than $6 billion selling state assets to help repay $36 billion of overseas debt.

Among the assets that are currently up for sale are shares of four banks and a stake in PSO, which will be sold by June. The country will also sell shares of Habib Bank in an initial public offering by April.

And there are plans to sell global depositary receipts held by United Bank and National Bank of Pakistan by June.

Omar said Pakistan's economic performance continues to generate a great deal of interest and investors from the Middle East and Dubai in particular are looking for key investments in the country.

The recent visit by Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, is an indication of it, he said.

He said, Pakistan would strengthen its competitiveness by continuing to create industry clusters, which help to promote knowledge transfer and build human capital. Pakistan's young population will also propel Pakistan's economic growth and will enhance its competitiveness against countries, such as China and India.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/01/ebr5.htm

 

[Neo]

March 01, 2007

ADB help sought on water losses

By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, Feb 28: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has sought Asian Development Bank's help to ascertain water losses in Pakistan's irrigation system and a new computerised system for regulating provincial water shares, it is learnt.

Informed sources told Dawn on Wednesday that the ministry of water and power and Irsa had held a few meetings with ADB experts recently to finalise a set of projects to strengthen Irsa and its regulatory system. These projects will be funded by the ADB under its $400 million water sector development programme during the current year.

The government has requested the ADB to conduct a study on Pakistan’s overall water losses which are considered very high and sometimes cross 40 per cent in Sindh. The provinces have been blaming each other for water theft because of these losses.

A couple of months ago, an Irsa investigation team had reached a conclusion that a countrywide study should be conducted to ascertain actual losses in rivers and canals.

The study would determine causes of water losses and their quantum and then suggest how to reduce these losses to a reasonable level as the country is heading for acute water shortage.

The government has decided to appoint an independent consultant to identify faults in the Rs350 million telemetry system which has not been able to provide accurate data on water discharge and distribution since its inception in 2003.

Water and Power Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi has recently announced to hold contractors accountable for the faulty system after independent investigations.

Based on the final report of the international consultant, the Asian Development Bank would support the project financially and technically for an error-free telemetry system to achieve its objectives.

Irsa wants to overcome all these problems before the start of next Kharif season.

The sources said the World Bank had recommended three names of international experts for appointment as a consultant to study the existing faulty telemetry system. These names are currently under consideration. Irsa sources said the consultant was likely to start working on the study within a month.

Irsa has also requested the ADB to prepare a model that could help Irsa in determining how much water was flowing in country’s rivers on a daily basis, what is the share of each province on the basis of this availability at a given time and which province was getting what quantities on a real-time basis for better regulation and management. To be monitored from Irsa’s headquarters in Islamabad, this model would also provide updates on flood situation and water inflows in rivers.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/01/top4.htm

 

[Introvert]

Pakistan to export 3.6 million tons rice this year ​

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will export more than 3.6 million tons of rice during the current year.

Talking to Geo News, Federal Agricultural Commissioner Inayatullah Khan said Indian rice production declined by 20 to 25 per cent this year; whereas the rice demand in the world market increased.

The agriculture official said Pakistan exported 500,000 tons of Basmati rice from July 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007- 23 per cent more than the last year in same period.

Inayatullah Khan said farmers are being paid Rs350 to Rs400 per 40 kilograms of Irri-6 and Rs750 to Rs800 for the same weight of Basmati rice.

The total rice production in the country has hit 5.4 million tons this year.

http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=2817&param=3

 

[Neo]

Mills produce 1.9m tonnes of sugar

By Shahzad Anwar

KARACHI: The sugar mills produced more than 1.92 million tonnes of white refined sugar till February 15 by crushing 23.53 million tonnes of sugarcane.

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA)’s Punjab members contributed more than half of the total production as figures showed that the sugar mills there produced 1.26 million tonnes by crushing around 15.17 million tonnes of sugarcane.

In Sindh, 28 sugar mills produced 0.60 million tonnes by crushing 7.11 million tonnes of sugarcane. In the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the sugar mills produced 0.09 million tonnes in the period under review.

The PSMA sources said that this year average sucrose recovery level was recorded at around 8.17 per cent. The break-up showed that recovery in Punjab was around 8.06 per cent, Sindh 8.48 per cent and NWFP 7.58 per cent.

This year, sugarcane was cultivated over an area of 1,033 million hectares, of which 209 million hectares were sown in Sindh, 718 million hectares in Punjab and 106 million hectares in the NWFP.

In respect of per hectare yield of sugarcane, Sindh came on top with 54 tonnes, followed by Punjab at 48 tonnes and the NWFP 44 tonnes.

A high official of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has said sugarcane crushing is in full swing, which may continue till the second week of April.

He said till the middle of February, sugar production had crossed the level of 2.1 million tonnes and estimated total cane production at 51.4 million tonnes and sugar output at 3.4 to 3.5 million tonnes this year.

He said the PSMA had produced 1.6 million tonnes of sugar during the same period last year. “This is a peak season as mills operate at full capacity during February and March.”

Last year, the country produced around 2.8 million tonnes of sugar against domestic consumption of 3.8 million tonnes. Though sugar was available at wholesale markets as well as retail outlets, the prices surged to an unprecedented level of Rs45 per kg on the pretext of low production.

The government then allowed duty-free import of sugar to the private sector, besides the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) in order to bridge the demand and supply gap. However, the government’s efforts failed to bring the prices of the commodity down in the local market.

In the previous season, the TCP imported around 0.815 million tonnes of white refined sugar from worldwide sources, of which around 0.4 million tonnes are still lying in its godowns.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=44880

 

[Neo]

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Task force on remittances formed

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has constituted a task force on remittances with a mandate to streamline transmission of remittances from countries where Pakistani banks are not available, a senior government official told Daily Times.

The officials at Ministry of Finance are of the view that by providing maximum facilitation to the overseas Pakistanis, remittances can be enhanced to $8 billion in next few years.

Moneychangers across the country are still involved in the practices like Hundi and Hawala, and these channels are considered illegal and against the international obligations. Due to lack of incentives in Pakistan in comparison with regional countries, a large number of overseas Pakistanis opt for Hundi and Hawala over the remittance through normal banking channels.

Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Federal Minister for Labor, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis has been appointed as chairman of the task force and its members include Minister of State for overseas Pakistanis, Governor State Bank of Pakistan, President National Bank of Pakistan, Secretary Overseas Pakistanis Division, Secretary Ministry of Finance, Secretary, Revenue Division, Secretary Labour and Manpower Division and Managing Director, Overseas Pakistanis Foundation. The Overseas Pakistanis Division would serve as the secretariat of the task force.

The task force would be recommending ways and means to encourage the overseas Pakistanis to remit their earnings to Pakistan through normal banking channels without any difficulty. The difficulties faced by the overseas Pakistanis would be listed and an action plan would be finalised and submitted to the relevant forum for approval.

The task force has been assigned to the task force is mainly to find possible ways and means to streamline transmission of remittances from countries and cities where Pakistani banks are not available.

The task force has also been directed to check possibility and feasibility of mobile teams of banks to visit the areas of overseas Pakistanis concentration abroad, develop a special mechanism in collaboration with foreign banks and develop a mechanism for quick delivery of remittances in remote areas of the country.

The task force would recommend to the government ways and means for the simplification of banking system, procedure to remit and receive the remittances, reduction in bank charges, fees to remit the overseas Pakistanis earnings through normal banking channel and also suggest the features of “Proud Pakistani Remitter Award Scheme” which would be launched in collaboration with private sector.

The Ministry of Finance has said recently that an increase of 21% in the first seven months of the fiscal year suggests that the remittances target of $5 billion would not only be achieved but would also be surpassed. Expectations are that remittances would touch the $5.5 billion mark in the current fiscal year 2006-07.

During the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year workers` remittances amounted to $ 2959.35 million, depicting an increase of 21.0% over the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

Pakistan received $4.6 billion remittances in the last fiscal year (2005-06). It has set a target of $5 billion for the current fiscal year thereby showing an increase of 8.7% over last year. An increase of 21.0% in the first seven months of the fiscal year suggests that the remittances target can not only be achieved but can also surpass the target for the year.

The United States continued to be the largest source of workers` remittances accounting for 26% ($768.01 million), followed by Saudi Arabia ($552.53 or 18.7%), UAE ($443.87 or 15%), other GCC countries ($407.36 or 13.8%), UK ($247.86 or 8.4%) and $364.86 or 12.3% from rest of the world.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\01\story_1-3-2007_pg5_1

 

[Neo]

March 01, 2007

Chinese group interested in setting up trailers plant

KARACHI: A Chinese group is interested in setting up a plant for manufacturing of trailers initially, according to a statement issued here on Wednesday.

It said that a delegation of Chinese auto manufacturer-Zhengzhou Hongda Automobile, visited Auto Corporation of Pakistan (ACP) Pakistan Engineering Works (PEW) and Master Motors, along with their local partner- Globuiss Technologies and Trading, to assess the facilities and standard of work of these organizations.

The statement pointed out that the Chinese group is interested in setting-up a plant for manufacturing of trailers initially and later specialized vehicles.

In the third phase they plan to start manufacturing light trucks, it was further pointed out.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\01\story_1-3-2007_pg5_11

 

[Introvert]

Metro to open stores in Pakistan
​

Metro would soon open stores in Pakistan as most of the work to open stores are completed. A delegation of Metro visited pack house of Sadruddin & Co., and discussed bi-lateral benefits including supplies to local stores and Metro stores in Germany. Metro appreciated quality Kinnow mandarins of Pakistan and are interested for a promotional program in Germany. A group of processors and exporters has supported this program with help of Government support and might do a sampling early next season.
http://www.freshplaza.com/2007/0301/1-1_pk_sadruddin.htm

 

[Janbaz]

11 countries eject $57m from stock market

R M SAQIB
KARACHI - Eleven countries have ejected investment from Pakistan’s stock market, amounting to $57 million, from July-February period of the current financial year, it was learnt on Thursday.
Switzerland took lead in the withdrawal of investment and their investors ejected $39.5 million dollars. It was followed by UAE that withdrew $6.775 million from stock market in eight months of FY07. Similarly, Australia ejected $5,247,475, France $2,177,742, Luxembourg $995,360, Saudi Arabia $423,696 while Bahamas withdrew $535,221. From July-February FY07, the inflow of portfolio investment at stock market in Pakistan amounted to $543.23 million by Feb 27.
Stock market sources said that the withdrawal of foreign investment had dampened trading at the Karachi Stock Exchange and other two exchanges in Lahore and Islamabad, creating a recession in the trading activity. According to sources, the United States appears the top investor as the stock market received $375.121 million investment from the US in eight months of this financial year.
Singapore emerged the second largest investors. Investors from Singapore invested $101.229 million at stock market.
Similarly, the remaining leading investor countries at stock market were the United Kingdom $88,301,647, Hong Kong $21,494,062, Kuwait $13,237,549 and Germany $646,000.
In February alone, the inflow of portfolio investment from the US amounted to $133776 million, making the US the largest investor country in Pakistan. The second in row is the UK with its total portfolio investment of $59,144,635 followed by Hong Kong with $3,561,481 investment. While, on the other side, Switzerland had withdrawn the largest amount of money from Pakistani markets amounted $ 16,079,915 in the month of February 2007 followed by Swiss withdrawal of $16,079,915 amount and Singapore with $9,774,410 in one month.
It is mentioned here that the federal government had targeted the inflow of more than one billion dollars in 2006-07 due to the launching of the global depository shares of banks by June 2007. For the first time portfolio investment in Pakistan would surpass one billion dollars in FY-7 with the key factor of the sale of GDRs of the OGDCL and banks, said sources.

The Nation.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2007/2/bnews1.php