01 March 2004 Monday 09 Muharram 1425 Foreign investment on decline In spite of the notable economic recovery in Pakistan and rise in industrial production by 14.5 per cent in the first six months of this fiscal year and the boom in the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) ... Planning for Karachi: a few reminders If one goes by the news reports, urban development scene in Karachi appears bustling with activities of all kinds. For instance, on 18 February 2004, the City Nazim issued permission to 13 firms to operate 885 passenger buses ... Building bridges with the poor About a decade ago, a visiting Pakistani professor serving in the United States told a group of intellectuals, journalists and social activists that the solutions to problems of societal evolution would emerge from the civic society. ... India: reforms giving rise to regional disparities It was in the early 50's that Nehru formulated the economic model for development that India was to follow for the next three decades. The central plank of the model was import substitution, and this rested on four basic beliefs. ... NWFP pins high hopes on NFC award Confronted with growing administrative cost, a stagnant internal revenue base and a weak private sector, the NWFP is hardly left with any choice but to claim greater share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. ... Lack of consensus threatens WTO The collapse of the 5th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in September 2003 has been the result of the serious mental diversion from the very theme of the creation of multilateral trading system ... Challenges of a weak dollar In the recent past Pakistani rupee has made significant gains against the US dollar. A booming stock market, burgeoning foreign exchange reserves and low inflation together go to feed the notion that the mighty dollar has been faced down by the local weakling. ... Deferred tax assets: fair or foul? The accounting profession has always been very conservative in recognizing an undetermined and unrealized income in the income statement of an enterprise. ... NGOs, donors and implications for development There is much debate these days as to the changing nature of development practices of non-governmental organizations [NGOs]. This is attributed to even faster changing donors' criteria for the purpose of funds distribution. ... FTO Ordinance needs a parliamentary review The Federal Tax Ombudsman enjoys no utility for overseeing the administration of indirect taxes. These taxes have no direct concern with the people who bear their real burden. ... Hedge trading in cotton: whose right is it? The issue to restore futures in cotton through hedge market is in limelight these days. Cotton stockholders and interested groups are conducting meetings and deliberation in this regard. ... Water vision: 2025 Presently the country is facing serious water crisis due to the increasing population and the declining water resources. Since the construction of the Mangla Dam ... Bio-safety guide-lines and biotechnology Bio-safety guidelines are the rules regulating the safe development of biotechnological products and their application for human and animal health, plants and environment. ... Restraint-free export of farm products Pakistan's exports have long been dominated by traditional agricultural exports such as cotton and its products, and also rice. Although, some diversification has now taken place in the export regime, yet this is lop-sided. ... Advances in livestock production Presently the country is facing serious water crisis due to the increasing population and the declining water resources. Since the construction of the Mangla Dam, the population has risen to 145 million and is estimated to go up to 280 million ... Bull market lacks aggressive buying support The stocks recovered to finish well above their early lows during last week. However, buying support lacked the aggressiveness associated with a bull market despite higher-than-the-expected announcements of dividend and of bonus-share ... Rs22bn mopped up from inter-bank market On February 23, in an open-market operation, the State Bank of Pakistan mopped up Rs22 billion from a fairly liquid interbank money market. It siphoned off Rs9.5 billion through one week repo of the Treasury Bills ... Rupee/dollar parity fluctuates Mixed sentiments were witnessed in the local currency market this week with the rupee/dollar parity showing a fluctuating trend. The parity moved both ways in a narrow range. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004