Pakistan Economy - News & Updates - Archive

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President foresees $18 billion exports this fiscal
KARACHI (March 21 2006): President General Pervez Musharraf has said the government is fully encouraging the foreign direct investment (FDI) and foresaw the total export would reach $18 billion during the current fiscal year.

Speaking as chief guest at the Textile Asia 2006 Exhibition Gala Dinner at the Governor house here on Monday, he said the policy of deregulation was paying dividends, as a result the country has witnessed unprecedented foreign investment.

The President said during the last six years the economy has been transformed into a vibrant and dynamic state. The GDP, which was 60 to 65 billion dollars, is now touching the $135 billion mark.

"We have achieved a record growth rate of 8.4 percent during the last fiscal year and was expecting 7 percent this year," he added.

The President, welcoming foreign delegates, said Pakistan had provided a very attractive environment for investment. He said the profit margin in Pakistan is much higher. He said 600 to 700 foreign companies are doing business in Pakistan and earning 30 to 60 percent profits and some of them even earned up to 80 percent.

He said infrastructure is being developed and cited the development of ports, highways and roads in this regard.

The President was extremely upbeat on the vast opportunities that Pakistan is offering to foreign investors and looked forward to increasing inflow of FDIs.

He said the FDI had grown by 500 percent over the last five years. This flow of FDI would continue in future, he hoped.

He said an upsurge in the country's export has been witnessed due to privatisation, deregulation and liberalisation. He declared through the process of production, extension and value-addition, even bigger achievements in the export field will going to take place.

He was of the opinion that foreign investment creates jobs for people and eliminates poverty.

The President appreciated organisers for holding the Textile Asia 2006 Exhibition. He also lauded efforts of the textiles minister Mushtaq Ali Cheema, Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Sindh minister for industries Muhammad Adil Siddiqui and all others in making the event a success.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan said the participation of foreign delegates in the exhibition indicate the growing confidence of foreign investors in the Pakistan's economy.

He said 1250 acres of land has been given to set up Textile City in Karachi, which will create employment opportunities for the people.

He assured the province of Sindh would do its best to provide even more incentives for investment here.

Textiles minister Mushtaq Ali Cheema, speaking on the occasion, said the country under the leadership of President General Pervez Musharraf was witnessing an economic upswing and the contribution of textile sector to the GDP had increased while it maintained its position as the backbone in the economy.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?...&term=&supDate=

 

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China to provide $22.26 million for Gwadar port
BEIJING (March 25 2006): A credit agreement for 22.26 million dollars for additional dredging of Gwadar deep seaport project was signed here on Friday. The agreement was inked by Ambassador Salman Bashir and Ms Liang Xiang, Assistant President Exim Bank of China.

Extra dredging would enable 50,000 DWT vessels to utilise the Gwadar port. The development of Gwadar port is a shining example of Pakistan-China co-operation and it is expected to be ready for operation later this year.

Ms Liang also assured the ambassador that they would continue to actively support other major economic projects in Pakistan. The ambassador expressed gratitude of his government for the valuable support of China to Pakistan's economic development.

Meanwhile, sources told APP that the port will be functional after completion of additional dredging of the channel to 14.5 meters, making it the deepest port of Pakistan and transhipment port for the region.

The dredging of Gwadar port channel to 14.5 meters, which has been undertaken by a Chinese company, will make it a regional hub, as it will enable the port to receive the mother vessels. The cargo dropped by the mother vessels will be taken to Karachi and other regional ports by the feeder vessels or trucks.

 

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China gifts satellite data receiving system to Pak, Bangladesh
China gifts satellite data receiving system to Pak, Bangladesh

Beijing, Mar 25: China will provide high-quality satellite data, products, services and applications to Bangladesh, Pakistan and five other nations in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen regional co-operation in space.

"We hope that more Asia-Pacific countries can benefit from the digital video broadcasting-satellite through China's Fengyun series of meteorological satellites for their meteorological research, disaster mitigation, economic growth and prosperity," head of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Qin Dahe said here today.

CMA and China Space Administration (CNSA) gifted reception stations for the system to seven Asia-Pacific countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Peru and Thailand to further promote regional multilateral co-operation in space technology and applications.

The system can receive real-time data from China's meteorological satellites, along with satellites owned by other countries worldwide, and broadcast them to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

China has used the system since last year for monitoring climate change, weather forecasting, disaster and environmental monitoring as well as services for many other fields including agriculture, forestry and civil aviation, said Zhang Wenjian, a CMA official.

He said China has established more than 100 users of the system across its territory and said he hopes that more countries in the region will take the opportunity to share the information it collects and processes for their benefit.

 

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NTC to make Pakistan a hub of global trade: Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD (updated on: March 25, 2006, 20:49 PST): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that National Trade Corridor (NTC) improvement plan being actively followed by the government will improve the logistics chain, reduce cost of doing business, improve competitiveness of products and help make Pakistan a regional hub for global trade.

Chairing the fifth meeting of National Trade Corridor at the Prime Minister's House on Saturday, the Prime Minister asked all relevant agencies to move promptly on re-designing of procedures and processes, strengthening of infrastructure i.e. roads, railways, airports and ports to improve the logistics chain with a view to reduce the cost of business, facilitate trade and investment in Pakistan and increase competitiveness of Pakistani products in the global market.

"The comprehensive, integrated plan being developed to improve the logistics chain and improve various processes aims at taking the economy at new heights", said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister asked all Ministries/Departments present in the meeting to improve their marketing strategies and take all decisions after analysing their feasibility on commercial basis. "Most government entities have weak marketing strategies which adversely affects their profitability and hampers growth", said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister asked Pakistan Railways Board and PIA to improve their cargo handling facilities. He asked Ministry of Commerce to prepare a strategy for forecast of growth of air cargo so that infrastructure development could keep pace with the growth and specific requirements of different regions. The policy will be prepared in co-ordination with related departments.

The Prime Minister reviewed progress of various plans launched for ports and shipping modernisation trade facilitation, highways improvement trucking modernisation, railways restructuring, aviation and air transport modernisation.

The Prime Minister was informed that the revised National Aviation Policy is in final stages and will be submitted to the Cabinet in six to eight weeks. Two more private sector companies Pearl Air and Safe Air have been giver licenses to operate and open skies policy for cargo operations has been introduced. Development of cargo ware housing facilities/cargo-handling facilities is at various stages of completion at the Lahore, Gwadar, Islamabad and Karachi Airports.

The Prime Minister was informed that custom clearance time at Karachi Port has been reduced to 10 hours, national supply chain security strategy has been finalised and IC3 agreement has been signed with US and port entry charges at Port Qasim have been reduced by 15 percent.

The Prime Minister was also informed that by June 2006, a modern multi agency transit station will be fully operational at Jamrud and scanners at Lahore and Jamrud will be installed

The Prime Minister was also informed that the process of corporatisation of Pakistan Railways will be completed by December 2006, three daily express trains from Karachi-Lahore and up country have been started and two express freight trains will start service by June 2006.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction at the progress made and emphasised the need for a results oriented approach. He also highlighted the need to benchmark performance of our logistics chain with other developing and developed countries.

"We should not stay in our comfort zones but look around us to improve relative performance so that we achieve global standards of efficiency and performance", the Prime Minister said.

The meeting was attended among others by Shamim Siddiqui, Minister for Ports & Shipping, Mian Shamim Haider, Minister for Railways, Dr. Muhammad Akram Shaikh, Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission and senior officials.

 

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CBR plans to increase tax-to-GDP ratio by at least 1pc in next 5 years
KARACHI (updated on: March 25, 2006, 21:11 PST): The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has chalked out a plan to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio by at least 1 percent in next five years which means an additional revenue of $1.25 billion.

This was stated by Chairman CBR Abdullah Yousuf while speaking at the pre-budget seminar organized by the Institute Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) here on Saturday.

He said this ratio is currently hovering around 10 percent which is the lowest in the region as well as in the world. The neighbouring countries have about 15 to 18 percent tax-to-GDP ration, he added.

Calling it a challenge to enhance this ratio, Yousuf said that Pakistan has agreed with the World Bank to raise this ratio by 0.2 percent every year.

He said that in the past all the governments had tried to increase this ratio, but they could not do it. On the contrary previous governments had to revise down their tax collection targets and yet failed to achieve the revised targets, he noted.

CBR chairman said that revenue collection targets are being surpassed every year and this year too, the revenue collection was ahead of the target.

Citing reasons for this rise, he said that fast growing economy was the major reason behind the increase in tax collection.

He said that the revenue collection has to increase to finance the infrastructure development as the rising industrial and commercial activities will put of load on the existing infrastructure facilities in the country.

"We have to look at our tax collection system, rules and procedures and simplify and fully automate the system to enlarge tax base", Yousuf said.

He pointed out that the government was trying to evolve a system which is simpler and transparent. We are cutting rates, facilitating tax payers, eliminating pendency in tax appeal cases, expediting refunds, etc.

CBR chairman said that 14 regional offices were being set up in the country besides the existing three large tax payers units to centralize tax collection by December 2007. In addition, 80 tax facilitation centres were also being set up in smaller towns which will be connected to the main system to facilitate tax payers, he added.

He said that all these centres will collect income tax, sales tax and central excise duty.

Responding to a demand to further cut tax rate, he said that there will be a uniform tax rate of 35 percent for all companies in next couple of years and added that listed companies after July 2004, will get an additional cut of 1 percent in tax rate.

Referring to pendency of tax appeals, CBR chairman said that there was no waiting time for new appeals as more than 60,000 cases of direct taxes and over 20,000 cases have been decided.

He said that CBR had requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to put up a special bench. This request was agreed and till now 900 out of 1150 pending cases have been decided and remaining cases will be resolved by end of this year.

He said that at High Courts and tribunal level, 17,000 pending cases of direct taxes and 6000 of indirect taxes have been decided.

He pointed out that intake of new cases is only two to three which is negligible. This is because of introduction of self assessment scheme, he added.

Earlier, prominent tax consultants Ebrahim Sidat, Syed Masood Ali Naqvi and vice chairman MAP Abdul Qadir made suggestions to further simplify tax collection, expedite refunds and further cut tax rate.

 

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56pc of KPP for Balochistan
QUETTA (APP) - Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has announced a development package of Rs2.8 billion for the district governments in Balochistan under Khushhal Pakistan Programme (KPP).
All the districts of the province will get Rs100 million each except the Quetta City government that will receive Rs200 million. Kohlu will not benefit from the package as it has already been released Rs250 million out of total Rs1.5 billion announced by the President for the district during his last visit.
The PM made the announcement while addressing the District Nazimeen here at Chief Minister Secretariat on Saturday. Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Federal Ministers Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, Mir Naseer Mengal, Zubaida Jalal, Mohammad Ali Durrani, Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Mohammad Jamali and other elected representatives and senior officials were also present on the occasion.
The PM said that the federal govt has chalked out a development package of Rs5 billion for the entire country under the KPP this year out of which 56% which constitutes Rs2.8 billion has been allocated for Balochistan.
The actual share of Balochistan is 5% only, but the federal government decided to provide the province with the lion’s share to improve the living style of the province people.
“The District Governments will themselves identify their projects to utilize this fund while we will only conduct monitoring for which a monitoring team will also be announced later”, he said, adding that the Nazmeen are bound to spend the funds on specific projects including construction and repair of roads, farm-to-market roads, pavements, ponds, basic health units, schools and sanitation schemes.
Referring to financial crisis of Balochistan, Aziz said that the federal government has provided a grant of Rs800 million to the province besides a debt relief of Rs1.7 billion to address the problem.
He, however, said that the province should also realize the financial constraints of the federal government as “We had to bear a loss of 300 billion in the last year’s catastrophic earthquake”.
The Prime Minister said that Balochistan was a backward province, but it has started making rapid progress since President Musharraf has come into power which is also evident from the fact that the volume of development funds being spent in the province has now touched the figure of Rs140 billion.
“Balochistan has great resources and much potential to be developed in various sectors including mineral, agriculture, livestock and the like” he said , adding that the big companies of the world are now coming here for investment.
Work on Gwadar port, Mirani Dam and Sabakzai Dam are in progress, he said, adding that Pat Feeder Canal would also be extended and Kachhi Canal would also constructed that would bring about great development and prosperity in the province.
The Prime Minister said that the Coastal Highway would further be extended to Gabd, Naag, Basima from Gwadar to link it with N-25 and later to Ratodero.
Later, the Prime Minister gave away the cheques for Rs100 million each to district Nazmeen.

 

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Indo-Pak trade booming despite lingering bitter political disputes
26 March 2006

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and India may be far from resolving long-standing disputes, particularly over the divided region of Kashmir, but the nuclear-armed rivals are steadily forging closer ties in a sphere vital to both countries - trade.

Senior Commerce Ministry officials from both nations will hold three days of talks in Islamabad starting Monday to discuss ways to boost trade, which has been growing steadily since they began peace overtures two years ago after three wars and decades of hostility.

Pakistan-Indian trade reached US$850 in fiscal 2005-2006, up from US$550 million the previous year, said Syed Asif Shah, the top bureaucrat at Pakistan’s Commerce Ministry. Shah will lead the Pakistani side at the talks, and Indian Commerce Secretary S. N. Menon will head the Indian delegation.

“The issue is how we can increase trade and commerce between the two countries and improve our advantages so that both countries can benefit,” said Shah, adding there was “unlimited” potential for trade to grow.

Pakistan and India have a history of hostile relations, mainly because of their dispute over Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between the two. Each has claimed the region in its entirety since 1948, a year after they gained independence from Britain.

Peace talks that began in early 2004 have made little headway over Kashmir, but have seen a resumption of diplomatic ties, rail, air and road transportation links, which has allowed more people and commodities to move across their border. In the latest friendship gesture, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday called for a peace and security treaty between the two countries.

This week’s talks will focus on removing non-tariff barriers in select sectors such as textiles, and take stock of progress made in improving aviation and shipping links, an Indian Commerce Ministry official said on condition on anonymity as he was unauthorized to speak to the media.

Both countries have lifted some trade barriers and allowed goods to be shipped both ways by road, but more needs to be done, the official added.

Major Pakistani exports to India include textile and leather products, yarn and surgical goods, while the main imports from India are sugar, meat, livestock and other raw material for local industries, Shah said.

But illegal trade is much higher, estimated at about US$1 billion, according to a Pakistani Commerce Ministry official who declined to be identified due to the subject’s sensitive nature.

Pakistani and Indian commentators said more progress was needed on political fronts, such as the Kashmir conflict, to push trade ties forward.

“The progress is slow because differences still persist on the political front,” said Ram Upendra Das, a New Delhi-based trade economist.

“However, both sides realize and appreciate the potential to boost trade is huge. Also, the political will to move in this direction is gaining momentum.”

A Pakistani trade official said his own country was preventing joint Pakistani-Indian ventures, which could take advantage of India’s cheap skilled labor and services and advanced technology.

“Political issues and security problems between the two countries are not letting both sides to get real benefits of their proximity,” said M. A. Jabbar, senior official at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

 

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Pakistan ranks 6th in Asia Pacific: Gas reserves
KARACHI, March 25: Based on 2004 data of remaining recoverable reserves, Pakistan with gas reserves of 28tcf (current reserves 32.8tcf) ranks 6th in the Asia Pacific region.

The country offers huge oil and gas potential and vast relatively unexplored acreage, with historical success ratio of 1:3.4. “The major portion of hydrocarbons is untapped,” says a JS Capital Markets report on “Pakistan’s gas reserves and gas fields” released on Wednesday.

The report notes that rising energy consumption level is an indication of growing economic activities in a country. Pakistan’s primary energy supplies have grown at 5.2 per cent CAGR to 55.5mn toe during FY01-05. Currently, 72 per cent of total energy requirements are met through indigenous production while the rest is imported. Natural gas remains the mainstay of primary energy supplies, covering 50 per cent of the domestic energy mix in FY05. Local gas demand is met entirely through indigenous resources.

The report indicates the country’s exploration acreage has found to have greater prospects for gas than that of oil. In the last five years (FY01-05), Pakistan’s remaining recoverable gas reserves have grown at a CAGR of 6 per cent and reached 32.8tcf in FY05. “This is quite an encouraging growth if one considers the rise in gas production level that has depicted 10 per cent CAGR in this period,” say analysts, adding that against this, balance recoverable reserves of oil have registered a CAGR of four per cent.

According to the Energy Year Book 1998, Pakistan’s wide sedimentary basin has a potential of 200tcf of natural gas. As per the Energy Year Book 2005, Pakistan’s total gas reserves stood at 51.5tcf of which 18.7tcf have already been utilized and thus 32.8tcf are remaining recoverable reserves.

At current production rate, Pakistan possesses gas reserves for the next 24 years assuming no discovery takes place in the future. Compared to this, country’s oil reserves are expected to last for the next 13 years at current production level and assuming no replacement in future. Gas reserve replacement ratio (calculated using reserves additions divided by production) has been encouraging in the past, with last five years average arrived at 237 per cent and is also quite better than the oil reserve replacement ratio of 92 per cent.

According to the JSCM report, Uch gas field (operated by OGDCL) ranks top, with remaining recoverable reserves of 4.61tcf. It is followed by Sui (3.98tcf), Mari (3.84tcf), Qadirpur (3.77tcf), Sawan (2.05tcf), Zamzama (1.95tcf), Kandra (1.73tcf), Manzalai (1.4tcf), Bhit (1.35tcf), Bhit (1.35tcf), Mari Deep (1.21tcf), Kandhkot (0.73tcf), Miano (0.72tcf), Makori (0.70tcf), Pirkoh (0.65tcf), Dhodak (0.56tcf), and others (3.55tcf). These fields cumulatively occupy the major chunk of around 90 per cent of the known balance gas reserves of Pakistan.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/03/26/ebr7.htm

 

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Musharraf for projecting soft image of Pakistan
MANGLA (March 27 2006): President General Pervez Musharraf has said the government is striving to project soft image of Pakistan through promotion of culture, tourism and sports. He was addressing a large gathering here on Sunday at Mangla View Resort launching ceremony. He said the inauguration of Mangla View Resort will prove to be a milestone for promotion of domestic and international tourism.

The President said the government has launched a series of projects to promote the tourism, including investment-friendly policies to encourage construction of hotels.

He said the Manlga View Resort is Pakistan's first quality resort, which will be a jewel in the crown of Pakistan tourism industry. It will not only give new dimension to healthy recreational activities and promote tourism, but also generate economic activity in the country, he added.

Musharraf said: "Once the project is completed in a few years time, there will be a major change in the mindset of the people about how to spend their leisure time, and I am sure that people with exquisite taste and good aesthetic sense will have life time experience while coming to Mangla."

He extended special appreciation for the Punjab government, the Tourism Ministry, Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor, Mangla View Resort CEO Major Anur Adam (Retd), Mangla Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Javed Alam and the Jhelum District Nazim for their commitment and extending their patronage in development of the Mangla View Resort.

Lieutenant-General Javed Alam Khan, in his address of welcome, said that Mangla View Resort will be a wonderful tourist resort as well as having residential area along with recreational facilities.

He said that Mangla is blessed with plenty of natural beauty, which makes it very attractive for the people from all walks of life.

Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor said that Mangla View Resort is the most ambitious resort development in Pakistan with a total developing cost of $2 billion.

He hoped that Mangla View Resort will be the catalyst for domestic tourism and will become an international tourist resort destination. He complimented the government for initiation this project.

It may be mentioned that Mangla View Resort is being constructed on 324-acre of land directly facing Mangla Lake. It is capable of housing 609 units of Banglows each 4,000 square feet, 110 units semi-detached houses, 179 units apartments, 90 units chalets.

It will also provide a facility of two hotels (total 500 rooms), a club house of 12,000 square feet covered area. The Mangla View Resort will also have the facility of international level water sports club and 18-hole Golf Club. It will also provide the facility of riding club and extreme games park.

The first phase of the project will be completed in mid-2007 and the project will be finally completed by end of 2009.

The administration of the Mangla View Resort also makes a contribution to President's Earthquake Relief Fund.

A cheque of Rs 10 million was presented to the President by Malaysian Tourism Minister Adnan Mansor and Mangla View Resort CEO Major Anur Adam (Retd). Earlier, on arrival at Mangla View Resort President General Pervez Musharraf cut the ribbon and unveiled the plaque to formally inaugurate the project.

Punjab Governor Lieutenant-General Khalid Maqbool (Retd), Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Minister of State for Tourism Sumera Malik also accompanied the President during the launching ceremony.

 

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Export of textile goods up by 20pc
Export of textile goods up by 20pc

ISLAMABAD, March 25: Pakistan’s export of textile products rose by 20.18 per cent to $6.323 billion during the eight months of the current fiscal year as against $5.261 billion the same period of last year.

Official figures released by Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) here on Friday showed that the increase was mainly attributable to growth achieved in the export of readymade garments during the month of Feb 2006.

The export of readymade garments surged 33.15 per cent to $872.276 million during Feb 2006 as against $655.125 million over the same month last year.

A decrease of 18.30 per cent was recorded in export of readymade garments during Jan 2006 and 4.92 per cent in December 2005 over the corresponding months of the last year.

The export of bedwear grew by 65.72 per cent, cotton yarn by 28.95 per cent, cotton cloth by 19.30 per cent, knitwear by 1.96 per cent and towels by 12.69 per cent during the eight months of the current fiscal.

However, the export of tents, canvas and tarpaulin declined by 71.42 per cent, art, silk, synthetic textile by 38.17 per cent and made-up articles by 14.35 per cent.

Similarly, the export of surgical goods and medical instruments fell by 11.17 per cent; gems by 1.2 per cent, jewellery by 52.40 per cent, furniture by 6.58 per cent and molasses by 63.56 per cent during the period under review.

The export of carpets, rugs increased by 2.91 per cent, sports goods by 8.33 per cent, engineering goods by 11.80 per cent, auto parts by 60.08 per cent, leather manufacturers by 46.4 per cent, footwear by 22.4 per cent, chemical and pharmaceutical products by 9.80 per cent during the period.

The export of primary commodities registered an overall growth of 24.77 per cent during the July-Fed 2005-06. Export of rice increased by 41.04 per cent, fish and fish preparations by 27.8 per cent and spices 78.20 per cent during the period under review.

 

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Plan to raise literacy rate
Tuesday March 28, 2006 (1045 PST)

HYDERABAD, March 27: District Naib Nazim Zafar Rajput says the district government has prepared a plan to raise literacy rate in collaboration with different education-oriented organizations to 85 per cent in the district by the end of 2008.

Mr Rajput said during a briefing officials of the Aga Khan Education Service (AKES) gave on Monday him about “Releasing Confidence and Creativity (RCC)” programme at district nazim office, the district was working with various educational organizations to raise the standard of education and increase literacy rate.

Introduction of Early Childhood Education (ECE), English medium in primary schools, RCC programme and other activities under ESRA, DEEP and SDSSP were some of the steps the district had taken in this regard, he said.

The district naib nazim said another purpose behind engaging educational organizations was to ensure the government teachers get the latest teaching expertise to be at par with their colleagues in private sector.

 

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Credit Suisse targets Vietnam, Pakistan
HONG KONG: Credit Suisse is pursuing new opportunities in Vietnam and Pakistan while it keeps up its search for a securities joint venture partner in China, its top Asia Pacific executive said on Monday.

Credit Suisse, which is hosting its annual Asian Investment Conference this week, is targeting state privatisations in Vietnam and providing client access to Pakistan’s booming stock market, said Paul Calello, Chief Executive Asia Pacific.

"We have a really strong line up of speakers that can shed light on some of the lesser known investment opportunities, such as in Vietnam, Pakistan and in the private equity world," Calello, a Columbia MBA graduate, told Reuters in an interview.

Credit Suisse estimates there will be $5 billion to $6 billion in state-owned enterprise (SOE) privatisations in the next two to four years in Vietnam, a market that has drawn a lot of attention lately.

"They’re very much committed to moving forward with market reform," Calello said, noting Vietnam’s plans to join the WTO in 2006 and its status as Asia’s second-fastest growing economy. "We’re working very closely with several SOEs to bring them private," he said.

The bank was the sole book-runner on Vietnam’s $750 million inaugural sovereign issue last year. In Pakistan, Credit Suisse will form partnerships with local counterparties by as early as next month to give clients direct access to stocks in a market that is up 21 per cent this year after soaring 51 per cent in 2005.

"The efforts of privatisation have been really quite remarkable," said Calello, who met with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and senior officials there last week. "It’s an open market."

Credit Suisse has invited Vietnam’s vice minister of finance and the special economics and finance adviser to Shaukat Aziz to speak at its conference, which will draw more than 1,000 investors and 250 companies with a total market value of $2 trillion.

Switzerland’s second-largest bank is also continuing to search for a securities joint venture partner in China, where rivals Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs have recently set up their own shops. "There’re a lot of opportunities that we’ve looked at," Calello said. "We’ve been to the altar a couple of times."

 

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Production of Boeing parts at PEC, PIA
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

KARACHI: A ceremony was held at Precision Engineering Complex (PEC) of Pakistan International Airlines to inaugurate the production of Boeing 777 parts at PEC.

According to a press release on Monday, chairman and chief executive officer PIA Tariq Kirmani congratulated Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Rafi, senior vice president PEC and his team of engineers for attaining a global recognition of manufacturing aviation parts for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes Company.

He stressed on the PIA workforce to strive for expanding the customer base in the international market.

Supply of parts to Boeing would improve Pakistan’s ability to produce aviation parts with a modest beginning of $1.2 million. The volume of sales would increase to $15 million and beyond.

Precision Engineering Complex of PIA is a department that has been engaged in producing state of the art aviation products for international customers like the Air Bus Industries and General Electric of United States.

This is besides Fischer Advanced Composites Company (FACC) of Austria and the Boeing Commercial Airplanes. PEC was established in 1978 and has ever since contributed in establishing state of the art technologies including CNC machining, electronics fabrication and design, production of optical elements, manufacturing of printed circuit boards, investment casting and related technologies.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/mar2006-...business/b6.htm

 

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Aziz orders work on improving KKH
ISLAMABAD, March 27: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that the government is focusing on building a network of roads to improve the logistics chain. Presiding over a meeting on road projects, the prime minister said the first phase of the motorway M-1 extension, linking Lahore with Charsadda, would be completed by December, while work on the Charsada-Peshawar section was also in progress.

He was informed that completion of M-1 up till Charsadda involved construction of bridges on Rivers Indus and Kabul. It would contribute to improvement of the north-south corridor and facilitate trade, he was told.

The prime minister directed the communications ministry and the National Highway Authority to initiate work on upgrading the Karakoram Highway immediately to facilitate speedy construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam. He was told that funds for the work had been arranged. In the first phase, work on Hasan Abdal-Mansehra section will be initiated in July, while the designing of the second phase is in progress.

He was informed that a network of roads was being built with a cost of about Rs35 billion to provide better links to the Gwadar Port, which already had access up to Chaman through the Coastal Highway and the ECO Highway. An alternate route through Pangur-Basima-Sorab will be completed in three years.

The prime minister said the plan of dualisation of the Karachi-Thatha-Kotri National Highway should be included in the next year’s Public Sector Development Programme. Project will be completed in two phases.

The National Highway Authority presented a proposal for import of bitumen on low tariffs to overcome its shortage and bring stability in its price. The prime minister said the possibility to implement the proposal would be explored.

 

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President confident of Balochistan uplift: Gwadar gas supply project inaugurated
GWADAR (updated on: March 29, 2006, 22:01 PST): President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said Balochistan was very dear to him and his dream was to bring it at par with other developed provinces.

"I have a dream for you and trust me that I will make all efforts to realise this dream of bringing prosperity and development to your province to take it at par with other provinces of Pakistan", he said

amid applause while speaking at the inauguration of Gwadar gas supply pilot project.

The project has been completed by Sui Southern Gas Co Ltd (SSGC) at a cost of Rs 100 million.

The President said he would do away with any sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan and bring prosperity and development in the long-neglected province.

"I am confident I will achieve this goal," he added.

He said the focus is now on Balochistan as this province lagged behind in progress and development compared to other provinces of Pakistan. He said there was no dearth of finances and the government would allocate more funds for the development of Balochistan.

The people of Balochistan are as patriot as other Pakistanis, he said.

"We are striving to take the people forward and provide jobs. I ask you to also get education and skills to ensure that you can compete in the mainstream for securing jobs," he added.

He asked the Ports and Shipping Minister, Babar Khan Ghouri to prefer locals in appointments at the new port and relax conditions if some candidates lack minimum requirements to increase economic opportunities for them.

President said the government will provide Rs 3 billion for development projects in 29 districts of Balochistan and each of these districts will get Rs 100 million.

It is now the duty of each Nazim of every district to provide me with the details of development projects in their respective areas.

He said that the list of these projects will be in his office and he himself would monitor progress on these to ensure their completion.

"Money is not a problem in new Pakistan and we are providing huge funds for mega projects in Balochistan including Gawadar Port, Coastal Highway, Mirani Dams and many others."

He said a gas pipeline network will be laid in the entire Balochistan and the inexpensive fuel will be provided to people in each and every corner of this province either through pipelines or LNG and LPG projects.

Musharraf said the government is examining possibilities for providing gas to every Pakistani by 2007. We will try to provide gas to all 110 districts of the country at affordable rates, he added.

The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), he said, is an economical option as compared with cylinder gas and this should be provided to remote areas of Pakistan where other options like laying long pipelines are difficult.

He directed for supply of gas to Zhob city.

President Musharraf appreciated the management, engineers and workers of SSGC for timely completion of the project.

State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Mir Naseer Mengal, on the occasion, said the President has taken keen interest in fruition of development projects for prosperity and progress of Balochistan.

He said that this gas project was unique for Balochistan and it will cater to the requirement of people.

MD SSGC Munawar Baseer Ahmad, in his address, said that the LPG project was completed in a record period of three months on the instructions of President Musharraf.

He said that initially, 2500 domestic consumers will get gas connections which will be increased according to demand.