ISLAMABAD: An Agreement was signed Tuesday between the Government of Pakistan and the World Bank for $ 200 million funding for Natural Gas Efficiency Project.
The Financing/Loan Agreements were signed by Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, Secretary Economic Affairs Division on behalf of Government of Pakistan and Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud, Country Director, World Bank. The project Agreement was also signed on this occasion between Mr. Yusuf J. Ansari, Company Secretary, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) and the Country Director World Bank. The Project will be implemented by SSGC.
The objective of the Project is to enhance the supply of natural gas in Pakistan by reducing the physical and commercial losses of gas in the pipeline system and improve the operational capacity of SSGC. Project will have the following components:
(i) UFG reduction: This component will finance Goods and Works that will help reduce un-accounted for gas (UFG) in the gas distribution system, including system segmentation and pressure management, pipe replacement and repair, cathodic protection, and advanced metering systems.
(ii) Appliance Efficiency Pilot Project: This component will finance modern, energy-efficient gas appliances and/or retrofit appliance components for residential consumers in a pilot project.
(iii) Technical Assistance: This component will finance assistance to the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited for improving its organizational capacity and customer orientation and for managing the project.
The project will be completed by June 2017. The project will help to increase the supply of gas to the consumers, maintain adequate gas pressure, ensure better service delivery to the consumers and improve the efficiency of SSGC. In addition to this, the Project will also help curtail emission of greenhouse gases through the avoidance of direct methane gas leakages into the atmosphere.
Cash dividend: SECP facilitates shareholders
ISLAMABAD: To facilitate the shareholders of the companies and to encourage payment of dividend through direct credit in the shareholders’ bank accounts, the SECP has introduced certain amendments to the existing Form of the “Transfer Deed”.It has been observed that shareholders of companies are facing various problems with respect to receipt of cash dividend through dividend warrants. These problems include misplacement of dividend warrants, delay in encashment of dividend warrants, fraudulent encashment of dividend warrants, delays/loss of dividend warrants in postal service etc.
Further, the unclaimed dividend has also been piling up on the books of listed companies. A study conducted on 10 blue chip companies shows that an amount of more than Rs4 billion stood as unclaimed dividend in their books for the year 2011.
The above referred amendments in the transfer deed and issuance of directives by the SECP regarding payment of dividend through prompt credit in the shareholders’ bank accounts will not only bring efficiency and hassle-free environment, but will also eliminate malpractices such as fraudulent encashment of dividend warrants, delays/loss of dividend warrants in postal service and minimizes the issuance of duplicate dividend warrants. This will also improve the unclaimed dividend position in the books of companies.
The SECP has thus provided a mechanism whereby all prospective shareholders by filling in the dividend mandate portion of the transfer will get their dividend direct in to their bank account. In order to provide dividend mandate option to all the existing shareholders necessary directive has been issued by the SECP to all listed companies to provide option to their shareholders so that they can also get their dividend direct into their bank account. -Onlinenews
