Karachi Mass Transit Project A system, that should have materialized decades ago: Zakaria Usman

Mr. Zakaria Usman, President FPCCI has express his serious concern over long awaited plan of Karachi Mass Transit Project which was planned years back with hard work involving years of surveys, studies, new laws, relocation of people, a committed international financier, provision of guarantees and much more. Now it need to resolve and sincere will to push it through although this should have happened decades ago.

He further said that Karachi Mass Transit Project was one of the unfortunate projects in the country’s history that had faced inordinate delays. Though several years had passed, the work on the project could not be started due to bureaucratic hurdles.

The President FPCCI drew the attention of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the fact that Karachi is 60 times larger than it was when Pakistan was created in 1947. It is the world’s fastest growing mega city like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Lagos, Jakarta, Mumbai, Delhi and Chicago. It has now become the world's 7th largest metropolis with an estimated population of nearly 20 million inhabitants. He said that Karachi is economic lifeline of Pakistan and is the country's financial capital. It is the financial and industrial powerhouse of the country which contributes 25% of GDP. The port of Karachi handles 60 percent of Pakistan’s cargo and the Karachi Stock Exchange is one of Asia’s most active trading money market.

He said that 15 years back the transport system of Karachi was satisfactory which was consisting of circular railways, KRTC buses, private coaches and taxies. The state owned circular railway and big buses were gradually broken due to lack of maintenance and attention of the concerned authorities. Now after 15 years the people are at the mercy of thousands of three wheelers and qingqi. Rather we should have upgraded the transport system instead we dropped it from our standard.

He further stated that many of the potential benefits of urbanization will be hard to realize unless there is improved city governance and serious efforts to reduce the level of violence in Karachi.  So what has already been done and what can Nawaz Sharif Government do to give a mass transit system that any mega city like Karachi must have, he urged.

The President of the apex trade body requested the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Governor and Chief Minister Sindh to give priority to Karachi Mass Transit Project which needs sincerity for implementation. This will bring much needed foreign direct investment in the country and it will impact positively on trade and economic activities in Pakistan and will reduce the level of fuel consumption in public and private transportation from one corner of the city to another corner, reflecting in reduction of import of oil which is one of the major importing items. This will also provide pollution free healthy environment.

Karachi Inferno: Factory cleared after 41 hours

The factory building, which was gutted in a massive blaze that claimed 289 lives, was cleared Thursday morning  after 41 hours of rescue work, officials said.

Chief fire officer Ehtishamud Din said the operation continued all night long and after drainage machines pumped water out of the basement the building is now cleared after 41 hours.

Talking to media, he said the upper three floors had already been cleared but problems were faced clearing the basement as it was filled with water and had became extremely hot as a result of continued 18-hour fire.

The fire officer Ehtisham asserted there is no more dead body left at the factory now.

Earlier at night, the second floor of the gutted garment factory caught fire again; however, the fire-tenders brought it under control.

On Thursday morning, affected families staged protest demonstration as the heavy machinery could not be transported to the blaze site, which delayed the relief work at the basement of the factory.

The affected people warned they will themselves drain out the accumulated water after breaking the wall of the factory, if the administration continues to display disregard over the tragedy of so immense proportions.

As many as 217 bodies were kept at Edhi Center; of them, 107 have been delivered to the bereaved families after identification process.

Eight bodies will be dispatched to different areas of Punjab including Muzaffargarh and Rahim Yar Khan.

Edhi Center Sohrab Goth’s official said the bodies being shifted to Punjab cities will be given free-of-cost service.

The loss of lives of 289 innocent people in a factory conflagration has saddened the atmosphere of the metropolis.

Announcing three-day mourning, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has called off all organizational and political activities in grief over the incident that claimed 289 lives.

Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan and Judges of the Supreme Court offered condolence and prayed for the departed souls of workers who got killed in the factory fire at Karachi and Lahore.

Chief Justice and  Judges assembled Thursday before the start of proceedings of their respective Benches and offered Fateha for the workers of the tragic incidents who were caught in a deadly fire and perished. May Allah Almighty bless their souls and provide strength to their families to bear this irreparable loss. (The Nation)

DCO KARACHI URGE FLOUR MILL OWNERS TO MAKE SUBSIDIZED FLOUR SCHEME EASY

DCO Karachi Mohammad Hussain Syed has expressed apprehension on that the general public was not receiving the benefits of Rs2billion and 26 crores subsidy given by the government on flour during Ramazan-ul-Mubarak. Addressing a meeting in Civic Center on Wednesday he asked the flour mill owners and food department to make the whole procedure easy and better so that the people could avail its benefits. 

The meeting was attended by EDO Revenue Ghanor Leghari, Addl. EDO Revenue Matanat Ali Khan, District Officer Revenue, DDOs Revenue, representatives of Food Department of Sindh Government and floor mills association. 

The meeting reviewed in detail, the benefits receiving by public from subsidized flour scheme. DCO Karachi urged the mill owners and food department to make the delivery of subsidized flour easier so that it could reach to maximum number of poor people in city. He also directed DDOs Revenue to check that how many flour bags were brought to market. He also instructed to compile the complete record of delivery of subsidized flour on town level.

KCCI & ANKARA CHAMBER TO SIGN PROTOCOL OF COOPERATION TO CEMENT BILATERAL TRADE TIES

Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, President-KCCI, in an interactive session with Nurettin Ozdebir, President, Ankara Chamber of Industry at Ankara stressed upon the need of regular interaction, exchange of trade information and delegations. Saeed Shafiq articulated that Pakistan and Turkey were two brotherly countries with relationship encompassed over decades, however, the bilateral trade was not aligned with the existing potential. Saeed Shafiq asserted for constant cooperation between KCCI and Turkish Chambers and proposed for signing of protocol of cooperation between KCCI and Ankara Chamber of Industry.

Nurettin Ozdebir, President, Ankara Chamber of Industry, appreciated the initiative of Saeed Shafiq, President-KCCI for visiting Turkey with high power business delegation. Ozdebir also expressed interest and consent for signing a protocol of cooperation to ensure maximum cooperation and coordination to further develop economic and commercial ties with KCCI. Ozdebir informed that Ankara Chamber of Commerce was working actively and closely with its partner chambers to develop bilateral relations with a target to foster and facilitate economic and commercial ties with companies of two countries. For this purpose, we were trying to create new models of cooperation such as countertrade, partnership for building industrial zones etc., he added.

Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, President-KCCI and Nurettin Ozdebir, President, Ankara Chamber of Industry ensured each other for effective inter-chamber liaison to achieve the desired objectives.

KSE 100-index falls to 3-year low

KARACHI: the Karachi stock market shares fell to end at a more than three-year low on Thursday and dealers said the market is likely to remain under pressure as off-market transactions were up to 40 percent lower than official share prices.

The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index fell by 3.95 percent, or 320.37 points, to end at 7,785.26 points, its lowest close since Sept. 1, 2005.

Turnover was 20 million shares and dealers said most trade was in third-tier shares with almost none in heavyweights. The KSE 100-index has shed 15.26 percent since the removal of a floor on it on Monday.

The index has fallen 44.7 percent this year. The floor was imposed in late August after sharp falls and it led to the withering of trade.

"Shares traded off-market are still 35 to 40 percent lower even though the KSE-index is now 15 percent lower," said Shuja Rizvi, director broking operations at Capital One Equities Ltd. According to the latest data up to Dec. 17, National Bank of Pakistan was being traded at 45 rupees a share, or 40.6 percent lower than its official closing on Thursday. Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd was traded at 15 rupees, or 41.6 percent lower than its Thursday close. Dealers said reports of a support fund for the market did not help improve sentiment and they would believe the fund if and when it materialised.

Shaukat Tarin, the country's top economic adviser, said on Tuesday a support found was being set up and shares worth 20 billion rupees ($247 million) would be sold to overseas Pakistanis, the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Tarin, who was not available for comment, said the "modalities" of the fund would be released in two or three days, Dawn said.

Legal cases were also dampening trade. The KSE management, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Ltd, are facing cases filed by brokers seeking settlement of amounts borrowed through a continuous funding system, a funding mechanism for some stocks listed on the KSE.

In the currency market, the rupee was flat at 79.40/50 to the dollar compared with 79.40/60 on Wednesday and dealers said the outlook was bleak even though the current account deficit in November narrowed.

The current account deficit narrowed to $810 million in November, compared with $2.172 billion the previous month. Dealers said even if imports had decreased, they were expecting a slowdown in exports and overall economic growth, which would put pressure on the rupee. The rupee has lost 22.4 percent against the dollar this year.

Securities and Exchange Commission probing printing scam of fake shares

Recent arrests of an owner of a Karachi based printing press and graphic designer for printing fake shares of companies listed at stock exchange, including Norrie Textile Mills Limited, confirms the initial findings of the on-going investigations initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

A well placed source in SECP informed on Friday that earlier in September 2008, the Central Depository Company, Karachi (CDC) reported to the SECP that in an attempt to enter its shares on the CDC in electronic format, Norrie Textile Mills Limited had fraudulently represented that it has a paid up capital of Rs 598.6 million divided in Rs 59.8 million shares (beyond its actual reported capital of Rs 48.6 million). These were registered with CDC as a result of the fake declaration filed by two directors of Norrie Textile Mills Ltd i.e. Zakaria Ghani and Khalid Abid M Shah. These shares were thereafter entered into the CDC system by way of deposit of physical shares through various brokers including 21 million shares by Al-Mal Securities, one of the associated companies of Norrie Textile Mills. Such physical shares, are deposited with the brokers and are presented to the share registrar as per procedure to be dematerialised and kept in record, however, the recent confiscation of fake printed shares by the FIA substantiates the apprehension that no such physical shares were deposited earlier by the different participants, including the brokerage firm, and that these fake shares were being printed to unlawfully build the share record and to conceal the issue of fake shares by Norrie Textile Mills Ltd.

Earlier the Commission initiated action and the CDC eligibility of Norrie Textile Mills Ltd shares was revoked and the trading status of the share registrar of the company M/s First Investec Modaraba, Al-Mal Securities and other suspected individuals involved was suspended / blocked. The Commission further ordered an inspection under section 231 of the Companies Ordinance, 1984 to inspect the books of accounts and books and papers of company to verify the issue of 55 million fake shares by the company beyond its reported paid up capital comprising of 4.8 million shares. Simultaneously, another enquiry was authorised under section 21 of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969, to investigate the dealings and transactions in the shares of the company. However Norrie Textile Mills Ltd, its share registrar and the brokerage firm involved did not provided the requisite books and records to the authorised officials of the commission, and instead resorted to legal notices to the Commission. The Commission requested the authorities for the Police support to attain access to the records of Norrie Textile Mills Ltd, which unfortunately could not be made available to it. Later on, the commission requested the Honourable High Court of Sindh, Karachi for access to the records of the Norrie Textile Mills Ltd, in a pending matter of J.M. No. 16 of 2006 already filed by the Commission.

The High Court of Sindh directed the Norrie Textile Mills Ltd, through its order dated September 25, 2008, to produce all the records before the inquiry officers appointed by the Commission within 15 days of the said order. However, Norrie Textile Mills Ltd succeeded to get another extension of 15 days from the Honourable Sindh High Court on October 28, 2008. Upon expiry of this extension, Norrie Textile Mills Ltd was apparently getting the fake certificates printed to build their record for production before the SECP inspectors or the Court. On enquiry from SECP it was revealed that every time an inspection of record is sought, various companies manage to get stay orders, which prevents SECP from carrying out inspections and detect fraudulent activities thus undermining the shareholders and public at large.

The SECP is empowered to inspect all records and investigate matters related to the company transactions under the Companies Ordinance 1984 and various other laws administered by the SECP despite the fact that no loss or prejudice of any sort is caused to the company whose records are sought to be inspected, all kind of dubious methods are employed by the companies to delay the inspections by filing appeals and petitions in Court.