Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Neo]

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Citigroup’s report lauds Pakistani bonds’ performance

ISLAMABAD: Citigroup’s “Asian Sovereign Strategy Report” has said that that Pakistan’s bonds have been steadily outperforming comparable bonds in Philippines and Indonesia, since Aug-Sept’ 2006.

The Citigroup has released the Asian Sovereign Strategy Report on March 5, analyzing the current and future economic outlook for the ten Asian emerging economies including Pakistan.

On Pakistan, the Citigroup is upbeat on the current economic situation and has positive views on the economic outlook. “We saw a significant deceleration of inflation in Jan 07 (6.6 percent from 8.9 percent in Dec 06), largely due to the normalisation of food prices from previous double digit growth rates, but non-food inflation and core inflation also continued to show a decelerating trend,” says the report.

This is also consistent with monetary aggregates released by the central bank, which also shows a slowdown of private sector credit growth (+10.8 percent as of YtD 10 Feb FY07 versus 16.7 percent growth in the same period in FY06), the major drivers of monetary expansion in the previous fiscal year.

On the fiscal outlook, the report says that Pakistan has succeeded in significantly bringing down public debt from more than 90 percent of GDP in FY01 to an estimated 56 percent in FY06, and the IMF estimates it to fall to about 53 percent in FY07, well within the 60 percent of GDP target supposed to be achieved by 2012-13 set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act, 2005. The Citigroup is also encouraged by the fact that the Central Board of Revenue’s (CBR) preliminary tax collection figures for the first eight months of FY07 was reportedly above target and up by 21 percent Year on Year basis.

On external liquidity, the report sees a diminishing concern, at least for the near term, confirming the relatively firm performance of the Pakistan rupee year-to-date (YtD) despite a widening current account deficit. Gross official reserves (SBP reserves) have gradually climbed up 2 percent YtD in February’07 to $10.85 billion, helped by strong FDI inflows, which rose 70 percent to $2.8 billion in the last seven months of FY07.

What is noteworthy about the FDI figure says the report, is that contrary to perception, this is not driven by privatisation – 95 percent of FDI is not privatisation proceeds. The Government is targeting $6 billion (4.25 percent of GDP) of inflows from direct and portfolio investment flows this fiscal year versus $3.87 billion (3 percent of GDP) inflows in previous period.

On privatisation, the report suggests that public de-leveraging should continue given progress on privatisation, with reportedly strong interest in the 51 percent stake of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) whose sale is targeted for completion in June, and plans to hire adviser’s for overseas listing of its stakes in Habib Bank and United Bank, the country’s second and third largest banks.

On the performance of Pakistan’s sovereign in international capital market the report says that Pakistan’s bonds have been steadily outperforming comparable bonds in Philippines an Indonesia since Aug-Sept 06.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\07\story_7-3-2007_pg5_5

 

[Owais]

Prime Minister's visit to China: ministries and provinces told to finalise MoUs, deals

ISLAMABAD (March 08 2007): Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr Salman Shah, has directed all ministries and provincial governments to finalise the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and other agreements on the new economic projects to be signed with China during Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's visit to Beijing in April 2007.

Sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that Pakistan would request the Chinese government to hold Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting a week before the PM's visit to China, for which instructions have been issued to economic ministries.

Recently, a meeting was held to discuss the work/implementation plan of five-year development programme on trade and economic co-operation between Pakistan and China.

The Advisor discussed the respective sectors/areas of the five-year plan with the representatives of agriculture, manufacturing, textile, industry, nuclear energy, infrastructure, ports and shipping, railways, housing, urban infrastructure, minerals, energy, water and power, oil storage/refining, education and IT.

The Advisor, while discussing the sectors spelled out the 5-year programme and proposals put forth by ministries directed them to clearly enlist and prioritise their individual work areas.

He directed that the departments must clearly identify areas of co-operation, priority projects and implementation mechanism besides identifying their counterparts both in public and private sectors.

He also directed all ministries to prepare specific MoUs/LOEs/agreements etc which may be signed during PM's visit to China, and submit them to Economic Affair Division (EAD) within one month.

The Economic Affair Division also circulated the list of 25 projects, out of the 61 agreed projects, indicated in the development plan provided by Pakistan's Ambassador in China with the request to furnish project details. The Advisor also directed EAD to request the Chinese government to hold JEC meeting one week before PM's visit.

DR SALMAN HAS ISSUED THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS TO EACH MINISTRY: Board of Investment: BOI has been directed to make a list of investors of private sector who may accompany the Prime Minister during his visit to China and sign MoUs/LOEs etc, with their Chinese counterparts, and hand it over to EAD within one week. It has also been advised to advertise various projects indicated in the 5-year programme document within one week for 'expressions of interest' of private sector Pakistani investors.

MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND MANPOWER: The Ministry of Labour and Manpower has been asked to invite a team, before the PM's visit, from China to identify gaps in vocational training with advice to improve the techniques to train manpower/infrastructure/buildings etc.
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536173&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

Mercosur keen to sign FTA with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (March 08 2007): Mercosur, a regional group of four Latin American countries, has expressed its willingness to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Pakistan. Mercosur comprising Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil is an emerging trading bloc, which is also known as Southern Common market in Latin America.

Delivering a lecture here on Wednesday at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) on "Argentina and the Latin American region", Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the Argentine Chamber of deputies Dr Jorge M Arguelio said South American countries saw Pakistan as a 'gateway to East Asia.'

Therefore, Argentina, the second largest Mercosur nation, along with its other member countries wanted to have free trade agreement with Pakistan, he added. He recalled the visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to Buenos Aires in December 2004 during which both countries had shown interest in improving relations in economic and trade sectors.

He noted that an agreement already in place between the two countries on enhancing trade and economic ties would bolster mutually beneficial cooperation for the well being of the people of two nations. Dr Arguelio, who is heading a parliamentary delegation, dwelt at length on the changes, which took place during last two decade in South America including in Argentina.

"Argentina has come a long way following the political and economic crises at the advent of new century," he told the audience, saying now his country's economy was stabilising with an average growth of 9 percent. Mercosur countries are looking to promote their regional grouping on the patron of European Union, he pointed out.

"The time has gone now when South American countries were backyard of United States." Talking about Pak-Argentina relations, Dr Arguelio maintained that both countries had enjoyed commonality of views on number of regional and international issues particularly on UN reforms.

"We both (Pakistan and Argentina) want UN reforms in a way that discourages creation of more centres of power," he added. In his welcome address, Chairman ISS and former foreign secretary Inamul Haq said Latin American region had long been ignored here in Pakistan.

"We neglected Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and other countries in the region at our own cost." However, Haq expressed his satisfaction that now Pakistan had realised the vitality of forging closer ties in economic and other fields with the Latin America.

http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536174&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

Expo Pakistan 2007 success doubted

KARACHI (March 08 2007): Fears are being expressed that 'Expo Pakistan 2007' might suffer due to the ongoing rift between the officers of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

Sources told Business Recorder that the biggest challenge facing the success of TDAP were the bureaucratic hurdles on the part of EPB officers, who "are active to make TDAP a flop story". It may be mentioned here that the transformation of TDAP as an independent body is underway at the moment. Formerly, it used to be EPB.

There is a severe rift going on between the government officers of EPB and the TDAP officers recently inducted from the private sector on market competitive remuneration packages. 'Expo Pakistan 2007' is likely to suffer in the first instance as an outcome of this rivalry, sources said.

Expo Pakistan 2007, to be held in Karachi, is a gateway to the true commercial and cultural richness of Pakistan. It is an ideal one-stop sourcing event, showcasing the premium and value-priced products of Pakistan and would act as a global marketplace for interaction.

The success of this mega event is doubtful, as the event manager has so far been able to book less than 40 percent of the stalls. Karachi Expo Centre has a capacity to accommodate around 375 stalls, while so far only 150 stalls have been booked by export-oriented businesses, and only three weeks have been left to the inauguration of the mega event, which is scheduled to be held from March 29, 2007.

According to sources, the appointment of the event manager was made quite late, and was also controversial, as it was given the contract for three years despite opposition by some members of the steering committee of the Expo Pakistan, including Major General Absar of DEPO.

It may be mentioned here that the said firm had also been the event manager of the 'IDEAS' exhibition, which is another major event, held recently. But after the event the DEPO, being not satisfied with the event managers, ended the contract, sources said.

It is worth mentioning here that a few foreign delegates had sent their confirmation to attend the event. "None from EU and USA has confirmed its presence so far, and its seems that no more than 300 foreign delegates would be coming," sources added.

A TDAP officer admitted that there were some hurdles, which the Authority, being in a transformation phase, was encountering on the part of former EPB officers and the ministerial bureaucracy as well. However, the Board members and the Commerce Minister had pledged their full support.

The Export Promotion Bureau, first time in the history of Pakistan, had held the 'Expo Pakistan', a mega trade event, in February 2005 without any event manager. Expo Pakistan 2005 provided an ideal window for the businesses around the world to look more closely into Pakistan's industrial capabilities and explore further opportunities to make business partners with Pakistan for above the edge market superiority in their country.

That event was a resounding success as more than 1200 foreign visitors from 77 countries, Ministers for Trade and Commerce of 15 countries and delegates of 38 Chamber of Commerce assessed the quality 'Made in Pakistan' products displayed by 450 export oriented businesses of Pakistan.
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536254&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

$10 million ADB loan to help in Karachi development
ISLAMABAD (March 08 2007): A $10 million loan from ADB will help address the long-term development needs of the city of Karachi, contributing to a sustainable improvement in the quality of life of its residents. Karachi, the capital of Sindh province, is home to more than 12 million people.

As the commercial hub and gateway of Pakistan, it accounts for 95 percent of Pakistan's foreign trade, and contributes 30 percent of Pakistan's industrial production, according to a report aired by a private TV channel.

Given the magnitude of the city's investment requirements, the loan would support a series of integrated actions that together would act as a catalyst to speed up the development process in Karachi.

The project will provide resources for Karachi City District Government, the town municipal administrations, and utilities to improve their city planning, management, and financing, as well as in applying commercial principles in the provision of infrastructure and services.

It will then help prepare projects for expanding and improving the mega city's infrastructure and services that may be funded by ADB in its lending program for Karachi over the next four years.

Priority projects, to be prepared, cover water, sewerage, and drainage, solid waste management, roads and transport and upgrading of informal settlements (Katchi Abadis). The project will establish an innovative financing vehicle for the mega city's infrastructure and services that will act as a means to channel development funds to the city, a catalyst for reforming the city agencies, and an agent to mobilise funds from non-government sources for large-scale capital investment needs.

ADB's loan will cover 75 percent of the project's total estimated cost of $13.33 million. The loan comes from ADB's concessional Asian Development Fund and carries a 32-year term, including a grace period of 8 years.

Interest is to be charged at 1 percent per annum during the grace period and 1.5 percent per annum thereafter. The government will contribute the balance of $3.33 million equivalent.
http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536253&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

UK investors invited to invest in ports

ISLAMABAD (March 08 2007): The government on Wednesday invited British investors to invest in Pakistan's fourth port to be launched soon. Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri extended the invitation to British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley during a meeting here.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Ghauri said he briefed the High Commissioner about the development taking place in the country's ports and shipping sector vis-à-vis the infrastructure development projects.

There is a conducive climate for foreign investors in Pakistan especially at ports, including Port Qasim and Gwadar Port, he said. Replying to a question, Ghauri said that over a hundred British private companies were already operating in Pakistan and they had also shown their keen interest to take part in the development of Gwadar port.

He said the British High Commissioner was briefed about the fourth port that would soon be launched and it was an opportunity for British investors to come forward and take advantage of government's investment-friendly policies.

When asked, Ghauri said the government had decided to further deepen the Port Qasim by 14.5 meter and work would be kicked off by the end of the current year. The government, he continued, would soon approach World Bank or any other international bank to arrange the loan for the purpose. To another question, he said the government had finalised the modalities to purchase a bulk-carrier and two oil tankers during the current fiscal.

http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536218&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Owais]

President not to inaugurate island project until conflict settled down: Arbab
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that President Musharraf has assured him that until the islands project issue is settled between Sindh and the federal government, he would not inaugurate the project.

Speaking at the day-long interactive dialogue on “Provincial Autonomy”, Dr Arbab criticised opposition political parties for not attending the ‘all parties conference’ (APC) on provincial autonomy, saying that they speak of democracy and provincial autonomy but refuse to give proposals and recommendations on the issue through an ‘appropriate’ platform.

The dialogue was organised by the Inter-Provincial Coordination Department Sindh, here at a local hotel on Wednesday.

The CM termed the conference a ‘highly successful’ and said that the proposals and recommendations floated during the conference would be dispatched to the federal government.

Dr Arbab said that the recommendations made by politicians, intellectuals, lawyers, former judges, journalists and others during the conference on provincial autonomy, would be sent to the federal authorities for implementation.

“I don’t think that hundred per cent suggestions or demands of Sindh would be accepted or entertained but if even some of them are entertained, it would be a big success for the people of Sindh” he said.

“The provinces have also been allowed to generate up to 50 megawatts of electricity, which reflects the government’s intention to give more autonomy to the provinces” he added.

He opined that water and power departments should also remain with the federal government.

Leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), Senator Khalid Mahmood Sommro, who attended the conference along with his party men, told newsmen that his party was invited to the dialogue and they conveyed their concerns and suggestions on the issue of national importance.

Parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Dr Farooq Sattar told newsmen that his party was in favour of complete provincial autonomy except for Defence, Currency and Foreign Affairs.

Those who also spoke on the occasion included Abdul Qadir Halipota, Justice (retd) Saeed-uz-zaman Siddiqui, Syed Ghulam Shah, Syed Zain Shah, Hussain Haroon and others.

http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3106&param=1

 

[Neo]

28 projects worth Rs 106 billion approved

ISLAMABAD (March 08 2007): The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) on Wednesday approved 28 projects of Rs 106.6 billion with a foreign exchange component of Rs 18.7 billion including Diamer/Basha dam engineering design project of Rs 1.7 billion.

Briefing the newsmen deputy chairman Planning Commission, Dr Mohammad Akram Shaikh said the 3rd Ecnec meeting of the current financial year held with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the chair approved these projects.

Giving details, he said that the meeting approved 25 new projects at a cost of Rs 100.9 billion and infrastructure development was given foremost importance with 17 projects of Rs 62.2 billion followed by 10 social sector projects of Rs 41.4 billion.

These include: infrastructure, transport and communication energy, physical planning and housing, water, social and agriculture sectors besides the cost of three ongoing projects was revised from Rs 3.3 billion to Rs 5.7 billion.

Ongoing projects included ground water recharge of Quetta, Pishn, Mustang and Mangochar valleys of Rs 1.1 billion, extension of Pat Feeder Canal for utilisation of Indus Water in Balochistan 3.9 billion and women health project Sindh of Rs 731.856 million.

The new projects for transport and communication include: rehabilitation, upgradation and conversion of 400 coaches of Rs 3.43 billion, rehabilitation of telecom system and SCO infrastructure damaged due to earthquake of 8th October 2005 of Rs 630 million, dualisation of Lahore Kasur Road Khana to Kasur from 26.65km to 55.00km Length of Rs 2.1 billion, construction of Chaudhry Zahoor Ellahi Shaheed Bridge over River Chenab at Shahaz Pur in District Gujrat of Rs 1.13 billion, construction of dual carriageway from Gujrat to Salam interchange (Motorway) through Mandi Bahaudin (96.4km) of Rs 2.9 billion, improvement of 78.2km sections of National Highway N-45 of Rs 2.4 billion, dualisation of Kasur Ganda Singh Road Section from 55km to 68.10km in district Kasur of Rs 545.274 million, bridge over River Indus connecting Larkana and Khairpur district of Rs 4.8 billion, construction of additional carriageway of Indus Highway (N-55), Sehwan-Khairpur Nathan Shah-Ratodero Section (200km) of Rs 12.3 billion, rehabilitation and reconstruction of 175km of damaged section of national highways in the earthquake affected areas of Rs 5.97 billion.

The Ecnec also approved detailed engineering design and tender documents of Diamer/Basha Dam Project of Rs 1.7 billion. Physical planning and housing sector projects included water supply scheme from Shalman to Landi Kotal, Khyber agency of Rs 579.19 million, construction of eastern and expansion of southern sewage treatment plants, Hyderabad of Rs 915.300 million and preparation for Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Improvement Programme (PIAIP) project of Rs 609 million and Lower Bari Doab Canal Improvement Project (LBDCIP) of Rs 17.20 billion.

The meeting also approved three projects of education sector including reconstruction of middle schools buildings damaged by earthquake in the districts of Abbotabad, Manshera, Batagram, Kohistan and Shangla of NWFP of Rs 2.01 billion, Balochistan Education Support Programme of Rs 1.5 billion and establishment and operation of basic education community school in the country of Rs 7 billion.

Health sector projects included establishment of medical tower at Pakistan Institute of medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad of Rs 2.2 billion, construction of 2nd floor Sheikh Zayed Hospital main building of Rs 841.939 million, construction of new medical tower at JPMC Karachi, (expansion of tertiary care) of Rs 3.3 billion and National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (NMNCH) programme of Rs 19.1 billion.

Higher education project included establishment of medical college, university of Sargodha with a cost of Rs 802.158 million while information technology project of Land Records Management and Information Systems at a cost of Rs 3.1 billion. The meeting also approved a project of agriculture research for Agriculture Development Programme of Rs 3 billion.

http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536131&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Pakistan favours Energy Ring

NEW DELHI (March 08 2007): Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources said that Pakistan was strong advocate of energy cooperation in South Asia for economic development of the region. He was speaking at the second meeting of Saarc energy ministers here on Wednesday which concluded after adopting the report prepared by the officials of the Saarc member states on Tuesday.

The minister said high economic growth demanded high energy inputs. "There is big challenge ahead of us. We are keen to exploit all opportunities of regional and international cooperation to meet our increasing energy deficit. Cooperation within the Saarc region figures at the top of our regional energy cooperation," he said.

Pakistan was strongly in favour of the concept of Energy Ring as maintained by the 12th Saarc Summit, the minister said and hoped that Saarc Energy Centre established in Pakistan, as approved by the first Saarc energy ministers meeting, would develop into a regional institution of excellence for the initiation, coordination and facilitation of Saarc programmes in energy.

Amanullah Jadoon said Saarc countries could benefit from each other's special achievements and expertise in rural electrification, hydropower, CNG, renewables, coal development and utilisation, natural gas development and distribution, energy efficiency and conservation.

To meet its ever growing energy needs, Pakistan was mobilising all its capacity and resources to increase its indigenous production of energy and was seeking foreign investment and regional cooperation.

The minister said Pakistan was examining three gas import options from the gas rich neighbouring countries and importing LNG in addition to development of indigenous resources. Amanullah Jadoon hoped that the Saarc meeting would set a roadmap for further strengthening regional cooperation in energy sector.

Earlier, in his inaugural address the Indian Union Minister for Power Sushikumar Shinde said the vision of the Saarc charter of promoting the welfare of the people of South Asia would be fulfilled only if Saarc countries were able to give access to commercial energy to their people.

http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536175&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

KESC chief promises 780 MW power by 2008

KARACHI (March 08 2007): Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, (KESC) Frank Scherschmidt, has said that power generating capacity will be increased by 780 MW after commissioning of two new upcoming units by July 2008.

Addressing members of Site Association of Industry (SAI) on Wednesday, he said that 220 MW Korangi power units is expected to be commissioned by August 2007 and another 560 MW unit at Bin Qasim is likely to be commissioned by July 2008. He said that besides this, around 80 MW power supply will be added from desalination plant coming up at DHA.

The CEO said that yet another 1,000 nuclear power generating unit coming up at Kanupp is likely to be commissioned by 2015. He said at present KESC getting a total of 2,439 MW powers supply from different sources including Kanupp, Wapda, IPPs, and its own power generating units. Whereas total demand in peak season of summer is expected to be around 2,500 MW which shows a shortfall of round 61 MW. He assured the business community that power shortage would be met and there would be no load shedding during summer in the industrial areas.

The CEO said that the KESC has planned to close down 42-year- old Korangi power generating units, as it has become a junk. He said that intensive repair and maintenance work has been carried out at power generating units that have improved their efficiency.

He said that 900 transformers have been replaced and around 1,000 more will be replaced in the near future, network has been improved to improve transmission and distribution. He said that power demand is increasing at the rate of 8 percent per year in the city.

Whereas during winter power consumption dropped by 600 MW as air-conditioners remain off. Welcoming the guests, Chairman, SAI, Imran Shaukat highlighted the problems faced by industrialists in getting news connections, enhancing load, multiple meters in one premise, B2-ROD meters etc.

http://brecorder.com/index.php?id=536248&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Govt fails to assess quarterly growth

By Mehtab Haider

ISLAMABAD: The government’s plan to calculate GDP growth on provincial and quarterly basis has hit snags owing to its inability to collect data of all sectors on timely basis, official sources confided to The News.

Pakistan was eyeing to adopt Generalised Data Dissemination System (GDDS) placed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but Islamabad failed to move ahead with the desired objectives owing to certain difficulties in shape of different pattern of major crops, which created hindrance in the way of calculating contribution of agriculture sector to GDP growth on quarterly basis.

“Frankly speaking, almost all sectors of economy are not ready to share their data with the government on such frequent basis,” Ministry of Finance sources said and added the government was unable to accomplish this task which resulted into halting this project without completion.

When Advisor to Ministry of Finance Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan was contacted for comments, he conceded that there are certain difficulties for finding out GDP growth numbers on quarterly basis as the crop pattern does not allow to release GDP growth figures on quarterly basis. “We are finding out ways and means to overcome this difficulty,” he concluded.

However, the sources said the IMF had imposed three conditions for complying with GDDS that included the provision of GDP growth, unemployment ratio, and wages numbers on quarterly basis. “The IMF did not give waiver to Pakistan as it did not comply with two conditions,” added the sources.

Pakistan has recently released unemployment figures on quarterly basis after conducting Labour Force Survey (LFS) on all four quarters and it can be compared with apple to apple. But other two conditions in shape of GDP growth and wages data could not be released on quarterly basis in accordance with the international standards, added the sources.

The sources also said that Punjab was still striving hard to calculate its own GDP growth figures and they have offered a lucrative salary package to one of the officer working in National Accounts in the Statistics Division.

Punjab has prepared its numbers related to its contribution in overall GDP growth of the country but it required a technical hand to move towards the desired objective.

All other three provinces, the sources said, have remained unable to move towards calculating their contribution in overall GDP growth of the country.

According to another senior official, when the government started to collect data on quarterly basis, it succeeded in collecting 30 to 35 percent data at the initial stage but this exercise proved futile as this ratio declined significantly in the second quarter mainly because no one was ready to share data frequently.

“There are certain sectors of our economy, which send data once in a year that too after several reminders from the government,” said the official and added until and unless the country’s tax system gets streamlined the data collection will remain a major problem for policymakers.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=45910

 

[Neo]

I was expecting this delay in GDDS as our data collection system is not ready to process and provide information on growth and results.

Frankly I think it might take a few years to set up a digitalised databank, our infractructure is just not ready for this.

What do guys think?

 

[Neo]

March 08, 2007
Plans to develop chemical industry

By Ihtashamul Haque

ISLAMABAD, March 7: The government is considering establishing a “fully integrated chemical industry in Pakistan” to achieve higher economic growth and lessen foreign dependence on import of a vast range of chemical products.

The ministry of petroleum and natural resources, in partnership with the private sector, has been proposed to undertake an action plan which would cost Rs72 billion to also help achieve self-sufficiency and development of agriculture sector.

“There are many proposals currently being looked into to set up a fully integrated chemical industry,” said a source.

However, he said the federal government would have to consult all stakeholders, including the provinces, before finally arriving at any consensus about setting up of a fully integrated chemical industry in the country.

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have formulated recommendations to improve the overall economy, including promotion of an effective chemical industry.

Both the organisations believe that local chemical industry should be based both on domestic demand as well as export of surplus production to maintain full capacity utilisation of the plant.

There is also a need to examine optimum utilisation of the gas condensates presently being used as domestic fuel as alternative feed stock for the petro-chemical industry.

In this regard, it was stated that a world scale naphtha cracker requires more than a million tons of naphtha per year which should be made available through restructuring of existing refineries and new refineries.

Basic research should be handled separately by research institutes which have the expertise, resources and facilities to undertake such research.

These institutes be funded adequately to do a high quality job.

Rest of research and development should be focused on applied technology and transfer of technology integrated closely with the national industrial development projects.

Naphtha cracker is said to be critically important for indigenous manufacturing of a large number of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

This includes manufacturing of rubber, polymers (like PVC LDPE / HDPE, polyester, PET etc.), synthetic fibres (nylon, PSF, PFY, etc.), pharmaceutical raw material (MEG, PAN, LAB, etc).

The inter-action of the local chemical industry and research and development centres must be created to proceed to indigenisation of technology.

The R&D institutes should be supported and strengthened and their linkages with the industry should be systematised.

Increasing the plant capacity, improved process control, reducing operational and maintenance costs, improving power and cooling water usage efficiencies, improving product quality and thus reducing fixed cost have been proposed as long-term measures for establishing a fully integrated chemical industry in the country.

It was also proposed by the PIDE and HEC that the chemical industry and the government should lay more emphasis on technology as an instrument of growth rather just addition of productive capacities and that innovation towards high performance products, concentrated brands and non-dusting brands should also be taken into consideration.

The PIDE and the HEC also proposed measures for effective development of Pharma industry for which human resource development is pre-requisite.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/08/ebr3.htm

 

[Owais]

FDI gets a new spur into Pakistan
KARACHI: The foreign investment in Pakistan went up to $2.7934 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. This volume is 69.8 per cent more than it was last year during the same period.

According to State Bank of Pakistan statistics, foreign direct investment worth 2.096 billion came to Pakistan during the period---from July 2006 to January 2007; whereas, during the same period last year, it was 1.64 billion. Thus, the foreign direct investment (FDI) soared up by 68.4 per cent.

In the same period, Pakistani stock markets and other securities attracted $697.4 million as foreign investment.

During January 2007, $300 million came under FDI head, while portfolio investment in Pakistan remained at $77.1 million.
http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3130&param=3

 

[Owais]

Fourth port to be announced soon, says Babar Ghouri
ISLAMABAD: Federal Port and Shipping Minister Babar Ghouri said Wednesday that the fourth port would soon be announced to be built in the country that would be a free port.

Talking to Geo News, the federal minister said the first ship will anchor at Gwadar Port in the third week of the current month; whereas, all roads linking to Gwadar Port would be completed by 2009.

The federal minister said the government has no monopoly over the oil transportation and the government would welcome all private and foreign shipping companies.

Babar Ghouri said by the end of the current year, Karachi Port and Port Qasim would be upgraded.
http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=3094&param=3