After approval of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to dispose of old wheat stocks, Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) has sold 137,000 tons to the millers, says a Passco spokesperson.
On March 13, ECC allowed Passco to sell wheat stocks of 450,000 tons to local millers. The permission was granted after Passco argued that if it kept the surplus commodity, it would put a burden on the government in shape of incidental charges. The disposal of old stock would make it possible to save the incoming crop, it said.
The spokesperson said contracts with interested parties had been reached against security money of 1% of the total cost of contracted quantity. Around 137,000 tons had been disposed of while the remaining would be sold by April 15 to create storage space for the new crop, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2012.
as di�D et� �b and is professionally managed by an asset management company. As of February 2012, Pakistan’s mutual funds industry is worth Rs360 billion with about 25 asset management companies operating in the country.
According to a conservative estimate, there are around 150,000 investors in the country’s mutual funds market. Saying that they offer both convenience and better returns on investment, Ali adds that mutual funds don’t require a huge lump sum investment and offer high liquidity. “Real estate is an illiquid investment and depends largely on the state of the economy. Gold is also becoming an expensive investment vehicle. But more importantly, the tangible nature of the metal itself poses a huge security threat.”
The returns are fairly high on mutual funds. Nonetheless, it is also a reality that after growing rapidly between 2001 and 2007, the mutual funds industry collapsed in the financial crisis of 2008. The fund size decreased from Rs390 billion as on April 2008 to Rs186 billion by December 2009. Investors panicked, as the total amount pulled out from the industry reached Rs467 billion in 2008 as opposed to Rs134 billion in the preceding year.
“The recession was a global phenomenon. It affected everyone. Our first and foremost priority was to ensure that our clients don’t panic. Naturally, there were clients who wanted to pull their money out. Even then, we managed the liquidity position very well, servicing all client requests for withdrawal of funds during the stipulated time. We coped with the situation by helping our clients see our institutional strength and maintaining their confidence in our management,” Ali said.
The industry has since consolidated its position. The month-on-month increase in the size of the mutual funds industry in February 2012 remained 5.6%. Similarly, during the first eight months of fiscal 2012 (Jul-Feb ’12), the mutual funds industry grew by 44%, as the size of the industry was about Rs250 billion in June ’11.
Ali says his marketing strategy is largely based on creating awareness about savings and investments through mutual funds. “We feel that 90% job is over if people are aware of investment opportunities in mutual funds because of their attractive benefits, such as attractive returns, tax benefits and easy encashment.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2012.
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