Gas imports: Pakistan to build offshore LNG terminal
By pakistan at 12 March, 2011, 3:00 am
ISLAMABAD:? Pakistan will set up an off-shore terminal to import 3.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, even as the government announced an indefinite extension of the two-day suspension of supply to compressed natural gas (CNG) stations. Both announcements were made by the petroleum ministry. The off-shore LNG terminal marks an end to the controversial onshore LNG gas import project, known as ‘Mashal LNG’, a project that was awarded to a company called 4Gas, but was struck down by the Supreme Court. The government is expected to begin the search for an appropriate site for the off-shore platform within a 22 nautical mile radius off the coast. “The offshore LNG import project is the quickest and the cheapest option compared to onshore and floating LNG imports projects,” said Faizullah Abbasi, managing director of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), one of two majority-government-owned gas distribution companies in Pakistan. Abbasi said the SSGC board of directors has already approved the venture.
Read More >>Mohammad Sami spurs Sindh to resounding win
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:38 pm
KARACHI:? Sindh completed an emphatic 144-run win over Federal Areas as they bowled the opposition out for 211, after setting them a target of 356 on the third day of their Pentangular Cup match. Federal Areas’ innings got off to a disastrous start when they lost their first wicket with only four runs on the board. They never really recovered from the early blow and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They had Jamal Anwar to thank for enabling them to pass the 200-run mark as he top-scored with 44 runs, made with the help of seven boundaries.
Read More >>Sindh’s Asif continues to lead in stage four
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:37 pm
KARACHI:? Sindh’s Asif Junior continued his blistering performance, topping the charts on the fourth stage of the Tour de Pakistan yesterday, while Wapda suffered a setback when teammate Nazir Bhatti was forced to retire as he broke his collar bone after a collision with five other riders. However, Pakistan Army took advantage of the situation as their top cyclists Mohammad Rafiq and Zahid Mehmood grabbed second and third places after an eventful day, which left the tour-favourite, Wapda’s Sabir Ali, in the fifth position. But despite a bad day, Sabir is still leading the 13-day race by an overall margin of four minutes and three seconds after winning the first two stages from Karachi to Moro. Asif, however, clinched the top spot in the third and fourth stages of the race. The 25-year-old outran 57 other cyclists in five hours 10 minutes and 42 seconds to cover the distance of 178 kilometres from Sukkur to Rahim Yar Khan. Rafiq followed him to the finish line with the difference of 10 seconds and Mehmood took the third position in five hours 11 minutes and 12 seconds
Read More >>India captain banks on openers to fire
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:37 pm
NAGPUR:? India skipper MS Dhoni said he was looking to openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar to fire at the top of the order as the host nation eyes the quarter-finals ahead of their crucial Group B match against South Africa today. “If our openers can bat as long as possible, it will be good for us because from what we have seen, if Sachin and Sehwag get going it is difficult to stop them,” Dhoni said on the eve of the match. “I am just hoping that in the upcoming games we have slightly bigger partnerships so that the middle and the lower middle order can use the explosive power well. “We rely on momentum and if we get a good start, our lower order can really cash in on the platform that is provided to us.” The explosive Sehwag and Tendulkar are capable of dominating any attack but their highest stand in the World Cup so far has been 69
Read More >>Appointment: Mufti Munib joins Modaraba board
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:09 pm
KARACHI:? The federal government has appointed religious scholar Professor Mufti Munibur Rehman as a member of the Religious Board for Modarabas (Islamic financial institutions) with immediate effect, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan announced on Friday. The position had fallen vacant after resignation of Imran Ahsan Nyazee.
Read More >>FPCCI official seeks European help to revive economy
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:09 pm
KARACHI:? European countries should not provide aid to Pakistan, but should provide trade exemptions and easy access to markets, according to Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCC) President Senator Haji Ghulam Ali.
Read More >>Floods cause 16% drop in rice exports
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:09 pm
ISLAMABAD:? Rice exports fell nearly 16 per cent in the first eight months of the 2010-11 financial year because of last year’s floods, according to a top industry official on Friday. As the world’s fifth largest exporter of rice, Pakistan exported 2.38 million tons between July and February, down from 2.82 million tons in the same period last year, according to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap). The export of non-basmati rice dropped 25 per cent from 2.22 million tons to 1.66 million tons in the period under review. However, the shortfall was marginally offset by a 19 per cent rise in the export of basmati rice to 718,187 tons, up from 603,389 tons. “The shortfall in exports of non-basmati rice is mainly due to flood damage to the crop,” said Reap Chairman Irfan Ahmed Sheikh, referring to the floods that began in late July last year and inflicted $10 billion in losses. Basmati-growing areas were largely safe from the floods
Read More >>Smooth Pak-India trade to strengthen economies
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:08 pm
LAHORE:? Pakistan and India should work for uninterrupted bilateral trade to strengthen their economies and promote regional integration in South Asia, according to officials. At a seminar organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Centre for Peace and Democracy on Friday, former economic adviser Salman Shah said that regional trade in South Asia was only two per cent, while Pak-India trade was not more than 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product. He said free trade with India would be beneficial for both countries and their people. LCCI Senior Vice President Sheikh Arshad underlined that Pakistan exported goods worth $268.33 million to India and imported goods worth $1.03 billion in 2009-10, indicating that trade was in India’s favour
Read More >>Development of microfinance banks, SMEs can boost economy: Husain
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 7:08 pm
KARACHI:? Pakistan can boost its economic growth by encouraging development of microfinance banks, small farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) former governor Dr Ishrat Husain. He was speaking at the Mera Pakistan conference here on Friday. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Commecs Institute of Business and Emerging Sciences organised the event
Read More >>Our societal inaction
By pakistan at 11 March, 2011, 6:36 pm
When we wish to distance ourselves from a Middle Eastern rendition of the onoing upheaval , we normally take refuge in a few positives that we feel shelter Pakistan from a similar fate : Functioning political systems, some organisational resilience, a robust judiciary — not as ‘independent’ as some would have us believe — a vibrant media and a vocal civil society. Just so that we get the frame of reference correct, the civil society in Pakistan largely constitutes of candlelight vigil groups, the aman-ki-asha types, and with due deference to all of us, those that appear on these pages and those that read us and whatever else that appears in the English press
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