TC Jan-Feb 2021 Issue

www.tradechronicle.com Vol 67 -Issue Nos. 1 & 2 - Jan - Feb. 2021 Rs. 250/-

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Record wheat handling by KPT

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Azam Khan Swati, Federal

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a memento during his visits

to Marine Group’s head office

in Karachi

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TRADE CHRONICLE

TRADE CHRONICLE

TRADE CHRONICLE

www.tradechronicle.com Vol. 67 Issue Nos. 1 & 2 Jan - Feb 2021 Rs. 250/-

TRADE CHRONICLE

PAKISTAN OLDEST MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF COMMERCE, TRADE, INDUSTRY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS

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editorial

CONTENTS

• PM Imran Khan visits to Sri Lanka will boost mutual trade relations

editorial comments

• The new five-year textile policy, need of the hour

article & feature

• Pakistan offers $50m credit line to Sri Lanka for defence ties

• A Prism View over Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan

by Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

• Pakistan’s relationship with Turkey pre-dates independence of both states: CM

• Jan Jamali appointed honorary CG of Turkey

• Alternative energy

by Syed Akhtar Ali

leather industry

• Prime Minster of Pakistan Imran Khan has awarded “Ambassador of Hope “

award to S.M.Muneer

• Billions of rupees will be paid to industrialists in DLTL soon: Finance Minister

Hafeez Sheikh

• Italian Ambassador visits to IPFTC in Lahore

• Pakistan’s leather industry exports continue to fall in 7MFY20

• Bangladesh reports fall in leather exports during 7MFY21

• Textile Industry Alkaram Textile Mills wins awards at the 10th Annual CSR

Summit

ports & Shipping

• Marine Group apprises Railway Minister, freight trains business plan for the terminal

• Federal Minister of Railways visits Hutchison Ports Pakistan

• Hutchison Ports Pakistan sets another record for handling maximum TEUs on

a single vessel

• Bangladesh Shipping Corporation to purchase six LNG tankers

• Minister visits QICT, PIBT and MYP

• MoU signed for Gwadar Shipyard construction

• Engro Elengy Terminal sets new industry record

• Transit trade: Gwadar port to help country become regional hub: President

• Aza Khel dry port inaugurated

• Dp World reports +7.6% Gross volume growth in 4Q2020 and flat growth for

. FY2020

• PIBT handles 1.04m tons of coal cargo in Dec 2020

• Wheat discharging record created at K.P.T

• Honourable Governor of Sindh Mr Imran Ismail is handing over keys of Fire

Tenders gifted by Prime Minister of Pakistan, to Chairman KPT during a

ceremony held at Governor House

• Minister Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi chaired the first meeting on

Maritime Transshipment Strategy with Maritime partners at KPT Head office

regular features

• Automobile News, Banking & Insurance News, Cement Industry,

• People Events, Telecommunication News & Travel World

New features

• Steel & Allied Industry, Oil & Gas

TRADE CHRONICLE - Jan - Feb - 2021 - Page # 5

TRADE CHRONICLE

We begin with the name of Allah the Magnificient

PM Imran Khan visits to Sri Lanka will boost mutual trade relations

In late Feb, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s two-day official visit to Sri Lanka

would strengthen the bilateral trade relations between the two SARAC countries.

The visit has significant importance in the backdrop of India making vigorous

efforts to improve its ties with Sri Lanka, which has assumed strategic importance

in the Indian Ocean region.

Since Pakistan is part of the Chinese president’s Belt and Road Initiative through

its flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, Sri Lanka could

benefit from it through enhanced connectivity up to the Central Asian states said

Prime Minister Khan who along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi,

Commerce Adviser Abdul Razzak Dawood and Special Assistant Syed Zulfikar

Abbas Bukhari was on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of PM Rajapaksa.

FROM THE

EDITOR’S

DESK

The visit afforded both sides a timely opportunity to build upon their regular

consultations in the areas identified during the recently held foreign secretarylevel

bilateral political consultations, joint economic commission session, and the

commerce secretary-level talks, the joint communique said.

On the sidelines of the visit, Imran Khan participated in a joint ‘Trade and

Investment Conference’ to promote trade and investment between the two

countries. It was followed by several MoUs covering subjects such as tourism,

investment, technology, education, etc. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed on an ambitious action plan to curb

arms and drug smuggling.

Pakistan has offered a $50 million new credit line to Sri Lanka for cooperation in

defence and security.

ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI

The memorandums of understanding (MoUs) signed during the visit include i)

MoU on cooperation in tourism, ii) MoU between the Boards of Investment, iii) MoU

between Sri Lanka’s Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and Karachi University’s

International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, iv) Intent of cooperation

between ITI and Comsats University Islamabad and v) MoU between University of

Colombo and Lahore School of Economics.

Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka grew from US$ 97 million in 2004 to US$ 355 million

in 2018, while; Sri Lanka’s exports to Pakistan grew from USD 47 million in 2004 to

US$ 105 million in 2018. However, the two-way trade is only US$ 460 million while

the potential is more than US$ 2 billion, which has to be taped by both sides.

Sri Lanka is an important market for textile products, machinery, pharmaceuticals,

cement and other products that Pakistan records significant exports.

At the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference held in Colombo, the

two countries highlighted the importance of achieving a $1 billion bilateral trade

target. They agreed to work towards broadening and deepening of Pakistan-Sri

Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Imran Khan pledged to promote

FDIs and both sides discussed areas of investments. Due to a lack of awareness,

exporters do not fully use the market potential and benefits under the free trade

agreement. Additionally, Sri Lankan business people tend to focus on the existing

markets. Both countries need to diversify their products through research,


TRADE CHRONICLE

innovation, and value addition,

adjusting according to each

other’s market demands, experts

urge.

The visit has also helped alleviate

Muslims’ sentiments about the

funeral of the dead bodies who

died due to COVID-19 in Sri

Lanka. Prime Minister Imran Khan

reportedly spoke to the Sri Lankan

leadership on the matter and urged

them to respect the Muslims’

sentiments.

We happily note here that it

was primarily due to the prime

minister’s persuasion that the Sri

Lankan government decided to lift

the ban and allow Muslims to fulfil

their religious rituals. The news

has made international headlines.

Mr Khan deserves praise for taking

this initiative and resolving an

issue deeply troubling the Muslims

in another country.

A leading paper has rightly

pointed out that what must have

helped the Sri Lankan government

reverse its order was that the

prime minister had a successful

tour of the country and generated

significant goodwill. It is also safe

to assume that Sri Lanka would be

happy to have Pakistan on its side

on various issues and especially

those that figure in international

forums. Both Islamabad and

Colombo deserve credit for

resolving the matter amicably and

making it a win-win for all.

It is foreign policy wins like these

that add gravitas to governance

and improve relations between

countries. The prime minister has

done well, and Sri Lanka’s Muslims

are better off and relieved due to

his initiative.

Editorial Comments

The new five-year textile policy, need of the hour

Pakistan’s total export in January

2021 stood at US$2.145 bn as

compared to US$2.366 bn in

December 2020, down 9.33% MoM,

while up 8.79% YoY basis. The total

cumulative exports in 7 Months of

FY-21 reached US$14.255 bn (up

5.62% YoY). Out of these exports,

the overseas textile shipments

declined for the first time since

November, clocking in at US$1.323

bn in January – down 5.54% mom

(while up 10.79% YoY). However,

on an encouraging note, Pakistan’s

textile exports outperformed both

India and Bangladesh. Total textile

exports in 7 Months thus reached

US$ 8.766 bn (up 8.23% YoY) from

US$ 8.1bn in the same period of

last year.

Experts’ view that the decrease in

exports is seemingly due to the

seasonal trend, where exports

tend to be slow in January and

February before picking up

again for the spring and summer

seasons. However, textile exports

remain steady despite the

prolonged lockdowns in the major

exports destinations (Europe and

the US).

The above export trend illustrates

that the textile sector has not

only withstood pressures from

the Covid-19 but has grown

exports faster than before the

pandemic, where the exports have

averaged at US$1.3bn (excluding

August 2020, which was a oneoff

due to the monsoon rain and

an unusual number of holidays).

Experts believe that the sector

is likely to demonstrate similar

future growth, thanks partly to

government incentives (including

the upcoming Textile Policy

that is pending approval) and

global trends favouring Pakistani

exporters.

Keeping in view the 60 % share

of textile in the country’s exports,

we trust that the government

would soon approve the new fiveyear

textile policy, which likely

improves the sector’s long-term

competitiveness and creates

new investment and employment

opportunities in the country.

All Pakistan Textile Mills

Association (APTMA) urges the

government to approve a new

textile policy for new investment,

creating four million jobs and

sustainable export-led growth.

Another stakeholder of the textile

industry, Pakistan Readymade

Garments Manufacturers &

Exporters Association (PRGMEA),

called for the final approval of

the new textile policy 2020-25

by the Economic Coordination

Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet as

it is vital for new investment and

marketing plan in the significant

export-oriented sector.

According to APTMA, the textile

sector has started growing after

seven long years. It is currently

operating at full capacity, the

largest ever increase in exports

to $2.366 billion in December

2020. Over $3 billion investment

in new projects and expansion

are in the pipeline. It is hoped that

Rs. Fifty billion Financing Policy

for Acquisition of Sick units by

SBP can add $1 billion in exports

immediately.

APTMA has projected that the new

textile policy would double textile

exports from $13 billion to $26

billion in the policy period. Hence,

they demanded that as per the new

policy, the textile sector is ensured

the continuation of a regionally

competitive energy Tariff of 7.5

cents/kWh for Electricity and $6.5/

MMBTU for RLNG/Gas fixed for the

policy period.

It is strange that even after the

go-ahead given by Prime Minister

Imran Khan twice, the approval

of Textile Policy 2020-25 is still

awaited. Experts feared the

competing countries like India

are formulating long-term policies

to cushion the declining textile


TRADE CHRONICLE

exports. If measures are not taken

in good time by Pakistan, India

is well-positioned to capture the

orders being re-routed from China

due to their large operation scale.

We hope the government would

expedite the approval to bring

a boom in the textile sector of

Pakistan.

We hope that the government

should give full attention to the

increase in exports of the valueadded

sector, specially Knitwear,

Bed Wear, Towel and Readymade

Garments, keeping in view their

total exports for the period of July

2020 to January 2021 is US$ 6.095

billion out of the entire textile

exports of US$ 8.766 Billion, i.e.

69.52% of total textile exports.

Other than the textile policy, we

hope the government would foster

an increase in domestic cotton

production, which has declined

by nearly 34% YoY so far in FY21,

through subsidies and higheryielding

seeds are the need of the

hour.

In addition to that, allow the

import of cheaper raw materials

from neighbouring countries, as

the sharp rise is hampering the

production in the value-added

sector in local and international

cotton prices.

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TRADE CHRONICLE

Pakistan offers $50m credit line to Sri

Lanka for defence ties

Pakistan has offered a $50 million new

credit line to Sri Lanka for cooperation

in the field of defence and security. The

announcement was made by Prime

Minister Imran Khan, who concluded

his two-day official visit to the island

nation, said a joint communique issued

by the foreign ministries of the two

countries from Colombo and Islamabad

recently.

The two sides called for stronger

partnership in matters related to

security, terrorism, organised crime

and drug and narcotics trafficking as

well as intelligence-sharing, according

to the joint communique. They also

noted that the elevation of staff-level

talks to defence dialogue had provided

an opportunity to expand security

sector relations.

To strengthen sports

diplomacy, Pakistan would

provide Rs52 million for

promotion of sports in

Sri Lanka, according to

the communique. Prime

Minister Khan at an

interactive session with

the sports community of

Sri Lanka announced the

commissioning of the Imran

Khan High Performance

Sports Centre in Colombo.

Pakistan also announced plans to

establish Asian Civilisation and Culture

Centre at the University of Peradeniya

at the Sri Lankan resort of Kandy.

Pakistan also announced 100

scholarships in the field of medicines

(MBBS and BDS) as part of the

Pakistan-Sri Lanka Higher Education

Cooperation programme.

During the visit, the prime minister

held delegation-level meetings with

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and

his counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa.

PM Khan reiterated Pakistan’s support

for the socio-economic development

of Sri Lanka in line with the vision of a

peaceful neighbourhood.

The memorandums of understanding

(MoUs) signed during the visit include i)

MoU on cooperation in tourism, ii) MoU

between the Boards of Investment,

iii) MoU between Sri Lanka’s

Industrial Technology

Institute (ITI) and

Karachi University’s

International Centre for

Chemical and Biological Sciences, iv)

Intent of cooperation between ITI and

Comsats University Islamabad and v)

MoU between University of Colombo

and Lahore School of Economics.

$1bn trade target

At the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade

and Investment Conference held in

Colombo, the two countries highlighted

the importance of realising the goal

of achieving $1 billion bilateral trade

target and also agreed to work towards

broadening and deepening of Pakistan-

Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Both sides stressed the need to convene

the charter-based bodies and agreed

to take forward the Saarc process for

strengthening regional cooperation.

The two sides reaffirmed their joint

commitment to regional peace, security

and stability as Prime Minister Khan

underscored the need for peaceful

resolution of all outstanding disputes,

particularly Kashmir issue, through

constructive dialogue in accordance

with international legitimacy.

Earlier, Prime Minister Khan and Sri

Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

in a one-on-one meeting affirmed

cooperation at multilateral fora.

During the talks held at Presidential

Secretariat, Mr Khan emphasised the

importance of building robust economic

partnership characterised by enhanced

bilateral trade, investments, and deeper

cooperation in the fields of agriculture,

tourism, science and technology,

sports, education and culture.

The two leaders also shared

experiences in poverty alleviation

and use of technology to control food

inflation.

Referring to the rich Buddhist heritage

of Pakistan, Mr Khan highlighted that

the country had huge potential of

being a choice destination for religious

tourism for the people of Sri Lanka. Mr

Khan also extended invitation to the Sri

Lankan president to visit Pakistan at

the earliest convenience.

Connectivity

While inviting the Sri Lankan

businessmen to invest in Pakistan

by exploring the opportunities being

offered in the form of ease-of-doing

business, Prime Minister Khan

told Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and

Investment Conference that trade

connectivity among the countries was

vital for poverty alleviation.

He proposed establishing

trade links, as existed

among the European Union

members, which he said

could prove beneficial for

the prosperity of the subcontinent.

He said Pakistan

and Sri Lanka could explore

the idea of generating wealth

through joint business

activities and diverting the

wealth to alleviate poverty.

Mr Khan expressed intent

for Pakistan to learn from

Sri Lanka’s advanced tourism industry.

Pakistan had several undiscovered

sites of religious tourism including

the Gandhara civilization and trails

of Buddhism, he said, adding that

a recently discovered 40-foot-long

Sleeping Buddha could be of special

interest for Sri Lankan tourists. He said

joining the Belt and Road Initiative could

open up new avenues for Sri Lanka with

an opportunity to connect from Gwadar

up to Central Asian states.

Mr Khan said he had offered Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a

dialogue to resolve all outstanding

issues, particularly the Kashmir dispute,

but Pakistan did not get a positive

response.

For a sustainable prosperity, he said,

the South Asian region with 1.3 billion

people needed to resolve its mutual

conflicts through dialogue.


TRADE CHRONICLE

A prism view over Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) in Pakistan

by Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

Business guidelines have been

redesigned along liberal lines,

particularly since 1999. Most

boundaries to the progression of capital

and worldwide direct venture have been

eliminated. Unfamiliar financial backers

don’t confront any limitations on the

inflow of capital, and speculation of up

to 100% of value interest is permitted in

many areas.

FDI in Pakistan took off by 180.6

percent year-on-year to US$2.22 billion

and portfolio theory by 276 for each

penny to $407.4 million in the midst of

the underlying nine months of monetary

year 2006, the State Bank of Pakistan

(SBP) if insights about 24 April. In the

midst of July–March

2005–06, FDI yearon-year

extended

to $2.224 billion

from just $792.6

million and portfolio

dare to $407.4

million, while it was

$108.1 million in

the relating time

period a year prior,

as demonstrated

by the latest bits

of knowledge

released by the

State Bank.

Pakistan has

achieved FDI of

for all intents and

purposes $8.4

billion in the cash related year 06/07,

beating the organization focal point of

$4 billion. International speculations

had generally declined by 2010,

dropping by 54.6% due to Pakistan’s

political instability and weak harmony,

according to the Bank of Pakistan.

Pakistan’s hard coin holds have

become rapidly. Upgraded financial

organization, more important

straightforwardness and other

organization changes have provoked to

redesigns in Pakistan’s FICO appraisal.

Along with lower overall financing costs,

these segments have engaged Pakistan

to prepay, reconsider and reschedule

its commitments further reinforcing its

favorable luck. Despite the country’s

current record excess and extended

passages lately, Pakistan actually has

a broad stock trade lack. The foreign

remittances has

assumed significant

part in Pakistan’s

economy and

unfamiliar trade holds.

The Pakistanis got comfortable

Western Europe and North America are

significant wellsprings of settlements

to Pakistan. Since 1973 the Pakistani

laborers in the oil rich Arab states have

been wellsprings of billions of dollars of

settlements. The CPEC is a milestone

project in the chronicles of history of

Pakistan. It is the biggest speculation

Pakistan has pulled in since autonomy

and biggest by China in any unfamiliar

country. CPEC is considered financially

indispensable to Pakistan in causing

it drive monetary development. The

Pakistani media and government have

considered CPEC ventures a “game

and destiny transformer” for the area,

while both China and Pakistan mean

that the enormous speculation plan

will change Pakistan into a territorial

financial center point and further lift

the developing ties between the two

nations. Saudi Arabia is the biggest

wellspring of petrol for Pakistan. It

additionally supplies broad monetary

guide to Pakistan and settlement from

Pakistani travelers in Saudi Arabia

is likewise a significant wellspring of

unfamiliar money for Pakistan.

As of late, the two nations have traded

undeniable level appointments and

created plans to extend respective

collaboration in exchange, schooling,

land, the travel industry, data

innovation, correspondences and

horticulture. Saudi Arabia is supporting

the advancement of exchange

relations with Pakistan through the

Gulf Cooperation Council, with which

Pakistan is arranging an international

alliance; the volume of exchange

among Pakistan and GCC part states

in 2006 remained at US$11 billion.

Turkish and Pakistani governments

have looked to build the volume of twosided

exchange from $690 million to

more than $1 billion by 2010.

Pakistani fares incorporate rice, sesame

seeds, cowhide, materials, textures,

sports merchandise, and clinical

hardware. Turkey’s fares to Pakistan

incorporate wheat, chickpeas, lentils,

diesel, synthetic substances, transport

vehicles, hardware and energy items.

Turkish private partnerships have

likewise put essentially in mechanical

and development projects creating

parkways, pipelines and waterways.

More than $33

billion worth of

energy foundation

are to be built by

private consortia

to help reduce

Pakistan’s

persistent energy

deficiencies, which

consistently sum

to over 4,500MW,

and have shed an

expected 2–2.5%

off Pakistan’s yearly

total national output.

More than 10,400

MW of energy

producing limit is to

be brought online

before the finish of

2018, with the lion’s share created as

a feature of CPEC’s optimized “Early

Harvest” projects.

An organization of pipelines to move

condensed petroleum gas and oil will

likewise be laid as a feature of the task,

including a $2.5 billion pipeline among

Gwadar and Nawabshah to in the end

ship gas from Iran. Power from these

activities will essentially be produced

from petroleum products, however

hydroelectric and wind-power projects

are likewise included, similar to the

development of one of the world’s

biggest sun oriented homesteads.

Despite of Pandemic Situation,

Pakistan FDI increases to 88 percent

in the year 2020. The major Support

on this investment is CPEC and its

relevant projects that fuels the national

economy.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Pakistan’s relationship with Turkey pre-dates

independence of both states: CM

Sindh Chief

Minister Syed

Murad Ali

Shah while

addressing the

inauguration

ceremony of

new building

of Turkish

Consulate at

Clifton said that

Pakistan’s relationship with Turkey predates

the independence of both states.

He said that under the British rule,

the Muslims of India regarded the

Ottoman Sultan as their Caliph and

Muslim freedom fighters led the

Khilafat Movement to collect donations,

assisting their Turkish brethren in their

struggle for independence. During

Turkey’s War of Independence from

1919 to 1923, the Muslims of British

India extended their unflinching

support to their Turkish brothers by

sending financial assistance to the

Ottoman Empire, the CM said and

added that during the Turkish-Russian

War, a notable educationist from Sindh,

Hassanally Effendi mobilised the

people of Sindh to help the people of

Turkey during the war.

Shah said that in recognition of Effedi’s

struggle, Turkish government awarded

him with two Turkish titles: “Effendi”

and “Bey.” He added that Effendi

was also appointed as the honorary

Turkish Consul in Karachi. “Based on

this history, the people of Pakistan

and particularly of Sindh, share a very

special bond with Turkey that has been

preserved for over a century,” the CM

said.

When it comes to independence or the

strengthening of democracy, the political

struggles of Pakistan and Turkey have

been quite similar, Murad Shah said

and added both the countries have

had similar struggles for democracy

and both have had female prime

ministers: Ms Tansu Ciller, the 22nd

Prime Minister of Turkey, and Shaheed

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto both served

as prime ministers. He said as female

prime ministers of Muslim countries,

they shared a strong relationship. He

added that in 1994, they visited Bosnia

together ‘as brave mothers and not as

politicians’ to appeal to world leaders to

end civilian

atrocities

in Bosnia.

The CM said that Turkey and Pakistan

did not just share strong diplomatic

relations but also deep economic,

religious, cultural and military ties.

“Turkey was amongst the first

few countries that recognised the

independent state of Pakistan and

supported Pakistan’s bid to gain UN

membership,” he said and added, “the

Republic of Turkey has expressed its

unequivocal and categorical support

and solidarity with Pakistan on the

issue of Kashmir.”

Murad Ali Shah said that the Turkish

Government has always stood by

us during difficult times. “During the

earthquake of 2005 in Pakistan, Turkey

announced $150 million package for the

earthquake victims,” he said and added

that during the 2010 floods in Pakistan

when the Pakistan People’s Party was

in power, the Turkish Government

provided extensive assistance,

including the reconstruction of houses

in flood-affected areas. Similar aid was

extended by Pakistan to Turkey with

aid from our government flown in during

the earthquakes in Turkey in 1999 and

2011, Shah said.

The CM said that the Pak-Turkey

Strategic Economic Framework has

led to billions of dollars of trade and

investment between the two countries,

particularly in areas of transport,

telecommunications, manufacturing

and tourism. “Both countries are

founding members of the Economic

Cooperation Organisation and also a

part of the Developing-8 Countries,”

he said and added with the Turkey-

Pakistan Free Trade Agreement

underway, we could foresee our

bilateral trade to achieve new heights.

According to CM, Pak-Turk schools

have played a key role in educating

countless children in Pakistan who are

attending these schools. He added that

each year we witnessed an increase

in the number of Pakistani students

pursuing higher education in Turkish

universities.

“Today the inauguration of the new

building of the Consulate and the visit of

Turkish Foreign Minister to inaugurate

this diplomatic office marks another

beginning, highlighting the strength of

Jan Jamali appointed

honorary CG of Turkey

Senior politician and member of

Balochistan Assembly Mir Jan

Muhammad Jamali has been appointed

as Honorary Consul General of Turkey

in Pakistan.

Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad

Ehsan Mustafa on the occasion

assigned responsibilities to Honorary

Consul General Mir Jan Muhammad

Jamali and said that the nominated

Consul General will play his

responsibility to promote effective

cooperation and friendly relations

between the two Islamic countries

in various fields, according to the

statement issued.

The Turkish national flag will be hoisted

at his residence in Quetta.

It should be noted that Mir Jan

Muhammad Jamali, a member of

Balochistan Assembly from Balochistan

Awami Party (BAP), is also a retired

captain from the Pakistan Army.

our ties with the Republic of Turkey,” he

said.

Trade & Investment: Earlier, the

Foreign Minister of Turkey Melvut

Cavusoglu along with delegation

attended a reception the Sindh Chief

Minister hosted for him at CM House.

The provincial ministers and chief

secretary also attended the reception.

The chief minister invited Turkish

investors to invest in urban transport,

waste management in Karachi, in

renewable energy and in coal mining.

The visiting Turkish minister agreed to

send his investors to Sindh to explore

investment opportunities, however,

he agreed to work with the Sindh

government in Urban Transport and

Waste Management.

The chief minister presented traditional

gifts, Damburo (a musical instrument),

Rilhi, Sindhi bed sheet, Khes, Ajrak

and Thari shawl. The visiting guest told

the chief minister that the President of

Turkey would visit Karachi during his

next visit to Pakistan. The chief minister

and the visiting foreign minister agreed

to exchange delegation of investors

so that they could explore investment

opportunities in both the countries.

Courtesy Business Recorder


TRADE CHRONICLE

Alternative energy

by Syed Akhtar Ali

It is increasingly becoming clear that

RLNG has issues of irregular pricing

and other supply chain issues like

availability of infrastructure.

In the wake of dwindling local gas

production, the government is almost

frantically looking to ways to close the

demand-supply gap. It is trying to divert

gas from captive power plants to other

sectors, a move that has been opposed

by the textile sector. It appears that

RLNG is not the panacea it appeared

to be earlier.

Although RLNG will remain a major

gas resource in light of dwindling

local supplies, for energy security

and stability it may be wise to add

to resource diversity by examining

alternative sources. In this space, we

examine the prospects of liquid fuels in

meeting the fuel supply gaps of power

plants.

Substantial investment has been made

in RLNG combined cycle power plants

which are highly efficient in terms

of energy consumption. Gas supply

to these plants had to be curtailed

last December from 350 mmcfd to

240 mmcfd due to heavy winter gas

demand by the domestic sector; both

supply and pricing issues were the

possible reasons. LNG prices reached

unaffordable high levels in the same

period. High LNG prices in the winter

are a routine matter, but this winter, it

became extraordinarily high.

Consequently, RFO continues to be

used; it has become cheaper than gas in

many instances. However, only steam

plants can use RFO, which cannot be

used in more efficient gas turbines

combined cycle power plants. Instead,

diesel has been used. Diesel is very

expensive and also diverts supplies

from the transport sector. Diesel-based

power costs twice – Rs15-20 per kWh

as compared to Rs7-10 – as much as

RLNG, even on combined cycle power

plants.

Gas demand has been increasing.

In the meanwhile, K-Electric is facing

a power shortage and has to install

a power plant on an urgent basis for

which gas has to be provided out of

the current infrastructure. LNG terminal

utilization has been erratic as well for

a variety of reasons. It is very difficult

to balance RLNG supply with demand

on an hourly basis. The excess may

have to be vaporized, if such intricate

balance is not maintained. There are

Take-or-Pay limitations as well. In the

coming years, the demand and supply

gap may increase due to infrastructural

issues. Pipeline capacity is limited and

may not come up on time to match the

demand.

It may thus be advisable to look into

other liquid energy sources that can be

utilized in power plants, such as naphtha

and condensate. Naphtha is produced

by oil refineries as a byproduct. For

naphtha’s local utilization in the form

of a naphtha cracker facility that could

produce petrochemicals (plastics),

naphtha is exported. Condensate

is also exported and utilized by oil

refineries. Condensate is produced

from local gas production. It is a lighter

crude oil that is suspended in the gas

stream. In earlier days, it used to be

utilized as gasoline.

In many jurisdictions, naphtha has

been used in gas turbine power plants.

Some 11000 MW of such capacity has

been on naphtha in India. However, in

India, there is other better utilization of

naphtha for producing petrochemicals.

Similarly, condensate has also been

used in gas turbines. It is a question of

economics and availability. An added

advantage of liquid fuels is storage

possibilities; gas cannot be stored,

at least in the current circumstances

when there is no gas storage facility.

Altogether, in the year 2018-19,

around one million ton of condensate

and naphtha has been exported;

condensate exports were of 553,907

tons, while 418,941 tons of naphtha was

exported. Naphtha exports have been

going down. A few years back, it was

exported as much as one million tons.

Perhaps its local use has increased

for high-octane gasoline production.

Recently, PPL has announced the

export of 400,000 tons of condensate.

This indicates an adequate surplus of

both naphtha and condensate.

In these circumstances, KE may be well

advised to look into these resources

to use partially or wholly, instead of

solely depending on the government’s

promises of allocating gas. Karachi has

been suffering from power shortages

and in the coming years it may

become even worse in the absence

of both capacity and energy supply

reinforcement. The government may

also like to look into the prospects of

using naphtha/condensate, especially

in the intervening years.

This is proposed as an interim solution

till the gas sector supply chain is

stabilized, which may not take less than

5-7 years – although longer-term issues

of energy security and diversity would

remain. One of the two, naphtha or

condensate, should be able to provide

the gap-balancing role. The large gas

demand variation between summer

and winter will remain, possibly with

large LNG price variations. It is always

good to build options.

Condensate, however, is flammable

and has to be stabilized before it is

transported. As condensate is being

exported regularly, stabilization

equipment may already be there.

There may be economic issues as well.

Condensate is sold at crude oil prices

or maybe at a slight premium. At 60

USD/bbl, the condensate price should

be around 10 USD/MMBtu. The winter

price of LNG can be 14 USD/MMBtu

plus 2 USD processing and transport

margin. It is in the winter that there is

a demand-supply gap which is likely

to increase with time, in addition to

pipeline infrastructure issues. Naphtha

can be cheaper than condensate.

Finally, the glitter of LNG is fading, due

to LNG terminal issues and recent price

volatility and supply issues. There is no

better solution than local gas. Local gas

is cheaper almost by 50 percent on the

average. More attention should be paid

to the development of local resources.

The writer is a former member of the

Energy Planning Commission and

author of ‘Pakistan’s Energy Issues:

Success and Challenges’.

Email: akhtarali1949@gmail.com


TRADE CHRONICLE

Ports & Shipping

Marine Group apprises Railway Minister, freight trains

business plan for the terminal

Marine Group of Companies made

presentations on the proposed plans

for freight trains business to Azam

Khan Swati, Federal Minister for

Railways, during his recent visit to the

Group. Aasim A Siddiqui, Chairman of

the Group welcomed the minister while

Sharique Siddiqui,

Chief Executive

of Pakistan

International Bulk

Terminal (PIBT) and

Jawaid Siddiqui,

Chief Operating

Officer of Pakistan

Intermodal Limited

(PIL) made

presentations

providing a brief of

the steps which, if

taken with the help

of private sector,

can help generate

substantial amount of additional

revenues for Pakistan Railways.

Shariq Siddiqui in his presentation

focused on how the laying down of a

6- kilometre track to connect PIBT with

the Jumma Goth junction will not only

significantly increase the revenue to

PR but this dedicated track will help

minimize the environmental issues and

Federal Minister for Railways

visits Hutchison Ports Pakistan

Federal Minister for Railways, Azam

Khan Swati, visited Hutchison Ports

Pakistan, and was introduced the

operations by the management and

given a comprehensive tour of the

facilities, and its capabilities as a stateof-the-art

terminal.

The Federal Minister

was also updated on

the port’s phase 2

expansion plans.

As part of the expansion plans, the

Minister assured Hutchison Ports

Pakistan that external infrastructure

and connectivity to the terminal’s

internal rail siding will be completed by

31 March 2021. It was also discussed

that Pakistan Railway may provide

rail connectivity in the interim period

reduce transportation cost of coal.

Jawaid Siddiqui in his presentation

highlighted that opportunities can

be harnessed by Pakistan Railways,

with the help of the private sector, by

using the existing set of freight wagons

locomotives and

without additional

investments to be

made by Railways.

Azam Khan Swati,

accompanied

on this visit by

Muhammad

Najeeb Haroon,

MNA and Nisar

Ahmed Memon,

Chief Executive of

Pakistan Railways,

deeply appreciated

the presentations

and plans aimed at generating

additional revenues for Pakistan

Railways. He displayed his pleasure on

wide ranging knowledgeable session

with the Marine Group management

and assured commitment to move

ahead with the private sector for

immediate and out-of-the-box freight

trains business solutions in the best

interest of Pakistan Railways.

by repurposing of the coal

yard sidings adjacent to the

terminal facilities.

General Manager and Head of Hutchison

Ports Pakistan, Captain Rashid Jamil,

said in a statement, “Hutchison Ports

Pakistan management is pleased to

have hosted the Federal Minister on

this occasion, and

would like to thank the

Railways Minister for

his visit, as it marks a

positive beginning to

the new year”.

The port has been playing an important

role since its first day of operations

by creating optimal conditions for

accelerated trade. It will further amplify

Karachi’s potential and speed up its

transformation into a prime South Asian

hub for trade and transport activities.

Hutchison Ports Pakistan

sets another record

for handling maximum

TEUs on a single vessel

Hutchison Ports Pakistan is proud

to have another record for handling

the maximum number of TEU’s on a

single vessel, achieving yet another

memorable milestone. For the first

time in Pakistan, a container terminal

has handled 9,334 TEU’s - total units

5419, with a VOR of 149.49 moves per

hour, and in a total time of 36.92 hours.

Hutchison Ports Pakistan is committed

to take the Nation’s economy to new

heights.

General Manager and Head of

Hutchison Ports Pakistan, Captain

Syed Rashid Jamil said in a statement,

“We are delighted to be in a position

to accomplish previously unheardof

milestones, and aim to continue

breaking new ground as the country

heads towards a more prosperous

future. The dream of transforming

Karachi into a prime South Asian hub for

trade and transport activities is closer to

becoming reality than ever before.

Bangladesh Shipping

Corporation to purchase

six LNG tankers

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation

(BSC) is going to purchase six LNG

tankers for transporting liquefied natural

gas (LNG), said an official release.

The LNG ship purchase proposal by

the BSC was formally revealed in

the inter-ministerial meeting at the

Shipping Ministry conference room

here today. State Minister for Shipping

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury chaired

the meeting. The estimated cost of the

six tankers, with a capacity of 1,40,000

cubic meters, 1,74,000 cubic meters

and 1,80,000 cubic meters, has been

fixed at Taka 10,602 crore.

Shipping Secretary Mohammad

Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury, BSC’s

Managing Director Commodore Suman

Mahmud Sabbir, Joint Secretary of the

Energy division Sheikh Akhter Hossen,

Petrobangla Director Ali Mohammad Al

Mamun and Rupantarita Prakritik Gas

Company Limited (RPGCL) Managing

Director Jabed Chowdhury, among

others, attended the meeting.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Minister visits QICT, PIBT

and MYP

Federal Minister for Railways

Muhammad Azam Khan Swati visited

the Qasim International Container

Terminal (QICT), a major container

loading and unloading facility, under

the auspices of DP World and was

given a detailed presentation there.

Dubai Port World commonly called as

DP World is the largest multinational

firm, in terms of footprint, offering its

services in the arena of port operations.

The federal minister for railways

expressed his desire for exponentially

MoU signed for Gwadar

Shipyard construction

Federal Minister for Defence

Production Zubaida Jalal has said

Gwadar Shipyard would be owned by

the Government of Balochistan which

was being acquired by the Federal

Government under equity.

She expressed these views while

addressing a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) signing

ceremony held between Balochistan

and Federal Governments regarding

the Gwadar Shipyard at the Chief

Minister Secretariat.

Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Jam

Kamal Khan, Provincial Ministers

including Mir Muhammad Saleem

Khosa, Mir Arif Jan Muhammad Hasani,

Parliamentary Secretary for Information

Engro Elengy Terminal sets new

industry record

The first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)

terminal of Pakistan operated by Engro

Elengy Terminal (EETL), a joint venture

between Engro Corporation and Royal

Vopak of the Netherlands, has set new

industry records during its five years of

safe and reliable operations to ensure

energy security for Pakistan.

increasing the volume of freight

business in the country and declared it

as his prime objective during his tenure.

“A vibrant freight service is the major

way forward for a progressive and

sustained economic growth,” remarked

the railways minister during the

presentation.

The CEO Pakistan Railways Nisar

Ahmad Memon apprised during the

presentation that Railways was working

in full liaison with the DP world and the

latter had been offered construction of

a container terminal also.

The railways minister also visited the

Pakistan International Bulk Terminal

Bushra Rind and concerned provincial

and federal officials were present on

the occasion.

The Federal Minister said the capacity

of Gwadar Shipyard would be much

greater than Karachi Shipyard which

would be significant for improvement in

economy of Balochistan.

She said the professional training of

Since the start of its operations in

March 2015, EETL has completed the

transfer of over 20 million metric tons

of LNG by handling over 322 cargoes.

This is the highest volume handled by

any floating LNG terminal in this time

frame. The Terminal has also achieved

another milestone through the sendout

of more than 1000

Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) of

natural gas, equivalent to

energy required to generate

around 175 million MW. EETL utilizes

the Floating Storage and Regasification

Unit (FSRU) Exquisite, which is

co-owned by Excelerate Energy

LP (Excelerate) and Nakilat.

Built in a world record time of

332 days, EETL is recognized as

one of the fastest built and most

utilized regasification terminals

in the world. The terminal has a

storage capacity of 150,900 cubic

meters and peak regasification

capacity of up to 690 million cubic

feet per day (mmcfd). It currently

fulfills as much as 15 percent of

(PIBT), the imported coal unloading

facility at Port Qasim, and received a

comprehensive presentation there.

“Railways, freight and economy

are three interdependent variables

connected linearly with each other”

stated the railways minister after

conclusion of presentation at PIBT. The

minister was presented with mementos

at QICT and PIBT.

The two terminals’ visits were followed

by the visit of Marshalling Yard Pipri

(MYP). The minister was briefed, at

length, there by the CEO Railways. He

planted a sapling in the outskirts of the

yard also.

HIT would be provided to youth of

Balochistan in Gwadar Institute and

Karachi Shipyard to enable them to

work outside the country after making

them skilled.

Workshop would be established for

repairing ships in Gwadar in order to

provide better facilities in the area,

she added. Speaking on the occasion,

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal

Khan said the joint venture of Gwadar

Shipyard was a historic project which

would help to enhance economic and

development of Balochistan in future.

He said Gwadar Shipyard had created

extraordinary employment opportunities

for the youth in Balochistan.

The CM said the province would move

towards financial self-reliance with

projects like Gwadar Shipyard.

Pakistan’s domestic daily natural gas

requirements. As a result, more than

US$3 billion of savings have been

generated for the national exchequer

through import substitution of expensive

furnace oil.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Transit trade: Gwadar port to help country

become regional hub: President

President Dr Arif Alvi said that the

development of Gwadar port will help

Pakistan become a regional hub for

transit trade. A meeting on development

activities at Gwadar Port was held

under the chairmanship of President Dr

Arif Alvi recently.

The meeting was attended by Federal

Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali

Haider Zaidi, Trade and Investment

Adviser Abdul Razzaq Dawood, and

Chairman CPEC Authority Lieutenant

General Asim Saleem Bajwa (retired).

The minister and advisor briefed the

president about the development

Aza Khel dry port inaugurated

Collector Customs Muhammad Asif

Jah has formally inaugurated the Aza

khel pir pai dry port. A statement issued

recently, stated the establishment of the

dry port was long standing demand of

the business community of the Khyber

DP World Limited handled 19.1 million

TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units)

across its global portfolio of container

terminals in 4Q2020, with gross

container volumes increasing by 7.6%

year-on-year on a reported basis and

up 6.5% on a like-for-like basis[1]. On a

FY2020 basis, DP World handled 71.2

million TEU, flat year-on-year and up

0.2% on a like-for-like basis.

4Q2020 Like-for-like gross volume

growth was mainly driven by India,

Europe, Middle East & Africa and

Americas with a strong performance

from Mundra (India) London Gateway

(UK), Rotterdam (Netherlands),

Antwerp Gateway (Belgium) and

Sokhna (Egypt). In Americas, growth

was driven by DP World Santos (Brazil)

and Vancouver (Canada). Jebel Ali

(UAE) handled 3.4 million TEU in

4Q2020, up 0.3% year-on-year.

At a consolidated[2] level, our

terminals handled 11.2 million TEU

during 4Q2020, increasing 10.1% on a

reported basis and up 5.2% on a like-forlike[3]

basis. On a FY2020 consolidated

basis, DP World handled 41.7 million

Pakhtunkhwa.

The officials say that the dry port

has been equipped with modern

facilities to facilitate the exporters and

importers of the province. The port was

inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran

Khan last year, however, it formally

inaugurated by Collector Customs

TEU, up

4.6% on

a reported

basis and

down 1.8% on a like-for-like basis. The

reported FY2020 growth of 33.3% in

Americas and Australia region is mainly

due to the consolidation of Caucedo

(Dominican Republic) and acquisition

of Fraser Surrey Docks (Canada).

Dp World reports +7.6% Gross volume growth

in 4Q2020 and flat growth for FY2020

projects

Gwadar.

The

said that the people

of Balochistan would

get ample employment

opportunities from Gwadar

port. He said that the

completion of Gwadar Port

would bring social and

economic prosperity to

the people of Balochistan.

He said that Gwadar

port would help promote

regional connectivity.

He said that the countries

in the region, especially

Afghanistan and Central

Group Chairman and Chief Executive

Officer Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem

commented:

We are delighted to report another set of

positive volume figures for 4Q2020 with

like-for-like growth accelerating to 6.5%.

This strong end to the year resulted in

flat growth in 2020 which compares

favourably against an industry that is

estimated to be down 2.1%. Overall,

this once again illustrates the resilience

of

president

Asian states would benefit from the

CPEC. Earlier, the minister, the adviser,

and Asim Saleem Bajwa visited the ongoing

development projects in Gwadar.

Muhammad Asif Jah.

Collector Customs Appraisement,

Muhammad Saleem, Additional

Collector Customs Adnan Iqbal Swati,

Additional Collector Customs Khyal

Muhammad and Assistant Collector

Customs dry port Ms Javeria Shahid

were present on this occasion.

of the global container industry, and DP

World’s continued ability to outperform

the market.

The growth in volumes was

encouragingly across all our regions

with India being a key driver, while our

flagship port of Jebel Ali (UAE) saw

volumes stabilizing.

We continue to invest selectively in

projects that offer compelling value

such as Dakar (Senegal) and Luanda

(Angola). Our strategy to provide

solutions to cargo owners has served

us well, and our aim is to continue to

build on this momentum.

Looking ahead, while 2021 has started

encouragingly, the outlook remains

uncertain given the continued issues

surrounding the pandemic, geopolitical

uncertainty in some parts of the world

and the ongoing trade war.

Overall, the full year solid volume

performance leaves us well placed

to deliver a relatively stable financial

performance in 2020. We remain

focused on containing costs to protect

profitability, managing growth capex to

preserve cashflow and are confident of

meeting our 2022 targets.


TRADE CHRONICLE

PIBT handles 1.04m tons of coal

cargo in Dec 2020

Pakistan International Bulk Terminal

(PIBT) handled a record 1.04 million

tonnes of coal cargo in December

2020, which is 32 percent more than

0.791 million tonnes of cargo handled

in December 2019.

This is the first month that the terminal

volumes have crossed a million tonnes,

solidly establishing PIBT as the premier

bulk terminal of the country.Also, the

terminal handled 5.27 million tonnes

cargo from July to December 2020,

Wheat discharging record

created at K.P.T

Bulk Shipping & Trading (Pvt) Ltd has

congratulated M/s. Trading Corporation

of Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., (Importers)

Karachi Port Trust and Stevedores

M/s. M. M. Services for the remarkable

which is 19.7 percent more

than the 4.407 million tonnes

coal handled in the same

period in 2019. In the last six

months, total 92 cargo vessels arrived

at the terminal while the total number

of vessels handled during July 2019

to December 2020 was 77. “This

performance in the last six months is

clearly in line with our objective that

is to operate at international levels

of efficiency and establish industry

standards for most efficient cargo

handling,” said Sharique Siddiqui,

CEO, PIBTL, adding that PIBT is an

integral part of the coal supply chain

across the country.

achievement of discharging and

simultaneous bagging of 10,100 metric

tons of Bulk Wheat in 24 hours from

a geared ship MV. “Star Antares” at

`Karachi Port’ on 28th December, 2020.

This new record of discharging and

simultaneous bagging of bulk wheat

account TCP from a geared ship has

been created at Karachi Port due to

PIBT was set up with the total cost of

$305 million at Port Qasim on BOT

(Build, Operate, and Transfer) basis

to transform the handling of dirty bulk

cargo to modern environmental friendly

standards.

The terminal started operations in the

year 2017 and has since handled 452

vessels and total cargo of 25.2 million

tonnes. It is pertinent to mention that

the terminal has so far contributed

approximately 10 billion rupees to the

national exchequer in terms of royalty

payment of $2.27 for every tonne of

cargo handled, and other duties and

taxes.

close coordination and cooperation

between the Management and

Team of M/s. Trading Corporation

of Pakistan, the Management

and Team of Karachi Port and

the Management and Team of

Stevedores M/s. M. M. Services.

This was also due to the personal

interest of the Chairman Karachi

Port Trust Mr. Nadir Mumtaz

Warraich and the Chairman

Trading Corporation of Pakistan

Mr. Riaz Ahmed Memon.

Cargo was supplied by M/s.

Swiss Singapore (Local agents

M/s. Fertline (Pvt) Ltd.) and ship

operators were M/s. Starbulk.

S.A., Greece.

Bulk Shipping is proud to be

associated in this achievement

as Agents of the ship.

Honourable Governor of Sindh Mr Imran Ismail is

handing over keys of Fire Tenders gifted by Prime

Minister of Pakistan, to Chairman KPT during a

ceremony held at Governor House

Minister Maritime Affairs

Syed Ali Haider

Zaidi chaired the first

meeting on Maritime

Transshipment Strategy

with Maritime partners at

KPT Head office


TRADE CHRONICLE

Leather Industry

Prime Minster of Pakistan Imran Khan has awarded

“Ambassador of Hope “ award to S.M.Muneer

S. M. Muneer is a businessperson

who has been at the head of 8 different

companies. Currently, Mr

Muneer occupies Chairman

of Din Textile Mills Ltd.

Form Chairman of Korangi

Association of Trade &

Industry, former Chairman of

Friends of Burns Centre and

President at India-Pakistan

Chamber of Commerce &

Industry.

He is also former President of

Federation of Pakistan Chambers

of Commerce and Industry, former

Rs 1.7 billion will be paid in 10 days

in terms of duty drawback (DLTL) of

industrialists affiliated to the leather

sector, while Rs 2.5 billion in duty

drawback will be paid in three stages.

This was stated by Federal Minister

for Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh

on the occasion of a meeting with a

delegation of industrialists affiliated

to the leather industry led by Danish

Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Leather

Garments Manufacturers and

Exporters Association (PLGMEA) in

Islamabad. The delegation included

Patron-in-Chief PLGMEA, Fawad Ejaz

Khan, Irfan Iqbal, Chairman FBR Javed

Ghani, Special Assistant to the Prime

Minister for Revenue Waqar Masood,

Trade Adviser Razzaq Dawood,

Climate Change Secretary Naheed

Chairman for Pakistan Tanners

Association, Chairman of Chiniot

Anjuman Islamia, Member

of World Hypertension

League, Founding Member

at Pakistan Hypertension

League and Founding

Member at Trust for Vaccines

& Immunization and on the

board of 15 other companies.

In his past career. Muneer

was Chief Executive Officer at Trade

Development Authority of Pakistan and

President at Federation of Pakistan

Chambers of Commerce & Industry.

Billions of rupees will be paid to industrialists in DLTL

soon: Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh

A Group photo with Federal Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez Sheikh,

Chairman PLGMEA Danish Khan, Chairman FBR Javed Ghani, Special

Assistant to the Prime Minister for Revenue Waqar Masood, Trade Advisor

Razzaq Dawood, Climate Change Secretary Naheed Durrani, Commerce

Secretary Saleh Farooqi, Patron-in-Chief PLGMEA and Fawad Ijaz Khan.

Durrani and Commerce Secretary

Saleh Farooqi were also present.

Speaking to the delegation, Federal

Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez

Sheikh said that all possible facilities

would be provided to the exporters

associated with the leather industry so

that the industrialists could play their full

role in increasing the country’s exports.

On the occasion, Chairman PLGMEA

Danish Khan said that the Corona

pandemic has adversely affected

the economic condition of the world,

including Pakistan, so the DLTL scheme

should be extended to 2025-26 for the

development of the export sector and

relief should also be provided in freight

subsidy.

Chairman PLGMEA

said that he welcomed

the steps taken by

the Prime Minister

for the industrial

development and

hoped that steps

would be taken

in this direction to

ensure uninterrupted

supply of energy

and reduction of the

production cost of

industries.

Italian Ambassador visits

to IPFTC in Lahore

Italian Ambassador H.E Andreas

Ferrarese paid a visit to Italy-Pakistan

Footwear Technological Center

(IPFTC) in Lahore recently. The Italian

Government has provided all the

machinery and technical assistance for

this Project. PFMA Chairman Mr Imran

Malik said Pakistan will fully utilize this

facility to develop Footwear Industry

to produce high-quality shoes using

new technologies to make it a major

exporting industry of Pakistan.

Italian Ambassador H.E. Andreas

Ferrarese lauded the project progress

and praised PFMA chairman on

successful running it. He underlined

that the youth of Pakistan is full of high

potential. If appropriately utilized by

enhancing their skills, we can make

them productive. Indeed the Project

of IPFTC aims to train the youth

innovatively to take full advantage of

the footwear industry and gracefully

earn their livelihood.

IPFTC will offer a complete environment

for the footwear industry to adapt to

the most advanced techniques to

develop quality products and enhance

their existing skills to meet the everchanging

demand of the international

market. Our cooperation will continue

to thrive upon with more business

opportunities.

This innovative project will be a

stepping-stone toward the betterment

of Pakistan Footwear Industry in the

long run and help provide support to the

local footwear industry to better equip

themselves with the latest techniques

and skills of contemporary footwear art.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Pakistan’s leather industry exports

continue to fall in 7MFY20

Pakistan leather industry earns export

revenue of US$ 71.493 million during

January 2021 compared to US$ 72.94

million in the previous month, translating

to a fall of 0.83 percent on a MoM basis.

The finish leather exports stand at US$

12.831 million, leather manufacturing

US$ 48.166 million and footwear US$

10.496 million against US$ 14.884

million, US$ 43.994 million and US$

13.216 million, respectively, during this

period. This export trend represents a

fall of 13.79 percent, 7.69 percent and

20.58 percent, respectively.

On a cumulative basis, Pakistan

leather industry export proceeds during

Bangladesh reports fall in leather

exports during 7MFY21

Bangladesh leather industry during

the first seven months of the financial

year 2020-21 (July – Jan 2021) has

earned export revenue of US $526.58

million as compared to US$ 558.9

million earned in the same months of

the previous year. It translates a singledigit

fall of 5.78 per cent on a YoY basis,

says the Bangladesh Export Promotion

Bureau (EPB).

The break down shows that Bangladesh

bagged US$ 63.55 million on exports

Textile Industry

Alkaram Textile Mills wins awards at the

10th Annual CSR Summit

Alkaram Textile Mills won three

awards at the ’10th Annual Corporate

Social Responsibility Summit &

Awards 2021′, in the categories of

Collaboration and Partnership, CSR

Event and Community Impact. The

award ceremony was held at a local

hotel in Karachi.

Alkaram Textile Mills has been

regularly recognised for its continuous

commitment towards contributing to

the society.

In this prestigious summit, the

company won accolades around three

of its major CSR initiatives which are

completely in line with the company’s

CSR objectives and thus embedded in

the way it conducts business.

the first seven months of

July – Jan 2021 reduced

by 3.80 per cent to US$

500.658 million against

US$ 520.470 million, earned in the

seven months of last fiscal year July –

Jan 19-20, says data released by the

Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

The breakdown of export shows that

tanners have earned US$84.939 million

on the export of 5.766 million sqm of

finished leather between the periods of

July – Jan 2020 as compared to US$

121.010 million on the export of 10.803

million sqm in similar seven months in

a year-ago period. The export figure

translates that tanned leather exports

fell by 46.63 per cent in terms of quantity

and 29.81 per cent in terms of dollars

of finished leather in the

first seven months of the

current financial year

compared to US$ 77.71

million in July – Jan 2020. It offers a

contract of 18.22 per cent. The leather

footwear exports also decreased by

1.88 per cent to the US $ 329.53 million

from US$ 333.14 million during this

export period.

The exports of leather products have

also contracted to US$ 133.49 million

from the US $ 148.05 million of same

seven months of last year. It translates

a decline of 9.83 per cent on YoY basis.

Fawad Anwar,

Managing

Director,

Alkaram Textile

Mills, while

sharing his views on the achievement

said, “It is an honour to be recognised

for our efforts.

This not only

shows Alkaram’s

commitment and

dedication towards

development of

our community but

also motivates us

further to continue

our mission in

line with our CSR

objectives.” He

added further,

“All CSR initiatives are dedicated

towards our focus areas such as

women empowerment and community

engagement and enhancement, and

we have been tirelessly playing our

respectively during this export period.

On positive development, the export

of leather manufacturing, including the

export of garments and leather gloves,

increased to US$ 340.445 million from

US$ 318.601 million during this period.

This export represents a rise of 6.86

per cent on a YoY basis.

However, the footwear exports recorded

a fall of 6.91 per cent in terms of value

between July and Jan 2020-21. During

this period, footwear export reached

US$75.274 million by exporting 9.743

million pairs as against US$ 80.859

million for 8.951 million pairs, shipped in

the same seven months of the previous

fiscal year. However, the quantity rose

by 8.85 per cent during this exporting

period.

The Bangladesh Export Promotion

Bureau (EPB) had set the export target

for the leather industry at the US $920

million for the financial year 2020-

21 (July – June) compared to the US

$797.6 million earned in the previous

fiscal year.

role through various programs to

reach out to a wider network and make

meaningful contribution in the society.”

“Alkaram Textile Mills believes in

the philosophy of benefiting our

stakeholders and the communities

in which we thrive by improving their

quality of life. Therefore, CSR is

embedded in our business model,

where direct engagement and support

to communities is extended across

the value chain. We undertake several

different means of giving back to the

environment and to the community we

are so deeply intertwined with,” said

Sherbanoo Raza, Head of HR and

Communications, Alkaram Textile Mills

on the occasion.

This award underscores Alkaram’s

commitment towards women

empowerment and community

development as an integral part of its

Corporate Responsibility initiatives.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Cement Industry

Mixed indicators from the cement

industry in Pakistan

Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Statistics

(FBS) has released mixed export

and production data for the cement

industry for July –December and July

-November 2020-21. A research house

also adds that industry will reveal good

financial results for the second quarter

after a mixed performance in first

quarters.

Cement exports

Pakistan’s cement industry earned

US$142.92m by exporting 4.325Mt

of cement and clinker in the first six

months of the FY20-21, compared to

US$145.261m from 3.790Mt of exports

in June – December 2019-20. In a

nutshell, shipping represents a fall of

1.61 35.4 per cent in dollar terms but

see a rise of 14.11 per cent in quantity

Cherat Cement Company

plans BMR for line 1

Pakistan’s leading

cement producers

- Cherat Cement

Company Limited

has informed

Pakistan Stock

Exchange (PSX) that

the Board of Directors of in its meeting

held on January 18, 2021, has decided

to undertake balancing, modernization

and replacement (BMR) for Cement

Line 1 and install the main Crusher

at Village Lakrai, District Nowshera,

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province.

According to Executive Director

and Company Secretary Abid Vazir,

these measures will help improve the

operational efficiencies of the plant.

The total cost of BMR of Cement Line

1 and installation of main Crusher is

approximately PKR3.5 bn. The project

will be principally financed through longterm

loans. Earlier, with the successful

launch of Line III for clinker production,

which boasts a total production

capacity of more than 14,700tpd, the

Company has significantly enhanced

its production capacity to more than

4.5Mta.

on a YoY basis. Similarly,

earning for December 20

stands at US$ 19.25m

on the export of 593,215t

of cement/clinker compared to UDS$

18.12m for 498,091t in the same month

last year – registering a growth of 6.20

per cent and 19.10 per cent on account

of the value and quantity respectively.

Cement production

The output of Pakistan’s large-scale

manufacturing industries (LSMIs)

witnessed an increase of 14.5 per

cent YoY during November 20, and

7.4 per cent in 5MFY21, YoY, including

cement production. Pakistani cement

production increased by 21.30 per cent

YoY to 20.442 Mt in July - November

2020 from 16.852Mt, achieved in the

same period last year. On more positive

development, the rising trend was also

witnessed in November 2020, when

The Flying Cement Company Limited

updated Pakistan Stock Exchange

(PSX) that it has achieved another

key milestone. Company’s Secretary

Shahid Ahmad Awan, in communication

to PSX has stated that the company has

successfully completed the installation

and commissioning of 7.5MW Waste

Heat Recovery Power Plant (WHRPP)

at its site in Mangowal, District Khushab

in Punjab.

He added, “the employment of this

technology will augment our ability to

process waste heat absorbed in boilers

to produce steam at a suitable pressure

Kohat Cement Company Ltd in

Pakistan announced that Board

of Directors of the Company

has approved, subject to all

regulatory approvals, setting

up of 7,800 ~ 10,000 tpd

cement manufacturing plant

(along with 8 ~ 10 MW Waste

Heat Recovery and 25MW Coal-Fired

Power Plants), in Khushab, Punjab.

production significantly rose by 12.96

per cent to 4.009 Mt versus 3.549Mt in

November 2019.

Outlook

Flying Cement Company completes

WHRPP at the plant site in Punjab

Kohat Cement Company announces

to set up a new cement plant in Punjab

A research house sees strong demand

from housing projects amid low-interest

rates and amnesty for builders. These

positive factors would be the main

drivers for cement growth in future. IMS

Research expects that local demand

will sustain in the coming quarters as

government infrastructure spending will

also rise to kick-off low-cost housing

projects. Besides this, cement demand

in the South has improved considerably

compared to previous quarters, despite

a decline in exports. This was mainly

because of reduced selling from North

producers in the South market and

higher demand from the private sector.

A Chronicle report

to power turbines

for the generation

of electricity”.

The management pin hopes that

adoption of Waste Heat Recovery

Power Plant (WHRPP) technology will

result in significant cost saving in power

consumption for the Company. It also

affirms Flying Cement’s commitment to

reduce carbon footprint and contributes

towards a Greener Pakistan.

The company has a single kiln having

an installed capacity of 2000tpd of

cement using the latest dry process

technology and a rated capacity of

600,000t of cement per annum.

According to a

notification of

the Company

to Pakistan

Stock Exchange (PSX), the

management has estimated

cost of the project at PKR 30

bn, which shall be financed

through a mix of Debt and

Equity and it is expected that

construction and installation of

the plant shall be completed in

2 to 2.5 years.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Domestic cement despatches grew by

23.80 percent in January 2021

Cement sector posted growth of 16.28

percent in January 2021 as compared

to January 2020. Total Cement

despatches during January 2021 were

4.73 million tons against 4.07 Million

Tons despatched during the same

month of last fiscal year.

According to the data released by

All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers

Association (APCMA), local cement

despatches in the month of January

2021 increased to 4.03 million tons

compared to 3.26 million tons in

January 2020, depicting a growth of

23.67 percent. However, the exports

dropped by 14.09 percent from 808,874

tons in January 2020 to 694,934 tons in

January 2021.

During January 2021, the North based

factories despatched 3.31 million tons

cement locally, a healthy increase of

23.48 percent from 2.68 million tons in

January 2020, while the South based

mills despatched 724,281 tons cement

for local consumption which was 24.59

percent higher than 581,316 tons

cement despatched in January 2020.

Exports from North based mills

Lucky Cement announces capacity

expansion of 3.15Mt

Lucky Cement

announced to

enhance its cement

production capacity

at its Pezu Plant by 3.15 million tons

per annum, to keep pace with the

increasing demand in the domestic

cement industry. The construction

work on the project is expected to

commence within current financial year

and is expected to be completed in 1.5

to 2 years. This expansion will result in

a total capacity of 15.3 MT of cement

per annum.

On a consolidated basis, Lucky Cement

Limited reported net profit after tax of

PKR 12.44 billion of which PKR 2.08

billion is attributable to non-controlling

interests for the half year ended

December 31, 2020. This translates

into earnings per share (EPS) of PKR

32.05 / share as compared to PKR

9.93 / share reported during the same

period last year.

increased by 25.36

percent to 233,404

tons in January

2021 from 186,185

tons in January 2020 whereas the

exports from South decreased by 25.88

percent to 461,530 tons in January

2021 from 622,689 tons during same

month last year.

In the first seven months of this

fiscal year, total cement despatches

(domestic and exports) were 33.36

million tons that was 15.77 percent

higher than the cement despatches

during the corresponding period of last

fiscal year.

Local despatches increased by 16.98

percent in July20 - Jan21 period to

27.65 million tons from 23.63 million

tons in July19 - Jan20. Exports also

increased from 5.186 million tons in

July19 - Jan 20 to 5.71 million tons in

July20 - Jan 2021 showing a growth of

10.23 percent.

During first seven months of current

fiscal year, North based mills

despatched 23.54 million tons cement

for domestic consumption that was

17.18 percent higher compared to the

despatches during same period last

fiscal year that stood at 20.09 million

tons. Exports from North were 1.44

Further, on a consolidated

basis, the Company

achieved gross turnover

of PKR 123.72 billion

which is 56% higher as compared to

the same period last year’s turnover

of PKR 79.56 billion. During the 1HY

2020-21 under review, the Company’s

consolidated net profit (attributable

to owners’ of the Holding Company)

increased by 223% as compared to the

same period last year. The increase

in net profit was mainly attributable to

increase in net profitability of Cement

segment (Holding Company) which

grew by 134% due to higher turnover

supported by absorption of fixed costs

and efficiencies achieved from new

production line in the North. The increase

in net profit of Holding Company

was also supported by considerable

increase in net profits of Lucky Motor

Corporation because of strong growth

in automobile sales. In addition, LCL

Investment Holdings Limited delivered

a healthy performance as compared to

same period last year owed to growth

in sales volume, coupled with improved

million tons showing decline of 10.09

percent over exports of 1.61 million

tons during the same period of last

fiscal year.

South based mills despatched 4.11

million tons in the domestic market

during the first seven months of

current fiscal year which was 15.86

percent higher than 3.54 million tons

despatched during the corresponding

period of last fiscal year. The exports

from South were 4.27 million tons

registering an increase of 19.35 percent

over exports of 3.57 million tons during

same period last year.

A spokesman of All Pakistan Cement

Manufacturers Association said that

the cement uptake has reached historic

high in the domestic market but the

increase in its main inputs is the major

challenge for the industry.

retention price and decrease in input

costs from both Congo & Iraq projects.

On a standalone basis Company’s

overall sales volumes posted a high

double digit growth of 35.9% to reach

4.99 million tons during 1HY 2020-

21. The local sales volumes grew by

41.2% to reach 3.66 million tons in

comparison to 2.59 million tons during

the same period last year. Also, the

export sales volumes of the Company

increased by 23.3% to 1.34 million

tons as compared to 1.08 million tons

during the same period last year. The

Company reported that trial production

at its Greenfield project for producing

1.2 million tons of cement at Samawah,

Iraq has commenced during 3rd week

of January 2021 and the project is

expected to start commercial production

in February 2021.

The Company also reported that its 1 X

660 MW supercritical coal based power

project at Port Qasim has achieved

completion status of approximately

95% by end of this quarter.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Popular Cement plant

inaugurated in Sindh

A new cement player has entered

the market with the start of formal

inauguration of Popular Cement on

February 9, 2021. Formerly Dadabhoy

Cement Industries, the unit strategically

located in Nooriabad had been in

operational for 12 years after defaulting

with lenders. Popular Group acquired

the assets in 2018 after clearing all bank

dues and immediately initiated major

overhauling with investment in Coal

Mill, Clinker Process, Grind, Packaging

and Automation to completely upgrade

and modernize existing production

capacity of 2000 MT in the first phase.

Fauji Cement Company plans

Greenfield cement plant in DG Khan

Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL)

has informed Pakistan Stock Exchange

(PSX) that consequent

to construction activity

picking up and significant

spend on infrastructure,

expected to continue,

the Company’s board of

directors has decided to

invest in additional cement

capacity in the Country.

Accordingly, the Board of

Directors of FCCL, in its

meeting held on February 19, 2021,

has approved, subject to all regulatory

approvals, setting up of Greenfield

Cement Manufacturing Plant of 2.05

With the clinker and cement plant now

operational, value natural resources,

proximity to market and port have all

been unlocked. While a first foray

into the cement sector, Popular

Group has extensive operations

across Pakistan in food and aseptic

packaging, sugar, energy and

textiles.

A small ceremony was held by group

chairman Mr. Imamuddin Shouqeen

to mark the commissioning of the

cement plant which was inaugurated

BY Ms. Ayesha Aziz, Managing Director

of Pak Brunei Investment Company

Limited. The DFI partnered with

Popular Group in this project. Speaking

on the occasion, Ms. Aziz explained a

shorter route to industrialization was by

reviving viable assets that were shut

down or operating below capacity. To

make such acquisitions successful,

the need is for investors with a longterm

investment outlook, commitment

to value generation and strong credit

Million Tons per

annum at Dera

Ghazi Khan. The

equity portion of

the expansion will be funded through

Internal Cash Generation.

DG Khan Cement plans

Brownfield cement plant in DG Khan

DG Khan Cement Ltd, in communication

to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX),

briefed that concerning the Government

of Punjab’s permission for Expansion

of Existing Cement plant by adding

12,000 TPD brown filed cement line

No. 3 at Muza Khofli Sattai, Dera Ghazi

Khan. The Board of Directors of the

Company has decided to evaluate the

capacity of brown filed cement plant

ranging between 9,000 TPD to 12,000

TPD. Further details awaited.

The total project cost will be announced

after the conclusion of the negotiation

Meanwhile, D.G. Khan

Cement

Company

Limited

(DGKC) also released its

2QFY21 financial result

on February 19, posting a

profit after tax (PAT) of PKR

11,152mn (EPS: PKR 2.63),

compared to PKR 581mn

(EPS: PKR 1.33) in SPLY.

This took the 1HFY21

bottom-line to PKR 801mn

(EPS: PKR 1.83) vis-à-vis

loss of PKR 847mn (LPS:

history.

She pointed out this was a second

“dead” asset revived by Popular Group

in partnership with Pak Brunei. The

acquisition of National Sugar in Punjab

and also resulted in converting a sugar

mill that was in default with its bankers

in into the most preferred mill for

sugarcane growers in that district for

its prompt payment practice. As with

Popular Cement, the acquisition was

done after cleaning all outstanding loan

payments to banks without any write

off. Mr. Shouqeen explained that the

Group investment philosophy centered

around maximum appetite for Pakistan

risk. This is why the 50 years history

of the Group is marked with a series of

Greenfield projects in new areas. The

next big milestone is the commissioning

of the size 6000 MT p.a. aluminum

project that would cut down import of

Cold-Rolled foil in several sectors. This

would also be the first of its kind project

in Pakistan.

with the suppliers and contractors. The

project’s construction work is expected

to commence within the current

financial year and is expected to have a

construction period of about 2.5 years.

Currently, the Company is

targeting financial closed

by 31% March 2021,

Meanwhile, FCCL

announced its 2QFY21

financial result by posting

a profit after tax (PAT) of

PKR 905mn (EPS: PKR

0.66), compared to PKR

189mn (EPS: PKR 0.14)

during SPLY, depicting a

jump of 5x YoY. This took the 1HFY21

earnings to PKR 1,601mn (EPS: PKR

1.16), up by 3x YoY from PKR 482mn

(EPS: PKR 0.35) 1HFY20.

PKR 1.93) booked in SPLY.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Steel and Allied Industry

Pakistan Steel industry and expected profit

A leading research house expects that

Steel Universe (Comprising of three

top steelmakers in Pakistan) would

post a cumulative 2QFY21 NPAT of

PKR1,873mn, up 83% YoY. Overall

profitability is expected to rise due to

increased sales led by a broad-based

surge in demand from the construction

space, 2/3 wheelers and other

segments.

According to estimates of IMS

Research, ASTL and MUGHAL are

expected to post jump in revenues

amid higher volumes and a significant

rise in rebar prices (cost pass-on) up 20

% since Sept’20 higher RM cost (scrap/

HRC prices rose 19%/11% QoQ).

The analyst expects gross margins to

improve due to higher utilization and

a large inventory, at a lower cost, from

the previous quarter.

ISL’s top-line is expected to rise by

25% YoY in the backdrop of higher 2/3

wheelers’ sales ( up 12% QoQ and

16% YoY) and strong demand from

other segments. Margins are expected

to improve due to several price hikes

and improved international CRC-HRC

spreads during 2Q.

ASTL: Rise in volumes to lead to

improved earnings

We expect Amreli Steels (ASTL) to

post an NPAT of PKR200mn (EPS:

Agha Steel to install

2.25 MW solar power project

Agha Steel Industries, a leading Steel

rebar manufacturing company has

signed a contract with Renewable

Power Pvt. Ltd. for installing a 2.25

Megawatt solar power project at its

production facility located at Port Qasim

PKR0.67) for 2 QFY21, which will come

off a loss last year (LPS: PKR0.78)

while better than the previous quarter’s

result (1QFY21 EPS: PKR0.37). The

company is expected to improve

profitability for the 2nd consecutive

quarter with healthy gross margins

(11.2% expected during 2Q vs 7.9% in

SPLY). This is backed by (i) substantial

demand post easing of lockdowns, (ii)

no more electricity one-offs, and (iii)

ability to pass on any cost pressures

through price increments. Besides

our expectation of higher volumes

(courtesy rising construction activity

following government incentives),

earnings improvement also stems from

lower finance cost (drop in interest

rates to 7%), expected 40% lower YoY.

We maintain our Neutral stance on

ASTL with a June 2021 TP of PKR49.0/

sh.

MUGHAL: Robust local demand and

exports to lift margins

Mughal Steel (MUGHAL) is expected

to post a NPAT of PKR551mn (EPS:

PKR2.19) for 2 QFY21, compared to a

NPAT of PKR102mn (EPS: PKR0.41)

in SPLY. The expected earnings growth

emanates from higher sales, inspired

by increased cement dispatches during

2Q (up 17% QoQ and 12% YoY). Net

sales will grow by 34% YoY and 40%

QoQ due to (i) rise in rebar/girder

volumes, (ii) more significant exports of

Karachi. Meezan Bank Ltd

is the banking partner for

this transaction. This would

be among one of the largest

solar power projects installed by a steel

manufacturer in Pakistan.

The 2.25 Megawatt solar power project

would also reduce the carbon emission

by 46,000 tons in a lifespan of 20 years.

This solar power plant, being installed

on the self-consumption basis, will

produce around 3.3 million units of

clean and renewable electricity every

year, which will result in a significant

drop in the carbon footprint of Agha

Steel Industries. The company is

currently undergoing an expansion to

increase its rebar capacity to 650,000

copper, and (iii) increase in reasonable

finished prices. Gross margins are also

expected to improve by 1.6 ppt QoQ

to 12.8%. We hope MUGHAL to have

exported greater copper ingots during

2 Q as international copper prices

surged c.30% to over US$8,000/

ton. By our estimate, 1 ,500 tons/

quarter volumetric sales can have an

annualized EPS impact of PKR2.8. We

remain Neutral on MUGHAL with a TP

of PKR73/sh.

ISL: Healthy spreads amid the rise in

CRC/HDGC prices

Healthy demand from 2/3 wheelers (up

12% QoQ and 16% YoY) and other flat

steel reliant industries point towards

robust sales, where we expect ISL to

post 2QFY21 NPAT of PKR1,122mn

(EPS: PKR2.58) compared to a NPAT

of PKR118mn (EPS: PKR0.27) during

SPLY. We expect the top-line to rise

by 25% YoY, due to several price hikes

during the period. CRC-HRC spreads

also improved during the quarter,

averaging US$136/ton, up 69% QoQ.

We expect gross margins to clock in

at 12.6% (vs 8.9% during 1Q). We are

Neutral on ISL with a TP of PKR89/

sh. Underlying triggers for the stock

will be the resumption of sales to

the pipe-making industry (currently

disallowed under SRO641) and healthy

international spreads for a prolonged

period.

from current 250,000 tons per.

Electricity is a major component in steel

production and Agha Steel has decided

to bring down its production cost through

solar power production. It is estimated

that once Agha Steel installs MiDa

technology in September 2021, it would

reduce its electricity consumption by a

hefty 20% and its production losses in

terms of raw material would be reduced

by 8%.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Hussain

Agha CEO Agha Steel said “In line

with our Sustainable Development

Goals (SDG), it is our vision to

become Pakistan’s first green steel

manufacturer with zero reliance on

fossil fuels by 2025.


TRADE CHRONICLE

People & Events

Imran Maniar becomes MD

Sui Southern Gas Company

Imran Maniar becomes

Managing Director

of Sui Southern Gas

Company (SSGC). He

is an accomplished

professional with

more than 30 years

of strong track record

in building, leading

and advising private

equity and corporations in mergers

and acquisitions, restructurings,

turnarounds, capital market

transactions, logistics, upstream and

midstream operations, oil field and

engineering services.

PAK-QATAR Takaful holds

annual conference

Pak-Qatar Family Takaful held its Annual

Conference in Karachi to celebrate

2020’s exceptional performance and

to further align the team with strategic

Business Growth plans for 2021 and

beyond.

The conference was attended by Mr.

Said Gul, Member-Board of directors,

Mr. Zahid Awan, Member-Board of

He has been prolific in managing startups

and Fortune 500 companies

in North and Latin America,

Europe and Middle East.

Before joining SSGC, Imran Maniar

held CFO positions at Marquard and

Bahls AG, GL Noble Denton and Eagle

Ford Oil and Gas. He has also served

as Manager Strategic Planning at

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, Partner

at Millennium Ventures LLC and as an

Analyst at Solvay.

Imran Maniar has a BS in Industrial

Engineering from Purdue University,

an MBA from Rice University and has

received CFO training at the Stanford

Graduate School of Business. Early

schooling was at Karachi Grammar

School. Imran Maniar is a certified

public accountant in the State of

California

inception. The Takaful Distribution

Team performed very well across

Pakistan despite COVID-19 and is

fully motivated to achieve business

targets set for 2021”. He further stated

that, “much more coordinated efforts

and smart workings are required to

increase the number of memberships

and offer convenience. Mr. Said Gul

emphasized upon capturing digital

medium and using digital technology

with a customer-centric approach thus

terming it as the key to sustainable

Ali J Hamdani appointed

SNGPL MD

a period of three years.

S N G P L

Board of

Director has

appointed

Ali J

Hamdani as

Managing

Director of

Sui Northern

G a s

Pipelines

Limited

(SNGPL) for

Ali J Hamdani features more than

30 years experience in managing

international businesses particularly

in energy, power, water, chemical and

healthcare sectors. Prior to joining

SNGPL, he remained associated

with a number of leading international

companies including Siemens AG,

Linde Healthcare and Schneider

Electric.

He has a proven record of positioning

organizations for success, spurring

billion-dollar sales growth, leading

global initiatives, and demonstrating

a profound dedication to client

satisfaction.

Directors, Mr. Kamran Saleem, Director

Finance & Company Secretary, Mr.

Azeem Pirani, CEO, Pak-Qatar Family

Takaful along with senior management

of the company.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Said Gul

said, “It is indeed a day to celebrate

and I would like to congratulate my

team for their hard work and dedication

towards achieving 2020’s business

targets which has marked an all-time

high in the company’s history since

business growth and success.

CEO PQFTL, Mr. Azeem Pirani said:

“Pak-Qatar Family Takaful, as the first

and largest Family Takaful operator,

is viewed as the key influencer in the

progression and advancements in the

field of Islamic finance. Since inception

to a franchise that boasts more than

100 locations across 90+ cities in

Pakistan, is exceptional growth indeed

and something we are all extremely

proud of.

He has successfully led Siemens AG

Pakistan as CEO / Managing Director

and Board Member of operations

in Karachi. He has executed mega

automation programs for global

companies and implemented failsafe

technologies for 1200 wellhead

shutdown systems at Saudi Aramco Oil

and Gas Wells.

He has also set up technology

centre at Siemens Saudi Arabia, to

share best practices, optimize global

competitiveness, and open new project

opportunities.

Hamdani has an Executive Master of

Business Administration from Babson

College, and an Electrical / Electronic

Engineering Degree from the University

of Engineering and Technology.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Shahid Afridi becomes brand

ambassador for PROTON

With a resolute vision set ahead to

promote PROTON – The Malaysian

Automobile manufacturer in Pakistan,

Alhaj Automotive Private Limited in a

recently concluded ceremony roped

in flamboyant all-rounder and former

captain of the Pakistan cricket team,

Shahid Khan Afridi, as its corporate

brand ambassador.

During the signing ceremony, Shahid

Afridi ,while thanking Al- haj Automotive

Private Limited for the trust reposed on

him, said: “When people ask me about

my journey, the love and respect I have

earned on and off the cricketing field, I

Jahangir Khan becomes Ambassador

for HABIBMETRO Bank

HABIBMETRO signed squash world

champion Mr. Jahangir Khan as the

ambassador for its Roshan Digital

Account (RDA). The agreement was

signed between Mr. Jahangir Khan and

Mr. Mohsin Ali Nathani, the President

and CEO of HABIBMETRO Bank.

While speaking at the ceremony Mr.

Nathani said, “Mr. Khan is a legend

not only in Pakistan, but throughout

the world and it is an honor for

HABIBMETRO and Habib Bank AG

Zurich to have him as a satisfied

client as well as an ambassador for

our Roshan Digital Account.”

always say, Respect is purely an

outcome of all that I have done

over the years in representing my

Nation, and today it gives me great

pleasure and delight representing Alhaj

Automotive Private Limited in Pakistan

as I feel this brand has much value to

He added that RDA

will be a game

changer and will

prove to be a great

step for the banking industry and the

entire country. “HABIBMETRO takes

great pride in serving Pakistanis with

declared assets abroad as well as Non-

Resident Pakistanis who are an integral

offer to the Pakistani nation at large .”

The Chief Executive Officer of Alhaj

Automotive Private Limited – Mr.

Hilal Khan Afridi while gracing the

occasion with his presence said, “We

are privileged to have Shahid Afridi

as our brand ambassador, who is not

only an exemplary self-made cricketer,

but is also extremely versatile and

well respected by people across the

globe. His successful career is an

inspiration for our youth and resonates

with PROTON’s tagline ‘Inspiring

Connections’. We are confident that

with this association, we will be able to

connect with the large urban consumer

base especially the youth, across the

nook and corners of Pakistan”

part of the country’s economy,” he said.

While expressing his thoughts at

the event, Mr. Khan said, “I have

enjoyed a banking relationship with

HABIBMETRO and Habib Bank AG

Zurich for the last 40 years. I am

honored to be representing the Group

for the launch of their Roshan Digital

Account and to be one of the founding

account holders of the RDA at the

Bank.”

HABIBMETRO Bank operates with a

growing network of 400+ branches in

more than 135 cities across Pakistan.

The Bank is a subsidiary of Habib

Bank AG Zurich, which has a global

presence in 10 countries across 4

continents.

NBP, Al-Ghazi Tractors

sign MoU

A Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) has been signed between

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)

and Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd (Al-Ghazi)

for collaboration between the two

organizations for development and

promotion of farm mechanization on a

nationwide basis.

The objectives of this MoU include

increased possibility of disbursement

of institutional credit for tractors,

implements i.e. cultivators, disk

harrows, rotavators, combine

harvesters etc to eligible farmers

and service providers, improved

capacity building of farmers for

adoption of mechanized farming in

Pakistan, improved financial literacy

of farmers and entrepreneurs with

a view to encourage them to avail

credit from NBP.

NBP and Al-Ghazi will cooperate to

identify and carry out joint marketing

activities to support tractor purchases

by farmers. Such activities may

include joint sales calls to prospective

customers and trade show / seminar

support and participation.

Abid Zuberi elected PBC

member from Sindh

Senior lawyer

Barrister

Abid Shahid

Zuberi has

been elected

as member

Pakistan Bar

Council from

Sindh.

Abid Shahid

Zuberi is a leading lawyer. He had

served as president and secretary of

Sindh High Court Bar Association.

Other senior lawyers who have also

been elected members Pakistan Bar

Council from Sindh are Shahab Sarki,

Farooq H Naik, Shahadat Awan, Yousuf

Leghari and Riasat Sehar.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President FPCCI presenting

FPCCI Crest to Brig. Syed Waqar Haider Rizvi,

Commander Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF)

Ahmed Bozai becomes

Country Officer of Citibank

Pakistan

Citi has announced Ahmed Bozai

as the new Citi Country Officer

(CCO) for its business in Pakistan.

As CCO, Ahmed will assume overall

responsibility for driving Citi’s business

in the country, and will report to Elissar

Farah Antonios who has been recently

appointed as the Head of Citi’s Middle

East and North Africa (MENA) cluster.

Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President

FPCCI presenting FPCCI Crest to Brig.

Syed Waqar Haider Rizvi, Commander

Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on his

visit at FPCCI Head Office Karachi.

Muhammad Athar Sultan Chawla,

Muhammad Arif Yousaf Jeewa, Vice

Presidents FPCCI, Khurram Ijaz,

Altaf Agha elected Karachi

Gymkhana’s president

In the election of Karachi Gymkhana

held on February 21, Altaf Hussain

Agha became the President of the

Club, by taking the majority of votes.

Immediate past VP FPCCI, Shabbir

Mansha, Convener FPCCI SC on

Custom, Khalid Amin, Senior member,

Rehan Mehtaab Chawla, Major.

Riaz Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and

Muhammad Ayub Deputy Director Anti-

Narcotics Force (ANF) are also seen in

the picture.

The following 11 members were also

elected in the Managing Committee:

Jan Mohammad Dadabhoy, Khizra

Munir, Nadia Dada Baig, Sarwat Sultan

Chandio, Saleem Yousuf, Akhtar

Muneer, Ather Ali Khan, Saqib Naseem,

Adeel Javed, Asim Adil Shah and Sara

Noman.

Administrator Karachi assures full support to business

community

Until recently, Ahmed was the Chief

Operating Officer for the EMEA

Emerging Markets (EMEA EM) cluster

based out of Dubai.

“I am delighted to return to Pakistan

after almost twenty years, and

particularly excited with this opportunity

to lead Citi’s franchise,” commented

Ahmed on his appointment.

PIA and Nadra sign MoU

for verification, financial

services

President KATI Saleem-uz-Zaman

presenting shield to Administrator

Karachi Laeeq Ahmed. At the occasion

Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, Zubair

Chhaya, Zaki Ahmed Sharif, Nighat

Awan, Masood Naqi, Umer Rehan and

Danish Khan are also present.

Pakistan International Airlines and

National Database and Registration

Authority inked a memorandum of

understanding at PIA office, paving

the way for PIA to acquire online

verification services, business process

automation, and payment gateway

services, considered as core specialties

of Nadra. Prior understandings were

developed between the two teams that

worked very hard to bring two national

organizations together for the benefit

and convenience of PIA customers.

The MOU was signed by CEO PIA Air

Marshal Arshad Malik and Chairman

Nadra Usman Mobeen.


TRADE CHRONICLE

KCCI Pictorial News

Islamabad, KP region:

Former SSP Jamil Elected

IPA Chairman

Former Senior Superintendent

of Police

(SSP) Jamil Hashmi

has been elected

as chairman of

International Police

Association (IPA) for

Islamabad and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

region for 2021-2025.

President Karachi Chamber of

Commerce & Industry M. Shariq Vohra

presenting crest to Advisor to Chief

Minister Sindh on Law, Environment,

Climate Change and Coastal

Development Barrister Murtaza Wahab

during his visit to KCCI to attend


Commerce & Industry (KCCI) M. Shariq

Vohra presenting crest to Director

General Frontier Works Organization

(FWO) Maj. Gen. Kamal Azfar during

his visit to KCCI. Vice Chairman


Commerce & Industry M. Shariq Vohra

and Regional Head B2B Sales Jazz

Asim Irshad signing a Memorandum

of Understanding at KCCI for providing

35 percent discount to KCCI members

national symposium of Solid Waste

Management. Secretary Environment

Muhammad Aslam Ghauri, Senior Vice

President KCCI Saqib Goodluck and

Vice President KCCI Shamsul Islam

Khan are also seen in the picture.

Businessmen Group & Former

President KCCI Haroon Farooki, Senior

Vice President Saqib Goodluck, Vice

President KCCI Shamsul Islam Khan

and other FWO officials are also seen

in the picture.

on bill amount excluding tax. Senior

Vice President M. Saqib Goodluck,

Vice President Shamsul Islam Khan,

Regional Business Head/ VP Jazz Ali

Fahad Ahmad and others are also seen

in the picture.

The former Superintendent of Police

(SP) Rawalpindi Chaudhry Hanif was

elected as vice chairman, Deputy

Superintendent of Police (DSP) Crime

Investigation Agency (CIA) Hakim

Khan was elected as secretary, and

Khalid Awan DSP Sabzi Mandi was

elected as treasurer of Islamabad and

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region.

Amer Pasha joins Nutshell

Communications

Amer Pasha, a

seasoned professional

joins Nutshell

Communications as

Chief of Strategy &

Planning.

Amer’s forte lies

specifically in the digital payments

and FMCG industry. Till recently he

was based in Dubai with Visa Inc

and responsible for strategic sales

management for the CEMEA (Central

Europe, Middle East & Africa) region.

The Nutshell Communications was

established the Nutshell Forum

many years ago and made it the

most successful conference & event

management organization in Pakistan.

Bilal Akbar new envoy

to KSA

Prime Minister Imran

Khan has reportedly

appointed Lt Gen

Bilal Akbar (retired)

as Pakistan’s new

ambassador to Saudi

Arabia.

Lt Gen Bilal Akbar

(retired) served as chairman Pakistan

Ordnance Factory, Wah Cantt, prior to

his retirement in December 2020.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Automobile News

Master Changan Motors

unveils price of new

Sedan Alsvin

Master Changan Motors has unveiled

the price of its All-New Smart Sedan

‘Alsvin’.

Unveiling the retail price of the

Changan Alsvin; a ‘smart sedan’,

Danial Malik, CEO Master Changan

said, “It is not a cheap car, but the

value that is being offered is much

higher than its price. The Alsvin brings

the Pakistani consumer international

level built quality and safety standards,

from our state-of-the-art plant which

has been designed to become the RHD

export hub for Changan vehicles from

Pakistan to the world.”

The 1.37L 5-speed Manual

Transmission is priced at Rs2,199,000,

1.5L 5-speed Dual-clutch Automatic

Transmission at Rs2,399,000 and

the top-of-the-line 1.5L LUMIERE at

Rs2,549,000.

All prices are ex-dealer which means

customers in Peshawar and Karachi

both can buy at the same price, without

paying any extra freight cost, he added.

Commenting on the pricing strategy,

Shabbir Uddin, Director Sales and

Marketing said, “The starting price

is even less than many hatchbacks

available in Pakistan whether locally

assembled or imported from Japan.

Whereas the price of 1.5L DCT

LUMIERE is around the same as

the stripped-down models of other

subcompact sedans assembled

locally.”

January 2021: New-year seasonality pushes sales over

17k units for the first time since FY19!

In January 2021, the Auto industry

sales witnessed a sharp 26% mom

and 46% yoy rise to 17,515 units (last

seen in June 2019), largely attributed

to New year seasonal effect. This was

led by the Premium segment (INDU

and HCAR), which rose c.40% mom.

This took 7MFY21 industry sales to

c.97,000 units, up 23% yoy. PSMC

sales witnessed a c.20% mom increase

in January to c.9,000 units, amid a lift in

Wagon R and Alto sales.

Among INDU sales Yaris sales saw a

sharp 2.1x mom

increase, while

Corolla sales

fell 15% mom.

We believe that

the increase in

Yaris volumes

is largely due to

the improvement

in supply chain,

leading to a ramp

up in production. INDU is set to launch

the Corolla Cross CBU in February,

while the new Corolla facelift (X

package) may boost sales for Corolla,

in our view.

HCAR sold c.2,500 units in January,

with Civic and City sales of 2,063 units,

up 35% mom while up a modest 10%

yoy. BR-V sales rose a sharp 65%

mom and 17% yoy to 387 units.

PSMC’s Wagon R sales rose a sharp

40% mom to 1,316 units (highest

monthly sales during the 7M period),

while the sales of the Alto rose 30%

mom. We understand from channel

Hyundai-Nishat will commence

double-shift: CEO

The Hyundai-Nishat is going to

commence a double-shift to boost its

production by 100 percent during the

first quarter of 2021. This was stated by

Hyundai-Nishat CEO Hassan Mansha,

here on Tuesday. Mansha said the

country’s economy was on the path

to stability and recovery, with LSM

including the automotive industry playing

its part and added that the acceptance

checks that the 23% mom decline in

Cultus sales was majorly due to the

supply constraints at Asian ports and

subdued demand due to potential

increase in Picanto sales, in our view.

We expect PSMC sales to remain

robust during CY21, where the impact

on sales from new entrants, such as

the recently launched Changan Alsvin

sedan is likely to be moderate.

Tractor industry recorded sales of

5,209 units, up a sharp 57% mom and

2.4x yoy. AGTL sales rose to 1,347

units in January

(vs. 345 units last

month). Sales of

MTL were up 30%

mom and c.3x yoy

to 3,862 units.

We expect tractor

sales to continue

the momentum

in the coming

months due to

improvement in farmers’ income,

where MTL sales may also rise with an

increase in tractor exports.

Sales for Hyundai clocked in at 515

units in January (flat mom) due to

flattish mom sales for both the Tucson

and H-100 Porter. Hyundai sales may

have sustained the 500 units level due

to smoothening out of supply-chain

issues, in our view, as the management

indicated ramping up production by

100% from January. According to

channel checks, we understand that

Kia sales also saw a big jump, as KLM

has started operating on a double-shift

basis from January.

and appreciation the Pakistani

people have shown towards

Hyundai has been nothing short

of overwhelming. Therefore, he

assured that Hyundai-Nishat had no

intention of slowing down now and

planning to boost its production by 100

percent through double shift during the

first quarter of 2021. Moreover, he said

Hyundai-Nishat was also investing in

capacity enhancements which shall

further increase its capacity by the end

of second quarter of 2021.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Indus Motor Declares Rs 4.8 billion

profit after tax for 1HFY20-21

The Board of Directors of Indus

Motor Company (IMC) released its

financial results for the half-year ended

December 31, 2020.

IMC’s combined sales of Completely

Knocked Down (CKD) and Completely

Built-up Units (CBU) units increased

by 82% to 26,362 units against 14,453

units sold in the same period last

year. The Company produced 26,383

vehicles, registering an 81 % increase,

as compared to 14,555 units produced

in the same period last year. IMC’s

market share in the overall market

stood at approximately 24.7% for the

half year ended December 31, 2020.

The Company’s net sales turnover

for the half year ended December 31,

2020, increased to Rs. 79.65 billion

as compared to Rs. 42.78 billion, for

the same period last year, while profit

after tax increased to Rs. 4.8 billion as

against Rs. 2.3 billion achieved in the


The increase in turnover and

profitability for the half-year period was

mainly owing to higher CKD and CBU

volumes, and increased other income

due to improved cash flows. However,

cost increases mainly due to Rupee

devaluation eroded the gross profit

margin to 7.55% against 8.81% in


The Company experienced an

overwhelming response to Toyota Yaris

in the first, as well as second quarter of

fiscal year 2020-21 which contributed

to volume increase in Passenger Car

segment. Moreover, Fortuner TRD

variant was launched in

October 2020 which too

was well received by

customers.

The Earnings Per Share of the Company

for half year ended December 31, 2020

stood at Rs.61.08 as compared to Rs.

29.32 reported during the same period

last year. The Board of Directors with

pleasure, have declared second interim

cash dividend of Rs. 25 per share for

the half year ended December 31,

2020, compared to Rs. 6 per share, for

the same period last year.

Expressing his views, CEO IMC, Ali

Asghar Jamali, stated, “Overall, the

automobile industry is clearly bouncing

back. The economic upturn following

the gloom and despair hovering

over the auto industry during the

COVID-19 lockdown, owes itself to

the Government’s timely decision to

ease the lockdown and introduction

of favourable policies. Reduction in

interest rates has been another factor

that led to an increase in auto financing,

bolstering consumer confidence.”

He further added, “We thank our

valued customers who have always

placed their trust in our products, as

well as all our employees, stakeholders

and shareholders for their sustained

support.”

During the period, the Company

received accolades, winning the “Most

Outstanding Company in Pakistan

2020 (Automobiles and Component

Sector)” awarded by Asiamoney, and

the “Best Sustainability Report Award

2019” conferred by the Joint Committee

of Institute of Chartered Accountants

of Pakistan and Institute of Cost and

Management Accountants of Pakistan.

Lucky Motor Corporation

Ltd (Kia Lucky Motors) will

soon launch Kia Sorento

The company (KLM) invited analysts

yesterday at the plant in Port Qasim,

to showcase the new SUV model (7

seater) called the Kia Sorento.

Key Takeaways:

The Kia Sorento is expected to be

launched on 19 February, with 3

variants – 2.4L FWD, 2.4L AWD and

3.5L FWD. We suspect the price range

could be PKR7.0-9.0mn (according

to market sources), which will directly

face off against the Toyota Fortuner

(2.7/2.8L, price range PKR7.7-9.2mn).

Assuming similar unit sales as the

Fortuner (average 1HFY21 monthly

sales of c.240 units), we estimate that

the Sorento may contribute roughly

PKR20bn to KLM’s annual topline

(about 25% of existing revenues).

KLM has become the fourth largest

OEM in Pakistan by sales. It has a

plant capacity of 50,000 units per

annum, and is presently operating

on a double-shift basis (from January

2021). The Sorento will consist of six

airbags (the most available in a locally

assembled car) and will be the biggest

locally produced vehicle in Pakistan in

terms of engine displacement (with the

largest panoramic sunroof).

With the outgoing Auto policy expiring

in June 2021, we expect that KLM

may launch at least two other vehicles

before June, in order to avail the tax

benefits from the policy.

To recall, during 1HFY21, KLM

generated revenues of c.PKR44bn,

surpassing that of HCAR (c.PKR37bn),

while outselling the latter during

January. Kia churned an operating

margin of c.8% during 1HFY21, which

so far is the highest amongst the Auto

OEMs (based on Dec 2020 quarter

results released so far).


TRADE CHRONICLE

Banking & Insurance

NBP recorded highest ever after

tax profit in its history

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) said its

net profit for the year ended December

31, 2020 jumped 83.7 to Rs30.58

billion (EPS: Rs14.33), from Rs16.64

billion (EPS: Rs7.79) recorded in 2019,

mainly owing to its post-crisis recovery

strategy. The bank in a statement said

despite the challenging times, the NBP

recorded highest ever after tax profit in

its history.

“Gross mark-up/interest income closed

7.7 percent higher year-on-year at

Rs257.81 billion (2019: Rs239.48

billion); whereas the interest/markup

expense amounted to Rs153.66

billion, of which Rs103.38 billion or

67.3 percent was paid to the

depositors,” the statement said.

Despite reduced economic

activity during the year, the

bank succeeded in maintaining

its non-mark-up/non-interest

earning stream at Rs36.08

billion (2019: Rs36.20 billion).

Accordingly, total revenue of the

Bank closed 29.7 percent up

year-on-year at Rs140.23 billion

(2019: Rs108.11 billion).

As the operating and other

UBL full-year profit rises 9.3pc

to Rs20.78 billion

United Bank Limited (UBL) has

announced a net profit of Rs20.78

billion from continued operations for

the year ended December 31, 2020,

which is 9.3 percent higher than the

profit of Rs19.04 billion recorded in the

previous year.

The earnings per share (EPS) clocked

in at Rs17.12 in 2020 compared with

EPS of Rs16.6 in 2019. UBL also

declared a cash dividend of Rs9.5/

share, which was in addition to the

interim dividend of Rs2.5/share already

paid to the shareholders, a bourse filing

said recently.

Syed Nauman at Insight Securities

said, “The result is above expectations

mainly attributable to lower than

expenses dropped by 4.2

percent down year-onyear

by closing at Rs63.11

billion, the cost-to-income

ratio improved from 60.9 percent in

2019 to 45.0 percent in 2020.

Profit before provision closed 82.5

percent up at PKR 77.12 billion (2019:

Rs42.25 billion).

“The bank is more vigilantly monitoring

its credit portfolio by moving from

incurred to expected credit loss

approach,” it said in the statement.

Net interest income of the bank settled

at Rs104.37 billion during 2020,

increasing by an impressive 45 percent

compared with Rs72.15 billion in 2019.

estimated drop in net interest

income in fourth quarter, lower

provision charges and lower

effective taxation of 35 percent.”

The bank has booked a loss from

discontinued operations (UBL

Tanzania) worth Rs16 million during

2020 compared to a loss of Rs1.2

billion in 2019.

Net interest income declined 21.6

percent to Rs77.07 billion in

2020 compared with income

of Rs63.34 billion recorded in

2019.

“Net interest income surged

attributable to significant rate

cuts of 625bps by the central

bank during the year, which

helped sharply reduce deposit

costs,” a report issued by Arif

“Total non-interest income of the

bank showed no major change as

higher capital gain (265 percent) was

countered by lower fee income (-4.5

percent), dividend income (-40 percent),

foreign exchange income (-32 percent)

and 32 percent lower other income,” an

analyst at Arif Habib Limited said.

According to management, bank

skipped a dividend this year in order

to be prepared to incur the pension

expense. The bank said its end of

year total assets closed at Rs3,008.53

billion, 3.7 percent lower than 2019,

which it attributed to a reduction of

Rs333.22 billion in the money market

borrowings in line with our prudent

funding & liquidity strategy.

Furthermore capital and reserves stood

at Rs267.56 billion i.e. Rs34.9

billion were 15.0 percent up from

Rs232.62 billion on December

31, 2019.

The bank said it was executing

a post-crisis recovery strategy

on how to continue playing

its systemically important

role in economy and serve

its customers, while also

maintaining a strong and

resilient balance sheet to deliver

performance for shareholders.

Habib Limited noted. Total non-interest

income declined 20 percent to Rs18.8

billion in 2020 compared with Rs23.5

billion in 2019.

Decline in non-interest income is

mainly due to 18 percent decline in

fee income, 19 percent dip in foreign

exchange income and 22 percent lower

dividend income. The bank booked net

capital gains on securities worth Rs610

million, marking a 182 percent jump.


TRADE CHRONICLE

MCB Bank posts highest ever PBT

of Rs. 48.25 billion for the year 2020

The Board of Directors of MCB

Bank Limited (MCB) met under the

Chairmanship of Mian Mohammad

Mansha, on February 10, 2021

to review the performance of the

Bank and approve the financial

statements for the year ended

December 31, 2020. The Board of

Directors has declared final cash

dividend of Rs. 15.0 per share

i.e. 150% bringing the total cash

dividend for the year ended 2020

to 200%.

With strong build up in core

earnings, MCB’s Profit After Tax

(PAT) for the year ended December 31,

2020, posted a growth of 21% to reach

Rs. 29.04 billion; translating into an

Earning Per Share (EPS) of Rs. 24.5

against an EPS of

Rs. 20.23 posted

last year 2019.

On the financial position side, the

total asset base of the Bank on an

unconsolidated basis was reported at

Rs. 1.76 trillion depicting an increase

of 16% over December 2019. Analysis

of the asset mix highlights that net

investments increased by Rs. 267

billion (36%) whereas due to subdued

domestic demand gross advances

decreased by Rs. 26.5 billion (-5%)

over December 2019. However, gross

advances increased by Rs 19.9 billion

in last quarter of 2020.

The Non-performing loan (NPLs)

base of the Bank recorded an

increase of Rs. 1.77 billion and was

reported at Rs. 51.19 billion.

MCB has been declared the

Overall Most Outstanding

Company in Pakistan – 2020

and Most Outstanding Company

– Financials Sector in Pakistan –

2020 by Asiamoney, an associate

of Euromoney. The Annual report

of MCB Bank has also been adjudged

1st by ICAP/ICMAP in the financial

sector category. MCB has won this

award 10 times in last 11 years with 8

consecutive wins.

HBL’s PAT doubles

to Rs30.9bn

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has declared

a consolidated profit after tax (PAT)

of Rs 30.9 billion for the year ended

December 31, 2020. In other words,

bank’s PAT doubled as compared to

the same period of 2019.

Profit before tax recorded a growth

of 84 percent over 2019 to Rs 53.0

billion. Along with the results, the Board

of Directors of the Bank declared a

final cash dividend for the year ended

December 31, 2020 at Rs 3.00 per

share i.e. 30 percent.

HBL grew its domestic deposits by a

phenomenal Rs 400 billion, with market

share increasing to over 14 percent.

An increase of over Rs 100 billion in

current and more than over Rs 200

billion in savings accounts resulted

in strong CA and CASA ratios of 35.0

percent and 86.6 percent respectively;

HBL’s total deposits increased to

Rs 2.8 trillion. Domestic advances

crossed a landmark of Rs 1.0 trillion

and the consumer lending portfolio,

in particular, showed an excellent

performance, crossing Rs 75 billion.

Commenting on the Bank’s

performance, Muhammad Aurangzeb,

President and CEO, HBL said, “The

Bank had a stellar year in which

all key indicators remained on an

upward trajectory, and the domestic

franchise delivered record profits. The

international business has also shown

signs of a turnaround in the fourth

quarter of 2020 with revenues trending

upward. Moreover, HBL is actively

working on financial inclusion initiatives

through significant investments in

technology and digitalization efforts.

Meezan Bank announces financial

results for 2020

The Board of Directors of Meezan

Bank Limited in its meeting, held

on February 18, 2021 approved the

audited financial statements of the

Bank for the year ended December 31,

2020. The meeting was presided by

Riyadh S.A. A. Edrees - Chairman of

the Board, Faisal A. A. A. Al - Nassar

– Vice Chairman of the Board was also

present.

The Bank recorded excellent results for

the year ended on December 31, 2020

with Profit after tax of Rs22.17 billion

as compared to Rs15.23 billion in the

corresponding period last year – an

impressive growth of 46%. EPS of the

Bank increased to Rs15.67 per share

against Rs10.77 per share in December

2019 on the enhanced

capital of Rs14.147 billion

The Board approved 20%

(Rs2.00 per share) final

cash dividend for the year, bringing

the total payout for the year to 60%

(Rs6.00 per share) as 40% (Rs4.00 per

share) interim cash dividend was paid

in addition to 10% bonus shares issued

during the year.

Deposits of the Bank closed at Rs1.25

trillion – 35% up from December

2019. Meezan Bank is now the fifth

largest bank in Pakistan in terms of

deposits. The Bank has a network of

815 branches and 880 ATMs in 248

cities across the country and its Mobile

Banking App has been consistently

ranked as the No.1 Mobile Banking

App in Pakistan by both Apple Store

and Google Play Store.

ABL’s PAT elevates to

Rs18.029bn, registering

28pc growth

Under the challenging and competitive

operating environment owing to

Covid-19 pandemic, Allied Bank Limited

(ABL) sustained focus on its long-term

multi-pronged strategy driven towards

continuous augmentation of innovative

technology-based products and service

offerings to customers through enhancing

digital touch points, strengthening risk

management and optimizing operating

efficiencies.

Sharp decline in interest rates led the

average policy rate to shrink to 8.95

percent in December 2020 as compared

to 11.98 percent in December 2019.

Consequently, positive volume variance

of earning assets has been fully offset

by negative rate variance of mark-up

bearing assets


TRADE CHRONICLE

Bank Alfalah maintained operating

profit at Rs. 25.5 billion

The Board of Directors of Bank Alfalah

Limited in its meeting held on February

3, 2021, approved the Bank’s audited

financial statements for the year ended

December 31, 2020.

The Bank reported an operating profit

of Rs. 25.468 billion, marginally higher

than last year, despite lockdown in

the country and the 625 bps drop in

policy rate during the year. Subjective

provisioning and general provision

buildup against advances contained

Faysal Bank wins ‘Best

Emerging Bank 2020’ Award

Faysal Bank Limited, a leading

commercial and Islamic bank of

profit after tax at Rs.

10.475 billion, which

translates into earnings

per share of Rs. 5.89

(2019: Rs. 7.15).

Total deposits and gross advances

were reported at Rs. 881.767 billion

and Rs. 600.899 billion, growing by

12.7% and 13.4% respectively. Gross

advances to deposits ratio stood at

68.1%. CASA ratio improved to 79.8%,

while the current account mix reached

a high of 46.6%. We continued to

support our credit clients throughout

this challenging period. The Bank

has non-performing advances of Rs.

25.860 billion and the NPL ratio stands

at 4.3%. Provision coverage ratio

increased to 91.2% at year end.

Net markup income was Rs. 44.705

billion, flat versus the prior-year, with

the impact of lower rates and certain

Pakistan, has been accoladed with

the “Best Emerging Bank 2020”

award at the 5th Pakistan Banking

Awards (PBA) ceremony held in

Karachi recently. As the fastest growing

Islamic bank in Pakistan offering a

complete range of Islamic

banking products and

services. For the last few

years, Faysal Bank has been

on a transformation journey

and having successfully

achieved the milestone of

500 Islamic branches out

of its branch network of 576

is currently on track to the

largest Islamic conversion

in banking history.

Covid related actions offset by balance

sheet growth and a favourable assetliability

mix. Non-markup revenue was

Rs. 12.795 billion, up by 23.5%, with

sizable contribution from capital gains

on government securities. Fee and

commission income remained muted

due to lower transaction volumes,

revenue recognition in line with IFRS 15

which requires deferral of fee income

over the contract period and regulatory

waivers of branch and digital banking

fees.

Non-markup expense was Rs. 32.032

billion, with growth contained at 7.3%.

The main cost drivers were higher staff

costs, IT support and maintenance

fee, and the full year impact of new

branches opened last year, along with

the overall impact of inflation. Thus the

cost to income ratio of the Bank was

reported at 54.7%, slightly higher than

last year.

TPL wins 9 awards

TPL, Pakistan’s leading technology

driven conglomerate, won nine awards

at the ‘10th Annual Corporate Social

Responsibility Summit & Awards 2021’,

held at the Marriot Hotel, Karachi.

Faysal Islami launches ‘Noor’ Card: A shariah compliant

alternative to conventional credit cards

Faysal Bank Limited, Pakistan’s fastest

growing Islamic Bank has launched

“Noor” Card – a Shariah compliant

alternative to conventional credit

cards, facilitating its Islamic banking

consumers with a range of benefits and

Halal offers across various categories

of spend – powered by Mastercard.

Taking the different needs of its

customers into account, the Faysal

Islami Noor card is available across

several variants, from Platinum to

Titanium, with each providing different

levels of added benefits and features

to cardholders for exclusive shopping,

dining and traveling experiences.

Inching closer on its journey to complete

Islamic conversion, Faysal Islami Noor

is Pakistan’s first Islamic card based

on Shariah principle of Tawarruq with

3D Secure, contactless payment

and transaction services, leading its

consumers to a hallway of premium

Islamic lifestyle while also keeping their

convenience of everyday life in check.

Commenting on this achievement

of another milestone, Mr. Tahir

Yaqoob Bhatti, Faysal Bank’s

Head of Retail Banking, said,

“The launch of Faysal Islami Noor

card reaffirms our commitment to

achieving leadership in providing

Shariah-compliant financial and

payment services to our customers.

The launch of ‘Noor’ sets sail to a

trailblazing initiative to the Bank’s

credit, transforming the experience

of Islamic banking customers. Now,

Noor Card customers can use this

Shariah compliant card with complete

satisfaction and peace of mind, availing

a range of distinct reward systems

and premium benefits within the strict

umbrella of Shariah compliant banking

practices and principles.”


TRADE CHRONICLE

Golootlo and BankIslami partner

for PayPak Loyalty Program

Decagon Pakistan Pvt Ltd. (Golootlo)

has entered into an agreement with

BankIslami, which will allow the bank’s

PayPak debit card customers to

seamlessly access Golootlo discounts

nationwide as part of the PayPak

TPL Insurance, Pakistan’s first direct

insurance Company, has entered

into a strategic partnership with

Let’s Compare. An MoU was signed

between the two companies at the TPL

Insurance Head Office in Karachi.

The partnership aims to digitize the

end-to-end experience of purchasing

insurance. Let’s

Compare, allows

users to research,

compare and buy

insurance products

online to make wellinformed

decisions.

Following the

agreement, TPL’s

Loyalty Program.

Customers with PayPak

EMV Debit Cards issued

by BankIslami will now be able to

swipe their cards and avail a range

of discounts at more than 18,000

merchants.

Chairing the agreement signing

was Mr. Fahad Mehmood - CEO,

Decagon, and Mr. Bilal Fiaz - Group

Head Consumer Banking, BankIslami

Pakistan. Furthermore, the signing

was also overseen by Mr. Amir Ali -

President & CEO, BankIslami Pakistan,

Mr. Majid Bashir - Chairman, Decagon,

Mr. Najeeb Agrawala – CEO, 1LINK

and Mr. Moin Khan-Brand Ambassador,

BankIslami Pakistan.

TPL Insurance collaborates with Let’s Compare

to provide insurance products

TPL Insurance partners with Sastaticket

to provide travel insurance services

TPL Insurance, Pakistan’s first Direct

Insurance Company, has partnered

with Sastaticket, a one-stop-shop for

all travel-related services, based in

Karachi. Following

the partnership,

customers will have

access to TPL’s

Travel Insurance

products while they

compare airline

and hotel prices

on Sastaticket.

pk. Additionally,

Sastaticket

customers will get

coverage of up to Rs.

Auto, Travel and Health Insurance

policies and fastest claim services will

be made accessible to customers on

the platform, promoting transparency

and convenience

Present at the ceremony from TPL

Insurance, were Syed Kazim Hasan,

DMD, Muhammad Wasif Ali, Head of

Business Solutions

and Faraz Mehmood,

Team Lead, Digital

Sales and Alliances.

Representing Let’s

Compare were

Junaid Khan, CEO

and Hassan Shafiq,

COO.

100,000 , including

protection against

accidental death,

permanent total

disability, medical

evacuation and loss of baggage and

CNIC.

Khushhali Microfinance

Bank wins best

Microfinance Bank

for 2020

Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited is

pleased to announce the award of the

‘Best Microfinance Bank’ in Pakistan

for the third consecutive year by The

Institute of Bankers Pakistan. This

is a testament to the performance of

Khushhali Microfinance Bank over the

years. The honour has been bestowed

upon Khushhali Microfinance Bank

Limited on the occasion of 5th Pakistan

Banking Awards 2020, with knowledge

partners AF Ferguson and media

partners Dawn Media Group. Khushhali

Microfinance Bank is the largest

microfinance bank in Pakistan providing

access to financial services to the lowincome

& marginalized segments of the

population across Pakistan.

Dubai Islamic Bank joins

Pakistan’s Roshan Digital

Account initiative

Dubai Islamic Bank

– the World’s First

Islamic bank – joined

the Roshan Digital

Account (RDA)

initiative of the State

Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a ceremony

with Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir,

as the Chief Guest. Headquartered

in Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)

has the distinction of being the largest

Islamic bank in the UAE market and the

second largest in the world by assets,

which reflects its global strength.

DIB has a global presence across

seven countries (UAE, Pakistan,

Kenya, Indonesia, Turkey, Sudan &

Bosnia).

Roshan Digital Account has shown

impressive results in the short period

of five months since it was launched

to digitally connect Overseas

Pakistanis with Pakistan’s banking

and payments system. Over $550

million in remittances has already been

generated and over 90,000 accounts

opened, and the momentum has been

rising in the last few months.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Telecommunication News

JazzCash and KASB Securities join

hands to promote retail investment

JazzCash, Pakistan’s leading digital

payments platform, and KASB

Securities, the country’s leading

brokerage firm, have signed a

Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) to promote retail investment by

easing access to investment products

and stock market trading. The MoU

was signed by Erwan

Gelebart, CEO,

JazzCash and Ali Farid

Khwaja, Chairman,

KASB Securities during a

ceremony at the Pakistan

Stock Exchange (PSX)

today.

As per the MoU, KASB

Securities will assist

JazzCash in offering its

customer’s investment

access to stocks,

exchange-traded funds,

gold, government bonds

and mutual funds.

JazzCash will also work

towards integrating

KASB Securities’ popular

investment application, KTrade, and

KASB Varsity, a financial education

platform. These new services will

be available to JazzCash customers

through its app in the second quarter of

this year.

Jazz wins contract for providing Broadband services

in Jhelum and Chakwal Districts

Zong announces prepaid

international roaming

package for UAE

Continuing to serve the changing

connectivity needs of its customers,

Pakistan’s leading cellular and digital

services provider, Zong 4G, has now

introduced the UAE international

roaming package for its prepaid

customers.

The UAE Prepaid Bundle gives the

subscribers 250 Minutes, 250 SMS,

and 2GB of data with a validity period

of seven days for just Rs 2999+Tax.

The offer can be activated by dialling

*4255# or *964# or via Zong online

shop at https://www.zong.com.pk/

onlineshop/ir-bundles.

USF awards contract

to Telenor Pakistan

The Universal Service Fund (USF)

awarded contract worth approximately

PKR 254 Million to Jazz for providing

High Speed Mobile Broadband

services in rural and remote areas

of Punjab. Federal Minister for IT

and Telecommunication, Syed Amin

Ul Haque and Federal Minister for

Science and Technology, Fawad

Chaudhry witnessed the contract

signing ceremony held at the Ministry of

IT and Telecommunication, Islamabad

recently.

The contracts were signed by Haaris

Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF with

Aamir Ibrahim, CEO Jazz. The Federal

Secretary for IT & Telecommunication

and Chairman USF Board, Shoaib

Ahmad Siddiqui, and Chairman PTA,

Major General (R) Amir Azeem Bajwa

were also present at the ceremony.

The Universal Service Fund (USF)

awarded contract worth approximately

PKR 1.37 Billion to Telenor for providing

High Speed Mobile Broadband services in

Chitral, Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts

of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Federal

Minister for IT and Telecommunication,

Syed Amin Ul Haque and Special

Assistant to the Prime Minister on

Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis &

HRD, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari

witnessed the contract signing ceremony

held at the USF Office, Islamabad on

Wednesday. The contracts were signed

by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO,

USF with Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO

Telenor. The Federal Secretary for IT &

Telecommunication and Chairman USF

Board, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, and

Chairman PTA, Major General (R) Amir

Azeem Bajwa were also present at the

ceremony.


TRADE CHRONICLE

PTCL integrated telecom services

license renewed for 25 years

Pakistan Telecommunication Company

Limited (PTCL) has renewed its

integrated telecom services license

with Pakistan Telecommunications

Authority (PTA) for next 25 years.

PTCL had initiated the renewal process

by formally requesting PTA on June

29, 2018. After conclusion of the

ongoing discussions, the license is

now renewed in accordance with the

existing government policies.

PTCL, being the backbone of

connectivity in the country, is at the

forefront to provide uninterrupted and

better quality of services to the people

of Pakistan. Seamless and reliable

connectivity provided by PTCL is playing

a key role in bringing economic and

social uplift in the country. Aligned with

the Prime Minister’s vision of a Digital

Telenor Pakistan crosses 47 million

subscribers in Q4 2020

Telenor Pakistan announced its Q4

results for 2020 today and reported an

improvement in overall performance

and added more than 1 million

subscribers in Q4 bringing overall

subscriber base to over 47 million. In

what has been a challenging year with

the pandemic negatively impacting

the results, the subscription and traffic

(S&T) revenues declined 6.1% for

2020. However, the trends have been

improving for the 2nd half of 2020,

and Q4 S&T revenues were flat on

reported basis, with underlying growth

on normalized basis.

Telenor Pakistan’s Q4 performance

showed an improvement in underlying

Pakistan, the national

carrier is undertaking

a strategic approach

to roll out fiber network

across Pakistan. It will not

only support the business community,

but will also ensure convenience and

ease for customers through provision

of unlimited high-speed internet.

Moreover, PTCL endeavors to further

strengthen its network infrastructure by

adopting the latest technologies to offer

secure and modern Cloud solutions,

Data Centers, fiber internet, domestic

& international leased lines, wholesale

IP Bandwidth, IPTV services and voice

telephony.

Expressing his views, Naveed Khalid

Butt, Group Chief Regulatory Officer,

PTCL & Ufone, said, “We are happy

to announce the news of our license

renewal for the next 25 years with PTA.

PTCL, being the national carrier, has

always remained dedicated in its efforts

S&T revenue, however

due to continuous

challenging factors in the

business environment,

the company experienced a flattish

subscription and traffic (S&T) revenue of

-0.3%. Still, in a highly competitive and

challenging market Telenor Pakistan

has successfully managed to deliver

EBITDA growth both for Q4 and YoY

as a result of the company’s strategy

to prioritize costs, improve subscriber

to provide connectivity to the people

and organizations across Pakistan. The

company has gone through massive

transformation since its inception and is

now focused to keep Pakistan digitally

connected to better serve its customers,

partners and stakeholders.”

With the renewal of its license, PTCL

is geared up to take the challenge for

taking Pakistan to the next level of

growth and progress. With an expanding

product and services portfolio, PTCL is

one of the key stakeholders of the ICT

industry in Pakistan, committed to meet

the expectations of its customers. The

national carrier has the largest optical

fiber cable network comprising four

international submarine cables that is

serving millions of customers across

Pakistan, including other telecom

operators.

engagement and introducing market

portfolios at the right time.

“I am happy to share that our efforts

to improve subscriber engagement

contributed to our overall performance.

Despite the challenges faced by the

pandemic and other factors, we were

able to strengthen the profitability with

a YoY EBITDA growth and we ended

the year on a strong note by adding

more than a million new subscribers

on net basis. We were successfully

able to control our OPEX by prioritizing

spending and providing our customers

with the services and offers they need at

the right time. Now we remain focused

on improving the business environment

to provide the opportunity for further

profitable investments and growth”

Said Fridtjof Rusten, Chief Finance

Officer Telenor Pakistan.

Ufone brings STARZPLAY

by Cinepax for U

Keeping customer convenience a

top priority, Ufone has partnered with

STARZPLAY by Cinepax to provide

variety of latest TV shows, movies, kids’

entertainment and Pakistani dedicated

content including selected titles in

full HD with flexible payment plans.

Ufone subscribers can now stream

their favorite shows from any device at

all times; also getting the opportunity

to download all their shows for offline

viewing. The platform is available for all

Ufone pre- and postpaid customers to

enjoy unlimited movies,

videos and short films.

Through this partnership

Ufone aims to provide

diverse entertainment

options to customers and

ensures that they get

amazing value for money.

The service is available to

users all across Pakistan

with a daily price point

for as low as Rs. 8/

day, weekly price of Rs. 59/week and

monthly price of Rs. 239/ month.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Ufone launches its

first ever eSIM

Ufone has now eliminated the need for

physical installation of SIMs with the

introduction of eSIM for its customers.

The Pakistani telecom operator has

partnered with Giesecke+Devrient

Mobile Security (G+D) to launch these

SIMs across the country. The Ufone

eSIM platform enables subscribers

with a compatible handset to integrate

multiple SIM card numbers directly into

their phones or IoT devices, using the

internet.

Customers can also download data

plans and remove old SIM profiles

within the same device without having

to physically switch their SIM cards.

Ufone’s eSIM service is available

across Pakistan.

Speaking on this occasion, Ufone’s

Spokesperson said, “Our customers

are now readily adopting environment

friendly way of living thus it is important

for us to provide them innovative

solutions for day to day operations.

By using Ufone’s eSIM, customers

can experience seamless services in

a sustainable manner and avoid use

of plastic SIMs. At Ufone, customer

satisfaction and ease is the utmost

priority. Therefore, every possible

step is being taken to ensure their

convenience.”

This technology is available for a

number of eSIM-enabled devices

like laptops, tablets, wearables and

IoT devices. It is also available for all

handsets which are compatible with

the function like iPhone 11, 12 and all

its variants, including iPhone XS, XR

and XS max which work as dual SIM

Phones.

Samsung S21, Samsung S20 Series,

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G,

Samsung Galaxy S20+, Samsung

Galaxy S20, Samsung Z flip, Huawei

PTCL, Huawei launch Smart Cloud Campus Solution

for enterprise customers

Pakistan Telecommunication Company

Limited (PTCL), in collaboration with

Huawei Technologies Pakistan Pvt Ltd,

launch Smart Cloud Campus Solution

for enterprise customers.

This solution includes the

services of AI Enabled WIFI-

6 Campus, Software Defined

LAN and Software defined

WAN (SD-WAN) as a service.

The infrastructure of these

services employs PTCL’s

industry proven connectivity,

capacity and Data Center

infrastructure with Huawei’s

next-generation autonomous

driving network management

and control system Cloud

platform for enterprise

networks.

This is a first-of-its-kind intelligent

network automation Cloud platform that

integrates management, control and

analysis functions, along with providing

complete life cycle automation of

enterprise networks that implements

intelligent fault closure through big data

analytics.

Speaking on the occasion, Zarrar

Hasham Khan, Chief Business

Services Officer, PTCL, said, “PTCL

Zarrar Hasham Khan, Chief Business Services Officer, PTCL and

Gaoweijie, Managing Director, Huawei Technologies Pakistan

Pvt Ltd, along with senior officials from both companies including,

Shahzad Rasheed, CTO, Huawei, are present at the collaborative

launch of Smart Cloud Campus Solution for enterprise customers, by

PTCL and Huawei, in Pakistan.

Business Solutions is catering to the

ever-growing business needs of our

enterprise customers. As softwaredefined

networks are key enabler

for providing robust, scalable and

secure architecture, it will surely help

our enterprise customers to build

P40 Pro, Huawei P40, Google Pixel 4

XL, Google Pixel 4, Google Pixel 3A

XL, Google Pixel 3A

For this purpose, Ufone has partnered

with Giesecke+Devrient Mobile Security

(G+D), an industry leader in eSIM

management with more than 95 million+

commercial eSIM/eUICCs Managed

Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit

Cards (EUICCs) for some of the biggest

mobile operators and OEM in Asia,

Europe, Americas, Middle East and

Africa; to launch a fully-functional eSIM

subscription management platform for

its subscribers.

Ufone is one of Pakistan’s largest

telecom service providers and is leading

the country’s digital transformation with

its innovative and customer-centric

approach. Combined with its effort

for seamless connectivity for all its

subscribers across Pakistan, Ufone

has constantly strived to promote

digitalization and ease of contact for all,

adhering to its moto ‘Tum he tou ho’.

For more information on e-SIM

customers can visit www.ufone.com/

eSIM

more agile and reliable networks.

Being a significant milestone, PTCL

brings technological innovation to

accelerate enterprises achieve digital

transformation.”

On the occasion, Gaoweijie, Managing

Director, Huawei Technologies

Pakistan Pvt Ltd, said, “We are glad

to collaborate with PTCL,

national carrier of Pakistan

that has strong corporate

presence in the country. With

this solution, enterprises will

be empowered to run critical

applications with complete

security and ensure data

privacy. Not only that,

enhanced performance

would be delivered with

higher capacity bandwidth,

network visibility, and

a seamless on-ramp to

the cloud with significant

application performance.”

Smart Cloud Campus Solution

has innovative features that help

enterprises reduce OPEX and O&M

costs to achieve automation with a

more intelligent network operations

management.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Oil and Gas

OGDCL achieves milestone of adding massive production in short span of last

two months of 2020: Shahid Salim Khan, MD/CEO OGDCL

Oil and Gas Development Company

Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan’s flagship

Exploration and Production Company

listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange &

London Stock Exchange continued

to contribute significantly towards the

overall oil and gas production portfolio

of the country during the last year.

The company remains a market leader

in Oil & Gas production, contributing

48% in oil. 27% in gas & 37% in LPG

production of the country. The company

has made contribution of Rs. 130 billion

PSO launches Euro 5 standard

diesel in Pakistan

PSO continues to lead the fuel

revolution in Pakistan by becoming the

first Oil Marketing Company (OMC) to

upgrade Pakistan’s diesel fuel standard

from Euro 2 to Euro 5. The Company

has recently launched its Euro 5

standard high speed diesel under the

brand name “PSO Hi-Cetane Diesel

Euro 5.”

The Government of Pakistan (GOP)

mandated the import of Euro 5

standard compliant high speed diesel

from January 2021.

to the national exchequer during 2019-

20.

During the quarter ended 31st

December 2020. OGDCL successfully

added oil & gas to the tune of 2666

Barrels per day of oil. 82.0 MMSCFD

of Gas and 77 Metric Tons per day of

LPG. During this short span OGDCL

has not only added production from new

wells but also enhanced its production

through optimization of production from

already producing wells.

According to the figures. OGDCL has

acquired 1566 Barrels of additional oil

and 71 MMSCFD of additional gas by

injecting wells while 1100 Barrels of

oil and 11 MMSCFD of gas production

enhanced through other efforts.

The company also enhanced production

of LPG and added 77 MTD in the

system. This production enhancement

by injecting 14 new wells from all over

Pakistan and adding substantial oil and

As a proactive and forwardthinking

company, PSO

imported the first shipment

of Euro 5 standard diesel on

December 23, 2020 making PSO Hi-

Cetane Diesel Euro 5 available at PSO

retail outlets in Karachi well ahead of

the timeline specified by the GOP.

PSO Hi-Cetane Diesel Euro 5 was

formally launched by CEO & MD,

PSO, Syed Muhammad Taha during

a ceremony held at PSO Burraque

Service Station, Karachi. Key business

partners, valued clients andsenior PSO

officials were present at the occasion

to celebrate this significant milestone

for the country and

company.

CEO & MD, PSO, Syed

Muhammad Taha said

“PSO has once again

raised the bar as we

lead our beloved nation

into an era of premium

quality, environment

friendly and high

performance fuels.”

gas in the national grid in short span of

time was only possible due to dynamic

leadership of MD/CEO of OGDCL and

his team.

As per the detail and available data,

OGDCL has injected Saand well #

1, Saand well # 2. Tando Allah Yar

South West well #1. Togh Bala well

# 1. Nashpa well # 10. Mangrio well

# 1, Qadirpur well # 10, Umair well #

1, Qadirpur well # 53, Qadirpur well #

16. Qadirpur well # 17, Daru well # 1,

Pasakhi Deep well # 6, Pasakhi West

Deep well # 2 and commissioning of

Nashpha compression project.

The newly injected wells and substantial

increase in oil & gas production will

not only add to the hydrocarbon in the

network but will also bring significant

savings to the exchequer in the form of

import substitution. The increase in oil

& gas production is also likely to help

in mitigating ever growing demand of

domestic consumers and industry.

PPL organizes eye camps

in Sui, Dera Bugti

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in

partnership with Al-Shifa Trust Eye

Hospital organized two free-of-cost eye

camps in Sui and Dera Bugti, Balochistan

to reach deserving local communities

around its flagship Sui Gas Field.

Surgical eye camps are an annual feature

of the company’s Corporate Social

Responsibility Programme.

The three-day eye camp at Dera Bugti

was held at District Headquarters Hospital

between January 28 and 30, while the

other one was held at PPL-funded Public

Welfare Hospital, Sui between February

1 and 3.

Overall, the camps provided free-of-cost

consultation, treatment and medicines to

over 3000 patients. Among these, more

than 1500 were given optical glasses and

over 355 patients underwent cataract

surgeries.

These eye camps, organized by

PPL around its producing fields, for

over a decade, have benefitted local

communities in remote areas through

provision of quality consultation, latest

onsite surgical technology and medicines.


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Travel World

PIA’s outlet inaugurated at KCCI, Members

to get 10 percent discount

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce &

Industry (KCCI) has achieved

yet another significant milestone

as Pakistan International

Airlines (PIA)’s outlet was

inaugurated within KCCI’s

premises which will be providing

10 percent discount on domestic

and international flights not only

to KCCI members and staff but

also their family members.

In this regard, a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) was signed by

Chief Executive

Officer (CEO)

PIA Air Marshal

Retd. Arshad

Malik and President KCCI M. Shariq

Vohra at a ceremony organized at KCCI

which was also attended by Chairman

Businessmen Group (BMG) & Former

President KCCI Zubair Motiwala,

Senior Vice President KCCI Saqib

Goodluck, Vice President Shamsul

Islam Khan, Former Presidents

Younus Muhammad Bashir,

Shamim Ahmed Firpo & Junaid

Esmail Makda and others.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO

PIA Arshad Malik paid glowing

tribute to Late Siraj Kassam

Teli for his exceptional services

to the country, particularly

the business & industrial

community. “Because of his splendid

work, Siraj Teli would go down in the

history and will always be remembered.

PIA, Hashoo Group join

hands

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

and Hashoo Group would jointly

promote domestic tourism in Pakistan,

a statement said on Saturday.

PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik

inaugurated the newly-established

counter by PIA and destinations of the

world, Hashoo Group at PIA booking

office Karachi, it added.

The PIA CEO was presented with Sindhi

Ajrak and a cap by PIA District Manager

Faisal Kharal. Tariq Bin Yousuf, general

manager of Destinations of the World

- Pakistan(DOTW), senior officials of

PIA & DOTW were also present on the

occasion.

A special counter has been set up at

the PIA booking office Karachi where

passengers can now book their tickets

and also avail instant hotel booking and

packages.

More travel counters are expected to be

opened at PIA booking offices across

Pakistan and also at Hashoo Hotels in

Pakistan where one-window operation

for hotel bookings, PIA ticket purchases

and packages were jointly promoted by

the Hashoo Group and PIA.

Imarat Group and Marriott Int’l sign

franchise agreement

The Imarat Group of Companies and

PIA announces 10pc discount for

BQATI members

Marriott International

signed a franchise

agreement to

launch service of

the Residence Inn by Marriott and

Courtyard by Marriott in Pakistan.

The signatories of the agreement were

Chairman Imarat Group of Companies,

Shafiq Akbar and Director of Lodging

Development - Middle East & Pakistan

for Marriott International Ziad Abi Raad.

Pakistan International

Airline (PIA) has

announced a 10

percent discount to the

members of Bin Qasim Association

of Trade & Industry (BQATI) and their

immediate family for international and

domestic travels.

The announcement was made by CEO

Air Marshal Arshad Malik during his

visit to BQATI Secretariat where MoU

was signed between PIA and BQATI.

Emirates’ special fares

Emirates is launching its much-awaited

global sale to inspire and encourage

Pakistani travellers to reconnect with

family and friends or explore new

destinations in the new year. With

attractive offers, Emirates customers

in Pakistan can make up for lost time in

2021.

All-inclusive Economy Class fares from

Pakistan start at USD 247 to Dubai, USD

598 to Manchester, USD 641 to London,

USD 810 to New York and USD 1,014

to Toronto. Business Class fares start at

USD 618 to Dubai, USD 1,738 to London,

USD 2,041 to New York, USD 2,193 to

Manchester and USD 2,312 to Toronto.

Offer applies on fares across the Emirates

network with details available here.

Bookings have to be made between 19

January 2021 and 01 February 2021,

for travel between 20 January 2021 and

15 June 2021. Emirates customers from

Pakistan can travel with peace of mind

with the airline’s flexible booking options

and multi-risk travel insurance including

COVID-19 cover with every flight.


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TC Jan-Feb 2021 Issue

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