Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[ejaz007]

ZONG launched all across Pakistan

KARACHI: China Mobile launched its first international brand ZONG simultaneously all across Pakistan today.

WANG Jianzhou, Executive Director, Chairman and CEO China Mobile Communications Corporation, said, It is a landmark day for China Mobile but also for the cellular industry in Pakistan as we are continuing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Pakistan and we have a very long-term view of this market.

He said, Pakistan is our first venture outside China and we are very optimistic about its success. China Mobile has the resources and technical expertise to aim at becoming one of the largest operators of Pakistan also. Marked as the biggest cellular launch in the country, the brand will be available in all four provinces and Azad Jammu Kashmir simultaneously. With the launch of ZONG, China Mobile will adhere to its core value proposition of “Responsibility Makes Perfection” and spare no effort to improve its competitiveness by implementing the concept of scientific development.

China Mobile aims to establish a comprehensive network with large coverage, high quality, rich variety of businesses and first-class customer services. It has provided GSM roaming services in 206 countries and regions and GPRS roaming services in 101 countries and regions in the world. China Mobile is not only a profitable company with robust financial performance and stable cash flow, but also the one with growing potentials and prospects. Looking forward, China Mobile defines its strategic goal of “becoming a worldwide leader in the telecommunications world and achieving leapfrog evolution from excellence to pre-eminence.” staff report

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ejaz007]

Power plants offered tax relief
By Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD, April 8: The government has approved a package of tax relief for 11 projects that will generate 2,500 megawatts by December 2009 in order to meet rising energy demand.

Under the package, customs duty has been reduced to five per cent from 20 per cent on import of cooling towers, heat recovery steam generators and feed water pumps as a one-time relaxation.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) presided over by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday.

An official in the ministry of water and power told Dawn that half of the projects would be operational by the end of the current year and the remaining would come into operation by December 2009.

He said the projects included the Orient, Atlas, Muridke, Fauji, Saif, Nishad, Halmore and Angro power units.

The official said the projects had achieved or were likely to achieve financial close by April 30 and they were in an advanced stage of commissioning.

The ECC also approved giving exemption from income tax to projects of independent power producers (IPPs) by amending the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

The amendment reads as: “Provided further that exemption under this clause shall also be available to the expansion projects of existing independent power projects already in operation.”

Power plants offered tax relief -DAWN - Top Stories; April 09, 2008

 

[Neo]

IPI pipeline project on track: Asif ​

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Khawaja Mohammad Asif has said progress on the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline is on track and an agreement on the project will be reached. To discuss the issue, Indian petroleum minister is arriving in Pakistan this month.

Talking to mediamen after addressing the inaugural session of the 2nd International LPG Conference and Exhibition on Tuesday, the minister said the government was trying its best to meet the energy requirement of all consumers while priority would be given to domestic consumers.

About reducing petroleum prices, which the caretaker government increased twice last month, the minister said it had not yet been decided.

“The government is working on increasing usage of LPG from current 0.5 per cent to the maximum level in the household energy basket. In India, its usage is 50 per cent and in Brazil 100 per cent,” Mohammad Asif, the PML-N leader, pointed out.

The conference had been organised in an effort to highlight the true growth potential of the LPG industry and also to focus on issues related to price regulation and safety standards. The exhibition is arranging a comprehensive display of latest products and services available to the LPG industry including auto gas and industrial automation equipment.

The LPG sector has attracted an investment of $200 million since 2000 and more investment is also expected.

The conference was attended by LPG producers, LPG marketing companies, senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and vendors.

IPI pipeline project on track: Asif

 

[Neo]

Controlling inflation top priority: Gilani ​

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has stressed the need for adopting practical measures to effectively control inflation and prices of essential commodities, besides ensuring a sustainable economic development policy.

He said this while speaking to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, who called on him on Tuesday.

He said controlling inflation is the government’s top priority, so that the benefits of economic growth are passed on to the masses.

Underlining the importance of a well functioning financial sector for economic stability, the PM said a strong banking system is a must.

He however underscored the need for lowering excessive government borrowings to reduce inflationary pressures.

The prime minister also said the banking sector has an obligation to cater to the needs of low-income people, small and medium enterprises, self-employed people, youth and farmers.

Micro credit facility is an effective tool to generate economic activities, reduce poverty and improve living standards. This would provide opportunities to augment income and allow the common man to rise on the social ladder.

He said the banking sector also needed to increase the volume of agricultural credits, which in turn will lead to an increase in the yield of crops and ultimately in the income of farmers.

The SBP Governor, Dr Shamshad Akhtar briefed the prime minister on various monetary policy measures being undertaken to control inflation and also updated him on developments in the banking sector, status of current foreign exchange reserves held and the exchange rate situation.

Controlling inflation top priority: Gilani

 

[Neo]

Nuclear power plants of 1280MW: Pakistan to seek financing from China​

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to seek major chunk of financing from China for setting up four new nuclear power units of 1280MW to bridge gap between supply and demand, sources told Daily Times on Tuesday.

Sources said that Pakistan would place request before Chinese authorities during the upcoming visit of President Pervez Musharraf to China.

Sources said that proposed nuclear units of 320MW each would be set up to generate 1280MW power by nuclear resources under the vision 2030. Two units of 320MW each will be set up in Chashma and two units will be established in Karachi.

They said that Finance Ministry is working on the process of getting financing from different countries including China and it would also chalk out the strategy to generate financing through joint venture by different countries.

The first phase project of Chashma Nuclear Plant was commissioned in September 2000. Chinese Company is already working on second phase of Chashma nuclear power plant and in May 2004,Pakistan and China signed a contract to jointly build the second phase project of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant. China agreed to provide $350 million credit and will complete the project in 2011.

They said that the current installed electricity generation capacity stands at 19,400MW that would be increased to 162,590MW by 2030 as the energy consumption would rise to 7 fold by 2030.Government has planned a major shift to coal, nuclear and renewable resources to achieve the set target of electricity generation.

At present Pakistan is mainly depending on hydel power generation that has dropped to 2000 MW power due to water shortages in the country. Pakistan is now looking towards wind, coal, and nuclear and solar resources to increase the power generation. Pakistan is said to face around 1400 MW power shortfall constantly by 2010.

At present the country is facing a power shortfall of 1500MW to 2000MW.The power crisis emerged as the private sector has not increased its power generation capacity and new Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were not set up for many years.

Sources said that Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) authorities have given briefing to the Prime Minister about the plan of adding 2200 MW power to the current power system in one year. Premier has directed the concerned authorities to carry out the plan. Prime Minister has also directed the public sector also to go side by side with the private sector for setting up power plants so that the dependence on the private sector could be minimised.

On the other hand, PEPCO would add 1100MW power to the current power system by rental plants during current calendar year. 450MW by rental plants would be added by June 2008 and the rest power would be added by December 2008.The capacity of current existing power generation system would be enhanced by 309MW during 2008.

Two IPPs that include Saif and Orient would add around 500MW power to the current power system. Saif IPP would start providing power supply by July whereas Orient would supply power by October 2008.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

‘Expatriate Pakistanis can help economy’​

LAHORE: Pakistan’s exports are under tremendous pressure at the moment and it could be eased out if expatriate Pakistanis living in the United Kingdom come forward and join hands with their Pakistani counterparts to help the economy.

LCCI President Mohammad Ali Mian stated this on Tuesday while addressing a six-member delegation led by Hanzala Malik, Councilor Glasgow City Council.

Mohammad Ali Mian said Glasgow being the third largest city of the United Kingdom has huge business opportunities but the volume of two-way trade is not very encouraging. He called for well-directed, sector-specific moves to achieve the desired results.

He said that Pakistan was particularly keen in British investment that could provide transfer of technology and help it become a knowledge-based economy. He said that exchange of business delegations and holding of single country exhibitions can boost the bilateral trade. These marketing tools need to be studied by the Chambers and the diplomatic missions of the two countries.

He said that these are the areas where UK-Pakistan entrepreneurs can sit together and chalk out a comprehensive business strategy for their mutual benefits. Keeping in view the current low level of trade between UK and Pakistan there is a need for more focused efforts for expanding economic cooperation.

The trade between the two countries is steadily increasing. The total volume of trade between both countries during 2004-05 was $1379.1 million, which is on increasing trend and had reached to $1649 million in 2006-07.

Mohammad Ali Mian said that Pakistan is offering tremendous investment opportunities in the fields of information technology, telecommunication, infrastructure, education, and food preservation technologies.

Speaking on the occasion, the head of the delegation, Mr Hanzla Malik, while stressing the need for more interaction between the two sides, urged the LCCI office-bearers to arrange a delegation to Glasgow to increase the volume of two-way trade.

The LCCI Vice President, Shafqat Saeed Piracha, said that the visit would prove beneficial for the industrialists of both the sides. He said that there are a lot of opportunities waiting for the potential investors particularly in the field of Textiles and leather.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Dutch government to resume some development aid to Pakistan​

THE HAGUE: The Dutch government said on Tuesday that it is partially resuming aid to Pakistan, five months after suspending it over President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule.

Development Aid Minister Bert Koenders said the decision to restart parts of the aid programme was prompted by the appointment of the new government under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. In a statement, Koenders called recent political developments in Pakistan “a good first step” toward the full restoration of the rule of law in Pakistan.

Dutch aid will be targeted at education, the environment, and good governance. The monetary value of the projects being resumed was not immediately clear, but the government said it has earmarked $63 million for programmes in Pakistan over the coming years as part of its efforts to promote stability in the country.

“A democratic and stable Pakistan in the long term contributes to the resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan and [to] security in the Netherlands,” said Koenders. ap

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

Philip Morris investment blows up in smoke​

KARACHI, April 8: On Monday, Lakson Tobacco Company unveiled results for the six months ended on December 31, 2007, posting after-tax profit at Rs471 million. Those marked the first of the figures released by the company, following the devastating events of the end of December last year, when the Lakson Tobacco became one of the targets of looting, arson and riots.

Early last week, the company had notified that the factory had to be closed down as a result of “destruction” and the management planned to lay off all employees. The company announced that it was “in no position to resume all manufacturing operations as that required a significant investment, among others, in installing new plant, machinery, equipment and incurring costs relating to civil works”.

So the wage-earners, already groaning under the burden of burgeoning inflation became the first casualty of the grim events of Dec 27, 28 and 29.

Another unhappy party should be Philip Morris International (PMI) -- one of the largest tobacco companies in the world —which, in January last year had acquired 50.21 per cent shares in Lakson Tobacco Company at $339 million (Rs21 billion), adding to its already held equity interest of 47 per cent in the company.

It has perhaps witnessed much of its investment blow up in smoke even before the year was out. The market price of the share in Lakson Tobacco has plunged from Rs480 on Dec 27 last year to Rs366 on April 8. A greater fall has perhaps been averted for lack of floating stock.

Auditors had inserted a qualification in the Lakson’s accounts released on Monday, stating that the company had filed claims of Rs275 million in respect of damage to property, plant and equipment. Another claim in respect of partially damaged assets was also lodged with the insurance company. Assessment of the level of impairment had still to be finalised.

Lakson Tobacco has been the country’s second largest tobacco company, which rolled out 29.8 million cigarettes in the year ended on June 30, 2006, generating net revenues of Rs10 billion.

Informed sources said that the company employed over 5,000 persons at its factory in Korangi and four others at Kotri, Quadirabad district Sahiwal; village; Mandra tehsil Gujar Khan and 5th at Ismaila, district Swabi. The company also has a leaf division in Mardan, the city reputed as the capital of tobacco-growing areas in Pakistan.

Another 1,500 people earned livelihood from work at the company’s leaf division during the leaf buying and processing seasons. It was not clear whether the company intended to cut jobs at just the Karachi site or other locations as well.

Industrialisation as it is already on the halt, it is painful to watch even the flourishing businesses being burnt down to ashes and labour thrown out of work.

Lakson Tobacco was doing very well until the riots of December. At the close of last financial year, the company held fixed assets of the value of Rs2.5 billion and total assets of Rs6.6 billion. It had stood 13th in the list of top 25 companies at the Karachi Stock Exchange for 2005.

Following the acquisition of almost entire equity stake by Philip Morris in the winter of last year, eight of the 11 seats on the company board were occupied by foreigners. Salman Hameed had stepped in the shoes of Iqbal Ali Lakhani as the chairman & CEO of the company.

The new chief was not available on Tuesday for more information on recent developments and prognosis for the future.

Philip Morris investment blows up in smoke -DAWN - Business; April 09, 2008

 

[Neo]

US working with donors to supply electricity to Pakistan ​

WASHINGTON (April 09 2008): The United States is working with international donors to realise supply of electricity from energy-rich Central Asian region to Afghanistan and Pakistan, a senior US official said Tuesday.

Richard Boucher, the top US official for South Asia, told a Congressional hearing that trade in electricity can benefit both sides, providing "much-needed energy to South Asia and serving as a major source of future revenue for the countries of Central Asia."

"Together with other donors, we are also exploring ways to export electricity from Central Asia beyond Afghanistan to Pakistan and eventually India." In his prepared statement before a House sub-committee on foreign affairs, the US Assistant Secretary of State for both regions said the US is advocating for the countries of Central Asia to supply power to northern Afghanistan, and helping to develop the Afghan electricity system so Afghans can benefit from that connection.

Continuing on efforts to foster economic and trade ties between the two regions, Boucher referred to August 2007 opening of a new bridge spanning the Pyanzh River that now connects Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

"The bridge is an important piece of a future regional highway network extending from Karachi, Pakistan to Astana, Kazakhstan, including a network of more than 2,400 miles of roads within Afghanistan that have been constructed or reconstructed since 2001." Already, since the bridge opened, Afghan vehicle traffic to Tajikistan has increased seven-fold and border tax revenue ten-fold, he added.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Neo]

Saudi company acquires 18 percent stake in Uch power plant ​

ISLAMABAD (April 09 2008): Creative Energy Resources Corporation (CER) announced on Monday that it had bought a strategic stake in the 586 MW Uch power plant in Pakistan from an affiliate of GE Energy Financial Services. But it did not disclose financial details of the transaction.

However, some knowledgeable sources confided to Business Recorder on Tuesday that the CER, which is a regional power company owned by Swicorp Joussour (Saudi Arabia), had acquired an 18 percent stake in the power plant.

According to the sources, International Power Plc, which has been operating with interests in over 40 power stations and some closely linked businesses around the world, has bought over 70 percent stake in this energy deal. The Hassan Associates is said to have acquired a small stake in the plant.

The Uch Power Limited (UPL) plant is a 586MW combined cycle thermal power plant that generates electricity, using low British Thermal Unit (BTU) gas from the indigenous Uch gas field, which is supplied under a long-term agreement by the Oil and Gas Development Corporation, majority owned by the Government of Pakistan.

The plant's output is sold to Wapda under a long-term contract. The plant is the lowest cost source of thermal power generation in Pakistan. In its Riyadh(Saudi Arabia)-datelined press release, the CER said that it will build, acquire, own and operate power generation, transmission and distribution facilities in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region.

The generation projects will be based on conventional, thermal, as well as renewable energy. CER intends to partner with key players in the region to develop these facilities and the announcement is in line with this strategy.

Shahid Khan, Director of Investments, Swicorp Joussour said: "Power is an important asset class for our investors, and we are pleased with the addition of Uch power to the CER power platform. We are confident that the Uch investment offers our investors access to high quality, risk-adjusted returns.

We look forward to continuing to work with the CER management team to develop and acquire further power related projects in the MENASA region where the growing economies and population levels have led to acute shortages of power that we hope to address."

Commenting on the announcement, Shahzad Qasim, Founder and CEO of CER stated: "The closing of this transaction is an important milestone for CER. We are excited about expanding the generation capacity at Uch to help meet the growing power demand in the country. We are pleased to partner with International Power plc, Hawkins International, Inc and Hasan Associates and look forward to developing a fruitful relationship going forward We would like to express our gratitude for the trust and confidence the Government of Pakistan and other stakeholders in the plant have placed in CER."

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Neo]

Pakistan To Have Zero-Rated Access To Malaysian Market By Jan 2009​

KARACHI, April9 Asia Pulse - Pakistan will have a zero-rated access to Malaysian market by January 2009 due tothe elimination of tariffs on 6,669 items out of the 10,593 products offered in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) titled Malaysia-Pakistan Close Economic Partnership Agreement MPCEPA.

These items have been placed in Fast Track category; however, most of Pakistani products under the Core category are either out of the ambit of FTA or have been put in Sensitive list.

The tariff on the 6,669 items under Fast Track Category will be reduced to zero per cent, indicating that Pakistan's products will be successful in penetrating potential market of Malaysia.

The items under Fast Track Category will have an edge on the products of competing countries like India, China and Bangladesh and its effects would be visible by the end of next year.

Exploring Pakistans Export Potential to Malaysia in the context of MPCEPA, Mujeeb Ahmed Khan, Head WTO Cell, TDAP in his research paper wrote, the total indicative potential for Pakistans export products in Malaysian market, the third biggest economy in South East Asia, has been estimated at $US1.17 billion against the present level of only $US54 million.

The benefit, given in the form of concessions under FTA between Pakistan and Malaysia, can be materialized to achieve the envisaged potential provided tangible efforts, in terms of competency level and quality of products, is ensured to the requirements of the Malaysian buyer.

This research output disseminated information on the tariffs, non tariff barriers and the administrative procedures under MPECPA which gave identification of support needed by the exporters to boost and increase exports to Malaysia and to consider KCCI as an outreach station of WTO Cell.

Perceiving gains from MPCEPA, out of 97 items under the Core Category, only seven items have been placed in Fast Track while 75 items have been placed in category of Normal Track which means that most of the items would get zero-rated tariff by 2012. Although the present value of core products has been estimated at $US19.87 million the untapped potential of such products has been estimated $US275 million.

Out of 20 items under Other Core Category, 10 items have been placed in Fast Track Category which mean that they will become zero-rated by January 2009 and help achieving the indicative potential of $US497 million against its present value of $US13.7 million. It indicates that the focused attention on these products, considerable growth can be witnessed in Malaysian Market.

The Developmental Category is perceived to have more benefits as out of 71 products, 58 have been placed under Fast Track Category which means that the products under this category will have zero-rated access to Malaysia by Jan 2009. There is hence an ample opportunity for these products to improve the current value of $US22.6 million to more than $US425 million as the indicative potential of such products has been estimated $US405 million.

Amongst top- 20 export products from Pakistan to Malaysia, six items have been placed in Fast Track Category, which means that by the end of next year, most of them would be given market access at par with regional member countries of ASEAN while ten items have been placed under Normal track Category. .The indicative potential of top-20 export items has been estimated at $US414 million. It is expected that the concessions given under FTA will help tap the indicative potential with greater pace.

In the Normal Track, 1215 items including cotton, yarn, cotton cloth, art silk and synthetic yarn, knitted or crotched fabrics, ready made garments, bed linen and textile made-ups will get zero rated market access by 1st January 2012. While, 2111 items have been placed in Sensitive track which would be further divided in 3 categories; under ST1 224 items would have only 5 per cent duty by 2011, under ST2 616 items would have 10ercent duty on 1-01-2014 and under ST3 1271 items would have 20 per cent duty on 1-01- 2011 knit wears/hosiery and embroidery of textile materials.

Sixteen items would be importable by Malaysia under the Tariff Quota and a further 450 items are in Highly Sensitive List (HSL. While 102 items are in Exclusion List which would not be given any preferential market access by Malaysia.

Malaysia ranks 3rd largest economy in the ASEAN region with $US148.9 billion GDP and leading Muslim country in terms of exports over $US200 billion. It is a high middle-income, export-oriented economy, with GDP per capita of $US5718 and a worlds leading exporter of Palm oil and major oil and gas exporter in the region.

Malaysian imports from Pakistan grew only by $US5 million during five years, depicting insignificant annual growth of 1.8 per cent while Malaysian exports to Pakistan increased by $US317.5 million (From US$525 million to US$842.5 million), showing 7.6 per cent growth per annum. Balance or trade was in favour of Malaysia by US$738 million in the year 2006.

Rice, Fish, Cotton Yarn, Textile fabrics, bed linens and sports balls were the main exporting items from Pakistan to Malaysia.

Palm oil, which is overall the fifth largest import product of Pakistan, was the largest item exported by Malaysia, which constituted 50 per cent of the total exports from Malaysia to Pakistan. The balance of Trade remains in favour of Malaysia mainly due to Palm Oil export to Pakistan.

MPCEPA Signed on 08-11-2007, the first bilateral FTA between two Muslim countries and the first comprehensive FTA incorporating trade in goods, trade in services, investment and economic co-operation. Malaysia has offered 10593 products in all at nine-digit level of HS Code. The base rate for reduction and elimination of tariff is the applied Most-favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff rates as of: (a) 1 January 2006 in the case of Malaysia; and (b) 1 July 2006 in the case of Pakistan.

Pakistan To Have Zero-Rated Access To Malaysian Market By Jan 2009 - Yahoo!7 News

 

[Neo]

$104.5 million Barani water project to be launched from July: PIPD ​

FAISALABAD (April 09 2008): The Barani Integrated Water Resources Sector Project will be launched next fiscal year from July 2008, and it will be completed during 2014 by the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department (PIPD) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to update project investment plan, PIPD sources said the investment cost of the project is estimated at $104.5 million equivalent, including taxes and duties of $14.4 million equivalent. Financial charges during implementation (comprising interest during implementation and commitment charges) are estimated at $7.5 million.

Sources stated that the project's impact is to improve households' income and health in the four districts of Attock, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, and Chakwal in the Barani Areas of Punjab. The project's outcome is to increase agriculture and livestock productivity and household access to domestic water supply.

The project outcome will also be increased sustainable water storage capacity; sustainable and profitable command areas and domestic water supply developed; and enhanced dam planning, management, and implementation capacity.

The second output will be developed sustainable rural water supplies and sanitation and increased small towns, domestic water entitlements; efficient community-based management irrigation schemes, and improved farmers' access to production support and market services.

They said the sector project will support the Punjab government's efforts to develop water resources and improve their management in four districts of the Barani areas of Punjab that suffer from water scarcity. The project intends to improve households' income and health by increasing crop and livestock productivity through irrigation development and increased access to water and sanitation.

Activities will include (i) the construction of dams and appurtenant structures to increase water availability in the area; (ii) watershed management to enhance the dams' life expectancy; (iii) development of the rural water supply for communities in the vicinity of the dam; (iv) development of community-managed irrigation distribution network; (v) agriculture extension services to support the transition to irrigated agriculture; and (vi) institutional support.

The project will also rehabilitate and develop irrigation schemes, provide extension support, and improve watershed management in existing dams. To address the problem of sustainability and low economic returns observed in previous dam projects in Barani areas, the project will change the sub-sector implementation practices and follow an integrated approach looking simultaneously at dam development, watershed management, and command area development. Similarly, it will support devolution of the water scheme to organised water users and foster a demand-driven approach through the inclusion of social mobilisation support.

While figures from the government of Punjab indicate that between 75 and 80 percent of the population have access to safe drinking water in the Pothowar plateau, the real availability of water to households in this area is extremely limited.

As early as in the 1960s, the sources said that dams were developed to increase water availability in the Pothowar plateau. To date, a total of 50 dams from 11 to 40 meters (m) high and with reservoir storage of from 600,000 to 54 million cubic meters (m3) have been commissioned by the Small Dams Organisation (SDO) under the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department (PIPD), with a total canal command area of around 24,500 hectares. This storage represents 12 percent of the estimated 2,320 million total runoff generated in the plateau and only a small portion of the many potential dam sites that have already been identified.

The PIPD will be the executing agency for the project and responsible for overall project management and implementation. A PMU headed by a PIPD-appointed project director will be established. Three PMU field offices, one for Attock and Rawalpindi districts, one for Chakwal district, and one for Jhelum district will be established. Each office will be staffed with a full-time specialist seconded from the Punjab government departments of agriculture, livestock, and forestry.

The PMU will assume the following roles: (i) overall interagency and district coordination; (ii) recruiting consultants and non-government organisations (NGOs), and awarding procurement and consulting contracts, as well as all project financial management; (iii) consolidating, reviewing, and submitting regular progress and financial reports to the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the ADB; and (iv) monitoring and evaluating project outputs and results. The PMU will also be responsible for directly implementing the watershed management activities under the first, second, and third outputs. The Small Dams Organisation (SDO) will be responsible for implementing dam planning and construction activities under the first output.

In implementing those activities, SDO will receive specific advisory support on safeguard and technical matters from the PMU. For each subproject under its responsibility, the SDO will appoint a sub-divisional officer who will supervise the dam feasibility and, detail design studies, and the engineering construction supervision consultants. In implementing the water supply-related activities, the PMU will involve the relevant tehsil municipal administration (TMAs) in (i) assessing the demand for water supplies, (ii) organising the future water supply users, and (iii) supervising the overall execution of works and services related to water supply activities.

To expedite project implementation, the PIPD sources mentioned that the sub-projects will be prepared in batches equivalent to 2,000 hectares (ha) of irrigated agriculture development (between one and four sub-projects).

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Neo]

Telenor Pakistan selects Acision for dramatic growth ​

KARACHI (April 09 2008): Messaging, charging and usage monitoring to help improve customer experience Acision, the messaging and charging company of choice for over 300 network operators and service providers, announced today that Telenor Pakistan has selected Acision to provide its high performance Next Generation Short Message Service Centre (SMSC), Pre-delivery Service Agent (PSA).

A gateway for message charging, and Business Tools platform. As Telenor Pakistan continues to aggressively expand its market share in the region, these new solutions will help to quickly implement new services, understand customer usage patterns and ensure sufficient capacity for expansion in the future.

Telenor Pakistan's decision to expand with Acision's highly scalable solutions will allow the operator to trial new messaging services and key features with customers before commercially launching them to the market, providing the highest quality experience for its subscriber base.

As a result of strong and sustained development in the region's mobile market, Telenor Pakistan, the country's fastest growing operator, is competing for new subscribers from a rapidly increasing customer base.

Acision's Pre-delivery Agent will help Telenor Pakistan to benefit from a simplified message charging architecture, which reduces the complexity and cost of launching new service plans across both pre- and post-paid subscriber bases. In addition to managing performance and efficiency, Telenor Pakistan will use Acision's Business tools to analyse subscriber usage patterns and obtain operational intelligence.

This allows Telenor Pakistan to understand what their customers want and offer them value-added services through targeted marketing campaigns, thereby enhancing subscriber satisfaction while at the same time ensuring future revenue growth.

Chief Technical Officer Telenor Pakistan, Peter Anthony Dindial, commented: "In what is an exciting, fast moving market, we must be ready to meet growing subscriber numbers and offer them the reliable and robust services that they demand. Telenor and Acision have a relationship that spans the globe across all Telenor entities.

Our decision to work with Acision in Pakistan is based on their ability to deliver comprehensive solutions in terms of value add for our end subscribers, helping Telenor Pakistan to benefit from Acision's expertise as a leader in the global mobile market."

Boudewijn Pesch, Managing Director for Acision in Asia Pacific, added: "For an operator to harness a strong subscriber base, it is paramount that services offered can cope with the growing demand of future subscribers. Telenor Pakistan has recognised that Acision delivers robust, scalable market-leading solutions in Messaging and Charging, coupled with the experience and support capability to assist Telenor Pakistan with its future long-term growth."

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[fatman17]

Pakistan sugar exports seen at 250,000T in 07-08

MUMBAI: Pakistan, which entered the world sugar market in January after a gap of five years, has planned to export about 250,000 tonnes in the current crop year to September, a leading producer said on Thursday.

An importer of sugar in recent years, Pakistan struck its first deal to export the sweetener in early 2008 by selling 1,000 tonnes of whites to Sri Lanka and has been ramping up overseas sales since then.

“Mills have so far contracted to export 150,000-200,000 tonnes of sugar from the new season,” Ahmed Ebrahim Hasham, a director at Mehran Sugar Mills Ltd, told Reuters on the sidelines of a sugar conference in Mumbai.

“Out of the total contracts for exports this season, some have already been shipped to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Yemen,” he said.

Sugarcane crushing season in Pakistan runs from October to September.

Mills in the country plan to export 50,000 tonnes sugar more and they would like to tap markets in the Middle East and Bangladesh, he said. Pakistan, which consumes around 4.2 million tonnes of sugar annually, is expected to produce between 4.6-4.8 million tonnes this year, up from 3.5 million tonnes last year, Hasham said.

“Production is expected to be slightly lower next year as farmers have not been paid well for their cane this time due to low sugar prices in the country. While production is expected to fall slightly next year, consumption has started rising by about 5 percent annually,” he said.

The country was not likely to import sugar next year despite expected drop in output as last year’s carryover stocks would help meet domestic demand, Hasham said. Pakistan imported around one million tonnes of sugar in the year to September 2007, including 700,000-800,000 tonnes from India. reuters

 

[ejaz007]

Pakistan, S Lanka to strengthen trade relations

LAHORE: Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are lucrative investment locations for each other’s exporters as Pakistan is a gateway to resource-rich Central Asian States while on the other hand Sri Lanka enjoys duty-free access to huge European and Indian markets.

This was the consensus developed at a meeting between Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dr Wijeratne Bandara Dorakumbure and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Mohammad Ali Mian here at LCCI on Wednesday.

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner said that under Generalised System of Preference (GSP) Sri Lanka has a free access to huge European market and under the regional pact it enjoys same facility with India that could be availed by Pakistani exporters for re-export to these markets.

He said both Pakistan and Sri Lanka had signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the accord should be utilised to the maximum for the promotion of two-way trade.

Sri Lanka has secured duty-free access for as many as 7,200 products to the European Union Market under the EU’s GSP Plus Scheme. The main product categories which have vast potential in Sri Lanka under the GSP Plus Scheme include apparel and textiles, clothing accessories, sea foods, activated carbon, artificial flowers, foliage plants, rubber-based products tableware and bicycles. staff report

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