Trade Chronicle July - August Issue 2017

www.tradechronicle.com Vol 64-Issue Nos. 07 & 08 - July - Aug. 2017 Rs. 200/- 

th 

64 - 

President Mr. Mamnoon Hussain hoisting the National Flag during a ceremony 

held to mark the 70th Independence Day of Pakistan at the Convention Center, Islamabad on 14, August 2017.

7 & 8 JULY - AUGUST 2017 

Unprecedented arrangements for Hajj-2017 in Saudi Arabia 

First Chinese car assembled in Pakistan 

PSX impacted by political uncertainty, lack of govt intervention 

or market maneuvering forces 

INDEPENDENCE DAY 

Message from President of Pakistan Mr. Mamnoon Hussain 

Message from Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi 

14th August: A day of gratitude and renewal of pledges 

By: Prof. Khurshid Ahmad 

Zong 4G creates a virtual tour of Quaid’s birthplace 

ARTICLE & FEATURE 

Shura condoles on demise of prominent social worker, Dr. Ruth pfau 

Editorial Representative in 

Islamabad 

Ajaib Malik 

Meeting of Shura Hamdard Karachi 

An overview of Leather Industry of Pakistan 

By: Anjum Zafar Chairman, PTA 

Al-Haj Faw Motors launches V2 – a locally made 

Chinese passenger car in Pakistan 

A Chronicle Report 

SPECIAL REPORT 

Packaging industry is saving $200 million annually to the exchequer 

Special Message of:- 

Aasim A.Siddiqui, Chairman, Pegasus Consultancy 

Aamer Khanzada, Managing Director, Pegasus Consultancy 

POGEE 2017: Conference 

TRADE CHRONICLE - July .~Aug. 2017 - Page # 05

TRADE CHRONICLE 

We begin with the name of Allah the Magnificient 

Unprecedented arrangements for Hajj-2017 in Saudi Arabia 

According to Ministry of Culture and Information, Kingdom of 

Saudi Arabia, over two million people from across the globe are 

expected to visit the Holy City of Makkah, Mina, Arafat, 

Muzdalifah, historical places of Makkah and Madinah, making 

it the largest annual international peaceful gathering, to 

perform Hajj this year. As one of the five pillars of Islam, the 

annual pilgrimage to Makkah, is mandatory for physically and 

financially capable Muslims to perform at least once in their 

lives. The rituals involved are intended to cleanse the soul and 

demonstrate the equality and solidarity of all Muslims, in their 

submission to Allah. 

From 

Editor's 

desk 

ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI 

The Hajj-2017 arrangements being looked after by the 

government of Saudi Arabia, under direct supervision of the 

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul 

aziz Al Saud and the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman; a 

huge logistical undertaking that will run until Hajj ends in the 

first week of September, 2017 – is commendable and 

unprecedented. However, their responsibility has been 

increased manifolds following the number of foreign pilgrims 

has multiplied exponentially over the years, from as few as 

24,000 in 1941 to 1.325 million in 2016. Including local 

pilgrims that reside in Saudi Arabia, a total of 1.86 million 

Muslims performed the Hajj last year. It is difficult task to meet 

the day-to-day requirements of pilgrims who are reportedly 

would come from over 80 countries. To facilitate 

communication, the Hajj team deployed on the ground speaks 

over a dozen languages to ensure that the needs of pilgrims are 

met is also laudable. 

The staying arrangement in Mina, which is also known as the 

City of Tents are neatly arranged in rows and grouped into areas 

labeled with numbers and colors according to respective 

nationalities. Every pilgrim is given a badge with an assigned 

number and color to help them find the way back to their tent if 

they get lost. To prevent fires, the tents are constructed of 

Teflon-coated fiberglass, and are fitted with sprinklers and fire 

extinguishers. More than 17,000 Civil Defense personnel have 

been deployed to serve Hajj pilgrims. More than 17,000 highly 

trained personnel, supported by 3,000 advanced vehicles, are 

in position to guarantee pilgrims the highest level of safety. 

300 ground ambulances, 30 motorbikes, 113 ambulance 

centers and 8 air ambulances have also been provided for the 

Hajj pilgrims. Over 2,000 Saudi Red Crescent Authority 

personnel have been deployed in Makkah, Madinah and other 

holy sites to provide ambulance services to pilgrims during 

Hajj. We hope that Pakistan government would also leave no 

stone unturned to provide best services and taking care of 

Pakistani pilgrims and increase the quota under the 

government scheme and would discuss with Saudi _authorities 

to get waived additional fee imposed on 3rd-time pilgrims. 



Editorial comments: 

First Chinese car assembled in Pakistan 

P a k i s t a n a u t o m o b i l e 

i n d u s t r y i s s t e a d i l y 

progressing. Thanks to 

stable economic outlook, 

low bank interest rates, 

improved law and order. 

P a k i s t a n A u t o m o t i v e 

Manufacturers Association 

(PAMA) data shows that auto 

sales volume (excluding 

m o t o r b i k e s ) m o v e d 

northward by 7% YoY to 

277,000 units in FY17, as 

compared to 259,000 units 

in the same period last year. 

H o w e v e r , a u t o 

manufacturers are yet to 

fulfill local burgeoning 

d e m a n d s , r e s u l t i n g 

continuation of imports, 

which has been increased by 

27.19 percent to $415 

million in last fiscal year 

2016-17. 

The Government of Pakistan 

is also encouraging both 

e x i s t i n g f o r e i g n c a r 

assemblers and new German, 

French and South Korean 

auto assemblers in addition 

to the Pakistan Auto Policy 

2016-21, which it had 

announced last year. 

Our automobile market has 

b e e n p r e d o m i n a n t l y 

captured by Japanese 

brands. Their domain is now 

penetrated by Al-Haj Faw 

Motors, which launched V2 - 

a locally assembled car at 

their state of the art plant in 

Karachi in August this year. 

FAW V2 is the first Chinese 

p a s s e n g e r c a r t o b e 

assembled in Pakistan. The 

credits goes to Mr. Bilal 

Afridi, Managing Director of 

the company and his team 

for meeting a long-awaited 

choice of customers to buy a 

latest equipped car at 

affordable prices. 

FAW is the fastest growing 

C h i n e s e a u t o m o t i v e 

c o m p a n y f o r m e d i n 

collaboration with Al-Haj in 

2007. This is a matter of 

a p p r e c i a t i o n t h a t a n 

investment of 2.5 billion 

Rupees has been made to set 

up the company and a 

further investment of 1.3 

billion Rupees for an 

improved local assembly 

s e t u p a n d E D P a i n t 

technology in their cars. We 

hope that the company will 

c o n t i n u e t o i m p a r t 

advancement in technology, 

and provide premium 3S 

c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e a n d 

dealership network, in all 

major cities of Pakistan. 

The company aims to 

increase their production to 

15,000 units per annum by 

the year 2020 and introduce 

new models in Pakistan. 

Since the company is 

planning to increase the 

c a p a c i t y , w e h o p e 

government would provide 

them incentives at par with 

other three current foreign 

assemblers in the country 

and other entrants. The 

company is providing jobs 

to a number of people and 

will be beneficial to local 

vendor industry. 

Editorial comments: 

PSX impacted by political uncertainty, lack of govt 

intervention or market maneuvering forces 




Message from 

President of Pakistan 

Mamnoon Hussain 

While we happily hoist the national 

flag today we need to reiterate our 

strong resolve to always uphold the 

values of determination and 

dedication for the objective of 

development of Pakistan. Seventy 

years ago while struggling for 

freedom our elders had resolved that 

this nation through constant 

endeavors will make our country a 

cradle of peace, brotherhood and a 

welfare society which will be an 

example for the world to follow. 

In the wake of challenges 

confronted by the country today, it is 

imperative to promote moderation 

Message from 

Prime Minister of Pakistan 

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi 

Independence Day 

and rationality while availing the 

available opportunities. In such a 

situation, it is necessary to unite 

under the Constitution in the 

national interest by setting aside our 

differences and ensure its 

supremacy. The Constitution is a 

document which will show us the 

path to realize national objectives 

by rising above our personal 

interests. It will also guarantee 

progress and stability of the 

motherland as a manifestation of 

national aspirations, God Willing. 

Today let us make a firm 

commitment that we will adhere to 

our national objectives and goals. 

This will pave the way for better 

governance. It will lead to maturity 

of democratic traditions and will 

also strengthen the process of 

national progress. 

Let us join hands for development 

and prosperity of the motherland by 

keeping aside our differences. Let 

us promote love and harmony by 

overcoming hatred and misgivings 

and secure the future of our nation 

by turning despondency into hope in 

order to celebrate freedom in its true 

sense. 

the state institutions so that they can 

play their prescribed role within the 

limits of law and the constitution. 

The independence that we achieved 

seventy years ago was an outcome 

of the unparalleled sacrifices made 

by our ancestors. Millions of 

Muslims rendered sacrifices for our 

as well as the future of the posterity. 

Today we are treading the path of 

prosperity and progress in a 

peaceful and dignified country 

because of those sacrifices. We are 

greatly indebted to our ancestors for 

their sacrifices and we can repay 

that debt only by making Pakistan a 

free and independent country. 

We may belong to different tribes, 

fraternities and ethnicities; we may 

be working in different spheres of 

national life; our political vision and 

thinking can be different and our 

economic vision may have different 

perspectives but ascendency of 

national interests and invincible 

defence are common objectives of 

the entire nation, for which we have 

to make collective endeavours. 

Quaid-e-Azam had envisioned 

Pakistan as a modern democratic 

entity. This dream faces myriad of 

challenges and the PML (N) 

government notwithstanding the 

confronting difficulties has made 

the realization of Quaid’s dream as 

its abiding mission. The recent 

transition of power through a 

d e m o c r a t i c p r o c e s s w a s 

quintessential of the accelerated 

strengthening of democratic values 

in the country. 

We have to strengthen and reinforce 

Only a strong economy can ensure 

strong defence. A moderate society 

guarantees stability of the state, 

where people enjoy all their 

fundamental rights and national 

resources are equitably and 

judicious distributed. 

Pakistan desires positive and 

constructive relations with all the 

countries of the world, especially 

with its neighbours on the basis of 

sovereign equality. The people of 

S o u t h A s i a h a v e s u f f e r e d 

enormously in the last fifty years 

due to the festering conflicts. Until 

and unless those conflicts are 

resolved amicably, the people of the 

region cannot achieve prosperity 

and progress. 

Our government has invariably 

made efforts to initiate the process 

of meaningful dialogue and 

TRADE CHRONICLE - July .~ Aug. 2017 - Page # 09


adoption of peaceful means to 

resolve the issues but unfortunately 

the expansionist designs of India 

have remained the main hurdle in 

this regard. It is incumbent upon the 

international community to play its 

role in the resolution of the regional 

conflicts, particularly the Kashmir 

dispute in conformity with the UN 

Resolutions on the subject with a 

view to ensuring durable peace in 

the region. 

Terrorism is the biggest challenge 

confronting the world in the twenty 

first century. Pakistan has rendered 

unparalleled sacrifices in the fight 

against this menace as well as for the 

70th Independence Day 

Zong 4G creates a virtual 

tour of Quaid’s birthplace 

Zong 4G, under its Corporate Social 

Responsibility program has amazed 

all of Pakistan with a special 70-year 

anniversary present to the nation. 

This Independence Day, Zong 4G’s 

‘New Hope’ volunteers pay homage 

to the greatest hero of our 

independence, Quaid-e-Azam 

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, by creating 

a virtual tour of his birth place, 

Wazir Mansion, Karachi. 

This virtual tour, placed at Zong 

4G’s corporate webpage, allows 

visitors to take a 3D tour of Quaid’s 

family home. The tour allows a 

‘life-like’ experience of walking 

through the entrance and hallways 

that were once walked by the great 

leader himself. The tour allows 

access to Quaid’s bedroom, study 

and his library which has the 

original furniture that has been 

preserved in its original state. The 

second floor displays astounding 

artifacts such as Quaid’s clothing, 

wearables and accessories that were 

under his use and gives us a peek 

into his elegant lifestyle. 

world peace. Our armed forces, law 

enforcing agencies and the people 

have written imperishable stories of 

sacrifices in this regard. Now the 

time has come for the international 

c o m m u n i t y n o t o n l y t o 

acknowledge those sacrifices by 

rising above their interests in the 

region but also to fully support 

Pakistan in taking the fight against 

terrorism to its logical conclusion. 

The younger generation of Pakistan 

is endowed with exceptional talent 

and has a burning desire for 

advancement. They are making 

admirable contribution in the fields 

of Information Technology, 

Wazir Mansion, known officially as 

“ Q u a i d - e - A z a m B i r t h p l a c e 

Museum” is a former family home 

in the Kharadar district of Karachi, 

Sindh. The magnificent structure 

was built during 1860-1870 with 

stone masonry in lime and jute 

mortar to suit the volatile weather of 

Karachi. 

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali 

Jinnah's father got the house for rent 

in 1874 and settled here. 

Zong 4G’s Director Corporate 

Affairs Mr. Maham Dard in a 

statement said; “This house, where 

Quaid spent 16 years of his 

childhood and youth is a precious 

national monument that provides 

inspiration to all of us. Zong 4G has 

launched this tour on the occasion of 

our 70th Independence Day so that 

people from all across Pakistan and 

E n g i n e e r i n g , M e d i c a l a n d 

Management all over the world, in a 

distinct manner. My government 

has a vision of accelerating the pace 

of development and prosperity in 

P a k i s t a n s o t h a t a l l t h o s e 

professionals can return to 

contribute to this national effort. 

I assure the Pakistani youth that 

tomorrow’s Pakistan will ensure the 

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f g u i d i n g 

principles of rule of law and 

ascendency of merit. On the 

seventieth independence day of the 

country, I make a solemn pledge that 

we will not relent until the 

achievement of those objectives. 

the world can virtually visit the 

first home of the father of our 

homeland and experience the 

awe of this wonderful place 

themselves.” 

“Zong 4G, being Pakistan’s 

No.1 Data Network, takes 

great pride in promoting the 

cause of a digital Pakistan. 

This initiative is our humble 

contribution towards our civic 

duties, which we cherish and value 

as one of our core responsibilities to 

the Pakistani society.” 

Zong 4G, is the leading 4G operator 

of Pakistan with a 75% 4G market 

share and 4G coverage in over 300 

cities nationwide. The company 

recently announced its plans to 

upgrade 100% of its network to 4G 

by year end. The company has also 

announced plans to invest over $200 

Million in Pakistan in 2017. Zong 

4G’s objective, as expressed 

through the brand promise of “A 

New Dream” is to leverage the 

technological edge in 4G LTE to 

digitally transform the lifestyle of 

P a k i s t a n i p e o p l e a n d t h i s 

remarkable effort is in line with 

Zong 4G’s ambition to lead Pakistan 

into a new digitized age 



Establishment of Pakistan is the 

result of the great effort of the 

Muslims of the sub-continent 

against the British imperialism. 

This effort consists of 200 years. It 

is not only a blessing of Allah 

Almighty but also the fruit of a 

historical struggle and countless 

sacrifices. The country that came 

into being as a result of Pakistan 

Movement (that covers the period 

of scores of years), has completed 

70 years of its freedom in spite of 

a l l c h a l l e n g e s , d a n g e r s , 

conspiracies of enemies and 

weaknesses of its own people. We 

are grateful to Allah Almighty. 

The gift that was bestowed upon us 

on the 27th of Ramadan will exist 

and flourish Insha Allah. The 

objectives for which the Muslims 

of sub-continent struggled hard 

must be achieved. We should be 

thankful to Allah for this blessing. 

At the same time, we should also 

consider the losses and gains 

impartially. What were the real 

aims of the Pakistan Movement? 

What were the idea and the vision 

for which the Muslims of subcontinent 

struggled? How much we 

are close or far from it? We should 

analyze our positive and negative 

aspects honestly. How can we get 

rid of our negativity? It is the need 

of the hour that we should know the 

genuine vision, its complete 

understanding, and concrete 

planning for its achievement and 

determination for an effective and 

decisive struggle with a new spirit. 

We should keep in mind that the 

creation of Pakistan was not the 

result of the last seven years 

struggle of Pakistan movement 

only, but it is the fruit of the 

movement that covers the period of 

200 years. This movement started 

when the British rulers arrived in 

sub-continent. We can notice three 

major stages of this movement. 

First, to face the imperial rulers, 

militarily and the restoration of the 

Muslim rule. 

Second, the beginning of a political 

struggle. A struggle for political 

freedom all together with the other 

countrymen, in which Muslims 

could maintain their ideological, 

religious, political and cultural 

identity and could not be absorbed 

in non-Muslim majority. The 

development of the Two-Nation 

theory in comparison with the 

regional nationalism and the 

development of such a political 

system that could fulfil its 

requirements, could present an 

alternative paradigm of different 

nationalities of the state. It had 

become clear in 1938-39 that 

Indian National Congress which 

had remained under the control of 

Brahmans from the beginning to 

the ending, was not ready to accept 

this concept till today. Its aim was 

Hindu nationalism in the name of 

secularism. The govts that were 

made as a result of the elections 

held under the law of 1935, proved 

it practically. 

The third stage of the movement of 

the Muslims was started in the 

same background. The Two-Nation 

theory was presented literally and 

practically as a new political 

destination of Muslims, namely the 

division of India and the 

establishment of Pakistan as an 

independent Islamic state. The 

movement of Pakistan had two 

indivisible and inseparable aspects. 

First was the political freedom and 

14th August: A day of gratitude 

and renewal of pledges 

By: Prof. Khurshid Ahmad 

second was that the basis of this 

freedom was Islamic ideology, 

culture and civilisation. That’s why 

in order to understand the idea of 

Pakistan and the objectives, nature 

and identification of Pakistan 

Movement, it is necessary to study 

the following documents. 

1 The presidential address of 

Allama Iqbal in 1930. 

2 The Resolution of Lahore on 23rd 

March, 1940. 

3 The presidential address of the 

Quaid-i-Azam, the resolution of 

the convention of the elected 

members of national and provincial 

assemblies on 7 April, 1947 and the 

speech of the Quaid-i-Azam. 

4 The resolution of objectives was 

passed by the first elected 

constituent assembly on 3rd 

March, 1949 and the speeches of 

the PM Liaqat Ali Khan and the 

dignified members of assemblies, 

which were a part of Pakistan 

Movement. (The movement of 

objectives is a summary of the 

ideology of Pakistan Movement 

and is a beginning and a part of the 

constitution of Pakistan.) 

Six rules should be observed to 

make Pakistan an Islamic, 

democratic and welfare state in this 

background. 

1 The complete and exact 

awareness of the idea of Pakistan 

and its true destination. The first 

and the foremost need of this vision 

is a total clarity and focus. It can 

determine our destination. It is our 

identity. The struggle for freedom 

was launched for the protection and 

development of this identity. 

Finally, the freedom was achieved. 



Millions of people sacrificed their 

lives, property and honour for this 

purpose. The Muslims that were 

left in India laid a great sacrifice for 

Islam and the freedom for their 

Muslim brothers when they 

decided to live under the 

domination of Hindus. 

2 The achievement of a territory is 

necessary to protect the freedom 

and independence. That is why free 

nation and free territory are 

compulsory for each other. The 

first requirement of the national 

security is the defence of the 

national border. The defence of the 

country and ideology go side by 

side with the personality and 

identity. Military power as well as 

political, economic and moral 

power is necessary as a power of 

competition. It will be quite 

dangerous for our national security 

if we’ll show any weakness in it. It 

ensures the political and social 

stability, internal peace, protection 

from external dangers and the 

complete usage of the resources for 

the prosperity and the progress of 

the population. 

3 The third requirement is the 

protection and the development of 

this vision, national security and 

interests. Fresh policies should be 

adopted in all fields of life. The 

plan of action should be fair and 

transparent. 

4 Necessary institutions should be 

established and developed in order 

to get the aims and the benefits of 

these policies. If there will be the 

rule of law and the Constitution, 

then the institutions will be 

supreme and the responsibilities 

can be taken properly. 

5 The basic requirement for the 

achievement of these aims is that 

groups of people should be 

prepared at institutional levels. 

Education is a key to it. When the 

whole population will make 

progress in the fields of education, 

morality and ability, then a nation 

will develop. By securing and 

strengthening the freedom and the 

identity, this progress can be made 

more fruitful. It has a role in 

shaping the society, environment, 

civilization and culture. 

6 The last decisive requirement is 

the selection of the honest 

leadership, the system of 

accountability and consultation at 

every level. These six points 

guarantee for the freedom, 

independence, stability and 

progress of a nation and a country. 

The root cause of all the problems 

of Pakistan is our negligence, 

w e a k n e s s , c o n t r a s t a n d 

contradiction about all the above 

mentioned points or rules. We 

followed these rules to some 

extent. We kept our existence and 

made progress because of these 

rules. Pakistan has completed its 

seventy years. I would like to 

present the following important 

points before the nation for the 

progress of the country. 

14th August is a day of celebration. 

We should be thankful to Allah 

Almighty that He has blessed us 

with freedom. We should try to lead 

our life according to the teachings 

of Islam individually as well as 

collectively. 14th August is a day of 

accountability for us. We should 

analyse whether we have fulfilled 

the promise that we have made with 

this nation and the country. If not, 

then who is responsible for it? 

14th August is a day of the renewal 

of the pledges. We should consider 

our weaknesses and then promise 

again that we’ll compensate for our 

shortcomings of the past. 

Courtesy: The News 

Shaheen Air reiterates its 

commitment to Pakistan 

S h a h e e n A i r I n t e r n a t i o n a l 

c o m m e m o r a t e d t h e 7 0 t h 

a n n i v e r s a r y o f P a k i s t a n ' s 

independence by recommitting to 

their goal of enhancing the country's 

aviation sector. A ceremony was 

held at the head office to celebrate 

the occasion, where the national flag 

was hoisted and a cake was cut. The 

event also served as a moment of 

reflection building upon the 

successes of Shaheen Air and its 

evolution as a truly iconic national 

brand. 

Shaheen Air International celebrated the 70th Anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence at 

their head office. on this occasion, Kashif Sehbai, Chairman, Shaheen Air International 

hoisted hte flag and cut a cake along with Ehsan Sehbai, CEO, and javed Sehbai, Chief 

Internal Auditor, Shaheen Air International. 



70 th Independence Day 

Governor, State Bank of Pakistan Mr. Tariq Bajwa is hoisting the 

national flag at SBP Karachi Headquarter on the eve of 

Independence Day celebration. 

Brigadier (R) Riaz ul Haq hoisting a National Flag at Hamdard Public 

School in connection with celebrations to mark the 70th Independence 

Day at Bilawal Stadium at Madinat al Hikmah, Karachi. Mrs. Sadia 

Rashid, President Hamdard Foundation Pakistan, Fatema Munir 

Ahmed, Vice President Madinat al Hikmah, Prof. Dr. Shabib ul Hasan, 

Vice Chancellor, Hamdard University and Dr. Khalid Nasim, 

Administrator HPS are present on this occasion. 

Saeed Ahmad, President & CEO, National Bank of Pakistan 

speaking to the audience at the flag hosting ceremony held at 

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) head office in commemoration of 

Pakistan 70th Independence Day. 

On 70th Independence Day of Pakistan, flag hoisting ceremony held 

in FPCCI Head Office, Karachi, which was attended by large number 

of businessmen prominently the Vice Presidents of FPCCI Irfan 

Ahmed Sarwana, Saqib Fayyaz Magon, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, 

Abdul Sami Khan, Arshad Farooq, Shakil Dhingra, Shaikh Tariq and 

other also seen in the picture. 

Mr. Sheikh Imran ul Haque, Managing Director & CEO Pakistan State 

Oil (PSO) along with company’s officials hoisted the national flag at the 

PSO head office on the occasion of Pakistan’s 7oth Independence Day. 

The flag hoisting was followed by the National Anthem. Other members 

of the Company’s management and staff were also present on the 

occasion to express their solidarity and love for the homeland. 



Shura condoles on demise of prominent social worker, Dr. Ruth pfau and 

pays rich tribute to her life-long service to Pakistan 

Renowned journalist, writer and poet Mehmood Sham (on extreme left) addressing the 

meeting of Shura Hamdard Karachi chapter, presiding over by justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi at 

a local hall. Mrs. Sadia Rashid, President, Hamdard Foudation Pakistan is also present on the 

occasion. 

'It is the need of the hour that 

Pakistani media should perform its 

role of a society's reformer and not 

only as an informer, which is being 

done by it at present. Rating is the 

only purpose of electronic media 

now and the sense of power has 

made it self-proclaimed. It seems 

that T.V. anchors became the 

extension of political parties and no 

research has been done before 

starting a take show with no result in 

the end in which substandard 

language is used. While conclusion 

note by the anchor at the end of a talk 

show is given on channels of BBC 

and CNN. 

This was stated by the renowned 

journalist, writer and poet, 

Mehmood Sham while he was 

addressing the meeting of Shura 

Hamdard Karachi chapter, presided 

over by Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi 

on August 10, 2017 on the theme: 

“Basic national problems and 

priorities of media” at a local hall. 

Mrs Sadia Rashid, President, 

Hamdard Foundation Pakistan was 

also present at the meeting. 

Mehmood Sham further said that 

the services of Madam Ruth Pfau to 

Pakistan were most valuable and 

extraordinary, but Pakistani media 

gave a brief news about her and all 

the time it was busy in covering the 

journey of a disqualified prime 

minister. 

He said, no reach-based reports on 

education, health, pure water and 

encroachment are being published 

in newspapers and telecast on TV. 

However, these are being published 

in his magazine, he added and 

suggested that Hamdard should start 

its own TV channel. 

Seconding the suggestion of 

Mehmood Sham, Justice (Rtd) 

Haziqul Khairi said that Shaheed 

Hakim Mohammed Said wanted to 

reform the Pakistani nation in order 

to make it a good nation of the 

world. This purpose could be 

achieved through Hamdard TV 

channel. There must be a channel to 

which we could see sitting together 

with our whole family, he added. 

Justice (Rtd) Zia Pervez , Anwar 

Aziz Jakartawalla, Dr. Rizwana 

Ansari, Engineer Anwarul Haq, 

Prof. Kafeel Ahmed, Dr. Tanvir 

Khalid, Sheikh Usman Damohi, 

Khurshid Hashmi, Prof. Dr. Khalida 

Gaus and Shamim Kazmi have also 

shared their views on the subject. 

Empower the election commission to evaluate and enforce 

the implementation of manifesto announced by ruling party year-on-year 

government to empower the 

Election Commission to evaluate 

and enforce the implementation of 

manifesto, announced by the ruling 

party year-on year basis. 

Absar Abdul Ali, Dy. Speaker, Shura Hamdard Lahore lamented addressing the Shura 

Hamdard on the theme: “General Elections – binding to code of conduct and electoral 

manifesto,” under presiding over Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi at a local hall. Mrs. Sadia 

Rashid, President, Hamdard Foundation Pakistan is also present on the occasion. 

Speakers at the meeting of Shura 

Hamdard Karachi chapter urged the 

The meeting was held recently on 

the theme: “General Elections – 

binding to code of conduct and 

electoral manifesto,” presided over 

by Justice (Rtd) Haziqul Khairi at a 

local hall. Mrs. Sadia Rashid, 

President, Hamdard Foundation 

Pakistan was also present at the 

meeting. 


Special Report 

Packaging industry is saving $200 

million annually to the exchequer 

The 15th edition of plastic, printing 

& packaging, PLASTI & PACK 

international and 14th International 

exhibition of food & beverage 

processing & packaging IFTECH 

FOOD + BEV TEC, were 

inaugurated by the President 

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (KCCI), Shamim Ahmed 

Firpo. The exhibition which was 

organized by Pegasus Consultancy 

(Pvt) Ltd, held from 1st to 3rd, 

August, 2017 at Expo Center 

Karachi. 

The fair has received tremendous 

response from the leading 

international and local companies. 

Pakistan has enormous potential in 

the plastics, packaging and food 

sectors. The annual International 

exhibition has become the hallmark 

of introducing the most innovative 

& latest technologies of plastics 

packaging, printing and food 

industry in the country. 

The comprehensive lineup of local 

& global exhibitors who were 

representing more than 350 

companies from 30 countries 

participated in the B2B event. The 

countries includes exhibitors from: 

Austria, Germany, China, Italy, 

Belgium, Denmark, Holland, 

Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, 

Pakistan, Switzerland, Turkey, 

Singapore. UAE, Sweden, Ukraine, 

Taiwan, United Kingdom, USA and 

Vietnam. 

President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Shamim Ahmed Firpo along 

with MD, Pegasus Aamer Khanzada & others are cutting ribbon to inaugurate fair in Karachi. 

organizer. “Industry & brand 

owners are now fully aware and 

prepare to cater changing consumer 

demands of safety, hygiene & 

convenience, longer shelf life & 

appeal by competitive multiplicity 

of products & these B2B events are 

fully focused in providing variety of 

solutions to the industry. 

The President Karachi Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry (KCCI), 

Shamim Ahmed Firpo, while 

lauding the efforts of Pegasus 

Consultancy for the promotion of 

latest technology, said that megaevents 

like International Exhibition 

of Food and Beverage, Processing 

Packaging Technologies, Plasti & 

Pack and Iftech 2017 is big source of 

bringing in new and state of the art 

technology of packaging industry 

into the country. 

He said that the time of fear and 

intimidation has now over and 

Karachi has once again become the 

center of business and trade and 

technology shows. 

Addressing on the occasion, Chief 

Organizer, Aamer Khanzada said 

that Pakistan has progressed in the 

p r i n t i n g a n d p a c k a g i n g 

technologies to the extent that no 

industry has now need to bring its 

printed material from abroad or get 

packaging of its products and added 

that due to which the country is 

saving about $200 million on 

account of machinery import and 

services every year. 

The exhibitor's from various 

countries have expressed their 

satisfaction over the mega event, 

saying that they are having a good 

response from trade inquirers 

and visitors on the inaugural day. 

“Such events are a major source 

of technology promotion and 

r e c e i v i n g o r d e r s f r o m t h e 

business community”, said by 

Iftikhar Auahwala, managing 

“The B2B exhibition was a great 

opportunity for International 

exhibitors to explore the emerging 

Pakistani market, for their 

respective products and service” 

stated a spokeperson from the 



d i r e c t o r , 

S p e c i a l i t y 

P r i n t e r s 

Karachi. 

A high profile 

annual packa 

g i n g f o r u m 

was held the 

second day of 

the exhibition. 

The theme of 

the seminar was 

“ F l e x i b l e 

Packaging in Pakistan: Issues, 

C h a l l e n g e s & 

O p p o r t u n i t i e s ” . P r o m i n e n t 

speakers from Germany, UAE 

and Pakistan, well supported by 

government institutions, trade 

associations, publications and 

local industry, which includes: 

Pakistan Agricultural Research 

Council, (PCSIR), Engineering 

Development Board, (EOBI), 

Pakistan Food Association, 

P a k i s t a n C h e m i c a l 

Manufacturers Association, 

College of tourism and hotel 

m a n a g e m e n t , ( C O T H M ) , 

Pakistan Dairy Association, 

( P D A ) , P a k i s t a n P o u l t r y 

Association, (PAA), Pakistan 

Chefs Association, Flexpack 

Association. 

Plastics and packaging fair 

negotiated $150m orders 

Foreign and local exhibitors negotiated 

machinery and accessories orders worth 

$150 million at the 14th Plasti & Pack fair, 

an international trade fair for the plastics and 

packaging industry, held at Karachi Expo 

Centre on recently. Many foreign exhibitors 

displayed their state-of-theart machinery 

a n d a c c e s s o r i e s , i n s p i r i n g l o c a l 

manufacturers. Exhibitors from various 

countries have expressed their satisfaction 

over the mega-event saying that they 

havereceived agoodresponse from trade 

inquirers and visitors to the trade show. 

Pakistan has progressed in printing and 

packaging technologies to the extent that no 

industry now needs to bring its printed 

material from aboard. The progress is more 

conspicuous in food and foodstuff 

packaging, which progressedto the 

levelthatthey are competing in the export 

market, said a press release. 

Aasim A Siddiqui 

Chairman 

Pegasus Consultancy Pvt Ltd. 

A very warm welcome to the 15th 

edition of Plasti & Pack Pakistan 

and 14th edition of Iftech + bev tec 

Pakistan, the leading trade shows 

for the plastic, packaging, food and 

beverage technology industries of 

Pakistan. 

th 

Plastic industry has the 4 largest 

contribution to imports and is 

growing significantly per annum. 

Aamer Khanzada 

Managing Director 

Pegasus Consultancy (Pvt) Ltd 

It is with great pleasure that I 

welcome you all to the 15th Plasti 

&Pack Pakistan and 14th IFTECH 

food + bev tec Pakistan 2017. Plasti 

& Pack and IFTECH food + bev tec 

host more than 350 exhibitors from 

30 countries. The show aims to 

provide top level networking and 

business opportunities to the plastic, 

packing, food and beverage 

technology industry players. 

The persistent 

performance of 

the country has 

m a n a g e d t o 

attract several 

international 

investors. Food 

and beverage 

b e i n g t h e 

second largest industry of Pakistan, 

has been changing consumer 

propensities. This changing 

consumer mindset is a major reason 

for the rise of processed food 

The investment 

i n p l a s t i c s 

sector includes 

49% of foreign 

d i r e c t 

i n v e s t m e n t 

which amounts 

to $260 billion. 

The machinery 

import figures for the year are; 

plastic & rubber machinery imports 

of $254.19 million and printing & 

packaging machinery imports of 

$194 million. I am thankful to all the 

market, reaching a striking $1.4 

billion mark. 

On behalf of Pegasus, I would like 

to thank all of our exhibitors and 

visitors for their efforts in 

contributing to another successful 

show this year. In particular, I 

extend my special thanks to Plasti & 

Pack and Iftech + bev tec supporting 

b o d i e s , s p o n s o r s , l e a d i n g 

publications and public & private 

organizations for their continuous 

support. 

local and international publications 

for covering this event. I am grateful 

to the federal and provincial 

government, visitors and industry 

stakeholders for their esteemed 

presence. 

In the end, I would like to 

congratulate Plasti & Pack and 

IFTECH + bev tec team and 

anticipate that the event will be a 

fruitful contribution to investments 

and growth in Pakistan. 


Leather Industry 

An overview of Leather Industry of Pakistan 

By: Anjum Zafar Chairman, PTA 

Leather and Leather Products are 

Pakistan's second most dynamic 

sector after textile with an export 

earnings of US$ 977.684 Million 

during the year July-June 2015-16. 

Leather Sector is contributing 5% of 

export earnings with 2.67% 

contribution to the Manufacturing 

GDP of the Country. 

Pakistan is an agro based Country and 

rich in Livestock. We have 14.50% of 

Global Buffalo population and 7.50% 

of Goat population. Having high 

mountains on North and the largest 

flat land in the middle with many 

rivers flowing from North to South 

makes the Country most suitable for 

Livestock. The raising of animal can 

be traced back to 3500 BC even 

before. 

(Another mountain we have in 

Pakistan i.e. Nanga Parbat has a 

height of 8126 Mtr. / 26,660 ft. which 

is the 9th highest mountain in the 

world and 2nd largest in Pakistan) 

The grain of Pakistani Cow and Sheep 

is one the best in the world. 

In Leather Technology Pakistan is 

among top three Countries of the 

world. Finished Leather produced in 

Pakistan is used by top labels of the 

world and designers prefer Pakistani 

Leather for new fashion articles. 

PTA has addressed environmental 

issue very strongly and have been 

pioneer in setting up Individual and 

Combined Treatment Plants in the 

Country. 

Combined Treatment Plants are 

operational in the Clusters of Korangi 

Karachi and at Kasur. The Third 

Combined Treatment Plant is being 

set up at Sialkot. 

All Large and Medium Tanneries 

have setup their own Chrome 

Recovery Plants and Individual 

Treatment Plants. PTA has set up their 

own Environmental Laboratory at 

Lahore under the name Laboratory of 

Anjum Zafar Chairman, PTA 

Environmental Sciences. The Lab is 

providing services not only to the 

Tanning Industry but to other sectors 

like Textile, Paper, Pharmaceutical, 

Cement etc. World Bank in their 

Environmental Assessment Report 

dated June 30, 2005 appreciated PTA 

for its commitment for initiating 

number of initiative in following 

words. 

“The leather industry represented by 

the Pakistan Tanners' Association 

(PTA) has demonstrated tremendous 

commitment and farsightedness by 

initiating a number a cleaner 

production and cleaner technology 

(CP&CT) program in Punjab and 

Sindh. The Strong commitment is 

gauged from the facts that in spite of a 

weak enforcement climate individual 

tanneries and the PTA have initiated at 

least five major projects with the 

technical assistance of the Royal 

Netherlands Embassy in Pakistan ” 

All basic tests of the Leather are 

conducted within the Country and in 

future all tests would be possible in 

the Country. 

PTA has set up an Institute under the 

name “ National Institute of Leather 

Technology” at Karachi and there is 

another Institute under its name 

Gujranwala Leather Technical 

Institute in the province of Punjab. 

In addition to above an oldest 

University “ University of Veterinary 

a n d A n i m a l S c i e n c e s ” i n 

collaboration with University of 

Northampton have started Graduate 

Programme B.Sc Leather Science at 

Lahore. 

S i m i l a r l y, f o o t w e a r d e s i g n 

department has been opened in 

Pakistan School of Fashion Design at 

Lahore where footwear designers, 

middle management personnel and 

supervisors are trained. 

The export of Leather Sector has 

dropped in last 5 years due to Global 

Recession and hope in 2016-17 has 

proved better and it is expected the 

current year will be revival year and 

exports will surpass highest mark 



previously achieved. 

Achievements made during 

Chairmanship of Anjum Zafar 

for the year 2016-17: bail out 

package for leather sector 

We are delighted to have been able to 

share that by virtue of persistent 

efforts/follow made with the Ministry 

of Commerce & all 

Government Departments 

concerned in Islamabad as 

held number of meetings, 

the Prime Minister of 

Pakistan had announced 

Bail out Package for 

Leather Sector of Pakistan 

on 10.01.2017, which was 

become effective with the 

following incentives 

against Local Taxes & 

Levies as DLTL against 

SRO # 62 :- 

5% DLTL incentives for 

Finished leather of all sorts effective 

from 15th January'2017 to 30th 

June'2017 irrespective of condition 

for the incremental exports, besides in 

follow up it should be continued from 

1st July'2017 with 10% increased 

exports as compared to the 

corresponding period for which 

necessary conversation is in progress 

with the Ministry for the desired 

relaxation/slab rather than fixed 

increased percentage at 10%, so that 

the facilitation for those who have less 

export increased during upcoming 

financial year, may be continued to 

motivate the leather exporters. 

7% DLTL incentives for Leather 

Garments/Gloves/Shoes/Products 

with the same prescribed procedure 

envisaged in SRO # 62 for their 

facilitation. 

Ministry of Commerce was also 

convinced & agreed to PTA's 

following proposals : 

Govt., subsidy for 75% Lab testing for 

Leather from Int'l recognized Labs, 

which is mandatory for selling the 

leather to Int'l Brands, which was also 

announced by the Commerce 

Minister during Inaugural function of 

3rd Pakistan Mega Leather Show in 

January'2017. 

75% Govt,,subsidy for establishing 

the Individual Treatment Plants at 

Tanneries in Pakistan, which is the 

vital need for enrolling into the folder 

of Leather Working Group (LWG) as 

to meet the pre-requisition for the 

desired certification in LWG. 

Already announced for the removal of 

Customs Duty on “Raw Hides & 

Skins” being the basic raw material 

for the Industry for averting the 

scarcity of raw materials for the 

Industry under “Fifth Schedule”. 

Removal of Customs Duty / Sales Tax 

on “Stamping Foils”, which is the 

new technology for imposing on 

Leather to make more value additions 

for meeting the Int'l Buyers demand, 

which was also announced under 

“Fifth Schedule”. 

Issuance of SRO # 570(I)/2017 dated 

01.07.2017 for the removal of 

Customs Duty on Raw Hides & skins 

/Pickled/Wet blue under FTA. 

Active/positive conversation is in 

progress with the Ministry of 

Commerce for the revision of SRO # 

578 to allow Zero rated Import of 

M a c h i n e r i e s f o r T a n n i n g 

industry/Environmental treatment 

plants equipments, which would 

ultimate facilitate & enable the 

Leather Industry to best quality 

innovative leather articles with the 

upgraded/latest machineries for the 

Industry to fetch more precious 

foreign exchange for the country. The 

said incentive has already been 

extended to Textile Industry. 

Strong coordination is being made 

with FBR & MOC for the prompt 

release of Duty Drawback / Sales Tax 

claims of our members to 

avert their financial 

stringencies to make 

a v a i l a b l e w o r k i n g 

capital for the Leather 

Sector for the execution 

of export activities 

s m o o t h l y w i t h 

convenience specialy on 

Eid-ul-Azha for the 

procurement of Raw 

Hides & Skins for 

meeting the Industry's 

e n t i r e y e a r l y 

requirement. 

Role of the association (Pakistan 

Tanners Association) 

Pakistan Leather Industry is 

considered to be the most significant 

and highly value added mother 

industry of quality Footwear, Leather 

Garments, Leather Gloves and all 

Leather Goods produced in Pakistan. 

The leather sector industry termed 

2nd largest industry of the country 

successfully maintains landmark 

achievement record of average more 

than One Billion US$ based on last 

year's target achieved despite all 

bottlenecks and global market 

recession. 

The manufacturers and exporters of 

leather sector industry are determined 

to face the growing challenges with 

perseverance and untiring efforts by 

producing super quality finish leather 

and classic leather products of all 

sorts to cater to the needs of 

international potential buyers based 

on latest fashion pattern and design. 

They are maintaining well 

equipped tanneries of Modern 

t e c h n o l o g y w i t h q u a l i f i e d 



professionals and highly skilled 

technicians for innovative production 

of world quality standard. 

3rd Pakistan Mega Leather Show in 

consecutive with success was held 

from 27-29th January'2017 at Lahore 

Expo Centre, Lahore wherein around 

500 Booths were accommodated in 

both Hall # 1 & 2 and various 

countries participated such as Italy, 

France, Germany, China, India, 

Russia, Turkey, Spain, South Africa, 

HK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, 

USA, UK, Japan, South Korea etc. 

etc.,which has now become real 

effective platform in Pakistan for 

business interaction and joint venture 

between the local & foreign 

businessmen in the field of Tanning, 

Footwear, Garments, Gloves & 

Products Industry. Besides a large 

number of participants display 

Tanning Machineries, Chemicals, 

components & allied Industries. 

(An overview of stands in 3rd 

PMLS'17, Lhr) 

In order to demonstrate the new vision 

with innovation of Leather Industry 

of Pakistan, we developed a Trend 

Gallery upto the Int'l Standards at the 

entrance of the venue/hall during the 

Show wherein the entire range of 

Leather Sector of Pakistan was 

displayed conspicuously and was 

termed the centre of attraction to the 

visitors/buyers/customers/ during the 

exhibition period at Lahore. 

Mr. Muhammad Musaddiq, Convener 

of PMLS'17 announced the next Dates 

of 4th Pakistan Mega Leather Show 

scheduled to be held from 26-28th 

January'2018 at Lahore Int'l Expo 

Centre, Lahore with much more 

attractive features for participation of 

domestic exhibitors and international 

participants under one roof. A new 

colour leaflet of the Show (4th 

PMLS'2018, Lahore ) is also enclosed 

for review. It is encouraging that the 

leather industry of Pakistan is growing 

up and achieving its target gradually 

and will continue to make its mark to 

be competitive in the world market. 



On the occasion of 12th Consumers Choice Awards 2017 distribution 

ceremony, Kaukab Iqbal Chairman Consumers Association of 

Pakistan presenting Memento to Governor Sindh Mohammad Zubair 

at Sindh Governor House recently. 

Group photo of Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo ( Federal Minister for Ports & 

Shipping ), Vice Admiral Syed Arif Ullah Hussaini ( Deputy Chief of 

Naval Staff), Mehmood Tareen( Ceo , TPN), Ateeq Ur Rehman, Trade 

Analyst and others are at 7th Sustainable Shipping , Logistics & Supply 

Chain Summit. 

Prof. Dr. Syed Jaffer Ahmed, a prominent historian, Hakim Mohammed Usman, Dy. Director, Hamdard Foundation Pakistan, Dr. Sara Salman, 

Head, WHO’s Sindh Office and young speakers addressing the meeting of hamdard Naunehal Assembly Karachi chapter at a local hotel. (One 

left) students of different schools are presenting national songs and dua-i-Said. 

Inspector General National Highways & Motorway Police Mr. Kaleem Imam calls on Minister of State for Communications Muhammad Junaid 

Anwaar Chaudhry. 

The President of Ecuador Lenín Moreno and DP World Group 

Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem at the groundbreaking 

ceremony to mark the start of construction of the greenfield 

multi-purpose port project at Posorja, Ecuador. 

Mr. Altaf Qamruddin Gokal is receiving Best Corporate and 

Sustainability Reports Award from Joint Committee of the 

ICAP and ICMA, EFU General Insurance Company achieved 

2nd Position. 



people & Events 

Hamdard celebrates 

event in befitting manner 

M s S a d i a 

R a s h i d , 

Chairperson, 

H a m d a r d 

Laboratories 

(Waqf) in a 

s t a t e m e n t 

s a i d t h a t 

S h a h e e d 

Hakim Mohammed Said was the 

torch-bearer of the movement of 

“27th Ramazan-Independence 

Day of Pakistan” and he started 

this movement in order to recreate 

the passion, enthusiasm and 

sincerity of Pakistan Movement in 

the Pakistani nation. Hamdard has 

been taking forward to this 

movement so that, the nation 

s h o u l d k e e p i n m i n d t h e 

significance of the day of 27th 

Ramazan 1366 Hijri – 14th August 

1947-a country gifted by Allah, 

she added. 

O s a m a Q u r e s h i , M a n a g i n g 

Director and CEO, Hamdard 

Laboratories (Waqf) said that in 

order to keep the memory of 27th 

Ramazan – 14th August 1947 

fresh, Hamdard has decided to 

celebrate this event in a different 

and befitting manner and in this 

regard Hamdard started a new 

campaign on print, electronic and 

social media to highlight the 

importance of creation of Pakistan 

in the sacred moments, to have 

blessings of Allah Al-Mighty and 

to create a new determination in 

P a k i s t a n i s f o r n a t i o n a l 

r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , ‘ H a m d a r d 

congratulates the nation on this 

happy occasion’, he maintained. 

Fatema Munir Ahmed, Mutawallia, Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan receiving 12th 

Consumers Choice Award 2017 on Rooh Afza from Governor Sindh, Mohammed Zubair at 

an awards distributing ceremony, at Governor House, Karachi 

Prof. Dr. Syed Shabib-ul-Hasan 

Appointed VC of Hamdard University 

Prof. Dr. Syed Shabib-ul- 

Hasan has been appointed 

a s t h e n e w V i c e 

Chancellor, Hamdard 

University Karachi with 

effect from July 3, 2017. 

He has replaced Prof. Dr. 

Hakim Abdul Hannan, 

who is made as the Head 

o f R e s e a r c h & 

D e v e l o p m e n t i n H a m d a r d 

Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan. 

Prof. Dr. Syed Shabib-ul-Hasan is 

a seasoned educationist, having 

more than 10 years' experience in 

Haroon Askari named 

acting MD PSX 

Haroon Askari has been appointed 

as the acting Managing Director of 

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) 

with effect from June 16, 2017. 

The PSX Board of Directors took 

this decision on the expiry of term 

of appointment of Nadeem Naqvi, 

as the Managing Director of 

Pakistan Stock Exchange. 

the Department of Public 

Administration, University of 

Karachi and remained its 

Chairman till joining the 

Hamdard University. 

He is a holder of PhD 

degree in Finance and 

Management and his 

30 research articles 

have been published in 

reputed journals. 

Prof. Dr. Hakim Abdul 

Hannan is a physician 

par excellence, educationist and 

researcher, who also worked with 

Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said 

and has vast experience of Unani 

Medicine. 

“The Board of 

Directors of PSX 

h a s a p p o i n t e d 

Haroon Askari, 

Deputy Managing 

Director, as the 

Acting Managing 

Director of the 

Exchange with 

effect from June 16, 2017 till the 

formal appointment of new 

Managing Director”, says a PSX 

notification recently. 



New SBP governor Bajwa 

assumes charge 

Tariq Bajwa assumed the charge of 

Governor State Bank of Pakistan 

recently after 

P r e s i d e n t o f 

P a k i s t a n 

appointed him 

a s G o v e r n o r 

State Bank of 

Pakistan for a 

period of three 

years in pursuance of Section 10(3) of 

the State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956. 

A career civil servant by profession, 

Bajwa has been associated with Civil 

Service of Pakistan since 1981 before 

jonining the SBP. He has varied 

experience in his career including field 

a s s i g n m e n t s o f A s s i s t a n t 

C o m m i s s i o n e r a n d D e p u t y 

Commissioner, Secretariat positions 

both the Federal and Provincial 

Secretariat, General Manager PIA 

(1992-1996), Head of Pakistan’s Trade 

Mission in Los Angeles (1999-2004), 

Director General Planning and 

Finance in Earthquake Reconstruction 

& Rehabili-tation Authority (ERRA) 

and the United Nations Development 

Programme (UNDP). 

In 2013 he was appointed Chairman, 

FBR (July 2013 to October, 2015) and 

under his leadership FBR revenues 

witnessed significant growth and the 

concept of Filer/Non-Filer was 

i n t r o d u c e d . T h e e x e r c i s e o f 

withdrawal of Statutory Regulatory 

Orders was undertaken and slabs of 

Custom Duties were reduced to four. 

Thereafter, he took charge as Secretary, 

Economic Affairs Division and then as 

Secretary Finance from where he retired 

on June 18, 2017. As Secretary Finance, 

he also served as a Director on the SBP 

Board during Feb-Jun, 2017. 

He holds a Master’s degree in Public 

Administration from Kennedy School 

of Government, Harvard University 

and an LLB from University of the 

Punjab, Lahore. 

Syed Muhammad Ali 

joins JS Group 

JS Group has appointed Syed 

Muhammad Ali as its senior adviser 

& head of the energy vertical; with 

effect from 1st June, 2017. Ali joins 

JS Group from Engro where over the 

last 16 years, he has held several key 

positions within the Corporation. 

M o s t n o t a b l y A l i p l a y e d a n 

instrumental role in building the 

world’s largest single train urea 

fertilizer complex in Pakistan, 

established the corporations first 

offshore investment in a power plant 

based in Nigeria, 

h a d s e t u p 

b u s i n e s s 

d e v e l o p m e n t 

wing and started 

t h e s e r v i c e s 

b u s i n e s s f o r 

p u r s u i n g 

opportunities in 

the energy sector across the globe. 

He also stabilised company's new 

LNG terminal business and managed 

max capacity utilisation in short span 

of time. He was the Chief Executive 

Officer of Engro Elengy terminal Ltd 

and Engro vopak terminal limited 

until recently. 

SECP approves appointment of 

Aftab Diwan as CEO of CDC 

The Securities and Exchange 

Commission 

of Pakistan 

(SECP) has 

a p p r o v e d 

appointment 

o f A f t a b 

A h m e d 

Diwan as the 

C h i e f 

E x e c u t i v e 

Officer of the 

Central Depository Company of 

Pakistan Limited (CDC) as per 

Yousaf Hussain named 

President, CEO of FBL 

Yousaf Hussain has 

been appointed 

P r e s i d e n t a n d 

Chief Executive 

Officer (CEO) of 

F a y s a l B a n k 

Limited for a term 

of three years with 

immediate effect. The decision 

was taken by the Board of Directors 

of Faysal Bank Limited and passed 

through circular resolution dated 

July 27, 2017. 

the recommendations of the 

Board of Directors of CDC. 

Aftab Ahmed Diwan joined CDC 

in 1999 as the Head of Operations 

and was serving as the Chief 

Operating Officer since 2004. 

Since January this year, after the 

sudden demise of late Muhammad 

Hanif Jakhura, Aftab Ahmed 

Diwan was delegated the 

responsibility of CEO of CDC by 

the Board of Directors of CDC, 

under Companies Ordinance 1984. 

Co-option of new Director on the board 

of Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd 

Mr. Hasnain Moochhala has 

been co-opted as a Director on 

the Board of Engro Polymer & 

Chemicals Limited, w.e.f July 

11, 2017, in place of Mr. 

Mazhar Hasnani, who has 

resigned as Director of the 

Company w.e.f. July 10, 2017, 

and shall hold office for the 

remainder of the term of Mr. 

Mazhar Hasnani, in whose 

place he has been appointed. 



Nauman Ansari to be 

CEO, Bank Alfalah 

approvals. 

Nauman Ansari, 

formerly, CEO 

Faysal Bank has 

been appointed 

President and 

CEO of Bank 

Alfalah, subject 

t o l e g a l a n d 

r e g u l a t o r y 

Nauman Ansari will succeed Atif as 

Nauman has served various banks 

during his twenty-four year 

professional career that includes 

leading institutions like SCB, BoA, 

ABN Amro, Fortis Bank and Samba. 

He joined Faysal Bank as Group 

Head, Corporate & Investment 

Banking in 2008 and was appointed 

President & CEO in 2014. 

Tariq Mahmood Pasha 

made FBR chief 

S e c r e t a r y 

E c o n o m i c 

Affairs Division 

( E A D ) Ta r i q 

Mahmood Pasha 

h a s b e e n 

appointed as new 

c h a i r m a n o f 

Federal Board of 

Revenue (FBR). 

A notification issued in this 

regard says that Tariq Mahmood 

Pasha, a grade-22 officer of 

Inland Revenue Service (IRS) 

who is presently posted as 

secretary EAD, is transferred 

a n d p o s t e d a s c h a i r m a n 

F B R / s e c r e t a r y R e v e n u e 

Division with immediate effect 

and until further orders. The post 

of the chairman FBR fell vacant 

a f t e r t h e r e t i r e m e n t o f D r 

Muhammad Irshad. 

Funds released for development projects 

in Industrial Areas of Karachi: Jam Khan Shoro 

T h e M i n s t e r f o r L o c a l 

Government, Housing & Town 

Planning, Government of Sindh , 

Jam Khan Shoro has said that funds 

for development in industrial areas 

has been released, contracts for 

garbage collection have been 

finalized with Chinese companies 

for District East and South and 

other districts would be included in 

this soon. While he was talking to a 

dinner in his honor by Korangi 

Association of Trade &Industry 

(KATI) he said that record 

development project completion is 

alone credit of Sindh government. 

On this occasion Patron in Chief of 

KATI S M Muneer, President 

M a s o o d N a q i , S e n i o r Vi c e 

President Ghazanfar Ali, Senator 

President KATI Masood Naqi is presenting souvenir to Jam Khan Shoro, SM Muneer, Abdul 

Haseeb Khan, ZubairChaya, Ghazanfar Ali Khan and UmerRehan also present. 

Syed Tahir made 

Federal Ombudsman 

The government has appointed Syed 

Tahir Shahbaz as new Wafaqi 

Mohtasib (federal ombudsman) 

replacing Salman Faruqui who has 

completed four years term as federal 

ombudsman. Syed Tahir Shahbaz is a 

well reputed civil servant having been 

known for his honesty, professional 

S.M. Imran becomes 

Chairman MEPA region 

Mr. S.M. Imran is very enterprising 

and successful businessman of 

Pakistan with an extensive experience 

in textile, poultry farming, family 

A b d u l H a s e e b K h a n , 

ZubairChhaya MD KW&SB 

HashimRaza, GulzarFiroz spoke 

a n d Vi c e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e 

association UmerRehan, Rashid 

Ahmed Siddiqui, Syed Farukh 

M a z h a r, E h t i s h a m u d d i n , 

ShaikhFazaleJalil, SM Yahya, 

Tariq Malik and other members of 

executive committee and former 

P r e s i d e n t s o f K AT I a n d 

representatives of Business 

Community were also present. 

expertise, hard work and experience 

in different departments of the 

government. 

During his service, he performed 

important duties across the country 

and his last posting was Secretary 

Establishment from where he got 

retirement before appointment at the 

constitutional post of Federal 

Ombudsman for four year tenure. 

entertainment and real estate. 

He has taken charge of his office from 

1st of July 2017 with a mission of 

building bridges to connect MEPA 

members beyond boundaries and let 

them learn from each other experiences 

and grow as true entrepreneurs. 



Thar Foundation and CfCP inks MoU 

to run primary schools in Thar 

After working to establish three schools 

in Mithi, Islamkot and Thar Block II, 

Thar Foundation has reached another 

milestone by announcing that they 

would run three more schools to impart 

quality education in district of 

Tharparkar. 

Thar Foundation, established by the 

Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company 

signs Tripartite MoU 

In a bid to provide modern and free of 

cost healthcare services to the 

Sindh Engro Coal Mining 

Company (SECMC), has 

signed a memorandum of 

understanding with Charter 

for Compassion Pakistan 

(CfCP) to run three primary 

schools in the area with low 

literacy rate. 

As per the MoU, Thar Foundation will 

take overall responsibility of three 

primary schools in villages Bitra, 

communities of District Tharparkar, 

three organizations join hands to 

b u i l d a 1 0 0 - b e d h o s p i t a l i n 

T h a r p a r k a r . A t r i p a r t i t e 

Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) has 

been signed 

b e t w e e n 

T h a r 

Foundation, 

The Indus 

H o s p i t a l , 

and Shahid 

A f r i d i 

Foundation 

Mansingh Bheel and Tharyo Haleepoto 

whereas, the CfCP will manage the dayto-day 

operations of the schools. 

during a ceremony held recently. The 

three parties agreed to collaborate on 

t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e T h a r 

Foundation-envisioned 100-bed, 

state-of-the-art hospital in the Islamkot 

town of Tharparkar, aimed at providing 

free healthcare services to the 

community. 

The MoU was signed by CEO Sindh 

Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), 

Shamsuddin Shaikh, CEO, The Indus 

Hospital Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, and advisor 

to CEO Shahid Afridi Foundation Zeeshan 

Afzal. 

Mr. Zubair F. Tufail, President FPCCI is presenting FPCCI crest to Maulana 

Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, -Deputy Chairman Senate. Mr. Ishtiaq Baig, Vice 

President FPCCI, Mr. Qamar Alam, Chairman FPCCI Standing Committee on 

Custom Agents, Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Dhingra and other also seen in the picture. 

Group picture shows Muhammad Zubair Governor Sindh along with 

Muhammad Ismail Consul General Malaysia; Kaukab Iqbal, Chairman 

Consumer Association of Pakistan (CAP); Ali Asghar Jamali, CEO Indus 

Motor Company; Khalid Siddiqui DG PSQCA; Abrar Uddin CEO Naheed 

Super Market; Zohaib Hassan, COO Shaheen Air International; Inam Bari 

and award winners at 12th Consumers Choice Awards organized by 

Consumers Association of Pakistan (CAP), held at Governor House. 

Ambassador of Japan Mr. Takashi Kira is presenting award to MD- 

Suzuki Hirofumi Nagao. Senior Vice President KATI Ghazanfar Ali 

Khan also beside them. 

Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA) Mr. Shahid Ashraf Tarar is 

briefing the Federal Minister for Communications Hafiz Abdul Karim about 

CPEC Projects at NHA HQ. 


Port & Shipping 

Chairman, PNSC inaugurates 

corporate head office of 

Dynamic Worldwide Logistics Group 

Mr. Arif Elahi, Chairman, Pakistan 

National Shipping Corp (PNSC) 

inaugurated Corporate Head Office 

of Dynamic Worldwide Logistics 

Group in Karachi recently. On the 

occasion, Brig. Rashid Siddiqi of 

PNSC & Chairman, Dynamic 

Shipping, Mr. Tariq Choudhry and 

others were also present. Chairman, 

PNSC said that CPEC will boost the 

Logistic companies as Govt. has 

given incentive by declaring 

Gwadar Port, as Tax free zone. This 

provides a unique opportunity to the 

Logistic companies. 

Mr. Arif Elahi while concluding, 

invited private investors to invest 

into shipping sector. They are 

invited to join PNSC in Joint 

venture projects to encourage the 

private sector. He requested to 

minimize pessimistic approach & 

negativity in logistic seminars vis a 

vis the CPEC. He informed that 

even in last few days during crisis in 

Stock Exchange, having a negative 

index, PNSC showed a robust rate 

of Rs.110/- which speaks of 

confidence in the achievement of 

our National Flag Carrier. 

Khurram Aziz takes 

over as PICT CEO 

Khurram Aziz Khan 

has taken over as Chief 

Executive Officer 

(CEO) of Pakistan 

I n t e r n a t i o n a l 

Container Terminal 

(PICT) with effect 

from July 01, 2017. 

This was announced by the 

Company, in material information 

sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange 

recently. 

KPT broke all previous records of cargo / container 

handling in financial year 2016-17 by handling 52.49 million tons cargo 

The cargo handling operations, 

including export and import at 

Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has 

remained brisk in financial year 2016- 

17 and the KPT broke its own record. 

The total cargo handling in this 

financial year closed at 52.49 million 

tons whereas the 

same remained 

50.05 million 

tons during last 

year resulting in 

an increase of 

cargo handling 

with +4.89% 

g r o w t h . 

Similarly the 

c o n t a i n e r 

handling closed 

at 2.11 million 

TEUs (Twenty 

Equivalent Units 

– i.e. equivalent 

t o 2 0 f e e t 

container box 

size) whereas the 

same remained at 

1.96 million 

TEUs during the 

same period of 

last year. 

Mumtaz resumes addt’l 

charge of chairman KPT 

T h e F e d e r a l 

Secretary Ports and 

Shipping Mumtaz 

Ali Shah has taken 

the additional charge 

of the office of 

Chairman Karachi 

Port Trust (KPT) at 

KPT Head Office recently. 

Consequence to the retirement of 

Chairman, Karachi Port Trust 

(KPT) Vice Admiral Shafqat 

Jawed (retd) on June 22, 2017 at 

the end of his tenure, the Federal 

Government given the additional 

charge of Chairman Karachi Port 

Trust to the Federal Secretary Ports 

and Shipping Mumtaz Ali Shah. 

T h e c a r g o 

handling at KPT breakup shows that 

the port has handled 37.17 million 

tons of import and export dry cargo 

whereas during last year 34.59 

million tons cargo was handled 

which is quite adequate increased 

handling with +7.46% additional 

cargo in the year 2016-17. The 

liquid bulk cargo of import and 

export has been closed at 15.32 

million tons. Further the breakup 

of dry and liquid bulk cargo shows 

that the export cargo handling 

during financial year 2016-17 

remained at 8.54 million tons and 

1.32 million tons respectively as dry 

and liquid bulk cargo. The tonnage 

of export remained 8.40 million tons 

and 1.38 million tons during the year 

2015-16. Similarly, the handling of 

import dry and liquid bulk cargo 

also closed at 28.63 million tons and 

14.00 million 

tons whereas 

these remained 

26.19 million 

tons of dry cargo 

i m p o r t a n d 

14.07 million 

tons of liquid 

b u l k c a r g o 

import. 

KPT has handled 

+ 9 . 3 2 % 

additional dry 

import cargo 

d u r i n g t h e 

financial year 

2016-17 and the 

m a j o r 

contribution in 

this growth is dry 

b u l k i m p o r t 

cargo which is 

+23.85% during 

financial year 

2016-17. The 

port recorded handling of export of 

Urea this year apart from handling 

other import commodities like 

fertilizer and seeds. The ships traffic 

has also improved during the financial 

year 2016-17 by witnessing arrival / 

departure of 758 container ships, 244 

bulk cargo ships, 379 general cargo 

ships and 541 oil tankers. 

During last financial year 738 

container ships, 222 bulk cargo 

ships, 374 general cargo ships and 

559 oil tankers was handled in the 

year 2015-16. 



DP World Limited handled 34.0 million 

TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) 

across its global portfolio of container 

terminals in the first half of 2017, with 

gross container volumes growing by 

8.2% year-on-year on a reported basis 

and 7.7% on a like-for-like basis, with 

s e c o n d q u a r t e r g r o w t h r a t e s 

accelerating to 10.7% year-on-year on a 

reported basis and 10.4% on a like-forlike 

basis, ahead of Drewry Maritime's 

upgraded industry estimate of 4% 

throughput growth in 2017. 

The first half of 2017 witnessed an 

improvement in global trade and all 

three DP World regions saw growth 

rates accelerate in the second quarter of 

2017, particularly our terminals in 

Europe and the Americas. The UAE 

handled 7.7 million TEU in 1H2017, 

growing 4.3% year-on-year, implying a 

2Q2017 growth of 6.6%. At a 

consolidated level, our terminals 

handled 17.9 million TEU during the 

first half of 2017, a 22.4% improvement 

DP World reports 10.7% gross 

volume growth in second quarter of 2017 

in performance 

on a reported 

basis and up 

4.7% year-onyear 

on a likefor-like 

basis. 

R e p o r t e d 

c o n s o l i d a t e d 

volume in the 

Asia Pacific and 

I n d i a n 

Subcontinent region was boosted by the 

consolidation of Pusan (South Korea) at 

the end of 2016. 

Group Chairman and Chief Executive 

Officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem 

commented: “Our portfolio has 

delivered ahead-of-market growth 

benefitting from the improved trading 

environment in 2017 and market share 

gains from the new shipping alliances, 

driving volumes in the 

second quarter. The robust 

performance was delivered 

across all three regions, 

w h i c h o n c e a g a i n 

demonstrates that we have 

the right strategy and the 

relevant capacity in the key 

markets. 

“We are pleased to see our 

terminals in the Americas and Europe 

c o n t i n u e t o d e l i v e r g r o w t h . 

Encouragingly, UAE volumes have 

improved and we continue to expect our 

portfolio's volume growth to 

outperform the market. 

“Given the encouraging first half 

performance, we remain well placed to 

m e e t f u l l y e a r 2 0 1 7 m a r k e t 

expectations.” 

DP World and Indonesian government 

sign agreement to develop port and trade infrastructure 

DP World and Indonesian government and port officials at the signing ceremony of a new 

agreement to develop Indonesian port and trade infrastructure. 

An agreement was signed recently 

between global trade enabler DP World 

and Indonesian government and port 

officials to advise on the development 

of the Kuala Tanjung greenfield port 

and logistics zone and Belawan port in 

North Sumatra. 

As part of a Technical Assistance 

Contract, DP World will share its 

expertise and experience in increasing 

e f f i c i e n c i e s , t r a i n i n g a n d 

development for employees and 

developing multi-modal transport 

hubs. The agreement was signed by 

DP World Group Executive Vice 

President and Chief Operating Officer 

Anil Wats and state-owned port 

operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia 

(Pelindo) I President Director, 

Bambang Eka Cahyana. The event 

was also attended by Indonesian 

Minister of State Owned Enterprises 

Rini M Soemarno, Indonesian 

Ambassador to the UAE, Husein 

Bagis and senior DP World officials. 

DP World Group Chairman & CEO 

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said: “This 

partnership highlights Indonesia's 

efforts to accelerate development of its 

ports and trade infrastructure, 

something we can help with given our 

global experience of advising 

governments on connecting with 

international markets. In growing our 

global portfolio of 78 terminals in 40 

countries, we have become a 

knowledge exporter with insights on 

how to link countries with the goods 

they need. Our existing operations at PT 

Terminal Petikemas Surabaya (TPS) 

give us an added advantage of 

understanding local and regional 

markets and we look forward to 

working with the Indonesian port 

authorities on developing international 

and domestic trade.” 

DP World will be reviewing operations 

at Belawan port and advising on 

efficiency improvements, and plans for 

the Kuala Tanjung greenfield port and 

logistics zone to reduce costs, which 

will positively impact prices of goods 

sold in the local market. The agreement 

is expected to have a far-reaching 

positive impact on the social and 

economic growth of the region. 



A new modern terminal designed to 

accommodate the largest operating 

cruise vessels, is scheduled to open in 

the summer at DP World Limassol 

port. The new terminal consists of 

seven pods with an internal area of 

7,000 square meters. Along with 24- 

hour availability the terminal offers 

integrated services including Home 

Call and Day Call handling capability, 

ensuring an improved customer 

experience. 

DP world Limassol has a draft of up to 

11 metres (tide free) and three 400 

metre berths that can accommodate 

cruise vessels. It is the third addition 

to the cruise terminal portfolio that 

DP World operates globally, after 

cruise terminal operations in Mina 

Rashid, Dubai and Quinquela Martin, 

Argentina. 

Limassol is one of the major 

destinations in the Mediterranean for 

the cruise industry with the 

opportunity to be the first port of call 

for cruise lines after transiting the 

DP World and Masdar to 

explore clean energy solutions 

Global trade enabler DP World and 

Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable 

energy company, have signed a 

Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) to explore areas of 

collaboration on clean energy 

solutions for DP World's portfolio of 

ports and free zones in the Middle 

East and Africa. 

Masdar will work with DP World to 

address challenges related to the 

delivery of sustainable, reliable and 

cost effective power generation, 

with a particular focus on areas that 

are remote or off-grid. Masdar will 

p r o v i d e s p e c i a l i s t p r o j e c t 

management services, from concept 

to implementation, including 

community projects to support DP 

World's operations. 

The first collaborative activity will 

Suez Canal. The terminal offers fast 

turnaround times for connections to 

b o t h L a r n a c a a n d P a p h o s 

international airports. 

With favourable weather conditions 

throughout the year, cultural heritage, 

excursions and events all through, 

Cyprus and Limassol present the 

opportunity for a memorable 

experience. 


Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said: 

“Cyprus is a centre for tourism and 

trade across the Mediterranean Sea & 

beyond and we are delighted to help 

develop its cruise capability. The 

be to review DP World's operations 

at the Port of Berbera in Somaliland, 

f o c u s i n g o n h y b r i d s o l a r 

photovoltaic (PV)– diesel plants, 

water treatment and other technical 

advisory services for power 

generation. The agreement will also 

look at increasing 

energy efficiency 

a c r o s s t h e 

company's ports 

and terminals in the 

region. 

DP World Group 

Chairman and Chief 

Executive Officer, 

Sultan Ahmed bin 

Sulayem, said: “We 

strive to integrate sustainability into 

everything we do and I believe it is 

essential to modern business 

practice. We look forward to this 

partnership with a world leader in 

renewable and clean energy that will 

help reduce our carbon footprint in 

New passenger terminal opening 

at limassol, cyprus port 

terminal is another example of how 

partnerships with Government on 

infrastructure projects help boost 

economies, creating jobs and 

prosperity for the country and its 

people.” 

Charles Meaby, General Manager, DP 

World Limassol, commented: “With 

the opening of this new terminal, all 

our visitors will enjoy an even more 

impressive welcome. DP World 

Limassol continues to promote the 

development of tourism in Cyprus 

and driving economic benefits for the 

local and national economy”. Mr. 

Meaby continued, “This is an exciting 

time for Limassol and Cyprus and DP 

World Limassol is focused on 

delivering a long-term legacy 

creating employment opportunities 

and helping Limassol reach its 

potential of becoming a fullyserviced 

home port for cruise ships”. 

the region and to develop long term 

energy solutions for the communities 

in which we operate. This 

collaboration is an important step in 

contributing towards achieving the 

UAE 2021 vision and implementing 

the Dubai 2021 plan as well as the 

Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, 

which is focused on developing the 

UAE into a knowledge-led 

economy.” 



DP World Wins Prestigious Awards 

for Global Sustainability 

and Education Programmes 

D P Wo r l d ' s c o m m i t m e n t t o 

sustainability was recognised at the 

International CSR Excellence 

Aw a r d s i n L o n d o n r e c e n t l y, 

w i n n i n g G o l d f o r E m p l o y e e 

Engagement in recognition of its 

Global Education initiative and 

b e i n g n a m e d S u s t a i n a b i l i t y 

Champion for its 'Our World, Our 

Future' global sustainability 

programme. 'Our World, Our 

Future' was launched in February 

2016 to unite DP World's wideranging 

sustainability efforts and 

ensure maximum impact. Over the 

past year, it has reached all of DP 

World's 36,500 employees across 

six continents, establishing it as a 

leading responsible business. 


Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, said: 

“We are committed to being world 

leaders in sustainability, a key part of 

which means helping to develop 

young people in the communities 

where we operate, and I am delighted 

to have our efforts recognised. We 

know we can play a significant role in 

i m p r o v i n g p e o p l e ' s l i v e s , 

strengthening their communities, and 

protecting their environment. We 

take this responsibility very 

seriously, and I look forward to 

building on what we've achieved and 

finding ways for us to continually do 

more.” 

DP World and Kazakhstan to build port community system 

for Eurasian transcontinental trade corridor 

T w o M e m o r a n d u m s o f 

Understanding (MoU's) were 

signed between global trade 

enabler DP World and the 

Kazakhstan government for the 

d e v e l o p m e n t o f a P o r t 

Community System (PCS) and 

to integrate customs processes 

ahead of the Astana Economic 

Forum recently. PCS is a one 

s t o p e l e c t r o n i c p l a t f o r m 

developed by DP 

Wo r l d C o m p a n y 

Dubai Trade that 

e n a b l e s t h e 

e x c h a n g e o f 

i n f o r m a t i o n 

b e t w e e n 

o r g a n i s a t i o n s 

i n v o l v e d i n 

maritime, inland and 

airport processes. The aim is to 

improve ease of doing business 

in Kazakhstan's ports and free 

z o n e s t h r o u g h p a p e r l e s s 

transactions that remove long 

q u e u e s i n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e 

offices, delays and duplication. 

The first agreement was signed 

between DP World and the 

National Company “Kazakhstan 

Temir Zholy” (KTZ) for the 

establishment of a joint venture 

company to implement and 

manage the PCS system with the 

aim of creating a multimodal 

transport corridor (the Eurasian 

Transcontinental Corridor), 

featuring automated logistics 

processes for cargo delivery and 

the unification of logistics 

centres, sea and dry ports into a 

single transport and logistics 

network. 

The second MoU was signed 

between DP World, KTZ and the 

Committee of State Revenues of 

the Ministry of Finance of the 

R e p u b l i c o f K a z a k h s t a n 

( C u s t o m s ) t o e n s u r e t h e 

integration of customs processes 

into the online portal. 

Kazakhstan's potential as a key 

transit corridor for China's One 

Belt, One Road initiative can be 

realised by focusing on soft and 

hard infrastructure development 

that supports multimodal 

transport links, according to DP 

World Group Chairman and 

C E O , S u l t a n A h m e d b i n 

Sulayem. 

Mr. Bin Sulayem was speaking 

at the Astana Economic Forum, 

an annual event that provides a 

platform for discussion on the 

world's economic opportunities 

and challenges, and hosts 

government and business figures 

from more than 80 countries. 

During his panel discussion that 

focused on the New Silk Road, 

h e s a i d t h a t m u l t i m o d a l 

connectivity is key to realising 

the Kazakhstan President's 'path 

to the future' vision, which 

includes the 'Nurly Zhol' – a $9 

billion infrastructure spending 

programme – to help prepare a 

future-ready economy. 



Automobile News 

Pak Suzuki appoints 

Masafumi Harano as new CEO 

The board of directors at the Pak 

Suzuki Motors Company has 

appointed Masafumi 

Harano as the new 

C h i e f E x e c u t i v e 

Officer (CEO) of the 

company. In his yearslong 

association with 

S u z u k i M o t o r s 

Corporation, Harano 

was responsible for 

S u z u k i ' s o v e r s e a s 

automobile marketing in Southeast 

Asia and North America, as well as 

the company's auto product planning 

department in Hamamatsu, Japan, it 

said. 

Meanwhile Pak Suzuki Motor 

Company (PSMC) recorded a 38 

percent rise year-on-year in its 

profit at Rs1.99 billion for the halfyear 

ended June 30, 2017, 

translating into earnings per share 

(EPS) of Rs24.20, says a bourse 

filing issued recently. 

PSMC registered profit of Rs1.435 

billion with an EPS of Rs17.44 in 

the corresponding period a year 

earlier. The earnings came a little 

short of market expectations. 

PSMC did not announce any payout 

along with the corporate earnings. 

For the quarter ended June 30, 

2017, PSMC posted a net profit of 

Rs685.426 million, translating into 

EPS of Rs8.33 as compared to the 

profit of Rs487.846 million and 

EPS of Rs5.93 during the same 

period of the last year, it added. 

Sales revenue for the quarter under 

review stood at Rs22.938 billion, 

up 20 percent as compared to the 

turnover of Rs18.995 billion during 

the corresponding period of the last 

year. 

The fiscal year 2016-17 ended on a 

positive note with impressive sales 

of trucks and tractors followed by 

slight sales growth in cars and 

buses, according to data released by 

P a k i s t a n A u t o m o t i v e 

M a n u f a c t u r e r s A s s o c i a t i o n 

(PAMA) recently. 

A total of 185,781 cars were sold in 

the last fiscal year as compared to 

181,145 units in the preceding year. 

The number remained depressed 

due to a decline in sales of Suzuki 

Bolan after the conclusion of 

Punjab Rozgar Scheme. 

A sharp increase in sales of Suzuki 

WagonR to 17,671 from 9,709 units 

followed by sales growth in Honda 

Civic and City to 37,004 from 

25,726 units averted a major fall in 

overall sales. 

Data also revealed sales of 52,676 

units of Toyota Corolla in 2016-17 

as compared to 57,452 units in 

2015-16. Suzuki Bolan sales 

plunged from 30,154 units to 

19,245 while Suzuki Mehran sales 

Honda Atlas Cars’ 

profit climbs 98pc 

Auto sales rise in FY 17 

Profit of 

H o n d a 

A t l a s 

C a r s 

(HCAR) 

a l m o s t 

doubled 

year-on-year to Rs2.086 billion for 

the quarter ended June 30, 2017, 

translating into earnings per share 

(EPS) of Rs14.61, according to a 

bourse filing. HCAR recorded 

profit of Rs1.050 billion with EPS 

of Rs7.36 during the same period a 

year ago. The company also 

inched up from 37,504 units to 

37,933. Suzuki Cultus sales 

increased to 17,006 from 16,450 

units. 

In heavy vehicles, total truck sales 

swelled to 7,499 units from 5,550 

units. Hinopak remained the market 

leader in trucks with sales of 3,042 

units as compared to 2,458 units. 

Nissan trucks sales fell to 702 from 

804 units while Master truck sales 

climbed to 1,115 from 890 units. 

Isuzu truck sales swelled to 2,640 

from 1,398 units. 

In buses, Hinopak sales declined 

from 821 units to 709 units in 2016- 

17, while Master sold 158 buses as 

compared to 28 units. Isuzu sales 

rose to 263 units from 168 units. As 

a result, total bus sales stood at 

1,130 in 2016-2017 as against 1,017 

in 2015-16. 

announced a cash dividend of 

Rs4.18/share along with the 

corporate earnings. 

Sales revenue for the quarter under 

review stood at Rs21.058 billion, up 

99 percent as compared to the 

turnover of Rs10.533 billion during 

the corresponding period of the last 

year. As demand for the new Civic 

model continued, coupled with new 

bookings of the BR-V, availability 

of cash from advance bookings 

resulted in a 265 percent jump in 

other income to clock in at 

Rs466.303 million for the quarter 

against Rs127.613 million during 

the same period of the last year. 



Pakistan emerging manufacturer in 

automobile sector -Al-Haj Faw 

Motors has organized a colorful 

event to soft launch Pakistan first 

FAW V2, Chinese passenger car, 

being assembled in country at 

factory site in Karachi on 12th 

August, 2017. The Managing 

Director of the company, Mr. Bilal 

Afridi hosted the event, which was 

attended by all of their nationwide 

dealers, vendors and journalists. All 

the guests were later visited different 

sections of car assembly, who lauded 

the efforts of AL Haj for providing 

an opportunity to consumers to buy a 

locally made car, having luxury 

features at affordable price. 

The event was also addressed by Mr. 

Farhan Hafiz, Deputy Director 

Marketing Division, Mr. Nadeem 

Ahmed Salmi, Director Operations, 

FAW Chinese representative and Mr. 

Mashood Ali Khan Chairman – 

PAAPAM. 

Al- Haj would not only cater the 

local requirements but will also 

explore the opportunity to export 

cars in Asia, said Mr. Bilal Afridi , 

Managing Director of the company, 

who added that the plant has latest 

and modern ED facility. He said 

presently local market is not feasible 

for electric cars. He appreciated 

government new auto policy and 

expressed hope for growth of auto 

industry in Pakistan. 

It may be mentioned here that FAW 

is the fastest growing Chinese 

automotive company formed in 

collaboration with Al-Haj in 2007. 

The 50,000-sq.m state of the art 

factory of 600 + employees is built 

on 105,000-sq.m land with a 

capacity of 10,000 units pa/single 

shift. 

Mr. Bilal Afridi mentioned in his 

speech about the initial investment 

of 2.5 billion Rupees made to set up 

the company and a further 

Al-Haj Faw Motors launches V2 – a locally made 

Chinese passenger car in Pakistan 

investment of 1.3 

billion Rupees for 

an improved local 

assembly setup 

and ED Paint 

technology in 

their cars. He 

talked about the 

commitment of 

his company to 

c o n t i n u o u s 

advancement in 

technology, premium 3S customer 

service and dealership network, in 

all major cities of Pakistan in 

addition to 3 years/60,000km 

warranty. 

FAW claims that their local 

assembly will help them serve its 

customers better and give them 

quality assurance of the vehicles. 

The company aims to increase their 

production to 15,000 units per 

annum by year 2020 and introduce 

new models in Pakistan. The V2 

hatchback with 1300cc engine was 

e a r l i e r b e i n g i m p o r t e d a s 

Completely Built Unit (CBU). 

Introduced in local market in 2014, 

the V2 has gained a satisfactory 

reputation among the consumers and 

the demand is steadily on the rise. 

The company started its operation in 

Karachi, Pakistan with 7 acres land 

and now is proud to have an 

operating land of 27 acres. This 

shows the commitment of the 

company & is definitely not among 

those who come & leave. 

“Our vehicles bring another 

category in the 

market where we 

provide luxury 

features of a car at 

affordable prices. 

We are now being 

recognized for 

quality, economy 

A Chronicle Report 

Mr. Bilal Afridi is cutting ribbon to inaugurat launching of Car V2. 

and technological brilliance. Our 

products ranging from heavy 

vehicles to light vehicles cater every 

need of our commercial and 

domestic sector and we are rapidly 

gaining people’s trust.” 

He further stated: “As a result of 

g o o d r e s p o n s e a n d w i t h 

encouragement of our customers, we 

have further invested rupees 1.3 

billion in new assembling process 

and ED paint technology to improve 

our V2 with local assembly right 

here in Pakistan.” 

A locally assembled V2 would likely 

mean lower prices compared to the 

CBU while a lower displacement 

engine would also ease out buyers in 

taxation & registration costs. V2 is 

probably the most fuel efficient 1.3L 

car available on Pakistani roads. The 

current in-city average is about 15- 

16km, and on highways it reaches 

18km in a liter. By end of 2017, Al- 

Haj FAW expects to produce 500 V2 

units a month. Mr. Bilal Afridi said 

“We Have further plans to export our 

right hand drive cars in China and 

other international markets”. 



Kamal Ahmed joins 

Telenor Pakistan as Chief 

Corporate Affairs Officer 

Telenor Pakistan 

h a s a p p o i n t e d 

Kamal Ahmed as 

i t s n e w C h i e f 

Corporate Affairs 

Officer effective 

7th August 2017. 

“I am very excited 

at becoming part of Telenor which 

is one of the most innovative and 

impactful companies in the country. 

I look forward to being part of 

Telenor's remarkable journey that is 

bridging the digital divide in the 

country and transforming the lives 

of people across Pakistan” said 

Kamal Ahmed. 

Kamal holds a Master of Business 

Administration (MBA) and 

Bachelor of Science in Computer 

Engineering from Iowa State 

University, USA. 

Ufone appoints Rashid Khan 

as acting CEO 

The Board of Directors at Ufone, an 

E t i s a l a t G r o u p C o m p a n y, 

announced the appointment of 

Rashid Khan as acting CEO of 

Ufone effective August 15, 2017. 

Rashid Khan has vast experience in 

the telecoms arena in Pakistan 

including 6 years as CEO and 

Board member of Mobilink (now 

Jazz). 

“I would like to thank Rainer for his 

contributions to Ufone during his 

tenure and wish him all the best for 

his future.” said Abdul Rahim 

Nooryani, Chairman of the Ufone 

Board while 'welcoming Rashid 

Khan to Ufone'. 

Telecommunication News 

The total number of broadband 

internet subscribers in the country 

has topped 44.32 million, says 

f i g u r e s i s s u e d b y P a k i s t a n 

Telecommunication Authority (PTA) 

recently. 

The major contributors 

of this growth are 3G 

and 4G mobile internet 

subscribers, which 

clocked in at around 

41.73 million by the 

end of May this year. 

On the other hand, as per the PTA 

stats, the number of DSL subscribers 

stood at around 1.531 million, HFC 

52,096, Wimax 0.171 million, 

FTTH 42,611, EvDO 0.786 million, 

while the users of other technologies 

were calculated to be 9,264. 

Analysts say the portable mobile 

broadband devices are one of the 

main drivers of growth in 3G/4G 

subscription and this trend is likely to 

Telenor Velocity graduates 

startups of Cohort 2 

Telenor Velocity, the digital 

accelerator of 

T e l e n o r 

P a k i s t a n , 

h o s t e d a 

G r a d u a t i o n 

N i g h t i n 

L a h o r e 

r e c e n t l y t o 

graduate six 

startups from 

their Cohort 2. 

H u m a y u n M a z h a r, C E O a n d 

Founder of CresVentures attended 

the event as the key note speaker. 

Also present on the occasion were 

Dr. Umar Saif - Chairman PITB, 

NabeelQadeer - Director PITB, 

Khurram Zafar - Founder 47 

Ventures, and Faisal Sherjan - 

Director LCE. 

This event was organized on the sole 

philosophy that 'the best investments 

TRADE CHRONICLE - July .~ Aug. 2017 - Page # 31 

Broadband users in 

Pakistan top 44.32 million 

gain momentum in the days to come. 

Meanwhile, country's 

largest mobile phone 

o p e r a t o r , J a z z 

(formerly Mobilink) 

continued to remain the 

top mobile broadband 

player in the country 

with a base of 12.5 

million 3G and 0.895 

million 4G subscribers by the end of 

the period under review. According 

to a senior Jazz official, the key to 

this market dominance is consistent 

investment into innovation. “We aim 

to seamlessly deliver not only the 

best 3G/4G and voice services, but 

also constantly improve our 

customer care, and product lines,” he 

added. 

happen because of relationships.' 

Graduation Night, therefore, 

provided a platform to startups to 

pitch their products and converse 

with investors, mentors and Telenor 

Pakistan officials, all under one roof. 

The startups got the opportunity to 

pitch for investments, partnerships 

and collaborations as well as kick 

start conversations that lead to 

stronger relationships. 

“I congratulate the Velocity cohort 2 

graduates and wish they make it big 

as they're now equipped with what it 

takes to be successful in a digital 

market place,” said Irfan Wahab 

Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan, while 

speaking at the event.


Jazz becomes “Pakistan Ka Tez Tareen 

aur Behtereen Data Network” 

Jazz, Pakistan’s number one digital 

company, has launched its new 

identity – ‘Pakistan Ka Tez Tareen 

aur Behtereen Data Network' to 

pursue its promise of a digital 

Pakistan. 

Speaking on the occasion, Aamir 

Ibrahim, CEO – Jazz said, “14th 

August is not just a day of reverence 

to the Pakistani spirit, but a reminder 

of our resolve to make our nation the 

g r e a t e s t . We b l a z e a h e a d , 

empowering the country; city by city, 

v i l l a g e b y v i l l a g e w i t h o u r 

revolutionary data network. Our 

ambition is clear: embolden 

Pakistanis to challenge and 

overcome the impossible, open the 

doors to unbridled opportunities and 

ultimately success for themselves 

and Pakistan”. 

Federal Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar chairs 4G licence-awarding ceremony for 

launching 4G services in Pakistan, here on recently. Minister of State for IT Anusha Rehman 

Khan formally handed over ithe licence to CEO Jazz Aamir Ibrahim. 

In pursuit of its mission of digital inclusion, Telenor Pakistan has signed an agreement with 

National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) under which Telenor will provide NTC 

with large-screen internet devices (4G dongles), mobile handsets, and cellular/data services 

in areas where NTC infrastructure is not available.The picture shows MairajGul - DG 

Technical, NTC (L), and AtifaAsghar – Director B2B, Telenor Pakistan (R), exchanging the 

agreement in the presence of Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO, Telenor Pakistan, and other officials 

from both organizations. 

JazzCash Mobile Account 

Now Comes With Visa Debit Card 

JazzCash, the number one Mobile 

Account provider in Pakistan, has 

launched Visa Debit Cards for its 

Mobile Account customers. JazzCash 

Visa Debit Card will be linked to 

customer's Mobile Account and will 

bring convenience to millions of 

JazzCash Mobile Account customers by 

enabling them to make purchases at 

more than 49,000 merchants across 

Pakistan that accept Visa Cards. 

Speaking on the occasion, Aniqa Afzal 

JazzCash Mobile Account Now Comes 

With Visa Debit Card 

Sandhu, Chief Digital & Financial 

Services Officer – Jazz, said, “As a 

leading provider of Digital Financial 

Services, at JazzCash, we realize the 

importance of enabling retail purchase 

transactions and with the launch of Visa 

Debit Card, we have taken a major step 

in this direction.” 

JazzCash Visa Debit Cards are currently 

available for a nominal fee of PKR 200 

and are initially only available at 

nationwide Jazz Experience Centers; 

going forward they will be made 

available at more distribution points. To 

get this debit card, customers will need 

to have a JazzCash Mobile Account 

which can by registered free of cost by 

d i a l i n g * 7 8 6 # b y J a z z / Wa r i d 

subscribers whereas other network 

subscribers can register their Mobile 

Account through biometric verification 

at Jazz Experience Centers. 

Young graduates pose 

for a photograph that 

have recently been 

inducted in Zong 4G 

u n d e r i t s u n i q u e 

G r a d u a t e Tr a i n e e 

Program 2017 



Banking & Insurance News 

Re-organization for 

responding to the 

challenges of tomorrow 

Mr. Saeed Ahmed, 

after assuming charge 

as President National 

Bank of Pakistan 

( N B P ) , h a s 

undertaken major 

organizational and 

structural reforms 

a i m e d t o w a r d s 

promoting service 

q u a l i t y, b u s i n e s s 

g r o w t h , 

empowerment of field 

functionaries for improved 

turnaround time, and addressing 

the challenges posed by the 

NBP empowering field for 

superior customer service 

banking industry, witnessing a 

gradual shift from the brick and 

mortar concept to branchless 

banking. 

NBP being the Nation’s 

B a n k c o n s i d e r s 

provision of banking 

services to the masses 

(even to the remotest 

areas) among its primary 

o b j e c t i v e s . T o 

m a t e r i a l i z e t h i s 

objective and to promote 

State Bank of Pakistan 

( S B P ) v i s i o n f o r 

financial inclusion, the 

bank recently established a 

separate group for Payment 

Services and Digital Banking. 

National Bank of Pakistan organized a conference focusing on superior customer relations. 

Picture Shows Saeed Ahmad, President, national Bank of Pakistan (Center) and other 

participants at the conference. 

The President National Bank of 

Pakistan (NBP) Saeed Ahmed 

during his address to a gathering 

of more than 100 NBP regional 

management and Head office 

staff, from across Pakistan at a 

hotel in Karachi, emphasized on 

the importance of customer 

service to gain competitive 

edge. The theme of the address 

was “Happy Customers – Our 

Success”. 

He said that NBP has zero tolerance 

for frauds and malpractice and 

reminded that personnel involved 

will be taken to task. 

Saeed Ahmad, President - National Bank of Pakistan (1st right from the plaque) 

inaugurating a new building at NBP’s District Courts branch, Bahawalpur. 

NBP Half Yearly Financial Results 

June 30, 2017 

Meeting of the Board of Directors 

(BoD) of National Bank of Pakistan 

was held on August 24, 2017 at the 

Bank's Head Office in Karachi in 

which the BoD approved the financial 

statements of the Bank for half year 

ended June 30, 2017. 

Half yearly operating income of the 

Bank amounted to Rs. 41.7 billion 

(June16 : Rs. 41.8 billion). Bank's net 

interest / mark-up income for the half 

year amounted to Rs. 26.4 billion 

(June16: Rs. 27.6 billion) due to lower 

yield on Government securities. Noninterest 

/ mark-up income for the half 

year recorded growth as it amounted 

to Rs. 15.3 billion (June16 : Rs. 14.2 

billion). The Bank maintained 

interest/mark-up earning for the 

period by managing an efficient assetmix 

of loans and investments. Aftertax 

profit for the six months period 

amounted to Rs. 8.6 billion (June16: 

Rs. 9.5 billion). This translates into 

earnings per share of Rs 4.02. 

Profitability of the bank remained 

under pressure during the period on 

account of lower interest rates and 

maturity of high-yielding Pakistan 

Investment Bonds (PIBs). 

During this period, the Bank achieved 

a growth milestone as its balance sheet 

size increased to Rs. 2.32 trillion i.e. 

18% up against Rs. 1.98 trillion of 

December 2016. As of June 30, 2017 

Bank's deposits amounted to Rs. 

1,740 billion being 5% up against that 

of December 2016; whereas gross 

advances also increased to Rs. 836 

billion i.e. 7% up as compared to 

December 2016. The Bank has 

recently redesigned its business 

model and delivery strategies 

introducing modern-day banking 

concepts. Customer service quality, 

provision of services through 

alternate delivery channels and e- 

banking products will become key 

areas of focus for the Bank. 



HBL reports 1.8pc 

dip in profit 

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) declared a 

consolidated profit of Rs15.7 billion 

for the first half of 2017, down 1.8 per 

cent from Rs16bn a year ago.Earnings 

per share of the bank were 

Rs10.56 while pre-tax profit 

remained Rs27.7bn.The bank 

also declared a dividend of 

Rs3.50 per share, bringing the 

total dividend for 2017 to Rs7 

per share. 

I n c r e a s i n g d e m a n d f o r 

private-sector credit has 

resulted in strong lending 

growth, with net advances increasing 

11pc to Rs831bn. With all business 

segments registering significant increases, 

average domestic loans grew 

28pc year-on-year. Average domestic 

current accounts increased 17pc. 

Habib Bank was able to maintain its 

net interest income for the half year at 

the preceding year's level of Rs41.4bn. 

Non-markup income continued to 

deliver a strong performance across all 

Arif Habib Group to set up 

330 megawatts coal power plant 

A r i f H a b i b 

group is to set 

up a 330 MW 

c o a l p o w e r 

plant in Thar 

w i t h t h e 

Chinese investment to cater for rising 

demand of energy in the country. 

Talking to newsmen during his visit to 

Karachi Press Club (KPC) recently, 

Chairman Arif Habib Corporation 

Limited Arif Habib said initially, the 

group has acquired a coal block 

number 2 in Thar for the planned 330 

MW power plant. 

"Now we are going to apply for power 

tariff determination with Nepra and 

after that we will move forward for 

financial closure. The financial 

closure will be completed in one year 

and most probably the project will be 

business lines. It grew 14pc to 

Rs16.4bn. Fee and commission 

income increased 9pc to Rs10.2bn, 

with growth coming from core 

b a n k i n g b u s i n e s s e s , a s s e t 

management and home remittances. 

Topline Securities reported 

that the bank's secondquarter 

earnings were down 

6pc on a year-on-year basis 

to Rs6.4bn. It was largely 

b e c a u s e o f m a r g i n 

compression post-maturity 

of high-yielding Pakistan 

Investment Bonds (PIBs) in 

July-September 2016 and 

an uptick in non-markup 

expenses. 

Net interest income remained flat at 

Rs21.2bn due to lower margin on 

PIBs, thus containing bottom line 

growth. Non-interest expense rose 9pc 

to Rs14.8bn, affecting the company's 

bottom line. 

According to a press release, deposits 

crossed Rs2 trillion, driving a 7.4pc 

growth in the balance sheet to Rs2.7tr. 

i n i t i a t e d w i t h t h e C h i n e s e 

investment," he added. He said as per 

plan, the coal power plant will start 

production by 2021. 

" We h a v e s u b m i t t e d s o m e 

suggestions to the government for 

revival of economy and to generate 

more foreign exchange for the 

country and improve the energy 

situation," he said and added that 

Pakistan can get over $ 10 billion 

foreign exchange inflows with an 

amnesty scheme for overseas 

Pakistanis. An amnesty scheme has 

been proposed for overseas 

Pakistanis. This scheme will 

encourage expats to bring their 

savings in the Pakistan and invest in 

energy and infrastructure projects, he 

added. 

He also urged the government for 

special incentives for overseas 

Pakistanis to increase the inflows of 

Bank Alfalah posts impressive 

results for the 1H 2017 

The Board of Directors of Bank 

Alfalah Limited in their meeting held 

recently approved the Bank's half 

y e a r l y u n - a u d i t e d f i n a n c i a l 

statements for the period ended June 

30, 2017. The Bank posted Profit 

before tax of Rs. 8.470 Billion for the 

h a l f y e a r , h i g h e r t h a n t h e 

corresponding prior period by 11.6 

percent. Earnings per Share were 

reported at Rs. 3.04. 

The Bank's Net Interest Income after 

provisions improved by 5 percent to 

Rs. 14.956 Billion, despite the 

consistently low interest rate regime 

and impact of maturities of high 

yielding government bonds affecting 

core revenues. This growth was also 

aided by improved recoveries in the 

current period against NPLs as the 

Bank recorded a net reversal of Rs. 

136.085 million against classified 

assetsfor the current half year as against 

a net charge of Rs. 408.462 million 

considered in the corresponding prior 

period. 

home remittances via legal channel. 

"We believe still some $ 5-7 billion 

home remittances are arriving 

through Hundi/Hawala. As per the 

estimates, Pakistan can attract 

remittances inflows amounting to $ 

25-26 billion annually compared to $ 

20 billion arrived during last fiscal 

year," he added. 

He said with the announcement of the 

court verdict on Panamagate case 

political uncertainty has almost 

ended and now the stock market is 

likely to perform well. He said 

Pakistan stock market is giving 

excellent returns and average return 

of Karachi Stock Exchange (now 

PSX) stood at 23 percent during last 

10 years. Replying to a question, Arif 

Habib said the CPEC project is a real 

game changer in the region and will 

help improve the country's 

infrastructure, which need billions of 

dollars investment. 



The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) 

recently issued guidelines for the 

conversion of existing conventional 

banks into full-fledged Islamic 

banks to augment industry’s 

support, a circular said. 

The guidelines include eligibility 

criteria, necessary measures and the 

process of conversion. The central 

bank said all banks having Islamic 

banking division / branches can 

apply for conversion into fullfledged 

Shariah-compliant bank. 

The bank, which has not yet been 

granted approval by the SBP for 

Islamic banking division, would 

first obtain the approval for opening 

Islamic banking division before 

applying for conversion into fullfledged 

Islamic bank. 

“The bank shall have minimum 

CAMELS rating ‘Fair’ in the last 

On-site inspection and / or 

SBP issues guidelines for 

conversion into Islamic banks 

minimum CAELS rating ‘Fair’ in 

the last Off-site report, with no 

major adverse findings against the 

bank,” it said. 

“The applicant bank shall be 

compliant with minimum capital 

requirements (MCR), capital 

adequacy ratio (CAR) and all other 

requirements as applicable on fullfledged 

Islamic banks, from timeto-time,” 

it added. The SBP said the 

bank will develop a comprehensive 

conversion strategy with clear 

milestones and defined timelines for 

conversion duly approved by the 

bank’s board of directors. 

The bank would start conversion 

process in line with the Shariah rules 

and principles within six months 

from the grant of in principle 

approval, failure to do so, will lead to 

revocation of the in principle 

approval. The bank would complete 

the conversion process within a 

maximum period of three years from 

the date of in principle approval, it 

said, adding, in case of delay, the 

bank would justify extension request 

with reasons and evidence, duly 

approved by its Shariah Board and 

the board of directors. 

In 2004, the central bank issued 

minimum Shariah regulatory 

standards, covering instructions for 

establishment of full-fledged 

Islamic bank, Islamic banking 

subsidiary and setting up of 

standalone Islamic banking 

branches by existing conventional 

banks. Subsequently, it issued 

detailed criteria for conversion of 

existing conventional branches into 

Islamic banking branches in 2010. 

MCB Bank’s profit jumps to 

Rs13.69 billion in half year 

Net income of MCB Bank 

Limited rose 27.8 percent to 

Rs13.69 billion in January- 

June period, translating into 

earnings per share (EPS) of 

Rs12.3, a bourse filing said 

recently. 

MCB's bank profit was 

recorded at Rs10.71 billion 

with EPS of Rs9.62 in the 

same period a year ago, said 

a filing with the stock market. The 

bank's non-markup income surged 

59.76 percent year-on-year to 

Rs9.68 billion for the half-year 

period ended June 30. 

“Major contributions to nonmarkup 

income growth are fees and 

commissions, capital gains and 

dividend income,” the bank said in a 

statement. “On the provision front, 

the bank continued with its recovery 

trajectory and posted a reversal in 

provision against advances of 

Rs1.95 billion in first half of 

2017.” 

N e t m a r k u p i n c o m e , 

however, slid 14.3 year-onyear 

to Rs20.05 billion, 

“owing to the maturity of 

high yielding bonds and low 

interest rate environment,” 

said MCB Bank. The bank's 

asset base increased 25.59 

percent to Rs1.321 trillion as 

of June-end from December-end. 

Net investments jumped 34.93 

percent to Rs194.16 billion with net 

advances rising 11.97 percent to 

Rs41.66 billion. 

MCB Bank said its deposit base 

expanded 14.09 percent to Rs110.12 

billion during the six-month period, 

“outperforming the industry growth 

number by a significant margin.” 

“MCB Bank Limited continued to 

enjoy one of the highest CASA 

(current account, savings account) 

mixes in the banking industry of 

94.03 percent,” it added. “The 

concentration level of no-cost 

current accounts has increased to an 

all-time high of 41 percent of the 

total deposit book.” 

The bank's profit climbed 60.67 

percent year-on-year to Rs7.54 

billion in the second quarter ended 

June 30, translating into EPS of 

Rs6.78. The net income amounted 

to Rs4.69 billion with EPS of 

Rs4.22in the same quarter a year 

ago. The bank announced an interim 

cash dividend of Rs4 per share for 

the quarter ended June 30, 2017. 

This is in addition to interim 

dividend of Rs4/share already paid 

to the shareholders. 



Askari Bank, Master card 

sign agreement 

Askari Bank has signed an 

agreement with Mastercard, a 

leading technology company in the 

global payments industry, to offer 

an enhanced customer experience 

for the growing base of Askari 

M a s t e r c a r d c a r d h o l d e r s b y 

strengthening its existing range of 

services with a number of valueadded 

benefits. The agreement was 

signed at Mastercard's regional 

headquarters in Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates, by Rashid Nawaz Tipu, 

Group Head Branch Banking, 

Askari Bank and Khalid Elgibali, 

Division President, Middle East 

and North Africa, Mastercard. 

Askari Bank was the first bank in 

Pakistan to introduce 'Mastercard' 

cards in 1995, and currently offers 

its customers a wide range of 

Mastercard products including 

World, Platinum, Gold, Classic and 

Corporate cards. 

Rashid Nawaz Tipu, Group Head 

Branch Banking, Askari Bank, said: 

“The collaboration comes at the right 

time for Askari Bank, as we are 

carefully reviewing our portfolio and 

analyzing customer insights and 

usage behavior. Presently, more 

people than ever in Pakistan - and 

especially the youth - are confidently 

using their cards to pay at both brickand-mortar 

and online stores. We 

look forward to tapping into 

Mastercard's expertise in this domain 

and build solutions that will 

strengthen our engagement with 

customers and contribute to 

Pakistan's cashless economy.” 

United Bank’s profit 

falls 8.9 percent 

Net income of United Bank 

Limited (UBL) fell 8.9 percent to 

Rs13.29 billion for the half-year 

ended June 30, 2017, translating 

into earnings per share (EPS) of 

Rs10.81, according to a bourse 

filing to PSX. 

UBL posted a profit of Rs14.6 

billion during the same period a 

year ago with an EPS of Rs11.82, 

said a notice to Pakistan Stock 

Exchange. The company also 

announced an interim cash 

dividend of Rs3/share, which is in 

addition to the interim dividend of 

Rs3/share already paid to the 

shareholders. 

“The decline in earnings is 

primarily on account of the super 

tax at 4 percent on the 2016 

profitability, causing an impact of 

Rs1.50/share,” an analyst at Arif 

Habib Securities said. Bank’s net 

interest income for the half-year 

stood at Rs29.009 billion, up 0.79 

percent as compared to income of 

Rs28.83 billion during the same 

Ms. Sima Kamil, President & CEO, UBL (last row 6th right) at the Belt & Raod Bankers 

Roundtable Conference held in Beijing, China. 

period a year earlier. 

The bank’s non-interest income 

witnessed a decline of 13 percent to 

Rs13.19 billion during the period 

ended June 30, 2017. Non-interest 

income amounted to Rs15.101 

billion in the corresponding period 

of the last year. 

For the quarter ended June 30, 

2017, UBL posted a net profit of 

Rs5.714 billion, translating into 

EPS of Rs4.67, down 18 percent as 

against the profit of Rs7.039 billion 

and EPS of Rs5.68 during the same 

period of the last year. 

“Despite capital gains increasing 

93 percent during the quarter ended 

June 30, 2017, total non-markup 

income increased a mere three 

percent, as dividend income 

weakened 73 percent,” said Ovais 

Hussain, an analyst by Elixir 

Securities. 

Ms. Sima Kamil, President & CEO UBL (front right), Mr. Sheikh Imran ul Hauqe, MD & CEO 

PSO (front left), Mr. Babar Hamid Chaudhary, GM New Business Development (front, second 

right) and Mr. Arif Sirhindi, Group Executive Payment Services Group, UBL (front, second 

left) at the agreement signing ceremony between UBL and PSO through which UBL customers 

can now bank at PSO’s 3,500 fuel stations across Pakistan.

Trade Chronicle July - August Issue 2017

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