BISINISS WORLD NEWS

ISLAMABAD: Federal Textile Ministry downgraded the monthly export target of cotton yarn from 50,000 to 35,000 kilograms, Geo News reported Sunday.

Talking to Geo News, Federal Textile Minister Rana Muhammed Farooq said the Custom would be responsible for the monitoring of yarn exports, adding the new exports target of cotton yarn would be applicable from March 1st until June.

He added however, there would be no limit for the value-added cotton yarn priced $3.5/kg or above.

Facilitating the spinning sector, Rana said the tax rate has been dwindled from 35 to 10 percent for the local sale of yarn garments.

According to Rana Farooq, the export re-financing facility would be provided for on time import of and availability of cotton in the country.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan aims to attract foreign investment worth five billion dollars this year, but needs to tackle reform, maximise anaemic growth and stem rampant violence to clinch its ambitious target.

Last fiscal year, Pakistan recorded its worst economic growth in more than a decade, at two percent, and attracted only 3.7 billion dollars in investment.

Yet Board of Investment chairman Saleem Mandviwalla is optimistic despite Pakistan's immense challenges.

"Traditionally the investment pace that we had kept -- which was an average of five billion dollars a year -- I think we should be able to go back to it very soon depending on if the global situation improves," he said.

"Pakistan faces the global crisis which is going on, the financial crisis, the energy crisis and then on top of these we have the security situation," Mandviwalla, who is also a state minister, conceded.

Security has plummeted in Pakistan over the last three years with militants on the rampage, killing more than 3,000 people in bomb attacks to avenge the government's alliance with the United States in the war on Al-Qaeda.

Then there is the crippling energy crisis. Power cuts have become routine all year round, choking industry and causing misery for millions.

"With these conditions prevailing on us, which is terrorism and energy shortages, this stops us from really moving the investment the way it should come in," Mandviwalla acknowledged.

While Pakistan languishes behind regional giants India and China, Mandviwalla takes comfort from the fact that his country, with its relatively advanced infrastructure, does better than other developing countries.

Close ally the United States has tripled non-military aid to Pakistan to 7.5 billion dollars over the next five years, spurring hopes that the cash can boost economic growth and improve security.

"We have to market Pakistan, we have to overcome the local issues," Mandviwalla said, highlighting opportunities in energy generation, agriculture and infrastructure.

The top three countries providing foreign direct investment (FDI) so far this fiscal year are the United States, with 347.5 million dollars, Britain, 119 million dollars and the United Arab Emirates, 121.8 million dollars, according to the Board of Investment.

The biggest investments flowed into oil and gas, communications and information technology, and power generation, its documents said.

The investment board touts success stories such as investment from mobile phone operators Orascom (Egypt) and Telenor (Norway), Japan's Toyota, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and consumer product giant Procter & Gamble.

The board recently signed a memorandum of understanding with General Electric to identify energy, power, transport and water projects.

Azmat Ranjha, the minister for trade in the Pakistani embassy in Washington, acknowledged that investment from the United States -- the country's largest trading partner -- had slipped because of the security concerns.

But he said it was largely a matter of perception and pointed to fresh investment by large US companies with long experience in Pakistan such as Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble.

"If you're a start-up, the perception you get once you read all these newspapers is that it looks fairly scary," he said.

"But those familiar with the region know that most of the problems are in the north near Afghanistan while most industry is in the central and southern part of the country."

Economic analyst Salman Shah said the five-billion-dollar target would be achievable if the government focused more on boosting the economy's disappointing growth rate and lowered interest rates to single digits.

"To achieve the five billion dollars investment, the BOI has to work hard, conduct roadshows and accelerate the privatisation process," he said.

"Another important thing is the economic growth. With just two percent growth rate, it is difficult to attract the investors."

Despite the 7.5 billion-dollar US aid package, Ranjha said it was crucial for the United States to lift tariff barriers. Proposals to help Pakistan by liberalising trade have been stuck in Congress.

"If the United States wants to hold our hand on the path to the development, there is no better way than by providing market access and that hasn't really happened," he said.

KARACHI: The government has decided to issue Rs25 billion under circular debt head next week, Finance Secretary Salman Siddique said.

Talking to Geo News after meeting chaired by outgoing Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, he said of the pledged amount, the Finance Ministry will issue Rs13 billion and the remaining amount would be provided by various other departments and the provincial governments.

According to sources, the National Adjustor has hammered out a plan for adjustment of various departments and the provincial governments; however, it is now not clear that the amount would be adjusted in books or paid in cash.

Talking Geo News, Raja Pervez Ashraf said the government inherited the issue of circular debt, claiming the circular debt would be whittled away in March.

KARACHI: Owing to the world economic recession and better production of rice globally, the prices of Pakistani rice in international market have come down to USD511 per ton with the decline of 40 percent.

According to federal board of statistics, during July 2009 to January 2010, Pakistan exported 2.26 million ton rice at the rate of Rs1.15 billion. ‘

While last year for the same period, Pakistan exported 1.5 million-ton rice at much higher rate of Rs1.26 billion.

Rice Exporters Association Vice Chairman Rafiq Suleman told Geo that the exporters should attach more value to consumers packing to enhance the rice export.

 NEW DELHI: The Indian government today allocated Rs 1,47,344 crore towards defence in 2010-11 budget, a paltry 4 per cent increase from last year's Rs 1,41,703 crore.

Of the allocation provided, Rs 60,000 crore would go for capital expenditure, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said presenting the Budget for 2010-11 in the Lok Sabha.

The four per cent increase in real terms would amount to only Rs 5,641 crore.

Last year, the government had provided a steep hike of about 34 per cent for the defence working out to an increase of Rs 36,103 crore.

Mukherjee, however, said considering the importance of defence of the country, more funds would be provided on the basis of requirements in the future.

The defence allocation continues to hover over 2.5 per cent of the GDP, though there have been suggestions to increase it substantially in view of the prevailing security situation.

SINGAPORE: Oil was above 78 dollars a barrel in Asian trade Friday, bouncing from steep falls on the back of a weaker US dollar.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, was up 41 cents to 78.58 dollars a barrel, after falling 1.83 dollars in US trade Thursday.

London's Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was up 38 cents to 76.67 dollars a barrel after shedding 1.80 dollars. Oil is traded in dollars and a weaker US unit makes the commodity cheaper to holders of other currencies, stimulating demand and pushing prices higher.

In Asian trade Friday, the dollar was under pressure after higher US jobless benefit claims clouded the outlook for the world's largest economy.

NEW YORK: The dollar was slightly lower Thursday against the euro as concerns over the Greek debt crisis continued to dog the single European currency.

The euro was hovering at 1.3546 dollars around 2200 GMT from 1.3534 dollars late Wednesday after languishing most of the day below the 1.3500 level.

The single European unit fell against the Japanese currency, to 120.71 yen from 121.99 yen late Wednesday.

The dollar declined slightly to 89.09 yen from 90.12 yen.

The euro recovered a little as investors locked in profits by selling the dollar, which has chalked up strong gains recently, traders said.

But the euro rebound may be short-lived, said Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman.

"Market focus once again is on renewed pressure on the euro," analysts at PNC bank said in a client note, noting that credit rating agency Moody's joined rival Standard & Poor's in warning of a possible Greek credit downgrade.

A new downgrade could put Greece in a high-risk investment category, making it even more expensive to borrow money to meet its obligations.

The euro traded "within a hair" of its nine-month low against the dollar on an intraday basis a few times before moving into positive territory, said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at Global Forex Trading.

"Economic data in the US was very weak and more troubles in the eurozone caused a wave of risk aversion throughout the European and early US trading session," she said.

The US Labor Department said new claims for jobless benefits jumped to a three-month high, underscoring ongoing struggles for the labor market and the economic recovery.

The seasonally adjusted initial claims in the week ending February 20 rose to 496,000, an increase of 22,000 from from the previous week's revised figure of 474,000, the department said.

Analysts said that if the jobs picture fails to improve, that could spell trouble for the recovery from recession.

Meanwhile Europe's economic outlook dimmed considerably on Thursday when officials revealed feeble growth, sliding confidence and tight lending, as shockwaves mounted over the debt crisis in Greece.

New forecasts released by the European Commission showed that economic growth across Europe will be uncertain, fragile and dwarfed by emerging Asian rivals throughout 2010, with an upturn in global trade bypassing the bloc.

"The eurozone recovery is clearly struggling for momentum," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at research group IHS Global Insight, with the European Commission itself warning that "the rebound appears to have lost its momentum."

In late New York trade, the dollar fell to 1.0802 Swiss francs from 1.0810 late Wednesday.

The pound dropped to 1.5263 dollars from 1.5405.

NEW YORK: Oil dropped more than 2 percent toward $78 a barrel as weak U.S. employment and durable goods data raised more concerns about a recovery in the world's top energy consumer.

Demand for a wide range of U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell in January, while new applications for jobless benefits rose again last week, suggesting a step back in the economic recovery.

U.S. crude futures for April CLc1 fell $1.83 to settle at $78.17 a barrel, after earlier falling as low as $77.05. London Brent crude LCOc1 lost $1.80 to settle at $76.29

"Economic data is testing the optimism of some investors who had hoped that rebounding economic growth would push up demand for commodities," said Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.

"The markets are reassessing the assumption that a solid recovery is already in place in the United States, and economic figures from the euro zone have also been weak."

Earlier news that rating agencies may downgrade Greece's sovereign debt rating refocused attention on the weak fiscal health of some euro zone countries and weighed on markets.

An early rise in the dollar against the euro pressured commodities prices, but a late rally in the euro helped take crude off its lows.

U.S. jobless claims data suggested the world's biggest energy consumer was recovering more slowly than expected. The number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly in the latest week, a U.S. Labor Department report showed.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods excluding transportation unexpectedly fell in January, suggesting a loss of momentum in the economic recovery.

Oil markets have looked to the broader economy for signs of a rebound since the recession sent prices from over $147 a barrel in July 2008 to below $40 in December of that year. Signs of a rebound that could bolster demand and draw down inventories have helped push prices back up since then.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose by 3 million barrels to 337.5 million barrels in week ended Feb. 19, data from the Energy Information Agency showed on Wednesday. But U.S. gasoline inventories fell 900,000 barrels to 231.2 million barrels, versus analysts estimates of a 400,000-barrel build.

U.S. refiners normally start stockpiling in April for the driving season, which starts at the end of May and peaks in June-July.

KARACHI: Pakistan's total liquid foreign reserves have increased to 14.3701 billion dollars, said statement issued by State Bank of Pakistan here on Thursday.

On Feb. 20, 2010 the foreign reserves held by State Bank amounted 10.520 billion dollars whereas the net foreign reserves held by banks other than SBP were of 3.849 billion dollars.

KARACHI: Selling pressure continued at the local share market for the third consecutive day as the benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 19 more points to close at 9,667.

Today’s trade began in the red zone and at one stage the Index was also seen below the level of 9,600 points as foreign and local investors opted for off-loading their holdings. However, buying at lower levels by the financial institutions helped the share prices recover, leaving the Index only 19 points down.

Trade volume stood at 130 million shares today.

Silk Bank’s right shares were on top in terms of exchanging hands at paisas 67 with a gain of paisas 66.

Market analysts expect recovery at the level of 9,600 points in the coming sessions.

KARACHI: The price of cotton soared to Rs5700 per maund with an addition of Rs100 in the local market, Geo News reported Thursday.

The cotton season nears its end in the country; while, its price is making new records.
The per maund cotton price has reached at highest level in international market. Reduction in cotton production in India and export of yarn are the major factors for price hike in local markets.

According to market sources, the local traders are expecting further raise in the cotton prices in view of burgeoning prices of cotton in the international market.

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Trade and Industries Amin Fahim Tuesday reduced the import quota of used lube oil and worthless diesel from 10 million ton to 50, 000 ton.

It may be reminded here that Geo News had aired a report about heavy allocation of quota for import of 10 million ton useless diesel and lubricant.

On this the Federal Trade Secretary told Geo that the ministry has reduced this quota.

The federal ministry has also directed that following the full import of 50, 000 ton used oil, the importer will also have to explain about proper use of already imported oil.

KARACHI: Bulls continued to grip the local equities market Monday, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index further up by 50 points to 9,953.

The Index began its march on the positive lines and remained green throughout the session on the first day of business.

The investors actively took positions at energy and banking counter on the reports of negotiations between the Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and stock brokers on the Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

The trade volume was recorded at 170 million shares today.

WorldCall led the front-runners in terms of volume which gained paisas 26 to close at Rs5.42.

Meanwhile, KSE-30 Index surged by 71 points to finish the day at 10,366.

The market analysts say that the 100 Index could cross the psychological barrier of 10,000 points in the current week.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has engineered a new system meant for elimination of under-invoicing; the system is expected to be introduced next week, Geo News reported Sunday.

Talking to Geo News correspondent, the FBR’s member customs Muneer Qureshi said the new system against under-invoicing can help increase the FBR revenues by 10 to15 percent.

The Member Customs further told that several officers and importers have been arrested on identification of scams in audits at dry ports of Margalla, Lahore and Sambriyal, adding the licenses of various clearing agents have been cancelled as well.

WASHINGTON: A key global anti-corruption body has blacklisted eight countries for alleged money laundering and terrorism financing and called for sanctions against Iran, the US government said Friday.

The Financial Action Task Force has “identified eight countries that have strategic deficiencies in alleged money laundering and terrorism financing,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The FATF, an inter-governmental body aimed at countering illicit financial transactions that could be used to promote terrorism, has named Angola, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sao Tome and Principe, and Turkmenistan for posing “a risk to the international financial system.”

The US Treasury welcomed “the FATF statements this week identifying countries with strategic deficiencies in the area of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

“We also welcome FATF’s renewed call today for its members and all jurisdictions to apply effective counter-measures to protect their financial sectors from the money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Iran.”

The 35-member FATF, which includes the European Commission and the Gulf Co-operation Council, singled out the Islamic republic for sanctions.

Iran “is subject to a FATF call on its members and other jurisdictions to apply countermeasures to protect the international financial system from the ongoing and substantial money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from the jurisdiction,” the FATF said in a statement.

The task force said that Angola, Ecuador, Ethiopia and North Korea “have not committed to an action plan developed with the FATF to address key deficiencies.

”Pakistan, Sao Tome and Principe, and Turkmenistan have not addressed deficiencies “previously publicly identified by the FATF.”

The FATF secretariat is based at the Paris headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a forum of industrialized nations.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell sharply to around 78 dollars a barrel in Asian trade Friday after the US Federal Reserve's decision to raise its interest rate on emergency loans to banks boosted the dollar. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was down 1.03 dollars to 78.03 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for April delivery eased 96 cents to 76.82 dollars a barrel. Analysts said the Federal Reserve's move to raise the discount rate, or the primary credit rate, to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent surprised markets in its timing.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered above $77 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after surging the previous day amid expectations a growing U.S. economy will fuel increased crude demand.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 37 cents at $77.38 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.88 to settle at$77.01 on Tuesday.

In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil was up 0.8cent at $2.004 a gallon, and gasoline raised 1.3 cents to $2 a gallon. Natural gas gained 4.4 cents to $5.354 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was up 31 cents at $75.99 on the ICE futures exchange

 KARACHI: Holding out flowers on Valentine’s day is the most beautiful way to make your love speak volumes to your beloved one; accordingly, the love birds are planning to gift red rose to their beloved; but, they are suggested to up their budget on this day.
This is for the reason that flowers price has burgeoned from normal to exorbitant. The city is looks beautiful from place to place bestrewed with flowers especially red roses.

This day with abundant presence of flowers signals the arrival of spring and the flower sellers acknowledge that they earn a lot of profit on the day, when love birds actually go out to get a fresh piece of expression of love on the Valentine´s Day Sunday.

Those wishing to gift a whole bouquet instead of a single piece should be ready to spend higher price depending on the number of flowers they wish to mark the day of love.

"The huge demand of red roses for the day is the major reason behind the surge in their prices," said a shopkeer. Despite the rise in prices, he is confident of making a good business on the day. “There can be thousands of ways for celebrating love, but the value of a rose -- particularly the red one -- is more than anything else,” he stated.

Giving red rose for Valentine´s Day has been a time honored tradition for lovers. Even before the historic date when St. Valentine is said to have sacrificed his life for love, roses have played a significant part for lovers.

The price for rose is also determined by its size. The price is higher for larger stem, whereas smaller ones costs relatively less, he further said.

The price also varies with the color. Valentine´s classic red roses are expensive, whereas yellow, orange, purple, white or pink roses cost relatively cheaper.

There are some people who come to Karachi to earn good profit by selling their flowers in the city, creating some ripples in the stagnant economy of the country.

NEW YORK: U.S. industrial stocks stumbled after China said it would take more steps to keep its economy from growing too fast.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 45 points but had fallen as much as 160 points. Shares of three Dow stocks with extensive business overseas all fell more than 1 percent.

Stocks ended mixed but the Dow and other major indexes postedgains for the week, their first after four losing weeks.

The Dow fell 45.05, or 0.4 percent, to 10,099.14. The Standard &Poor's 500 index dropped 2.96, or 0.3 percent, to 1,075.51, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.12, or 0.3 percent, to 2,183.53.

For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 index each rose 0.9 percent while the Nasdaq jumped 2 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo’s market, closed Thursday for a public holiday, led the region’s gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 128.20 points, 1.29 percent, to 10,092.19 and the Shanghai Composite index was up 32.63 points, or 1.09 percent, to 3,018.13.

South Korea’s Kopsi closed down 4.15 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,593.89. Australia’s benchmark was flat while markets in Thailand closed up 0.38 percent and Malaysia rose 0.32 percent. Indian markets were closed Friday for a public holiday.

  KARACHI: Stock prices moved both sides on Friday as the local share market witnessed mixed activity at weekend.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index inched up by 3 points to close at 9,806.

The market started with positive numbers but remained volatile throughout the two sessions. Selling pressure in energy stocks eroded most of the gains and the major Index finished the day at the current level.

The trade volume was recorded at 220 million.

Lafarge Pakistan was today’s star performer in terms of volume which slipped paisas 13 to close at Rs4.35.

KSE-30 Index declined by 24 points to peg at 10,174.

SINGAPORE: Oil firmed up in Asian trade Thursday as a weaker US dollar spurred buying in the commodity and investors waited for a closely watched report on US energy inventories.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose 35 cents to 74.87 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for March delivery was up 26 cents to 72.80 dollars a barrel.

The euro climbed to 1.3786 dollars in Singapore morning trade from 1.3732 dollars in New York late Wednesday. The dollar eased to 89.90 yen from 89.92.

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet Tuesday made it mandatory to produce national identity cards to get a pack of 2 kg sugar from the USC outlets.

The ECC met here under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin at the PM’s Secretariat.

This step has been taken to ensure affective monitoring and vigilance system at the USC outlets for sale of sugar.

The ECC decided that the Shell’s offer at 15% Brent + $ 0.50 per MMBTU, subject to further improvement in the final round of negotiations will be accepted for upto 1MTPA Medium Term supplies of 6 years and 2.5 MTPA from 7 to 20 years.

The ECC was told that the overall CPI-based inflation registered decrease of 0.49 percent in December 2009 over November, 2009.

The stock of wheat as on January 31, 2010 amounted to 5.9 million tons as against 1.7 million tons in the same period last year, thereby showing a higher stock of about 4.2 million tons compared with last year.

The meeting was informed that trade deficit improved by 29.0 percent to $ 7.0 billion in July-December 2009-10 from $ 10.0 billion in the same period last year.

The ECC noted that workers remittances amounted to $ 4,531.0 million in July-December 2009-10 as against $ 3,640.0 million, showing an increase of 25.0 percent over the same period last year.

The Foreign exchange reserves stood at $ 14.5 billion as on February 4, 2010 - up from $ 6.4 billion on November 25, 2008.

The provisional FBR tax collection stood at Rs.693.3 billion on net basis during July-January 2009-10 as compared to Rs.630.5 billion in the same period last year, thereby posting an increase of 10.0 percent.

 ISLAMABAD: The differences among provinces over the distribution of water have intensified even further due to rising water scarcity in country, Geo news reported.

Meanwhile, the Sindh province has barred share of Balochistan water. Also, IRSA has failed to get Balochistan its due share of water.

Sources told Geo news, the province of Sindh has kept Balochistan’s share of water blocked for last 10 days. Only 1800 cusec of water is being released for Balochistan instead of 3000 cusec, which becomes 40 percent of its share.

The Chief Engineer Irrigation of Balochistan Ahmed Ibrahim Rind Monday lodged strong protest over the blockage of Balochistan’s 40 percent share of water and called upon IRSA for its help to resolve the issue.

SINGAPORE: World oil prices fell in the wake of weaker-than-expected US jobs data and at the end of a volatile week for global financial markets.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, lost 34 cents to 72.80 dollars a barrel. London's Brent North Sea crude for March dropped 69 cents to 71.44 dollars per barrel.

Oil had also fallen in earlier trade amid slumping equities and a stronger dollar caused by European debt fears. Crude futures had slumped nearly four dollars on Thursday, mirroring plunging global stock markets, as the dollar strengthened after a surprise rise in US initial weekly jobless and a deepening debt crisis in Europe.

The euro bounced back above 1.37 dollars on Friday after the US jobs data, having earlier struck a near nine-month low at 1.3648 dollars as risk-averse investors moved into the safe-haven greenback.

Earlier this week, oil prices had soared as equity markets put in strong performances and manufacturing data from the United States reassured nervous investors.

KARACHI: Former Chairman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association Maj Gen (retd) Rahmat Khan said Pakistan can export 30 lakhs tonnes of cement from its land and sea routes to earn itself a foreign exchange worth 160 million dollars, Geo News reported Friday.

Talking to Geo News, he said Pakistan exports at least 40,000 tonnes of cement to India by train from Wahga to Attari; while, at least 25,000 tonnes are exported by sea, adding if Pakistani trucks are allowed parking and moving 200 to 300 yards into India, then the cement exports could be raised to 200,000 tonnes.

Pakistani cement is the best in world, which is used 3 to 4 percent less in comparison with the other cements, Rahmat said adding Indian traders are highly interested in importing Pakistani cement.

KARACHI: Pakistan's total liquid foreign exchange reserves have witnessed a decrease of 586.5 million dollars to 14.51 billion dollars due to a payment made for Euro Bonds, State Bank of Pakistan said Thursday.

SBP spokesman, Syed Wasimuddin said that the government made a payment for Euro Bonds worth 600 million dollars on January 26.

According to break-up, foreign reserves held by SBP amount to 10.72 billion dollars and net forex reserves held by banks (other than SBP) 3.79 billion dollars.