TC September-October 2021 Issue

www.tradechronicle.com Vol 68 -Issue Nos. 9 & 10 - Sep - Oct. 2021 Rs. 250/-

ESTABLISHED IN MARCH 1953

68 th - YEAR OF PUBLICATION

TRADE CHRONICLE

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

Pink October messages

growing in Pakistan

***

The exports target for textile

set at $25 billion by FY2023

***

Karachiites suffering

drags PTI attention!

***

Amanullah Aftab

Chairman PTA

Zahid Hussain

Chairman PFMA

Salman Aslam

President KATI

Muhammad Idrees

President KCCI

Javed Iqbal

Chairman PSAA

Ahmed Jamal Mir

Chairman PAA

Zaka Ashraf

Chairman PSMA

Mohsin Sheikhani

Chairman ABAD

TRADE CHRONICLE

TRADE CHRONICLE - Sep - Oct - 2021 - Page #

TRADE CHRONICLE

www.tradechronicle.com Vol. 68 Issue Nos. 9 & 10 Sep - Oct 2021 Rs. 250/-

TRADE CHRONICLE

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

Circulation Audited by

ABC

CONTENTS

Founded by:

Late Abdul Rauf Siddiqi

Editor:

Abdul Rab Siddiqi

Special Feature’s Editor:

Abdul Rafay Siddiqi

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Aftab Alam

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Publisher:

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editorial

• Pink October messages growing in Pakistan

• The exports target for textile set at $25 billion by FY2023

• Karachiites suffering drags PTI attention!

article & feature

• Pak, Saudi leadership capable of leading world: President Alvi

• Innovative Pvt Ltd wins Fastest Growing Brand of the Year Award!

• Looking at rupee’s fall with the new normal lens

By Mohiuddin Aazim

• Impacts of Depreciation of Rupee

By Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

• Pakistan Listed Food Manufacturers’ Conference

ports, Shipping & railway

• Capt. Javed Iqbal elected as Chairman of PSAA

• 3 billion dollar projects for Karachi, says Mahmood Moulvi SAPM

A Chronicle Report

• PQA to halve port charges

• KPT dredging works: deeper draft to attract bigger vessels

• PIBTL pays significant royalty to PQA

A Chronicle Report

• High Commissioner for Pakistan in Bangladesh meets Chairman of CPA

• Pakistan ports’ cargo handling posts double-digit growth in FY21

• QCCI members invited to invest in Gwadar

• Daily cargo clearance at PICT reaches 51pc

• PNSC Group has declared a profit after tax of Rs. 2,265 million during 2021

A Chronicle Report

• CPEC panel approves ambitious plan for Karachi coastline development

leather industry

• Tasawar Hussain elected PLGMEA chief

• Amanullah Aftab becomes Chairman PTA

• Zahid Hussain becomes new Chairman of PFMA

• Leather exports need skills for value addition

• Bangladesh leather industry has earned $271.34 million in July –Sept 2021

• Indian leather industry recorded a very significant growth of 82.38%

regular features

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

• People Events, Telecommunication News, Travel World, Steel & Allied Industry

TRADE CHRONICLE - Sep - Oct - 2021 - Page # 3

TRADE CHRONICLE

We begin with the name of Allah the Magnificient

Pink October messages growing in Pakistan

In 2020, at least 2.3 million women had breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally

(WHO, 2021). At the same time, in Pakistan, about 36,000 breast cancer cases were

diagnosed and 13 000 women, unfortunately, died, leaving behind a trail of the

painful story for the rest of the family members. Therefore, governments, hospitals,

NGOs, and Societies must continue to create awareness and empower women to

go for treatment, if any, at an affordable cost, accessible for the needy people in

particular. It is applaudable that all mobile networks give an important message

during October, which is a well-noticed contribution in spreading the Pink Oct

message.

According to a WHO report, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer in

women worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. “At present, there

is a need for more research about the causes of increasing breast cancer, and

however, early detection of the problem remains the foundation of its control.”

FROM THE

EDITOR’S

DESK

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), which began its journey in the USA in

1985, has become an annual international health campaign organised by major

breast cancer charities every October. It aims to increase awareness of the disease

and raise research/funds for its cause and prevention, diagnosis, treatment and

cure. Later in 1993, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation was founded and

established the Pink Ribbon as its symbol.

Pink October messages growing in Pakistan and various events were organised

this month, including seminars, walks and pink illumination of landmark buildings.

The real credit goes to NGOs, hospitals and private sectors, and even the Pakistan

government is officially taking part on a big scale to promote awareness.

ABDUL RAB SIDDIQI

President Dr Arif Alvi underlined the need to raise awareness among women about

breast cancer, its early detection and treatment to save precious lives. He regretted

that due to lack of education and awareness, the breast cancer mortality rate in

Pakistan was almost 50 per cent, which was quite alarming. The President rightly

urged the female doctors should hold regular sessions in women colleges and

universities regarding breast cancer to create awareness about the disease. He

insisted on establishing a registry at central and provincial levels to collect data

about breast cancer cases.

Pakistani businesses have also joined the annual October drive to Think Pink with

increasingly innovative ways. Telenor has announced to set up Pakistan’s first

breast cancer hospital and had started fundraising. We hope people respond with

generosity and other organisations follow the path and set hospitals in each big

city.

As the world observes October as the Breast Cancer Awareness month globally,

Pakistani telecom company Ufone plays its part in drawing attention towards the

urgency of early detection and treatment of this disease by lighting up ‘Ufone Tower’

in bright pink colours, which is a landmark building in the heart of Islamabad. This

initiative was taken to create awareness of breast cancer and check the spread of

the disease amongst women in Pakistan.

Early diagnosis dramatically improves the chances of a cure. Treatment typically

involves surgery to remove the breast’s faulty tissue, and other expensive

treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may be recommended.

We pray to Almighty Allah to save all women from this illness, but we should also

highlight awareness the entire year, not limited to October.


TRADE CHRONICLE

The exports target for textile

set at $25 billion by FY2023

Pakistan total textile exports

reported mixed trend in last three

years. It earned export revenue of

$13.32 billion in Financial Year 2019

(July – June) but rose to $12.53

billion in FY20 and reached $15.40

billion in FY21. The All Pakistan

Textile Mills Association (APTMA)

is now anticipating textile export

to surge at $21 billion in FY22 and

hopefully $25 billion in FY23. But

subject to continued support in a

new incentivised textile policy and

subsidy on energy supply. Some

business leaders differ, saying it’s

improbable, overoptimistic.

Likewise, the growing export trend

was continued in September 2021

and textile exports increased by 25%

Year on Year to $1.5bn compared to

$1.2bn in Sep’20. This was possible

despite logistics and supply chain

issues such as congestion on

ports and higher freight costs, and

the growth pattern was also 2%

Month on Month. Experts credit

the opportunity created due to

higher export orders from the US,

Europe, and Asian regions after

Karachiites suffering drags

PTI attention!

Without KCR / Metro system,

Karachi’s over 20 million population

looked for some solution to their

transport woes for a long time, but

to no avail. But luckily, Karachi

Circular Railway and GreenLine

Buses Project finally resulted in

Sindh-Islamabad “agreement” only

for joint working.

Resultantly, Prime Minister Imran

Khan graciously blessed the

“Metropolitan city without a Metro”

to again “formally inaugurate” a

wickedly neglected and forgotten

KCR project.

Likewise, the GreenLine buses

project ran in October, with 80 buses

reportedly “being brought”.

Karachiites already saw the ill fate

of previous projects and many bus

lines were hit in “accidents” by

the transport mafia and sent rest

in garages, with KCR blockade.

Ascertaining that must not happen

reopening global economies

and easing Covid-19 lockdowns.

That increased demand for textile

products and increased new

customer base and value addition,

which mainly led to the increase

in textile exports during the said

period.

Because of these envisaged growth

targets, APTMA has informed the

government that more than 100 new

textile units are being set up across

Pakistan and the investment of $ 5

billion in the textile industry after 13

years due to regional energy price

for the entire value chain. However,

it requested the government

ensure the uninterrupted supply

of RLNG for power stations so that

intermittent flow in the pipeline

remains regular. As a result, 500,000

fresh employment opportunities are

to be created.

APTMA advocates that regional

competitive energy Tariffs of 9 cents/

KwH for electricity and $ 6.5/MMBtu

for gas/RLNG across the entire

textile value chains are critical to

achieving $21 billion exports in FY22

as 85% of production is exported.

In contrast, only 10% of units are

vertically integrated, completing a

ever again is binding on all and

sundry. On the one hand, the federal

government appears intent on

bringing the KCR dormant project

to life by mid-2023, as indicated

by reports of the meetings chaired

by Federal Planning Minister Asad

Umar. Still, the Sindh government

appears to be allegedly delaying

matters on account of bureaucratic

hurdles.

The Frontier Works Organisation

(FWO) has to begin construction

on the KCR route in two phases, for

which the Sindh government must

pay the agency Rs6bn as its share.

Regrettably, no contract or work

order seems to have materialised

so far in this regard, local media

remarked.

Health, education, housing and

transport are among citizens’

fundamental rights that most

governments in the world provide,

but not our governments, as we

still lack them, and must ascertain

people’s welfare. Right away,

governments should present their

set target of $ 25 billion in FY23.

The government’s incentives to the

textile sector, including a reduction

in gas prices for export-oriented

sectors, rebates for exporters,

lower financing rate on LTFF (Long

term financing facility), and export

refinance scheme, provided support

in these crucial times. Both nonvalue

added and value-added

segments showed double-digit

growth on a YoY basis (1QFY22).

Cotton Yarn remained in demand as

sales increased by 69% YoY to $289

million compared to $170 million

earlier.

We hope the government will

continue rationalising imports

tariffs on raw materials and power

subsidies. Experts believe that the

demand for Pakistan’s textile exports

will likely remain strong due to the

continued rerouting of orders out

of China and other regional Asian

countries. The capital investments

by various textile exporters is an

indication of solid order flows, while

the recent PKR depreciation also

enhances exports’ competitiveness.

We firmly believe that all these

factors will increase our exports and

ease pressure on the trade deficit.

viable design and upgrading of an

active national transport policy

actively and ensure its proper

implementation.

If governments cannot do it, they

should partner with the private

sector and strictly monitor it,

with fines against violations, or

ensure the private sector provides

safe, economical and respectable

transport services.

The KMC – deprived of many of its

rightful powers – seems to loiter in

everlasting slumber without funds or

authority – even for simple garbage

disposable - and was therefore

paralysed without doing much to

provide civic amenities to people.

We urge both the centre and the

Sindh government should do their

utmost to make the KCR dream a

reality. Only then will we see a visible

improvement in the lives of those

millions of commuters who reside in

this sprawling city.



TRADE CHRONICLE

Pak, Saudi leadership capable

of leading world: President Alvi

President Dr Arif Alvi while lauding their

approach on international issues, said

the leadership of Pakistan and Saudi

Arabia was capable to lead the world

through their vision.

He was addressing a seminar on

‘Pak-Saudi Relations: Past, Present

and Future’ recently, said having their

religious affinity, the people of Pakistan

were devoted for security of the holy

land of Saudi Arabia.

Federal Ministers Chaudhry Fawad

Hussain and Pir Noorul Haq Qadri,

Special Assistants to PM Allama Tahir

Ashrafi and Shahbaz Gill, Foreign

Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Saudi

Ambassador Nawaf Bin Said Al Maliki

attended the event held in connection

with the celebration of 91st National

Day of Saudi Arabia.

The president said the first treaty of

friendship between Pakistan and Saudi

Arabia was signed in 1951 and that

both the countries had a long history

of friendship. He said even after India

carried out atomic explosion, Pakistan’s

friendly countries stood by it to build the

capacity and achieve deterrence.

The president especially lauded the

treatment of Pakistani workers in

Saudi Arabia who also contributed to

Saudi development besides sending

remittances to Pakistan. He viewed

that no incident in the history could

hurt the Pak-Saudi relationship as both

the countries showed their exemplary

friendship even at international forums.

President Alvi said the whole Muslim

Innovative Pvt Ltd wins Fastest

Growing Brand of the Year Award!

Innovative Pvt. Ltd. (IPL), a Pakistani

fin-tech was awarded Fastest Growing

Brand of the Year Award in the

category of Self-Service Banking by

the President of Pakistan - Dr Arif Alvi.

Self Service Banking includes the

banking services where customers

conduct financial transactions such as

cash deposit and withdrawal, inquiry,

transfer, bill pay-ment, loan, currency

exchange, and wealth man-agement

through self-service equipment such as

ATMs, CCDMs and Recyclers. IPL has

world looked at the Saudi

leadership for guidance on

international issues. He said

at a time when the commercial

and other vested interests dominated

the international affairs, the world

needed a leadership which formulated

its policies on the basis of morality.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could fill the

gap, he added.

Lamenting the phenomenon of fake

news, the president said the Holy

Quran had also warned about the same

tendency which also led to the prevailing

situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The

president appreciated the vision of

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin

Salman for environment protection

as well as Saudi Vision 2030 which

featured the development of a modern

and unique city. He said Pakistan

and Saudi Arabia effectively handled

the COVID pandemic regardless of

whatsoever the fake news said about

the two friendly states.

Later, the president gave shields to

Saudi Ambassador, Tahir Ashrafi and

four overseas Pakistanis for their

remarkable contribution to strengthen

Pak-Saudi ties. Meanwhile, Minister

for Information and Broadcasting

Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Thursday

said that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

enjoyed strong and cordial religious

partnered with globally

leading brand, Diebold

Nixdorf, to provide the

best in Self-Service

Banking for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

IPL remains the partner of choice

for Banks and Financial Institutions

because of its consistency in delivering

quality products and exemplary

services through its expansive country-wide

service infrastructure that

delivers IPL’s core value of customer

centricity. IPL’s comprehensive range

of high-quality VAS soft-ware solutions

provide its customers with a complete

peace of mind.

and historical relations based on

Islamic brotherhood.

Speaking at a seminar marking the 91st

National Day of Saudi Arabia here, he

said that the people of Pakistan had a

relationship of heart with Saudi Arabia

as holy cities of Makkah Mukarma and

Medina Munawwara were located in

the kingdom. He said every Pakistani

considered Saudi Arabia as their

second home.

Al Saud family had rendered valuable

services for Saudi Arabia, he said,

adding that King Abdul Aziz was an

extraordinary personality known all

over the world. Pakistan’s relationship

with Saudi Arabia, he said, dated back

to pre-independence times when King

Abdul Aziz visited Karachi in 1940

along with his five brothers.

He said that when in 1946, Bengal was

hit by famine, on the request of the

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah,

Saudi Arabia gave generous donations

in All India Muslim League relief fund.

The minister said that since creation of

Pakistan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had

always supported Pakistan in difficult

times.

He said that in 1960s, the relationship

between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s

defence establishment were set up

which had grown with the passage of

time and could be termed as exemplary.

The minister said that the relations

between the two countries got new

impetus through Prime Minister Imran

Khan and Prince Muhammad bin

Salman and they would further grow in

near future.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naveed

Ali Baig (CEO of IPL) said, “What started

in 1987 is today a network that spans

2 countries, 90+ cities, 8000+ATMs

and an irreplace-able experience in

excellence. This tremendous ascent

excites me about what 34 years of pure

hard work and dedication can further

achieve It makes me want to believe”.

IPL has deployed over 10,000 Self

Service Devices in Pakistan and

Afghanistan - and has sold the

highest number of ATMs year on year

consecutively for the last 4 years. IPL

employs 160+ Field Engineers across

Pakistan to ensure highest uptime for

its customers.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Looking at rupee’s fall with

the new normal lens

By Mohiuddin Aazim

The State Bank of Pakistan has

recently taken multiple measures —

ranging from the imposition of cash

margins on hundreds of import items

to requiring the purchase of dollars to

biometric verification of buyers — all

aimed at avoiding a further fall of the

rupee.

The rupee has lost about 8.5 per cent

of its value against the US dollar since

the beginning of this fiscal year on July

1. (It sank to 170.96 a dollar on Oct 6

from 157.54 on June 30).

The central bank is desperately trying

to stabilise the exchange rate. But

unlike in the past, it is not intervening

in the currency market in a big way

for two reasons. First, learning from

past mistakes the central bank has

decided in principle to let market forces

determine the exchange rates. And

second, its forex reserves that cover

the merchandise import bill of just over

three months are not strong enough

to do this, particularly at a time when

regional peace remains clouded after

the Taliban takeover of Kabul in mid-

August.

These are tough times for those who

hate to change. The pandemic has

given birth to the new normal. We must

change the way we used to think and

act.

The fall of the rupee — a 100pc

increase in the trade deficit (between

July-September) behind it — is not new

to Pakistan. But this time around the

traditional quick fix cannot work. Why?

The post-pandemic global economy

has changed. And, the scope of the

new normal is expanding. There is little

room for applying quick-fix solutions to

structural problems.

Remember what Pakistan did back in

2018-19 when the rupee lost about

32pc value against the US dollar?

It borrowed funds extensively from

‘brotherly’ and ‘friendly countries’. That

was the old way of doing things.

This option is not available now. Why?

Those nations (ie Saudi Arabia, UAE

and China) and even other countries

such as the US and UK that we could

have looked up to for seeking forex

funds have tightened controls over

forex spending. (The US withdrawal

from Afghanistan which many see as

hasty came about when Washington

realised it cannot afford to fund a neverending

war).

And, Beijing is now examining more

closely than before the release of its Belt

and Road Initiative funds, according to

reports in the Chinese and international

media. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are

focused on maintaining— or even

enhancing — the import coverage ratio

of forex reserves to cope with ongoing

uncertainties of the pandemic.

The rupee has fallen in recent months

despite the fact that Pakistan, just like

other countries, received its due share

of forex support from the International

Monetary Fund to fight the pandemic;

the country also received enough

amount of free vaccines from the

World Health Organisation and friendly

nations and part of its foreign debt has

been rescheduled.

This is the new normal. Richer nations

individually, as part of the global

collective as well as international

institutions, are realising their

responsibility to help economically poor

countries steer out of the pandemicrelated

forex crises. But there is another

new normal.

Scientifically advanced nations that led

vaccine development programmes and

initially shared those vaccines free of

cost to other nations are now making

billions of dollars in increased exports

of vaccines and pharmaceutical and

health care products. Export demand

for this category is sure to remain

strong in the foreseeable future.

And, countries that are not prepared

to exploit this potential demand would

remain a net importer of vaccines

and pharma and healthcare products.

Pakistan is one of them, though it is now

trying to expand the base of its pharma

industry and boost pharma exports.

Similarly, the country has only recently

started exporting cellphones made in

Pakistan with foreign collaboration to

reduce net imports of smartphones

that consume over a billion dollars a

year. Meanwhile, the SBP has made

bank financing of imported automobiles

more difficult — to reduce the overall

merchandise import bill and cut the

trade deficit.

The new normal of external account

management is this: do what is required

to become a net exporter of something

big — and do it quickly. Or remain

dependent on imports — and let the

trade deficit rise and local currency fall.

The global container freight rates

index has more than tripled in the past

nine months. The index rose from

$3,143 in December 2020 to $10,323

in September 2021 mainly due to the

pandemic-related interruptions and

a surge in global trade as economies

started to recover from the 2020

recession. This has led to a sharper

increase in the cost of exports and

imports of countries like Pakistan

whose local shipping industry is least

developed.

This phenomenon is the new normal

in international trade. But developing

the local shipping industry in the short

term is not possible as it requires huge

funds, vast expertise and a long time.

It means Pakistan’s services import bill

will continue to rise, putting pressure on

the overall (merchandise and services)

trade deficit.

That brings up another critical issue.

That is, Pakistan’s historical inability to

increase its trade with neighbours. Out

of our four neighbours (Afghanistan,

Iran, China and India), we have enjoyed

consistently friendly relations only with

China. With Afghanistan and Iran, our

trade relations have remained erratic

both due to our bilateral issues as well

as the sanctions imposed on Iran by the

West. As for India, the lesser said the

better.

Trading liberally with immediate

neighbours would eventually become

another new normal pretty soon,

strengthening further growing intraregional

trade. But when exactly South

Asian nations will learn to resolve their

conflicts amicably and embrace this

new normal cannot be predicted.

Courtesy - DAWAN


TRADE CHRONICLE

Impacts of Depreciation of Rupee

By Dr. Muhammad Nawaz Iqbal

Since creation of Pakistan, the country

facing different challenges sometimes

due to geopolitical factors, sometime

internal political situation and mostly

due to financial crises. Economic

challenges of Pakistan are increasing

day by day and there are multiple

factors behind this. The major factor

is external debt and depreciation

of currency which exceeds with

the passage of time. The more the

devaluation of currency the high the

debt burden has been facing b nation.

The rising debt brings multiple

challenges including high inflation,

unemployment and poverty are the

major one. On the other side, the exports

of the country will rise which brings

revenue to country but simultaneously

both impacts not maintain a balance of

economy and negative impact reflects

with high ratio. The purchasing power

will also be affected due to high inflation

which reduces consumer purchase

power.

It depends on the law of one value,

which says that, in case there are

no exchange costs nor exchange

obstructions for a specific decent, then,

at that point, the cost for that great ought

to be something similar at

each area. the conversion

scale between dollar and

Pak rupee really saw in the

unfamiliar trade market is the one that

is utilized in the buying power equality

examinations, so similar measure of

products could really be bought in one

or the other cash with similar starting

measure of assets.

Contingent upon the specific

hypothesis, buying power equality

is expected to hold either over the

long haul or, all the more firmly, in the

short run. Speculations that conjure

buying power equality expect that in

certain conditions a fall in either cash’s

buying power (an ascent in its value

level) would prompt a corresponding

abatement in that money’s valuation

on the unfamiliar trade market. he

Pakistani rupee depreciation against

the US dollar until around the beginning

of the 21st century, when Pakistan’s

huge current-account excess pushed

the worth of the rupee up versus the

dollar. Pakistan’s national bank then,

at that point, settled by bringing down

financing costs and purchasing dollars,

to safeguard the nation’s commodity

intensity. Another impact of rupee

depreciation is poverty due to economic

vulnerability.

Financial weakness is a vital factor

in the ascent of poverty in Pakistan,

weakness likewise emerges from

social feebleness, political disturbance,

and ill-working and distortionary

foundations, and these additionally are

significant reasons for the ingenuity

of weakness among poor people.

Unemployment is another major factor

comes due to depreciation of currency.

Government focuses to initiate

different youth programs to control

unemployment ratio b offering different

low percentage loan based schemes.

In 2016 government took a surprising

drive by declaring the Prime Minister’s

Youth Program to battle joblessness in

the country.

This program has an expansive material

of plans empowering youth and helpless

portion of society to improve business

openings, financial strengthening,

securing abilities required for profitable

work, admittance to IT and conferring

hands on preparing for youthful alumni

to work on the likelihood of finding a

useful line of work. Leader’s Youth

Program incorporates six plans which

are Prime Minister’s Youth Business

Loan Scheme, Prime Minister’s Interest

Free Loan Scheme, Prime Minister’s

Youth Skill Development Program,

Prime Minister’s Program for Provision

of Laptops to Talented Students,

Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement

Scheme, Prime Minister’s Youth

Training Scheme. Rupee depreciation

is a fall in the worth of a cash in a

drifting conversion scale framework.

Rupee depreciation can expand a

nation’s commodity movement as its

items and administrations become

less expensive to purchase. ongoing

current record deficiencies and high

paces of expansion, by and large

have devaluing monetary forms. Cash

deterioration, assuming systematic and

steady, further develops a country’s

product seriousness and may work on

its import/export imbalance after some

time. Yet, a sudden and sizable money

devaluation might terrify unfamiliar

financial backers who dread the cash

might fall further, driving them to haul

portfolio speculations out of the country.

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TRADE CHRONICLE

Pakistan Listed Food Manufacturers’ Conference

AKD Securities Ltd. organized Pakistan

listed Food Manufacturers’ Conference

where some of leading local food

manufacturers, namely PREMA, BNL,

TOMCL, UNITY and NATF participated

and shed light on industry’s and their

company’s outlook over medium

and long term. On the demand side,

optimism was noted across the board

with different companies placing their

estimate for FY22 growth to follow

the same trajectory as in FY21. The

managements of all the companies

showed concern over rising prices of

global commodities and its likely impact

on local market. In order to hedge their

exposure to foreign exchange, the

companies have built up additional

inventories, providing a cushion to their

earnings, however, they need to passon

the costs to consumers in order

to sustain the margins in long term.

In past, the local food manufacturers

have raised their prices in line with

food inflation and expect to increase

their prices by 8-10% in FY22 to pass

on the rising costs to consumers.

Furthermore, the companies showed

optimism regarding their expansion

plans in the local market (PREMA,

BNL, UNITY) as well in international

markets (TOMCL, NATF).

Food sailing through the

competition: Competition from local

unregistered manufacturers remains

a key challenge for all the registered

companies. With rising prices, the

tendency of consumers to shift to local

and unregulated products is on rise

whereas imported products from Iran

are denting the sales in rural areas. In

addition to this, the relaxed legal system

in the country has resulted in several

counterfeited products which remain a

constant challenge. Nevertheless, the

companies seem confident about their

outlook and future potential as exhibited

by double digit growth in topline by

PREMA (+41%YoY), BNL (+22%YoY),

TOMCL (+21%YoY), NATF

(+20%YoY) whereas UNITY has

depicted a whopping growth of

134%YoY in 9MFY21.

PREMA: The management is eyeing

sustainable indigenous growth of herd

size by 7%YoY in FY22 (~350 milking

animals) and further addition of ~650

imported animals in FY23 where it

expects to double the production

output in next 3 years. The company

currently has around ~5,000 animals

whereas it has targeted the growth

to reach 100,000 animals in long run.

Hence, the company is still nowhere

close to its maturing phase. Besides,

the product mix contains 30% value

added products which the company

expects to increase to 50% by adding

new products in both dairy and allied

category. The company believes there

is a lot of space to grow whereas the

legislation to sell only pasturized milk is

expected to open more avenues for the

company.

BNL: Bunny’s is known for its

premium quality products and has a

large footprint in Punjab and northern

region (Islamabad, Peshawar etc.)

The company is currently operating

at full capacity in bakery segment

(85% revenue contribution) whereas

the utilization ratio in snacks category

(15% revenue contribution) stands

above 90%. The company has taken

up several expansions where currently

a fully integrated buns line is in trial

stage and will be operational by this

month. In addition to this, the company

is in process to establish an automated

frying machines to enhance the capacity

of nimco snacks, a new cake line and

automated bread line with a capex

of PkR600mn. The current market

share of BNL in the bread category is

35% in Punjab, higher by the leading

manufacturer in country (Dawn ~ 25%).

In order to expand its footprint, BNL

is eyeing to grow beyond the Punjab

region to penetrate the growing market

in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

TOMCL: The company is currently

exporting to 15 countries currently and

plans to enter Chineese, Russian, and

other CIS countries. TOMCL is the sole

player involved in the exports of Offal

category which is a premium product

in international markets, proving

higher margins to the company. The

management has also decided to

introduce pet food category in USA, the

samples of which have already been

approved by FDA. The current product

mix of the company is 45% chilled

meat, 40% frozen and remaining 15%

from Offal exports. In order to capitalize

the growing market for Offals, the

company has taken up expansion plans

to enhance its existing product capacity

and new capacities of; i) Red offal (10

tons/day), ii) White offal (10 tons/day),

iii) Freezer storages (300 tons), iv) Heat

treated meat processing unit (300tons/

month), and v) dehydrated pet food

processing units (300 tons/month).

In addition to this, TOMCL plans to

acquire an existing facility at Karachi

Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and

capitalize on duty free imports of raw

materials.

UNITY: The company has depicted a

phenomenal growth of 134%YoY in

9MFY21 owing to a growth in volumes.

During FY21, the company confronted

major global supply disruptions

resulting in higher freights coupled

with PKR depreciation, however, the

management has been able to pass

on the costs whereas the sales of

Sunridge has increased the gross

margin from 7.3% in FY20 to 8.2% in

9MFY21. The management expects

the international production of Palm

Oil to improve by the end of FY22

therefore helping the prices to ease. In

addition to this, the company expects

higher production of Soybean, Canola

and Sunflower oil, expected to subside

the inflating prices. Going forward, the

company is considering to make entry

in rice business through acquisition

or by setting up a new rice mill. In

addition to this, it plans to enhance

its capacity in refinery and fractional

plants whereas it intends to become a

complete consumer staple company by

adding FMCG products its portfolio.

NATF: The topline of NATF has

grown by 20%YoY after being listed

in global e-commerce platforms such

as Amazon and Walmart resulting in

a boost in international sales (30%

contribution from exports in FY21 vs

6% in FY20). Within domestic sales,

60-70% of the revenue comes from

central and northern regions whereas

the volumetric growth in rural areas

now exceeds the growth in urban areas

owing to increasing women labor force.

Hence, the company is setting up a

new factory in Faisalabad to cater the

growing demand in these regions as

well as in north. The company takes

pride in its research and development

life cycle where it identifies the

changing preferences of its consumers

in order to introduce new products and

discard the ones which are no more in

demand. Going forward, NATF plans to

make further expansions and automate

its existing processes to increase the

efficiencies.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Ports, Shipping & railway

Capt. Javed Iqbal elected

as Chairman of PSAA

Capt. Javed

Iqbal of

Eastwind

Shipping Co.

(Pvt) Ltd has

been elected

unopposed

as Chairman

of Pakistan

Ship’s Agents

Association

(PSAA) for

2021-2022.

He has about 28 years’ hands-on

experience at the shore in the shipping/

maritime industry in addition to his

sailing affair.

Likewise, Jawed Iqbal of Shoaib

Shipping Agencieswas elected as

Senior Vice Chairman, and Ovais-ur-

Rehman of Globelink Pakistan (Pvt)

Ltd as Vice Chairman respectively for

the same term.

Annual General Meeting (AGM) of

Pakistan Ship’s Agents Association

(PSAA) was held recently, and the

following office-bearers were declared

elected to the Executive Committee for

the term 2021-2022:

Mohammed A Rajpar, Younus Vayani,

Adil Khan, Mazhar Imam Hashmi,

Abdul Rauf, Taimur Badat and Amin

Sardar Ali Bhola were elected as

Executive Committee Members.

On occasion,

Capt. Javed

Iqbal has

expressed

his intention

of better and

closer working

between the

Maritime

sector, Business Community and the

Government significantly to increase

exports from Pakistan.

He appreciated the outgoing Chairman

Mohammed A Rajpar and his team for

their hard work to serve the interests of

the Ports and Shipping sector, which is

vital for the development and economic

progress of every country.

3 billion dollar projects for Karachi,

says Mahmood Moulvi SAPM

A Chronicle Report

Several significant big projects under

the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

(CPEC) framework would be set up at

an estimated cost of over $3 billion in

Karachi. It includes fishery port, three

berths, housing projects and other portrelated

projects. These projects are in

discussion with China, and a formal

announcement will be made soon.

Mahmood Moulvi, Special Assistant

to Prime Minister on Maritime Affairs,

Government of Pakistan, disclosed this

while addressing the august gathering

at the 11th Sustainable Port & Shipping,

Logistics & Supply Chain Summit &

Exhibition (LOGISTICONEX), held in

Karachi recently.

He has also encompassed the

challenges and progress of Karachi

Port, Port Qasim and Gwadar port

and suggested worthy measures for

steering the docks to meet future

challenges.

He said KPT is now capable of

handling big draft container vessels

and oil tankers. Besides, Eastwharf

and Westwharf of port would be

connected through a bridge for which

port authority would sign construction

contract later this month. Port Qasim

has acquired four tugs to improve

the port’s efficiency; he added that a

new container and two general cargo

terminals are planned for PQ.

He announced a new oil terminal had

been added at Karachi port while

another one was upgraded.

Regarding Gwader port, he has

suggested that the matter is being

taken up with the Chinese government

to market port to function the port fully.

In the past government subsidized the

urea shipped to begin the shipping

business, he added.

Shipping investment

The Pakistan National Shipping

Corporation is going well and has now

focused more on transporting crude oil

and soon adding a new tanker to its

fleet. He asked the local investors to

come forward and enter the shipping

business as the government of

Pakistan offer good incentives such as

concessional bank fiancé and ten-year

tax exemption on income etc.

Many speakers presented

thought-provoking papers,

and if their suggestions are

implemented, it would bring

a good chance in the port

infrastructure, shipping business and

improve the supply chain in country.

The spesker inludes Mehmood Tareen,

Founder & CEO, The Professionals

Network, Ateeq Ur Rehman, CEO,

Coastals Packers & Movers, Trade &

Economy Analyst – Topic: Conference

Introduction; Khurram Aziz Khan,

Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan

International Container Terminal – Topic:

Opportunities of Improvement in Ports

& Supply Chain; Mohammad Rajpar,

Managing Director, General Shipping

Agencies and former Chairman PSAA –

Topic: CPEC Challenges from a Ports &

Shipping Perspective; Khurram Mirza,

Executive Director Special Planning &

Projects, Pakistan National Shipping

Corporation – Topic: Development in

Shipping Industry; Dr. Asif Inam, HoD

Maritime Science, Bahria University

Karachi Campus – Topic : Challenees

and Opertunities of Ocean decade

for Pakistan; Mohammad Hanif Ajari,

Director Export Network, Getz Pharma

(Pvt) Limited – Topic: Shipping Crisis

during the Pandemic Outbreak; Tariq M,

Rangoonwala, Chairman, International

Chamber of Commerce (Pakistan) –

Topic: Evaluation of Pakistan’s Current

Trade Connectivity; Aamir Khan, Senior

Manager Business Development, FAP

Marine Terminals Limited – Topic:

Emerging Opportunities of CPEC;

Saquib Ahmed, Country Managing

Director, SAP- Pakistan – Topic: Digital

Supply Chain Management.

Zubair Motiwala, Chairman,

Businessman Group (BMG) Former

Presided, KCCI has also addressed

the audience and drawn government

attention toward various problems

Karachi business people and exporters

face. He requested the government

to ensure interrupted gas supply to

industry to uplift the country exports.

With this, the Sustainable Port &

Shipping, Logistics & Supply Chain

Summit & Exhibition (LOGISTICONEX)

concluded successfully, organized by

the Professionals Network (TPN). The

theme of the conference was “CPEC

the Way to Success and Prosperity for

Pakistan”.

The next Summit & Exhibition will

be held in 2022, announced by the

organizer.


TRADE CHRONICLE

PQA to halve port charges

In a bid to enhance quantum of

exports, the Cabinet Committee on

Transportation and Logistics decided

that the Port Qasim Authority (PQA)

would reduce wet and dry port charges

by 50 per cent.

The committee in a meeting presided

over by Minister for Maritime Affairs

Ali Zaidi asked the Karachi Port Trust

(KPT) to examine the possibility of

reduction of port charges as done by

the PQA and put up a proposal before it

through the ministry of maritime affairs

for consideration.

KPT dredging works:

deeper draft to attract

bigger vessels

Dredging of berths and channel of

Karachi Port has been accorded priority

since January 2021 so as to maintain

designed depths for more and diverse

cargo handling.

One of the major dredging platforms,

namely BHD ALI, has been made

operational in January this year after

a gap of several years. The dredger

is also carrying out night operations

for greater output and cumulatively

dredged approximately 160,000 cubic

meters during the period from 1st

January 2021 to 31st August 2021,

with substantial savings to KPT, and

has achieved designed depths of 11m

(berths # 1, 4 & 5), 13m (berths # 6,7,

10 & 11), 10m (berth # 20 & 21) and

13m (Oil Piers 1 & 3).

This fast track dredging operation has

enabled KPT to accommodate deeper

draft vessels, improve turnaround time,

safer berthing alongside berths, reduce

demurrage charges and enhance

revenue generation in line with the

vision of Federal Minister of Maritime

Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi to facilitate

shipping and business community and

general public as well.

PIBTL pays significant

royalty to PQA

A Chronicle Report

According to the annual report of

Pakistan International Bulk Terminal

Limited (PIBT), during the year 2021,

the Company has shown growth in

revenue, gross profit and earnings per

share owing to the consistent business

performance of handling 10.072

million tons of cargo and the impact of

exchange gain on currency revaluation

of USD denominated foreign loans.

Contribution to the economy

It’s worth mentioning that ~35% of the

Company’s revenue goes to Port Qasim

Authority in terms of royalty which

amounted to Rs.

3,720 million this

year. Further,

contribution to

the national

exchequer in lieu

of income tax,

sales tax and

other government

levies amounted

to Rs. 2,056 million this year.

PIBT, a flagship project of the Marine

Group of Companies (MRGC), is

Pakistan’s first terminal for handling

coal, clinker and cement on a Build

Operate Transfer (BOT) basis at Port

Muhammad Bin Qasim to meet the

industry’s demand for mechanized

handling of dirty bulk cargo.

For thirty years, the Company entered

into a BOT contract with Port Qasim

Authority (PQA) on November 06,

2010. The terminal has been developed

High Commissioner for

Pakistan in Bangladesh

meets Chairman of CPA

High Commissioner for Pakistan,

Dhaka, Mr Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, called

on Rear Admiral Shahjahan Chairman

Chattogram Port Authority. The two sides

discussed matters of mutual interest,

including collaboration between port

authorities of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

CPA handles nearly 90% of all seaborne

trade, highlighting its importance to

the economy of Bangladesh inspite of

several deficiencies. CPA contributes

to 33% of Bangladesh GOVT. revenue.

Bangladesh being a global front-runner

in the national interest following the

master plan of the Ministry of Maritime

Affairs as the common-user terminal

for dirty bulk cargo in Pakistan. The

project warrants significant importance,

being the linkage of the supply chain

catering to the national requirement

of coal imports for the power plants,

cement manufacturers and industrial

consumers, and increasing the port

infrastructure capacity for handling

imported coal in Pakistan.

A huge capital in excess of USD 300

million was invested in the project, which

also attracted direct foreign investment

through, inter alia, International

Finance Corporation’s (financial arm

of the World Bank) debt financing and

equity investment in PIBT. It is pertinent

to highlight that

the Company is a

listed entity on the

Pakistan Stock

Exchange and

currently it has

more than 20,000

shareholders

from the public.

PIBT has been

designed to handle the export of clinker

& cement and the import of coal, which

is used for power generation by IPPs

and other industries such as cement,

steel, and others.

PIBT has the current capacity to handle

12 million tons of coal import and 4

million tons of export of clinker and

cement which can altogether be further

enhanced up to 20 million tons per

year. PIBT has been developed over

61.775 acres of backup area, including

coal and cement storage facilities and

9.72 acres of waterfront area i-e jetty

and trestle.

in the RMG exports has also achieved

a significant position in some other

export items like leather goods, jute, tea

and frozen foods. On the other hand,

Bangladesh imports electronic and

automobiles goods, consumer goods,

chemicals etc. from china, Japan and

India.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Pakistan ports’ cargo handling posts

double-digit growth in FY21

Cargo handling activities at Karachi

Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim

Authority (PQA) recorded an

impressive growth of 25 per cent and

13.72pc in FY21 owing to 18pc and

26pc rise in the country’s exports and

imports, respectively.

According to the Pakistan Bureau

of Statistics (PBS), exports in FY21

soared to $25.3 billion from $22bn in

FY20 while imports stood at $56bn

as against $44.5bn in FY20, thus

keeping goods movement at twin ports

alive amid issues like lockdown, port

congestion, higher freight charges, etc

all over the world.

A senior maritime official said, despite

Covid-related challenges, Pakistan’s

trade remained progressive on the

back of their achievement with an

initiative of imposing smart lockdowns

and keeping logistics moving.

He said till 3QFY21 the country was

also affected by lockdowns, but port

cargo handling picked up momentum

from the fourth quarter after local

situation improved and exports to

the US, EU and China had recorded

significant increases, he

added.

A KPT official said the

total cargo handling grew substantially

to 52.279 million tonnes in FY21 from

41.840m tonnes in FY20.

In imports, total volume stood at

36.469m tonnes in FY21 as compared

to 27.206m tonnes in FY20. The

share of total dry cargo went up by

36.53pc to 24.670m tonnes in FY21

from 18.069m tonnes in FY20 in which

dry general cargo and dry bulk cargo

volume stood at 18.170mn tonnes and

6.5m tonnes as compared to 15.358m

tonnes and 2.711m tonnes, up by 18pc

and 140pc over FY20. Total liquid bulk

import cargo handling grew by 29pc to

11.799m tonnes from 9.137m tonnes in

2019-20.

In exports, KPT’s total cargo volume

improved by 8pc to 15.810m tonnes

from 14.634m tonnes which included

9.689m tonnes of dry general cargo

and 5.584m tonnes of dry bulk cargo

during 2020-21 as compared to 8.841m

tonnes and 5.130m tonnes in 2019-20.

The volume of liquid bulk export cargo

fell by 19pc to 0.537m tonnes from

0.663m tonnes.

A 15.34pc rise was registered in

container handling in twenty-foot

equivalents (TEUs) to 2.988m tonnes

from 1.992m tonnes. Out of the above

figures, the number of import TEUs was

1.155m in 2020-21 as against 1.001m

TEUs in 2019-20. Export TEUs stood

at 1.142m versus 0.991m in 2019-20.

Arrival of ships at the KPT increased

by 21.5pc to 1,813 ship from 1,492

in FY20. Out of total ship movement,

number of container ship rose by 17pc

to 869 from 743 followed by 61.5pc

rise in bulk cargo ship to 281 from 174,

five per cent rise in general cargo ship

to 169 from 161 and 19pc hike in oil

tankers to 494 from 414 ship in FY20.

Meanwhile, cargo handling activities

at the Port Qasim also swelled to 58m

tonnes in 2020-21 versus 51m tonnes

in 2019-20. In 2016-17, total cargo

handling was 37.3m tonnes. As per

data available at PQA’s website, arrival

of ships at the PQA rose to 1,709 in

FY21 from 1,520.

Surging imports

Pakistan exports during the first month

of FY22 posted a year-on-year highestever

growth of 17.3pc to $2.34 billion.

Considering this achievement along

with an ambitious plan of achieving

$38.7bn to $40bn exports during FY22,

the government has extended the

duty-free import regime to more raw

materials.

Imports also swelled during past

couple of months, which although put

a negative mark on current account,

however this has increased port

handling. Land route trade agreements

with CARs is also expected to increase

Pakistan ports cargoes, he hoped.

“With these developments, Pakistani

port handling during FY22 is expected

to remain brisk,” the maritime official

added. Pakistan’s import in July went

up by a whooping 52pc to $5.6bn from

$3.67bn in July 2020.

Courtesy - DAWN

QCCI members invited to invest in Gwadar

Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Chairman Naseer Khan

Kashani has invited members of the Quetta Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (QCCI) to take advantage of golden

opportunities for investment in the port city. Speaking at a

meeting with the QCCI members he said the government

had already announced plans to extend maximum facilities

and incentives to those businessmen who intended to make

investment in Gwadar. He assured them of giving priority to

their proposals about investment and trade.

The GPA chairman said more trade-friendly measures

were being taken. He said that steps would be taken for tax

exemption and other incentives. “We will be

able to build 31 berths in Gwadar by 2050.”

He said the project was in the eyes of the

enemies and they were trying to derail it, but

“we all have to work together to complete it

successfully”.

Daily cargo clearance at

PICT reaches 51pc

The per-day clearance of trade cargoes at the Pakistan

International Container Terminal (PICT) reached 51 per

cent in August from less than 40pc last year, a development

that will help reduce the cost of doing business. The

information was shared during a meeting of the National

Assembly Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs presided

over by Amer Ali Khan Magsi recently when members

of the committee directed the Collectorate of Customs

Appraisement (East) Karachi for removal of blockage and

congestion of containers at the PICT.

Collector of Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (East)

Karachi Fayaz Rasool Maken briefed the committee on the

steps taken for the clearance of imported consignments.

The automated Web-Based One-Customs cargo clearance

system has ensured that 51pc of the consignments are

cleared within one day.


TRADE CHRONICLE

PNSC Group has declared a profit after

tax of Rs. 2,265 million during 2021

A Chronicle Report

PNSC Group has declared a profit after

tax of Rs. 2,265 million, a decrease

of 6% compared to the last year’s

profit after tax of Rs. 2,414 million.

A significant reason for the decline

in profitability is a decrease in group

revenue from managed vessels

by 18% (Rs. 8,414 million v/s

Rs. 10,278 million last year).

At the same time, there is an

increase of Rs. 474 million (Rs.

736 million v/s Rs. 263 million

last year) in revenue from the

chartered segment.

The total cargo transported in FY

2021 increased to 11.09 Million

MT compared to 8.437 Million

MT in FY 2019-20, reflecting a

significant increase of 31.4%.

In addition, aggressive costcutting

measures were adopted

across all segments of the business.

As a result, despite an annual CPI of

8.9%, the administrative expenses

declined by 7.6%, rental expenses by

15.2% & other costs by 22.3%

PNSC having a total DWT capacity

of 831,711 metric tons, lifted cargo

of about 11.09 million tons (FY 2020:

8.437 million tons) during the year

under review, which is equivalent

to approximately 10.06% (FY 2020:

9.34%) of the country’s total 110.271

Calling it a “game-changer”, the federal

government has unveiled an ambitious

plan to rebuild Karachi’s coastline

under the China-Pakistan Economic

Corri dor (CPEC) with $3.5

billion “direct Chinese

investment” that aims to

overhaul city’s seaboard

with new berths for the

port, a new fishery port

and a ‘majestic harbour

bridge’ connecting it

with Manora islands and

Sandspit beach.

The Karachi Coastal Com

prehensive Development

Zone (KCCDZ) —

spread over 640 hectares

or 1,581 acres on the

Future Outlook

CPEC panel approves ambitious plan

for Karachi coastline development

million tons (FY

2020: 94.321 million

tons) seaborne trade

by volume.

The company remains optimistic

about the performance of the PNSC

group in the future. The tanker freights

have shown signs of recovery-albeit

gradually. The BDI is currently hovering

at ten years high, which is expected

to yield strong results for our bulk

carriers. The fleet expansion delayed

due to market volatility will be pursued

aggressively in FY 22. Materialization

of the transaction will positively impact

the revenues as well the bottom line of

PNSC. Business diversification & entry

into the marine services business is also

being followed vigorously. Persistence

of Delta variant & outbreak of newer

western backwaters

marsh land of the

Karachi Port Trust (KPT)

leading to revamp one of

the oldest city slums Machhar Colony

relocating its more than half a million

population — is an initiative of the

Ministry of Maritime Affairs.

variants of Covid remains the key risk

to the recovery of tanker freight rates.

The rising global container shipping

freight also remains an area of concern.

Tightening of environmental regulations

by IMO is another risk to profitability in

years to come. All efforts will be made

to mitigate the adverse impact of the

risks emanating from volatility in freight

markets and tightening of regulatory

framework & the associated

cost pressures.

Dividend Announcement

The Board of Directors is

pleased to recommend a cash

dividend for the year ended

June 30, 2021, on ordinary

shares at 30%, i.e. Rs. 3.00 per

share for the approval of the

members in the upcoming 43rd

Annual General Meeting.

PNSC is a shipping company

that undertakes international operations

by transporting petroleum products

from the Middle East to seaports in

Pakistan for domestic consumption and

through the global carriage of dry bulk

commodities on international routes.

The majority of PNSC’s revenue

streams are pegged to international

freight indices, inextricably linking the

Corporation and creating a dependency

on the global economy’s health.

(Abstract from PNSC annual report for

2021)

The KCCDZ is the latest addition to

CPEC projects aimed at providing

Karachi with an ultra modern urban

infrastructure zone, placing it among

the top port cities of the world.

The announcement came from the

top when a key member

of Prime Minister Imran

Khan’s cabinet sha red

some details of the project

and claimed it carried

“enormous potential for

global investors as well”.

“And the best thing of

this project is that it’s

solely based on foreign

[Chinese] investment

without any loan,” said

Minister for Mar i time

Affairs Syed Ali Zaidi while

speaking to media.


TRADE CHRONICLE Leather Industry

Tasawar Hussain elected

PLGMEA chief

Tasawar Hussain Butt has been

unanimously elected as the Chairman

of the Pakistan Leather Garments

Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (PLGMEA) Central for the

year 2021-2022 in the first meeting

of the newly-elected 20th Central

Executive Committee.

The Committee also approved the

nomination of Rashid Arshad Zahur

as Senior Vice Chairman and Kashif

Rahim as Vice Chairman. Tasawar

Hussain Butt was elected first time the

Chairman Pakistan Leather Garments

Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (Central Office).

Earlier, Muhammad Saleem Ahmed

and Abdul Salam have been

unanimously elected as the Chairman

and Vice Chairman of Southern Zone in

the first meeting of newly-elected 20th

Southern Executive Board at PLGMEA

Offices, Karachi.

Central Chairman Tasawar Hussain

advised the members of the difficult

time, ahead in the aftermath worldwide

economic crunch due to Covid-19. He

said he would try to capitalize the merit

of the only value-added leather sector

of the country. He said that industrial

cost structuring needed improvement

by policy support of the government.

Fiscal, monitory, tariffs and taxation

need rationalization.

Chairman Southern Zone Saleem

Ahmed strongly urged to Prime Minister

of Pakistan and Federal Minister for

Commerce to activate TDAP and

Commercial Consular in Pakistani

Missions Abroad to help exporters

in international market for showcase

Pakistani leather garments products on

a large scale.

He said federal government needed to

review trade policy in order to enhance

the exports of leather garments and

allied industries, as leather garments/

goods industry has excellent potential

for growth as well as to earn foreign

exchange for the country.

Amanullah Aftab becomes

Chairman PTA

Amanullah Aftab of

M/s. Hafiz Tannery,

Karachi, has been

elected as Chairman

of Pakistan Tanners

Association (PTA) for

2021-22. Likewise,

Azmat Saleem

Sheikh of M/s. Leather Coordinators,

Sahiwal as Sr. Vice Chairman and Aziz

Ahmed of M/s. AMA Leather Industry,

Karachi as Vice Chairman for PTA

same year.

The fifteen members of the central

executive committee are Mr. Agha

Saiddain ( M/s. Royal Leather

Zahid Hussain becomes

new Chairman of PFMA

Mr Zahid Hussain

from Rafum

Industries (Borjan)

has been elected

new Chairman of

Pakistan Footwear

Manufacturing

Association

(PFMA) for 2021-

2022.

Similarly, Mr Rashad Islam of Waresa

Industry Pvt Ltd was elected as the

Senior Vice Chairman and Mr Wasim

Uz Zafar Quadri of ASA International as

Vice Chairman for PFMA.

In his welcome speech, Mr Zahid

applauded the contribution of Ex-

Chairman Mr Imran Malik for

establishing Pakistan’s First IPFTC

(Italian Pakistan Footwear Technology

centre) and PSDH (Pakistan shoes

design hub). Newly elected Chairman

Mr Zahid Hussain vowed to take these

projects to the next level of excellence

by creating a meaningful impact on

Pakistan’s Industry and economic wellbeing.

He is determined to best utilize these

facilities for the betterment and growth

of the Footwear sector of Pakistan

by developing more linkages with

supporting industries. After resuming

Industries Ltd., Lahore ), Mr. Badre

Alam ( M/s. Badre Alam Traders,

Lahore ), Mr. Ejaz Ahmed Sheikh

( M/s. Bombal Leathers, Karachi ),

Mr. Hamid Arshad Zahur ( M/s. Noor

Leather Garments (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi

), Mr. Irfan Iqbal ( M/s. Nova Leathers

(Pvt) Ltd., Karachi ), Mr. Muhammad

Musaddiq ( M/s. Siddiq Leather Works

(Pvt) Ltd., Lahore ), Mr. Muttaher

Shafique Pasari ( M/s. Pasari ORG.,

Lahore ), Mr. Shafique Ahmed ( M/s.

Shafique Leather Enterprises, Karachi

), Mr. Shakil Ahmed ( M/s. Universal

Leather (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi ), Mr. Tahir

( M/s. Tauheed International, Lahore

), Kh. Muhammad Mehr Ali ( M/s.

Khawaja Tanneries (Pvt) Ltd., Multan ),

Sh. Saqib Saeed Masood ( M/s. Khas

Industries (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi ).

charge, His prime objective is to make

all-out efforts to engage Government

relevant organs to create a conducive

environment for future cooperation that

can serve exporters, Manufacturers,

component supplies, Large, Medium

and Small Industries of Footwear along

with mutual interest of SMEs.

He emphasized the challenges faced

by the industry, especially drawing

policymakers attention toward critical

issues faced by the industry and

manufacturer. Some of the most

important are Extension of Local Taxes,

and Levies Drawback Scheme is

enhanced to 4%, to enable the industry

to position itself in the international

market, waiving off ACD and RD on all

raw materials for the footwear industry

and put them in the lowest slab of

custom duty, to promote “Made in

Pakistan Policy”.

He’ll continue to seek guidance and

suggestions from the Executive

members’ committee to enhance the

manufacturing base of Footwear that

leads to an increase in export and

generate employment opportunities in

the country.

On this occasion, Ex-Chairman Mr

Imran Malik thanked the EC members

and tremendous support of the

Footwear industry, which helped him

achieve success for the greater interest

of the PFMA and footwear industry of

Pakistan.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Leather exports need skills

for value addition

Leather exports have been climbing

and the PBS export data shows that

exports including leather garments,

leather gloves, and other leather

products (excluding footwear) for the

first two months of FY22 (2MFY22)

were up by 8.2 percent year-on-year.

Leather footwear for the same period

was up by 20 percent year-on-year,

while tanned leather exports, which are

in the unprocessed form were also up

by 44 percent year-on-year. In August

2021, leather manufacturer’s exports

grew by a meagre 3.4 percent year-onyear,

whereas the footwear and tanned

leather exports were up by 38 and 49

percent year-on-year, respectively.

Although, leather exports rebounded

in FY21, total leather exports dropped

by 9.36 percent year-on-year in

FY20 that included first 4-5 months

of the pandemic during nationwide

and global lockdowns. According to

a mapping study with the financial

support of the European Union on

Pakistan’s leather products, shipment

data showed that Pakistan’s leather

and leather goods sector took a hit as

the exports of all leather products took

a dive in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Bangladesh leather industry has earned

$271.34 million in July –Sept 2021

During the first three months, July –

Sept 2021 of the ongoing fiscal year,

the Bangladesh leather industry has

earned export revenue of $271.34

million compared to $225.15 million

earned in the same three months of

the previous fiscal year. It translates to

double-digit growth of 20.52 on a YoY

basis, according to the Bangladesh

Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Indian leather industry recorded a very

significant growth of 82.38%

According to the

Indian’s Council for

Leather Exports

(CLE), export revenue

of leather and leather

products during the

first four months of the

ongoing financial year

i:e between April 2021

and July 2021 stood at $1.406 billion

as against the performance of $771.37

However, unlike FY20, total exports of

the leather industry including tanned

leather, leather apparel, leather gloves,

leather footwear, and their leather

manufactures witnessed 8.9 percent

growth year on year in FY21 despite

the pandemic and restrictions.

The resumption of growth in Pakistan’s

leather exports is a good sign, but it

must be noted that growth witnessed

did not come from resumption of

global demand but came from decline

in exports from India. Share of leather

exports in the country’s total exports

has fallen from 4.9 percent in FY16

to 3.6 percent in FY20, and a major

concern is the need for skilled and

trained manpower.

In a conversation with local media,

Fawad Ijaz Khan - the founder

chairman of Pakistan Leather

Garments Manufacturers and Exporters

Association (PLGMEA) highlighted that

leather is a labor-intensive industry that

requires expertise and skills rather than

technical knowhow because of very

basic machinery.

There is a lack of skilled labor force in

the country, which is a key inhibiting

factor for the growth of the sector -

such as lack of sufficient vocational

The breakdown

shows that

Bangladesh bagged

$31.96 million on

exports of finished leather between

July and Sept 21 compared to $23.80

million in July – Sept 2020. It offers a

growth of 34.29 %.

The exports of leather products have

also expanded to $70.67 million during

these three months from the $53.0

million of the same months of last year.

It translates to an incline of 33.34 per

million in April – July

2020. It recorded

a very significant

growth of 82.38%.

The breakdown shows that the finished

leather exports rose in value by 79.92%

to $155.99 million from $86.70 million,

leather footwear by 72.25% to $579.15

million from $ 336.22 million, and

leather garments by 77.22% to $101.90

million from $57.50 million during this

period.

The leather goods export also

training institutes, leather fashion, and

designing institutes focusing on highly

skilled workers for the industry.

However, that’s not all; the country also

suffers from low level of value addition

in the product-mix relative to regional

peers. Out of all the finished leather used

across the globe, highest percentage is

for footwear followed by leather goods,

which is where the sector’s labor

intensity must focus. Also, strict tannery

effluent and discharge management,

and global requirements also result

in very few internationally recognized

brands of leather products in Pakistan.

Bringing efficiency and environmental

sustainability in the sector will not only

help the sector improve export revenue

but also play a role in fight against

climate change.

Courtesy - Business Recorder

cent on a YoY basis.

On a more positive development, the

leather footwear exports grew 13.72%

to $168.71 million from $148.36 million

during this period.

The Bangladesh Export Promotion

Bureau (EPB) set the leather industry’s

export target at $1.031 billion for the

financial year 2021-22 (July – June)

compared to the $941.67 million earned

in the previous fiscal year.

increased by 104.59% to $357.19

million from $174.59 million during this

export period. Similarly, Saddlery and

Harness export rose to $81.58 million

from $33.93 million, reflecting a growth

of 140.44%.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce

and Industry has set an export target

of $400 billion for merchandise exports

during this year, i.e.2021-22. Out of this,

the target fixed for the leather industry

is $5.89 billion. CLE plans to undertake

maximum efforts to achieve an export

target of $5.89 billion during 2021-22.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Cement Industry

Local and export dispatches during

September 21 remain depressed YoY

basis as stated in data released by

All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers

Association (APCMA) on October

05. Domestic transmissions stood at

4.018Mt and export 0.572Mt compared

to 4.095Mt and 1.131Mt in September

2020, respectively. This defines a

reduction of 1.88 per cent and 49.45

per cent on local and overseas markets

YoY basis. At the same time, total

cement dispatches declined by 12.17

percent to 4.589Mt from 5.225Mt

during this period.

A representative of APCMA expressed

concerns about the slide in demand.

But, was pretty hopeful that the cement

industry would regain its growth

momentum in the coming months,

mainly due to pro-government policies

related to the construction sector.

During September 2021, North-based

cement mills dispatched 3.451Mt

cement in domestic markets, showing

a decline of 2.04 per cent over 3.523Mt

dispatches in September 2020. Southbased

mills

p o s t e d

567,445t

cement in local

markets during September 2021, which

was slightly less than the dispatches of

571,639t during September 2020.

Local and overseas cement dispatches

dropped during September 2021 in Pakistan

Fauji Cement earns

Rs3.35bn

Fauji Cement Company Ltd announced

financial results for the year ended

June 30, 2021 posting profit after tax

(PAT) at Rs3.35 billion, translating to

earnings per share (EPS) at Rs2.52.

The earnings replaced loss after tax at

Rs59.4m and loss per share at Rs0.04

incurred the previous year.

DGKC earns Rs3.7bn

D.G. Khan Cement Company Ltd

posted a profit-after-tax of Rs3.72

billion for the year ended June 30,

converting to earnings per share at

Rs8.49. It showed a turnaround from

the loss after tax of Rs2.16bn and loss

per share of Rs4.93 suffered the in

FY20.

The board recommended a final cash

dividend at Rs10 per share

Exports from North-based mills

massively declined by 61.63 per cent

as the quantities reduced from 287,287t

in September 2020 to 110,245t in

September 2021. Exports from the

South also decreased by 45.29 per

cent to 461,340t in September 2021

from 843,334t during the same month

last year.

Cumulative dispatches

During the first quarter of the current

fiscal year, July – Sept 2021, total

cement dispatches (domestic and

exports) were 12.825Mt that calculates

to 5.67 per cent lower than 13.596Mt

dispatched during the corresponding

period of last fiscal year. Further

analyses indicate that domestic uptake

of the commodity increased by 3.92

per cent to 11.279Mt from 10.853Mt

during July-September 2020. In

contrast, exports during the same

period declined by a massive 43.64 per

Cement manufacturers asked

to start new plants early

The Punjab government has asked the

cement manufacturers that the new “No

Objection Certificates” (NOCs) issued

for installation of the cement plants

in the province could be cancelled if

they failed to initiate the projects within

six months period from the date of

issuance.

The warning was issued by the Punjab

Industry, Commerce and Trade Minister

Mian Aslam Iqbal chairing a review

meeting of the NOCs issued for the

installation of new cement plants in the

province.

Further, the

government

asked the

c e m e n t

manufacturers


cent 1.546Mt from 2.743Mt during July-

September 2020.

Manufacturing cost rises

APCMA said that coal FOB prices have

increased from $ 68t in September

2020 to over $210t during September

2021. Ocean freight from South Africa to

Karachi has also increased from $ 11t in

September 2020 to $ 30t in September

2021. Pak Rupee parity to US dollar has

increased from Rupees 165 per dollar

to over Rupee 171 per dollar during the

same period. He further added that the

power and energy rates are constantly

growing, and the transportation cost

has gone very high due to an increase

in petroleum prices, adding to the cost

of delivery to different destinations.

These price escalations have seriously

affected the cost of doing business in

local as well as international markets.

A Chronicle Report

to submit their timelines for the

execution of the projects within one

week as the said NOCs were issued

on the fast-track basis to increase

the investment and employment

opportunities in the province.

However, only a couple of cement

manufacturers started work on the

new NOCs granted by the government

to them. Majority of the cement

manufacturers again complained the

number of issues such as environment

issues faced by them even after getting

the NOCs from the government.

He said 10 NOCs have been issued

for setting up of new cement factories

to promote the construction sector and

increase the employment opportunities.

More NOCs will be issued after the

Cabinet approval, he said. It is pertinent

to note that new industries are being

setup up in the province due to the

government’s pro-industry policies.

TRADE CHRONICLE

D.G. Khan Cement

completes second phase

of 30MW CFPP

D.G. Khan

Cement Company

Limited (DGKC)

has informed

Pakistan Stock

Exchange (PSX)

that the company

has successfully

completed in the

second phase

installation and

commissioning of 30MW Captive Coal

Fired Power Plant (CFPP) with Air

Cooled Condenser (ACC) technology,

at Hub site, Distt. Lasbela Baluchistan.

The plant is based on a high

temperature and pressure reheats

thermal system, which will generally

improve overall efficiency of the captive

power plant. With the completion of

this phase, captive power generation of

this project has reached to 40MW

The increasing trend in coal prices

may hit Pakistan cement industry

Pakistan top cement manufacturers

termed the growing trend in coal prices

detrimental to the county cement

industry. Its negative impact may dent

the portability in the second quarter of

this year if remedial measures such as

an increase in prices of cement bags

and relief in other inputs costs are not

allowed/eased immediately.

The coal prices are hovering around

$170t this month compared to $75t in

July last year – reflecting a surge of 127

per cent in a year period. The cement

industry is already under burden due

to provinces’ increased limestone

royalty and high cement bag prices. In

addition, volatility in fuel prices and Pak

Rupees depreciation against the dollar

in last month.

Cherat Cement Co Kicked-off

Line-IV Greenfield project

Pakistan leading

cement producers

- Cherat Cement

Company Limited

(CHCC), during a

financial briefing on

Sept 13, updated

about its planned

Greenfield expansion (line 4) of nearly

10-11,000tpd at the cost of PKR 34bn

at D.I. Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Province in Pakistan.

The completion of the project is

expected in three years.

The financing structure includes 70

per cent of the total cost will be debt

component and the remainder will be

equity. The company has availed PKR

5bn for this capacity addition under

the State Bank of Pakistan Long Term

Financing Facility (LTFF) for Plant &

Machinery (SBP’s LTFF). However,

it does not include the WHR plant;

In Cement Conference,

conducted by CEO, AKD

Securities Ltd, Muhammad

Farid Alam, Sept 15, the

Chief Financial Officer, Lucky Cement

Limited (LUCK) Atif Kaludi; CFO, Attock

Cement Pakistan Ltd Muhammad

Rehan; CFO, Gharibwal Cement Ltd,

Shamail Javed and CFO DG Khan

Cement Limited Inayatullah Niazi have

encompassed the present and future of

cement industry in Pakistan. They have

said the industry had entered another

expansion phase. The total installed

capacity of the cement industry in

Pakistan is stood at 69Mt, and 18Mt

of capacity is in the pipeline. This will

take total production capacity to 87Mt

by FY24.

In FY21, cement sales have grown by

20 per cent YoY to 57.4Mt. For FY22,

experts expect demand to grow by 10

per cent YoY. They estimated that

if demand continues to increase by

10 per cent each year, the industry

will reach 100 per cent capacity

utilization by FY26.

Lucky Cement

Lucky will incur CAPEX of PKR 23bn

for its upcoming cement expansion,

of which ~50 per cent is funded

through Temporary Economic Relief


hence overall project cost may

be higher.

Export to Afghanistan

The management of CHCC has

pointed out that although exports from

Afghanistan had gone up by 34 per

cent last year and with the U.S. exit,

the administration believes exports will

remain buoyant this year. However,

sea-based exports may face some

trouble. The current cement export

price to Afghanistan is $ 36-40t.

Financial Results highlights

The company posted a profit after tax

of PKR 3.205 bn in FY21, against a

loss of PKR 1.893 bn last year. The

primary reason behind the turnaround

was robust sales (dispatches went up

by 21 per cent YoY to 5.773Mt with local

sales depicting a jump of 21 per cent

while exports rose by 19 per cent) and

improvement in retention prices. The

management of CHCC has a positive

outlook for local dispatches, expecting

a 10 per cent growth in FY22.

Financing (TERF) and Long Term

Financing Facility (LTFF) facilities. The

development is expected to commence

operations by Dec-2022, Atif Kaludi

added.

Attock Cement

Cement expansion of 4,250tpd is

expected to come online by Jan2024.

Similarly, a solar plant of 20MW is

expected to go online by Oct2021;

Muhammad Rehan replied to the

question.

Garibwal Cement

According to Shamail Javed, GWLC’s

announced expansion is subject to

board approval. If the board approves,

it will take two years to start commercial

production.

DG Khan Cement

The company is expected to start

construction of a project from next year.

The 10, 000 -14,000tpd is expected

to come online by FY25. The total

cost of the project is expected to be

US$250m and will be financed through

a combination of debt and equity, said

Inayatullah Niazi.

Courtesy - www.cement.org

TRADE CHRONICLE

An update on Kohat Cement

green field project

The Company top management has

updated about its upcoming 8-10k tpd

green field project. The management

informed that the total cost of project

would be Rs25bn, of which Rs10bn

will be financed through internally

generated equity while the rest Rs15bn

will be financed through debt.

The company has not availed the TERF

facility but is trying to avail LTFF for the

An update on Thatta Cement

on production capacity

Thatta Cement Company Ltd has

completed enhancement in production

capacity of clinker & cement at Makli,

District Thatta, in Sindh Province. The

Company shared this update with the

Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited about

important material information on Sept

03. The Company has completed inhouse

modifications and improvements

Lucky Cement Limited (psx: LUCK)

won the Environment Excellence

Award at the 18th Annual Environment

Excellence Awards 2021, organized by

The National Forum of Environment

and Health (NFEH).

The ceremony focused on Climate

Change and Eco System Restoration

which was held at a local hotel on

16 September 2021. Lucky Cement

received the award in recognition to

its commitment and efforts towards

environment conservation and

sustainable business operations.

The Annual Environment Excellence

Awards are the

benchmark for

environmental

standards in Pakistan.

Speaking of the

occasion, Mr. Amin

Ganny, Chief Operating Officer, Lucky

Cement Limited, said, “At Lucky

Cement, we are committed to make

efforts for environment conservation

and sustainable business practices.”

He further added “We are constantly

making efforts on the management and

rational use of natural resources, which

has helped us in reducing the carbon

expansion.

Lucky Cement Awarded Environment

Excellence Award 2021

The plant is expected to commence

COD in FY24.

Along with this, company is also working

on optimization of pyro process of line-

3 which will reduce fuel & power cost.

The total cost of project is Rs1.2bn and

will be financed through combination of

debt and equity. However, the company

has kept other projects including

cement grinding mill and coal fired

boilers on hold due to injection of equity

in the processes of the existing plant.

By the Grace of Allah Almighty, our

technical team has completed the trials

and testing process.

Due to previously mentioned

modifications and improvements, the

total per annum production capacity

of clinker and cement has now been

increased from 548,400 tons to 660,000

tons and from 575,820 tons to 693,000

tons, respectively, based on 300

working days per year, said Company

footprint and increased

operational efficiency.

We understand our

responsibility towards

the environment as an industry leader

and through various environment

conservation initiatives including

planned tree plantation drives and

water conservation methods, we are

committed to play our part”.

Sustainable development forms a

significant part in Lucky Cement’s

business strategies and is one of the

key factors that have led the company

towards progress and growth.

The National Forum for Environment &

Health was established in 1999 and is

a non-profit organization with the aim to

facilitate and promote

environmental,

healthcare and

educational awareness

amongst the masses.

The Company has a proven history and

track record of its strong commitment

for the improvement of society and the

communities in which it operates. The

primary focus of CSR initiatives of the

Company remains in the development

of the education sector, women

empowerment, health, environment

and local communities.

in the greenfield project.

Currently plant is running at 70%

capacity utilization.

Courtesy - AHCML Research

Secretary Muhammad Abid Khan in a

bourse filing.

Pakistan beholds a mixed

export trend 03MFY21-22

Pakistan’s Federal Bureau of Statistics

(FBS) has released cement and clinker

export data for the first quarter July-

Sept of the current fiscal year 2021-22.

A mixed trend was noticed as both value

and quantity of exports slide during this

period on a cumulative basis compared

with the equivalent months in FY20-21

but saw growth on a month on a month

on a basis.

Pakistan’s cement industry between

July and Sept 21 earned US$55.20m of

export revenue by dispatching 1.555Mt

of cement and clinker overseas,

compared to US$72.29m from 2.206Mt

of exports in the year-ago period. The

export figures represent a drastic fall

of 23.64 per cent in dollar terms and

29.51 per cent in terms of volumes YoY,

as reported by FBS. The same pattern

was also noticed in local currency

despite the depreciation of Pak currency

against the dollar during this period. The

export value decreased by 24.17 per

cent to PKR 9.13bn (US$55.20m) from

PKR12.05bn during this 03MFY21-

22. However, a definite positive trend

observed in Sept 2021 when export

revenues were rose to US$33.81m

and volume 1.02Mt from US$ 9.42m

and 235,203t1t respectively during this

reporting period.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Tariq Glass Industries Limited has

registered record net sales of Rs.

19.103 billion against Rs. 13.587 billion

in the previous year showing a robust

growth of 40.60%. The profit after-tax

and EPS for the period under report

are Rs. 2,109 million and Rs. 15.31

as compared to corresponding figures

of last year of Rs. 762 million and Rs.

5.53 (Restated) respectively, according

to Company annual report 2021.

The Company top officials attribute

the lucrative to efficient

monitoring and development

of operating procedures,

implementation

of

effective marketing plans,

promotional schemes and

media campaigns to secure

volumes of float glass

and tableware produced.

Consequently, the Company

succeeded in increased the

consumption of its goods

through a demand-pull

strategy.

The annual report adds that

the Company ignited / Fred

the furnace of a new state of

the art plant for the production

of Float Glass (namely Float

Glass Plant Unit – II) with

a capacity of 500 Metric

Tons Per Day on April 19,

2021, and the commercial

production started on May

31, 2021. The Company’s

existing production facilities

were also fully functional

during the financial year

under report. Production

activities

w e r e

effectively

planned

and adjusted to cater to the market

demand in terms of quantity and quality.

Tariq Glass Industries has registered a robust

growth of 40.60% in sales during 2021

VISION STATEMENT

“To be a premier glass

manufacturing organization of

International standards and repute,

offering innovative value-added

products, tailored respectively to the

customer’s needs and satisfaction.

Optimizing the shareholder’s value

through meeting their expectations,

making Tariq Glass Industries

Limited an “Investor Preferred

Institution” is one of our prime

policies. We are a “glassware

supermarket” by catering for all

household and industrial needs of

the customers under one roof”.

Cash dividend

The Board of Directors has

recommended the final cash dividend

for the year ended June 30, 2021, at the

rate of Rs. 12/- per share (i.e., 120%) in

addition to 25% interim bonus shares

already issued. The recommendation

of 25% interim bonus shares in

proportion of 25 shares for every 100

shares held out of free reserves for the

half-year ended December 31, 2020,

was made by the Board of Directors

in their meeting held on February 17,

2021, and subsequently approved by

the members of the Company in the

extraordinary general meeting held on

April 06, 2021.

Future Outlook:

Alhamdulillah, the Covid-19 pandemic

has been effectively controlled in

Pakistan, and with every passing day,

the business climate is improving. To

minimize the impact of the Covid-19

pandemic on the economy, the

Government has taken measures that

hopefully will trigger the economic

activities. The Board of Directors

believes that there is a strong need

for infrastructure development and

construction in Pakistan. The real

estate packages, amnesty to invest in

construction and the lower borrowing

rates will stimulate the construction

activities. They will result in higher

demand for glass products in the future.

With the induction of added production

from the Float Glass Plant Unit – 2, a

MISSION STATEMENT

“To be a world-class and leading

company continuously providing

quality glass tableware, containers

and float by utilizing the best blend

of state of the art technologies,

highly professional staff, excellent

business processes and synergistic

organizational culture”.

wide range of flat glass products will be

available not only in the shape of clear

and coloured float glass (i.e., green,

blue, bronze), mirror and reflective

coated flat glass but also the float glass

of varied thicknesses in the range of 2

to 12 mm will be maintained in stocks

for sales.

The management has undertaken

necessary measures to improve quality

further, introduce valueadded

products, and a more

focused approach towards

customer satisfaction. In

this regard, the Company

launched deckle printed

glass dinner sets. Our focus

will also be on capturing

the export potential both for

tableware and float glass

products. The availability of

an effective sales mix will

ultimately result in higher

sales and further improved

profitability of the Company.

The Company’s existing

furnaces of one of the

Tableware Plant and the

Float Glass Plant (Unit-

1) have completed their

useful campaign life. Still,

the production performance

of both these furnaces is

satisfactory. However, these

furnaces can be closed for

significant repair in the next

financial year, i.e., FY2021-

2022.

A Chronicle Report


TRADE CHRONICLE

People & Events

Idrees elected KCCI

President

The Managing Committee of Karachi

Chamber of Commerce and Industry

(KCCI), in its meeting held recently,

unanimously elected Muhammad

Idrees as President KCCI for 2021-22

while Abdul Rehman Naqi was elected

as Senior Vice President KCCI and

Qazi Zahid Hussain as Vice President.

Muhammad

Idrees, who

has been

associated

with BMG

since more

than two

decades,

had already

serviced as Vice President KCCI in

2013-14.

He served as President Karachi

Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA)

from 2009 to 2015, besides being

member of a Committee of Ministry of

Maritime Affairs and Sindh IT Board.

Chairman BMG and former President

Salman Aslam elected KATI

President unopposed

New office-bearers of Korangi

Association of Trade and Industry

(KATI) have been elected unopposed.

According to details,

renowned businessman

Muhammad Salman Aslam

has been elected for the

presidency of 2021-22

while Maheen Salman has

been elected as senior

vice-president and Syed

Farrukh Ali Qandhari as vicepresident.

On the occasion,

SM Muneer Patronin-Chief

KATI,

congratulated

Salman Aslam

on becoming the

president of KATI

and said that the

previous presidents

Syed Farrukh

Ali Qandhari

of the past had served the business

community and Salman Aslam is the

Muhammad

Salman Aslam

KCCI, Zubair Motiwala, Vice Chairmen

BMG & former presidents KCCI Tahir

Khaliq, Haroon Farooki, Anjum Nisar,

Jawed Bilwani and General Secretary

BMG AQ Khalil congratulated the

newly elected office-bearers and hoped

that they will strive hard to further

improve the functioning of KCCI and

work diligently to resolve the issues

being faced by business and industrial

community.

It is pertinent

to mention

here that the

Businessmen

Group (BMG)

has been

constantly

winning

K C C I ’ s

election since

past 24 years. The newly elected officebearers

vowed to dedicatedly discharge

their responsibilities to the expectations

of KCCI members and the rest of the

business and industrial community.

They assured that no stone will be left

unturned to achieve various objectives

in this regard.

best choice to further enhanced the

efforts and services rendered for the

betterment of the national economy.

He said that Saleem-uz-Zaman also

performed well in KATI and raised

the standard. S M Muneer hoped that

Salman Aslam, Maheen

Salman and Farrukh

Qandhari would further

enhance the performance of

KATI.

Maheen Salman

Newly-elected president of

KATI Salman Aslam said

that he was grateful to the

patron-in-chief S

M Muneer and

all the members

who expressed full

confidence. He said

that after assuming

the office of KATI

as president, he will

serve the business

community as per

the vision and guidance of S M Muneer

and would take all possible steps for the

betterment of Korangi Industrial Area.

Jamal Mir elected PAA

Chairman

In the annual

Elections for 2021-

2022 of Pakistan

Advertising

Association (PAA)

Ahmed Jamal

Mir of Prestige

Communications

was elected

unopposed as

Chairman of the association.

Numan Nabi Ahmed of The Brand

Partnership was elected Senior Vice

Chairman along with Muhammad

Zeeshan Khan of TNI Communications

as Vice Chairman.

Mahmood Parekh of MCM, Usman Atiq

Butt of Interlink and Rizwan Ashraf of

Velocity were elected Chairman of

PAA Zones A, B and C. Javed Qadeer

of Marksman was elected secretary

Finance.

Mr. Numan

Nabi Ahmed

Mr. Ahmed

Jamal Mir

Mr. Muhammad

Zeeshan Khan

The newly elected Chairman, Ahmed

Jamal Mir thanked all members for

reposing their confidence in him. He

assured them that the new team with

the support of the PAA members

will work towards creating a positive

change and growth in the industry.

Especially in the current situation due

to the pandemic, he assured them that

the PAA will play its role to the fullest

to overcome these challenges and

enhance the image of the Advertising

industry and the country.

Other members elected to the

Executive Committee include: Anis

Thaver (G H Thaver), Imran Irshad

(M&C Saatchi), Fahd Khan (Manhattan

Communicati-ons), Mian Mobeen

Shaffat (Oak Media), Ahmed Hussain

Kapadia (Synergy), Sara Fatima

Koraishy and Faiza Nadeem (Midas

Communications).


TRADE CHRONICLE

LCCI electees assume

offices

The newly elected office-bearers of

the Lahore Chambers of Commerce

& Industry (LCCI) are President Mian

Nauman Kabir, Senior Vice President

Rehman Aziz Chan and Vice President

Haris Attiq.

They in a statement said that exports

were like a lifeline for the national

economy and LCCI would present a

roadmap to the government to enhance

exports of the country.

The newly elected-office bearers said

the government should take urgent

measures to control rupee devaluation,

which was creating severe challenges

for the economy. They said cheap

energy and raw materials were a must

for the businesses.

Haroon Shamsi elected

President of FBATI

Renowned industrialist

Muhammad Haroon

Shamsi has elected

unopposed President

of the Federal B Area

Association of Trade

and Industry for the

period 2021 to 2022. At the 32nd

Annual General Meeting of the Federal

B Area Association of Trade and

Industry, Aqeel Zawar has been elected

Senior Vice President and Khurram

Saeed Khan has been elected Vice

President.

Maqsood Ismail elected

LCCI president

Maqsood Ismail,

Suleman Chawla

and Ahmed Ashraf

have been elected

unopposed as

President, Senior

Vice President

and Vice President respectively of

Lasbela Chamber of Commerce &

Industry (LCCI) fore the year 2021-22.

IAP elects office-bearers

Azfar Arshad, Chief

Operating Officer,

Jubilee General

Insurance, Babar

Mahmood Mirza,

Chief Executive

officer, Atlas

Insurance and Ali Haider, Director

Business Distribution, Adamjee

Life Assurance, have been elected

Chairman, Senior Vice Chairman and

Vice Chairman respectively, of the

Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP)

for the year 2021-22.

In addition the Executive Committee

shall comprise the following members:

Faisal Khan, Chief Risk Officer, IGI

General Insurance, Syed Kazim

Hasan, Deputy Managing Director

to TPL Insurance, Ihtsham-ul—Haq

Qureshi, Chairman, Asia Insurance, M.

Faisal Siddiqui, Chief Executive Officer,

Sindh Insurance, Altaf Q. Gokal,

Deputy Managing Director & CFO,

EFU GeneraI Insurance, Mohammed

Ali Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director,

EFU Life Assurance, Farhan Akhtar

Faridi, Group Head, Retail Distribution,

Jubilee Life Insurance, Mian Kashif

Rashid, Executive Director United

Insurance.

The election results were announced at

the 60th Annual General Meeting of the

Association.

Saqib Naseem elected

PYMA Chairman

Saqib Naseem was elected unopposed

central Chairman of Pakistan Yarn

Merchants Association (PYMA) while

Javed Asghar elected senior vice

chairman for the year 2021-22.

According to PYMA announcement,

Muhammad Junaid Teli was elected as

vice chairman for Sindh and Balochistan

region and Awais Nisar, vice chairman

for Punjab and KPK region.

PSMA elects new Chairman

Chaudhry Zaka

Ashraf has been

elected as the

central chairman

of Pakistan Sugar

Mills Association

(PSMA) and

Iskander M.

Khan, as vice

chairman for the

year 2021-22.

The announcement of the election

results was made in the annual

general meeting of PSMA. The event

was attended by Ch. Muhammad

Aslam, chairman, PSMA Punjab

Zone, Faisal Mukhtar and Muhammad

Rafique, executive members and other

prominent sugar mill owners.

AP MSPIDA elects officebearers

Zahid Manzoor, Muhammad Arif

Siddiqui and Shahzad Sarfraz have

been elected as Chairman, Senior

Vice Chairman and Vice Chairman of

All Pakistan Motorcycle Spare Parts

Importers & Dealers Association

(AP MSPIDA) for year 2021-2022

respectively.

Earlier 6 new members were elected

unopposed as member’s of Executive

Committee.

Ellahi Buksh Anwer

Elected BQATI President

unopposed

Ellahi Buksh Anwer has been elected

President Bin Qasim Association

(BQATI) for the years 2021-22.

The Managing Committee also elected

Shakeel Ashfaq and Hussain Agha to

the positions of Sr Vice President and

Vice President, respectively.

Abdul Rasheed Janmohammad, Amin

Dawood, Homan Yakoob along with

Ellahi Buksh Anwer, and Hussain Agha

were also elected as Member Managing

Committee for the term 2021-2023.


TRADE CHRONICLE

CAP announces election

results

Constructors Association of Pakistan

(CAP) on Thursday elected its new

office bearers for the year 2021-22.

According to a statement, Engr Kamal

Nasir Khan was elected unopposed as

Chairman CAP, while Engr MS Asad

Mukhtar as Senior Vice Chairman.

Moreover, Chaudhry Ahmad Habib was

elected unopposed as Vice Chairman

(Punjab), Syed Raza Ali Abidi Vice

Chairman (Sindh), Pir Zarif Shah Vice

Chairman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and

Malik Muhammad Kaleem Ullah was

elected Vice Chairman (Islamabad).

Others who were elected unopposed as

members of the executive committee

are: Engr Abdul Karim Khadim,

Marghoob Shakir Izhar, Naeemudin A

Siddiqui, Engr Muhammad Imran Khan

Cheema, Syed Yasin Shah, Sheikh

Saeedullah from corporate class.

As per the statement, Zahid ul Hassan

Qureshi, Khawaja Shoaib Mohi-ud-din,

Muhammad Satwat Khan, Chaudhry

Khaleeq Ahmad Awan, and Shaheryar

Khan were elected as executive

committee members from the associate

class.

PRGMEA elects Sheikh

Luqman as North Zone chief

The Pakistan Readymade Garments

Manufacturers & Exporters Association

(PRGMEA) has elected Luqman Sheikh

as North Zone chairman for the year

2021-22. Those who were elected as

ZMC (NZ) members included Waseem

Akhtar Khan, Mubashar Naseer Butt,

Sajid Saleem Minhas, Ansar Aziz, Abid

Khawaja and Umar-uz-Zaman.

The newlyelected

zonal

chairman

S h e i k h

Luqman Amin

drew attention

of the garment exporters to meet the

challenges in international market

so that momentum of exports could

not only be maintained but also new

opportunities be fully exploited. He

encouraged the exporters not to worry

about threats of globalization, rather

the hidden benefits should be explored

and utilized.

Hamad Kehar elected

president PSX

Stockbrokers body

Hamad Nazir Kehar

has been elected

as President of

PSX Stockbrokers

Association for the year

2021-22.

Likewise, Noman

Abdul Majeed Adam Vice-President,

Muhammad Adil General Secretary,

Abdus Samad Salim Joint Secretary,

Kazim Sultan Dattoo Treasurer while

Basharat Ullah Khan, Fawad Yusuf,

Ghulam Mujtaba Sakarwala, Humayun

Javed and Muhammad Zahid Ali Habib

elected as Committee Members.

Adil Farhat named CEO

of P&G Pakistan

P&G Pakistan

announced

appointment of Adil

Farhat as its new

Chief Executive

Officer effective

October 01.

Most recently, Adil was Managing

Director of P&G West Africa, based

out of Lagos. Prior to that, he has led

businesses across several categories

and channels based out of Geneva,

Jeddah & Dubai offices.

Speaking at the occasion, Adil said,

“P&G Pakistan has grown from strength

to strength in the last few decades to

serve our customers and consumers.

Today, it is one of the leading FMCG

companies in Pakistan.

Miraj Gul made NTC MD

The federal

government has

appointed Miraj

Gul as Managing

Director, National

Telecommunication

Corporation, under

the Ministry of

Information Technology (IT) and

Telecommunication. According to the

notification issued by the Ministry

of Information Technology and

Telecommunication, Gul was appointed

on contract basis for a period of three

years. Gul was serving as acting MD

NTC for the last couple of months.

APTMA elections: Gohar

Ejaz Group clinches all

seats

Gohar Ejaz led

group has secured

all positions of All

Pakistan Textile

Mills Association

(APTMA) in

elections for

the year 2021-

22 concluded

recently. According

to election results announced

Mohammad Raza Baqir, Secretary

General APTMA, Abdul Rahim Nasir

has been elected as Chairman APTMA

for the year 2021-22 while Jamil

Qassim and Atta Shafi Tanvir Sheikh

were elected as Senior Vice Chairman

and Vice Chairman respectively.

By sweeping all seats in Central and

Zonal elections of APTMA, Gohar Ejaz

Group has registered 12th consecutive

victory which is unprecedented in the

history of APTMA or any other Trade

Organization in the country.

Tariq Ullah Sufi elected

PVMA chief unopposed

Tariq Ullah

Sufi has been

elected Chairman

P a k i s t a n

Vanaspati

Manufacturers

Association

(PVMA) for the

year 2021-22.

Likewise, Sheikh Amjed Rasheed and

Sheikh Kashif Razzaq elected unopposed

as Sr Vice and Vice Chairman

respectively.

Other members of Executive Committee

elected for the term 2021-23 are Atif

Ikram Sheikh, Mian M Ashfaq Malik,

Hassan Munawar, M Muneeb Monnoo,

Anjum Rehmat, Haseeb Ur Rehman,

Nasir Saleem, Sh Amjad Rasheed,

Ehtisham Javaid and Raja Abubakar

Farooq.

The edible oil sector of Pakistan,

comprising 137 units, manufactures 4.5

million M Tons of banaspati and cooking

oil to meet annual national demand, the

sector also contributes handsomely in

national exchequer in terms of duty and

taxes, hence placed in top five revenue

spinners of Pakistan.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Shahzad Paracha elected

PSMA chief

Shahzad Mushtaq Paracha has been

elected Chairman Pakistan Soap

Manufacturers Association (PSMA) for

the year 2021-22.

The newly-elected unopposed officebearers

are Shahzad Mushtaq Paracha

of Paracha Soap & Chemical Industries

(Pvt) Limited, Faisalabad as Chairman,

M Shoaib Sethi of Khatoon Industries

(Pvt) Limited, Gujranwala as Senior

Vice Chairman & Tariq Zakaria of A K

Industries, Karachi as Vice Chairman.

Syed Anwer Suhail Razvi, Sh

Muhammad Ilyas, Sheikh Iftikhar Anwer

Sethi, Shahzad Mushtaq Paracha,

M Ali Zia and Zafar Mahmood are six

newly-elected unopposed Members of

Managing Committee.

Mohsin Sheikhani elected

ABAD chief unopposed

Pakistan’s seasoned

builder and developer

and Patron-in-Chief of

Allied Panel Mohsin

Sheikhani was elected

Chairman of the

Association of Builders and Developers

of Pakistan (ABAD) unanimously for

the term of 2021-2022 recently.

Mohsin Sheikhani has served ABAD

as Chairman four times earlier. While

Hanif Memon, Altaf Kantawala and

Sufian Adhia were elected as Senior

Vice Chairman, Vice Chairman and

Chairman Southern Region of the

organization respectively. Eng. Akber

Shaikh was elected as Chairman

Northern Region and Qamar Zaman

was elected as Vice Chairman Sub-

Region Hyderabad.

PCJCCI office bearers

Pakistan China Joint Chamber of

Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) has

elected Chinese business leader Wang

Zihai as its president, a statement said

recently. Moreover, Ehsan Choudhry

and Muhammad Sarfraz Butt were

elected as Senior Vice President and

Vice President respectively, it added.

The announcement was made by the

Election Commissioner at 7th Annual

General Meeting of the PCJCCI held

with the outgoing president SM Naveed

in chair at PCJCCI office.

President Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated

the Pakistan Pavilion at the Dubai

Expo 2020. First lady Samina Alvi

and Adviser to the Prime Minister on

Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood were

Chairman Businessmen Group Zubair

Motiwala and President Karachi

Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Muhammad Idrees presenting crest

to Additional Inspector General Imran

Yaqub Minhas during his visit to KCCI.

Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani,

KATI President Saleem-uz-Zaman

presenting a shield to Imran Maniar,

MD Sui Southern Gas Company. Zaki

Sharif, Nighat Awan, Salman Aslam,

Patron-in-Chief of KATI SM Muneer

presenting shield to Secretary Industry

and Commerce, Sindh Amir Khurshid,

President KATI Saleem-uz-Zaman,

also present on the occasion.

The president visited different stalls

at the pavilion and was briefed about

Pakistani products.

General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil,

President KCCI Muhammad Idrees,

Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman

Naqi Vice President Qazi Zahid

Hussain, Former Presidents Younus

Muhammad Bashir and Shamim Ahmed

Firpo are also seen in the picture.

Ehteshamuddin, Danish Khan, Syed

Tariq Hussain and others are also

present.

Zubair Chhaya, Zaki Sharif, Nighat

Awan, DC Korangi Saleemullah Odho,

Gulzar Feroz, Danish Khan, Sheikh

Umar Rehan were are also present.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Automobile News

Car loans hit record high

of Rs326bln in August

Auto financing reached an all-time

high of Rs326 billion in August 2021,

depicting a 46.8 percent year-on-year

jump, mostly owing to low interest

rates, a brokerage said quoting central

bank data recently.

Car loans increased 3.8 percent

month-on-month in August, while they

stood at Rs314 billion in July, said Arif

Hbib Limited in a report. “The growth

in auto financing during Q3FY21 is

mainly attributed to low interest rate

environment, increasing prices of

passenger cars, which affected the

PSMC posts Rs1.19bln

profit in 1H

Pak Suzuki Motor Co Ltd (PSMC) has

reported net profit of Rs1.19 billion for

the half-year ended June 30, 2021,

owing to an increase in its sales.

The company had posted a loss of

Rs2.46 billion the previous year. The

company also skipped a dividend for

this period, according to the statement

to Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share came in at Rs14.54,

compared with losses of Rs29.92 last

year. The company said its revenue

for the year rose to Rs66.11 billion,

compared with Rs27.47 billion a year

earlier.

For the quarter ended June

30, the company announced

profits of Rs418.96 million,

compared with losses of

Rs1.52 billion last year.

Earnings per share for the

quarter came at Rs5.09

compared with losses per

consumers’ capacity to buy on cash,

and new entrants in the automobile

market that provided wider options to

the consumers,” said the State Bank of

Pakistan’s (SBP) third quarterly report

on Pakistan’s economy for FY2021.

This was consistent with an across

the board increase in the sales of

auto assemblers during the period

under review. In particular, cars in the

category of below 1000cc and jeeps

were in higher demand, it added.

Analysts expect the auto financing to

face some slowdown in the wake of

the high cost of borrowing. The SBP

hiked interest rates by 25 basis points

to 7.25 percent on Monday to moderate

demand growth.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

noted that accommodative financial

conditions had provided significant

support to the growth recovery since the

start of FY2021. Following historic cuts

in the policy rate and the introduction of

SBP Covid-related support packages,

share of Rs18.49 last year.

A report of Arif Habib Limited said the

earnings of the company were below

than market expectations.

It reported net sales of the company

increased by 141 percent year-on-year

to Rs66.1 billion during 1HCY21 due

to lower financing rates and revival

of economic activity which aided

volumetric growth of 137 percent YoY

(50,096 vs. 21,116 units in 1HCY20).

During 2QCY21, net sales of the

company increased by 208 percent

year on year to settle at Rs30 billion

owing to low base effect and volumetric

jump of 193 percent year on year to

22,019 units.

private sector credit grew by more

than 11 percent during FY2021, on the

back of consumer loans (mainly auto

finance and personal loans) followed

by a broad-based expansion in credit

for fixed investment and finally working

capital loans.

“The MPC felt that some macro

prudential tightening of consumer

finance may also be appropriate to

moderate demand growth as part of

the move toward gradually normalizing

monetary conditions,” it said.

Bank lending to consumers surged

near 34 percent year-on-year in August.

Consumer loans such as home, car

and personal, and credit cards rose

to Rs742 billion in August from Rs550

billion a year ago.

Personal loans stood at Rs239 billion in

August, compared with Rs197 billion in

the same month of the previous fiscal

year. Housing finance also jumped 39.8

percent to Rs112 billion in August.

Millat Tractors profit

drops 349pc

Millat Tractors Limited has reported

a 349 percent fall in its full-year net

profit, owing to an increase in the net

revenue. In a statement to the PSX, the

company reported a net profit of Rs9

billion for the year ended June 30, up

from Rs2 billion the previous year.

The company also announced a final

cash dividend of Rs50 a share, which

was an addition to the already paid

interim dividend of Rs50 a share. It also

announced 20 percent bonus share

that was one bonus share for every five

shares. It was in addition to the interim

bonus shares already issued at 12.5

percent. Earnings per share came in at

Rs103.12, compared with Rs38.36 last

year.

The company said its revenue for the

year rose to Rs43.95 billion, compared

with Rs22.94 billion a year earlier. The

company said its other income for

the period also rose to Rs667 million,

compared with Rs253 million the

previous year.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Toyota announces over $100 Million investment in

Pakistan for local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Toyota will invest over US$100 million

for the local production of Hybrid

Electric Vehicle (HEV) in Pakistan.

The announced investment shall go

towards localization of components,

plant expansion and production

preparation for the first Hybrid Electric

Vehicle to be manufactured at Indus

Motor Company Limited (IMC) plant

located at Port Qasim, Karachi.

A delegation from Indus Motor

Company led by the Vice Chairman, Mr.

Shinji Yanagi and Chief Executive, Mr.

Ali Asghar Jamali, met with the Prime

Minister today at the Prime Minister’s

Office to announce the new investment.

The meeting was also participated

by Mr. Yoichi Miyazaki, CEO for

Toyota Asia, via video message.

Members of the Cabinet including

the Federal Minister for Industries,

Mr. Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal

Minister for Energy, Mr. Hammad

Azhar and Finance Minister, Mr.

Shaukat Tareen also attended

the meeting. The Ambassador of

Japan to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Kuninori

Matsuda, also graced the occasion.

Mr. Yoichi Miyazaki, CEO for Toyota

Asia said, “We are excited to announce

this new investment for bringing

Toyota’s latest generation Hybrid

Electric Technology to our customers

in Pakistan. Today’s investment

announcement is testament to our

strong commitment to Pakistan and

trust in the Government. We appreciate

the Government’s policies to encourage

low carbon mobility solutions.

Prime Minister Imran Khan whilst

appreciating Toyota’s investment

PM’s Advisor for Commerce and Investment visits

Careem headquarters to discuss potential of technology

The Advisor for Commerce and

Investment to the Prime Minister Imran

Khan, Abdul Razak Dawood, visited

Careem’s headquarters, Dubai in his

visit to the Expo 2020. The Advisor met

senior leadership of Careem including:

Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and Cofounder

of Careem, Colin Judd, Senior

Director Corporate Affairs and Fatima

Akhtar, Director Government Relations

Pakistan.

The meeting consisted of having an

in-depth discussion on how Pakistan

has evolved as an investment hub

over the last few years. The team at

Careem also enlightened the

Advisor with their journey of

creating a safe, trusted and

reliable mobility ecosystem

in Pakistan and the Middle

East. They also shunned

light on how Careem has

played a significant role in

fostering and nurturing the

tech startups in Pakistan as

well as positioned itself as the

fastest growing brand in the

region by enhancing its value

proposition by adding new

verticals and becoming a Super App.

Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor for

Commerce and Investment to the Prime

Minister stated: “Careem is a great

example of how Pakistan is a country

ripe with potential in so many different

sectors, technology being one of them.

It is great to see the impact they have

created in Pakistan over years.

Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and Cofounder,

Careem also expressed his

gratification by saying: “I am absolutely

delighted that the Advisor to Prime

Minister has come to our office today

announcement said: “Toyota/Japan has

remained the most committed partner

for Pakistan even in the most testing

times. We value our relationship and

Toyota’s trust in Pakistan’s economy

and welcome this new investment for

Environment Friendly Hybrid Electric

Vehicles. Indus Motor Company is

a wonderful example of how global

companies can grow successfully here

in Pakistan”.

The Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan,

H.E. Mr. Kuninori Matsuda, whilst

welcoming the decision said, “The

Embassy of Japan is confident that

the new investment decision will take

the economic ties between Japan and

Pakistan to the next level.

Mr. Ali Asghar Jamali, Chief

Executive, Indus Motor Company

Ltd. Said, “Today’s investment

announcement represents IMC’s

strong commitment towards our

community as we contribute

tangibly towards making Pakistan

less vulnerable to Climate Change.

A Chronicle Report

and assured us of the commitment of

the Government of Pakistan to facilitate

technology investment and create jobs

in this sector. I believe that at the heart

of all this growth is the recognition that

technology is a force for good and can

be integral in simplifying the lives of

people across the globe.”

In the past, Careem also invited

various notable personalities from both

federal and provincial governments to

its headquarters to discuss potential

opportunities as well as enlightening

them on Careem’s journey and

Initiatives. The list includes: Zulfikar

Bukhari, Special Assistant for Overseas

Pakistanis and Human Resource

Development and Taimur Khan Jhagra,

Provincial Minister of Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa for Finance.

Transforming into a Super

App; Careem offers multiple

opportunities as it expands

its services from mobility

of people (ride-hailing) to

adding mobility of things as

well as mobility of money

including food, daily essential

deliveries, peer to peer credit

transfer and mobile top-ups.

A Chronicle Report


TRADE CHRONICLE

Telecommunication News

PTCL Group joins hands

with NOWPDP for Justuju

Internship Program

Pakistan Telecommunication Company

Limited (PTCL) and Ufone has signed

an MoU to launch 2nd batch of Justuju

Internship Program in collaboration

with Network of Organizations Working

with Persons with Disabilities Pakistan

(NOWPDP).

Justuju includes a structured

professional development plan for

PWDs, focusing on training and

enabling them to be part of the country’s

mainstream socio-economic system.

PTCL Group will induct 20 interns,

as identified, and recommended by

NOWPDP for internship at PTCL and

Ufone offices in Islamabad, Lahore and

Karachi.

Jazz wins the Best

Taxpaying Company Award

Ufone awarded 4G

spectrum license

Pakistani Telecom Company, Ufone

has been awarded Next Generation

Mobile Services (NGMS) spectrum by

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

(PTA) as

a result of

recently held

spectrum

auction. The

company won

the spectrum

in a bid to

enhance 4G

customer

experience

across the

country.

Federal

Minister for IT & Telecom, Syed Aminul

Haq along with Secretary IT & Telecom,

Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput,

Chairman PTA, Major General Amir

Azeem Bajwa (Retd.) HI (M), senior

officials from the ministry and PTCL

Group attended the event.

Telenor Pakistan recognises

largest taxpayer

DG Licensing PTA, Brig. Amer Shahzad

(Retd.) and President and Group CEO,

PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf signed

the contract.

Sharing his thoughts on spectrum

acquisition, President and Group CEO,

PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf said:

“It is a historic day for Ufone, as we

have acquired additional 4G Spectrum

in order to fully optimize our mobile

data services. This will enable us to

further enhance our users’ experience,

expand the existing network to serve

the unserved areas.

Jazz becomes most

preferred employer

Jazz has been bestowed the ‘Best

Taxpaying Company’ award under

the large taxpayers category (largest

withholding agent nationwide) at the

inaugural Taxpayer Recognition Awards

organized by the Rawalpindi Chambers

of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) in

Telenor Pakistan has been recognised

as one of the largest taxpayers at the

first Taxpayers Recognition Award

Ceremony in the esteemed presence of

the Honourable President of Pakistan,

Dr Arif Alvi, as Chief Guest. The award

ceremony was organised by the

Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and

Industries (RCCI) in collaboration with

the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

It was held at the President House in

Islamabad.

Jazz, Pakistan’s number one 4G

operator and the largest internet and

broadband service provider, has

been awarded the ‘Most Preferred

collaboration with the Federal Board

of Revenue (FBR). The ceremony

took place at the President House,

where the president of Pakistan Dr. Arif

Alvi handed over the award to Jazz’s

Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs

Officer Syed Fakhar Ahmed.

Mr Raza Zulfiqar, VP of Public and

Regulatory Affairs at Telenor Pakistan,

received the award. Telenor Pakistan

remains committed to empowering its

50 million-strong subscriber base and

contributing to the country’s socioeconomic

development.

Employer in the Telecom Industry’

at the Best Place to Work Awards

Gala 2021 (BPTW 2021) hosted by

Pakistan Society of Human Resources

Management (PSHRM) and Engage

Consulting. This award was based

on the BPTW 2021 survey, which

was taken by over 40,000 employees

across Pakistan.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Number of 3G and 4G users in

Pakistan reaches 103.12m: PTA

The number of 3G and 4G users in

Pakistan reached 103.12 million by

end-August 2021 compared to 101.59

million by the end-July 2021, registering

an increase of 1.53 million, revealed

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority

(PTA) data.

The number of cellular subscribers

in Pakistan increased by 0.67 million

to 185.57 million by end-August 2021

compared to 184.90 million by the end

of July. Teledensity for cellular mobile

increased from 84.41 percent by the

end of July 2021 to 84.67 percent

by end-August. The total teledensity

increased from 86.55 percent by the

end of July 2021 to 86.81 percent by

Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA)

Authorization holder Inovi Telecom

has started exporting smartphones to

other countries. The first consignment

of 5500 units of 4G smartphones

carrying “Manufactured in Pakistan”

tag has been exported to UAE.

end-August.

Manufactured in Pakistan: Inovi

Telecom starts exporting smartphones

Zong and Meezan Bank Join Hands

to Enrich Customer Experience

Pakistan’s cellular and digital services

leader, Zong 4G, has partnered with

the country’s Best Bank, Meezan Bank

to further build upon an interconnect

relationship and deliver exceptional

quality service to mutual customers

of both the organizations. The

partnership will enable Meezan

Bank customers, who have Zong

prepaid or postpaid connections,

to recharge their mobile balance

and pay their postpaid bills more

conveniently via the bank’s

Alternate Distribution Channels.

With an aim to offer convenience,

the mutual customers can also

subscribe to over twenty-five

attractive bundles offered by

Zong through Meezan Bank’s

highest rated Mobile Banking App,

besides being able to buy Zong

top-ups and pay postpaid bills.

The customers can click on the

Bill and Top up option and select

their Zong prepaid and postpaid

Monthly Next Generation

Mobile Service (NGMS)

penetration stood at 47.05 percent by

end-August 2021 compared to 46.38

percent in July 2021.

Jazz’s total count for 3G users stood at

7.438 million by end-August compared

to 7.598 million by the end of July 2021,

registering a decrease of 0.16 million.

Jazz 4G user numbers jumped from

31.745 million by the end of July 2021

to 32.767 million by end-August. Zong

3G subscribers decreased from 4.204

million by the end of July to 4.046 million

by end-August, while the number of 4G

users jumped from 23.581 million by

the end of July 24.099 million by end-

PTA congratulates

the company for

this landmark

achievement. This

is the result of concerted efforts for

the development of mobile device

manufacturing ecosystem in the

country. The successful implementation

of Device Identification Registration

and Blocking System (DIRBS) and

enabling government policies including

number along with multiple

packages as shown below:

“Zong is always prioritizing

customers’ needs and going the extra

mile to help them stay connected with

safety and convenience,” said Zong’s

official spokesperson. “Our partnership

August. The number of 3G users of

Telenor decreased from 4.984 million

by the end of July to 4.777 million by

end-August. The number of 4G users

jumped from 17.791 million by the end

of July 18.333 million by end-August.

Ufone 3G users decreased from 4.373

million by the end of July to 4.292

million by end-August. The number

of 4G users of Ufone increased from

6.212 million by the end of July 2021 to

6.246 million by end-August.

the Mobile Manufacturing Policy have

created a favourable environment

for mobile device manufacturing in

Pakistan.

As a part of this policy, Inovi Telecom Pvt

Ltd was issued mobile manufacturing

authorization by PTA on 9th April

2021. Within 4 months, the company

has managed to achieve exporting

‘Manufactured in Pakistan’ phones.

with Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank is

a part of that mission and the realization

of our mutual goal of bringing ease to

our users’ everyday lives.”

“We are happy to partner with Zong

to provide our customers with a range

of exciting bundles and packages in

addition to top-up services of Zong.

We also look forward to growing

this strategic partnership in various

areas of common interest between

the two organizations”, shared

Shariq Mubeen, Head Alternate

Distribution Channels, Meezan

Bank. “We hope this collaboration

goes a long way and facilitates

our mutual users’ everyday

connectivity needs,” he continued.

As a customer-centric company,

Zong 4G aims to uplift its customer’s

experience to newer heights.

Through its most advanced digital

solutions, Pakistan’s leading

telecommunication network is

innovating to provide sought-after

solutions, services, and offers to

its customers while promising to

continue doing so in the future.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Banking & Insurance

National Bank of Pakistan signs MoU

with Pakistan Microfinance Network

A Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) has been signed between the

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and

Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN)

for collaboration between the two

organizations to facilitate the growth of

the microfinance industry in Pakistan.

NBP is the largest commercial bank as

far as lending to the microfinance sector

is concerned. This MOU will enable it

to strengthen its linkage with this sector

further and discover new business

opportunities.

NBP will be

facilitating

PMN members

for its accountr

e l a t e d

services as

well as the

provision of

credit facilities.

On the other hand, PMN will boost

linkage between NBP and its members

to promote financial services and share

data & research, client awareness &

financial literacy, and information of

mutual interest.

PMN is a national association for retail

players in the microfinance industry

and was established by industry

practitioners in 1997. Over the years,

the nature and level of activities grew.

Currently, the network strength stands

at 44 microfinance providers, including

Microfinance Banks (regulated by

Inauguration of NBP Learning

& Development Centre

NBP inaugurated a state-of-art,

modern and fully technologically

equipped Learning & Development

Center at FTC Karachi,

September 20, 2021

to provide latest and

industry driven learning

and development

opportunities to its

employees. The center

aims to align staff goals

and performance with the

Banks strategy, objective

and needs.

SBP) and Non-Bank

Microfinance Companies

(regulated by SECP).

NBP is Pakistan’s largest public-sector

commercial bank and provides a diverse

range of products and services through

a vast footprint of over 1,500 branches

throughout the country. The bank is

taking initiatives for increasing market

penetration and growth in the priority

sectors of the economy. The Inclusive

Development Group (IDG) within

NBP is leading these initiatives and is

engaged in focusing on the financial

inclusion of underserved industries

that have

significant

business

potential.

National

Bank (NBP)

is the largest

commercial

as far as

lending to the Microfinance sector

is concerned to further strengthen

its relations with the sector and to

discover new opportunities with this

sector; NBP signed a Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan

Microfinance Network (PMN). From

NBP, Mr. Rehmat Ali Hasnie (SEVP/

Group Chief, IDG) and from PMN, Mr.

Syed Mohsin Ahmed (CEO) signed this

MoU. Mr. Ahmer Liaquat (Divisional

Head-MFSID NBP) and Mr. Ali

Basharat (Operations Manage, PMN)

were also present at the occasion.

The center was inaugurated by Mr.

Arif Usmani, President and CEO

National Bank of Pakistan along

with Group Chiefs. Speaking at the

occasion, Mr. Usmani said that NBP

is transforming its human capital to be

NBP board: Sarwar made

independent director

The Federal Government has appointed

Sarwar Iqbal as Independent Director

of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP)

Board in place of ex-officio member

Finance Division.

The Finance Division briefed the

Cabinet on September 21, 2021 that

in terms of Section 11(1)(b) of Bank’s

(Nationalization) Act, 1974, National

Bank of Pakistan (NBP)’s Board should

consist of not less than 5 and not more

than 7 members (excluding Chairman

and President).

In terms of Section 11(3)(a) of the Act

the Chairman, the President and other

members of the Board of a Bank were

appointed by the Federal Government

in consultation with State Bank of

Pakistan (SBP) for a term of three

years.

The present composition of the Board

of Directors of NBP was as follows

(i) Zubyr Soomro/ Chairman ;(ii) Arif

Usmani/ President/ CEO;(iii) Arif Jooma

/Director;(iv) Tawfiq Asghar Hussain/

Director;(v) Sadaffe Abid/ Director;(vi)

Imam Bakhsh Baloch/ Director;(vii)

Ahsan Ali Chughtai/ Director and ;(viii)

Farid Malik, CFA/ Private Director.

a competitive resource by equipping

them with the desired skill set in line

with modern banking environment and

future challenges.

Ms. Asma Shaikh, SEVP & Group

Chief Human Resource

Management Group

said that NBP through

this L&D Center shall

support all endeavors

to bring professionalism

in the management of

people through training

and development and

shall nurture the learning

environment amidst a

culture of trust.


TRADE CHRONICLE

Askari Bank Limited

9MCY21 earnings @ PKR

5.40/share

AKBL announced earnings today

at PKR 6.8bn (EPS:PKR 5.40) for

9MCY21 depicting a YoY downturn of

17% while posting a 99% QoQ increase

(3QCY21 EPS: PKR 2.13). Earnings

posted a sequential jump due to lower

provisioning and improved net interest

income. No dividend was announced.

Result Highlights:

· Net Interest Income of the bank

settled at PKR 24.5bn during 9MCY21,

improving 9% YoY while increasing 7%

QoQ, as interest earned improved by

15% QoQ during 3QCY21.

· NFI declined on YoY as well as QoQ

basis by 6% and 2%, respectively. The

YoY decline was mainly due to a 66%

drop in capital gains during 9MCY21.

· There was decline in provisioning this

quarter (PKR 1.3bn), down 57% QoQ.

However, the total provisioning during

9MCY21 was significantly up at PKR

4.1bn, marking a 210% YoY jump.

· OPEX for the bank was up 7% YoY

in 9MCY21, flattish QoQ with a meagre

1% increase. Cost/Income ratio clocked

in at 64% during 9MCY21, which was

around 55% SPLY.

· Effective tax rate settled at 39% during

9MCY21.

Courtesy – AHL Research

HBL Prestige Lounge

inaugurated in Lahore

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President &

CEO — HBL along with valued clients

and senior leadership of the Bank at the

inauguration of HBL Prestige Lounge

located in Gulberg, Lahore.

Lahore — 29 September 2021: HBL

inaugurated its new Prestige

Lounge located in Gulberg, Lahore.

This is the third HBL Prestige

Lounge in the city and the eighth

across the country with future plans

to expand the Prestige footprint.

The inauguration was led by

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President

UBL announced a dividend

of PkR4/sh

United Bank Limited (UBL) announced

its 9MCY21 results yesterday where

the bank reported earnings of PkR17.8

(NPAT: PkR21.9bn) compared to

PkR12.8 (NPAT: PkR15.4bn) in the

same period last year. The result

came in line with our expectations.

· Together with the result, the bank

announced a dividend of PkR4/sh, taking

YTD cumulative payout to PkR12/sh.

· For 3QCY21, earnings stood

at PkR6.8bn (EPS: PkR5.5),

down 8.5%QoQ/+46.5%YoY

where the sequential decline is

HBL, IMC enter into strategic alliance

HBL signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) with Indus Motor

Company Ltd. The MoU was signed

by Muhammad Asad Khan, Head –

Secured Assets, Consumer, Rural and

SME Banking and Abdul Rab, Senior

General Manager, Marketing and Sales

- Indus Motors. Through this agreement,

HBL will facilitate its customers by

providing them with exclusive financing

and insurance rates on all Toyota

variants. With this initiative, customers

can avail preferential rates and priority

delivery of their financing facility. The

combined expertise of the companies

will help save time, reduce hassle,

& CEO — HBL. Valued clients and

senior leadership of the Bank was also

present on the occasion.

HBL Prestige provides a world-class

banking experience to high-net-worth

individuals (HNWIs). This exclusive

proposition offers tailored solutions

through dedicated digital & physical

channels and portfolio managers who

provide personalized banking services

attributable to initiation of windup

proceedings of Switzerland branch.

· Net Interest Income (NII) of the

bank remained flat on a QoQ basis

despite Gross Yield of the bank

dropping significantly to 45.6% – the

lowest since 1QCY20 possibly due

to maturity of high yielding PIBs.

· The bank continues to record

reversal in provision which for 3QCY21

stood at PkR708mn compared to

PkR534mn in the previous quarter.

· Effective tax rate of the bank stood

at 42.0% in 3QCY21 vs. 45.5% in the

previous quarter.

Courtesy – AKD Research

and create a seamless

purchase and

financing. In addition, 50

authorized dealerships and 35 TSURE

(used certified vehicles) outlets will be

utilized to offer leasing facilities.

Aamir Kureshi, Head – Consumer,

Rural and SME Banking stated, “The

importance of forging such strategic

partnerships enables HBL to put the

customer first, giving them options

to choose between conventional and

Islamic auto loans so we can facilitate

our customers in every way possible.”

Abdul Rab, Senior General Manager,

Marketing and Sales - Indus Motor,

commented, “When two established

giants, such as Toyota & HBL, in the

auto finance industry join hands to

form an alliance to provide an attractive

offer, it creates an excitement amongst

the consumers in the market. This was

a long-awaited alliance and we are very

excited for the outcome of this alliance.”

to its clients. The state of the art Prestige

lounges are located strategically in high

visibility areas of key cities.

Commenting on the occasion,

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President &

CEO — HBL said, “HBL is committed

to providing a wide array of financial

services to its extensive clientele. HBL

Prestige is exclusively designed to

meet the financial and lifestyle needs

of the Bank’s high-net-worth clients,

providing them with par excellence

services. HBL Prestige promises

to deliver an incomparable value

proposition with a number of industry

firsts as it remains true to its motto of

‘With you, in what you value’.”


TRADE CHRONICLE

1H 2021: BankIslami

deposits cross Rs300bn

mark

First half of 2021 proved to be a prolific

financial cycle for BankIslami as the

Bank crossed Rs 300 billion benchmark

for its deposit book. This landmark was

achieved as a result of constant efforts

made by the Bank to strengthen its

distribution structure and ‘feet on street’

field force which proved to be pivotal in

enhancing its deposit base, particularly

the low cost CASA deposits.

When compared with balances at

Jun’20, the Bank’s overall Deposit

grew by 26 percent at Jun’21 (growth

of 7 percent from Dec’20) while CASA

deposits witnessed an increase of

34 percent at Jun’21 (increase of

16 percent from Dec’20). Out of

this increase, the growth in Current

Deposits was recorded at 39 percent

(increase of 18 percent from Dec’20).

The continuation of CASA growth trend

will play an essential role in enhancing

Bank’s net income margin (NIM) going

forward.

On the credit side, the Bank disbursed

funds to corporate entities and retail

segment while investment book was

increased through investments in

GoP Sukuks to improve overall credit

risk profile of the Bank. BankIslami

having the largest portfolio in Housing

Finance has successfully achieved

SBP’s mandatory targets for Housing

and Construction and the Government

Markup Subsidiary Scheme (MPMG).

The Bank provides facilities including

housing construction, purchasing and

renovation to both Resident & Non-

Resident Pakistani.

Cumulative operating and other

expenses of the Bank were up by

5 percent mainly due to inflationary

impact linked with staff and non-staff

costs and rise in variable cost directly

attributable to business growth. Owing

to contraction in net spreads, the

operating profit of the Bank decreased

to Rs 1,592 million in HY’21. This

decline was offset by net reversals

of provisioning during the period.

Resultantly, BankIslami posted Profit

After Tax (PAT) of Rs 1,162 million for

the half year ended June 30, 2021, an

8 percent increase from last year’s PAT.

Meezan Bank to provide Corporate and Transaction

Banking Services to Gani & Tayub (G&T) Group

Gani & Tayub (G&T) Group, country’s

leading group with companies across

different sectors including Synthetic

& Rayon and Power Generation, has

embarked on an enterprise level digital

journey with implementation of SAP for

all areas of their operations including

b a n k i n g

and finance.

Accordingly,

after thorough

evaluation

Meezan Bank’s

Transaction

B a n k i n g

solution eBiz+

has met G&T’s highest standards for

host-to-host connectivity with SAP for

payments and collections.

An agreement was recently signed by

the management of respective entities

represented by Mr. Rizwan Diwan

-Executive Director and Mr. Shabbir

Diwan-Executive Director from G&T

Group and Mr. Muhammad Abdullah

Ahmed-Group Head, Corporate

& Institutional Banking and Mr.

Muhammad Sagib Ashraf-EVP & Head

Transaction Banking from Meezan

Bank at G&T Tower, Karachi.

BankIslami has entered

into an agreement with M3

Technologies Pakistan

BankIslami, one of the leading Islamic

banks of Pakistan with a network of more

than 340+ branches in over 123 cities,

has entered into an agreement with

M3 Technologies Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd,

one of Asia’s premier communication

services provider for

business and telecom

operators. WhatsApp

Business will enable

BankIslami customers

around the world

to use the power

of digital platform’s

APIs in 180 countries

around the world to

offer a wide variety of

customer-oriented communication on

WhatsApp.

BankIslami will be rolling out large

number of communication solutions

for its customers on the underlining

WhatsApp Business APIs, which will

allow automation of communication

As per the agreement. Meezan Bank will

provide its state-of-the-art Transaction

Banking Solution (eBiz+) for payments

and collections to the subsidiaries

of G&T Group including Gatron

(Industries) Limited and Novatex Limited

that will ensure efficient cash flow

management

and ease of

reconciliation.

At this occasion,

Mr. Rizwan

Diwan shared

G&T’s ambition

for developing

G&T as a digital conglomerate signified

by the implementation of SAP and

appreciated Meezan’s contribution as

a banking partner in such an initiative.

Mr. Abdullah Ahmed commented: “As

one of the major players in the industry,

Meezan Bank is focusing largely on

delivering innovative cash management

solutions to commercial and corporate

businesses in Pakistan. The addition

of G&T Group to our portfolio is a

monumental opportunity to offer

streamlined cash flow processes and

effectively automating transactions.”

processes and will help accelerate

development of personalized, robotic

and AI based Customer Support

Services.

Mr. Bilal Fiaz, Group Head Consumer

Banking, BankIslami commented; “We

aim to offer our valued customers

optimal digital convenience through

leveraging state of the art digital

platforms and WhatsApp Business is

one such initiative.”

Mr. Saim Zuberi,

Country Manager

for M3 Technologies

Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited

commented; “We are

extremely pleased

to render WhatsApp

Business solution as

a WhatsApp Business

Service Provider to BankIslami. I

believe our Banking sector can harness

the power of WhatsApp Business APIs

and offer Bots and conversational

services supporting Banking customers

around the globe in a reliable and

efficient manner.”


TRADE CHRONICLE

Habibmetro Sirat wins ‘Best

Islamic Banking Window

for Global Expansion’

The 11th Annual Global Islamic Finance

Awards virtual ceremony took place on

Tuesday, 14th of September, 2021.

HABIBMETRO Bank won the ‘Best

Islamic Banking Window for Global

Expansion Award 2021’ for its Islamic

Banking brand – SIRAT.

This follows HABIBMETRO SIRAT’s

recognition as the ‘Best Islamic Banking

Brand’ at the GIFA 2020 Awards, last

year.

Commenting on this global recognition,

Mr. Mohsin Ali Nathani, President &

CEO HABIBMETRO Bank said,

“We are honoured to be recognised

as the Best Islamic Banking Window

for Global Expansion at GIFA’s global

platform.

We owe this recognition to our

clients whose patronage gives us

the opportunity to grow our Islamic

Banking business, and our employees

whose efforts enable us to achieve our

aspirations.

We are grateful to our respectable

Shariah Scholars, our Corporate

Governance and Shariah Compliance

functions that enable us to continue

offering high quality Shariah Compliant

products across all spectrums.

We aim to continue to provide our

customers with differentiated and

advanced offerings towards their

evolving needs.”

HABIBMETRO SIRAT operates with a

dedicated network of 41 branches and

218 windows across the country, within

HABIBMETRO Banks country-wide

network of 450+ branches in more than

165 cities. SIRAT Islamic Banking is

also offered in the UAE, UK and South

Africa through Habib Bank AG Zurich

(parent bank of HABIBMETRO).

Pak-Qatar General Takaful (PQGTL)

recently signed an agreement with

Cometinsure (Online aggregator)

to promote Takaful products online.

Muhammad Raza (Head of Operations,

PQGTL) and Muhammad Sufyan Bedi

(Operations Manager, Cometinusre)

signed the agreement

along with senior officials

of both companies.

Muhammad Raza while

speaking at the signing

ceremony stated, “We

are extremely delighted to join hands

with Cometinsure as customers will

benefit from searching Takaful products

online and our reach will also increase

to spread awareness about Takaful

products. These kind of partnerships

are very fruitful for offering convenience

to customers.”

An MoU signing ceremony was held

at the TPL Insurance Head Office

located at SMCHS, Karachi, where

TPL Insurance, Pakistan’s leading

Insurtech, has entered into a strategic

partnership with MediQ, Pakistan’s

first virtual hospital. The partnership

provides complete online healthcare

solutions to TPL Insurance customers.

In line with TPL Insurance’s vision to

disrupt existing insurance landscape in

Pakistan and offer premium insurance

service to its customers through digital

medium. Both companies aim to create

a healthcare ecosystem for Pakistani

consumers on the TPL Insurance’s

lifestyle mobile app.

Customers will be enabled to connect

with doctors including specialists

consultants

r o u n d

the clock,

request

s a m p l e

collection for

lab testing

and instant

delivery of

medicines

at their door

step on

discounted

r a t e s

Mr. Sufyan while

expressing

his views

said, “We are

very excited to partner with Pak-

Qatar General Takaful in our urge to

digitalize Insurance/Takaful distribution

channel. This partnership will surely

bring benefits to all the customers of

Cometinsure and Pak-Qatar General

Takaful by bringing ease of purchasing

Pak-Qatar General Takaful Signs MoU with

cometinsure to promote Takaful products

TPL Insurance and MediQ to

digitize healthcare for customers

adequate Takaful

coverage and swift claim

processing.”

Cometinsure being

the most successful

and fastest-growing

insurance aggregator is taking some

huge steps to satisfy their customers by

providing suitable and befitting quotes

in no time. A company originated in

2017 has now become a revolutionary

platform that distributes the best

Insurance/Takaful quotes by allying with

the Top Rated Insurance Companies.

Muhammad Aminuddin,

CEO, TPL Insurance said,

“Being Pakistan’s leading

Insurtech, TPL Insurance

continually utilizes their digital paradigm

to disrupt the insurance industry.

We are redefining the ecosystem of

insurance by servicing our customers

through integration with multiple

business partners. Our partnership with

MediQ will further expand the scope of

our customer-centric initiatives while

offering comprehensive and hasslefree

digital healthcare services.”

CEO MediQ, Saira Siddiqui,

commented, “We are delighted

to partner with Pakistan’s leading

Insurtech Company where all the

initiatives are focused on offering

customer-centric services.

Through this ecosystem, we are

determined to offer quality virtual health

services

to TPL

Insurance

customers.

We look

forward

to further

innovate our

offerings in

collaboration

with TPL

Insurance.”


TRADE CHRONICLE

Steel & Allied Industry

FF Steel to be listed on PSX

Frontier Foundry Steel (FF Steel),

one of Pakistan’s leading and fastest

growing steel manufacturers and

Financial Advisory Consortium held

a signing ceremony for the award of

mandate for the upcoming listing of FF

Steel on Pakistan Stock Exchange

(PSX).

A Financial Advisory Consortium

(FAC), comprising of HBL, Bank

Alfalah Limited, AKD Securities

Limited, and Alfalah CLSA

Securities Private Limited, has

been engaged to advise the

Company for listing at the local bourse.

Nauman Wazir, Chairman - FF Steel,

Zarak K. Khattak, CEO - FF Steel,

Muhammad Aurangzeb, President&

CEO -HBL, Atif Bajwa, President

& CEO- Bank Alfalah, Aqeel Karim

Dhedhi, Chairman - AKD Securities, Ali

Ansari, Chairman - Alfalah CLSA, and

other senior team members of the FAC

were present at the ceremony. The FAC

together holds strong credentials with

access to deep-rooted capital market

investor base, both domestically and

internationally.

Incorporated in 1986, FF Steel

produces top quality Grade-60 steel

bar shaving plants in Peshawar and

Lahore and ranks amongst the top

three rebar manufacturers in Pakistan.

The Company also intends to explore

different opportunities in the South

region. FF Steel, with its focus on

achieving efficiency and capturing

growth opportunities, has undertaken

backward integration at its Lahore

plant. The Company has also heavily

invested in its IT infrastructure and

boasts state of the art ERP system.

Commenting on the occasion,

Nauman Wazir, Chairman - FF

Steel said, “Over the past 3

decades, FF Steel has built strong

foundations through its systems

and policies, team and market

penetration; I am confident of a

prosperous and secure future of

the Company and its stakeholders.

With the assistance of such a strong

and professional FAC of HBL, BAFL,

AKD and Alfalah CLSA, FF Steel will,

Insha’Allah, be making a historic and

one of the largest ever private sector

IPOs in Pakistan.”

Iron and steel output

swells to 4.7m tonnes

The production of iron and steel,

with billets/ingots mainly used in the

construction industry, in the last 10

years swelled by 196 per cent to 4.777

million tonnes in FY21 from 1.616m

tonnes in FY12.

H/CR sheets/strips, coils/plates,

also known as flat steel products for

production of electronics, surged to

3.296m tonnes in FY21 from 1.850m

tonnes in FY12, Pakistan Bureau of

Statistics (PBS) data of Large-Scale

Manufacturing (LSM) showed. Rising

Sales volumes of ISL are up by

18% YoY to 492k tons in FY21

The flat steel industry’s volumes

increased by 32% YoY to 1,295k tons in

FY21, wherein 624k tons is attributed

to coated steel (galvanized and colourcoated).

Sales volumes of ISL are up

by 18% YoY to 492k tons in FY21. CRC

product applications are in sectors like

(1) Automotive, (2) Electrical goods,

(3) Packaging Drums, (4) Electric/

Home Appliances, (5) Telecom, (6)

Construction and (7) Agriculture,

amongst others. Significant customers

of the company are (1) Yamaha, (2)

Pak Elektron, (3) Dawlance, (4) Atlas

production of steel related products has

led to higher imports of raw materials.

For making steel bars, the country’s

iron and steel scrap imports in FY21

rose to 4.719m tonnes costing $1.86bn

from 1.568m tonnes valuing $538m in

2011-12, the PBS figures showed.

Besides, iron and steel imports swelled

to 2.992m tonnes amounting to

$1.959bn in FY21 from 1.755m tonnes

($1.4bn) in 2011-12. Commenting on

rising demand for steel bars, Pakistan

Association of Large Steel Producers

Secretary General Syed Wajid Bukhari

said steel bar production till 2011-

12 was about three to 3.5m tonnes

Honda, and (5) Loads Limited,

amongst others.

ISL is expanding its production

capacity by 120k tons to 350k tons

through the debottlenecking process.

The total CAPEX of the project is

Rs1.23bn and will be financed with a

combination of debt (TERF and LTFF)

and equity. The plant is expected to

start commercial operation in 3QFY22.

To note, ISL’s capacity utilization for

FY21 stands at ~85%. ISL is also

finalizing the technical study of setting

up a Hot Strip Mill in Pakistan. The

initial designed annual capacity of the

plant would be 1.2mn tons. Phase-1

while the current demand now hovers

between 6.5m tonnes to 7m tonnes.

He attributed increase in steel bar

prices to soaring scrap prices in the

world market to $550 per tonne from

$300 per tonne while one dollar is now

equal to 168 as compared to Rs85 in

2011-12. He said gas price increased

to Rs97 per unit from Rs15 per unit in

the last 10 years followed by power

tariff to Rs21 per unit from Rs6 per unit.

Freight charges are 100 per high now.

Mr Bukhari was of the view that steel

bar demand would soar to nine to 10

million tonnes by 2023-24 in view of

rising construction activities.

of the project is expected to take 27

months, starting from board approval.

Revival of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM)

is not a significant threat to ISL’s Hot

Strip Mill as the quality that PSM can

produce is not required by the domestic

industry. Furthermore, ISL can produce

up to 500k tons vs domestic demand

of 2mn tons, which is insignificant. ISL

has recently increased their prices by

Rs4,000/ton. This takes 1mm thickness

CRC and HDGC price to Rs204,500/

ton and Rs211,850/ton, respectively.

Courtesy - AHCML Research


TRADE CHRONICLE

Travel World

PIA losses reduced by half

in 3 years

The annual losses of Pakistan

International Airlines (PIA) have been

reduced to 34.64 billion rupees in 2020

-from 67.32 billion in 2018- while the

national airline has seven properties

abroad, out of which, only two have

been rented out and earning monthly

profits.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan

shared these details in the maiden

sitting of the 314th Senate session

recently.

According to the details shared by the

minister, PIA’s annual loss in the year

2018 was recorded at Rs67.32 billion

Sri Lankan Airlines offers

‘partner flies free package’

Sri Lankan Airlines is offering a safe

gateway into ‘the heart of paradise’

by extending a special offer for its

customers from Pakistan.

The offer “Partner flies free” is available

for Pakistani leisure travellers who

purchase a double package for the

price of one.

Sri Lankan Airlines operates flights

to Karachi and Lahore from Colombo

since the resumption of travel. Pakistan

travellers who are fully vaccinated can

now easily travel to Sri Lanka without

any quarantine.

PIA signs MoU

Federal Ombudsman for Protection

Against Harassment

Kashmala Tariq, Cheif

Executive Officer

Pakistan International

Airlines (PIA) Air Marshal

Arshad Malik and

Country Representative

UN Women Pakistan

Sharmeela Rasool

signing a Memorandum

of Understanding

(MoU) between Federal

Ombudsman Secretariat

for Protection Against

Harassment (FOSPAH),

that went down to Rs52.60 billion in

2019 and Rs34.64 billion in the year

2020.

In addition, the PIA has seven

properties abroad; three properties in

Amsterdam and one property each

in New Delhi, Mumbai, New York and

Tashkent, the details submitted by the

aviation minister in Senate suggest.

Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Worldwide

Sales and Distribution of Sri Lankan

Airlines stated, “Sri Lanka is now open

for Pakistan tourists. People need to be

fully vaccinated, with the second shot

taken at least 14 days before the trip.

On arrival, travellers will go to their

hotel where the RTPCR test will be

conducted. Those who test negative

can explore the country freely.”

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

and UN Women Pakistan for providing

harassment-free workplace.

PC Hotel to open near

Attabad Lake

Chief Operating Officer of the

Hospitality and Education Division,

Hashoo Group, Haseeb A. Gardezi

has said the PC Hunza would open its

doors to both travellers and adventure

enthusiasts near Attabad Lake, Hunza

Valley, soon.

He said this as the representatives

of the Pakistan Services Limited and

Road & Story signed the MoU the other

days.

German Airlines to resume

flights in Pakistan

German Airlines Lufthansa has

expressed its keen interest to resume its

passenger and cargo flight operations

in Pakistan what the company says it

halted 13 years ago due to commercial

reasons. A business delegate

representing Lufthansa shared that it

was keen on resuming flight operations

in Pakistan. A meeting with the Minister

for Aviation was arranges by Secretary

BoI to materialize this plan.

Gulf Air contracts Gerry’s

dnata

Gerry’s dnata, Pakistan’s leading

ground services provider, has been

awarded a multi-year contract by Gulf

Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom

of Bahrain, a statement said recently.

The partnership will see Gerry’s dnata

provide quality and safe ground,

passenger and cargo handling services

to the airline at six airports in Pakistan,

including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad,

Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad,

according to the statement. “We are

proud to be the ground handler of

choice for Gulf Air in Pakistan. We

consistently invest in infrastructure,

cutting-edge technologies and training

to deliver the best possible services for

our customers,” said Syed Haris Raza,

CEO of Gerry’s dnata.


TRADE CHRONICLE

TC September-October 2021 Issue

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