Pakistan's Economy - News and Updates

[Hyde]

UAE company likely to invest $150 million on fresh water supply to Site​

AFTAB CHANNA

KARACHI (April 20 2010): A UAE-based company is likely to inject an investment of at least $150 million shortly to establish 20 mgd desalinated water and wastewater treatment and recycling plant for supply of fresh water to Sindh Industrial Trading Estates (Site) Limited, it is learnt.

According to sources, Shuaa Capital, a UAE-based firm, has shown keenness to bring an investment of $150 million to set up the desalination plant for the industries of the Site to recycle the industrial wastewater and make it useful again, which would ensure smooth supply of potable water for industrial purposes.

The desalination plant would also generate more than 50 mw electricity for the industries, which are facing very several serious problems due to the prevailing energy crisis in the country, they said. The problems of water shortages in different areas of the city would also be resolved after establishment of this desalination plant as the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) would divert the water quantity of SITE Ltd to the areas facing paucity of potable water, sources added.

"Yes, Shuaa Capital is interested in bringing an investment of at least $150 million to set up 20 mgd desalinated water and wastewater treatment and recycling plant in the Site Ltd soon", confirmed Sindh Minister for Industries and Commerce Rauf Siddiqui while talking to Business Recorder.

"The shareholder of the Septech Holdings Limited - Shuaa Capital had invited me to visit their offices in the United Arab Emirates to further discuss the project opportunities in the city. I went to UAE and held a meeting with Septech's executive management team that gave briefing about the project on April 18, 2010", he added.

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of Australian Trade Commission and the World Bank (WB). The minister said he had assured the firm of all possible government co-operation to install water desalination and recycling plant for the industries of SITE Ltd, adding that the plant would be established on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

It was also recommended that representation of SITE Ltd Board of Directors be made necessary in this project so that it could be operated successfully, he added. Siddiqui said that the firm had completed the study of the project and it would soon visit the site of the proposed project and present a demonstration of the desalination plant after which it would be formally allowed to establish the plant.

The desalination plant would fulfil the water requirement of the industries of the SITE Ltd, which would help the KW&SB to ensure supply of adequate potable water to all the city areas, he said and added that the plant would also generate its own electricity at the later stage.

 

[Hyde]

Naval shipbuilding industry: Pakistan and Malaysia can enter into joint ventures
​

ISLAMABAD (April 20 2010): The naval shipbuilding industry of Pakistan and Malaysia can join hands in sharing and envisaging mutually beneficial projects between the two countries. This was stated by the Pakistan's Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Noman Bashir, while replying to a question during an interview with New Straits Times, on the sides line of four-day, 12th Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference (DSA-2010).

The biannual conference was inaugurated by the Defence Minister of Malaysia, Dato Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in Kuala Lumpur, on Monday. Admiral Noman Bashir, while giving interview to the New Straits Times, a highly circulated English newspaper of Malaysia said that Pakistan Navy and Malaysian Navy enjoyed collaboration in many fields including training and conduct of joint Naval exercises.

He saw a great potential in the field of training, sharing experiences and expertise between the two Navies. Chief of Naval Staff spent a busy day at DSA-2010. He met Chinese Vice Minister for Aerospace Industry, Geo Hong Wei and discussed ways and means to further enhance the existing level of co-operation between the two countries.

The Naval Chief also met his Malaysian counterpart, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz bin Jaafar and held wide ranging discussions about the potential and scope of co-operation between the two Navies in various fields. The Naval Chief also visited the Pakistan's Pavilion at DSA-2010 and expressed his satisfaction over the exhibits and layout of the Pakistan Pavilion.

He said that Pakistan Navy, as a policy, was pursuing reliance on indigenously produced defence equipment. At DSA-2010, Pakistan has showcased a wide variety of defence products including Tank & Anti-Tank Ammunition, Air Craft and Anti Craft, Tactical UAV System, Air Defence Automation System, Ammunition, infantry weapons, -Personal Defence Weapons, Artillery Ammunition, Hand Grenades, Small Arms Ammunition, Pyrotechnics and Demolition Store and Propellants and Explosives.

The other countries taking part in exhibition are; Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands , Turkey, UK and USA.

 

[ameer219]

Sweden to enhance trade with Pakistan: envoy


Wednesday, April 21, 2010
By our correspondent

LAHORE: Swedish Ambassador in Pakistan Ulrika Sundberg has said that Sweden’s Trade and Commerce Minister would visit Pakistan shortly to expedite trade relations with Pakistan.

“Sweden is considering sector-specific measures to enhance trade with Pakistan,” she said speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday.

Sundberg said that 80 per cent trade of Sweden was with the European Union, and Pakistan too should seek to strengthen regional trade.

She said Pakistan and Sweden should identify more tradable products to enhance mutual trade.

Pakistan is known for its textile products, sports goods, surgical instruments, fresh fruits & vegetables, rice, carpets, leather made ups, fish and fish preparations, handicrafts, artificial jewellery, fancy furniture, footwear, hosiery, garments, and so many other consumable items, which still needs to be properly introduced in European Market, the envoy noted.

Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI Senior Vice President Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that both the countries should make a fresh start by initiating new business ventures.

Sweden to enhance trade with Pakistan: envoy

 

[ameer219]

'Kuwait enjoys best economic relation with Pakistan'

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI (April 22 2010): Consul General of Kuwait, Nasser Al-Motairi has said that Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular offers most attractive investment environment. Speaking at a joint meeting of Consul Generals of GCC countries led by Dean of Diplomatic Corps and Consul General of Qatar, Rashid Abdul Rahman Al-Naimi and President, Abdul Majid Haji Mohammad Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Wednesday.

Nasser Al-Motairi said that Kuwait enjoys best economic and cordial relation with Pakistan and added that Kuwait like to enhance its investment in the country. He assured that Kuwait would take part in KCCI exhibition scheduled to be held in June this year.

Consul General of Bahrain, Adel Abdul Rehman Mohammad Taqi said that GCC countries enjoying friendly relations with Pakistan and added that these relations would grow stronger in near future. He said" we are here to promote trade, investment and economic relations with Pakistan".

However, he added that every GCC country has its own defined economic agenda and moved forward keeping in mind its own agenda of economic prosperity. President KCCI, Abdul Majid Haji Mohammad emphasised the need of frequent exchange of trade delegations, dissemination of trade and investment information's, and regular participation in international exhibitions held in each other countries from time to time.

Consul General of Saudi Arabia, Falih Muhammad Al-Ruhaily, Consul General of Oman, Khamis Mohammad Abdullah Al-Farsi, Acting Consul General of United Arab Emirates, Bakheet Ateeq Al-Rumaithi, Leader of Business Community and former President KCCI, Siraj Kasim Teli were present in the meeting beside others.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2010
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[ameer219]

Performance in 2 months: External debt, liabilities reduce by 1.7 percent


Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

* Reach $54.324bn by end of March 2010 against $55.266bn in January 2010

By Ijaz Kakakhel

ISLAMABAD: The external debt and liabilities of the country reduced by $942 million or 1.7 percent to $54.324 billion by end of March 2010 as compared with $55.266 billion in January 2010, sources told Daily Times on Friday.

However, the external debt and liabilities, which was $43.141 billion in 2008, now reached $54.324 billion, showing 26 percent increase in the last two years.

The total medium and long-term external debt and liabilities on March 31, 2010 reached $41.839 billion and short-term debt remained at $600 million. The total sum of these two loans is $42.439 billion and is known as Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt. By January 2010 the sum total of these two types of external debts was $43.234 billion, which reduced by $0.795 billion in the last two months.

Medium and long-term debt: It further consists of external loan taken from sources like multilateral, bilateral, issuing of bonds, commercial banks and defence.

Multilateral: In the last two months, multilateral external debt and liabilities reduced to $23.221 billion from earlier $23.734 billion. The break-up of this category is $11.068 billion from Asian Development Bank (ADB), $1.707 billion from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and $9.831 billion from International Development Association (IDA).

From other sources the government took $616 million by March 31 2010. These sources are European Investment Bank (EIB) $63 million, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) $319 million, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) $187 million, NORD Development Fund $15 million, and OPEC fund $23 million.

Bilateral: Total loan from bilateral bases reached $16.572 billion on March 31 2010, which was $16.665 billion by January 2010, showing a decrease of $93 million in the last two months. The bilateral external debt composed of two sources-Paris Club Countries ($14.017 billion) and Non-Paris Club Countries ($2.555 billion) by end of March 2010.

Paris Club Countries included various countries, which are Austria $67 million, Belgium $34 million, Canada $531 million, Finland $6 million, France $2.178 billion, Germany 1.824 billion, Italy $105 million, Japan $6.674 billion, Korea $476 million, Netherlands $117 million, Norway $21 million, Russia $121 million, Spain $80 million, Sweden $153 million, Switzerland $108 million, United Kingdom $10 million, United States $1.514 billion.

Non-Paris Club Countries’ external debt and liabilities reached $2.555 billion till end of March 2010. These countries are China $1.882 billion, Kuwait $105 million, Libya $5 million, Saudi Arabia $442 million and United Arab Emirates $121 million.

Bonds: Total liabilities on issuing different bonds etc reached $1.572 billion by end of March 2010, which was $2.150 billion in January 2010.

Commercial banks: The foreign debt and liabilities from the commercial banks reached $275 million by end of March 2010, while it was $166 million in January 2010.

Defence: External debt and liabilities remained $199 million by end of March 2010 and the same amount was recorded on January 1, 2010.

Short-term debt: Total short-term debt from IBD reached $600 million by end of March 2010, which was $320 million in January 2010.

Banking sector debt: Total banking sector debt of the country reached $262 million till end of March 2010, which consists of long-term $120 million and short-term $142 million. While in January 2010 the banking sector debt of the country reached $196 million, which consists of long-term $126 million and short-term $70 million.

Private sector debt: Total private sector debt reached $3.217 billion till January 2010, official figures available with Daily Times revealed. The sub-component of this sector is multilateral creditors at $421 million, Paris Club $1.548 billion, Non-Paris Club $259 million, SBP $852 million and bonds $137 million. However, the total private sector debt was recorded at $2.942 billion till January 2010.

International Mon-etary Fund (IMF) debt: Total IMF debt and liabilities reached $7.206 billion by end of March 2010, which was $7.494 billion in January 1, 2010.

Deposits with SBP: Under this category, the government’s foreign debt and liabilities reached $1.200 billion, while it was $1.400 billion in January 2010.

 

[Martian2]

China has done more to help Pakistan than any other country. China has helped Pakistan with a $500-million-dollar aid package, build two more nuclear reactors totaling 680 MegaWatts, build hydroelectric dam, build communications satellite, build railway, and help develop agriculture and telecom sectors.

The Pakistan Ledger (see last newslink) states: "The Chinese have gone out of their way to help Pakistan, even losing the lives of their citizens in the process."

China Gives $500 Million in Aid Package, Pakistan Says - WSJ.com
"Beijing agreed to extend $500 million in aid to Pakistan, a rare move by China to take a leadership role in a global crisis."

China to help Pakistan build two more nuclear reactors
"China to help Pakistan build two more nuclear reactors
October 18th, 2008 - 7:47 pm ICT by IANS

Islamabad, Oct 18 (DPA) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Memhood Qureshi Saturday said China has assured the country to help build two more nuclear power reactors to overcome its energy crisis. An agreement was signed during President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent visit to China, Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad.

“These two new units will increase electricity production by 680 megawatts, which will have positive effect on Pakistani economy,” he said."

China to help Pakistan build hydro-electric project
"Mar 25, 2008 ... China to help Pakistan build hydro-electric project. ... Birdie said the project was of “national importance” to Pakistan as upstream India ..."

China to help Pakistan build satellite | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire
"Sep 19, 2009 ... China to help Pakistan build satellite. 08:44 19/09/2009 China will assist Pakistan in building a new communications satellite, ..."

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-c...ies+india-za-13
"Jun 3, 2009 ... Chinese help for Pakistan railway worries India ... NEW DELHI: Indian officials are worried that China is involved in building what they say ..."

http://www.nation.com.pk/Pakistan-news-new...telecom-sectors
"China to help Pak developing agriculture and telecom sectors
June 17, 2009

The Chinese Vice-Minister for Industries and Information Technology assured that his country will help Pakistan in developing agriculture and telcom sectors. He held out the assurance during his meeting with visiting Minister for Investment Senator Waqar Ahmed Khan. The two sides also reached an agreement to strengthen their interaction to bring together the relevant private sectors of the two countries to achieve the results."

http://pakistanledger.com/2010/03/12/china...tan-on-kashmir/
"Mar 12, 2010 ... The Chinese have gone out of their way to help Pakistan, even losing the lives of their citizens in the process. ..."

 

[uniworking]

This is Marine from Uniworking Co.,Limited in China. and our company has a lot of deals in Pakistan, so i have to know a lot of information in the trade of Pakistan.
thanks.
Marine
Mobile: +86 13751350660

 

[inayatali]

Pakistan Economy


Economy - overview:
Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, has suffered from decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment. Between 2001-07, however, poverty levels decreased by 10%, as Islamabad steadily raised development spending. Between 2004-07, GDP growth in the 5-8% range was spurred by gains in the industrial and service sectors - despite severe electricity shortfalls - but growth slowed in 2008-09 and unemployment rose. Inflation remains the top concern among the public, jumping from 7.7% in 2007 to 20.8% in 2008, and 14.2% in 2009. In addition, the Pakistani rupee has depreciated since 2007 as a result of political and economic instability. The government agreed to an International Monetary Fund Standby Arrangement in November 2008 in response to a balance of payments crisis, but during 2009 its current account strengthened and foreign exchange reserves stabilized - largely because of lower oil prices and record remittances from workers abroad. Textiles account for most of Pakistan's export earnings, but Pakistan's failure to expand a viable export base for other manufactures have left the country vulnerable to shifts in world demand. Other long term challenges include expanding investment in education, healthcare, and electricity production, and reducing dependence on foreign donors.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$448.1 billion (2009 est.)

$436.4 billion (2008 est.)
$422 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$166.5 billion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.7% (2009 est.)

3.4% (2008 est.)
6% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita:
$2,600 (2009 est.)

$2,500 (2008 est.)
$2,500 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20.8%

industry: 24.3%

services: 54.9% (2009 est.)


Labor force:
55.88 million
note: extensive export of labor, mostly to the Middle East, and use of child labor (2009 est.)


Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 43%

industry: 20.3%

services: 36.6% (2005 est.)


Unemployment rate:
15.2% (2009 est.)

13.6% (2008 est.)
note: substantial underemployment exists

Population below poverty line:
24% (FY05/06 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%

highest 10%: 26.5% (2005)


Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30.6 (FY07/08)

41 (FY98/99)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $23.21 billion
expenditures: $30.05 billion (2009 est.)


Public debt:
45.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

51.2% of GDP (2008 est.)


Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14.2% (2009 est.)

20.3% (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
15% (31 December 2008)

10% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)


Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)

$52.76 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:
$NA (31 December 2008)

$18.42 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)

$65.05 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$23.49 billion (31 December 2008)

$70.26 billion (31 December 2007)
$45.52 billion (31 December 2006)

Agriculture - products:
cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables; milk, beef, mutton, eggs

Industries:
textiles and apparel, food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer, shrimp

Industrial production growth rate:
-3.6% (2009 est.)


Electricity - production:
90.8 billion kWh (2007 est.)


Electricity - consumption:
72.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)


Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)


Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2008 est.)


Oil - production:
61,870 bbl/day (2008 est.)


Oil - consumption:
383,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)


Oil - exports:
30,090 bbl/day (2007 est.)


Oil - imports:
319,500 bbl/day (2007 est.)


Oil - proved reserves:
339 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)


Natural gas - production:
37.5 billion cu m (2008 est.)


Natural gas - consumption:
37.5 billion cu m (2008 est.)


Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)


Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2008 est.)


Natural gas - proved reserves:
885.3 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)


Current account balance:
$-2.42 billion (2009 est.)

$-15.68 billion (2008 est.)

Exports:
$17.87 billion (2009 est.)

$21.09 billion (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:
textiles (garments, bed linen, cotton cloth, yarn), rice, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals, manufactures, carpets and rugs

Exports - partners:
US 16%, UAE 11.7%, Afghanistan 8.6%, UK 4.5%, China 4.2% (2008)

Imports:
$28.31 billion (2009 est.)

$38.19 billion (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:
petroleum, petroleum products, machinery, plastics, transportation equipment, edible oils, paper and paperboard, iron and steel, tea

Imports - partners:
China 14.1%, Saudi Arabia 12%, UAE 11.2%, Kuwait 5.4%, India 4.8%, US 4.7%, Malaysia 4.1% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$15.68 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$8.903 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external:
$52.12 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$46.39 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$27.95 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$25.44 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.078 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.017 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Exchange rates:
Pakistani rupees (PKR) per US dollar - 81.41 (2009), 70.64 (2008), 60.6295 (2007), 60.35 (2006), 59.515 (2005)



Refence:http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/pakistan/pakistan_economy.html

 

[ameer219]

PIA recorded Rs 2.84 billion operating profit in 2009


Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

KARACHI: PIA achieved operating profit of Rs 2.84 billion for the year 2009 after four years of operating losses, operating loss for the year 2008 was Rs 7.3 billion. Managing

Director PIA, Captain Muhammad Aijaz Haroon informed the Shareholders at the 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of PIA on Saturday.

MD PIA said the year 2009 proved to be a challenging year for the national flag carrier as global recession continued to widen financial crisis. Globally, airlines have recorded dips in passenger loads, cargo loads and yields. Higher inflation in the country also exerted pressure on the cost structure of the airline. He added.

He said PIA’s after-tax financial losses decreased to Rs 5.82 billion in 2009 from Rs 36.14 billion in 2008. The airline’s revenue increased by 6.4 percent, yield by 7 percent, and the excess baggage revenue target of Rs1 billion was surpassed by Rs 45 million.

PIA’s Hajj Operation 2009-2010 was conducted with PIA’s own fleet. Flights were operated directly from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. PIA has begun direct Hajj flights from Sialkot as well. Total of 118,000 hujjaj (pilgrims) traveled to the holy land and got back on PIA aircrafts with a technical reliability of 99.5 percent.

Moreover, Saudi Civil Aviation Authorities awarded a shield to PIA for distinguished passenger handling services at Jeddah and Madinah Airports during last Hajj. MD PIA added.

PIA has successfully adopted e-ticketing. 99 percent of PIA network has been shifted to electronic ticketing from paper ticketing. Web ticketing has been introduced for major domestic flights and over 60 percent of all international stations were operational for web ticketing in the year 2009. Similar arrangements are under way for the remaining stations.

PIA adopted strict fraud detection and prevention methods for e-ticketing through software tool developed in-house, for which the airline was presented an award at the Sabre Global Conference in USA, he added.

Whereas, PIA initiated continuous improvement process such as 6 sigma and lean manufacturing to streamline operations to reduce costs. The airline continued to reap the benefits of the CF6-80C2 overhaul initiated in 2008, this saved PIA $20 million during the year. During 2009, PIA engineering obtained certification from regulatory authorities of Qatar, Indonesia and Zimbabwe for providing engineering services to third party customers to enhance revenue. Travel for tourism to Pakistan remained unfavorable by the foreigners due to grim law and order situation within the country. Still, PIA’s overall capacity and passenger traffic variations are better than many airlines, MD PIA explained.

He said the product quality of the airline both in domestic as well as international traffic has enhanced. Two new flights to Barcelona and Frankfurt started while additional frequencies of flights to Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu have been added from Islamabad. staff report

 

[faisaljaffery]

ISLAMABAD: The board of Privatization Commission on Friday gave a go ahead to initiate the process for privatisation of Jamshoro Power Company (JPC), the Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) and SME Bank.

Chairing the meeting Minister for Privatisation Senator Waqar Ahmed emphasised that during the process the commission should seek approvals at a broader forum for all transactions in order to maintain the utmost transparency.

To assess the real value of the entities on the privatisation list, a third party valuation should be carried out and all phases of the process should be conducted in an open, fair and transparent manner to the satisfaction of all stakeholders, he said.

The meeting was informed that the World Bank has shown interest to finance and rehabilitate the technical potential of the JPC before taking it to the market as it was done in the Kapco transaction.

The Heavy Electrical Complex is one of the industrial units of the State Engineering Corporation (SEC) engaged in the manufacturing of power transformers of different types with primary voltage rating of 66KV and 132KV.

The JPC came into being as a result of the unbundling of Wapda and its power station and has a technical configuration of four sets and a total nameplate capacity of 880MW.

The government intends to lease the thermal power stations of JPC at Jamshoro and Kotri to investors, companies or a consortia having net worth $100 million, and desired experience in power generation for concession on lease basis and assets for a period of 15 years.

The SME Bank was formed and incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Ordinance 1984. The government is the major shareholder of the bank.

It was created to address the needs of this niche market with specialised financial products and services that will help stimulate SME development and pro-poor growth in the country.

The PC board sought a presentation from the ministry of finance regarding the utilisation of the privatisation proceeds. The board also reviewed the status of the National Power Construction Company (NPCC) and decided for the revaluation of the entity.

The meeting was also informed that most recently 99 more properties in Punjab have been transferred to PTCL and Etisalat is being approached to de-list the private properties and those under litigation as to close the transaction.

The meeting also reviewed the progress made on the Benazir Employees Stock Option scheme and decided to speed up the distribution of certificates in the remaining entities.

So far, under the scheme more than 40,000 workers of eight entities have received 12 per cent government shares certificates.

 

[SHAMK9]

PIA recorded Rs 2.84 billion operating profit in 2009


Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

KARACHI: PIA achieved operating profit of Rs 2.84 billion for the year 2009 after four years of operating losses, operating loss for the year 2008 was Rs 7.3 billion. Managing

Director PIA, Captain Muhammad Aijaz Haroon informed the Shareholders at the 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of PIA on Saturday.

MD PIA said the year 2009 proved to be a challenging year for the national flag carrier as global recession continued to widen financial crisis. Globally, airlines have recorded dips in passenger loads, cargo loads and yields. Higher inflation in the country also exerted pressure on the cost structure of the airline. He added.

He said PIA’s after-tax financial losses decreased to Rs 5.82 billion in 2009 from Rs 36.14 billion in 2008. The airline’s revenue increased by 6.4 percent, yield by 7 percent, and the excess baggage revenue target of Rs1 billion was surpassed by Rs 45 million.

PIA’s Hajj Operation 2009-2010 was conducted with PIA’s own fleet. Flights were operated directly from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. PIA has begun direct Hajj flights from Sialkot as well. Total of 118,000 hujjaj (pilgrims) traveled to the holy land and got back on PIA aircrafts with a technical reliability of 99.5 percent.

Moreover, Saudi Civil Aviation Authorities awarded a shield to PIA for distinguished passenger handling services at Jeddah and Madinah Airports during last Hajj. MD PIA added.

PIA has successfully adopted e-ticketing. 99 percent of PIA network has been shifted to electronic ticketing from paper ticketing. Web ticketing has been introduced for major domestic flights and over 60 percent of all international stations were operational for web ticketing in the year 2009. Similar arrangements are under way for the remaining stations.

PIA adopted strict fraud detection and prevention methods for e-ticketing through software tool developed in-house, for which the airline was presented an award at the Sabre Global Conference in USA, he added.

Whereas, PIA initiated continuous improvement process such as 6 sigma and lean manufacturing to streamline operations to reduce costs. The airline continued to reap the benefits of the CF6-80C2 overhaul initiated in 2008, this saved PIA $20 million during the year. During 2009, PIA engineering obtained certification from regulatory authorities of Qatar, Indonesia and Zimbabwe for providing engineering services to third party customers to enhance revenue. Travel for tourism to Pakistan remained unfavorable by the foreigners due to grim law and order situation within the country. Still, PIA’s overall capacity and passenger traffic variations are better than many airlines, MD PIA explained.

He said the product quality of the airline both in domestic as well as international traffic has enhanced. Two new flights to Barcelona and Frankfurt started while additional frequencies of flights to Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu have been added from Islamabad. staff report

what happened to those 27 aircrafts which they were going to buy?

 

[ameer219]

Pak, Bhutan for expanded role of SAARC in regional development


Pak, Bhutan for expanded role of SAARC in regional development : Business Recorder | LATEST NEWS

THIMPHU (updated on: April 27, 2010, 21:02 PST): Pakistan and Bhutan on Tuesday vowed to play more active and vibrant role to promote the SAARC organization and its activities for the development of the region.

Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigmi Y. Thinley, who had a meeting with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani here on the sidelines of the 16th SAARC Summit emphasised the importance of the organisation and the need for closer cooperation.

The meeting was held in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere at the Pakistan House, where Prime Minister Gilani was staying.

Prime Minister said the spirit of SAARC that has brought together all the members here at Thimphu should be used to bring the people of the region more closer.

He said, "We must utilize the SAARC forum to develop relationship between the member states as well as for the peace and prosperity in the region."

He said the SAARC forum would also provide a chance to develop and strengthen relations between the member states beyond the substance of the conference.

Gilani congratulating the Prime Minister of Bhutan for excellent arrangements for the 16th Summit also thanked him for extending very warm hospitality. He also appreciated the reception at the Paro airport and throughout the route to the Thimphu city, the venue of the summit.

The Prime Minister said the warm reception given to him clearly indicates the already strong relations between the two countries and expressed the hope that the present summit would further strengthen these relations.

Gilani emphasised the need for further expanding relations at people to people level and at the level of parliamentarians. He said frequent exchange of visits by both the countries would bring their people closer.

Appreciating the theme of environment of the SAARC summit, the Prime Minister Gilani said it was very important issue not only for the region but also for the world. He said better environment was a must for a better and prosperous future of the world.

The Prime Minister of Bhutan Jigmi Y Thinley appreciated the efforts of Pakistan to improve law and order situation in Swat and added that improvement of the situation would help the people from Bhutan to visit that area as it was the birth place of second most important Bhudda Guru Padmas Ambava.

He expressed the hope that in near future, more people from Bhutan will be able to visit Swat.

Prime Minister Gilani extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of Bhutan to visit Pakistan, which was accepted by him and he promised to visit Pakistan on mutually agreed dates.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other high officials from the Foreign Office were also present in the meeting that lasted for over half an hour.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2010

 

[ameer219]

Turkey keen to extend bilateral trade to $5bn with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Turkey is keen to enhance bilateral trade with Pakistan to $5 billion, which was just $782 million in 2009 and much below the potential of the two countries.

Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan M. Babur Hizlan during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) said though Pak-Turk Business Council has set a target of increasing bilateral trade between the two countries up to $2 billion by 2012, however, Turkey aims to take it to $ 4billion to $5 billion in coming days.

Hizlan said there is a new interest in Turkey about making investment in Pakistan’s energy sector. He said a Turkish company has already set up a windmill unit in Sindh to produce wind energy while another company from Turkey is coming to Pakistan next month with an energy production plant to provide more than 200 megawatt energy to Karachi.

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[ameer219]

Foreign investors buy $11.99m worth of stocks at KSE

By Tanveer Ahmed

KARACHI: The Karachi stock market remained the focus of international investors on Thursday with substantial amount of buying by the foreign fund managers in the local stocks.

Foreigners bought $19.6 million worth of stocks and sold $7.61 million holdings, National Clearing Company of Pakistan’s (NCCPL) figures showed.

Net foreign investment during the day stood at $11.99 million. Foreign investors have been active for the last three months in the local equity market due to discounted values of Pakistani stocks.

Analysts said that although foreign investors became active since the start of the current year when political uncertainty and fragile law and order situation were prevailing over the country, however in the current weeks when the dust settled on political scene, foreign buying has become more vigour.

They also pointed out that the whole region was receiving bulk money from the western markets and Pakistan too was receiving its share and discount values of local scrips further boosted the confidence of foreigners in local market.

Due to aggressive buying in the local market, foreign investors, whose combined holding was $1.9 billion at the beginning of 2010, now hold equities over $2.3 billion, which constitutes 6.6 percent of the total market capitalisation and a significant 26.5 percent of its free float. “This is the highest level since July 2008,” analysts said.

Apart from aggressive foreign buying, the corporate announcements from the listed companies flooded the market on Thursday and notable among the corporate announcements were Pakistan Telecommuni-cation Company Limited (PTCL) and Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) etc.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Improving sales: Auto allied industry recovering

By Moonis Ahmed

KARACHI: With improving auto sales every month, the auto allied industry is also reaping benefits, as industries related to the auto sector showed exceptional performance by posting earnings growth of 65-110 percent during the nine months of the current fiscal year (9MFY10).

Topline Research analyst Furqan Punjani said that during 9MFY10 total auto industry sales grew by 30 percent to 153,000 units and being related to the auto sector, Thal Limited (Thall), Balochistan Wheels (BWHL) and Atlas Battery (ATBA), posted earnings growth of 65-110 percent.

He said that the volumes in these scrips have improved significantly during the last 9 months and ATBA posted total 80 percent return to its shareholders followed by THALL 27 percent and BWHL 15 percent.

Thal Limited: The company operates in four areas-engineering segment, buildings material operations, jute operations and paper sack operations. Automobile segment, which had 45 percent share in overall revenues in FY09, mainly includes sales of radiators, air conditioners and other components, which have surged to 60 percent in 9MFY10. During the said period, total sales of the company stood at Rs 7.2 billion as compared to Rs 5.8 billion in 9MFY09, up 23 percent. This is primarily due to improvement in car sales.

According to our analysis with the company, revenue contribution from car sales stood at 60 percent, besides, better rupee sales, overall margins of the company stood at record 22 percent as compared with 17 percent last year. This higher earnings growth reflected in overall volumes traded at local bourses. During 9MFY10, average daily turnover stood at 58,000 shares (Rs 5.7 million) as against average 51,000 shares (Rs 3.5 million) in FY09.

BWHL: It’s one of the major suppliers of wheels to the auto industry in Pakistan having 95 percent market share. It posted impressive earnings in 9MFY10. The company posted net earnings of Rs 63 million [earning per share (EPS) of Rs 4.7] during 9MFY10 versus Rs 31 million last year (EPS Rs 2.3), up 102 percent. The top line of the company improved to Rs 1 billion, up 25 percent as compared to Rs 806 million in the said period.

AGS: One of the most common brands in local batteries, the company has a market share of 35 percent. During 9MFY10, the company posted earnings of Rs 172 million versus Rs 104 million last year, reflecting a significant growth of 65 percent.

The company was able to post Rs 2.8 billion net revenues in 9MFY10 as against Rs 2.2 billion in the same quarter last year as with improving auto sales and higher use of batteries for electricity purposes also contributed in it. Moreover, gross margins of the company also stood impressive at 16 percent from 15 percent last year. The company has a free float of 2.5 million shares whereas average daily volumes traded during 9MFY10 stood at 15.7k (Rs 2.4 million) versus 4.3k shares (Rs 0.446 million) in FY09.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

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‘Pakistan to get $600m in CSF funds quickly’

WASHINGTON: The US plans to quickly transfer $600 million to Pakistan to reimburse the government for military operations over the last year, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “There has been some concern on Pakistan’s part about the rate at which they are reimbursed for the Coalition Support Funds for their efforts in the war on terror on our behalf within their borders,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said at a news conference. “We have made great strides over the past few weeks to try to accelerate reimbursement payments to the Pakistanis... We have, I think, in total about $600 million that is in route or will soon be in route in the next few weeks to Pakistan to reimburse them for their operations over the past year.” The payment delay has been a source of friction and has contributed to Pakistan’s economic woes. The US is in arrears in paying about $2 billion in military aid to Pakistan under the so-called Coalition Support Fund. reuters

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan