Search Results for: Pakistani

A former DEA agent who laundered money undercover to attack the Medellín and Cali cartels has called for a root-and-branch reform of AML, so that its vast resources target the most suspicious transactions and the professional launderers who facilitate them. Speaking to MLB, Robert Mazur, who offered ML services to drug kingpins such as Pablo Escobar in the 1980s and 1990s to undermine their criminal networks, said that many laundering techniques used then are still in use today.…

A protracted delay in announcement of a long-awaited government Pakistan Textile Policy 2020-25, despite drafts being debated for more than a year, is causing unrest and disappointment within the country’s textile business community. They say investors are being deterred from sinking much needed money into the country’s textile industry in the absence of any clear sectoral government policy.…

The Lahore-based Sapphire Group has been blazing a good practice example to Pakistan’s fabric manufacturing sector by focusing on innovation when many local competitors have failed to update their production practice and technology.

With an annual turnover of USD800 million and an asset base exceeding USD500 million, the Sapphire Group has been optimising its productivity though careful attention process timing targets.…

PAKISTAN’S paint and coatings sector is understandably suffering from Covid-19, which has hit the country hard with 276,288 cases and 5,892 deaths as of July 28. But the industry has been expanding and its executives hope for a sustained recovery once the pandemic has abated, ending the current series of rolling smart lockdowns targeting infection hotspots.…

ANTI-money laundering authorities in Nepal hope an upcoming 2020-21 review by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) will conclude this Himalayan state is at least largely compliant with all FATF recommendations and special recommendations, although experts admit the review will be tough.…

ANTI-money laundering authorities in Nepal hope an upcoming 2020-21 review by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) will conclude this Himalayan state is at least largely compliant with all FATF recommendations and special recommendations, although experts admit the review will be tough.…

Kabeer Naqvi, CEO of U Microfinance Bank Ltd, one of Pakistan’s fastest growing businesses, is clearly a man in a hurry. His bank – branded U Bank – is digitising quickly as it grows its deposits and its important lending business, that is pulling many thousands of Pakistanis out of poverty and into lives of sustainably growing income.…

With an improving law and order situation, business-friendly policies from its elected government, and incoming Chinese investment under the Beijing-backed CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) programme, Pakistan is becoming an increasingly attractive location for foreign direct investment, especially in the textile and clothing sector, an international conference has been told.…

With Pakistan’s digital textile printing industry production growing at an average of at least 5% annually in recent years, according to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), with the country’s digital textile printing industry being an important focus of investment in a sometimes-troubled textile sector.…

PAKISTAN’S Punjab province is set to host a new textile and garment manufacturing hub established with a Chinese company’s investment under a private partnership arrangement. Beijing-based China Railway, the major state-backed public transport and infrastructure company has said will invest USD500 million in what it calls ‘a garment city’ spreading over 400 acres at Ferozepur Road, Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province.…

TEXTILE and garment-makers in Vietnam need to continue investing in new technology to remain competitive and make their ability to meet growing demand sustainable, exports say. And there is concern that the capital required may be tough for small-and-medium-sized manufacturers to source.…

PAKISTAN’S textile manufacturers and exporters appear divided over the possible negative impact on the country’s textile sector arising from prevailing tensions on the Indian border.

According to exporters, concern cause by air strikes by India in Balakot – in Pakistan’s Khayber Pakhtunkhwa province – on February 26 – will affect export volumes as some foreign buyers may have diverted new orders to other countries like Bangladesh and China.…

PAKISTAN’S textile industry is pinning high hopes on the country’s newly-sworn-in government of Prime Minister Imran Khan for the revival of the textile sector – fixing the financial damage it has suffered through dwindling exports.

In its manifesto, Khan’s victorious party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), raised the hopes of the business community – notably exporters – to put the Pakistan economy back on track by reviving the textile sector which contributes around 60% to the country’s total exports.…

PAKISTANI textile exporters fear further devaluation of their currency will escalate the already high cost of doing business in the country and lead to a decline in export volumes, despite the edge cheaper currencies can offer in overseas markets.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), in 11 months of the current fiscal year 2017-18, textile exports rose by 9.82% to USD12.336 billion compared with USD11.23 billion for the corresponding period in 2016-17.…

PAKISTAN’S law enforcers and regulators are on the front line when it comes to fighting terrorist financing, money laundering and financial crime in general, both within the country and from across its borders, notably conflict-riven Afghanistan. But its government and state agencies often send mixed messages over their commitment to fight terror finance.…

PAKISTAN’S textile industrialists are downbeat over the diminishing prospects of investment by Chinese financiers and manufacturers, holding the government responsible for the apparent stalemate with its continued prohibitive production costs.

Speaking to WTiN.com, Pakistan textile industry insiders believe that sensing the high cost of doing business compared with rival manufacturing countries in south Asia, Chinese investors are losing interest in the Pakistani sector.…

A RENEWED free trade agreement (FTA) looks set to be signed between Pakistan and China giving a boost to the textile industry.

Officials from the two countries met in Beijing last month (Feb) for the ninth round in a series of protracted talks aimed at streamlining the original FTA which came into force in 2006.…

PAKISTAN’S economy is growing and becoming increasingly formal, with banking rates on the rise, so groundbreaking micro-finance is a key part of this economic modernisation.

The Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) is part of this change – it not a standard micro-finance lender: it finances other micro-finance organisations.…

THE PAINT and coatings industry in south Asia maybe thriving, but regional trade between countries is not – being restricted to exports of pigments, resins, solvents and additives from India to its neighbouring countries. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan, as well as regional giant India, are all members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), but they import most of their paint and coating raw materials.…

THE PAKISTAN textile industry is worried that a potential trade free trade deal with Thailand, now under discussion, may cause more harm than good to Pakistani manufacturers. Thai and Pakistan government negotiators are preparing for what maybe the final round of talks to forge a free trade agreement (FTA) between these two textile producing countries, with a deal potentially being signed in January.…

TEXTILE mill owners in Pakistan have expressed doubts over their government’s apparent enthusiasm to develop joint ventures (JVs) with their Chinese counterparts to boost dwindling export levels.

Pakistan’s textile minister, Pervaiz Malik, said at the 18th Textile Asia International Exhibition in Lahore recently that his government wants JVs with the Chinese textile sector and for his country to become a textile business hub for the Middle East, central and south Asia.…

TURKISH and Pakistani textile executives are divided in their opinion about the likely benefits of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under discussion between Pakistan and Turkey, with Pakistan opinion in favour, but less enthusiasm in Turkey.

Seven rounds of talks between the two sides have taken place and further talks maybe staged in August.…

THE POLITICAL standoff between India and Pakistan may dominate the news headlines but India’s synthetic textiles, yarn and fibre are starting to find an increasing number of Pakistani buyers.

According to Kripabar Baruah, joint director, Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), exports to Pakistan that had fallen in 2014-5, and 2015-6, have grown in the current financial year (2016-17).…

THE INTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation (ILO) is running a project, largely funded by the European Union (EU), to improve compliance with labour and environmental standards for companies in Pakistan, mostly in the textile and leather sectors. The EU budget contribution is EUR12 million, with the remaining EUR600,000 being co-financed by the United Nations’ agency, which will take the lead in implementation.…

PAKISTANI textile business executives have welcomed the enthusiasm of Chinese investors to bring investments into Pakistan’s textile sector through joint ventures and relocating of their textile production units, because of rising costs and tightening environmental regulations within China.

According to All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Chinese interest has in Pakistan has grown further after the APTMA secretary general gave a comprehensive presentation at a conference in Shishi city, in Fujian province, organised by the China Textile Information Centre from April 19-20.…

THE PAKISTAN and Spain governments are working together to boost their countries’ bilateral trade, with textiles and clothing a key part of this commerce. sales of Pakistani textile goods exported to Spain is increasing, with receipts generated by all commerce between the two countries expected to generate at least USD1 billion this year (2017), Spain’s ambassador to Pakistan Carlos Morales has said (it exceeded this amount in 2016, said commerce ministry officials).…

PAKISTAN business leaders trading in traditional Kashmiri textiles are worried about the shrinking size of the trade in their products, blaming the government for this poor state of affairs. It is hard times for Pakistan manufacturers of Kashmiri shawls, popularised by French Queen Marie Antoinette as a luxury item and more recently popular amongst ethnic clothing consumers.…

A TRAINING project for Pakistan cotton farmers has been launched by the Australian government, industry association Cotton Australia and the global Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), with the goal of boosting production in this key south Asian supplier of the fibre.…

THE PAKISTAN and Italian textile industry sectors have agreed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) designed to ramp up cooperation between their companies and sectoral associations.

The Italian textile machinery manufacturing association (L’Associazione Costruttori Italiani di Macchinario per Industria Tessile – ACIMIT) signed three separate MoUs with the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMEA) and the Pakistan Readymade Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association (PRGMEA).…

THE HONG Kong and Pakistan government have signed a comprehensive agreement on avoiding double taxation. Pakistani tax paid by Hong Kong companies will be credited against Hong Kong taxes on the same profits, with the reverse applying for Pakistan companies. Pakistan’s withholding tax rates for Hong Kong residents on royalties and fees for technical services (both currently 15%) will be capped at 10% and 12.5% respectively.…

LEADING French automaker Renault could soon start producing vehicles in Pakistan, the chairman of the south Asian country’s Board of Investment (BOI) has predicted to wardsauto. Miftah Ismail said that the manufacturer had submitted an application to the government of Pakistan seeking permission to produce cars locally, initially in a joint venture with Ghandhara Nissan, which is Renault’s global partner.…

Indian cotton exports to Pakistan are expected to drop sharply after rising political tensions between the two neighbours over the Kashmir issue and the availability of more competitive cotton from West African countries and United States, WTiN has been told.

“There are concerns of [Indian and Pakistan] putting a stop to each other’s trade,” said Atif Dada, chairman of the Karachi Cotton Association, in Karachi.…

Leaders of Pakistan’s ailing clothing and textile industry have told just-style how they are concerned about their sector’s declining exports, calling on the federal government to intervene promptly to reverse this trend.

“Our exports have been continuously falling since 2013 and the government failed to take any remedial measures,” said Muhammad Ijaz Khokhar, Central Chairman of Pakistan Readymade Garments & Exporters Association (PRGMEA).…

Worries are looming large over the Pakistan meat market as exporters fear further falls in exports amid unchecked smuggling of cattle to neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran. According to Nasib Ahmed Saifi, chairman of the All Pakistan Meat Exporters & Processors Association (APMEPA), Pakistan’s halal meat exports have declined by 40% to USD2 billion from USD2.4 billion in just one year: “If the government doesn’t come up with a proper strategy to curb the menace of smuggling, we fear our exports may further go down,” Saifi said.…

SOUTH Asia’s growing personal care product sector is of increasing importance to international brands, with growing middle classes among vast populations creating a honeypot market with consumers, many accustomed to English-language marketing.

As the region’s hub and overwhelmingly most populous country, India’s beauty and personal care industry will generate sales worth USD13.3 billion in 2016, growing by 14.2% year-on-year, according to UK-based market research firm Euromonitor International.…

Pakistan’s textile industry is warning of serious damage to the cotton-related businesses if a new 4% import duty currently charged on raw cotton for textile manufacturers serving domestic market is maintained.

“This policy will have a long term impact on the cotton consumption in Pakistan and the whole value chain will be affected,” Asif Inam, vice chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), in Karachi told WTiN. …

PAKISTAN has been staging talks with the British government to lessen impact of Brexit on Pakistan’s textile and other key industries.

A senior official at Pakistan’s ministry of commerce told WTiN.com that Pakistani officials had already consulted London officials about how trade concessions available to Pakistan through the European Union’s (EU) GSP+ scheme would continue after a UK exit from the EU.…

Pakistan’s shampoo and conditioner market is following the positive trend seen within the country’s beauty and personal care sector in general – more women in work who want to look good are prepared to buy these products.

UK-based market research firm Euromonitor International has said that its modelled data indicated that the country’s USD158 million’s worth of hair shampoo retail sales in 2014 leapt to USD179 million in 2015, and could reach USD240 million by 2020.…

THE PAKISTAN government has reduced customs duties on importing machinery used in the livestock and meat industry from 5% to 2% to encourage investment and development in the livestock and meat industry.

Incubators, brooders and animal feedstuffs machinery are among the imports that will see duties reduced in this way.…

Pakistan’s largest multi-industry conglomerate, the Fauji Group, has launched the country’s biggest and state-of-the-art halal abattoir and meat processing and exporting unit near Port Qasim, Karachi. The Fauji Meat Ltd (FML) subsidiary-run facility, which has been fully operational since April (2016), has a daily production capacity of 100 tonnes of meat (85 tonnes of beef and 15 tonnes of mutton, according to a company note) in both frozen and chilled categories per day for worldwide export, and cost an estimated USD75 million to build.…

Pakistan remains a source of concern to global anti-money laundering (ML) authorities even though the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s leading AML organisation, removed the country from its monitoring process last February (2015). Then, FATF cited Pakistan as having made “significant progress” in improving its AML and CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) regime.…

It gets exceedingly hot in Riyadh in the summer, with the mercury rarely below 40 degrees Celsius, but that does not deter Moazam Shah from going for his evening run around the residential compound he lives in with his family.

After six years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistani national Shah has acclimatised to exercising in extreme heat: “It’s a time for myself, to catch up on my thoughts,” he told Accounting & Business at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manama, Bahrain.…

PAKISTAN’S textile sector is struggling as exports are declining, with producers unable to compete with regional countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam,

Jawed Bilwani, chairman of the Pakistan Apparel Forum has told WTiN.com. In an interview he warned that looking at trade data for financial year 2014-15 compared to 2013-2014: “Our textile exports are declining persistently and are in a state of emergency.”…

SPECIAL trade access to developed countries is always a boon to emerging market suppliers, and the European Union’s (EU) GSP+ system is especially sought after, and – noted a recent European Commission report – widely utilised.

GSP+ suspends EU duties on 66% of EU tariff lines, while for standard GSP, these same duties are merely reduced.…

THE PAKISTAN government has unveiled a new five-year industrial plan aimed at growing the country’s automotive manufacturing sector. The government says it will waive import duties on materials and technology needed to establish new auto plants in Pakistan and also reduce import duties charged on auto parts once these factories are operational.…

Pakistan’s textile producers have welcomed new tax incentives aimed at boosting the industry. Official documents provided to WTiN.com by Pakistan’s ministry of textile industry reveal that Pakistan’s government is planning to create of 3 million new jobs by providing tax incentives to its struggling textile industry.  …

JAPANESE development agencies are working to increase the level of textile imports sourced from Pakistan. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), based in Yokohama, is presently in discussions with the government of Pakistan about ways in which Japanese overseas development aid might be best put to use to assist this sector – of critical importance to the overall Pakistani economy.…

PAKISTAN’S textile producers will continue to benefit from European Union (EU) preferential tariffs following a European Union’s decision not to suspend Pakistan’s ‘generalised scheme of preferences plus’ (GSP+), status despite concerns about its human rights record.

The scheme has been beneficial to Pakistan’s textile industry – textiles and clothing account for around 75% of Pakistan’s exports to the EU.…

International cotton prices are expected to rise because Pakistan is importing more than five million bales of cotton this season, mostly from India, to compensate for a 34% fall in domestic production year-on-year caused by bad weather and pests. “Due to heavy rains, not only the cotton in the fields was spoiled but the pesticides and fertilizers were also diluted, leading to pink bollworm attack,” Khawaja Tahir, chairman Karachi Cotton Association (KCA), told WTiN.…

Despite a healthy growth in knitwear exports from Pakistan, the industry is concerned about a potentially harsh government budget, which is expected to be approved in June. There are indications the federal Pakistani government intends to hike sales tax rates from 2% to 5% on exports; impose a gas infrastructure development charge on businesses; and withdraw existing special subsidies that have benefited the knitwear sector.…

Pakistan has launched disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) signalling it wants to challenge countervailing duties imposed by the European Union (EU) on Pakistani exports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In an unusual case brought by Pakistan against the EU, Islamabad is arguing that the European Commission mishandled an investigation prompting EU ministers to impose protective measures, compensating European PET-makers for Pakistan government tax breaks and subsidies.…

Pakistani meat exporters are optimistic that the Iranian government will lift an import ban imposed in early 2014 on Pakistan-produced meat following a meeting on Wednesday (April 22) between the country’s trade ministers.
Khurram Dastagir Khan, Pakistan’s commerce minister and Mohammed Reza Nematzadeh, Iran’s minister for industry, mines and trade met in Tehran at a scheduled session of the Pakistan Iran joint trade committee.…

THE PAKISTAN government has told the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that it will proactively seek foreign direct investment (FDI) for its clothing and textile sector as it seeks to leverage its GSP+ preferential trade access to the European Union (EU).
In a statement following the conclusion of a WTO trade policy review on Pakistan, Islamabad said: “There is bright potential for FDI in power, liquefied natural gas (LNG), gas, infrastructure development and petro-chemicals’ sectors.…

PAKISTAN has been improving its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime according to international watchdogs, while its military takes increasingly tough action against hardline Islamist groups.
For instance, Pakistan has drawn up a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP), agreed upon by Pakistan’s political and military leadership to fight terrorism; this has helped focus further attention on the need to tackle money laundering and terror financing as part of a comprehensive law-and-order strategy.…

With Bangladesh’S economy set to continue growing and local cotton production expected to remain insignificant, cotton imports are set to double by 2021, said industry players and experts attending the country’s first Global Cotton Summit. The two-day event (March 20-21) in Dhaka, was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Cotton Association (BCA) and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).…

THE PAKISTAN government has launched a diplomatic offensive to improve trade relations with Turkey, which it hopes will enable its textile sector to win back Turkish market share lost after Turkey initiated safeguard measures against Pakistani textile products in 2011. Turkey introduced a special high 42.2% safeguard tariff (called MHF Cess) on Pakistani knitwear and textile garment exports to protect its industry.…

Pakistan’s ministry of textile industry has begun implementing a textile industrial policy for 2014-2019, despite concerns by manufacturers’ associations that it may fail to deliver on its goals. The ministry has set up committees to work toward achieving its targets and interacting with the industry to seek its input and support.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has stalled a bid by Pakistan to launch a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case focused on its complaints about against EU countervailing duties levied on certain Pakistani PET (polyethylene terephthalate) exports.
EU diplomats used their right to block the establishment of a disputes panel to adjudicate the row, at a meeting yesterday (Monday Feb 23) of the WTO disputes settlement body (DSB).…

India and Pakistan are trying to remove barriers that are hindering the trade of cotton and textile between these two neighbouring countries, however deep-rooted historic and political resentments continue to hinder progress.
These have helped put out of reach a major trade deal that would sweep away import-export barriers, despite the governments of both countries having relatively new electoral mandates.…

THE EUROPEAN Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has warned airlines to “exercise extreme caution if planning to fly into, out of, within or above Pakistan airspace,” because of increased risks of ground-based terrorist attacks on planes.

A EASA safety information bulletin cites a AIC France circular issued by DGAC-France requiring French operators not to fly in Pakistan airspace (OPLR – Lahore and FIR OPKR – Karachi) below flight level 240 (around 7,400 metres in altitude).…

THE CREATION of a consultative textile and clothing ‘buyers’ forum’ in Pakistan, linking brands with manufacturers, government and unions, has moved a step closer following an international meeting staged in Islamabad.
This first ‘buyers’ meeting’, was held on December 15 and 16, organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Dutch and Pakistan governments.…

Pakistan has launched disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) signalling it wants to challenge countervailing duties imposed by the European Union (EU) on Pakistani exports of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In an unusual case brought by Pakistan against the EU, Islamabad is arguing that the European Commission mishandled an investigation prompting EU ministers to impose protective measures, compensating European PET-makers for Pakistan government tax breaks and subsidies.…

Pakistan is gearing up to launch a vocational training programme to train 120,000 male and female workers over a period of five years to acquire skills required in the country’s economically important textile industry.

Pakistan’s minister for the textile industry Abbas Khan Afridi told the WTiN.com…

A COLLABORATION between a major Pakistan food company and local non-governmental organisation (NGO) aimed at improving the country’s slaughterhouse standards is set to expand sales abroad.
Pakistan’s Al-Khidmat Foundation, a conservative social welfare organisation, has so far contributed USD2.9 million to maintaining a Karachi slaughterhouse facility run by Tata Best Foods Ltd that complies with international food safety standards.…

BANGLADESH’S textiles and knitwear exporters are confident they will see off the challenge posed by the country’s key regional rival Pakistan, which is benefiting from the European Union’s (EU) Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP Plus) status.

With these low tariff benefits, the Bangladeshi industry – whose country also has privileged access to the EU market though its ‘everything but arms’ duty free status – has concern about their exports of home textiles to the EU.…

THE PAKISTAN Institute of Labour Education & Research (PILER) says they intend to file a lawsuit in the European courts against a German firm, in relation to the death of over 250 people in a fire at the Ali Enterprises garment factory in Baldia, Karachi, on September 11, 2012.…

PAKISTAN’S ministry of textile industry has claimed that textile and clothing exports to the European Union (EU) has increased by 18% from January-June 2014 increased by 18% compared to last year following its membership of the revised EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) for low tariffs.…

Pakistan’s minister for textile industry Abbas Khan Afridi has said his government’s proposed textile policy for 2014-2019 is designed to generate additional textile and clothing exports worth USD3 billion during the next two years.

In an interview with WTiN.com, he said a revised five-year textile policy would be presented to the cabinet for approval in August.…

There are fewer than 1,000 certified accountants in Afghanistan, of which less than 200 are Afghanistan in a country of 29.82 million says the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), and there are no national accounting regulations. More than 30 years of conflict has left the country’s economy in shambles, and with foreign troops being withdrawn by 2016, developing the accountancy sector and its domestic regulations is a priority to underpin sustainable growth.…

PAKISTAN’S textile sector will grow only gradually following its membership of the European Union (EU) GSP+ scheme, according to Dr Safdar Sohail, economic minister at the Pakistan mission to the EU. Speaking to WTiN.com in an exclusive interview from his office in Brussels, Dr Sohail said: “There will be no surge of demand where one would imagine people would start stitching garments in garages and nothing of the sort.”…

Despite being a traditional livestock country, Afghanistan is no longer self-sufficient due to more than three decades of conflict and is now dependent on meat imports. Afghanistan imports of chicken and cattle have exploded between 2002 and 2011, according to the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation.…

Serious negotiations in a much-vaunted and debated trade deal between India and Pakistan, which could significantly boost the textile trade between the two neighbours, have been shelved due to the impending Indian elections, WTiN.com has been told.

“The Pakistanis had second thoughts in going ahead while knowing that there will be a change in government [in India] and they could have to start from the scratch,” said Dr Nisha Taneja, a professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations in New Delhi, “My expectation is that it would be done four months after [the new government takes over in] May.”…

AIRPORTS in Pakistan are adding security measures as they face the constant threat of terrorist attacks. The terminal facing the largest threat is Bacha Khan International Airport, in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has been a centre of a series of terrorist and insurgent attacks.…

PAKISTAN’S textile industry is going to secure over USD1 billion worth of orders from the recently concluded Heimtextil exhibition in Germany, the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has predicted.

A spokesman told WTiN.com that the figure represents a “40 per cent jump in the number of orders” compared with the last year, and said the boom in orders is “fully attributed” to the country’s eligibility to the European Union’s (EU) GSP+ trade scheme.…

BANGLADESH is far from being the only emerging market outsourcer that has had problems with factory safety and auditing. Elsewhere in Asia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and especially Cambodia have had their own problems.

Indeed Cambodia has been wracked by industrial disputes overworking conditions in its textile and clothing sector.…

PAKISTAN and India are negotiating an enhanced textile trade agreement to fuel their mutual economic growth and investment, Khurram Dastagir Khan, Pakistan’s minister for commerce and textile industry has told WTiN.com.

During a visit to New Delhi, with a 70-member business delegation last week (Thursday), Mr Khan said that, “the enhancement and facilitation of trade through Wagha [India and Pakistan’s key road border crossing] is under active negotiation.”…

THE PAKISTAN government has started acquiring 1,562 acres of land near Lahore, capital of Pakistan’s most populous and main cotton producing province, Punjab, for a proposed major garments manufacturing centre.

Major General (Retd) Javed Iqbal, chief executive officer of the Punjab Industrial Estates Development and Management Company (PIEDMC), which is developing this so-called ‘garments city’ and some other industrial estates in the province, said that a pre-feasibility study has now been completed.…

Chinese and Pakistani textile and clothing industry associations have taken the first step to explore the possibility of setting up joint ventures in Pakistan by forming a working group for providing match-making services to the prospective investors.

“The joint working group held its first meeting when a large Chinese delegation visited Pakistan in August 2013 and held talks with the Pakistan government officials and the textile industry leadership,” the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Group Leader Gohar Ejaz told WTiN.com.…

PAKISTAN garment manufacturers are anticipating significant trading benefits from an anticipated accession from January 2014 to the European Union’s (EU) new Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trading scheme.

Some are asking the Pakistan government to relax import duties blocking access to raw materials, especially artificial fibre, needed to diversify product lines so that they can take full advantage of the facility.…

While small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan’s knitwear sector have significant manufacturing capacity, they have yet to harness their full potential, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Pakistan exported USD2.3 billion’s worth of knitwear in 2011 says the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, and many producers are small.…

PAKISTAN’S anticipated membership of a revised European Union (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) from January has sparked a debate over whether the country’s industry is ready to benefit from the duty-free access the system provides.

Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) senior north zone vice-chairman Jawwad A Chaudhry has argued that Pakistan’s garment industry might not fulfill orders because of a shortage of raw materials.…

THE MALDIVES may best be known a tropical paradise with rare beauty, but this south Asian archipelago is also a hotbed for terror financing and money laundering, analysts fear. The country is now attempting to strengthen weak anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws that have created a “magnet effect for foreign organisations to pour money into local extremist groups,” warned Jean-Charles Brisard, US based terrorism financing expert and former chief investigator for the 9/11 families’ lawsuits against Al Qaeda financiers.…

While Syria is mired in its bloody civil war, it remains targeted by multilateral sanctions. But despite being essentially cut off from the international banking system, Damascus is evading these sanctions by using Russian banks, and is being financially propped up by Iran.…

THE PAKISTAN textile sector is anticipating a bumper cotton harvest due to the favourable weather conditions in the main cotton-growing Punjab and Sindh provinces. Government officials and textile industry representatives said timely rains would boost output. A report from the government’s cotton crop assessment committee has said Pakistan was likely to produce 13.255 million bales (of 170 kilograms each) in the fiscal year of 2014, ensuring cotton production would rise by 1.68 million bales, or 14.52%, compared to the 11.57 million bales produced in the fiscal year 2013.…

PAKISTAN meat sector executives believe their export sector is underperforming, failing especially to seize sales in affluent international halal markets.

With an estimated annual output of 2.2 million tonnes, Pakistan is the 19^th largest producer of meat in the world.…

THE PAKISTAN textile sector is anticipating a bumper cotton harvest due to the favourable weather conditions in the main cotton-growing Punjab and Sindh provinces. Government officials and textile industry representatives said timely rains would boost output. A report from the government’s cotton crop assessment committee has said Pakistan was likely to produce 13.255 million bales (of 170 kilograms each) in the fiscal year of 2014, ensuring cotton production would rise by 1.68 million bales, or 14.52%, compared to the 11.57 million bales produced in the fiscal year 2013.…

PAKISTAN has strengthened its anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) laws and institutions but still faces huge challenges to fight dirty money flows stemming from its large black economy, corruption, tax evasion, smuggling, political conflicts of interest and its role as a conduit for drug trafficking and terrorists.…

AFTER many false starts and delays, Pakistan appears to be finally ready to expand its bagasse and biomass co-generation output by persuading the 83 sugar mills in the country to start production of electricity on commercial basis. The government is planning incentives such as an attractive upfront power purchase tariff and help in capital financing.…

PAKISTANI cotton spinners have lost the opportunity to sell thousands of tonnes of cotton yarn to China, hindered by severe power shortages, just-style has been told. Mahesh Kumar, President of Pakistan’s Cotton Ginners’ Association said: “For two months in the winter there was hardly any electricity for the industry in the state of Punjab where 75% of our spinning mills are based.”…

SLOW growth in Pakistan’s construction and industrial sectors in 2012 dampened domestic demand for paint and coatings, putting the industry in a difficult position.

Industry sources told the Asia Pacific Coatings Journal that the sector has also been weakened by the discontinuation of the national voucher-based ‘token scheme’ in the decorative paint category.…

Pakistan’s shipbreaking industry has started talks with the Pakistani government over how it can comply with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, whose rules come into force in 2015. The chairman of the Pakistan Ship Breakers Association has told Steel First that he has met with officials to discuss measures for implementing the treaty: “We are ready to take steps to protect and promote the ship breaking industry,” declared Deewan Rizwan Farooqui.…

BY MICHAEL STEIN, IN PRAGUE; AND RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Senior government officials in the Pakistan province of Sindh have told Steel First they are keenly awaiting the promised launch of a Czecho-Pakistani project to build a CZK6.1 billion (USD320 million) private steelworks facility in Pakistan.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, IN NEW DELHI

GYPSUM producers and users have been key beneficiaries of the slow liberalisation of trade controls between India and Pakistan, Industrial Minerals can report. The Wagah border post linking the Indian state and Pakistani province of Punjab – a region divided in 1947 when Indian and Pakistan became independent, now processes a roaring trade in Pakistani gypsum.…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

THE EUROPEAN textiles industry has expressed concern about the potential impact of an EU decision, approved Thursday by the European Parliament, to waive import fees for textiles from Pakistan.

"This measure will not help the population in need…and will have an impact on the EU textile industry and especially on the cotton one," said Luisa Santos, head of international trade at the EU’s textile association, Euratex.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Steel First has been told by Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) Chief Executive Officer Major General Mohammad Javed that there are no plans to sell off the ailing state-owned industrial giant, backing up recent comments from Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has added its voice to growing demands that the Pakistani government combats duty evasion by importers of Chinese-made boron added alloy wire rod, which is being imported illicitly as non-alloy carbon wire rod.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

The Pakistan government is considering a demand from ailing state-owned Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to exempt local iron ore from a 16% sales tax, ban its export or impose an export duty on its sale abroad.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Retired Major General Mohammad Javed, chief executive officer of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), has said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the governments of Pakistan and Russia where Moscow would help PSM’s expand production capacity from 1.1 million to 1.5 million tonnes per annum.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Karachi joint venture Aisha Steel Mills, Karachi, is planning to increase annual production of cold rolling coil (CRC) to 450,000 tonnes per annum in the next three years from an existing 220,000 tonnes, following a successful share sale.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

Pakistan’s steel sector has welcomed the relief offered by its government through reducing the sales tax paid on electricity used to produce steel billets, ingots and mild steel products. Irshad Mowjee, owner of a steel re-rolling mill in Karachi, said the decision would help curtail the cost of production and benefit both steel-makers and consumers.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

The Pakistan Iron and Steel Merchants Association (PISMA) is continuing to press or a 20% uniform customs duty on Pakistani imports of steel products, despite its calls being ignored in the recent Pakistan budget.

The association says the duty is needed to help protect the domestic industry from international price fluctuations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CHAIRMAN of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) wants his government to pull back from allowing Indian medicine exporters to sell India-approved medicines in Pakistan from January 2013. Muhammad Asad told Pakistani journalists he feared his members would suffer from India being given ‘most favoured nation’ status under world trade law next year – a step agreed by Pakistan’s cabinet in December.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

THE PAKISTAN government has shied away from selling off Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in its latest privatisation announcement, with court proceedings and opposition within the company deterring a sale. PSM was not among the 23 public sector banks, insurance firms, electricity supply companies, postal services, hotels, railways, and other concerns listed for inclusion by the government’s Privatisation Commission in a new round of sell-offs beginning in April.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

PAKISTAN’S struggling clothing and textile industry, which generates 65% of the country’s total national foreign exchange earnings, is anticipating a significant boost to export sales following the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) decision to approve waiver allowing 75 Pakistani products duty-free access to European Union (EU) markets for two years.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI, IN PESHAWAR

WHILE Pakistan may suffer from political instability, its paint industry has been registering an average 6%-8% annual growth rate over the past decade due to the country’s expanding automotive and construction sectors. That these key customers are doing well is fortunate, given the fact that the country’s GDP growth in 2010-1 was 2.4% and has been forecast to grow at 3.5%-4.5% only in 2011-12.…

DESPITE the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last May, Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups remain a global money laundering and terrorist financing concern. Yet a decade on from the September 11 attacks, counterterrorism specialists say there has been too much focus on Al Qaeda itself (it means The Base in Arabic) but not enough on associated and other militant groups that pose significant threats.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

BANGLADESH will not oppose the European Union’s (EU) plans to grant Pakistan GSP+ status, just-style has been told. However, the country’s powerful clothing exporters have called on their government to press for the EU to withhold these privileges for products that are important to Bangladesh’s manufacturing industry, including some clothing lines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and DAVE YIN

THIS has been the year where the European Union (EU) considered imposing a draconian origin labelling law that would have been a major headache for knitwear manufacturers and retailers. In the winter, the European Parliament was seriously discussing insisting on a regulation forcing knitwear and crocheted clothes and accessories imports into the EU to carry country of origin labels.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI

THE FLOODS that devastated Pakistan this past summer did not just destroy farmland and housing – they ruined many financial records and legal documents, making life that much harder for accountants in Pakistan. "We don’t know how to deal with the aftermath of the floods because there is still no mechanism on the part of the government or the private sector to cope with the challenges and difficulties that our accounting community is facing," said a senior chartered accountant RafaqatUllah Babar.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI

Pakistan tobacco industry rides out floods

Pakistan’s tobacco industry was hit hard by the huge monsoon floods this summer, but it could have been much worse if the floods had come earlier. Much of the tobacco crop had been picked in time.…

BY RAHIMULLAH YUSUFZAI

THE FLOODS that devastated Pakistan this past summer did not just destroy farmland and housing – they ruined many financial records and legal documents, making life that much harder for accountants in Pakistan. "We don’t know how to deal with the aftermath of the floods because there is still no mechanism on the part of the government or the private sector to cope with the challenges and difficulties that our accounting community is facing," said a senior chartered accountant Rafaqat Ullah Babar.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

INDIA’S home ministry has confirmed to the Money Laundering Bulletin that it will approach the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) with formal claims and evidence alleging Pakistan’s key intelligence agency is counterfeiting Indian currency.

A senior official from the ministry said the Indian government would approach the international body in next two to three weeks.…

WINNERS

TURKEY

This was the year when Turkey really came into its own. With a well-established and successful clothing and textile industry, supping Europe, Russia and the Middle East, its industry this year laid claim to becoming a fashion centre. August’s Istanbul Fashion Week caught a lot of global attention with 21 catwalk shows, an audience of 40,000, and more than 500 overseas guests.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN Union (EU) heads of government have agreed to temporarily remove trade barriers and tariffs impeding Pakistani exports to Europe, helping the country recover from recent devastating floods. A European Council communiqué confirmed a "Firm commitment to grant exclusively to Pakistan increased market access to the EU through the immediate and time-limited reduction of duties on key imports."…

18

EUROPEAN chemical industry federation CEFIC has called for a review of administration under European Union (EU) chemical control system REACH to help small-and-medium-sized companies (SMEs) deal with its burden. As the first key REACH chemical deadline of November 30 approaches, CEFIC director general Hubert Mandery has looked ahead to subsequent deadlines, which involve chemicals used in smaller volumes.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

AS trade barriers continue to diminish, clothing brands are becoming more global. However it is not as easy for the sizes of their goods to be quite as worldly. International players need to adapt their fits for different target markets but that level of adaptation varies by country.…

BY SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH

PAKISTAN’S tobacco industry, despite unfavourable circumstances such as the devaluation of its local currency the Pakistani Rupee (PKR), an unstable political situation, law and order problems, and the trade of counterfeit and smuggled brands of cigarettes, has fared well and grown at an average rate of 3% over the last five years.…

BY SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH and KEITH NUTHALL

IT is simple: when a country has political and civil turmoil, fighting a small civil war, hydrocarbon production will suffer. Indeed Pakistan’s oil and gas industry is not doing well, with oil and gas production already declining in 2008.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 attacks on the US resulted in a raft of regulations to curb terrorist financing, but seven years on Al Qaeda is still at large, has adapted to the new regulatory environment to raise funds, and morphed into an international terrorist Hydra.…

BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, in Lahore, Pakistan

REMARKS from the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei in a recent interview with the pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper showing concerns about Pakistan’s civil and military nuclear assets and Islamabad’s capability to protect these from extremists- have unleashed a great debate in and outside the country.…

BY SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH, in Lahore

WITH a long established food manufacturing sector and strong commodity production, the Pakistan food industry, one of the largest industries in the country, has grown with an average pace of 10% over the last three years.…

SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH, in Lahore

THE PAKISTANI biscuit and confectionery sector has been faring well, with 12-15% growth last year, but there are storm clouds on the horizons because of skyrocketing prices of sugar and flour. In recent years, these ingredient problems have been overshadowed by massive domestic demand, fed by more than 255 biscuit and wafer manufacturing units (42 mechanised) with an installed capacity of 47,000 metric tonnes for biscuits and 5,200 metric tonnes for wafers.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Dubai
THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) highly competitive food sector is expecting double-digit growth this year, driven by 7% annual population growth, booming foodservice and tourism sectors, and rapid economic growth.

Food producers and retailers in this economic powerhouse of the oil-rich Gulf say there is strong growth across the board, from fresh fruit to ready-made meals in the modern retail environment of the UAE, particularly in Dubai, which is undergoing a construction boom and the top destination for most expatriate workers and tourists.…

BY ANDREW SALMON, in Seoul
LAST October, South Korea was admitted as an observer to the world’s premier group of money laundering fighters – the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and given the nation’s recent moves to strengthen its anti-money laundering regime its path to full membership in approximately two years appears smooth.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut

STRONG demand for leather luggage in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is lining the pockets of tanners in Italy, Pakistan and Thailand.

According to a recent global online survey by marketing data company AC Nielsen, the UAE ranks among the top five countries worldwide for luxury branded luggage bags.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Cairo

WITH the fight against money laundering and counter terrorism financing relatively new to the Middle East (the first plenary session of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force

– MENA-FATF – was only held last year), financial institutions from the US and MENA met in Cairo for a Private Sector Dialogue (PSD) conference to discuss the implementation of international regulations in the region.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a detailed guide for European Union (EU) businesses wanting to profit in Pakistan, giving special attention to the textile and clothing sector’s technology needs, including for dying. It stressed that demand for environmental technology will be created by new national rules insisting on the better treatment of wastewater, with the manual noting “soda ash and various chemical dying products are the main effluents needing treatment”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE PAKISTANI government has launched formal disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over claims that Egypt is breaking global commerce rules by imposing anti-dumping duties on Pakistan match exports. Egypt introduced the tariffs because it says cut-priced Pakistani matches are unfairly eating into the domestic market share of Egyptian match producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PAKISTAN’S knitwear industry could receive substantial American cash injections under a US-Pakistan investment treaty now under negotiation between its government and the US Trade Representative office (USTR). American interest in Pakistani knitted goods is high, with knit apparel, yarn and fabric dominating (along with some other textile products) dominating the US$2.5 billion’s goods imported from Pakistan in 2003.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE PAKISTANI textile industry could receive substantial American cash injections under a US-Pakistan investment treaty that is now under negotiation. American interest in Pakistani textiles is high, with knit apparel, miscellaneous textile products, cotton, yarn and fabric, woven apparel, and carpets dominating the US$2.5 billion goods imported from Pakistan in 2003.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PAKISTAN polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturers have escaped from punishing anti-dumping duties on exports to the European Union (EU), while Brussels wants to levy tariffs on similar products from China and Australia. The European Commission has asked the EU Council of Ministers to release provisional duties collected from Pakistani manufacturers, while retaining those taken from Chinese and Australian producers.…

KEITH NUTHALL
PAKISTAN polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturers have escaped from paying punishing anti-dumping duties on exports to the European Union (EU), while Brussels wants to levy such tariffs on similar products from China and Australia. The European Commission has asked the EU Council of Ministers to release provisional duties collected from Pakistani manufacturers, while retaining those taken from Chinese and Australian producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved levying 13.1 per cent definitive anti-dumping duties on Pakistani exports of cotton-type bed linen, pure or mixed with man-made fibres or flax.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MASS vaccination campaign against bird flu might result from the ongoing outbreak in Asia, with the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) moving away from a pure pro-culling policy. Following meetings with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Office International des Épizooties on animal health the FAO said that a targeted vaccination campaign in heavily affected countries maybe required.…

Keith Nuthall
EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers have been asked to approve 13.1 per cent definitive anti-dumping duties on Pakistani exports of cotton-type bed linen. No provisional duties had been imposed, because on site inspections were halted after investigating European Commission officials received death threats.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MASS vaccination campaign against bird flu might result from the ongoing outbreak in Asia, with the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) moving away from a pro-culling policy. Following meetings with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Office International des Épizooties on animal health the FAO said that a targeted vaccination campaign in heavily affected countries maybe required.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A MASS vaccination campaign against bird flu might result from the ongoing outbreak in Asia, with the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) moving away from a pro-culling policy. Following meetings with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Office International des Épizooties on animal health the FAO said that a targeted vaccination campaign in heavily affected countries maybe required.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation of the World Bank is to invest US$35 million in Pakistan’s Dewan Salman Fibre Ltd, the largest producer of polyester staple fibre in the country. The money – a senior loan of US$30 million, a convertible loan of US$4 million, and a US$1million participation in a convertible preferred stock issue – will help the company expand its polyester staple fibre capacity by adding a specialty fibre line of 20,000 tonnes per annum, refinancing debt, and funding its need for permanent working capital.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers has suspended anti-dumping duties on imports of cotton-type bed linen from Egypt, ahead of the February 28 date when they were due to lapse, signalling it is unlikely to press for their renewal.…

BY MARK ROWE
SHIPPING live prawns in a hibernated state to Europe is being promoted in Thailand as a means of combating increased export competition from regional neighbours. Thai exporters are being encouraged to explore the possibility of shipping live tiger prawns to Europe by keeping the cargo in hibernation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has struck a trade deal with Pakistan that will reward its support for the west in the war in Afghanistan by scrapping EU import tariffs on Pakistani clothing exports and increasing import quotas by 15 per cent.…

Keith Nuthall
THE UNITED States has been told it should scrap or amend safeguard restrictions on the amount of combed cotton yarn that can be imported from Pakistan, by the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation’s disputes settlement procedures.

Washington had contested an earlier judgement that it had broken WTO rules in the way that it imposed the trade barrier, but key elements of its case were rejected by the appeals body.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Commission is planning new trade measures to help Pakistani exports, specifically targeting clothing and textiles, which account for three-quarters of the country’s sales to the EU. In a move linked to helping Pakistan deal with the current war on its Afghan neighbour, the plan is to remove all tariffs on clothing and to increase quotas for Pakistani textiles and clothing by 15 per cent.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations General Assembly will be asked to consider the plight of seafarers so poorly paid that they work in conditions amounting to “slavery,” when it considers relating to oceans and the Law of the Sea next month.…

Keith Nuthall
A DISPUTES panel of the World Trade Organisation has recommended that the USA repeal safeguard duties that it has imposed on imports of Pakistani combed cotton yarn. The decision follows hearings sparked by the failure of the US to abide by a WTO Textile Monitoring Body recommendation that they should be scrapped.…