Boost: Wateen, Qubee combine broadband business

$25m is the amount that Wateen and Qubee intend to invest to re-energise the wireless broadband market. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: Abu Dhabi Group, the major shareholder of Wateen Telecom, and New Silk Route Private Equity (PE) Asia Fund, the ultimate major shareholder of Augere/Qubee, are looking to combine their wireless broadband businesses in Pakistan.

The agreement will see Wateen and Qubee forming the second largest broadband service provider in Pakistan, with over 200,000 subscribers, added a joint statement from the two companies.

With the formation of a new business, Wateen and Qubee intend to re-energise the wireless broadband market with planned investments of more than $25 million for the improvement and expansion in coverage for the combined network of both companies.

The network upgrade will make it ‘the best’ in class high speed broadband network with the phased upgrade to 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology that will contribute to a broadband revolution in Pakistan and significantly enhance its position in the new digital economy.

The new business will also pave the way for investments available to introduce innovative value-added services and devices to improve broadband penetration in Pakistan, said the joint statement.

Wateen Telecom Chief Executive Officer Naeem Zamindar said that the development of the new broadband business will usher a new era of collaboration for the broadband industry.

“The formation aims to provide access to high-speed 4G data and cutting edge digital services for the people of Pakistan,” added Zamindar.

CEO Augere-Qubee Pakistan Jamal Nasir Khan said that he was delighted at the formation of a ‘new stronger broadband business in Pakistan’.

“We believe that the combined business will better serve customers by providing high capacity affordable broadband connections which will drive up penetration in Pakistan,” said Khan, while adding that this will enable large number of people to join the digital community with ‘superfast’ access to internet.

The transaction is subject to the requisite corporate, regulatory and governmental approvals, and is targeted to be completed within the first half of 2014

Finance minister’s claim ‘unrealistic’

Dar announced the government’s intention to bring the dollar back to the Rs98-mark after it reached an unprecedented level of Rs108. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID

KARACHI: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar could be forgiven for making as tall a claim as he did when he said that dollar would be brought below the Rs100-mark. His statement, which refreshed memory of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s claims that load-shedding would end in the country, also drew flak from various quarters as not only the opposition but various analysts also jumped in.

The reaction comes after Dar announced the government’s intention to bring the dollar back to the Rs98-mark after it reached an unprecedented level of Rs108. Heavy debt repayments to the International Monetary Fund have dented the central bank’s reserves, which have declined significantly, putting severe pressure on the rupee.

Given the situation, Alternate Research Investment analyst Umesh Kumar, however, was of the opinion that the finance minister’s statement was aimed at ending speculation in the currency market. “We don’t foresee any significant inflows that could stabilise the rupee,” Kumar said, adding that pressure will rebuild on the rupee from January onwards due to significant outflows.

He added that the rupee will keep its current level only if one-off inflows, like the spectrum auction, materialise.

“In our opinion, it’s simply impossible to bring the dollar to Rs98.”

Meanwhile, Global Securities research analyst Umair Naseer termed the finance minister’s statement as ‘unrealistic’.

“The value of dollar cannot be kept artificially low,” said Naseer.  “It is determined by market forces, which are clearly beyond the control of the finance minister right now.” He added that the finance minister made a ‘political statement’ that does not have any economic justification.

Bilateral relations: FCCI, EU discuss trade opportunities

FCCI President urged the EU countries to play their roles for grant of the GSP Plus status to Pakistan from EU Parliament in its forthcoming meeting. PHOTO: AFP

FAISALABAD: Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) President Suhail Bin Rashid has discussed new opportunities for trade and investment during a seminar organised by the European Union (EU) Ambassador Lars-Gunnar Wigemark in Lahore.

While appreciating the efforts of Wigemark, Rashid said that a large number of European companies were interested to invest in Pakistan.

“The EU countries have contributed more than 36 % share towards the total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan,” added Rashid.

He said that he had a chance to meet various ambassadors of EU countries on the sideline of the seminar and consensus was that, due to the current energy deficit in Pakistan, this sector required foreign investment to benefit from the angro-based potential in Pakistan.

He urged the EU countries to play their roles for grant of the GSP Plus status to Pakistan from EU Parliament in its forthcoming meeting as the country suffered colossal loss of more than $100 billion as a result of the war on terror.

Speaking about the contribution of EU towards the economy of Pakistan, he said that it is the largest trading partner with a trade volume of over €9 billion in 2012.

Meanwhile, the efficacy of the seminar was judged with participation of influential business leaders in Pakistan along with productive discussions held on competitiveness, investment, energy and trade policies followed with effective presentations on opportunities available for the EU businesses and the prospect of trade for Pakistan in the EU.

Making peace: India pins hopes on trade and economy

Bilateral trade in the year 2012-13 stood at $2.6 billion, up 34% compared to the previous year when the volume was $1.9 billion. ILLUSTRATION: TALHA AHMED KHAN

ATTARI: 

Trade between India and Pakistan via Attari-Wahga border is gradually growing despite several political, regional and trade hurdles. Indians, on their part, have done infrastructure developments, which are necessary to give a boost to the trade ties and are waiting for their counterparts to follow suit.

“Trade and economy is a mode of peace between the two countries. When bilateral trade increases, hurdles standing in the way of the neighbours would come down accordingly,” said Anil Bamba, Member Planning and Development, Land Port Authority India.

He was briefing a group of journalists at the integrated checkpost at the Indian border point of Attari.

Bilateral trade in the year 2012-13 stood at $2.6 billion, up 34% compared to the previous year when the volume was $1.9 billion.

Indians believe that the volume could be doubled in the next few years if trade issues, especially the negative list – the main hurdle to free trade, are addressed.

They said India had curtailed its negative list of 836 items by 30% and would slash another 30% later under the South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta) agreement. However, they said, Pakistan had restricted the trade in Indian products to 137 goods only.

“A settlement of this issue could help both the countries to increase formal trade and discourage informal exchanges via third country which are estimated at around $10 billion annually,” Bamba said.

“There is a big difference between non-tariff barriers and non-tariff measures,” remarked Prem Chand of the Indian Ministry of Commerce.

Elaborating, he said a measure becomes a barrier for certain exporting country. But in case of non-tariff barriers, the focus is on standards maintained by India. So if an item is imported by India, then it should meet certain quality standards. Each country has different standards and they cannot be called non-tariff barriers.

Chand pointed out that Safta was working on this issue to make quality standards uniform for the eight member states of the regional bloc. “Once it is done, then this perception would automatically disappear. At present, 95% of non-tariff barriers pertain to standards.”

India is eager to boost trade with Pakistan, apparently in an effort to eventually win a transit route to Afghanistan. It has upgraded its integrated checkpost and is enjoying an increase in trade since the expansion in April 2012.

The new checkpost is spread over an area of 120 acres with a dedicated cargo terminal measuring 4,700 square metres, import warehouse (7,400 square metres), export warehouse (3,400 square metres) and truck parking area (55,000 square metres).

These facilities are aimed at efficient processing of cargo. The checkpost has another 99,000 square metres available for future expansion.

India has a 15,000km international border with 132 notified land customs stations. The border between Pakistan and India has 10 customs stations, of which the integrated checkpost at Attari is prominent.

At present, 30% of trade between the two countries takes place via the Attari-Wahga checkpost. According to the Indian customs, since the integrated checkpost started operating, the trade has increased up to 88%.

Sixty per cent of exports from India to Pakistan comprise vegetables, whereas major exports from Pakistan include gypsum, cement, chemicals, etc.

The number of trucks that brought cargo from both sides increased 47% to 74,847 in fiscal year 2012-13 compared with 50,984 trucks in 2011-12.

Indians give credit to the expansion of the integrated checkpost and some cooperation between the Indian and Pakistani customs over documentation of trucks and products, which, they say, needs to be further improved.

Gattuso: Women do not belong in the world of football

The World Cup winner believes that the current power struggle at San Siro proves that females have no place in the game

Gennaro Gattuso has accused Barbara Berlusconi of showing Adriano Galliani a lack of respect - before claiming that there is no place for women in football.

AC Milan CEO Galliani has been locked in a power struggle with Berlusconi at San Siro and last week sensationally claimed that he would be resigning after the Champions League clash with Ajax on December 11.

The 69-year-old was ultimately persuaded to perform a u-turn by his adversary's father, club owner Silvio, but Gattuso is upset that Galliani's leadership skills were ever questioned - particularly by a female.

"I think that someone like him, for everything he has done and how he has managed the club for all these years now, deserves respect," the former Rossoneri midfielder told Radio Radio.

"And then, women, I'm sorry to say, I don't see them as a part of the world of football."

Turning his attention to this season's Serie A race, the ex-Palermo boss admitted that he expects Juventus to rack up a third successive title, even though he admires the tenacity Roma have shown so far this season, and in their 1-1 draw at Atalanta in particular.

"For me, Juventus remain the team to beat," the World Cup winner mused. "Roma are doing great things but Juventus have an incredible group and that was obvious in the last game, against Udinese [a last-gasp 1-0 win].

"However, Roma impressed me in Bergamo [against Atalanta]. They did everything not to lose and managed not to."

Gattuso joined AC Milan from Salernitana in 1999 and won two Champions Leagues and two Scudettiduring his 13-year stay at San Siro.

The Oldest Water in the Known Universe:

Image via NASA

Have you ever left a glass of water sitting out over night? If you have, then you know how this generally works out — The next day, you get home after taking the dog for a brisk jog; you grab the glass of water sitting on the coffee table, and…bleh. Old water does not taste very good (okay, so it’s a rather specific scenario, but you get the point). And ultimately, this water has only been sitting around your house for a few hours. Imagine drinking water that has been floating about the cosmos for billions of years (not terribly yummy, I’m guessing).

In 2011, astronomers discovered the largest and oldest mass of water ever detected in the universe — a cloud of dust and debris orbiting a supermassive black hole 12 billion light-years from Earth. Unfortunately for us, 12 billion light-years is rather far away. In fact, it is amazingly far away. So we can’t really travel there to replenish Earth’s continually depleting supply of fresh water. Plus, it is orbiting a black hole, and given the amount of debris that is generally found next to black holes, this is one place that we really don’t want to venture.

The black hole in question is approximately 20 billion times more massive than the Sun and it produces as much energy as 1 quadrillion suns. The cloud that orbits this beast was found to be harboring 140 trillion times more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. That’s enough water to give each person alive today an entire planet’s worth of water 20,000 times over (that’s a lot of water). Not impressive enough, the cloud alone contains 4,000 times more water vapor than what it estimated to exist in the Milky Way galaxy. Of course, the key here is water *vapor* as much of the Milky Way’s water is locked up in ice (see: Europa).
The amount of H2O detected is impressive, but this is more than just a fun factoid. Since the water is 12 billion light-years away, we are seeing this cloud as it existed more than 12 billion years ago. Ultimately, this time frame means that we are seeing water that was present only 1.6 billion years after the beginning of the universe. Researchers note that “This discovery pushes the detection of water one billion years closer to the Big Bang than any previous find.”

Moyes' title hopes in tatters after Martinez masterclass

The Toffees boss steered the Merseysiders to their first win at Old Trafford in 21 years as the Red Devils' hopes of winning the league suffered a crushing blow

COMMENT
By Wayne Veysey at Old Trafford

The delirious Everton fans made no attempt to curb the ordeal of the man they once worshipped.

ROCKIN' ROMELU

LUKAKU RATING VS MAN UNITED A towering display from the dreadlocked one. Tore Vidic a good'un with his pace and power, held the ball up well and set up the game's only goal with the cross to Oviedo. FROM OUR LIVE! COMMENTARY EVERTON TAKE THE LEAD! Moments after Mirallas' free kick crashes against the post, Bryan Oviedo wheels away to celebrate in front of the travelling fans as he drills a shot into the far corner after connecting with Lukaku's low deflected cross. Everton are set for their first win at Old Trafford in 21 years, sensational!

Chants of 'Are you watching David Moyes?' and ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ emanated from the away end within minutes of Bryan Oviedo’s historic late winner at Old Trafford.

This was a ghastly evening for the Manchester United boss. It would be unfair to castigate his team for being a long way below par. United hit the woodwork twice and forced Tim Howard into some fine, athletic saves during their spells of dominance.

But the manner in which Moyes’ former side out-manoeuvred his new one with their ambition and intensity is every bit as worrying as the trio of September league defeats to Liverpool, Manchester City and West Brom.

“It doesn’t hurt more,” the Scot said afterwards, when asked about losing to Everton. “I know they’re a good team.”

Indeed they are. Moyes has enough on his plate without thinking unduly about his former side but the evidence is growing that he is not being missed at Goodison Park. Roberto Martinez appears to have kept the good bits of Moyes’ team - the steel, eager commitment and counterattacking excellence - and sprinkled them with added flair and tactical virtuosity.

United fans will remember only too well that Moyes played a major role in preventing their team marching off with the 2011-12 Premier League crown, when Everton staged a famous comeback to draw 4-4 at Old Trafford.

But, even the man regarded as a miracle worker during his decade on Merseyside did not leave the club with a victory at Britain’s biggest club on his CV.

Martinez’s impressive start to his Everton tenure entered exciting new territory with this headline-grabbing result, which even a mono-syllabic Moyes in his post-match press conference could not say was not fully deserved.

Outstanding blue-shirted players were peppered across the pitch. Phil Jageilka and Sylvain Distin were titans at the back, Gareth Barry screened the defence in exemplary fashion, while James McCarthy and Ross Barkley fused intensive closing-down with an imaginative use of the ball. Oviedo demonstrated why there will be life after Leighton Baines, and wingers Kevin Mirallas and Gerard Deulofeu showed they can be a handful for any Premier League defence.

Martinez’s trump card, though, was a player who is his for this season only. Romelu Lukaku has added greater aggression and awareness to his game in his second consecutive campaign out on loan from Chelsea, and it is a testament to the 20-year-old’s awesome physical weapons that he made a defender as battle-hardened as Nemanja Vidic look like a weakling on a few occasions on Wednesday night.

There is no better player in the league than Lukaku at holding the ball up and laying on passes to wide attackers bursting from deeper positions, but there is enough variety to Everton’s attacks to make them formidable opponents.

Martinez’s side played more enterprising football than United, even though the better chances fell to the home side.

Crucially, Everton were more than the sum of their parts – their greatest strength during the Moyes era – while the home side were barely the sum of theirs.

The league table makes depressing reading for Sir Alex Ferguson’s chosen successor. United sit in ninth position on 22 points, 12 behind leaders Arsenal and five behind Everton in fifth.

On the one hand, this defeat was United’s first in 13 games and came only a week after they were lauded for sweeping aside Bayer Leverkusen. On the other, it was their fourth league loss this season, continuing a patchy run in which they have collected just two points from their last three domestic fixtures.

It is too early to say with certainty that United will not compete for the league title this season. Their squad is too strong, particularly in attack, to merely battle with Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton for fourth place.

But Moyes has much work to do before he starts to be regarded by the Old Trafford faithful as the messiah he was once considered at Goodison Park.