PRGMEA for abolishing additional regulatory duty on cotton yarn

KARACHI - Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) central chairman Shaikh Mohammad Shafiq has demanded the government to abolish additional regulatory duty on cotton yarn. He further said that value added industry is already suffering with the low productivity due to shortage of cotton, high energy cost, and discriminating import duties on the industry’s raw material. Textile sector is aggrieved of the demand for the payment of cotton cess purportedly levied in terms of Cotton Cess Act, 1923 read with Cotton Cess Rules, 2012. Vide SRO 832(I)/2012 the demand of cotton cess was enhanced from Rs. 20 to Rs 50 per bale on imported and local cotton. It is clearly evident that the cotton research institute under the supervision of PCCC (Pakistan Central Cotton Committee) has miserably failed in the sustainability of the crop. The PRGMEA chairman said that regional comparison of cost of doing business shows that Pakistan’s wages, interest rates, electricity, gas and water tariff are much higher and have created hurdles for smooth business. Despite certain hurdles, the business community engaged with value added industry was making strenuous efforts for enhancing the export in the larger national interests.

Shafiq pointed out that Pakistan’s major competitors such as India, BD and China were utilizing all the channels and resources for capturing the world market.

 “Under the prevailing situation we need to opt for similar approach to survive well in the market.”

LCCI welcomes SECP steps to facilitate company formation

LAHORE (APP): Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) Tuesday welcomed the revolutionary steps taken by Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to facilitate company formation and said that these initiatives would give boost to the trade and economic activities in the country. LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Senior Vice President Almas Hyder and Vice President Nasir Saeed said here that SECP’s move to ease the process of company registration would reduce the difficulties of businessmen in getting their businesses registered with Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The LCCI office-bearers said that initiative of obtaining digital signature from National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (NIFT) online would drastically reduce the time for company formation as the users would no longer have to submit manual request for digital signatures. The LCCI Senior Vice President Almas Hyder said that the provision of making payments through credit cards would expedite the payment process as the users would not have to make payments through the challan forms at the bank counters.

He said that substantial reduction in registration fee for companies with small capital base would substantially increase the number of new business registrations.

 No shifting of Basmati varieties’ nursery to field till 20th

MULTAN (APP): Agriculture experts have advised farmers to shift the paddy nursery of Basmati varieties to production field till July 20, however, shifting of Shaheen Basmati be completed till July 31. Experts said that age of nursery should be 30-40 days at the time of shifting. Water be applied to nursery few days before shifting to soften the soil so that roots of nursery plants remain in tact when uprooted. Two nursery plants be planted at one point and point to point distance be maintained at nine inches. Some additional nursery plants be kept dipped in water in the field so that these can be utilized to replace the weaker or dead plants. However, this replacement process should be done within ten days after the shifting. In case the production field in saline, farmers should plant 3-4 nursery saplings at one point and age of the nursery should be 35-45 days. Weedicides be applied within 3-5 days after shifting after consulting agriculture extension officials to prevent weeds’ emergence.

Water should remain standing in the field for at least a week after application of weedicides. However, if weeds emerge despite application of weedicides then farmers should apply those weedicides that can kill standing weeds. Farmers who could not apply Zinc at nursery stage should apply 33 per cent Zinc Sulphate at the rate of five kilogram per acre or 22 per cent Zinc Sulphate at the rate of ten kilogram per acre.

Remaining part of Nitrogenous fertilizers be applied 30-35 days after shifting. However, before doing this, farmers should delay water application for four to five days. Then Nitrogen fertilizers be thrown on the field when water in the field is minimum, the release concluded.

 Yen loses post-Brexit gains

TOKYO (AFP): The yen on Tuesday briefly wiped out all of the gains in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, with central bank stimulus speculation holding back the unit. Japan's currency -- seen as a safe investment in times of turmoil -- soared to around 100 against the greenback after the shock results of Britain's June 23 referendum pushed world financial markets into a tailspin. Traders had piled into the yen again late Friday as military factions in Turkey attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan's quick assertion of his power within hours stifled the putsch, and with the country appearing calm by the end of the weekend, traders were encouraged back to equities and riskier currencies. In Tokyo on Tuesday, the yen briefly weakened to 106.33 on the dollar, wiping out its post-Brexit gains, before clawing back to 106.05 later in afternoon trading, against 106.14 yen in New York.  Speculation that the Bank of Japan will unleash more easing measures after a meeting next week has weighed on the yen.

, after the Japanese government pledged to unveil a separate round of stimulus.

"The dollar-yen (rate) should be supported over the next week or so at least, in anticipation of fresh stimulus from the Bank of Japan and fiscal policy," Sean Callow, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

"An improved risk environment also helps the pair."

The euro jumped to 117.40 yen from 115.70 yen and edged lower to $1.1073 from $1.1075 in US trade.

In other trading, the Australian and New Zealand dollars dropped on speculation that their central banks will cut interest rates next month to boost growth.

The Australian dollar was down 0.89 percent at 75.24 US cents, while the Kiwi currency stood at 70.38 US cents, down 1.11 percent.