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PALO ALTO, California: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose limited role in promoting the No. 1 social network's market debut has drawn criticism, laid out its growth strategy to investors on Friday, saying that transforming its mobile and advertising experience are top priorities in 2012.

Integrating online apps more strongly into Facebook is also a major goal, he told hundreds of investors at an event that capped the first week of Facebook's cross-country "roadshow" to pitch its highly anticipated initial public offering.

Facebook aims to raise about $10.6 billion, dwarfing the coming-out parties of tech companies like Google Inc and valuing it at up to $96 billion - rivaling Amazon.com Inc's.

Zuckerberg, 27, who started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room 8 years ago, said Facebook's key priorities in 2012 were to improve its mobile application, to build stronger ties incorporating its social network with other online apps and to create a "transformative" advertising experience.

The company is "just getting started" with its mobile app, said Zuckerberg, who appeared on stage in a grey T-shirt and dark trousers at Palo Alto's Crowne Plaza, flanked by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and finance chief David Ebersman.

With 900 million users, Facebook is the world's dominant social network. Zuckerberg was Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2010 and was depicted in the fictionalized 2010 movie "The Social Network".

"Over the next 10 years or so, every consumer category should be transformed to be built around people," Zuckerberg told fund managers and Silicon Valley glitterati such as Netscape co-founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

"People will listen to music and watch TV with other people" through Facebook.

"We only recently reached this tipping point," Zuckerberg said as the audience consumed a lunch of curried chicken salad and chocolate-chip cookies.

"It is a bit of a celebrity event," said Alice Evans with London-based F & C Asset Management. "You're not expecting to learn that much but it's as close as you can get to kicking the tires."

NO STOPPING IT?

Wall Street had been concerned about the company's ability to wring revenue from mobile users, considered crucial for long-term growth, as well as slowing growth in Facebook's main advertising business.

But that may not dampen demand for shares of the high-flying Web company, which is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a business success story. On Thursday, a source close to the process told Reuters its IPO was already oversubscribed, a week before final pricing.

Facebook has indicated an IPO price range of $28 to $35 a share on Thursday, which would value the company at $77 billion to $96 billion.

Zuckerberg - sans his trademark "hoodie" sweatshirt - made brief introductory comments at the event, which took place 8 miles from Facebook's new Menlo Park headquarters at One Hacker Way, before opening the session up to questions.

The company had provoked some grumbles from investors earlier this week, when it took limited questions from the audience at an event in New York. And Zuckerberg skipped other stops on the roadshow this week, such Boston.

Investors managed to get in more than 10 questions at Friday's event, ranging from capital spending to regulation, even as Facebook maintained tight control over the proceedings, forbidding follow-up questions.

Zuckerberg and Sandberg said Facebook's overall advertising business was gaining steam, with increased spending by most of its marketers. The two executives highlighted social ads as an important tool for Facebook to tackle its mobile challenge.

The ads, which incorporate information about Facebook users' friends who "like" certain products, are better suited to the smaller screens of smartphones, from which more than half of Facebook's users access the service, executives said.

As Facebook collects more user data, such as location, it will be able to offer more relevant mobile ads, executives said.

Asked about Facebook's $1 billion purchase of mobile app maker Instagram, its largest acquisition, Zuckerberg said the deal was under consideration for one to two months before it occurred. Media reports had said it was forged over a weekend.

The number of Instagram users has already grown from 30 million to 50 million since the deal was announced in early April, he noted.

Facebook's offering marks a watershed moment for the new generation of Web companies that are challenging established players such as Google and Yahoo for consumers' online time and for advertising dollars.

The company's shares, which will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol FB, could begin trading as soon as May 18.

"They did a good job of addressing the tough questions. They have a clear vision," said one investor who attended the event but did not want to be named. (Reuters)

LAHORE: A five-member Indonesian parliamentary delegation led by Chairman Bilateral Cooperation Group Mohammad Hatta visited the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here Saturday and discussed bilateral trade and investment with Pakistani traders.

LCCI president Irfan Qaiser Sheikh gave a detailed briefing to the Indonesian parliamentarians on available trade and investment opportunities in Pakistan. Chamber's Vice President Saeeda Nazar, Executive Committee Members Husnain Reza Mirza and Sheikh Mohammad Ayub also spoke on the occasion. Both the sides also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in different sectors of economy.

Leader of the Indonesian delegation Mohammad Hatta said Indonesia also values high its relations with Pakistan and desires to further strengthen the existing relations.

While, underlining the need for frequent exchanges of business delegations between the two brotherly countries, he said, it would ensure opportunities of better understanding and to learn from each other experiences. He said, the Chambers of Commerce in the two countries should play a proactive role to jack up the volume of two-way trade to $ 5 billion in coming years.

Mohammad Hatta said a number of parliamentary committees had already been constituted in Indonesia to finalise a strategy to give boost to trade and economic relations with brotherly countries.

The LCCI President invited Indonesian businessmen to visit Pakistan to have first hand knowledge about the available business opportunities as the LCCI wants to further strengthen the existing relations through enhanced interactions and economic cooperation.

Irfan Sheikh said despite being the members of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and having old historical links and cordial relations, these distinctive attributes hardly get reflected in our trade and investment relations.

He said two way trade figures show that in 2008, we were trading with each other to the tune of $ 1.26 billion which had dropped to US$ 750 million in 2010. That drastic drop in bilateral trade was due to substantial decrease in imports from Indonesia, which stood at $ 1.19 billion in 2008 but fell to the level of $ 750 million in 2010. "We will certainly like to increase the volume of our exports to Indonesia which are too low in proportion to the size of our economies, but in last four years, our exports have averaged around $ 67.5 million," he added.

Although Indonesia has offered market access to 220 Pakistani items and in response to that Pakistan has agreed to reduce duty on 288 Indonesian products but this list needs to be expanded for greater trade opportunities for the businessmen of both the countries. "Certainly, we together can expedite these things in the best interest of both the economies."

KARACHI: Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves rose to $16.43 billion in the week ending April 27, from $16.42 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.

Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose to $12.07 from $11.92 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks fell to $4.36 billion from $4.50 billion.

Foreign exchange reserves hit a record $18.31 billion in July last year, boosted by inflows of $411 million, including a $191.9 million loan from the World Bank and a $196.8 million loan from the Asian Development Bank.

Higher exports and record remittances have also supported Pakistan's reserves.

Remittances from Pakistanis overseas rose 21.45 percent to $9.73 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $8.02 billion in the same period last year.

In March, remittances totaled $1.14 billion.

Reserves have since been drained by debt repayments, including $399 million in the week ending Feb. 24 on an $8 billion International Monetary Fund loan. (Reuters)

SINGAPORE: Oil retreated in Asian trade Wednesday as investors took profits from recent gains, while renewed concerns about the eurozone's debt problems also pressured prices, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in June was down 36 cents to $105.80 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June shed 23 cents to $119.43 in morning trade.

"There has been some profit-taking in the market after the WTI reacted very positively to strong US and Chinese manufacturing data," said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.

Crude prices had surged in late trade New York trade on Tuesday, supported by stronger-than-expected industrial data in the US and China, the world's top energy consumers.

Meanwhile, traders remain wary over the troubled state of the eurozone economy, analysts said.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Tuesday that Europe would struggle to achieve needed economic reforms without growth to support them, adding that investors' focus is on the situation in Italy and Spain. (AFP)

KARACHI: CNG stations across Sindh were closed at 9 am today (Saturday) for 24 hours, Geo News reported. The supply would resume on Sunday at 9 am.

According to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), all CNG stations across Sindh including Karachi were closed for 24 hours following the gas load management program.

Sources from SSGC told that closure of CNG stations will be monitored by the vigilance teams. Violation of the closure would result in further 24 hours closure at that particular filling station.

Before the closure of CNG stations, many vehicles especially CNG autos were seen standing in line to refill gas cylinders.

WASHINGTON: The World Bank said Friday that a $550 million loan for Pakistan had been approved. The loan is to be used towards education and the natural gas sector.

The government of Punjab will be provided $350 million to be used towards education and it is expected that these funds will benefit at least 8 million students in the province.

Meanwhile the federal government will receive $200 million for the exploration of natural gas

SINGAPORE: Oil fell in Asia Thursday as a larger than expected rise in US crude inventories eroded overnight gains sparked by Fed forecasts of a pick-up in growth, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, fell 10 cents to $104.02 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for June delivery shed 20 cents to $118.92.

"Oil prices have edged down some... primarily because the market is reacting to the oil inventory report from the US," said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.

"The inventory for crude rose four million barrels, the market expectation was only for 1.5 million barrels," he told.

Over the past four weeks, crude inventories have added 23 million barrels, pointing to slack energy demand in the massive economy.

Crude's price slip came on the back of overnight gains sparked off by Federal Reserve predictions of a gradual pick-up in US economic growth.

Winding up a two-day meeting in Washington, central bank policymakers left the central bank's key interest rate near zero, predicting that economic growth would remain moderate over the coming quarters and then "pick up gradually".

"When they (Fed policymakers) say they are looking for growth to be gradually picking up, that gives you a better prospect for (oil) demand growth," said David Bouckhout at TD Securities. (AFP)

KARACHI: MCB Bank Ltd has reported a higher profit after tax of Rs 5.644 billion during the quarter ending March 31,2012 and declared a cash dividend of 30 percent.

According to financial results sent to KSE here Tuesday, the pre-tax profit of the company surged to Rs 8.656 billion during the period under review compared to Rs 7.836 billion in the same period last year.

The earning per share also improved to Rs 6.14 compared to Rs 5.46 in 2011. (APP)

SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged higher in Asian trade Tuesday on easing concerns about a sharp economic slowdown in China, the world's biggest energy user, analysts said.

However, economic and political uncertainty in Europe capped prices and a weaker euro was helping dampen demand for dollar-priced crude.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in June was up six cents to $103.17 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June gained 14 cents to $118.85 in morning trade.

Oil prices had slipped on Monday following an HSBC purchasing managers' index showing China's manufacturing activity contracted for a sixth straight month in April.

Analysts, however, said there was a silver lining in the data that indicated recovering demand in the world's second largest economy.

The PMI reading was 49.1 in April, up from 48.3 in March, denoting an improvement but no return to expansion just yet. A reading below 50 indicates contraction while anything above 50 shows growth. (AFP)(Geo News)