Pakistan considers limiting IMF loan package to $10b

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is considering restricting the $11.3 billion International Monetary Fund bailout programme to less than $10 billion and wants to delay the IMF Executive Board meeting in a bid to gain more time for tax reforms.

Finance ministry sources told The Express Tribune that the government is mulling over taking the meeting of the IMF Executive Board to November instead of end-September or early October. The move is said to have two objectives.

“The primary aim is to deliver on the commitment of tax reforms by buying more time and secondly it will leave no time for the last meeting before the end of $11.3 billion programme in December,” said a key government official on condition of anonymity.

“Pakistan does not want to avail of the last tranche of $1.2 billion due to better position of foreign exchange reserves,” the official added. The IMF loan cannot be used for budgetary support and the money can only be spent on import bills.

Pakistan and the IMF will enter into staff-level talks on August 23 in Washington DC to review the economic performance in the last quarter (April-June) of financial year 2009-10. During the year, the country missed the budget deficit target by a wide margin and ended up with a deficit of Rs909 billion or 6.2 per cent of GDP instead of the target of Rs769 billion or 5.1 per cent. It also could not levy the Value Added Tax (VAT) from July 1.

Pakistan is committed to implementing the reformed GST, which includes withdrawal of tax exemptions on goods and levy of the tax on services, by October. The issue remains unresolved as the Centre and provinces have been unable to sort out differences.

BMW’s latest 5 Series model launched in Pakistan

LAHORE: Dewan Morors Lahore pulled no stops when it launched the new BMW 5 Series sedan on Sunday. Amid the life-sized posters of the car, the numerous plasma television sets, roaming spotlights and sharply dressed sales executives stood the sixth generation of the manufacturers world renowned 5 Series.

The event was a classy black tie affair, living up to the executive appeal of the car itself. The guests, BMW’s clients and car enthusiasts, sampled delicious hors d’oeuvres as they were a given a thorough tour of the car.

The new model in the 5-series comes after a hiatus of eight years and is a huge improvement on its predecessor. Built on an entirely new platform the new 5 Series boasts the largest wheelbase in its class, though it borrows some of its deign cues from the current 3-series.

The manufacturer continues to offer its customers more advanced technology built vehicles as it incorporates eight years of research into the new model. A Flex-Ray high-speed vehicle network architecture (for more agility), new torque splitting all-wheel-drive (also known as Dynamic Performance Control), refined i-Drive (for an additional driving aid), and BMW’s Efficient Dynamics technology for minimizing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are just a few of the new high technology features that come along with this vehicle. It also comes with increased horsepower and an 8-speed dual-clutch gear box (i.e. DSG).

High budget deficit puts financial stability at stake

Economic managers have surprised the prime minister, saying a high budget deficit last fiscal and a delay in taking immediate corrective measures have put the country’s financial stability at stake. This may also lead to blocking of foreign funding and depreciation of rupee.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani visited the Q-block on Friday where finance ministry officials gave a comprehensive presentation, depicting a true but frightening picture of the state of economy, sources said.

The ministry officials said the overall budget deficit during financial year 2009-10 stood at an unprecedented Rs909 billion against a revised target of Rs769 billion.

Announcing the last budget, the government had fixed the budget deficit target at 4.9 per cent of gross domestic product or Rs724 billion. Later, it revised the target to 5.1 per cent but, according to provisional estimates, it ended up at 6.2 per cent.

In 2007-08, the budget deficit was recorded at Rs777 billion, equal to 7.6 per cent of GDP.

15 Reasons Not To Use Social Media For Your Business

The author has a great reason why his 15 reasons are the worst ones for using social media for your business. This is a recommended read.

The 15 Worst Reasons to Use Social Media For Your Business

by Eric Fulwiler

I am a heavy supporter of social media as a valuable business tool, but only when it is used for the right reasons, and in the right way. Sometimes it’s easy to convince yourself that your reason for using social media for your business is right when it’s actually wrong. So, here it is, in black and white, the 15 worst reasons to use social media for business.

15. Because it’s free to sign up

14. Because you like the idea of going viral

13. Because you heard the buzz about the South by Southwest conference

12. Because you have friends who are successful blogger

11. Because you can automate many social network feeds

10. Because the 400 million people on Facebook are a new population to advertise to

Order to block nine websites with blasphemous material

LAHORE: A Pakistani court has ordered the authorities to block access to nine websites including Google, Yahoo and YouTube for allegedly offending Muslims with blasphemous material.Judge Mazhar Iqbal ordered Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority to block the websites due to “material against the fundamental principals of Islam and its preaching,” according to a copy of the judgement obtained by AFP.

Pakistan shut off Facebook for nearly two weeks last month in a storm of controversy about a competition to draw the Prophet Mohammad and has restricted access to hundreds of online links because of blasphemy.

Iqbal announced a short version of the order in the eastern city of Bahawalpur on Tuesday and released a written detailed order on Wednesday, lawyer Latifur Rehman who brought the petition for the ban, told AFP.

Riaz Lalji returns home

KARACHI: Business tycoon Riaz Lalji has returned home on Monday after remaining missing for nearly 24 hours in Karachi with his driver and gunman.

Karachi CCPO Waseem Ahmed said that they are making all efforts to hunt down the kidnappers.

Talking on Riaz Lalji’s return, Interior Minister Rehman Malik lauded the police in their efforts for his successful recovery.

VAT will reduce tax rate for telecom companies

ISLAMABAD: The General Sales Tax of 19.5 per cent for telecom companies is higher than any other sector and introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) will reduce this rate and help companies focus on other areas of investment, said a Telenor official.

A five-member delegation of Telenor, led by its Chairman Harald Norvik, called on Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Saleem H Mandviwala to discuss various issues regarding the taxation structure.