02 February 2004 Monday 10 Zilhaj 1424 NFC and fiscal federalism The National Finance Commission (NFC) appears to have reached a near-consensus on the ratios of tax revenues in divisible pool to be shared between the federation and the provinces. ... WEF: security, prosperity for whom? The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was held this year in Davos, Switzerland from January 21 to 25. The theme for this year's meeting was "Partnering for security and prosperity" and the meeting was guarded by some 4,700 Swiss troops. ... Corporate lending: KIBOR made benchmark Banks are ready to use KIBOR, or Karachi inter-bank offered rate, as a reference rate for pricing corporate loans. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) persuaded all local and foreign banks to do this to make the interest rate structure more market-based. ... Cut the cost to boost exports Foreign investors are calling for a reduction in the cost of doing business in Pakistan, while Pakistani investors urge the government for a reduction in the cost of industrial production. ... Housing: built unit approach again On 17 January 2004, the Prime Minister gave assurance to provide houses to all government employees across the country complete with infrastructure and utilities. ... WTO talks stymied by Singapore issues The World Trade Organization (WTO) seems to have been made hostage to Singapore issues by the West since Doha ministerial session held in 2001 and no meaningful progress in negotiations on any vital area has taken place. ... Mutual funds getting popular Every one knows that almost everything goes in cycles, fashions, the weather, luck and money. When good times are rolling and stock markets are blooming, everyone has the opportunity to celebrate. ... SBP report: a review The State Bank of Pakistan's report for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2003-04 (Q1-FY-04) was released at about the end of the second quarter of the year. The purpose of this write-up is to discuss a few aspects of the report. ... Promotional approach to SMEs a must for economic growth Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have played an important role in boosting up economies of the developing countries and particularly in recent times the success of the South East Asian countries is indebted to this very sector. ... Making statistics truly dependable After inheriting a fragmented system of statistical hierarchy, Pakistan embarked upon consolidating its statistics since its very inception in the year 1947. ... Future of the textile industry After the successful conclusion of the Saarc conference and the signing of the Safta agreement, Pakistan seems, according to Press reports, to have at last found a route to prosperity, employment, poverty alleviation, etc. ... Apathy towards vegetable sector Regardless of one's opinion and assessment of Pakistan's agriculture, its performance and marketing of the produce, there is a scant possibility of disagreement on the sad state of its vegetable sector ... Agricultural crisis to impact macro targets While the government continues the "all is well" mantra, the prevailing agriculture crisis in the country has started to show its impact on the larger scale and it is all set to disturb macro-economic targets ... Birds come to help growers Birds, as is well known, function as an important natural check on the increase of insect population. In the early years of agriculture birds were considered the first line of defense against insect damage. ... Marketing costs and margins Data on marketing costs and margins is a mean of assuring efficiency. Marketing efficiency can be defined as the movement of goods from the producer to the consumer at the least cost ... January leaves record marks on equity market High dividend announced by some leading companies, peace talks with India beginning next month, and positive news from the economic front did not allow investors to leave the arena ... Rupee/dollar parity on equilibrium Mixed sentiments were witnessed in the local currency market this week with the rupee/dollar parity moving both ways. The week commenced on a positive note as continued dollars inflow strengthened the rupee's value ... T-bills' auction attract bids worth Rs23.1bn The State Bank of Pakistan on January 30, mopped up Rs17 billion from the interbank market; Rs10 billion was drained out through two-week repo of T-bills at 1.1 per cent and Rs7 billion through four-week repo at 1.25 per cent. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004