Thursday, 27 February 2014

PR to lay new track between Karachi, Gwadar


pakistan-railways-5431
Pakistan Railways (PR) is planning to lay track to link Karcahi to Gwadar seaport to facilitate traders.
PR sources said on Sunday that the new track would fulfil the needs of transportation of goods to Gawadar in future. Moreover, the PR was in contact with China for preparing studies for construction of Khuzdar, Baseemah, Jacobabad and Dera Ghazi Khan main line ( ML-2) and China would finalise the studies till the end of December 2015.
China will bear all expenditures of the study of laying the new railway line. The PR is focusing on speeding up revenue generating activities under the direction of Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique.
The PR is also working on restoration of ECO train for Turkey via Tuftan and Zahdan. The train will help traders  to transport their goods through train among Turkey, Iran, India and Pakistan.
The department is also planning to construct a dry port for container-holding at Havelian near Abbotabad for facilitating trade with China. After construction of the port, about two million tons of goods could be transported between Khunjrab and Havelian.
The PR minister hoped the railways would soon be able to overcome its deficit.

Corporate results: Indus Motor revs up earnings

The company earned Rs473 million in the second quarter (2QFY14), much better than the Rs287 million it earned in second quarter of fiscal year 2013. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Indus Motor Company (IMC) – the second largest car-maker in Pakistan – has announced a profit after tax of Rs1.35 billion during the first half of fiscal year 2013-14 (1HFY14) ending December 31, 2013, up 38% compared to Rs978 million in the corresponding period last year.
Earnings per share (EPS) of the company increased to Rs17.20 in 1HFY14 compared to Rs12.44 in 1HFY13.
The company earned Rs473 million in the second quarter (2QFY14), much better than the Rs287 million it earned in second quarter of fiscal year 2013.
Global Research on Wednesday reported that the earnings of the company were lower than its estimates of Rs1.44 billion or EPS of Rs18.42. It said that it happened when the import cost of Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) units jumped because of rupee depreciation against the dollar in the first quarter of FY14.
The company also announced an interim dividend of Rs6 per share, which was lower than the estimates of Rs10 per share, the report added.
AKD Research also said that earnings of the company were below its expected 1HFY14 net profit of Rs1.44 billion or EPS of Rs18.39, owing to lower than expected gross margins.
The company’s revenues clocked in at Rs26 billion during 1HFY14 against Rs24.27 billion during the same period of the last year, up 7% year on year (YoY).
The increase in revenues was chiefly supported by a 4% YoY increase in the company’s CKD sales to 15,179 units. On a quarterly basis, revenues depicted a decline of 9% YoY to Rs11.73 billion. IMC’s profits declined in fiscal year 2013 by a significant 23% to Rs3.35 billion compared to Rs4.30 billion in fiscal year 2012.

Trial: Mobile phone operators to test 3G, 4G services

Mobile operators will be granted a free trial licence for 3G and 4G to prepare before its complete adoption. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Mobile phone operators, under the regulator’s decision of granting them a free trial permission on non-commercial basis for 3G and 4G services, will test and finetune services before the spectrum auction takes place.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had announced that all mobile operators will be granted a free trial licence for 3G and 4G so that they prepare accordingly before its complete adoption.
A web-based telecom site on Wednesday reported that after the announcement, operators had requested PTA for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for commencing trial services.
The regulator, in response, had asked the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) to allocate the required spectrum to cellular companies so they may start offering trial 3G/4G services.
The FAB now has all the necessary approvals from the cabinet division and mobile phone companies are set to launch trial such services soon.
It merits mentioning here that such a testing of 3G services are for trial and non-commercial basis, as operators would not offer high-speed 3G broadband services to customers.
Instead, they will internally test the infrastructure and equipment to get prepared for the proper launch after the auction, planned for April 2014.
The subscribers will be able to enjoy 3G (and possibly 4G as well) within two weeks after the licence auction in April.
When contacted, an official at PTA confirmed that mobile phone operators are being provided with limited permission by the FAB with an aim that telecoms can identify their technical challenges before rolling out the new services to the masses.

Fizzling revenue: Capacity tax could be increased further

The three-main players of the industry are now ready to enter into an agreement with government to increase the tax by another 60%. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: 
As the tailor-made capacity tax on production of beverages industry failed to yield results, the three-main players of the industry who designed the system to their benefits are now ready to enter into an agreement with government to increase the tax by another 60%.
Despite significant increase in tax rates the obligations of these players are not likely to go up, as they are successfully under-declaring their capacity to evade taxes, said sources in the beverages industry. However, the obligations of other industry players are likely to increase further.
They are willing to enter into a new arrangement after they failed to uphold their promise of ensuring a 25% increase in tax revenues from the industry after the change in the tax regime.
The change in the mode of taxation from percentage to the fixed amount has already made many small and medium size players uncompetitive, and any further increase in rates will also force major players, except the influential three, to knock the door of the court, according to sources in the Ministry of Finance and the industry. Some of the small players have already gone to the court.
According to the proposal, the tax rate of Rs4.7 million per filling valve or spout on factories, which only have foreign origin filling machines or a mix of foreign and local origin filling machine, is recommended to be increased to Rs7.5 million per filling valve – a 60% increase.
The proposal was pushed by three out of seven main dealers of Pepsi, after the government’s revenues from the industry turned negative despite promises made by these players that there will be a 25% increase in revenues, the sources added. They added that Coca Cola was willing to accept this proposal as its concentrate price was far less than Pepsi, keeping it competitive even after paying higher taxes.
On the recommendation of the players, the rate for the second category which includes factories using local machinery, and third category which includes factories with less than 40 filling valves or spouts installed, had been set at Rs3.76 million per filling valve and Rs1.2 million per filling valve respectively.
The sources said these rates will also be proportionally revised upward.
In the current budget, the PML-N government had increased the rate of federal excise duty on aerated water from 6 % to 9%. However, on the recommendation of these three players, a capacity tax was introduced.
The sources said that these three players were under declaring their capacity, putting other major players at disadvantageous position. The capacity tax system had been abandoned in the 90s after it failed to yield the desired results.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Tariq Bajwa had expressed reservations to some of these decisions, revealed sources in the Ministry of Finance.
The sources said that if the capacity system continued, it could become a potential case for National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The big three sold the capacity tax idea to check massive evasion of a small player that was gradually growing bigger as a result, and hit the interests of one of the major players while taking a significant share of the Faisalabad market, the sources said.
Instead of advising the government to bring the evader under the radar by monitoring and tracking its production and sales through electronic and other means that are available under the Sales Tax law, these players decided to exploit the system to their benefit by using their clout, revealed the sources.
A commission, formed by the Lahore High Court, recommended suspending the capacity tax system.

Pak-India trade normalisation: Dar stresses on non-discriminatory market access

Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar (2nd L) and Federal minister for commerce and textile Khurram Dastagir Khan (L) in a meeting on trade with India. PHOTO: PID
ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Ishaq Dar, in a meeting on examining trade with India on Thursday, said that it should be ensured all concessions offered are on a reciprocal basis with meaningful market access and level playing field for Pakistan’s exports to India.
Held at the finance ministry, commerce secretary Qasim Muhammad Niaz briefed the committee on examining trade with India on the pros and cons of normalisation of trade relations with Pakistan’s eastern neighbours, the benefits that will accrue in export of textile and manufactured goods and on the broader framework of the roadmap to move ahead on non-discriminatory market access for Pakistan’s exports.
Dar chaired the meeting which was informed that all stakeholders have been taken into confidence and concerns of our industry will be addressed in the process.
Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan briefed the committee on the progress made on addressing Pakistan’s genuine concerns during his last visit to India.
The finance minister said that it should be ensured that all the concessions are on reciprocal basis and concerns of our industry should be taken care in the future arrangement.
Dar added that import from India should substitute our import from other countries which will save valuable foreign exchange.
The minister emphasised that there should be meaningful market access and level playing field for Pakistan’s exports to India.
The committee will present its detailed report to the Cabinet for consideration.
Special Adviser to Prime Minsiter on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatmi, FBR Chairman Tariq Bajwa, former commerce secretary Zafar Mehmood , Nestle Pakistan Chairman Syed Yawar Ali, Adviser to Finance Ministry Rana Asad Amin and senior officials of the concerned ministries also attended the meeting.

In two years, navy may lose sub-sea edge over Pak

The accident on board Russian-built INS Sindhuratna comes at time when the Indian Navy is grappling with fast deteriorating underwater force levels.
The navy is projected to lose its sub-sea superiority against Pakistan over the next two years. Also, it is nowhere close to China in terms of its submarine fleet.
The Indian Navy currently operates 12 submarines. However, the “viable strength” of India’s submarine arm is much less, factoring in the operational availability of the boats.
By 2015, the force will be left with merely five to six submarines as it begins phasing out the Russian Kilo-class and German HDW Type 209 submarines.

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The size of India’s submarine fleet will roughly be the same as that of the Pakistani Navy in two years. The Pakistan Navy has a fleet of five to six submarines.
China currently operates more than 50 submarines and has chalked out plans to build 15 additional Yuan-class attack submarines.
Even as China scales up its underwater capabilities swiftly, Indian navy’s submarine force levels would be at its lowest in history by 2015, as reported by HT last April, quoting from a confidential defence ministry report. The report had then warned India had “never before been poised in such a vulnerable situation” and the undersea force levels were “at a highly precarious state.”

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“As this critical (undersea) capability is eroded, there is an inverse increase in both capability and strength of the Chinese and Pakistani navies,” the report warned. Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built at the Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai with technology from French firm DCNS under a Rs. 23,562-crore project codenamed P-75. But the first of these boats will not be ready before 2016-17.

In the wake of the recent accidents, the defence ministry may ask the navy to carry out a “safety stand-down,” a designated time for crews to focus on safety-related matters and training to deal with the daunting challenge of reducing mishaps.

Could DiCaprio finally win Oscar?

Could DiCaprio finally win Oscar?
AFP
LOS ANGELES-Could this finally be Leonardo DiCaprio’s year?
Twenty years after his first Oscar nomination, the 39-year-old actor is hoping that he may at last win one of Hollywood’s most prized statuettes come Sunday night. Matthew McConaughey has long been the frontrunner for the best actor Oscar for his turn in “Dallas Buyers Club” - but DiCaprio is increasingly cited as a possible come-from-behind winner.
Critics have lavished praise on the actor for his portrayal of financial crook Jordan Belfort in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” fueling speculation that Oscar voters could finally give him the Academy Award. DiCaprio portrays the debauched and drug-fueled New York trader from his early days through his relentless rise to the top of Wall Street in the 1990s, and then his disgrace at the hands of FBI investigators.
The hilarious scene where DiCaprio struggles across the floor to get to his car, his limbs paralyzed by an overdose of Quaaludes, risks becoming one of his defining screen moments, along with the prow-of-the-ship “Titanic” scene with Kate Winslet. “Look, there’s a lot of disgusting behavior in this movie,” the 39-year-old - who took home a Golden Globe for the role - acknowledged at a recent lunch for this year’s Oscar nominees.
“We wanted this to be a cautionary tale, and we wanted to accurately portray this darker nature of our culture.” While DiCaprio has never won an Oscar, he was first nominated at the age of 19, for 1993’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?,” and then again for 2004’s “The Aviator” and 2006’s “Blood Diamond.” But his work in films including “Romeo and Juliet” (1996), “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Departed” (2006) and “Shutter Island” (2010) was overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.