Despite the challenges and
borrowings from the Central Bank to meet budgetary deficits, loans to the
private sector have increased. Since July 2012 to date, loans increased by Rs173
billion as compared to Rs56.8 billion during the same period last year. Advances
to large scale manufactures increased 2.9 percent, which is low but encouraging. SBP since the beginning of FY12 has consistently reduced the discount rate,
cumulative decline to date being 450 bps. Reduction in interest rate alone has
assisted credit off take. SBP in light of lowering of inflation has given an
incentive to the economy to boost the private sector through expansion of credit
with hopes to increase production and GDP growth.......
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PAGE TOP STORIES
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
& PAGE SPECIAL REPORTS
.
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INTERVIEW WITH DR ABDUL WAHAB, VICE CHANCELLOR, MOHAMMAD ALI
JINNAH UNIVERSITY
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.
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At present Professor Dr. Abdul Wahab is
Vice Chancellor of Mohammad Ali Jinnah University (MAJU). For his meritorious
service in the field of education he has been conferred ‘Order of The Rising
Sun’ award, the second highest, by the Emperor and Prime Minister of Japan. He
has also been conferred ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ by the Government of Pakistan. Prior
to joining MAJU he held positions of Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi and
Director, Institute of Business Administration (IBA). He is known for
administering the educational institutions with an ‘iron hand’, maintaining
highest discipline and keeping these institutions open while almost the entire
country face closure due to one or the other reason....
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.
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INTERVIEW WITH MR MUHAMMAD HAROON AGAR,
PRESIDENT KARACHI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (KCCI)
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A growing and dynamic banking sector is essential for the
country’s economic growth. The banks have shifted their focus towards safer
investment options like placements in government securities, which has deprived
the private sector from availing credit which is so necessary for sustainable
development of the economy. Furthermore, Shariah compliant financial products
and Islamic banking is a relatively newer concept in Pakistan which has attained
quick acceptability in the public and needs to be further developed to cater to
corporate and retail requirements....
NEGLECTING HUGE EXPORT POTENTIAL OF PHARMA
INDUSTRY
.
Syed Nadeem Ahmed, Managing Director of
Searle Pakistan Limited, a globally recognized brand for producing quality drugs
said in an exclusive interview that that actual strength of the pharmaceutical
industry is not translated so far in spite of having a potential to hit $5
billion exports for the country. Syed Nadeem Ahmed carries an extensive exposure
and experience spanning over 24 years in the pharmaceutical operations to
his professional credit. Initially, he started his career as GM Marketing
with Boots and later on joined Martin Dow as Director Marketing where he
gained multiple experiences in all the segments of the pharmaceutical
business.
Prior to his
joining Searle, he was working as the Chief Operating Officer in the said
company......
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TELECOM
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CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY HOLDS THE KEY TO DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF
THE ECONOMY
.
Warid Telecom is a 100 percent owned
company of the Abu Dhabi Group and offers state-of-the-art telecommunication
services at over 7,000 destinations in Pakistan. It launched its cellular
services in Pakistan in May 2005. As an organization, Warid Telecom prides
itself in being contemporary, approachable and constantly innovating. With
achievements ranging from having one of the largest postpaid bases, most loved
youth and prepaid brands, international roaming and nationwide coverage, Warid
Telecom's selection of value added services makes communication effective and
enjoyable...
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AGRICULTURE
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WATER IS THE KEY TO DEVELOP AGRICULTURE IN BALOCHISTAN
.
The new elected government after May 11
polls in Balochistan needs to focus on development of water resources, which is
the key to maximize crop production in a water-starved province. This can be
done through increasing surface water supplies and conserving water using the
latest technologies and protecting land and infrastructure from water logging,
salinity, floods and soil erosion. There is a dire need to overcome the scarcity
of water through construction of medium and large dams and efficient utilization
of irrigation water and restoring the productivity of agricultural land through
control of water logging, salinity and floods.......
Ship owners of clean product tankers
have much to cheer for as of late, since most of rates on clean product routes,
are at least trading at viable levels, despite the general low season that the
tanker market is traditionally going through this time of year. According to the
latest weekly report from shipbroker Intermodal, "most of the clean product
routes for MR and LR vessels have shown a continuous growth on the average TCE
rate.........
The elected
government may take some difficult and crucial decisions, which in the short
term, may prove unpopular and may cause hardship to the common man. The
government will have to take some difficult decisions to reduce fiscal deficit
and at the same time it will need to improve tax collection as well as increase
the tax base.......
Faysal Bank Limited (FBL) is engaged in
corporate, commercial, retail and Islamic banking activities. FBL's aims to grow
the Islamic balance sheet and profitability to provide sound footing for future
expansion and growth. During 1st Quarter 2013, Barkat Islamic banking team
launched computer-based training program on basic Islamic
banking to provide training across the board.......
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PAGE REPORT
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MOBILINK INTRODUCES THE NEW BLACKBERRY
.
Mobilink has introduced the new
BlackBerry® Q10 to the Pakistani consumers with an aggressive price of PKR
70,000 only. The phone offers users a powerful and unique newmobile computing
experience with state-of-the-art Blackberry enterprise and internet services
from Mobilink.....
NEW DELHI: Foreign investment inflows
into the country topped $50 billion on a net basis during 2012-13 despite the
government's efforts to woo foreign direct investment (FDI) yielding poor
results. But what came as a bigger surprise was a sharp decline in India Inc's
overseas forays, at least on the FDI front, despite several corporate chiefs
threatening to pull out of the country in the wake of poor sentiments....
.
IN THE NEWS
The country's liquid foreign exchange
reserves were declined by $262 million during last week because of debt payment
to the IMF. Pakistan paid an amount of some $143 million to the IMF on account
of 13th installment of Stand-By Arrangement on May 10, 2013. The State Bank of
Pakistan on Thursday reported that the country's total forex reserves declined
to $11.601 billion as on May 10, 2013.....
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GULF NEWS
Opening the third and
concluding day of the 2013 WCO IT Conference and Exhibition,
hosted by Dubai Customs under the patronage of His Highness
Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and
Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dr Anwar
Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs,
reiterated that the global event represents a good opportunity
for coordination and cooperation between customs and border
authorities around the world to facilitate trade and ensure
the protection of economies and societies.....
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ANNOUNCEMENT
UBL Funds, under
its Smart Investment Plans' umbrella has launched the UBL Wealth Builder Plan.
The Wealth Builder is designed keeping in mind the need of investors for a lump
sum and/or regular contribution plan that builds over time and is ideal for
those who are not investment savvy but still want to capitalize on attractive
returns.
.....
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WEEKLY COMMODITY RATES
(US$)
PRICES
THIS WEEK
PRICES
LAST WEEK
%CHG
CRUDE OIL
103.8
104.04
-0.23
HEATING OIL
290.89
291.43
-0.19
COTTON
85.89
87.52
-1.86
SUGAR #11
16.95
17.47
-2.98
COPPER
331.5
332.4
-0.27
GOLD
1,374.10
1,471.20
-6.60
SILVER
22.43
24.03
-6.66
COCOA
2,290.00
2,391.00
-4.22
CORN
644
631
2.06
.
.
ELECTIONS
.
POLL RESULTS LED TO NEW HOPES AND
ASPIRATIONS FOR THE NATION
.
Elections 2013 held on May 11 have been
generally described as a victory for democracy both by the international and
national observers. Lauding Pakistan's commitment to poll process at a press
conference last Monday, the European Union Election Observer Mission, which
stayed in Pakistan for about three weeks and widely traveled throughout the
country, appreciated the strong commitment shown by the political parties,
candidates and the voters despite threats and militant attacks in some parts of
the country. The Mission released its preliminary observations report which,
while commending the overall performance also pointed out some gaps and
shortcomings marred the process in some areas.....
.
.
THIS WEEK TOP STORIES
.
U.S.-FUNDED DAIRY PROJECT BOOSTS RURAL ECONOMY OF PAKISTAN (BUSINESS
RECORDER)
"The banks do create money.
They have been doing it for a long time, but they didn’t realise it,
and they did not admit it. Very few did. You will find it in all
sorts of documents, financial textbooks, etc. But in the intervening
years, and we must be perfectly frank about these things, there has
been a development of thought, until today I doubt very much whether
you would get many prominent bankers to attempt to deny that banks
create it."
H W WHITE "Money is a new form of slavery,
and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is
impersonal – that there is no human relation between master and
slave."
LEO TOLSTOY "The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The
process is, perhaps, the most astounding piece of sleight of hand
that was ever invented. Banks can in fact inflate, mint and un-mint
the modern ledger-entry currency."
MAJOR L L B ANGUS "The study of money, above all
other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to
disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it. The process by
which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled. With
something so important, a deeper mystery seems only decent."
JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH
.
K
I
B
O
R
R
A
T
E
As On May 17, 2013
TENOR
BID
OFFER
1 Week
9.37
9.87
2 Week
9.29
9.79
1 Month
9.27
9.77
3 Month
9.31
9.56
6 Month
9.34
9.59
9 Month
9.38
9.88
1 Year
9.40
9.90
2 Year
9.81
10.31
3 Year
10.23
10.73
.
SOCIETY
.
LATE MARRIAGE: PROBLEM OF EDUCATED YOUTH
.
Pakistan is facing a problem of late
marriage in urban areas. As a result of being unemployed after higher education
for a long duration our boys and girls are facing problem in getting suitable
partners. Even the parents of their highly educated daughters find difficult to
get a suitable match for their daughters......
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CURRENCY CONVERTER
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HEALTH
.
NEW
GLOBAL STUDY PINPOINTS MAIN CAUSES OF CHILDHOOD DIARRHEAL
DISEASES, SUGGESTS EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
.
A new international study published in
The Lancet provides the clearest picture yet of the impact and most common
causes of diarrheal diseases, the second leading killer of young children
globally, after pneumonia.
The Global Enteric Multicenter Study
(GEMS) is the largest study ever conducted on diarrheal diseases in developing
countries, enrolling more than 20,000 children from seven sites across Asia and
Africa.......
