Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

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New policy to offer 1m jobs annually: Resource mobilisation​

ISLAMABAD, March 22: Official planners have finalised recommendations to merge the informal sector into the formal one to achieve new resource moblisation, particularly by encouraging development of cottage industry across the country.

Informed sources told Dawn on Saturday that the officials of the economic ministries have also given an “implementation mechanism” to substantially raise revenues by providing incentives to the informal sector in this regard.

The informal sector consists of small units producing goods and services with the primary objective of generating employment and incomes to families engaged in these activities.

This sector has been characterised by low levels of capital, skills, access to organised markets and technology, low and unstable incomes and poor and unpredictable working conditions.

Chairman, Policy Planning Cell of the Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Dr Ghayur Sabur, was of the view that the informal sector was difficult to be estimated due to non-recording of activities taking place in this sector.”

When contacted, he said that detailed recommendations were also given to create new jobs in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector by prompting cottage industry.

This job, he believed, could be done very well by offering a complete package to the industry and adequately implementing the recommendations both by the federal government and the provinces.

Responding to a question, he said the new national employment policy would be implemented by the incoming government.

It seeks to create one million new jobs every year, mainly in industrial, agricultural, housing and construction sectors.

“We have also recommended in the new policy creation of model pilot employment schemes in Sindh and Balochistan to offer jobs to unemployed youth.”

The caretaker government, he said, had accepted over 95 per cent of proposals in the new employment policy which is expected to be formally approved after Jan 29.

The government has asked the cell to also propose measures to start pilot projects in gems and jewellery and livestock sectors of NWFP and Balochistan, respectively.

“From our side, all recommendations are ready and it depends whether the caretakers would announce the new policy or the matter will be left to the new elected government,” he said.

He said over one million new jobs could be created every year in all the major sectors, particularly in industrial, housing, construction and constructions, to reduce employment in the country.

Responding to a question, he said personally he believed that the new-elected government should approve and implement the new employment policy so that its ownership could be accepted in letter and spirit.

To a question, he said through pilot projects 100 assured jobs would be created every month in rural areas and small villages, initially in Sindh and Balochistan, and later this experience can be made in the Punjab and NWFP.

He said there were certain problems in the textile sector, and once these are resolved, a substantial number of jobs could be created in this industry also.

He said that he and his team have given a supporting mechanism to implement the new employment policy and that for the first time, serious measures were proposed to deal with unemployment in rural and urban areas.

New policy to offer 1m jobs annually: Resource mobilisation -DAWN - Business; March 23, 2008

 

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CSF doing survey on Pakistan’s economy​

ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) is in the process of carrying out the 2008 executive opinion survey to rank Pakistan’s economy for the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2008-09.

The survey will cover top-level business executives operating in Pakistan to capture their opinion on local business environment, said a statement issued on Saturday.

In this regard the CSF is also holding seminars to encourage greater female participation in the Pakistani economy by involving female students.

“This initiative will promote competitiveness as a research topic and will forge linkages between academia and the business,” said Professor Riffat Saqlain, Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at the Lahore College for Women University. “More importantly, it will help bridge business’ gender gap by including Pakistani female students in the process,” she added.

The CSF is an $11.8 million joint initiative of USAID and the ministry of finance. The programme will be interacting with other leading economic, business and journalism schools across Pakistan to create a network of more than 100 students and faculty members to carryout the survey from January to May 2008.

The initiative will also create competitiveness clubs and opportunities for academia to initiate research papers on competitiveness issues.

Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the US government is providing, through USAID, to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance and to reconstruct areas affected by the October 2005 earthquake.

CSF doing survey on Pakistan’s economy -DAWN - Business; March 23, 2008

 

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Investment treaty with Prague likely​

LAHORE, March 22: A task force has been set up to formulate recommendations for increasing economic cooperation with the Czech Republic with maximum participation of the private sector.

This was stated by Acting Secretary Board of Investment Major (retd) Iqbal Ahmed, who recently returned from the Czech Republic visit, while talking to Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice-President Shafqat Saeed Paracha here on Saturday.

Mr Iqbal said that currently both the countries were in the process of signing a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and an agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation.

He said that the Czech Republic had huge business opportunities in power, textile, pharmaceutical, leather and construction sectors and the Czech businessmen were ready to initiate joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts.

Czech businessmen are already doing business in Pakistan particularly in the power sector.

He said that the existing volume of trade between Pakistan and Czech Republic could be increased by a frequent exchange of trade delegations. Lack of information is a hurdle in the way of bilateral trade and chambers of commerce in both the countries should play an active role in this regard, he added.

The economic growth witnessed by Pakistan in recent years had impressed the Czech people and they now considered Pakistan the best place to make investment. There is a need to identify possible fields of cooperation.

LCCI vice-president Shafqat Saeed Paracha said that Pakistan’s major exports including leather and textile products to Czech Republic constitute a fraction of the Czech’s total imports. Its total imports of leather products in 2005 amounted to $176.1 million but Pakistan’s share in these imports was only $3 million.

Similarly, textile imports from Pakistan accounted for only 2.1 per cent of Czech’s total imports of textile products.

He said that Pakistan’s major imports from Prague included machinery, paper and paperboard and electrical and electronic equipment.

Investment treaty with Prague likely -DAWN - Business; March 23, 2008

 

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Inflation up by 17.03 percent ​

ISLAMABAD (March 23 2008): The SPI inflation surged by 17.03 percent in week ending March 20 over the same period of last year, according to Federal Bureau of Statistic on Saturday. The Statistic Division noted substantial increase in the prices of essential commodities during the last few weeks.

The twice adjustment in the oil prices during the last few weeks had cumulative effect on inflation. The oil prices have been on the rise in the global market for quite some time, but the government had been enduring the difference through subsidies rather than passing on the increase to the consumers.

The increase in pressure on fiscal and current account has forced the economic managers now to pass on the difference at once to the consumers which otherwise would have been gradual. The State Bank of Pakistan has been pursuing tight monetary policy to control the inflationary pressure that it anticipates to persist and magnify in the months ahead.

The inflation led by demand-supply problems, excessive borrowing by the government and delayed but compulsory adjustment in oil prices poses serious threat to the economy. Weekly data on SPI inflation released by the FBS showed that dearness was 19.03 percent for Rs 3000 income group, 18.40 percent for Rs 3001 to Rs 5000 income group, 17.61 percent for Rs 5001 to Rs 12000 and 15.76 percent for families having above Rs 12,000 monthly income .

During the week price of per kilogram tomatoes went up from Rs 36.67 to Rs 40.24, chicken from Rs 90.67 to Rs 95.54, cooking oil tin 2.5 kg from Rs 366.53 to Rs 374.76, vegetables Rs 357.47 to Rs 363. 94, and red chillies from Rs 146.20, to Rs 153.40.

The prices of 27 essential commodities increased during the week while only 11 items declined from the list of 53 essential commodities being used to measure weekly inflation. The list showed that prices of 15 items remained stable during the week but were dearer as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The SPI bulletin, based on data of 53 items collected from 17 urban centers, showed no let-up for the poor who have to spend more money to buy the same goods every week.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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'Pakistan committed to achieve MDGs by 2015' ​

ISLAMABAD (March 23 2008): President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said Pakistan is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 through a variety of interventions.

The interventions include real per capita income growth, expansion of schooling particularly for girls, decreasing pupil-teacher ratio, improving nutritional status of children and providing basic facilities in remote areas. The President stated this in a message issued on the occasion of World Water Day.

He said, the Vision 2030 and Mid Term Development Framework being implemented by the Government of Pakistan considers sanitation as an important sector and aim to improve the water, sanitation and hygiene situation in the country in line with the MDGs through the implementation of National Sanitation Policy.

The World Water Day is celebrated on March 22 every year, which provides a unique opportunity to invite attention of the government, the international community, civil society and individuals to take action.

"This year, the theme 'Sanitation matters,' is a call to reach beyond the community and to capitalise on the energy and commitment of the people, and to achieve a common goal to bring global and local attention and to galvanise action, so that every person on the planet is made less vulnerable to water stress, water related disasters and poor water quality," the President said.

The UN General Assembly decided to designate 2009 as the International Year of Sanitation (IYS), with the overall objective of accelerating progress on sanitation to help save lives and foster economic and social development.

"The IYS is expected to build on decisions taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development and help keep the issue of sanitation at the forefront of the global agenda," he added. The President thanked the Ministry of Environment for promoting and co-ordinating preparatory actions for IYS. "Sanitation is one of the basic necessities, which not only contributes to human dignity and quality of life but is a prerequisite to fighting against diseases," he added.

Every year over 1.5 million people particularly children under five world-wide die of diarrhea apart from typhoid, Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), Avian Human Influenza (AHI) and Polio resulting from inadequate and unsafe water, poor sanitation and insufficient attention to hygiene behaviours.

It is estimated that about 91 million people of Pakistan lack access to improved sanitation, 48 percent of schools do not have access to toilet facility, around 50 percent of the garbage generated by major cities is disposed of, part of which at informal dumping sites.

Recognising the significance of the issue, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed to by UN member states, including Pakistan, committed to have by 2015, the proportion of population without access to sanitation, the President added.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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World Water Day: Pakistan may face dry spell in 2009 ​

ISLAMABAD (March 23 2008): By 2012 with 1200 cubic meters per capita water availability, Pakistan will face its acute shortage with an obvious impact on the availability of food for large population. Experts are of the view that if the water shortage would continue with the same pace then Pakistan might be facing dry spell in 2009.

Every year on March 22 World Water Day is celebrated in the country with full enthusiasm. Various departments spend a lot of money in spreading the message to conserve water. But, unfortunately, these messages only last till that specific day and in remaining 364 days of the year no one takes the pain to remind this to the masses.

However, considering the immense water shortage along with poor sanitation facilities in the country one could see the effectiveness of these messages. According to an international report, water and sanitation related diseases cause 60 percent child deaths in Pakistan, with diarrhoea killing 2,30,000 children under the age of five each year. Whereas, 48 percent of schools do not have toilet facility.

Government in the Medium-Term Development Framework (MTDF) had allocated Rs 120 billion for implementing water supply and sanitation projects during 2005-10, including 50 percent contribution by the private sector.

However, with the beginning of 2008, almost three years have passed and no considerable improvement has been seen in the water and sanitation sector. Besides, Pakistan had been receiving huge sum foreign aid to overcome water and sanitation problems.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted $17.9 million to Pakistan for Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Promotion. Recently USAID has awarded grants to 20 local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to instruct communities in 10 districts and two Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

These grants will help improve water and sanitation in Sukkur, Jaffarabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanewal, Okara, Bagh, Rawalakot, Neelum, Kohistan, Upper Dir, Bajaur Agency and Kurrum Agency. However, day by day, the water and sanitation problems in the country are increasing. People especially in rural areas are becoming victims of water borne diseases.

Almost one-third of the population has no access to safe drinking water and around 65 percent has no access to adequate sanitation facilities. In Punjab, almost 84 million population relies on unsafe drinking water, fetched from uncovered wells, rivers and rain or canal-fed ponds.

Further, little more than one quarter of the rural population has access to household latrines. The formal launching of 'The International Year of Sanitation 2008'on March 4 no doubt was a good news for the people of Pakistan who had become victim of water and sanitation related problems.

Talking to Business Recorder, the officials of Ministry of Environment said that though up till now the ministry had designed many projects to tackle the issue yet the problem is with their implementation. Besides this, the lack of awareness among the masses about water conservation and sanitation is another big challenge for the ministry.

"It is the time to seriously consider and address these problems otherwise it would badly affect our next generation", said officials. The officials further said that on this World Water Day, the ministry alone is not organising any event rather will be collaborating with its partner organisations.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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'Nation steps into new phase of socio-economic development' ​

PESHAWAR (March 23 2008): The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani has said that the nation has stepped into a new phase of its journey towards socio-economic development and consolidation of democracy and this historic day provides us an opportunity to re-affirm our commitment that we would be ready to offer any sacrifice to translate the aspirations of our elders and achieve the real objectives of the creation of this country.

In his message of "Pakistan Day", the Governor said today, the citizens of the motherland are observing Pakistan Day with great enthusiasm. "I congratulate all the countrymen especially the people of NWFP and FATA on this auspicious occasion. In 1940, on this day the Muslims of South East Asia took the firm decision in the shape Pakistan Resolution to create a separate homeland for them and within a short span of seven years they got their dream translated into reality in the shape of Pakistan".

He said Pakistan enjoys an edge over rest of the Islamic countries of the world, because of two factors. Firstly, it was created on the basis of Islamic Ideology instead of racial, geographical or historical factors and secondly Pakistan has become and atomic and military power through its own efforts by applying indigenous resources and today the entire Muslim world has attached aspirations to it. In fact, the emergence of Pakistan was the first step to achieve the far greater objectives, which in fact demand hard work and constant struggle.

Ghani said this day provides us the opportunity to re-affirm our commitment that in the light of the ground realities, we would be ready to offer any sacrifice to translate the aspirations of our elders to bring socio-economic development in every field of life and unity and solidarity will be maintained at every level in the country.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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Castrol's new product for diesel engine consumers ​

PESHAWAR (March 23 2008): The world's leading lubricants manufacturer Castrol has introduced a new product for Pakistani diesel engine consumers' automobiles. The new CRB Plus is specifically formulated to take care of engine wear during start-up and friction while the engine is performing in extreme hot conditions.

The product is being launched in a countrywide campaign, which includes road shows in 12 major cities of Pakistan. The road show in Peshawar was attended and enjoyed by a large number of people including distributors, transport fleet owners and automobiles technology and maintenance personnel.

Castrol CRB Plus is a multi-grade 20w-50 API CF-4 lubricant, available in new easy-to-use pilfer-proof packing. The Perma-stick molecules in Castrol's latest PSM technology cling to engine surfaces even when the engine is switched off. This provides maximum protection during start up. The lubricant has demonstrated protection under engine temperature as high as 300 degrees. The company prides itself at selling not just any engine oil, but "Liquid Engineering.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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World Bank to give $16.5 million for water capacity building project ​

FAISALABAD (March 23 2008): World Bank will provide 16.5 million dollars to Pakistan for "water resources planning and management", which will support capacity building of and support to Federal institutions involved in Water Resources Planning, Management and Development.

According to the Ministry of Water and Power (MoWP) sources, this proposed project includes, among other things, support for building human resources and institutional capacity in Federal institutions, and support for preparing studies, strategies, and plans for improving water resources planning and management.

Commenting on the "constrained investment climate in the sector", the World Bank project study report revealed that returns to investment in the water sector - irrigation, hydropower, domestic and industrial uses as well as for environment -) were very high in Pakistan.

Despite large needs for investments in the sector to expand water supplies to improve water management and control and to upgrade and modernise the century-old system, the required investments were not forthcoming, resulting in its continued stagnation and deterioration, it said. The report said the lack of investments was becoming a major constraining factor to developing vibrant water and hydropower sectors.

Many of the multipurpose reservoirs, though primarily constructed for meeting water demands for irrigation, actually recovered their cost from hydropower sales, it observed.

It stressed the need for evolving the financing strategy for multi-purpose storage. "So far, the Pakistan government has tapped only public resources for investments in the water and hydropower systems and currently owns major assets in these sectors," the report said. It said hydropower generation provided substantial financial flows and could be of great interest to the private sector if these investments were structured properly.

The WB report pointed out that the extent of the investment required demanded expanding the range of options to include, for example, non traditional methods for financing these infrastructure and involving the domestic and foreign private sector, and perhaps, even privatising the existing assets and/or building public private partnerships (PPPs).

"The main challenge is to structure a water and hydropower investment programme in a manner that would enable the mobilisation of financing from non-traditional sources so that the system investments can keep pace with the growing demands in the immediate future.

"The water sector issues are enormous and complex, and addressing them would require a series of investments and long-term commitment on the part of the government," the WB report said.

The report said the new proposed project would help the government to address issues related to water resources management in the main river system, allowing a transparent way for water flow forecasting, availability, distribution and accounting, and thus building trust.

To help address water policy, technical issues necessary for the investment programme and to assist in developing a financing strategy and a strategic social and environmental assessment framework necessary for the large investment programme the government was planning, it said. Some support would be provided under the project to provinces to develop better linkages between the Federal and provincial systems, the report said.

The support to provinces was being provided under several ongoing and provincial operations such as the development policy loans (DPLs) to Punjab and Sindh water sector improvement project (WSIP) and it would be scaled up under the Barrage Rehabilitation Programmes in Punjab and Sindh and possibly new operations in Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

According to the WB sources, the bank has a long history of partnership and collaboration with Pakistan, in particular in the water sector. The bank is seen as the trusted partner, co-ordinator for international financing institutions and other development partners.

As a key partner and principal donor, it has provided support to several main interventions in the development of the IBIS. Therefore, the government is seeking support from the World Bank for its knowledge, expertise and experience in the sector, in addition to its financing. This is particularly the case for this project. The bank is, however, expected to play a key role in providing support for:

-- Strengthening water resource management institutions at the Federal (main system level) and continuation of the measures for institutional strengthening already under way in provinces.

-- Support in developing financing strategies for investment programme in water and hydropower sectors. -Strengthening project planning, development and management, ensuring appropriate technical designs, implementation and environmental and social features.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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PC preparing a study on 'Competitiveness and Structural Transformation' ​

FAISALABAD (March 24 2008): The Planning Commission is preparing a study on 'Competitiveness and Structural Transformation', with the cooperation of Asian Development Bank, which will be completed by September 2009.

According to official sources, this study will explain the causes of slow structural transformation of Pakistan's economy; prepare four analytical papers on structural transformation in Pakistan; work closely with the Government, policy makers, and entrepreneurs to guarantee that the results of this study are internalised; make policy recommendations; and disseminate the findings through seminars and publications. According to Planning Commission sources, the study would consist of four components. The first paper will provide an assessment of Pakistan's economic structure in terms of what a country produces and how it does it.

This is called the 'product space'. A rapid upward trajectory depends on a country moving into activities that create productivity gains; and, when these are exhausted, shifting again to newer activities that are even more productive. Recent research shows that it is possible to graph, or map, what a country produces and how closely this basket matches what other countries produce. In this way, the possibilities open to Pakistan to diversify production and increase productivity can be analysed in the light of its technological and social capabilities. The analysis will assess Pakistan vis-à-vis other countries in Asia, sources said.

A second paper will examine the quality and sophistication of Pakistan's exports. A strong empirical relationship exists between a recently developed measure of a country's export sophistication and that country's level of income. This relationship suggests that as countries develop they change their export package. The measure also reflects structural transformation. An in-depth and detailed analysis of Pakistan's export structure will provide key information for assessing the speed and direction of its transformation, and for comparisons with other Asian countries.

According to Planning Commission sources, the third paper is a diagnostics analysis of the impediments to structural transformation in Pakistan. Structural transformation does not come naturally; rather, it must be induced by policy. The question is: how? Most often reform is required either to facilitate the transfer of resources across sectors, to develop new activities, or to increase competition. This raises the next question: which reform will deliver the most benefit? The purpose of this growth diagnostics exercise is to pinpoint where a little reform can go a long way, sources explained.

Sources stated that the fourth paper will employ the output of the previous three to propose a plan for industrial development in Pakistan, based on the belief that structural transformation is not automatic but must be induced through policy.

They expressed hope that the study results would be widely disseminated in Pakistan. To address concerns about how the legal and policy environment in Pakistan may affect the development and implementation of a realistic industrialisation plan, consultants and team members would work closely with the Planning Commission. They will also make presentations to the three main stakeholders--the Government, policy makers, and entrepreneurs.

Each group plays a different and important role. The Government must demonstrate the political will to undertake structural transformation. Policy makers must take part in designing the plan, and entrepreneurs will be responsible for carrying it out effectively. Ultimately, the success of the study project depends on whether the stakeholders internalise its key ideas, sources said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's transformation during the last three decades has not been as fast and as intense as that of the successful Asian economies. A recent ADB analysis of Pakistan's structural transformation during this period included these main findings:

(i) The output growth rates of industry and services are significantly higher than that of agriculture. Given the service sector's high share in output, services account for more than 50 percent of the total output growth rate. The contributions of agriculture and industry are significantly smaller. The service sector also accounts for the largest share of total labour productivity growth.

(ii) Pakistan is a service economy from the point of view of its output structure, but an agricultural economy from the point of view of employment.

(iii) Labour productivity growth within economic sectors has contributed substantially more to overall labour productivity growth than reallocation of labour from agriculture into the other two sectors. Such reallocation plays a minor role overall. Reallocation of labour from agriculture into services has been much more important than that from agriculture into industry.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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Motorbike apparel industry expanding in Sialkot ​

SIALKOT (March 24 2008): The business community of Sialkot, engaged with Sports Goods industry is making strenuous efforts for producing high quality products to cope with the international market.

Sialkot, which is the hub of cottage industry and famous for producing quality sports goods has now entered into manufacturing of 'Motorbike' apparel and accessories' products, which would be a big ripple in economic activities and fetch a handsome foreign exchange for the country.

Pakistan is next to Italy in producing motorbike apparel and accessories and its production is gaining momentum with the industrial units expanding in the city. Besides, the demand of handmade soccer ball still exists despite the introduction of mechanised soccer balls as the machine made soccer ball had badly failed in producing sustainable results in the Football World Cup.

The Sports Goods sector of Sialkot is the main export sector of the city with total exports of about US $350 million per annum and the city caters to 85 percent of total world demand of hand stitched inflatable balls, which means around 40 million balls annually worth US $210 million.

The city is globally known for production of value-added products and quality production of sports goods, surgical instruments, leather garments, musical instruments and sportswear etc and contributing US $900 million annually to national exchequer. According to a rough statistics the balls are stitched by a work force of over 60,000 including female stitchers.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

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KSE hits record high as market welcomes new PM ​

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

KARACHI: The Karachi stocks market managed to hit new all time high record level on Monday, as bazaar celebrated the making of civilian government in advance.

Although the gains of the session were not so big the benchmark KSE 100-share Index finished at 15,182 points historical high level - posting an increase of 189 points or 1.26 per cent.

The parallel running junior 30-Index gained 197 points or 1.07 per cent and concluded at 18,509 points. “With the most expected election of Yousuf Raza Gilani, the PPP and PML-N coalition candidate for prime minister’s slot, who is virtually also backed by all the winning parties in the parliament except PML-Q, the market travelled to new heights in this session,” analysts said and added “Market expectations eventually came true after closing on the Monday session.”

Although winners outnumbered the losers on board with a big difference, but the day turnover in the ready market was not so healthy and was recorded near to its average level. The overall volume in the ready market was recorded at 260.023 million shares, slightly higher than of 246.411 million shares of last Thursday. Among 371 active issues 205 advanced, 104 declined and 42 remained unchanged. Market capitalisation surged by Rs51 billion or 1.11 per cent to stand at Rs4.637 trillion.

This session surpassed the previous peak level of 15,171 points made on March 12, 2008 - almost two weeks ago. Moreover, the difference between this and previous all time high levels is mere of 11 points.

With an air pocket opening of this session hit the ever-highest historical level of 15,231 points intra-day high in the wee hours - rising 237 points (i.e. 1.58 per cent). Adjustment during rest of the session minimized the gains to the closing level.

Cement giant stocks i.e. Lucky Cement and DG Khan Cement led the runners in terms of volumes they generated on board while energy stocks contributed massive points in 100-Index. Besides, all the favourite sectors in limelight performed in green.

OGDC, PPL, PTCL, JS CO, and NBP respectively included 36 points, 13 points, 15 points 27 points and 15 points in the total surge of leading benchmark. “After witnessing a rise of Rs20-25 per bag on March 6, cement companies have again increased ex-factory cement prices by Rs10-15 per bag in the north,” reported Bilal Hameed of JS Research and added, “Further hike is also expected in near future owing to continuous rising demand of commodity.”

The rising cement export prices and expected delay in CFS MK-II implementation deadline fuelled market participants to upload stocks at higher levels, said Ahsan Mehanti of Shazad Chamdia Securities.

Hasnain Asghar Ali of Aziz Fidahusein said that with main focus on the stocks having speculative tendency the rising cement and oil prices can certainly allow the index to maintain current levels on upside for short period.

Rollover pressure, however, can stop progressive forces to act and exploit the available potential.

Rate of CFS investment rose by 22 basis points to 11.40 per cent with slight decline in investment volume to Rs54.2 billion from Rs54.6 billion pre-opening level. Highest volumes were witnessed in Lucky Cement at 30.586 million closing at Rs140.65 with a gain of Rs4.15, followed by DG Khan Cement at 20.887 million closing at Rs112.30 with a gain of Rs4.40, Oil and Gas Development Company at 17.039 million closing at Rs136.05 with a gain of Rs2.20, Bank Alfalah at 14.122 million closing at Rs53.85 with a loss of 55 paisa and Bank of Punjab at 12.680 million closing at Rs65.65 with a loss of Rs2.27.

KSE hits record high as market welcomes new PM

 

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Textile exports fall, gem sector shows growth ​

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile exports fell by 2.92 per cent to $6.83 billion during July-February 2007-08, from $7.037bn in the last corresponding fiscal period, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) reported.

Interestingly, the gems and jewellery sector, which has great potential to earn foreign exchange and assist the economy, showed a sizeable growth in exports. During the period under review, gem exports were up by 64 per cent to $6.02 million and jewellery by 455 per cent to $121m while in the corresponding period their exports were $3.67m and $21.82m respectively.

Experts believe that in northern Pakistan, there are various rare types of gems and precious stones. By their exports, Pakistan can earn about $5bn a year, but the constraint is that there are no international standard mining, cutting and polishing techniques, which could make them more valuable.

According to the FBS figures, textile sector exports occupied a major share of 58.36 per cent of the country’s total exports, which stood at $11.70bn. During the period under review, total exports showed an increase of 7.82 per cent against $10.85bn.

A cursory look at the export data reveals that in the textile sector, a sizeable decline was registered in the exports of raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, carded or combed cotton, yarn besides cotton yarn, knitwear, bed wear, towels, tents, canvas and tarpaulin, while only readymade garments, art, silk, synthetic textiles and made-up articles such as towels and bed wear registered a little increase in their exports.

During the period under review, bed wear earned $1.234bn against $1.29bn of the previous year, showing a decline of 4.72 per cent. Knitwear earned $1.2bn against $1.3bn, depicting a decline of 8.46 per cent. Cotton cloth earned $1.19bn against $1.32bn, showing a reduction of 10.09 per cent. Cotton yarn revenues were $857.72m against $922.61m, depicting a decrease of 7.03 per cent. Towels earned $377.2m against $392.06m, showing a reduction of 3.78 per cent. Tents, canvas and tarpaulin earned $50.40m against $51m with a reduction of 1.19 per cent. Yarn other than cotton yarn earned $33.3m, which is 19.45 per cent less than $41.38m received in the last corresponding fiscal period. Raw cotton exports also went down by 2.47 per cent to $30.88m.

In contrast, readymade garments exports went up by 7.35 per cent to $970.69m, art, silk and synthetic textile by 31.49 per cent to $347.08m and made-up articles (excluding towels and bed wears) exports increased by 15.69 per cent to $341.75m, over what was earned in July-February 2006-07.

Food group exports also increased total exports, which posted a growth of 9.36 per cent to $1.37bn against $1.25bn last year. Among this, major contributors were rice, fruit, vegetables, meat and meat preparation, oil seeds, nuts and kernels.

Rice category as a whole, posted about 8.84 per cent growth with an earning of $794.5m against $730m last year. Fruits earning also went up by 20.17 per cent to $100.57m, meat and meat preparation by 22 per cent to $33m, vegetables by 40 per cent to $31m and oil seeds, nuts and kernels exports up by 158 per cent to $26.7m over the last corresponding fiscal period. Tobacco exports also showed a growth of 8.25 per cent to $6.14m.

However, in this category items which earned less compared to the last year were fish and fish preparation, by receiving $120.25m against $121.6m, showing a decline of 1.14 per cent and leguminous vegetables exports went down by 59 per cent to $1.43m.

Petroleum group and coal exports went up by 36.39 per cent to $703.44m against $515.76m recorded in the last corresponding fiscal period. Other manufacturing group exports also increased to $2.21bn during the period under review as compared to $1.65bn last year, showing an export growth of about 33.68 per cent.

Under this category, leather manufactures exports went up by 20.12 per cent to $438.27m, chemical pharmaceutical products by 50.36 per cent to $389.8m, leather tanned by 41.29 per cent to $264.2m, sports goods by 5.88 per cent to $185.7m and surgical goods and medical instruments earned $154.46m against $112m and posted a growth of about 38 per cent. Engineering goods exports went down by 12.64 per cent to $122.18m, footwear by one per cent to $74.4m and handicraft exports down by 50 per cent to $1.94m.

Textile exports fall, gem sector shows growth

 

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Non-textile exports grow by 21pc​

ISLAMABAD, March 24: Pakistan’s export of non-textile products recorded over 21 per cent growth during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as it stood at $4.872 billion against $3.817 billion over the same period last year.

Official figures compiled by the commerce ministry showed that for the first time the export of non-textile products witnessed a robust growth during the period under review after a recession prevailed in the sector during the last few years.

This growth was materialised on the back of substantial increase in export of sports goods, leather value added products, surgical goods, medical instruments, cutlery, gems and jewellery, and furniture etc during the period under review over the last year.

An official source said that this growth in export of non-textile products was achieved without any subsidies or support from the government.

He said that the growth in non-textile sector would enable the government to reach closer to the export target of $19.2 billion by end June 2008. The export target is likely to be missed mainly because of dismal performance of the textile sector despite all support.

Official figures showed that export of rice was up by 8.84 per cent during the July-Feb ‘08 over last year. Basmati rice export went up by 29.66 per cent.

Export of sports goods increased by 5.88 per cent against the same period of last year. Of these, export of footballs, once considered a major item to the world market, declined by 5.3 per cent. However, export of gloves rose by 79.57 per cent during the same period.

Exports of leather garments were up by 38.68 per cent. However, leather gloves declined by 0.77per cent and other leather manufacturers by 79.68 per cent. The engineering goods export was up by 37.81 per cent in July-Feb over the last year.

The export of gur was up by 25.56 per cent, cement 153.54 per cent, molasses 11.43 per cent, furniture 0.56 per cent, jewellery 455.02 per cent and gems 63.89 per cent during the period under review over last year.

On the other hand, the statistics showed that export of the carpets, rugs and mats recorded a negative growth of 2.39pc. Export of footwear declined by 0.91pc.

Of these, exports of leather footwear dipped by 13.31 per cent and canvas footwear by 60.46 per cent. However, export of other footwear recorded a growth of 103.11 per cent. Export of auto parts declined by 3.25pc and engineering goods by 12.64 per cent.

Among the primary commodities, export of meat and meat preparations were up by 22.05 per cent, sugar 100 per cent, oilseeds 157.74 per cent, spices 7.52 per cent, tobacco 8.25 per cent, vegetables 39.94 per cent and fruits 20.17 per cent.

Non-textile exports grow by 21pc -DAWN - Business; March 25, 2008

 

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Afghanistan importing 90pc paints from Pakistan​

ISLAMABAD, March 24: Pakistan has started export of paints to Afghanistan, and over 90 per cent of paint requirements of Afghanistan are being met from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s geo-strategic location is a great advantage to capture the markets of Central Asia for all products, including paints, said Khawaja Ijaz Ahmed Sikka, chairman of Brighto Paints while talking to APP here on Monday.

Pakistan’s paint manufacturing units, he said, were now capable of taking on major share in the markets of Central Asian states and other regional countries due to their quality and standard.

He said very soon export of paints would start to Tajikistan.

He said through Afghanistan, Pakistan can take full advantage of its road network, and expand its trade and economic activities.

Referring to his visit to Tajikistan, he said, the Central Asian states have very good road network and there are plenty of chances for Pakistan to expand its trade with these countries through Afghanistan.

Khawaja Ijaz said paint industry had been facing some problems due to complicated administrative affairs in the government and was also under pressure due to complex duty structure ranging from five to 25 per cent.

He proposed that the duty on paints should not be more than five per cent.

“Many paint industries from Pakistan have established their brand name in the international market due to its quality, standard and criterion,” he said.

Regarding availability of raw material, Khawaja Ijaz Ahmed said besides their import from European countries, China is one of the biggest sources for import of raw material for paint industry.

He said if the government provides assistance and cooperation, the paint industry can start technical training by establishing institutes to further improve the quality and standard of the paints.

Afghanistan importing 90pc paints from Pakistan -DAWN - Business; March 25, 2008