Business Communication:communication used to promote a product, service, or organization; relay information within the business; or deal with legal and similar issues. It is also a means of relying between a supply chain, for example the consumer and manufacturer.

Business Communication is known simply as "Communications." It encompasses a variety of topics, including Marketing, Branding, Customer relations, Consumer behaviour, Advertising, Public relations, Corporate communication, Community engagement, Research & Measurement, Reputation management, Interpersonal communication, Employee engagement, Online communication, and Event management. It is closely related to the fields of professional communication and technical communication.

In business, the term communications encompasses various channels of communication, including the Internet, Print (Publications), Radio, Television, Ambient media, Outdoor, and Word of mouth.

Business Communication can also refer to internal communication. A communications director will typically manage internal communication and craft messages sent to employees. It is vital that internal communications are managed properly because a poorly crafted or managed message could foster distrust or hostility from employees.^[1]

Business Communication is a common topic included in the curricula of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programs of many universities. AS well, many community colleges and universities offer degrees in Communications.

There are several methods of business communication, including:

• Web-based communication - for better and improved communication, anytime anywhere ...
• e-mails, which provide an instantaneous medium of written communication worldwide;
• Reports - important in documenting the activities of any department;
• Presentations - very popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Flash;
• telephoned meetings, which allow for long distance speech;
• forum boards, which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location; and
• face to face meetings, which are personal and should be succeeded by a written followup.

[edit] Organizations

• Founded in 1936 by Shankar with the Association for Business Communication (ABC) [1], originally called the Association of College Teachers of Business Writing, is “an international organization committed to fostering excellence in business communication scholarship, research, education, and practice.”
• The IEEE Professional Communication Society (PCS) [2] is dedicated to understanding and promoting effective communication in engineering, scientific, and other environments, including business environments. PCS's academic journal, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication [3], is one of the premier journals in professional communication. The journal’s readers are engineers,writers, information designers, managers, and others working as scholars, educators, and practitioners who share an interest in the effective communication of technical and business information.]

warren buffet
carlos slim
bill gates
mukesh ambani
anil ambani

At last, Blueflower clinches juicy Zain account
Tuesday, 06 April 2010 01:11 Daniel Obi
he Zain PR pitch involved three stages. The first, involved expression of interest by the pitching agencies, followed by a brief sent by the telecom firm to the short-listed agencies that competed for the mouth-watering account.

The third and perhaps the most complex of the exercise, invoved the company (Zain) creating a scenario drawn from its experience as a brand and posed the challenge to the PR agencies that pitched, asking them how they would tackle “the situation” if any of them eventually became its consultant. The strategic moves of the competing agencies was to be finally unveiled when Blueflower Limited presented a strong strategic understanding as well as an execution plan that the brand could relate with. This did magic! It convinced the management of Zain, including two officials from the telecommunication headquarters who witnessed the pitch, that Blueflower was the right choice.

It was gathered that the agency won the account based on the understanding of the corporate communication challenges of the organisation. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Blueflower, Chido Nwakanma, "it is a matter of ideas and value to client and not size. The agency should have the understanding of what the client needs and the necessary manpower to create and execute those solutions."

Nwakanma, who kept the worth of the pitch to his chest, stated: "We are looking at a brief contract until they sought out issues around the ongoing ownership. We are supposed to have a contract that will manage the transition and then review it. The agreement is that we will do what is needful, particularly at this trial time. We will work with the internal corporate communication team to manage the communication and reputation challenges of Zain and the network as an ongoing business entity."

The chief executive officer revealed that behind the Blueflower, which started business in 2007, are a robust experience in corporate communication, brand management and in the entire gamut of public relations practice.

According to him, it appears Blueflower is not known in the industry because "our work is more of strategy. We do a lot of more content development for clients." Describing the success in the pitch as "exhilarating experience," Nwakanma said: "Blueflower is committed to working with the internal communication team to strengthen the brand with their other stakeholders. This account win is in line with our initial five-year plan. We are progressing along that line. What we want to do is to broaden our portfolio to have clients across sectors.

On the PR industry, he said there was growing awareness and acceptance of the importance of PR in corporate Nigeria which is in tandem with the growth of PR across the world. "If you are in PR practice, therefore, the challenge is for you to benchmark yourself against global best practices. And because there is also competition and increased awareness, a lot of professionals are setting up proper PR consulting outfits," he said.

Nwakanma, who maintained it was unethical to handle two accounts in the same industry, regretted the dearth of manpower in the industry which he attributed to the decline on the job training and short term skill acquisition.

The banking landscape is gradually changing, what with much advocacy on the need for banks to go back to the basics of banking. But what exactly is the basics? Retail banking! Currently, there is a great debate going on across the globe on the need for banks to consolidate on the retail banking to help them boost their earnings. Top on the list of the debate is whether or not retail banking should be separated from large corporate and investment banking.

For the benefits of retail banking to be realised, many financial experts recall how the practice evolved before it was pushed aside by investment banking. They said it should be hinged on a sacred responsibility; needs an ethical underpinning; should be different from corporate banking; should be totally different from investment banking and that it should be all about knowing the customer.

How did retail banking evolve in Africa? It began in a typical African context when a group of people in the village came together to save money. After savings, the money was lent to a member of the group who invested it on productive purposes, though at a local level. As businesses evolved, there were other ones in the form of credit unions which include informal savings and loans institutions, building societies, co-operative banks, savings banks, credit unions, post offices and then commercial banks. As a retail banker, you have a responsibility to the consumer.

At the beginning of this year, Boston Consulting Group noted that in 2008, retail banking activities accounted for 55 percent of the revenues generated by the 140 banks on its global database, up from 45 percent in 2006. Some icons like Citibank (the first global consumer bank), Stefan Kaminsky's KKB in Germany, Banco Popular in Spain, Cetelem in France, Bradesco in Brazil are banks of all kinds that brought banking to the masses. While these banks are known for their role in retail banking, there were some mistakes of Western banks like Bancassurance/Allfinanz, mergers of banks and insurers, retailing culture, hard-selling, mis-selling, predatory pricing.

Where did Nigerian banks go wrong? Michael Lafferty, chairman Lafferty Group, gave an insight into the mistakes of Nigerian banks.

"Mistakes of Nigerian banks include; speculative/deal-making culture at the top, domination of boardroom by corporate/wholesale bankers, no interest in consumer or Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) banking in many major banks. The greatest mistake of the lot is universal banking," he said.

Attempting to answer the question as to what went wrong with universal banking, Lafferty said: "Barriers between retail/commercial banking and investment banking disappeared in 1990s. Investment bankers took control of the world's retail banks - now called universal banks, consumers were 'used and abused' to serve the purpose of the investment banking divisions, mis-selling and predatory pricing became the order of the day.

"Looking at the European-American-Nigerian banking crisis, it was not a recession but largely man-made. Though origins lie in the US sub-prime scandal but investment bankers were out of control. Banks were taking crazy risks which they did not understand. Politicians mesmerised and compromised. Retail bankers should be trained like professionals in medicine, law, accountancy, architects," he noted.

•Groups banks into international, national, regional operators •Intensifies Holdco structure

As part of its efforts at enhancing the quality of banks and ensuring financial system stability, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is proposing a maxi

Godfrey Phillips knows his way around brands. For 25 years, Phillips has focused on helping companies refine their positioning in the business-to-business space. He spent more than 18 years at the Young and Rubicam agency, where he worked with agency clients such as American Express, Xerox, the U.S. Postal Service, AT&T, and Holiday Inn.

Phillips joined American City Business Journals, the parent company of Portfolio.com, in 2003. As vice president of research at ACBJ, Phillips directs research efforts that support the company’s national advertising sales. For the last six years, Phillips has looked at what are the strongest brands for the small- and midsized-business market. This year, for the first time, ACBJ is releasing the results of its study of the top-25 brands for this market.

Phillips spoke with Portfolio.com editor J. Jennings Moss about shifting economic attitudes and what it takes to build a strong brand. Following are edited excerpts from the interview.

J. JENNINGS MOSS: Godfrey, start with the big picture. What can you tell me about what makes 2010 unique?

GODFREY PHILLIPS: 2011 is not 2008. That’s the first thing you have to understand. These three years have had a big, traumatic effect on this country. People don’t feel the same way. And if you think our country is going to be the same as it was three years ago, you’re wrong. And if you think your product and your brand are going to be the same, you’re wrong.

MOSS: Your research says that about 40 percent of small- and midsize-business owners believe the economy is starting to turn around. Yet you also find that a growing number of these people say the United States will lose its global economic dominance for good. What does this say about the economy?

PHILLIPS: It’s not like we’re talking about radical hippies or new age people. These are generally conservative business owners, and they have been hurt. They’ve seen changes that they don’t like, and they don’t believe that we’re going to be in the same place that we were three years ago. And they believe there are other centers that are important and the U.S. is not going to be the center of the commercial world anymore. This has massive implications—massive implications.

MOSS: Is there a positive way to look at that shift? Are businesspeople opening their eyes to finding business partners or other opportunities outside of the country?

PHILLIPS: At this point, we’ve just got to come to grips with the reality of not being seen as the center of dominance. It’s not about opportunities, it’s about mind-sets. It’s like you’re not the top dog and you’re not going to be the top dog. That’s the implication. It would be arrogant for us to go out and say now we’re looking for partners, why would you want to partner with a second-place finisher?

MOSS: But you still find that businesspeople are increasingly optimistic. Is that a contradiction?

PHILLIPS: People are optimistic, but they’re just saying the world’s not the same. You can be optimistic in a changed world…. I think people are just taking a big deep breath. You can’t underestimate what these two years have meant for the economy, people, and this country. I think everyone knows people who have been laid off or lost houses. This year is a time to take stock. The worst thing you can do is be aggressive, I think. Just take a deep breath.

MOSS: Besides digging into how this segment of the market feels about the economy, you’ve also done a sweeping analysis of how people perceive the brands that court their business. What are they looking for?

PHILLIPS: People just want you to address their needs. If you’re selling a brand to them or marketing a brand to them, and your messaging isn’t what they want to hear, if your product doesn’t fit their business, if you don’t have support and service to fit their business, you’re not even going to play. Never mind your brand. It’s about commitment and staying on course. People who commit themselves and stay on track win, but you have to commit.

When we used to do focus groups, people used to say we don’t want to be the flavor of the day, we’re looking for more business, more opportunity, more people to use the brand, but we’re not the flavor of the day.

MOSS: Are more businesses today just wanting to be that flavor?

PHILLIPS: In my 20 years working with this market, I’d say yes. I totally see it all the time, where companies say ‘We need to increase our revenue, so lets look at this market, it’s such an enormous market.’ Then, for a year they’ll have a committed effort, and then they’ll drop it. The problem is if you drop it, these guys remember, so you’re out. You’re out for a long time.

MOSS: If a brand is trying to appeal to the small- and midsize-business market and they go out, what’s the reason they pull back?

PHILLIPS: Because they don’t want to service the market really. You can’t just go in there and drop your product. To be honest, you have more of a problem in the midsize market than you do at the smaller end. Because at the low end, people expect that you can service them online or through call centers. But when it comes to the midsize market, which is the black hole, if I’m buying 400 big multifunction machines, I expect to have some level of commitment from that company that is more than just being answered on the phone, and yet companies only have dedicated teams for big enterprise, so this market just falls through the cracks. And it’s always been that way.

MOSS: One of the measures you use to gauge a person’s perception of a brand is ethics, whether the business leader thinks the company behaves ethically. According to the survey, you see ethical perceptions improving. What’s the real-world impact on brands?

PHILLIPS: If people question your brand’s ethics, your brand quickly feels its impact. On the other hand, not surprisingly, people expect brands, like people, to be ethical, so while that contributes to the stature of the brand, it is more a cost-of-entry requirement.

MOSS: What about older brands versus new companies and products coming to the market?

PHILLIPS: In bad times, people go to traditional brands. They pretend to give new brands some opportunity, but if it’s your business on the line, they’re not trying anything new. Bad times are good times for old brands.

It happened in the dotcom bust more than anything else. There were all these new technology brands, and people said ATT, Xerox, IBM, were all going to die because we have all these new people coming out. But being around for a long time became a good thing not a bad thing.

MOSS: Still, new brands get buzz through under-the-radar branding or viral marketing. Can that help a brand gain traction?

PHILLIPS: Some of it works for the general market, but not really when it comes to the business market. It’s your business on the line. It’s your kids’ college fund. People are working for you. It’s not like buying a new toothpaste. Business decisions are different. It’s so much more personal.

MOSS: What’s the secret for a company to make it to the list of best brands for next year?

PHILLIPS: Simply commit. It’s about your product. You can’t sell something that doesn’t work for that market. It’s about whether you can service it.

AFP – The National Highway Transport Safety Administration could slap another fine on Toyota after the 16.4-million-dollar penalty it imposed for the Japanese carmaker’s not disclosing facts faster on involuntary acceleration.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian economy appears to be on track in its recovery, with reports on Monday showing businesses upbeat about hiring intentions and expansion, while the three-month trend on housing starts continued to show strength.

The Canadian dollar headed back toward parity with the greenback after the upbeat business mood was revealed in a pair of surveys by the Bank of Canada, and after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty repeated that the recent rise by the currency has been "relatively orderly".

Canadian businesses are preparing to expand and to hire more workers, but twice as many of them now see inflation at the high end of the central bank's target range than did so late last year.

The Bank of Canada's first-quarter business outlook survey, showed that while there continues to be plenty of slack in the economy as it emerges from recession, companies are upbeat about future sales, investment and hiring.

"Responses to the spring survey provide further evidence that the recovery is taking hold," the bank said.

In a separate survey in the first quarter, senior loan officers at the country's major banks told the Bank of Canada that business lending conditions had eased in the period, both in terms of pricing and availability.

The survey results may tilt the balance slightly toward an earlier than expected interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, although analysts are divided on that possibility.

The bank has kept its overnight rate at a historic low of 0.25 percent since April 2009, and pledged to hold it at that level until the end of June, unless inflation threatens to spiral out of control
Scotia Capital economist Derek Holt said the central bank is likely to "look favorably" on the pair of surveys. Scotia recently moved up its forecast for the bank's first rate hike to June 1.

MARCH HOUSING STARTS DIP

Earlier, Canadian housing starts unexpectedly dipped 1.5 percent in March to 197,300 units from an upwardly revised 200,400 units in February.

But the figures for the two prior months were revised higher, suggesting the residential housing sector remains a positive factor in the country's economic recovery.

"This was no weak report," said Robert Kavcic, an economist at BMO Capital Markets.

"Single-family starts hit a four-year high, and February's total was revised up to 200,400 to mark the first month above the 200,000 mark since October 2008," Kavcic said.

(Additional reporting by Louise Egan in Ottawa, Jennifer Kwan in Toronto, Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; editing by Rob Wilson)

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SLAMABAD (April 12 2010): The United States government lifted the ban on the release of funds for development projects in Pakistan, to be financed under USAID umbrella, last month, Business Recorder has learnt. "After lifting of the ban, Pakistan is expecting release of $15 million in project mode in the current month-money that was withheld due to the ban", sources said.

To cope with energy crisis in the country, the government is currently seeking assistance under USAID programme amounting to $1.6 billion during 2010-13. Pakistan has sought $105 million assistance for three ongoing energy projects during the current financial year 2009-10. These are Kachhi canal (Balochistan), Gomal Zam Dam (South Waziristan) and Satpara dam (Gilgit-Baltistan).

The government has requested for $700 million assistance under USAID programme for five new projects during coming financial year 2010-11. These projects are Diamer Basha Dam (NWFP/Gilgit-Baltistan), Kurram Tangi Dam (North Waziristan), Tank Zam Dam (NWFP), Upgradation (E&M) of Mangla Hydel Power Station (AJK) and Upgradation (E&M) of Warsak Hydel Power Station (NWFP).

Among these projects, 4500 MW Diamer Basha Dam is a mega project and its original cost estimate of $8.5 billion in 2005 has escalated to $15 billion due to depreciation of Pakistan's currency against dollar. "Pakistan has requested for $300 million financing for this project during the next financial year 2010-11 under USAID assistance programme," sources maintained.

The federal government and affectees of Diamer Basha dam have recently reached an 'out of court' settlement under which government will provide Rs 40 billion compensation. According to initial estimates, 29000 to 30,000 families living in 31 villages will be affected due to construction of this dam. Under the plan, government will build nine model villages for the affectees.

Macroeconomic situation risky: World Bank
MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN
ISLAMABAD (April 12 2010): The World Bank has portrayed Pakistan's macroeconomic situation as 'risky', but maintained that conditions are improving under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Bank-supported programme. The Bank made these comments on a draft concept note for a 'Rehabilitate, Operate and Transfer' (ROT) approach, which has been considered for genco-1 (Jamshoro and Kotri thermal power plants).

"The macro-economic situation of the country is a risk, but the conditions are improving under the IMF/WB supported programme. Energy sector's financial viability is a key to macro-economic stability and relevant policy measures which are part of the program. The second risk is that credible private investor may not be willing to take on the RROT for Genco -1. To mitigate the risk, much of the risks faced by the investors such as financing risk should be addressed by tapping financing from the IFIs to a large part, especially the non-sovereign type," said the Bank in its report sent to Secretary, Privatisation Commission.

The report states that, essentially, what is being structured is an independent power producer (IPP) project. Given the long track record of Pakistan in realising private sector IPP, the institutional, legal and decision making framework largely exists. Accordingly, the Privatisation Commission and the Ministry of Water and Power (through the Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and Pepco) would be responsible for the preparation.

Plans are to recruit transaction advisors comprising technical, financial and legal skills. These transaction advisors would be funded by the Bank's ongoing Electricity Distribution and Transmission Improvement Project (EDTIP). Recruitment of the transaction advisors is being initiated. The transaction advisors would carry out the preparation in two parallel tracks - first is to make the techno-economic assessment of Genco-1's plants, the gas availability, and define in functional terms the needs for reconstruction and rehabilitation and the length of the concession period. This assessment would include assessment of environmental and social issues as well. In parallel, the Transaction Advisors would initiate the selection of the possible investor(s).

This would include preparation of the financial assessment of the concession, the legal framework (including draft agreements) and pre-qualifications of the investors. The final bidding for the investor would be conducted once the techno-economic assessment as well as the commercial legal framework is ready. This process is expected to take roughly 12 months.

According to the Bank estimates, which are quite preliminary, reconstruction and rehabilitation of genco-1's plants would cost about $600 million--$400 million for the replacement of some units, and the remaining for rehabilitation

This possible financing plan does reflect the wishes of GoP to make it a PPP in which Pepco will hold 30 percent of the equity whereas the entire debt would be funded by international financial institutions, predominantly IFC and World Bank (IBRD), and other IFIs could also participate.

While the project preparation responsibilities would initially rest with the GoP and its entities, the Bank has recommended that concept clearance be secured immediately and all the legal and environmental and other permits, etc, be obtained by Genco-1, before participation by the private investor upon selection.

The Bank expects that with the help of the Transaction Advisors, the investor would be selected through a multi-stage international selection process. Accordingly, the expectations at the moment are that procurement would be as per guidelines noted in "Procurement under BOO/ BOT/ BOOT, Concessions and Similar Private Sector Arrangements".

Disbursements are expected to be along those in private sector projects - an agent bank (also known as an account bank) that would be appointed under specific agreement, would hold all the funds in escrow and release them upon meeting disbursement criteria being met.

Under the concession, Genco-l will be operated like a private company, and is expected to have appropriate accounting and financing management systems. The company will be subject to international standards audit.

The Bank is of the view that availability of natural gas should be immediately re-committed by the GoP. In view of the severe shortages of natural gas, pressures are being put on GoP to take away the gas from Genco-1 and give it to alternative uses (eg, fertiliser production).

To avoid these pressures, GoP should re-confirm immediately that the currently available gas would continue to be available to Genco-1. The Techno-Economic Assessment as part of the Transaction Advisory would carry out the due diligence to confirm for how many more years the gas would be available from the fields that are currently supplying, which would in turn determine the length of the concession, the Bank added.

This suggests that the GoP's focus should be on obtaining an investment commitment to reconstruct and rehabilitate Genco-1 as opposed to trying to generate funds for the budget by attempting to privatise the plant.

In view of the weak macro-economic situation, there are pressures to privatise possible state assets and Genco-l could be viewed as a possible candidate. However, in view of the current local and global conditions, outright sale may not be possible--as was proved by GoP's previous failed attempts to privatise Jamshoro and Kotri thermal power plants.

At the same time, failure to structure the reconstruct/rehabilitate transaction urgently would also negatively affect the power situation in the country especially since at least part of the asset base of Genco-1 is in bad condition and all of it is operating at low efficiencies which will only deteriorate with time.

Unemployment and underemployment are confronting more than a-fifth of the workforce in the country. The economy, over the years, is showing increasingly its inability to generate additional employment. In fact, retaining the current level of employment has emerged as a serious challenge. No doubt, continued power outages, law and order situation and high cost of borrowed money have constrained all spheres of economic activities with an adverse impact on employment.

More than three million of the workforce being unemployed is a mere tip of the ice berg. About a-fifth of the employed find their employment incomes failing them to meet even two square meals. To them are added the workers retrenched and laid off by the industry and services in distress. The worst sufferers of the current malaise are the youth and fresh entrants into the labour market. No doubt, this situation demands well coordinated efforts to simultaneously address employment and economic growth. Of foremost interest is the need to identify sectors and economic activities that simultaneously carry employment and development potential. In this regard, greater focus nevertheless should be in developing policy interventions and support mechanisms that foster growth of labour intensive sectors.

This write up elaborates three important areas and economic activities that promise considerable employment and economic growth. It also suggests the introduction of a scheme.

The hitherto neglected sector already employing a large proportion of the non-agriculture workforce is the domestic commerce. Numerous self employment and other small activities that can be picked up rather easily for targeted programs are: (1) mobile phones, wireless loop, (2) Public call offices (PCOs), (3) internet and broad band service providers, (4) cable services, (5) private educational institutions, (6) private clinics and dispensaries, (7) medical laboratories, (8) agriculture farm machinery sales and workshops, (9) fruits and vegetables processing, preservation and storage, (10) fertilizer, pesticides, seeds and agro-chemical distribution, (11) milk collection, processing packaging and marketing, (12) advertising, marketing and creative services, (13) CNG filling stations, (14) small hotels and especially restaurants, (15) IT and internet related activities including call centers, (16) accountancy and management consultancy, (17) housing and construction related services, (18) tourism and traveling agencies, (19) repair and maintenance, (20) domestic appliances, (21) small departmental stores, (22) auto spare parts, (23) mobile utility stores, etc.

Many of these identified activities, however, would need synchronized measures with regard to tackling and removing constraining factors, as well as building and strengthening support mechanism. The constraining factors that need attention are prices of real estates, ownership titles, smuggling, taxation structure and access to finance. The supporting measures needed by this sector would include building, developing and strengthening or providing supply chains, warehouses, refrigeration, transportation including refrigerated transport and human resource development.

Out of the numerous handicrafts being produced across the country, there are over 100 that have been identified by districts. Carrying considerable employment, export and growth potential, the identified handicrafts, however, require product development, quality assurance, technology up gradation, access to credit and market linkages. Establishment of product-specific development and support centres in different cities and towns under the public-private partnership (PPP) would be an important element in harnessing employment. This step then could be strengthened by declaring some cities known for their handicrafts. Whereas, Hyderabad can be declared as ‘bangle city’, Chiniot and Multan ‘furniture city’ and ‘blue pottery and camel skin city’. Each of the product, as well as product-specific city, would also require dedicated skills development and quality assurance centres.

It is well known that rural areas and surrounding small towns are confronted with issues, such as, (a) low human and financial capital, (b) inadequate knowledge on market conditions and support institutions, (c) inadequate infrastructural facilities, (d) poor outreach of extension services, and (e) absence of backward and especially forward linkages. These issues no doubt demand a focused and integrated approach for adequate resolution. Establishment of the three-tier ‘Growth Triangles’ (GTs) in this regard is suggesteds. In short, it is the establishment of a village support centre (VSC). A VSC would be an ideal place to provide literacy/education for men and women, develop programs for the enhancement of the skills, provide vocational guidance and have a reporting system to register employers, employees and home based workers to get an understanding of the rural labour market for policy formulation and evaluation.

Establishment of a multipurpose industrial and rural development support center (MIRDSC) in a cluster of 10-15 VSCs can form the second tier. The MIRDSCs can be used for supporting local area and enterprise development including agriculture and commerce. In fact, the primary focus of a MIRDSC should be none else that removing development bottle-necks inherent in rural areas. Hence, it would need to focus on tackling lack of technical and entrepreneurial know-how. Such a centre, if established, can serve as, (1) a source of information, guidance and counseling, (2) centre for supply of inputs, (3) centre for skills development and up gradation, (4) marketing centre, (5) facilitator for the backward and forward linkages, especially with the manufacturers, small industrial estates (SIEs) and markets in urban areas, and (6) link with credit institutions.

The unskilled and semi-skilled are more vulnerable segments of the labour market. In the short-run, targeted programs are important for generating direct employment opportunities in different areas for them. Launch of an ‘employment guarantee scheme’ (EGS) that targets unskilled and semi-skilled is rather overdue. Under the current situation, cash injections through 100-120 days of guaranteed employment on minimum wage is suggested for those who enroll for employment in rural areas. Linked with the public sector funded small infrastructural projects and community services, the EGS can serve the goal of employment generation and local area infrastructural development. It is high time that the government considers replacing the Benazir Income Support Programme with the EGS, sooner the better.

Political leadership is urged to now divert their attention to the core issues that concern the country and general public alike. Unemployment, underemployment and poverty levels are on the rise and should not remain unattended. Let us make employment generation and poverty reduction outcomes central to our macro-economic management, in making plans, in setting sectoral priorities, in programme design and even in allocation of financial resources.

ahore—2010): All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), Pakistan Cotton Ginning Association (PCGA) and Farmers Associate Pakistan (FAP) have announced the formation of Pakistan Cotton Forum. Chairman Aptma Gohar Ejaz, Chairman PCGA Haji Mohammad Akram and Executive Director FAP Farooq Bajwa informed journalists during a press conference held at Aptma Punjab office.

Talking to newsmen, Chairman Aptma Ejaz said Pakistan Cotton Forum was being constituted to promote interests of three entities and to achieve productivity, quality and economic returns. He said the tripartite meeting held on the request of Aptma, which is also mover of the idea of Pakistan Cotton Forum.

The participants of the meeting deliberated upon the issues currently being confronted by the cotton producers in the country including availability of water, quality seed, fertilisers, pesticides, crop insurance and bank financing and per acre production enhancement.

The chairman Aptma said Pakistan Cotton Forum would consist of a board comprising ex-chairmen besides three members from respective associations. The PCF board, he said, would meet on monthly basis in order to formulate and finalise the scope of the forum in the coming meetings.

He said the forum was being created to provide an opportunity to discuss, resolve and achieve potential of about $10 billion economic activity through production and exports of three important segments of the textile industry. He said Aptma, PCGA and FAP are on the same page to meet emerging challenges of business community under the free market mechanism and added that the forum would endeavour to impart technology awareness, sharing of knowledge and lobbying for issues confronted by the textile industry.—Agencies

hillong, April 12 (IANS) The central government is working on introducing biometric ration cards in the northeastern states to weed out bogus cards and curb corruption in the distribution of subsidised food commodities, an official said Monday.

“We are looking at the new technology to computerise the public distrubution system (PDS) to ensure it is corruption free,” union Food Secretary Alka Sirohi told IANS.

The new innovation is aimed at curbing diversion of rice and wheat and to strengthen targeted public distribution system (TPDS), as according to the evaluation study by ORG Centre for Social Research, New Delhi, the diversion of food grain is high in northeastern states, especially in Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.

However, officials from these states rejected the findings during the meeting of food secretaries of the northeastern states here.

Sirohi, who reviewed the food scenario with the state food secretaries, said the central government is keen to introduce the biometric ration card to curb the menance of bogus ration cards.

In the biometric system, the fingerprints of the beneficiaries would be used for their identification so that transparency could be ensured.

Two years ago, the Meghalaya government had mooted the idea to introduce an electronic bar-coded food coupon system to plug out the pilferage of the highly-subsidised rice meant for poor people living under below poverty line in the state.

Sirohi, however, hoped that the introduction of the biometric ration cards would strengthen the PDS and help in maintaining transparency on every allocation for every states in the region.

“What concerns us is that northeast does not have adequate space storage for foodgrain and lack of sufficient number of railway siding sheds,” Sirohoi said.

She said the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is taking up construction of sheds at the highest priority godowns through the existing 11th Plan funds for northeast.

“We will go on massive construction programmes of sheds which will have an additional storage capacity of over seven lakhs tonnes,” she said.
[LM1]

ISLAMABAD, Apr 12 (APP): The number of Certificates of Origin issued to Malaysian Businessmen by the Malaysian Government to claim reduced duties and taxes under FTA has registered three fold increase in the past two years, reflecting intensive trade and investment volume between the two countries. This was stated by the Malaysian Deputy Minister for Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Dato Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, during his meeting, with the Acting High Commission for Pakistan to Malaysia , Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad Kazi, who called on him in Kuala Lumpur.

The Deputy Minister said that volume of trade between Pakistan and Malaysia was registering continued upward trend after the signing of the FTA in 2007, says a message received here from Malaysia today.

In view of high potential of trade, investment and business opportunities between the two countries, current level of trade could be enhanced further by sensitizing businessmen of both the countries about benefits of FTA, he added.

The Minister termed the export of Malaysian Palm oil to Pakistan an important component in the bilateral trade and said that Malaysia would like to pursue exports of its service, electronic and manufactured goods to Pakistan to further diversify its export base.

The Acting High Commissioner informed the Deputy Minister that Pakistan Chapter of Joint Business Council had been constituted, whereas, formation of Malaysian Chapter was expected to be completed soon.

The JBC could be launched when the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will visit Kuala Lumpur to attend the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) being held from May 18 to 20, 2010, he added.

The Acting High Commissioner for Pakistan also suggested holding of a series of seminars and exhibitions both in Pakistan and Malaysia to create awareness about the benefits of FTA and prospects to multifold increase in the business and economic activities, its implementation could bring in, to the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Dr. Kazi also suggested expeditious holding of a long overdue meeting of Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) between the two countries to discuss range of issues, and informed the Minister that meeting of the JMC, required to be held every year, alternatively by Malaysian and Pakistan could not be held since its last meeting hosted by Malaysian in 2004.

Dato Mukhriz Tun Mahathir was informed that proposal was under discussion to look at a possibility of bringing JMC to the Deputy Minister’s level to ensure its regular meetings, keeping in view of the busy schedule of the Foreign Ministers.

ISLAMABAD: An intervention from the “top gun” sitting at the hills followed by two secret letters had actually landed the Petroleum Ministry officials in the LNG import scam, as the officials concerned were made to recommend the name of Shell for the award of a multi-billion dollar contract in the summary sent to the ECC after deleting the lowest bidder, Vitol/FF, despite the fact that the Shell bid was higher than its competitor by $1.5 billion.

A secret letter, No Met/354/40, dated February 4 (available with The News), written by Qatar’s Energy Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad to Petroleum Minister Naveed Qamar, pleading for the contract to be awarded to Shell, revealed how the Qatari government, only five days before the ECC meeting on February 9, was confident to getting this multi-billion dollar contract as the Qatari minister had even invited Naveed Qamar to visit Doha after February 9 to witness the signing of the agreement to import the LNG.

But, sources said, Shaukat Tarin put the spanner in the works when in the ECC meeting on February 9, he rejected the recommendations of the Petroleum Ministry to award the contract to Shell and, instead, awarded it to the GDF Suez. The source claimed that actually, this was the main reason behind the annoyance of the “top gun” sitting at the hills, which also led to the ouster of Tarin from office.

These two official letters of the global head of the LNG Shell, De Ia Rey Ventor, and Qatar’s Deputy Minister for Energy and Industry Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, are being produced before the Supreme Court on Monday by the Editor Reporting of The News to further prove how massive irregularities were committed in the award of this contract and how political clout was used to make last minute changes in the official summary.

Both these letters were sent to Naveed Qamar on February 4, exactly four days before the dispatch of the official summary of the Petroleum Ministry to the ECC, recommending Shell for the award of the LNG contract in its meeting on February 9.

In addition, the Editor Reporting will also produce more evidence before the six-member SC bench, led by CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, to substantiate the contents of his story published in The News on March 29. These documents include the official letter of Tarin to Petroleum Ministry Special Secretary GA Sabri, dated February 10, after he got a call from MD Fauji Foundation Lt-Gen Rab Nawaz, who had complained that his bid was the lowest but was ignored. Another letter was written by Sabri to Tarin on February 18, informing him that the petroleum minister had stopped him from giving any reason for ignoring the lowest bidder, FF/Vitol, on the ground that the minister would personally handle the matter. A copy of the Fauji Foundation/Vitol bid, claiming that it was the lowest by about $400 million from the GDF-Suez, would also be presented before the SC. Replies of Tarin, Finance Ministry, Petroleum Ministry and MD FF General Rab Nawaz to the notices issued on April 2 will also be submitted on Monday. Meanwhile, investigations revealed that after a careful scrutiny of the bids for the import of 3.5 million tons of LNG, the evaluation committee, headed by Sabri, was in favour of the FF/Vitol and the GDF-Suez for the award of contract. The FF/Vitol bid was cheaper for a five-year term, while the GDF-Suez was cheaper for a 20-year import contract. So, both were to be recommended for the contract. In the meantime, Shell came to know that its bid was being ignored and its chairman met one of the top guns of Pakistan to seek his help. Consequently, Minister for Petroleum Naveed Qamar received a letter, dated February 4, from De La Rey Venter, with a copy to the chairman Shell companies in Pakistan, Zaiviji Ismail.

In this letter (a copy of which is available with The News), Venter wrote: “I appreciate you spared time to meet my colleagues last week. My colleagues have further briefed me on the discussions you had with them this week. The open and frank dialogue that has taken place reflects the quality of the long-standing partnership between Pakistan and Shell. Having considered what you shared with us and in view of our understanding of your requirements, we wish by this letter to provide you with an amended proposal. We believe this accommodates what you require without forgetting the long-term supply security for Pakistan.”

In this letter, Shell offered to supply 2.5 million tons of LNG against the tender of 3.5 million tons for six years. The supply of LNG was to be made from Qatar. In the letter, after giving the new bid, Venter said: “Your Excellency, we have come a long way in our discussions. Shell and its upstream partner Qatar feel it is important at this juncture to have clarity and the commitment of the government of Pakistan on the key parameters. This is required in order to conclude the term sheet and continue discussions into the next details SPA stage on exclusive basis for these volumes. We wish you and your colleagues success in your deliberations next week and look forward to hearing your decision.”

On the same day, Naveed Qamar received another letter from Qatari Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad to further plead the case of his country’s partner Shell to enable it to win the deal. Abdullah, in his letter, wrote: “Excellency, I have been briefed by Shell, our main partner in Qatargas 4, on the progress of the discussions related to LNG supply to Pakistan from Qatar and have been encouraged by the professional and positive manner in which the government of Pakistan has conducted these discussions. Recent reports would suggest that a decision on the LNG receiving terminal has been taken in principle by you and your colleagues in the cabinet. I would like to congratulate you on achieving such a significant milestone on the route to LNG.”

He added: “I have been further briefed that GoP is in the final stages of selecting LNG suppliers. I am confident that the benefits of long-term supply from a reliable and stable nation will be fully and appropriately evaluated by you and your team. I place great emphasis on long-term partnership with the consumers of Qatari LNG and, consequently, hope to be able to welcome Pakistan into Qatar LNG ‘family’ in the near future. I very much look forward to a positive outcome from the conclusion of your decision-making process on February 9 and thereafter would be pleased to invite you to Doha to witness signing of the relevant documents in due course”.

The sources said when these two letters arrived at the ministry, the evaluation team was asked to “accommodate” Shell at all costs. The sources said after some typical bureaucratic resistance, the official summary to be sent to the ECC contained the name of Shell, which was the highest bidder. The name of FF/Vitol was replaced with Shell. The report of the consultant opposing the award of contract to Shell was thrown in the dustbin. They said the option was either to delete the name of FF/Vitol or GDF-Suez. But, finally it was decided to allow GDF-Suez to supply LNG for 20 years and Shell was recommended for five years. But, some insider leaked this information to Shaukat Tarin before the ECC on February 9. When the summary was presented before the ECC, Shaukat Tarin straightaway rejected the recommendation of the petroleum ministry to award the contract to Shell and instead awarded it to GDF-Suez. But the very next day, to his shock, Tarin got a call from MD FF General Rab Nawaz who told him that the FF/Vitol bid was not considered despite being the lowest.

Tarin wrote to the ministry of petroleum asking why it had never mentioned the bid of FF/Vitol in the official summary to the ECC. Tarin felt he was deliberately kept in the dark and subsequently he wrote to special secretary G A Sabari to explain why FF/Vitol bid was not mentioned in the summary sent to the ECC. After eight days Sabri sent in a brief reply saying: “Minister Naveed Qamar says he would handle the matter personally”.

Meanwhile, Tarin quit on February 28 and the whole issue was buried. But General Rab Nawaz wrote to PM Secretariat and even complained to ISI to investigate why the FF/Vitol bid was ignored. And thus the scam came to light.

But, despite availability of record, not a single member of NA body on petroleum asked Naveed Qamar, G A Sbari and other officials of ministry why it had recommended Shell for the award of this contract and why Shaukat Tarin had rejected their recommendation. As one insider put it: “The four-day meeting of committee was just an attempt to cover up the scam instead of digging out the facts.”

KARACHI: Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis continued to show a rising trend as $6.550 billion was received in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2009-10, showing an increase of $892.82 million or 15.78 percent over the same period of the last fiscal year.

In March 2010, $763.72 million was sent home by overseas Pakistanis, up 3.28 percent or $24.29 million, when compared with $739.43 million received in the same month last year. The amount received in March is the third highest in the current fiscal year. Previously, remittances worth $806.12 million and $780.53 million were received in September 2009 and August 2009, respectively.

The inflow of remittances in the July-March, 2010 period from UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), UK and EU countries amounted to $1.497 billion, $1.342 billion, $1.317 billion, $932.83 million, $660.97 million and $189.57 million, respectively, as compared with $1.210 billion, $1.113 billion, $1.291 billion, $893.19 million, $406.43 million and $175.67 million, respectively in the July-March, 2009 period.

Remittances received from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries during the first nine months of the current fiscal year amounted to $608.75 million as against $567.12 million in the same period last year.

The monthly average remittances for the July-March 2010 period comes out to $727.88 million as compared with $628.67 million during the same corresponding period of the last fiscal year. During March 2010, remittances from Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), UK and EU countries amounted to $193.91 million, $178.86 million, $144.50 million, $105.89 million, $64.71 million and $18.15 million, respectively, as compared with $151.28 million, $174.60 million, $134.96 million, $109.80 million, $62.35 million and $25.62 million in March 2009.

Remittances received from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries during March 2010 amounted to $57.68 million compared with $80.78 million in the same month last year. The State Bank, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis had undertaken a joint initiative called ‘Pakistan Remittance Initiative’ recently with a view to facilitating the flow of remittances through formal channels.

The amount of $6.550 billion includes $1.01 million received through encashment and profit earned on Foreign Exchange Bearer Certificates and Foreign Currency Bearer Certificates.

Life insurance players on Monday heaved a sigh of relief following a truce effected by the finance ministry between the two regulators – Sebi and IRDA – on the ULIPs issue.

Both the capital market regulator (Sebi) and the insurance sector regulator (IRDA) will now jointly seek a binding legal mandate from an appropriate Court, according to an announcement made by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Welcoming the development, Life Insurance Council's Secretary-General, S B Mathur, said "it is a transparent method of resolving the imbroglio and removing the ambiguities that have arisen. It will also create a road-map to resolve issues involving multiple regulators in the future as well."

Several life insurers also welcomed the move.

"We welcome this step as it will create confidence among the consumers," a Max New York Life spokesperson said.

Bajaj Allianz Life's Chief Operating Officer, V Philip, said, "we welcome the initiative as it clarifies the concerns of our customers. Anxiety on the part of our customers could have caused delay in payment of renewal premiums."

According to a law firm official, SEBI will now have to come out with a fresh order suspending the ban which was imposed on the 14 life insurance companies.

"The SEBI order (of April 9) will now have to be withdrawn and it will have to issue a fresh one suspending the earlier order. It is an immediate relief to life insurance companies," Nishith Desai's Principal, Siddharth Shah, said.

Sebi and IRDA can now approach either the Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad High Court on the matter, he added.

The tussle between the two regulators has been going on for a few months now with Sebi contending that ULIPs fall under its jurisdiction since a part of the premiums involved are invested in equities and debt.

It, therefore, wanted life insurers dealing in ULIPs to obtain its approval before launching these products. Since none of these companies had done so, Sebi banned 14 life insurers from selling ULIPs on April 9.

IRDA, on the other hand, argued that since it was the insurance sector regulator, insurance companies fall only under its purview.

LAHORE

PUNJAB Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said billions of rupees were wasted in the past due to corruption and nepotism in the execution of development projects and the important project of Lahore-Kasur Road worth about Rs 4 billion was an example in this regard.

He stated this while addressing a briefing-meeting regarding Lahore-Kasur Road project at Liliani, Kasur district, on Sunday. Senator Parvaiz Raseed, parliamentarians, Lahore division commissioner and senior officers of the departments concerned were also present.

The chief minister said criminal negligence and inefficiency was shown toward this project. He said if the present government had not taken notice of this state of affairs, billions of rupees of public money would have gone down the drain.

Communication and Works Secretary Maj (Retd) Azam Suleman gave a detailed briefing on the pace of implementation of the project.

Mian Shahbaz Sharif said huge development funds were wasted due to delay and poor standard of construction work.

He said wealth could only be a source of honour and respect if it was earned through honest means. He ordered the authorities to blacklist both the companies engaged in the construction of Lahore-Kasur Road project and assign the remaining work to some other contractor for completion of the project by June 15. He also issued instructions for stern disciplinary action against the officers and staff of the Communication and Works Department and the companies found responsible for delay and substandard construction work.

The chief minister said that after toppling a democratic government, a dictator raised tall claims of his commitment to democracy and public service but the situation was totally different. He said that the dictator not only destroyed democratic institutions but also plundered national resources ruthlessly. He said that the hard-earned money of the people was wasted on substandard development projects and Lahore-Kasur Road project worth four billion rupees was delayed due to criminal negligence. He said that there was no mechanism to check sub-standard construction work and corruption in development projects during that period and payments of millions of rupees were made without completion of development projects. He said that corruption in development projects was the outcome of tripartite unholy nexus between politicians, department officers and contractors. He said corruption and dishonesty had brought the country to the present stage. Had the resources been utilised properly, the county would not have been dependent on others nor the people would have been in such a pathetic condition, he said.

He said that he had visited Lahore-Kasur Road project four times and issued instructions for action against the engineer of the department concerned as well as early completion of the project by the contractors but the project was still pending due to which people were facing serious problems.

The chief minister issued instructions for blacklisting the construction companies engaged in Lahore-Kasur Road project Hassnain Cotex and Eco-West, and observed that the performance of Communication and Works Department was very unsatisfactory and the secretary concerned should plan for the future of the department. He also issued instructions for action against all the officers who were responsible for delay and poor standard of construction work of the project. He directed that the new contractor should complete the remaining work by June 15 by working round the clock and he would be rewarded with cash prize and commendatory certificate if the project was completed within the timeframe.

The chief minister said the present government had promoted a corruption-free culture in the province and third-party audit system had been made compulsory for all development projects on the pattern of 1998 so that every penny of public money could be utilised on the welfare of the masses. He said Pakistan was facing serious problems and loadshedding had not only adversely affected industrial sector but also made the life of the people miserable. He said a comprehensive strategy for generation of power was need of the hour for national development and prosperity. He said it was time for self-reformation for a bright future of a country and solution to people’s problems before it was too late. He said there was a need for learning a lesson from the revolution of Kyrgyzstan and eliminating corruption from society for resolving people’s problems and provision of basic amenities to the masses. He also announced release of funds worth Rs 15 crore for resuming work on Rohi Nullah Kasur.

AHORE: The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA) reduced the prices of LPG by Rs seven per kilogramme, a private TV channel reported on Sunday.

According to the TV channel, the new prices would be enforced immediately. LPGA Chairman Irfan Khokhar said the LPG price in Karachi and Lahore has been reduced from Rs 75 to Rs 68 per kilogramme and from Rs 78 to Rs 71 in Peshawar while the new price in Murree, FATA and Gilgit-Baltistan would be Rs 76 instead of Rs 83 per kilogramme.