Pakistan ranked 5th in cement exports, surpasses Germany: Daily Times

By Moonis Ahmed

KARACHI: Pakistan has been ranked 5th in the world’s cement exports after a jump of 47 percent in exports during last fiscal year, the Global Cement Report shows.

According to the report, China ranks first with 26 million tonnes in exports, while Japan grabbed the second position by exporting 12 million tonnes. The third largest cement exporter in world is Thailand with around 12 million tonnes, followed by Turkey with 10.6 million tonnes.

Pakistan has left Germany behind by exporting 11 million tonnes of cement during last fiscal year. Germany now stands at 6th position with 9 million tonnes exports.

Irfan Amanullah, Chief Financial Officer of Attock Cement Limited, while talking to Daily Times said that Pakistan secured this position because of high demand and by capturing new markets.

He said that Pakistan could achieve the mark of 13 to 14 million tonnes exports by the end of the fiscal year if the government provides better infrastructure facilities.

He was of the view that the demand had remained firm during the year that helped to reach this mark in exports. “The new markets explored by the exporters include some of African countries, Qatar and Iraq,” he said.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan ranked 5th in cement exports, surpasses Germany: Daily Times

Pakistan: A Superpower by 2050: Pakistan Times

By Dr Ali Mohammad

In a recent article, “Turning Challenges into Opportunities” we argued that Pakistanis are a brave, resilient, and highly intelligent people who, under a strong, determined, and patriotic leadership, can surmount any crisis. Furthermore, there are many reasons that Pakistan could become a global superpower within few decades.

Of course, in the sublime sense, the only superpower is the Almighty Allah. However, in more mundane terms, a superpower can be defined as having the ability to influence events and project power on a worldwide scale. Unfortunately, the traditional definition of a superpower represents a raw and crude psyche that only exacerbates violence, environmental decay, inequality, tyranny, and instability.

We must then redefine “superpower” to emphasize morality, international cooperation, world peace, clean and healthy environment, eradication of poverty, and promotion of equality among nations. Pakistan can take up the challenge under a two-pronged doctrine, namely possessing an effective and successful deterrence against aggression and the will and the means to enhance international cooperation, peace, and prosperity.

The defeatists, uttering doomsday scenarios, will question our proposition. These elements have always infused distress, despondency, and despair among the masses. Pakistan has survived many odds since its birth. To the dismay of its detractors, Pakistan has achieved a reasonable degree of self-sufficiency in food and other essential commodities. The poverty level has declined to 25%, while wealth distribution has been relatively much better compared to many developed and developing countries.

In the vital fields of agriculture, science and technology, industry, medicine and engineering, nuclear technology, art and architecture, as well as in sports, cultural, and the literary world, it has won a respectable place in the community of nations. The Pakistani people have courageously defied what the proponents of gloom and doom had wished. At the time of its inception in 1947, the country lacked the basic infrastructure for development, but it had the romance of youth, the diversity of its people, and a kind of mysticism for survival. The birth of Pakistan in less than ten years since the idea of nationhood was conceived in the 1940 Resolution is truly a gift of Allah to the Ummah. And its survival is a miracle.

Many serious analysts believe that with proper management and governance, Pakistan can become the sixth biggest economy within the next fifteen years and one of the most developed economies by 2050 AD. (Adjusting for unreported economic activities and comparative prices, the current GDP estimates can actually be four times higher putting Pakistan in the middle-income category.) Moreover, with an estimated population of 350 million by 2050, it will be fourth largest country in the world. Similarly, the literacy rate, 52% at present, is expected to reach 90% in next twenty years.

However, Pakistan’s biggest asset is its 100 million people below the age of 25, a highly productive age, which can play a vital role in the economic development of the country. These young people have entered the phase of their economic life cycle, whereas in many other countries most of the population is aging. Moreover, some ten million overseas Pakistanis, with estimated assets of $500 billion, constitute a huge reserve and strength as well as a source of considerable remittances and investment.

On the geo-physical scene, Pakistan has adequate natural resources. For example, of a total land area of nearly 882,000 sq.km. (ranking fifth among the developed countries while it is larger than France, Germany, Britain, Japan, and Italy), it has over 30 million hectares of land under agriculture. It has rich soils, favorable agro-climatic conditions, one of the most extensive irrigation systems in the world, and a hard-working farming community. Pakistan also has a large population of cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep, camel, and poultry while it ranks among the highest producers of meat, milk, and animal products.

In addition, the country has tremendous opportunities for developing fresh water and sea fisheries. With the introduction of improved farming techniques, the country can produce at least 60 million tons of food (wheat, rice, and maize) — enough to meet the nation’s food requirements and for exports. Pakistan can also boost its existing significant production and export of fruits and vegetables. The potential exports of food products alone to the Middleast are estimated at $200 billion per year. Development of the agriculture sector could also release surpluses of income and manpower for the industrialization of the country.

Pakistan has been bestowed with huge deposits of mineral resources and stands among the top ten nations in the world in vital mineral resources such as gold, copper, silver, gas, precious stones, and coal. In the case of energy, the country has immense hydroelectric power generation potentials as well as solar, wind, nuclear, and thermal power and can boost electricity production several times its present levels. For example, Pakistan has the world’s fourth largest coal reserves equivalent to over 600 billion barrels of oil, which can be developed for electricity generation both for domestic and export markets, coal byproducts, gasification, petrochemicals, and many other chemicals.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan: A Superpower by 2050: Pakistan Times

India more corrupt than Pakistan: Report: UTVi

That India is a corrupt nation is not big news but that it is the 4th most corrupt country out of 47 other Asian countries comes as a shocker. It’s just slightly better than Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia.

In a recent survey conducted by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), India, scored of 7.21 on the corruption index making it the fourth most corrupt nation in Asia.

Stringent laws that make business transactions difficult are one of main reasons why India finds itself at the top of the list. This could prove as a serious deterrent at a time when India is producing a generation of professionals and companies are on a shopping spree around the world.

Unethical practices, red tape and bureaucracy in government organisations were instrumental in adding that stigma to India’s growing economy. Corruption has rocked the Indian system for years and out politicos do little to fight it off.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: India more corrupt than Pakistan: Report: UTVi

Best Countries for Business: Forbes

Rank-previous year 83 GDP Growth 4.7% GDP/Capita $2,600 Trade Balance -3.2% Population 172.8 mil Federal Budget Balance as % of GDP -2.2% For more on this article, please click on the following link: Best Countries for Business: Forbes

Rank vs. 2008 Trade Freedom 108 Monetary Freedom 87 Property Rights 88 Innovation 77 Technology 94 Red Tape 68 Investor Protection 48 Corruption 105 Personal Freedom 107 Corporate Tax Rate 85

WB ranks Pakistan first in corporate governance: Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: World Bank Report “Getting Finance in South Asia 2009” has ranked Pakistan first in the areas of corporate governance, performance and efficiency.

In the area of access to finance, Sri Lanka ranks first in South Asia, on capital market development and market concentration and competitiveness in the banking sector first slot is grabbed by India.

According to the detailed report on Pakistan the bond market is developing at a lesser pace. The domestic bond outstanding was 25.16 percent of the GDP, equivalent to $32.41 billion. This consists of mainly government bonds, as the corporate market is yet to develop.

The areas on which Pakistan needs to focus are access to finance capital market development, and market concentration.

Access to Finance: Pakistan needs to focus on improving financial outreach through its commercial banking sector. Demographic branch penetration is low with around five bank branches per 100,000 people during the six-year period. To promote branch openings in rural areas, the SBP has introduced the Annual Branch Licensing Policy, which requires commercial banks with 100 branches or more to open at least 20 percent of their branches outside big cities and set up branches in Tehsil Headquarters, where no branch of any bank exists.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: WB ranks Pakistan first in corporate governance: Daily Times

Pakistan Ranks Top Ten in the World in at least Ten Categories of Global Competitiveness: ECONOMISTAN

According to the latest findings of the economic analysis think tank Economistan, Pakistan ranked in the top ten countries of the world in many areas of global competitiveness. These areas range from IT outsourcing to wheat production to exports. Pakistan ranked second in the world in terms of IT outsourcing growth according to Odesk and third in the world according to rentacoder. To get the complete list of rankings check out the newsletter by clicking here.

For more on this article, please click on the following link: Pakistan Ranks Top Ten in the World in at least Ten Categories of Global Competitiveness: ECONOMISTAN