ISLAMABAD: Despite significant growth of Pakistan’s financial system, access to finance remains elusive for most Pakistanis, especially among poor people, women, and small businesses in rural areas, says a new World Bank report launched Tuesday.
The report, titled “Bringing Finance to Pakistan’s Poor: A Study on Access to Finance for the Underserved and Small Enterprises,” says the average Pakistani household remains outside the formal financial system, saving at home and borrowing from family or friends in cases of dire need. In fact, only 14 percent of adults have access to a formal financial institution and about 40 percent have no financial access to formal or informal financial systems.
Policy efforts to increase access to finance in Pakistan have taken time to bear fruit, the report says, but now access is expanding quickly in certain financial sectors such as microfinance and remittances albeit from a very low base. The report says the major constraints to financial access arise from high levels of poverty, combined with low awareness of and information about available financial services, as well as gender bias. In addition, financial institutions’ efforts to expand access have been discouraged by slow technological advances, weak legal foundations, and unsuitable financial processes, and products.
“Despite significant banking sector reforms and efforts to expand financial market coverage over the past few years, outreach has lagged behind the country’s growth and development needs,” said Yusupha B Crookes, World bank Country Director for Pakistan “This report demonstrates that there is an enormous growth potential for financial services in Pakistan, especially in rural areas. Around one-third of the population borrows, but only three percent use formal services to do so.”
For more on this article, please click on the following link: World Bank report: Pakistan’s poor still cannot access finance: Daily Times
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
World Bank report: Pakistan’s poor still cannot access finance: Daily Times
Pakistan 2009 growth will be slowest in decade: AFP
KARACHI (AFP) — Pakistan's economic growth for the fiscal year ending June 30 will be the slowest in more than a decade, beset by the global recession and a manufacturing slump, officials and analysts say.
Gross domestic product (GDP) will slow to 2.37 percent, Pakistan's National Accounts Committee recently estimated, revising downwards the year's target growth of 2.5 percent.
But a senior finance ministry official warned GDP could be as little as 2.1 percent, saying the committee did not take into account the plummeting fortunes of the manufacturing sector.
"The accounts committee will calculate it again while considering the manufacturing sector's growth and all other things," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Either way, it will be the worst recorded GDP growth since financial year 1997-98 when the State Bank of Pakistan put the rate at 1.9 percent.
The bleak economic news comes with the military bogged down in an offensive against the Taliban in the country's northwest, under huge US pressure to crush militants whom Washington has branded the greatest terror threat to the West.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan 2009 growth will be slowest in decade: AFP
'Severe food shortage' in Pakistan conflict zone?: Asia One
By Sajjad Tarakzai
ISLAMABAD, May 20, 2009 (AFP) - Civilians trapped by fighting in northwest Pakistan said Wednesday they were surviving on bread and water as a government offensive against the Taliban closes roads and cuts off food supplies.
What little food is available is becoming increasingly expensive, they told AFP, adding to concerns about the humanitarian situation in a troubled region where hospitals have shut their doors and electricity is erratic at best.
"We are a family of 10 people, we have started eating bread with water," said Shaista, a 28-year-old housewife from Bahrain town in Swat, who gave a false name for fear of retribution from the Taliban.
"There is a severe food shortage. All roads coming to our town are closed. There are no vegetables, no cooking oil, no flour - you can imagine how we are surviving," she told AFP by telephone.
Her brother said the only bazaar in Bahrain had been closed for two weeks, while other residents - all of whom spoke to AFP by phone under assumed names - said that where food was available, prices were soaring.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: 'Severe food shortage' in Pakistan conflict zone?: Asia One
Pakistan to send up to 50,000 workers to Libya: The News
By Salman Siddiqui
KARACHI: Ambassador of Pakistan to Libya, Jamil Ahmed Khan, has said that around 30-50 thousand skilled and semi-skilled labourers would be sent from Pakistan to Libya by the end of the current calendar year.
He was briefing a group of journalists here the other day in the backdrop of President Asif Ali Zardari’s recent visit to Libya. “This was the first official visit from any president to Libya since Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government ended,” he said.
At present, some 12,000 Pakistani employees are working in Libya, out of which 25 are rendering their services at top managerial posts, Khan said in reply to a question.
In 1974, around 0.15 million Pakistanis were working in Libya. However, relationship between the two countries cooled, as the Libyan head of state Colonel Moammar Gaddafi did not support the “governments of two dictators in Pakistan after the end of Bhutto’s government.”
Since President Zardari was a symbol of democracy the relationship between Pakistan and Libya was moving fast on the path of normalisation, he said.
In reply to a query, Khan said that cross-investment between the two counties would amount to $2 billion in the next two years, while Libya has shown interest to invest in the windmill sector.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan to send up to 50,000 workers to Libya: The News
Italy keen to import skilled manpower from Pakistan: Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower, Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah on Tuesday said Pakistan had received a big demand of skilled workers from Italy and in this regard MoU would be signed soon.
The minister expressed these views after meeting with a 6-member Italian delegation who met the minister in his office today and exchange views on import of manpower from Pakistan.
The Italian delegation was headed by its Foreign Minister, Prof. Gianni DE Michelis, who was also the President of IPALMO, a prominent Italian institute of Internal Policies and Economics.
The Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower appraised the delegation that Pakistan was ready to sign MoU with the government of Italy to streamlining workers flow from Pakistan to work in Italy.
Regarding training programme, the minister expressed that Pakistan keenly desire to meet manpower requirements of Italy and had evolved excellent training facilities in technical and professional fields.
He discussed that Pakistan would supply different categories of skilled and unskilled workers for inclusion in Italy’s seasonal workers scheme on regular footing and under specific quota, which could bring economic dividend to Pakistan and Italy.
Pakistan was exporting its manpower to different countries of the world since 1971. About 4.7 million workers of various categories had been preceded abroad for employment from 1971 to 2008.
Head of Delegation Prof. Gianni DE Michelis had expressed that Pakistan and Italy enjoyed cordial and friendly relations and share commonality of perception on important international issues of mutual interest. “Our cordial relations are characterized by regular exchange of higher level visits.”
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Italy keen to import skilled manpower from Pakistan: Daily Times
Chinese aid for IDPs touches $5.4 million: Daily Times
BEIJING: To help the Pakistani government meet the daily needs of the rising population of IDPs of Swat and adjoining areas, the Chinese government has announced an additional 30 million Renminbi (RMB/Yuan) in assistance for the affected people, Pakistan Ambassador to China Masood Khan said on Saturday. He said that China’s total contribution for assistance to the IDPs had now reached $5.4 million.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Chinese aid for IDPs touches $5.4 million: Daily Times
Monday, May 25, 2009
Swat Situation: The Unfolding Crisis: Economistan
The serene valley of Swat that was once the hub of tourism industry in Pakistan is now a war zone. The crisis has deepened with the displacement of 1.5 million people who have lost everything they owned and are now refugees in their own country. Many people think that this situation is the climax of this crisis but the real climax and the real crisis perhaps still lingers in the future if measures are not taken to avert it.
The early signs of this crises appeared in Oct 2005 when several formally banned Jihadist outfits infiltrated in the area under the premise of relief efforts. It could not be ascertained that how many militants entered in the area during this time. Over the next two years these militants were able to gain strength due to preoccupation of government in South Waziristan and other tribal Areas...
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Swat Situation: The Unfolding Crisis: Economistan
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pakistan’s crucial role in the death of Tamil Tigers: The News
By By Amir Mir
It was the Pakistani defence cooperation with Sri Lanka as one of the largest suppliers of high-tech military equipment that has played a major role in the ultimate defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the hands of the Lankan army.
The three decade long quest of the LTTE to carve out a separate state for Tamils, as well as the myth that the Tamil Tigers are militarily invincible, has effectively been laid to rest, along with its supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and the entire LTTE top brass. According to well placed sources in the Pakistani establishment, defence cooperation between Sri Lanka and Pakistan had grown significantly in recent years as Islamabad, unlike New Delhi, had no problems supplying the Lankan army state-of-the-art weaponry to accelerate its counter-insurgency operations against the LTTE which has finally ended with the killing of the most wanted Tamil guerilla fighter Vellupillai Prabhakaran. The sources say it was exactly a year ago in the first week of May 2008 that Sri Lankan Army Chief Lt-Gen Fonseka came to Pakistan and held detailed talks with his Pakistani counterpart Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to finalise the purchase of high tech arms for the Lankan armed forces, which were embroiled in an intense battle with the LTTE forces even at that time.
During his talks with Pakistani military authorities, Lt-Gen Fonseka had finalised a deal as per which Pakistan sold 22 Al-Khalid tanks to Sri Lanka in a deal worth over US$100 million. General Fonseka also gave a shopping list of weaponry worth about US$65 million to the Pakistani military authorities. While the Sri Lankan army chief’s shopping list for the army was pegged at $25 million, the inventory for the Lankan Air Force was worth $40 million. He had further sought 250,000 rounds of 60mm, 81mm, 120mm and 130mm mortar ammunition worth US$ 25 million and 1, 50,000 hand grenades for immediate delivery to the Lankan army within a month. Pakistan also accepted the visiting General’s request to send one shipload of the wherewithal every 10 days to bolster the Lankan military efforts to take over Kilinochchi, the headquarters of the LTTE.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan’s crucial role in the death of Tamil Tigers: The News
Top US official warns that war in Afghanistan strengthens Taliban in Pakistan: Telegraph
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the surge of 21,000 additional US troops into Afghanistan had raised the prospect that Pakistan could face even greater turmoil in the months ahead."They want Afghanistan back," he said. "We can't let them or their al-Qaeda cohorts have it. We can't permit the return of the very same safe havens from which the attacks on 9/11 were planned and resourced.
"Yet we can't deny that our success in that regard may only push them deeper into Pakistan."
Adml Mullen said the impact of the surge of troops on Pakistan was an unknown factor in the gambit. "Can I be 100 per cent certain that won't destabilize Pakistan?" he said. "I don't know the answer to that."
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Top US official warns that war in Afghanistan strengthens Taliban in Pakistan: Telegraph
Pakistan tops Google's maps experiment: The Nation
By: Afzal Bajwa | Published: May 23, 2009
SILICON VALLEY (California) - Pakistani web users posted localised information and data on Google’s ‘map maker’ more than any of 160 countries’ simultaneously availing global search leader’s experiment that started in June last year.
“The quality and quantity of mapping information provided by the Pakistani users in last 11 months has enabled us to post Pakistan on the Google maps early this week,” said Lalit Katragadda, the founder of Map Maker software told TheNation in an exclusive interview.
Aaron Stein of Google Global Communications and Public Affairs at their main office (that they call campus) here at Mountain View City enabled teleconference with Lalit who is based in Bangalore, India.
According to Lalit, a Pakistani based in London has posted most frequent edits to the Google’s Map Maker, which is a user-operated software. “It updates information instantly after a user sitting anywhere in the world within 160 countries posts an edit to the live Map Maker,” he added. “Since we are bound to keep the user’s confidentiality, therefore, we’ll have to seek permission before disclosing this Pakistani who provided information more than all users of Map Maker around the world during the last 11 months,” he said.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan tops Google's maps experiment: The Nation
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Pakistan refugee crisis: One of the world's worst: Radio Netherlands
By Johan van Slooten
Pakistan is facing a major refugee crisis, with some two million people having fled the war zone in the Swat valley. They are moving to other regions in the country, where makeshift refugee camps are quickly put up by the authorities and aid organisations.
Heavy fighting broke out recently between the Taliban and the Pakistan army, forcing many civilians to flee the region in the north west of the country. Some people stay behind to protect their property, which leaves aid organisations with the problem of looking after people who have fled and people who are stuck behind enemy lines. NGOs expect this situation to last for at least a year.
One of the NGOs working in the area is Justitia et Pax from The Netherlands. Friederycke Haijer says the sudden influx of refugees comes with many practical problems, such as the building of refugee camps.
"The situation in these refugee camps is very serious, especially for women. There are no arrangements for privacy for women and there is no police or other forms of protection. So for women it is actually a very dangerous situation to be in".
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan refugee crisis: One of the world's worst: Radio Netherlands
Industrialists blame govt for declining exports: Dawn
SLAMABAD: Representatives of the trade and industry on Monday blamed the government departments and the policy-makers for declining industrial production and exports.
Speaking at the 60th meeting of the Advisory Committee of the ministry of commerce heads of respective trade bodies and associations said that government departments were responsible for slowdown in the economy.
Power outages, high interest rates, attitude of customs officials both at import and export stage, uncooperative attitude of commercial councillors and policy-makers were factors listed by business leaders for depressing exports.
They said that frequent power breakdowns were causing production losses, while high mark-up rates had increased the cost of doing business making Pakistani products uncompetitive at the international level.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Industrialists blame govt for declining exports: Dawn
Pakistan palm imports fall 20 pct in Apr-May -trader: Reuters
By Augustine Anthony
ISLAMABAD, May 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan's imports of palm oil products fell up to 20 percent in April and May on good stocks and easing demand but will pick up next month and in the run-up to the Muslim fasting month, an industry official said on Wednesday.
Carryover stock from over-buying in the January-March quarter, low intake in rural areas during the wheat harvesting season, and cheap supplies of canola oil squeezed demand for palm oil, said Rasheed Janmohammad, vice-chairman of the Pakistan Edible Oil Refiners Association.
"Because of this, there was between a 15 and 20 percent reduction in the import of palm oil, palm olien and crude palm oil in April and May," Janmohammad told Reuters.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan palm imports fall 20 pct in Apr-May -trader: Reuters
Illegal flow of remittances continuing, says Tarin : Dawn
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal budget for 2009-10 will be presented in the first half of June, the country’s economic manager said, although he has not been able to decide on a final date.
Advisor to the prime minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin has said here on Tuesday that the federal budget for 2009-10 will be presented either on June 6 or June 13.
‘Preparations for the budget have almost been completed but the final budget announcement date would be decided soon,’ he said talking to media at the launch of World Bank’s report on ‘Bringing finance to Pakistan’s poor’
The federal budget 2009-10 would be the first budget for Mr Tarin in capacity as the finance manager of the country.
Shaukat Tarin said that illegal channels still contribute to the major inflow of remittances into the country.
He acknowledged that the contents of the WB report that informal supply occurs through the organized hundi / hawala sector and through committees, shopkeepers, moneylenders and transfers through friends and family.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Illegal flow of remittances continuing, says Tarin : Dawn
Germany sells tanks to Qatar, delays on subs to Pakistan: Daily.pk
| Written by www.daily.pk |
| Wednesday, 20 May 2009 01:33 |
| Germany is to sell main battle tanks to Qatar, ending a long ban on selling the heavy weapons to Arabian peninsula nations, the news magazine said on Saturday. But a sale of stealth submarines to Pakistan was on hold till after Germany’s general election in September, the magazine reported, without citing sources. Under German law, the manufacturers must obtain clearances from Chancellor Angela’s Merkel’s national security council for the sales. The council, an inner cabinet of ministers with security portfolios, issues clearances before contracts are signed. Der Spiegel said Germany had in the past declined to sell its Leopard 2 tanks to Saudi Arabia so as not to upset Israel. It said the sale of 36 tanks to tiny Qatar was quietly approved last year with the proviso that Israel must be informed, but the Jewish state apparently did not object. Spiegel said this was presumably because Qatar had little need to use them, since it was not under threat from its land neighbours, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Its 9,000-man army was acquiring the tanks for prestige reasons. Qatar is home to a large US base. |
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Germany sells tanks to Qatar, delays on subs to Pakistan: Daily.pk
Australia Boosts Training For Pakistan Military: Nasdaq
CANBERRA (AFP)--Australia offered to help train more Pakistani military officers Wednesday and committed AUD12 million ($9 million) to humanitarian aid efforts in the country's troubled northwest.
The announcements came as Gen. Tariq Majid, the chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff, visited Canberra to update officials on the fight against Taliban militants in the Swat valley.
Defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Pakistan was facing complex challenges maintaining security and that success fighting the Taliban on its own soil was critical to regional and global security.
Fitzgibbon said Australia would lift the number of places for Pakistani officers in its military training programs from 10 to 70 next year.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Australia Boosts Training For Pakistan Military: Nasdaq
PAKISTAN TELCOS TO INSTALL 900KM OPTIC FIBER IN BALOCHISTAN: TMC
ISLAMABAD, May 20, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- The Universal Service Fund, Wateen Telecom and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTCL) signed on Sunday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to install 900km of optic fiber in Balochistan and provide basic services in Larkana, Sindh province.
Under the agreement 900 Km optic fiber cable will be provided to five un-served Tehsils in Balochistan, (Dasht, Noshki, Dalbandin, Mashkhel and Taftan)...
For more on this article, please click on the following link: PAKISTAN TELCOS TO INSTALL 900KM OPTIC FIBER IN BALOCHISTAN: TMC
Obama Administration Announces $110M in Aid for Pakistan: Fox News
The United States will give $110 million for humanitarian aid to Pakistan to assist them while the country fights Taliban militants. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement at the White House saying it would go to help almost 2 million Pakistani people who have been displaced due to the fighting in the Swat region. The money will go towards the purchase of food, water, tents, fm radios and generators to provide water and light for those people that are living in tent cities. Secretary Clinton says the aid is not only "the right thing to do but essential." The money will not be distributed directly to the Pakistani government but will instead be channeled to humanitarian aid organizations.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Obama Administration Announces $110M in Aid for Pakistan: Fox News
Malaysia top importer from Pakistan for Jul-Dec: APP
ISLAMABAD, May 11 (APP): Malaysia has emerged as the top importer from Pakistan for the first six months of the current financial year amongst the South East Asian countries with import of US$ 68.65 millions. The Philippines comes at second with import of US$ 39.09 millions, Thailand with import of US& 39.01 million and Vietnam with import of US$ 35.01 million followed.
According to the data released by Trade Development Authority (TDAP) of Pakistan, Malaysia with an import of US$ 68.65 million is amongst the top forty destinations of Pakistani exports and is on 24th position worldwide.
Data revealed that Malaysia had increased its world share of Pakistani imports from 0.33% in Jul‑Dec‑2007‑08 to 0.77% in Jul‑Dec, 2008‑09 registering two and half times increase i.e an increase of 138% compared to the imports of US$ 28.80 million in the corresponding period of last year(Jul‑Dec‑2007‑08).
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Malaysia top importer from Pakistan for Jul-Dec: APP
Pakistan to receive $2.3 billion by June: Tarin: PakWatan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan will receive $2.3 billion from US and other donors before end of June, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin told a news conference here on Friday. Giving details of his meetings at Japan, Libya, US and with International Monetary Fund (IMF) at Dubai, he said.
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and US would release $600 million, $800 million and $900 million respectively, whereas International Development Bank (IDB) will give $23 million. He said that Pakistan's delegation had convinced the IMF during the review of March quarter in Dubai for allowing an increase in fiscal deficit by next fiscal year.
This fiscal space was required owing to decline in revenue on account of negative growth by large-scale manufacturing (LSM) and shrinking import as both contributed 60 percent and 40 percent respectively to the revenue. He said that the IMF allowed increment in fiscal deficit by 1.2 percent (from 3.4 to 4.6 percent in the next fiscal year) which would enable Pakistan to use Rs 180 billion as a short-term measure to increase industrial productivity.
He said that IMF was told that Friends of Pakistan (FoP) pledges would not cater Pakistan's urgent need of short-term growth and this could only be possible through increase in fiscal deficit. The advisor said that IMF was satisfied with performance of Pakistan economy and would soon release $840 million tranche.The board meeting in mid-June will recommend release of the tranche, he said, adding that Pakistan budget figures for next fiscal year were also discussed in the Dubai meeting.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan to receive $2.3 billion by June: Tarin: PakWatan
Pakistan won't import wheat in 2009, sees excess: Reuters
By Amena Bakr
DUBAI, May 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan will not import wheat this year as government incentives to farmers will likely lead to an excess supply of the grain, an official from the ministry of agriculture said on Sunday.
Pakistan, Asia's third-largest wheat producer, hopes to have an excess supply of 2 - 2.5 tonnes of wheat this year compared to last, said Amjad Nazir, the joint secretary at Pakistan's Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
"There will be no need for us to import wheat this year because the ministry has raised the minimum price of wheat for farmers which encouraged them to allocate more land to grow wheat," he told Reuters during a visit to the United Arab Emirates to encourage investment into the sector.
In September, Pakistan raised the price it pays farmers for wheat by 34 percent to 950 rupees ($11.74) per 40 kilograms, in a bid to encourage them to grow more.
The wheat-growing area had increased this year to 9 million hectares from an average of 8.5 million in previous years. On average, Pakistan imports around 2 millon tonnes of wheat every year.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan won't import wheat in 2009, sees excess: Reuters
Japan provides $20 mln assistance to Pakistan: APP
ISLAMABAD, May 18 (APP): The government of Japan would provide 2 billion Japanese Yen (about US$20 million) to Pakistan as Non-Project Grand Aid (NGPA) for the year 2009. An agreement in this regard was signed by Ambassador of Japan, Chihiro Atsumi and Secretary, Economic Affairs Division, Farrakh Qayyum on behalf of their respective governments.
The NGPA is used by developing countries in order to supplement economic structural adjustment efforts and overcome economic disparities and difficulties.
Speaking on the occasion, Farrakh Qayyum appreciated the role of Japan for extending all out support to Pakistan and for hosting the Friends of Democratic Pakistan and Doners conferences which he said were great success for Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan values Japan’s assistance in the fields of education, health, energy, environment, disaster management in general and for this grand particular.
He said that the Japanese assistance in economic cooperation has played a key role in the development of social sector with specific focus on human resource development and poverty reduction.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Japan provides $20 mln assistance to Pakistan: APP
French nuclear ‘offer’: Dawn
According to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, France has offered a civilian nuclear technology deal to Pakistan on the same lines as the US-India agreement signed earlier. This announcement is bound to create a lot of excitement not just in Pakistan but also in countries that have strong reservations about Pakistan’s nuclear programme
Before discussing the implications of the deal, it is important to point out that there has been no announcement from the French government’s side on this issue so far. Exactly what has been offered and on what terms, is not known. However, there are reports that an official from Mr Nicolas Sarkozy’s office observed that the French president had confirmed his willingness to ‘cooperate with Pakistan in the area of nuclear safety’.
In the light of this, it appears that the Pakistan government is counting its chickens before they’ve hatched. The major concern of the nuclear powers at the moment is the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and how it can be safeguarded from falling into the hands of militants. This contingency has been debated in strategic circles and evidently came up in Paris as well prompting Mr Qureshi to assure the world that Pakistan is a ‘responsible nuclear power’ that can handle the safety of its nuclear arsenal and proliferation concerns.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: French nuclear ‘offer’: Dawn
Pakistan signs economic accord among G-11 countries: Pakistan Times
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Investment Senator Waqar Ahmad Khan has signed the framework agreement for economic and trade cooperation among the G-11 countries during the G-11 summit held at Dead Sea, Jordan.
An earlier report had said that Minister for Investment Waqar Ahmed Khan Saturday met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar Abdullah bin Hamad Al-A Tiyah in Doha.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Investment here, the minister discussed the prospects of importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar.
The two sides agreed that experts from their respective Petroleum Ministries would meet shortly to discuss the technical aspects of export of LNG from Qatar to Pakistan.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan signs economic accord among G-11 countries: Pakistan Times
Pakistan climb to 6th place in world rankings: APP
ISLAMABAD, May 18 (APP): Last week’s Asia Cup silver‑medallists Pakistan Monday jumped another two places in world hockey rankings and are now six places ahead of traditional rivals India. The latest rankings released by International Hockey Federation (FIH) show Pakistan climbing from the previous eighth to sixth position in world hockey now thanks to their runners‑up finishing in Asia Cup at Kuantan (Malaysia) last week.
Pakistan lost to South Korea by a solitary goal at Kuantan on Saturday even after dominating the Asia Cup final against the eventual gold‑medallists.
Germany is still at the top of ABN‑AMRO world hockey rankings, followed by such teams as Australia, Spain, The Netherlands etc.
India failed to qualify for the semi‑finals of Asia Cup, thus being relegated by two places to 12th position from the earlier 10th in rankings in rankings while Asian Champions South Korea remain fifth.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan climb to 6th place in world rankings: APP
Foreign investment in Pakistan down 42 percent: Reuters
KARACHI (Reuters) - Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 42.7 percent to $2.21 billion in the first 10 months of the 2008/09 fiscal year compared with $3.86 billion in the same period last year, the central bank said.
Foreign private investment fell 27.9 percent to $2.75 billion in the July to April period, compared with $3.82 billion in the corresponding period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan said on its website (www.sbp.prg.pk).
Out of total foreign investment, foreign direct investment was down 13.8 percent to $3.20 billion, compared with $3.72 billion in the year-earlier period.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Foreign investment in Pakistan down 42 percent: Reuters
Hepatitis C sub-type 90% curable in Pakistan: The News
Hepatitis C sub-type, which exists in Pakistan, is 90 per cent curable if appropriate treatment at proper time is ensured.
Renowned Consultant Hepatologist Prof Dr Muzzaffar Lateef Gill said the treatment of hepatitis B and C in the last decade has been revolutionised and high-level researches have also been conducted in Pakistan.
He said it is an easily controllable disease, but a mild lapse in precautions could lead to very disastrous consequences.
He said in Pakistan, there are two types of viral hepatitis. One is short-lived and self-limited, and is because of hepatitis A and E, which spread through the feco-oral-route, adding that the summer season epidemic of this type of acute hepatitis is very common throughout the developing world because of poor hygienic standards.
Dr Gill said Hepatitis C and B are blood borne diseases and usually chronic, and have long-term consequences. He said about 500 million people in the world population have exposure to hepatitis, with Pakistan being no exception.
According to him, every 12th individual among the Pakistani population is suffering from hepatitis B and C.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Hepatitis C sub-type 90% curable in Pakistan: The News
PTA ends PTCL’s Internet bandwidth monopoly: The News
By Zubair Kasuri
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) has decided to allow the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and DSL operators to buy Internet bandwidth from backbone operators other than the PTCL, thus settling a two-year row of the ISPs versus the PTCL.
The ISPs have been complaining to the PTA to amend their DSL Interconnect Agreement with the PTCL signed a few years ago in which the ISPs were restricted to procure Internet bandwidth from the PTCL only. Since the telecom deregulation in 2004, new operators have laid their infrastructure nationally as well as internationally and two years back, second alternate backbone provider, the TWA, started its services in the country.
But the DSL operators, who are the major purchaser of Internet bandwidth, were restrained by their unilateral agreement with the PTCL not to buy bandwidth from any operator other than the PTCL. The ISPs have been complaining to the PTA time and again against this monopolistic and anti-competitive restriction that did not allow them to have redundancy and benefit of competitive prices from alternate operator.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: PTA ends PTCL’s Internet bandwidth monopoly: The News
Current account deficit shrinks in July-April: Dawn
KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account deficit narrowed to $8.547 billion during the 10 months to April compared with $11.173 billion in the same period a year earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Monday.
Analysts said the main reason for the narrowing in the shortfall was lower global commodity prices.
For the month of April, the current account recorded a deficit of $457 million compared with a revised deficit of $243 million in March.For more on this article, please click on the following link: Current account deficit shrinks in July-April: Dawn
Congress passes $ 1.9 b for Pakistan: Sana News
ISLAMABAD (SANA): The House of Representatives passed the 2009 Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Pandemic Flu, according to a message received.
There is $1.9 billion for Pakistan, which is $591 million above the Administration request, the message said.
There is $597 million for economic assistance including agriculture, food security, displaced persons national and provincial governance, rule of law, and improved access to quality of education, it explained. This economic package is $100 million above the Administration’s request.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Congress passes $ 1.9 b for Pakistan: Sana News
Pakistan July-April Current Account Gap $8.55 Billion Vs $11.17 Billion: Nasdaq
KARACHI -(Dow Jones)- Pakistan's current-account deficit narrowed to $8.55 billion in the 10 months to April 30, the central bank said Monday.
The current-account gap in the corresponding period a year earlier was $11.17 billion, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan July-April Current Account Gap $8.55 Billion Vs $11.17 Billion: Nasdaq
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pakistan included in MSCI Frontier Market Index: Daily Times
By Tanveer Ahnmed
KARACHI: Pakistan has been included in Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Frontier Market Index with the inclusion of twelve Pakistani companies in it.
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), a leading provider of benchmark indices, announced the results of its May 2009 Semi Annual Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indices Thursday.
The Pakistan index – first inducted in the MSCI Index series in February 1994 was removed from Emerging Market (EM) Index in December 2008 mainly due to restrictions on normal trading by placing the floor in August last year.
“Removal of the price floor in mid December and subsequent smooth functioning of the equity markets propelled Pakistan’s inclusion in the Frontier Index,” believe the analysts Muzzamal Aslam and Farhan Rizvi at JS Research.
They also believed that Pakistan would occupy a relatively higher representation in the MSCI Frontier Index (2.0-2.5 percent) as against only 0.14 percent in the MSCI EM Index prior to its exclusion.
The Pakistani stocks that have been included in MSCI are MCB, NBP, UBL, NIB, OGDC, POL, PSO, KAPCO, HUBCO, FFC, JSCL & PTC having the combined weight of 45 percent in KSE-100 index, the benchmark of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE).
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan included in MSCI Frontier Market Index: Daily Times
All-female madrasas boom in Pakistan: Guardian
Female madrasas in Pakistan are expanding at a dramatic rate, educating almost a quarter of a million young women and providing more than half of the candidates sitting graduate-level exams every year.
There are more than 1,900 registered all-female madrasas in the country, around 15% of the total, that are experiencing a boom thanks to the failures of the Pakistani education system and an increasing appetite for traditional Islamic values among the lower middle classes.
Female madrasas were virtually unheard of in Pakistan before the late 1970s; the religious institutions have always been aimed at males.
The boom in female madrasas has led to the funding of a project to examine their impact. An Oxford academic, Dr Masooda Bano, has received more than £400,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council to study their appeal and their students.
According to the latest statistics from the Pakistani government, nearly 236,000 girls are studying in almost 2,000 madrasas. Female students exceed males in their academic achievements, with a greater number registering for graduate exams and enjoying a higher pass rate.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: All-female madrasas boom in Pakistan: Guardian
$14.5bn investment needed in energy sector: Dawn
Sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the conference was informed that
The experts also said that the regulator has to improve fuel efficiency in both the public and private sectors.
Bayanjargal Byambasaikhan, ADB energy expert, highlighted the concept of energy efficiency investment programme (EEIP) of $1.20 billion for
The programme is being financed by the ADB, French official aid and the government of
For more on this article, please click on the following link: $14.5bn investment needed in energy sector: Dawn
More Norwegian emergency aid to Pakistan: The Norway Post
The Norwegian government has granted NOK 83 million in emergency aid to help more than a million displaced persons in north west Pakistan, refugees fleeing the fighting between the Pakistani army and Taliban.(Photo:Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere)
- The situation in Pakistan is one of the greatest challenges facing the international community today. The Pakistani authorities are engaged in an extensive fight to take control of their own territory, says Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: More Norwegian emergency aid to Pakistan: The Norway Post
Pakistan to Cross Investment Target, Minister Says: Bloomberg
By Camilla Hall
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan will exceed its $10 billion target for overseas direct investment by September, the nation’s investment minister said.
“The majority of that is going to come from the Gulf,” Waqar Ahmed Khan said at a news conference in Dubai today, without giving details. “Investment is secure and the law of the land is sovereign.”
Pakistan needs overseas investment to bolster an economy predicted to grow at the slowest pace in eight years. Growth and investment have slumped as Pakistan contends with Taliban militants on its western border and strained relations with India in the east.
South Asia’s second-biggest economy will raise as much as $2 billion in investment from the United Arab Emirates in the housing sector, Khan said. Pakistan needs eight million “affordable homes,” he said.
Pakistan planned to raise $10 billion in overseas investment by December as companies from the Middle East build power plants and pour money into fuel exploration, Khan said in an interview in January.
Overseas direct investment in the nine months ended March 30 declined 8 percent to $3.04 billion, according to central bank data.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan to Cross Investment Target, Minister Says: Bloomberg
Pakistan to Assess Cartel Practices in 15 Industries: Bloomberg
By Khalid Qayum and Khaleeq Ahmed
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s antitrust regulator is assessing the prevalence of collusion in 15 industries including sugar and automobiles to curb any price-fixing and spur investment in a slowing economy.
“The idea is not to get anyone but to correct behavior,” Khalid Mirza, chairman of the Competition Commission of Pakistan, said in an interview in Islamabad today. “If these sectors correct themselves, then we have done our job.”
Pakistan wants to examine the possibility of collusion by automakers, cement producers and sugar processors to spur investment in Pakistan, which accounted for 21.6 percent of the economy as on June 30, 2008.
The regulator is currently assessing the state of competition in the banking, sugar, fertilizer and energy businesses, Mirza said. It also plans to study automakers and edible oil producers, he said.
Mirza, 63, was appointed chairman of the regulator in 2006 after he spent three years at the helm of the Securities & Exchange Commission and over two decades at the World Bank in Washington.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan to Assess Cartel Practices in 15 Industries: Bloomberg
Technology That Matters: IRD and ICT4D: Computer World
Interactive Alerts is a patient data collection and monitoring system that is RFID based. This system just placed first in the global NFC forum competition for the use of near field communication. We managed to sit down with the man of the hour: Omar Allawala, who is the Director of Information Technology at Interactive Research and Development. Omar has been a software engineer for almost 10 years. His industry experience includes working with Java and Open Source technologies among others. Much of his work has been conducted in the U.S where he resided until recently, when he moved back to Pakistan.
What are you tracking through this Interactive Alerts System you have developed here?At present, we are tracking pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis primarily since those were the parameters of our study but other diseases may be included.
What exactly do you all propose to achieve through the study?We are tracking the events during the first 2 years of a child's life. Pneumonia is considered one of the leading causes of death among infants and children under the age of 5 in Pakistan. This study proposes to follow the children through the first 18 months of their life to see if they contract pneumonia during that time. We are trying to isolate a particular strain of pneumonia (streptococcus pneumonia) so as to lay a foundation for a vaccine trial which will follow this study. The child who meets our age criteria is enrolled in the study and given the RFID bracelet at a participating vaccination center. This RFID will be used to track the child during the study period and the IDs assigned to these bracelets are automatically managed at the server end.
From this point onwards, whenever the mother takes the child to a participating general practitioners clinic, a partner hospital or a follow up visit at the vaccination center, the RFID is scanned using the Nokia 6131 phones which Nokia was generous enough to donate to us. This scan reads the patient ID and prompts the field worker or the clinician to select from a menu option and submit the data to our server application via GRPS where it's stored in a database.
When the server receives the data it also generates a SMS message and dispatches that to a mobile team standing by to respond to these events. The mobile team consists of a surveillance medical officer and a phlebotomist who then uses the information contained in the SMS to go to the clinics and provide further assistance to the patient. For instance the patient might require blood tests, x-rays or hospitalization and our team handles this and links the test IDs with the patient ID using the same phone based system. All this data can be viewed by our team in real time though a secure web interface so that we can keep track of the patient's progress. By using these phones and RFID, we are able to provide a low cost location independent solution.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Technology That Matters: IRD and ICT4D: Computer World
Monday, May 11, 2009
Islamic banking gains ground in Pakistan: Dawn
LAHORE: Islamic banking is fast gaining ground in Pakistan because it is risk free as compared to conventional modes of banking.
This was stated by chief executive officer AlBaraka Islamic Bank Mohamed Isa Al Mutaweh while talking to Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mian Muzaffar Ali here on Thursday.
He said that Islamic financing products such as Murabaha, Ijara, Musharaka and Islamic Export Refinance were catering to a diverse cross-section of the economy, including the corporate, SMEs and consumer sectors.
Speaking on the occasion the LCCI president said that more than two hundred and fifty Islamic financial institutions were operating worldwide from China to US. Western banks through their Islamic units in UK Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg were also practicing Islamic banking.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Islamic banking gains ground in Pakistan: Dawn
Netherlands ‘to provide 550m euro aid in 3 years': The News
Netherlands, under a bilateral programme, has made available more than 550 million euros in grant aid to Pakistan, Ambassador of Netherlands to Pakistan Tjeerd De Zwaan said here.
The bilateral programme is part of a multi-annual strategic plan covering the period from 2008-2011, he told APP.
He said the Netherlands assistance programme in Pakistan focuses on environment, education, good governance and human rights. These choices tie in with the broader policy objectives of security, social, democratic and economic development, and stability, he added. He said that Netherlands has already provided technical support to the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding free and fair election processes in Pakistan through a multi-donor consortium.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Netherlands ‘to provide 550m euro aid in 3 years': The News
Students make Pakistan’s 1st hovercraft: Daily Times
* Machine capable of lifting 350kg weight
* Students to visit US to participate in international science fair
ISLAMABAD: Three intermediate students from the Sir Syed Science College, Rawalpindi, have developed Pakistan’s first hovercraft. A project sponsored by Intel under the ‘Intel ISEF Awards’ made Muhammad Naeem Khan, Zaki Hussain and Muhammad Qasim excel in the field of technology, as they developed a machine having the capability to lift up to 350 kilogrammes.
The students said they were now preparing to visit the United States to participate in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). They will exhibit their project at the fair later this month. The ISEF is a global science competition for students in grades between 9 and 12. This year’s programme will include a record number of 1,557 high school students from 51 countries, presenting 1,241 projects. The finalists are selected from more than 550 affiliated fairs around the world every year. Each affiliated fair can send its top two individual projects and one team project to the ISEF. Hammad Hassan speaks volumes of the young minds. An expert over the subject, Hammad defines their work as ‘a great job’. “These students have done a brilliant job. It was not an easy task, as there were a number of essential designs and construction principles they had to keep in mind,” he said.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Students make Pakistan’s 1st hovercraft: Daily Times
Pakistan among gold producing countries: Daily Times
ISLAMABAD: By producing 7.746 tonnes of gold during the last five years – 2004 to 2008 – Pakistan has joined the ranks of gold producing countries.
A senior official of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told APP, “Presently copper, gold, silver and magnetite are being produced from the Saindak Copper-Gold Project in Balochistan’s Chaghi district.”
According to the data available with the Saindak Metal Limited – during the last five years – Pakistan has produced 86,013 tonnes of copper, 7.746 tonne gold and 11.046 tonne silver, besides the production of 14,482 tonnes of magnetite concentrate (iron), bringing in a total of $633.573 million.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan among gold producing countries: Daily Times
Pakistan test-fires Babur cruise missile: DefPro
As the country’s News Agency reported at the end of last week, on Wednesday Pakistan conducted a successful test-firing of its latest domestically manufactured cruise missile, known as Babur (or Babar, Hatf VII), exactly at the time President Asif Zardari was in Washington and due to meet US President Barack Obama.
A source in the Foreign Office said the test was carried out without prior announcement and that Islamabad did not want to leave any negative impression regarding the Washington meeting.
Designed by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM), the Pakistani scientific and research organisation, Babur is believed to be based on the US BGM-109 Tomahawk design. The cruise missile has a reported range of 500 kilometres (310 miles). It can be fired from warships, submarines and aircraft and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. The Pakistani cruise missile is designed to hug the terrain and slip undetected through almost any protective radar system.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan test-fires Babur cruise missile: DefPro
Friday, May 8, 2009
Pakistan refuses visas to British officials: The Nation
Shaiq Hussain
ISLAMABAD - The row between Pakistan and the United Kingdom over the detention of 10 Pakistani students and their expected expulsion from Britain has deepened further as Islamabad refused to issue visas to a team of the British officials intended to arrive here for signing MoU on extradition of unwanted people.
The British team was supposed to visit Islamabad a few days back to urge Pakistani authorities for MoU on extradition of unwanted people that, if signed, would provide UK with a legal instrument not only to expel the Pakistani students but also to frustrate any effort by them to move the British courts against their deportation.
“However, Pakistani authorities refused to issue them visas to register strong protest against the British government’s decision to not only arrest its citizens without any substantial charges of terror but also to deport them despite the fact that allegations levelled against them could not be proved,” said a diplomatic source here seeking anonymity.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan refuses visas to British officials: The Nation
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Pakistan’s sea limits set to be extended: Dawn
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s continental shelf, or sea-water limits, will be extended from 200 to 350 nautical miles provided no nation objects within a week.
‘No country has challenged our claim for an additional 150 nautical miles into the sea,’ said the federal minister for Science and Technology, Azam Khan Swati, who had called a briefing on Wednesday evening to announce what he called an ‘historical conquest.’
After four years and surveys worth Rs500 million, the United Nations accepted Pakistan’s claim for extension of the continental shelf. Pakistan would have legal control over another 50, 000 square-kilometres into the Arabian Sea.
Pakistan’s mission to the United Nations in New York had filed a claim for extension in its continental shelf from 200 nautical miles to 350 nautical miles to United Nations Commission on the Limit of Continental Shelf (UNCLOS) on April 30.
The ministry of science and technology (MoST) was involved in the preparation of the claim for the last couple of years.
The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), an autonomous organisation of this ministry, was entrusted with the task to prepare the claim in accordance with UN requirements.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan’s sea limits set to be extended: Dawn
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Molasses exports soar by 134pc in CFY: The News
KARACHI: Pakistan export of molasses during the current fiscal year was seen soared by 134 percent.
According to official data, molasses exports during July-March surging by 134 percent reached $76.7 billion as against $32.6 in the same period previous year.
Sindh Abadgar Board Secretary General, Nawaz Shah told Geo News that last year’s high sugarcane production spurred a vigorous surge in molasses exports.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Molasses exports soar by 134pc in CFY: The News
ADB May Increase Credit Line To Pakistan Electric Power To Resolve Circular Debt: Energy Business Review
he Asian Development Bank (ADB) has stated that it may increase its credit line to Pakistan from $500 million to $1 billion to help Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pakistan Electric Power) wriggle out from the circular debt in the power segment, a senior official at the ministry of water and power stated to The News. At LIBOR+150 to 200 basis points, Pakistan is pursuing the loan from ADB. If the loan is granted, some amount will be used by the government to eliminate the entire circular debt.
The senior official said “We have approached World Bank and ADB for loan to erase by June 30, 2009 the remaining part of the circular debt which stands at over Rs100 billion, as the incumbent regime had generated Rs92 billion through Terms Finance Certificates. Once the whole circular debt gets cleared the smooth functioning of the power sector will be ensured.”
The government seeks to eliminate the entire circular debt by June 30, 2009, which is why the ministry for water and power is in negotiations with ADB.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: ADB May Increase Credit Line To Pakistan Electric Power To Resolve Circular Debt: Energy Business Review
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Economic slowdown hurts cement exports: Daily Times
By Moonis Ahmed
KARACHI: The economic slowdown around the world has begun to hit Pakistan’s cement industry, as its exports in April were lower by 12 percent than that recorded in March.
Exports dropped to one million tonnes from 1.1 million tonnes in March 2009.
According to the latest numbers released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), exports were up 51 percent year-on-year in first ten months of the current fiscal year.
Nevertheless, the number of 975,000 tonnes witnessed last month was still encouraging when compared with the monthly average of 880,000 tons recorded during the first nine months. Exports now constitute 36 percent of total dispatches (year-on-year).
Country’s cement exports had witnessed a healthy growth of 140 percent to all-time high level of 4.2611 million tonnes in the first eight months of last fiscal year. But the industry is now witnessing downward trend as the global economic slowdown has begun to impact it.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Economic slowdown hurts cement exports: Daily Times
ICCI invites Turkish investors to marble, granite sector: Daily Mail
By Asad Cheema
ISLAMABAD—President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Mian Shaukat Masud has invited Turkish investors to invest in Pakistan’s marble and granite sector, which offers great potential for foreign investors.
“Pakistan’s marble is of excellent quality and its products can compete with any other county’s products,” Masud said while exchanging views with a four-member delegation of Turkish businessmen who called on him at ICCI to discuss the possibilities of investment potential in Pakistan’s marble and granite sector here on Monday.
The ICCI president informed the delegation members that Pakistan had rich reserves of marble and granite, which spread from Karachi to Siachen, and the country could earn huge foreign exchange through its export if exploited effectively. He said our marble and granite sector had the potential to play a vital role in national economy through export of raw material and value added products as well.
He informed them that the Government of Pakistan was also determined to provide more facilities to the marble and granite sector businessmen and invited them to take advantage of these incentives by investing in marble and granite sector in Pakistan.
Masud said marble sector export stood at $25.8 million during July-March 2009 as compared to $16.55 million in same period last year, registering an increase of around $9.25 million, which shows its healthy growth potential.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: ICCI invites Turkish investors to marble, granite sector: Daily Mail
Pakistan economic indicators - May 5: Forbes
Floating Interbank Rate (Rs/$) 80.44/80.53 80.50/80.58
Rupee/US $ (kerb market) 80.70/80.90 80.65/80.75
Karachi 100-share index 7,062.25 7,202.10
Gold (Karachi) Rs/10 gm 23,317 n/a
======CENTRAL BANK AUCTIONS======
Treasury Bills Auction Results:
Cut-off Yield (pct) at auction on: Apr 22 Apr 08
Three-months bills 12.9775 12.6552
Six-month bills 13,0737 12.9828
12-months bills 13,2738 13,4928
Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) Auction Results:
Cut-off Yield (pct) at auction on: Apr 15 (2009) Feb 18 (2009)
11.25 pct coupon, three-Year PIB 12.9385 13.9530
11.50 pct coupon, five-Year PIB 12.9495 14.3692
11.75 pct coupon, seven-year PIB 13.1395 14.7973
12.00 pct coupon, 10-Year PIB 13.2409 14.9444
12.50 pct coupon, 15-Year PIB 13.8007 15.4995
13.00 pct coupon, 20-Year PIB 14.2492 15.8998
13.75 Pct coupon, 30-Year PIB 14.4995 16.4496
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan economic indicators - May 5: Forbes
China, Pakistan want bigger say in bank: Jakarta Post
Nusa Dua, Bali
With the Asian Development Bank (ADB) tripling its capital, economic powerhouse China and lower-profile Pakistan want greater voices at the bank, to give the ADB a new balance.
Speaking at the bank's board of governors meeting Monday in Nusa Dua, Bali, China said the ADB must join the reform of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through its own internal reform, and give developing countries a greater voice by giving them more shares.
"All the members should take quick action, show political sincerity, effectively increase voice and representation of the developing members in the ADB, and promote the development of a fair, just, inclusive and well-managed international financial order," Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren told the meeting.
During the 42nd annual meeting of the ADB's board of governors, the governors have agreed to triple the development bank's capital from US$55 billion to $165 billion.
China, with its foreign exchange reserves of more than $1 trillion, has the capacity to increase its shares in the bank. However, all member countries have expressed interest in subscribing to the bank's new shares, leaving no room for big developing member countries like China to raise its stake.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: China, Pakistan want bigger say in bank: Jakarta Post
Clarke, Afridi fly up ICC ODI Player Rankings: Daily Times
LAHORE: Stand-in captain Michael Clarke has been rewarded for inspiring Australia to a 3-2 series win over Pakistan by rocketing up the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Player Rankings. Clarke, who led the four-time world champions in the desert cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the absence of Ricky Ponting, has climbed nine places and now sits in 11th position after scoring 235 runs in the series, including 100 not out in the fourth match. Shane Watson is the other Australia batsman on the charge. The 27-year-old Queenslander has vaulted 27 places to 46th spot after finishing the series as the leading run-getter with 271, including 116 not out in the last match of the series at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Andrew Symonds’ comeback series brought no joy for him as he has now dropped out of the top 20. The 33-year-old all-rounder has slipped three places in the batting chart to 23rd spot after scoring 82 runs in four outings. Michael Hussey and Ponting have also slipped in the latest rankings after missing the series. A player loses one per cent of his rating for missing every match and as such both the batsmen have dropped three places each and are now in third and 18th positions.
There is no good news for Pakistan in the batting chart except for Kamran Akmal, whose 116 not out on Sunday has helped him jump 10 places to 47th, and Misbahul Haq who has climbed four places to 30th. Shoaib Malik has slipped one place to 19th position, Salman Butt has dropped four places to 22nd spot while captain Younus Khan has stayed in 24th place after managing only 73 runs in the series. The batting table is still headed by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Hussey’s slip has benefitted the West Indies pair of Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul who have risen one place each to second and third.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Clarke, Afridi fly up ICC ODI Player Rankings: Daily Times
Review of Economic Situation 2008-09: ‘External account remains vulnerable’: Daily Times
By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) said on Monday the fiscal deficit target of 4.3 percent of GDP and the current account deficit target of 5.9 percent of GDP were achievable.
However, recent global financial crisis and extremely vulnerable security environment added risks to the economy. The external sector data for the last quarter (April-June 2009) would give a real reflection of the impact of global financial crisis on Pakistan’s external sector.
In a report on July-March period of 2008-09, MoF stated that the global economic slowdown was making inroads into real economy through contraction in demand in the export sector and as well as shrinkage of external inflows. Pakistan’s economy continues to remain exposed to the vagaries of international developments as well as internal security environment, it said. Despite support from the IMF and other bilateral and multilateral donors, Pakistan’s external account remains exposed to a host of uncertainties, it said.
The outlook for economic growth remained pessimistic as import demand shriveled, tax collection declined, and inflows of foreign investment and privatization dampened.
Real Sector: Notwith-standing the vulnerabilities, the economy is set to post economic growth in the range of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent, far lower than its historical average, but relatively satisfactory in the given international environment. The real GDP growth outlook drew strength from positive outlook of the agriculture sector, which has given all indications of a healthy growth. The outlook is based upon anticipated high wheat crop and above target growth of minor crops and reasonably good outturn by the livestock sub-sector.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Review of Economic Situation 2008-09: ‘External account remains vulnerable’: Daily Times
Mistrust of the West is stronger in Pakistan than fear of the Taleban: Times online
In Karachi and Islamabad they really believe the US was behind 9/11. That is why opposition to the jihadists is so lukewarm
The war that has resumed between the Pakistani Army and the Taleban in the northern mountains of Pakistan is not between two clearly defined sides, with clearly defined victory and defeat. It is, instead, an extremely complicated mixture of war and politics, in which episodes of extreme violence alternate with periods of negotiation.
One of those violent periods is resuming now. Barely two months after a peace deal with the Taleban to create a Sharia system in the Swat district, the army is back on the offensive. The Taleban overstepped an unwritten mark when they tried to extend their control into the district of Buner, barely 60 miles northwest of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. The army chief, General Asfaq Kayani, stated clearly that a challenge to the existence of the Pakistani state would not be tolerated.
What will be tolerated is Taleban strength in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan. As I discovered during a visit to the region last September, the level of support for them there is such that crushing them completely would take a huge campaign of repression.
As long as this conflict remains restricted to the mountains, in many ways the most important prize is not control of territory as such, but the support of the local population.
There are many reasons why this is so, and why even many Pakistanis who deeply oppose Taleban rule are also opposed to a tough military campaign against them. One is that the jihad of the Afghan Taleban against the US “occupation” of Afghanistan enjoys overwhelming public approval in northern Pakistan, at least to judge by my interviews on the streets and in the bazaars, and the Pakistani Taleban gain a great measure of prestige from their alliance with this jihad.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Mistrust of the West is stronger in Pakistan than fear of the Taleban: Times online
Monday, May 4, 2009
Pakistan's economy Full fear and credit: Economist
PAKISTAN is one of the few countries in the world that enjoys more macroeconomic stability today than it did on September 14th, the day before the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers turned the world upside down. In those prelapsarian days Pakistan’s currency was tumbling; its foreign-exchange reserves covered barely two months of imports; and the cost of insuring its sovereign debt against default was almost 1,000 basis points (10%). Worst of all, the IMF had landed in Islamabad.
In the months since, Pakistan’s government has in effect conceded the Swat valley, a picturesque tourist spot, to the Taliban. It has suffered savage terrorist attacks on a police academy and the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team. It has also handed the political initiative to its rivals in the opposition party. But despite all this turmoil, it has found some macroeconomic steel.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan's economy Full fear and credit: Economist
Pakistan achieves autarky in producing CNG equipment: Pakwatan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan has achieved self-sufficiency in manufacturing the equipment of international standard used in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector. "Locally produced CNG equipment are now competing with international brands quality-wise as well as in performance in the market," official sources said.
In order to promote indigenous production of CNG equipment, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had given permission to eight companies for manufacturing/assembling CNG compressors, dispensers and conversion kits for vehicles subject to conformity of the laid down international technical standards. After achieving the self-sufficiency, these companies have recently started to export the locally manufactured dispensers to Argentina and Bangladesh.
Presently, Tesla Industries - Islamabad, Advanced Electronic International - Karachi, Global Pakistan - Lahore, Comcept Pvt Ltd - Islamabad, Carbon Products - Islamabad, Green Technology - Peshawar, Siddiq Sons - Rawalpindi and Landi Renzo, Pakistan are operating in the country and producing compressors, dispensers, priority panels and conversion kits.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan achieves autarky in producing CNG equipment: Pakwatan
Cricket Pakistan needs some friends to restore order: Dean Jones: The Age
DO I get this right? Pakistan recently had eight people tragically killed when terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team and officials and consequently everyone has decided not to tour Pakistan again for years to come.
And last year, more than 200 people were killed in India through the Mumbai terrorist strikes and England returned three weeks later to finish the tour with ramped-up security. So please tell me: what is the difference?
Is it for commercial reasons? Is it because India has more money than anyone in the cricketing world? If the same thing happened in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, would England have returned so quickly?
Please, don't get me wrong. I admire how both boards reacted for each other and for cricket. Great courage and conviction was shown by all. All I'm saying is that it's time for cricketing countries to show the same respect to Pakistan, because the game needs the Pakistanis.
Admittedly, Pakistan cricket has had some problems over the past five years.
In that time, it has had four chairmen, four chief executives, five coaches, five captains, and five players reported for throwing. Pakistan players have had bombs going off nearby regularly in that time, its coach, Bob Woolmer, died during the World Cup and its team has had the worst over-rate breaches throughout this time. It is obvious that there is instability throughout the Pakistan Cricket Board. Pakistan cricket needs good leaders and it needs some friends badly.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Cricket Pakistan needs some friends to restore order: Dean Jones: The Age
Sunday, May 3, 2009
India behind World Cup move from Pakistan: Mani: AFP
ABU DHABI (AFP) — A former president of cricket's governing body on Sunday accused India of being behind the decision to shift World Cup 2011 matches away from Pakistan which has further isolated the troubled country.
"The decision to move the World Cup out of Pakistan was ill-conceived and taken in haste and I am afraid to say that India has a big hand in this (decision)," Ehsan Mani, former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), told AFP.
The ICC last month stripped Pakistan of its share of World Cup matches, citing the "uncertain security situation" in the country as the reason for its decision. The matches will now be held in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan had become an unsafe venue for international matches following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March which left seven players and their assistant coach injured besides killing eight policemen.
Mani, who is from Pakistan, said the decision on the World Cup was not on the agenda of the meeting.
"From what I have heard, seen and spoken to PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) and number of other people, it wasn't on the agenda at all in the meeting, the issue on the agenda was security situation in Pakistan after attacks on the Sri Lankan team.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: India behind World Cup move from Pakistan: Mani: AFP
Pakistan to receive $50m orders from HK fair due to Better Quality: The News
KARACHI: Pakistan is all set to regain its soccer ball markets from China and India as both its competitors could not meet the required standard of hand stitched balls.
This was stated by the sports goods exhibitors from Pakistan who participated in the Hong Kong Gifts and Premiums Fair concluded at Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Upon their return from the recently concluded exhibition, which held from April 26-30, the sports goods manufacturers from Sialkot, said that they have received very encouraging trade enquiries during the four days extravaganza and hopefully they could manage over $50 million orders.
About 12 exhibitors from Pakistan had displayed their products in the fair and despite global economic recession they remained busy during entire show.
“If the Pakistani government helps out in exploring markets especially the South America and Asia Pacific, we would be able to export soccer balls worth $100 million well before next Football World Cup to be held in 2010,” CEO of Bola Gema, Waseem Lodhi said.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan to receive $50m orders from HK fair due to Better Quality: The News
Pakistan Must Breakup Diplomatic Relations with USA: Daily.pk
| Written by www.daily.pk |
| Friday, 01 May 2009 14:55 |
| US President of Obama and the Commander of U.S. Central Command has made it amply clear that United States whats to have no stakes in the people of Pakistan. All it wants is to solve its problem and then leave the people of Pakistan and it rather deal with the military then the democratically elected rulers of Pakistan This is the hint for Pakistan to call off its diplomatic and military engagement with USA. We must withdraw from US war in Afghanistan and focus on dealing with our problems on our own with the help of our friendly countries. According to Gen. David Petraeus "the next two weeks are critical to determining whether the Pakistani government will survive" Then President Obama on the 100th Day in office made the following Points * I’m confident that we can make sure that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is secure. Primarily, initially, because the Pakistani Army recognizes the hazards of those weapons falling into the wrong hands. * I am gravely concerned about the situation in Pakistan, not because I think that they are immediately going to be overrun and the Taliban would take over in Pakistan. * I’m more concerned that the civilian government there right now is very fragile and don’t seem to have the capacity to deliver basic services: schools, healthcare, rule of law, a judicial system that works for the majority of the people. |
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan Must Breakup Diplomatic Relations with USA: Daily.pk
Pakistan steps-up efforts to fill 3500 MW power shortage: Pakistan Times
Pakistan Times' Business & Commerce Desk
ISLAMABAD: As the country is in the grip of lengthy hours of load shedding, the Senate was informed Thursday that WAPDA is facing a shortfall of 3500 megawatts of electricity.
Answering questions in the Senate, Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf said that government is fully alive to the situation and taking steps to fill this gap hoping that the country would get rid of load-shedding by the end of this year.
Raja Pervez Ashraf reiterated his often repeated stance that not a single megawatt was included in power transmission system during the last nine years that resulted in huge gap between supply and demand. However various projects are in the pipeline that would start power generation soon and help overcome this crisis on permanent basis. He said the government has also taken concrete measures to control line losses and power theft that have started yielding results.
To another question the Minister said the present government inherited circular debt of 182 billion rupees payable to independent power producers and it was able to pay back ninety billion rupees immediately that has helped increase power generation through private producers. He said the remaining amount would be paid back by 30th of June and that would help running these power houses more efficiently and generate electricity according to their full capacity.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan steps-up efforts to fill 3500 MW power shortage: Pakistan Times
Pakistan 8th among TB-hit countries: official: The News
By Our correspondent
TANK: With the highest burden of Tuberculosis (TB) patients, Pakistan is ranked 8th among the TB-hit countries across the globe.
The government, in line with its commitments to the International Standard of DOTs’ strategies, has taken adequate measures for elimination of the disease, stated Dr Riazuddin Mahsud, a senior health official, while talking to this scribe.
Dr Riazuddin, the district TB control officer, said TB cases in Pakistan were estimated to be 300,000 annually, most of them lungs problem. A statistical data reveals that 75 percent among the TB patients are youth troubled with worst economic constraints besides lack of awareness.
Efficient monitoring procedure on the part of local TB control units, about 100 TB cases were being registered in Tank quarterly, most of them suffering from lungs TB. However, Dr Riaz deplored that lack of awareness among the masses was also a problem to be solved.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan 8th among TB-hit countries: official: The News
Pakistan seeks $273m from Friends for Basha dam: The News
By By Mehtab Haider
ISLAMABAD: The country sought $273 million from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) for construction of multi-billion-dollar Diamer-Basha dam in the next fiscal year 2009-10, it is learnt.
According to a financial summary tabled before the FoDP, a copy of which is exclusively available with The News, for establishing Gwadar linkages with China, Afghanistan and upgradation of Karakoram Highway (Mansehra to Sazin 258km), Pakistan has sought $594 million and $256 million respectively from the donors.
For establishing a new railway link connecting Gwadar Port to Mastung/Quetta, Pakistan has sought $1.342 billion over a period of nine years. The government asked the donors to provide $30.388 billion for 24 development projects over a span of 5 to 11 years. The government plans to launch National Employment Programme and for that it sought $321 million from the donors.
For Thar coal development, the government has sought $1.750 billion from the FoDP over the next five years. In first year, it requires $20 million in first year, $355 million in second year, $359 million in third year, $516 million in fourth year and $500 million in fifth year.
For construction of Diamer Basha Dam in water sector, the government has asked the donors to provide $5 billion over the next 11 years out of which in first fiscal year, Pakistan requires $273m, second year $183 million, third year $349m, fourth year $663m, fifth year $663m, sixth year $741m, seventh year $767m, eighth year $555m, ninth year $302m, tenth year $252m and eleventh year $252m.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan seeks $273m from Friends for Basha dam: The News
Broadband Internet Cheaper in Pakistan Compared to UK, US and India: The News
By By Jawwad Rizvi
LAHORE: The cost of broadband Internet in Pakistan has started declining with the growth of information technology, encouraging consumers to make increased use of the service.
The cost of broadband connection, with varying speeds, is much cheaper in Pakistan than neighbouring India where the IT industry had developed much earlier. Similarly, Internet Service Providers of Pakistan are charging relatively less than those in developed countries including the UK, US and others.
A study conducted to assess broadband Internet access cost in Pakistan and other countries shows the price in Pakistan is lower and inexpensive. However, it finds that in Pakistani most of the time download speed is reasonable but browsing speed is poor.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Company is charging a fee of Rs1,200 for 1mbps (megabites per second), which is cheaper when compared with that of India and US. The two ISPs of US, Cox.net and Verizon, charge a higher amount than that of PTCL.
Cox.net is providing broadband service at $45 for 9mbps, $30 for 1.5mbps and $20 for 768kbps. Verizon is charging $18 for 1mbps and $28 for 3mbp. Converted into Pakistani rupees, the cost of 1.5mbps of Cox.net broadband comes to over Rs2,400 per month and that of Verizon is over Rs1,400 per month.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Broadband Internet Cheaper in Pakistan Compared to UK, US and India: The News
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Passco's wheat procurement target increased: Business Recorder
ZAHID BAIG
LAHORE (May 02 2009): The Federal government has increased wheat procurement target of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) from earlier 1.5 million tonnes to two million tonnes. Sources in the Corporation told Business Recorder here on Friday that they had received the directives from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MinFA) yesterday.
The government keeping in view the better production and to facilitate the growers to the maximum had directed the Corporation to go for procurement of two million tonnes of grain instead of 1.5 million tonnes. The sources said that the Corporation would need another Rs 15 billion tentatively to meet this new buying target. Regarding the procurement, the sources said that the Corporation till Thursday had procured 9,37,910 metric tons of wheat during the on-going wheat procurement drive.
'We are also expecting procurement of around 85,000 metric tons of wheat today (Friday) as a result of which the Corporation would cross the one million tonnes mark,' sources in the field wing of the Corporation told Business Recorder. Giving the break up of procurement, the sources said that the corporation till yesterday had procured 8,92,000 from the province of Punjab, 30,020 metric tons from Sindh and 14,930 metric tons from Balochistan.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Passco's wheat procurement target increased: Business Recorder
Over 400,000 ton wheat procured in Pakistan: Pakistan Times
VEHARI: So far almost 403,275 tons wheat has been procured at PASSCO purchase centres against a target of 1.5 million tons, says field general manager Abdul Hameed.
He said that PASSCO was focusing mainly on wheat procurement in Punjab where 235 procurement centres were operational in 15 cities including Minchanabad, Bahawalnagar, Burewala, Mailsi, Kehror Pakka, Pakpattan, Okara, Pindi Bhatian, Hafizabad, Lodhran, Khanpur, Alipur, Jatoi and Gojra.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Over 400,000 ton wheat procured in Pakistan: Pakistan Times
Friday, May 1, 2009
Time's World's Most Influential Leaders: Ashfaq Kayani
Aryn Baker
Until his promotion to army chief last fall, Ashfaq Kayani was the ultimate gray man, chosen, it seemed, for his lack of political ambition and his unwavering loyalty to his boss, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. But Kayani, 56, quickly showed that his loyalty lay with the nation he had served for nearly four decades, not with the man who had elevated him to the most powerful position in the country. On taking office, Kayani ordered the withdrawal of all military officers from lucrative posts in the civilian bureaucracy. As Pakistan went to the polls in February, Kayani kept the army out of sight, a first in a nation long accustomed to election results tinged by a khaki shadow. The message was clear: his army would stick to the barracks and the battlefields, not the ballot boxes.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Time's World's Most Influential Leaders: Ashfaq Kayani
Pakistan's forex reserves rise to $11.15 bln: Reuters
KARACHI, April 30 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose by $70 million to $11.15 billion in the week ended April 25, the central bank said on Thursday.
The State Bank of Pakistan's reserves rose to $7.83 billion from $7.79 billion a week earlier, while reserves held by commercial banks rose to $3.32 billion from $3.29 billion, the bank said.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan's forex reserves rise to $11.15 bln: Reuters
Pakistan may get extra $4.5 bn from IMF: The News
By Mehtab Haider
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have discussed options for additional funding of $4.5 billion for Islamabad and the final decision will be taken in review talks in Dubai scheduled from May 4 to 11, a senior official confirmed to The News on Wednesday.
The official, who was part of Pakistani delegation during the recent annual spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, told this scribe on late Tuesday night that Pakistan and the IMF had discussed options to jack up additional funding for Islamabad up to $12.1 billion from the existing $7.6 billion under a 23-month Standby Arrangement (SBA) program. When contacted Additional Finance Secretary, Asif Bajwa, who is also official spokesman, on Wednesday confirmed that the government had not yet formally approached the IMF on the issue of additional funding from the Fund.
An IMF official also confirmed that the government had not yet officially requested the Fund for additional funding. However, the sources said the IMF funding is meant for Balance of Payment (BoP) support and if the government decides to get additional funds, it will help the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to improve its foreign currency reserves position. “The government will put additional funding into the foreign currency reserves which will help to improve confidence of investors for having increased foreign currency reserves,” added the official.
Though the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) had pledged $5.28 billion during Tokyo’s conference translating pledges into a reality was altogether a different matter. If these pledges are actualised, then Pakistan’s budgetary gap for the next two years can be filled.
For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan may get extra $4.5 bn from IMF: The News
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