Jan-07- 13, 2002

Security Leasing TFC arranged & advised by UBL oversubscribed

The Term Finance Certificate Issue of Security Leasing Corporation Limited, advised and arranged by UBL, has been oversubscribed, according to the initial subscription figures received from the banks. The TFC Issue comprised of a pre-IPO of Rs. 160 million and an IPO of Rs.40 million.

The TFC Issue comprised of a self registration of PKR500 million with the first tranche of PKR200 million. The TFC has been assigned an Instrument Rating of A-(A Minus) by JCR-VIS Credit Rating Agency which denotes good credit quality, adequate protection factors and risks factors which may vary with possible changes in the economy.

The Instrument has a tenor of four years inclusive of a eighteen months grace period. The Instrument has a floating profit rate with a minimum rate of return of 14.75% p.a. for the first two years and 14.00% p.a. for the last two years and a maximum of 17.5% for the tenure of the TFC. The profit is calculated as the State Bank of Pakistan Discount Rate + 225 bps.

The major investors in this TFC issue are United Bank Limited, State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan, Askari Commercial Bank, Allied Bank of Pakistan etc. United Bank Limited is acting as the Trustee to the TFC issue.

Allianz EFU Provides Health Cover to SSGC Workforce

Allianz EFU Health Insurance Company Limited and the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) have signed an agreement to provide health cover to over 25,000 employees and dependents of the SSGC. The agreement was signed at a ceremony attended by the senior management of both organizations.

This is the largest health insurance contract in Pakistan's insurance history. Allianz EFU has the infrastructure to manage such a massive undertaking and it is expected that the deal will pave the way for other large organizations to follow the footsteps of SSGC.

At the ceremony, Allianz EFU Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ahmir Ud Deen said, "We are pleased to announce the signing of the largest insurance contract in our short history in Pakistan. We are also delighted to be partners with the SSGC, a company with a progressive and decisive management team. They are the first large public sector organization to take this step of outsourcing the healthcare needs of employees and their dependents. We are confident that the two companies will enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship."

Managing Director SSGC, Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed remarked, "With a highly focused health insurance partner like Allianz EFU, SSGC employees will get international standard service. We expect that Allianz EFU is a leading insurer in the country with the experience, expertise and credibility to undertake a project of such magnitude. We hope this agreement will be the beginning of an era that will see healthcare benefits being widely offered."

Allianz EFU is a joint venture between Allianz AG of Germany and the EFU Group of Pakistan. Established in 1890, the Allianz Group is one of the largest composite insurers in the world with annual revenues of US$ 63.9 billion in the financial year 2000, over 120,000 employees and an active presence in over 70 countries. The EFU Group is one of the largest insurers in Pakistan covering both life and non-life risks with close to 70 years experience in the region. Together, as Allianz EFU, the joint venture partners bring over 170 years experience to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable.

Prospective students throng Preston's Information Seminar with enthusiasm

Preston Institute of Management, Science and Technology (PIMSAT), Islamabad organized an Information Seminar at its campus in the Capital. Prospective students who thronged the seminar evinced inordinate enthusiasm in the academic programs being offered by the Institute at its campuses located in all the major cities of the country. The purpose of the Seminar was to provide information to prospective students about Preston's BBA, BBA (IT), BS (IT), MS (IT), and MBA (Marketing, Finance & Accounting) programs. The participating students and their parents lauded the highly progressive policies of the Institute, and expressed their satisfaction over the quality of the academic programs PIMSAT is currently offering at the graduate and postgraduate level.

Addressing the students on the occasion, Chairman Preston Institute of Management, Science and Technology Dr. Abdul Basit gave a detailed account of the institution from its inception, in 1984, to date. He said Preston was the first institution of higher learning to have been established in the private sector in Pakistan. The enviable stature Preston has attained today and the impeccable reputation it enjoys in the comity of reputed institutions of higher learning in the country amply supports this claim, he said. While highlighting the significance of Preston's graduate and postgraduate (BA, BBA (IT), BS (IT), MS (IT), and MBA (Marketing, Finance and Accounting) programs, he said all these academic programs are market driven and students taking these programs tremendously benefit, as they are readily absorbed by national and international business and other organizations both within the country and abroad. In his concluding remarks, Chairman PIMSAT, Dr. Basit informed the participating students that Preston Institute of Management, Science and Technology (PIMSAT) is a chartered and recognized Degree Awarding Institute. The government of Sindh conferred a charter on PIMSAT vide Sindh Ordinance No. XXVI of 2001 in August this year, and in recognition of this decision of the Sindh Government the University Grants Commission (UGC) enlisted the Institute in UGC's consolidated list of chartered/recognized public and private Universities and Degree Awarding Institutes of Pakistan, he said.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, the Senior Program Director of Preston's Islamabad Campus, Brig. (R) Mazhar Abbas Razwi gave a detailed presentation on the regular academic programs being offered by the Institute at the graduate and postgraduate level. He extended his gratitude to the prospective students for participating in the Information Seminar with such enthusiasm, and expressed the hope that they would join the academic programs of their choices and give Preston the opportunity to groom them for a bright and thriving career.

Lever Brothers Exports Tea Saplings To Hawaii (USA)

Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited Tea Processing Plant, first of its kind in Pakistan, was recently inaugurated by the President, General Pervez Musharraf. The company achieved yet another milestone in Pakistan's tea cultivation sector by exporting its first ever clonal tea saplings to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

With the aim to ascertain whether tea can be grown in Pakistan and commercially viable, Lever Brothers set up the well-equipped Lever Tea Research Station (LTRS) at Shinkiari in Manshera District in 1989. Renowned top quality clones with good yield were imported into Pakistan and planted at LTRS. The objective was to establish a pool of clonal 'mother bushes'. These clones were tested and selected for over 10 years in Pakistan. The clones best suited to local conditions have been chosen for large-scale cultivation. Cuttings from these 'mother bushes' are nurtured to rear saplings in the LTRS nursery which is one of the biggest operational nursery in the world (creating nearly a million saplings annually). The pool of 'mother bushes' in LTRS is now the back-bone for the supply of the clonal material for future tea plantation in Pakistan and elsewhere.

Another milestone for Lever Brothers is their attainment of over 200 acres of tea plantation in one year (year 2001). Considering the small average land holding of less then an acre and somewhat difficult Mansehra terrain with poor infrastructure not to mention the persistent drought like conditions in recent years, this is no mean achievement. Plantation of the tea by Lever Brothers on farmers' land to-date is spread over 350 acres (361 farmers). In the next five years, they intend to cultivate a total of 1500 acres of tea.