20 January 2004 Tuesday 27 Ziqa'ad 1424 SBP vows to keep inflation in check: Monetary statement KARACHI, Jan 19: The State Bank on Monday made a guarded statement on its monetary policy stance leaving room for a swift reversal of the easy policy stance - if the market conditions so require. ... State Bank's dollar buying from banks falls 70pc KARACHI, Jan 19: The State Bank's dollar buying from banks fell to $884 million from banks in July-December 2003 down 70 per cent from $2.937 billion in July-December 2002. ... Duty relief on 50 items under PTA likely: Pakistan, Turkey ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: Pakistan and Turkey are likely to give duty concession on 50 tradable items to each other under the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to increase the current volume of trade between the two countries. ... Banks stop small loans without collateral QUETTA, Jan 19: Most of the nationalized and private banks have discontinued advance and loans to small and medium enterprises and traders without collateral. ... Pakistan, US discuss trade, investment ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: Pakistan and the United States have expressed satisfaction over trade volumes and hoped that the flow of US FDI into Pakistan would increase during coming years. ... Settlement thru NCSS LAHORE, Jan 19: From Thursday onwards almost all the settlement of trades executed at stock exchanges will be done through the National Clearing & Settlement System (NCSS) ... Penalties on overstayed goods opposed KARACHI, Jan 19: The Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association has resented imposition of penalties by the Customs on holders of manufacturing bonds for overstayed goods. ... NIT achieves highest NAV KARACHI, Jan 19: The National Investment Trust (NIT) achieved highest net assets value (NAV) of its history while managing to resolve all issues pertaining to its privatization. ... SBP sells Rs6.2 billion PIBs KARACHI, Jan 19: The State Bank on Monday sold Rs6.2 billion 15-year and 20-year Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) meeting the target of Rs6 billion. ... 'Gas firms not to be unbundled' LAHORE, Jan 19: Government has not taken any decision to unbundle the gas distribution companies, said Federal Secretary, Privatization, Ahmad Waqar, here on Monday. ... Imports of pesticides on 'negative list' banned MULTAN, Jan 19: The pesticides and herbicides on the negative list of America, China, the European Union, Japan and the Organization for Economic Cooperation for Development cannot be imported in the country ... Dutiable imports up by 23pc ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The value of dutiable imports registered 22.9 per cent growth during the July-December period of the current financial year, over the same period of last year. ... Transfer, postings in CBR ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has transferred and posted 10 senior officials of the income tax group. ... Interbank ratings LAHORE, Jan 19: The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (Pacra) has maintained the entity ratings of First International Investment Bank Ltd (Interbank) at "A" (single A) and "A1" (A one) for the long-term and short-term. ... Cotton prices firm despite low phutti arrivals KARACHI, Jan 19: Cotton prices on Monday ruled around the previous levels despite below market expectations arrival figures of phutti for the current fortnight ended Jan 15, 2004. ... Late-selling clips gain on stock market KARACHI, Jan 19: Trading on the stock market on Monday resumed on a higher note followed by fresh active short-covering in most of the leading shares aided by reports of higher earnings and predictions of enhanced dividend. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004