05 April 2004 Monday 14 Safar 1425 Being a non-Nato US ally: Economic fall-out As a part of its policy of constructive engagement with Pakistan, the Republican American government is desirous of entering into a long-term strategic partnership with us to combat terrorism and to prevent nuclear proliferation. ... Too many deterrents to foreign investment When Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz went visiting the Overseas Investors Chamber in Karachi, which represents all foreign investors, he was confronted with a major question: how to improve or change the image of Pakistan abroad to make larger foreign investment easy? ... Inflation and speculative trading The spectre of rising inflation is beginning to haunt the policy makers as the economic growth gathers momentum and speculative trading stages a comeback. ... CSR and uplift of SMEs The corporate social responsibility [CSR] is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on the society. ... Possible repercussions of Afghan transit trade Pakistan seems to be taking giant strides for building better economic relations with Afghanistan, a neighbouring country with which we had,one way or the other, special relations in the last about two decades and a half, not that things were different earlier. ... Karachi: faulty development controls Many important heritage buildings are routinely altered and even demolished by the owners or developers for profiteering in Karachi. Recently an old edifice in Saddar area ... Thar coal mining: prospects Thar coal with an estimated reserves of 175.5 billion tons offer immense potential for power generation. It's discovery has uplifted Pakistan's coal resources to more than 184 billion tons giving it the seventh position in the list of 12 coal producing countries. ... Facets of business development Why is business multi-dimensional? In understanding this question it would be relevant to discuss the issue in a broader context. Business is multi-dimensional because the number of products, their markets, their cost of production are rapidly changing. ... Composting: turning solid waste into gold The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has taken a lead over other city governments, including Karachi, by signing an agreement with the Lahore Compost Limited, on 11th March 2004 for setting up a composting plant for converting solid waste into organic fertilizers. ... The Basel capital accord Governments in many developing countries began to deregulate in the 1990s, by ceasing direct credit, privatizing public sector banks, removing interest rate ceilings, and allowing freer entries. ... Conflict over Ghazi-Barotha Water promises to be a scarce resource globally in the new millennium. Reflecting this assessment, delay in a systematic resolution of inter-provincial water rights makes the issue potentially divisive in Pakistan ... Minimum tax regime - a mistrust Oliver Wendell Holmes says that taxes are what we pay for a civilized society. We pay taxes to do together what we cannot do alone to maintain a "civilized society." But what is a civilized society? ... Increasing wheat yield In Pakistan wheat is grown over around 8.5 million hectares. About 20 per cent of the total acreage is planted under rain-fed conditions. The existing yield of wheat is 2340 kg per hectares, which is less compared to neighbouring countries. ... Spread of cotton pink bollworm Cotton is the single largest cash crop of Pakistan. In Sindh cultivation of cotton started before the opening of the Sukkur barrage. During the pre-barrage period up to the year 1932 the cultivation of Sindh's desi cotton ... Potential and actual crop yields The total cropped area of Pakistan was 11.07 million hectares (mha) at the time of its inception in 1947. It increased to 22.11m ha in 2001-02-almost 100 per cent. ... Excess liquidity due to low bank rates pushing KSE higher Renewed massive buying in cement and other blue chips, including the OGDC featured last week on the Karachi stock market. Leading bulls were in no mood to leave the arena amid predictions of another price flare-up. ... Currency market displays diversity The local currency market witnessed mixed sentiments this week. In the interbank market, the week commenced on a negative note with the rupee shedding two paisas versus the dollar to trade at Rs57.52 and Rs57.53, amid increased corporate demands on March 29. ... Cut-off yield on Treasury bills up by six basis points At the auction held on March 31, the State Bank of Pakistan sold six-month Treasury bills worth Rs20.85 billion against the market offer of Rs28.35 billion at a cut-off yield of 1.8418 per cent. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004