24 June 2004 Thursday 05 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 Balochistan sets aside Rs14.28bn for ADP QUETTA, June 23: The Balochistan government has set aside Rs14.28 billion for Annual Development Plan for the next fiscal year. The Balochistan Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah in his budget speech on Wednesday ... NTN condition also hits heavy vehicle sales KARACHI, June 23: Bus and truck makers are worried over a phenomenal drop in fresh bookings of vehicles as majority of their buyers belong to tribal and FATA areas and are unable to book vehicles owing to non-availability of national tax numbers (NTN). ... Banks lend Rs61.8bn to farm sector KARACHI, June 23: The central bank will make 14 small private banks more involved in disbursement of agricultural loans in the next fiscal year to ensure that agriculture plays its role as a key driver to economic growth. ... Confusion prevails in stock market: CVT resolution KARACHI, June 23: The Capital Value Tax (CVT) on purchase of shares looked finally to have been resolved. But other matters appear to be raising their ugly head. ... Betel nuts worth $60m come via illegal channel KARACHI, June 23: Betelnuts (Chaliya) worth $60 million or Rs3.6 billion was consumed by Pakistanis during last eighteen months. Bad as they may be, the worst is that all of them were either smuggled into the country or came through official channels but on 'mis-declaration.' ... 'Alternative energy plan in a month' ISLAMABAD June 23: Prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Wednesday directed the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to prepare and submit in four weeks a comprehensive report on its future plans of providing alternative energy in the areas which were far from national grid. ... Rupee falls further in inter-bank market KARACHI, June 23: The rupee lost nine paisa more against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Wednesday coming down to 58.11 a dollar from 58.02 on Monday. Senior bankers said the local currency weakened on increased dollar buying by banks on behalf of their customers. ... SBP scraps TBs bids to avoid hike in yields KARACHI, June 23: The State Bank on Wednesday rejected all bids for six-month treasury bills to keep their yields from rising too sharply. The central bank had set Rs50 billion target for the sale of six-month bills. ... State Bank may tighten monetary policy KARACHI, June 23: Pakistan may have to tighten monetary policy to fight rising inflation, but this will be done in a "measured" way to avoid a sharp rise in interest rates, said Ishrat Husain, Governor of the State Bank. ... EC rice regime talks begin tomorrow ISLAMABAD, June 23: The Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Mr Tasneem Noorani left for Geneva late on Tuesday night to participate in consultations on the European Commission's Rice Regime for the 2004 crop. ... Physical business remains light KARACHI, June 23: Physical business on the cotton market remained light as spinners kept to the sidelines, anticipating decline in local prices in sympathy with fresh steep fall in New York cotton futures. ... Stock market recovers from post-budget lows KARACHI, June 23: Stocks on Wednesday recovered from the post-budget lows as institutional traders resumed covering purchases at the lower levels on selected counters, but general investors were conspicuous by their absence. ...

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