13 September 2004 Monday 27 Rajab 1425 'New era' with conventional thought pattern Can a new premier usher in a new era of socio-economic justice if the socio-economic thought pattern remains old and counterproductive? He cannot unless the mindset changes too with a change in the country's prime minister. ... Birth pangs of an industrial policy When the Technical Advisory Cell of the ministry of industries met last week, with new Minister for Industries, Production and New Initiatives Jehangir Khan Tareen presiding ... Dismantling of capital controls The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Pakistan to "consider developing a strategic plan for an orderly dismantling of the remaining capital controls," according to an IMF Financial Sector Assessment report. ... Anti-WTO sentiment in Washington Another WTO ruling declaring the United States guilty of violating fair trade rules has apparently angered the establishment and congressional circles in Washington and there are signs of a defiant mood. ... Housing vs real estate: misconstrued priorities The quasi engineered change of the Chief Executive of the country has been whole heartedly greeted by several interest groups. Foremost among them are developers, builders, real estate agents and property dealers of different scales and spreads. ... Sustainable human development Sustainable human development (SHD) has become a cliche which had been repeatedly dished out during the past decade as the only recipe for eradication of all ills that plague our societies. ... Carpet show opens a new horizon The clouds of hatred and acrimony, hovering over South Asia and its surroundings for decades, have started fading, thereby ushering in an era of normalization of relations among once arch-rivals. ... Promoting industrialization through SMEs The small and medium manufacturing sector is the most important component of informal economy all over the world. It is comprised of heterogeneous types of activities but its components can be found in all sectors of the economy. ... Remittances not very productively employed The developing countries like Pakistan have failed to use the inflow of remittances, investment and aid to their own best advantage. Pakistan too has been unable to capitalize on the sudden increase in their financial resources to generate a developmental momentum ... SBP reports cash recoveries but NPLs fail to decline As per the data currently posted on the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) web site, the amount of the outstanding non-performing loans of the banks and the development finance institutions (DFIs) as of 30th June ... Textile industry in the new millennium Technical advances in the field of textiles will originate mainly in developed countries, while developing countries will adopt the advanced technology with a delay of 5-10 years. ... Tax planning for the salaried and small businesses Tax time is ticking for salaried employees and small businesses and both deserve to get the best deal of the leverage provided to them in the Budget for the year 2004. ... Construction versus agricultural land The construction industry is generally considered synonymous with capability for providing instant impetus to a country's economy through jobs for workers and allied and downstream industries, supply of materials and expertise. ... Agriculture resource management There is a wide gap between actual and potential yield of different crops. For wheat, rice, sugar cane, cotton, maize and edible oil, this gap is 72, 84, 74, 56, 73, 86 and 77 per cent, respectively. ... WTO and Pakistani citrus exports Citrus are the largest produced fruits in Pakistan. The country produces about 8 per cent of world production, with only 0.5 per cent share in the international trade. ... Constraints in vegetable production Majority of the population in Pakistan lives in rural areas where poverty is deep and widespread. Moreover, land less class and small farms are increasing with the passage of time. ... Quality control of farm products In today's competitive world trade quality of product counts most. Those countries which ignore quality lose. Take the example of Pakistan. At the time of independence it inherited a quality control system which was confined to meat, cream, butter, mustard oil and eggs. ... Negative news keep stocks under pressure Stocks remained under pressure for the third week in a row as negative news followed in quick succession never allowing investors to plan for the future trading strategy even on short-term basis. ... Rupee fall persists on currency market Downtrend in the local currency market persisted this week, with the rupee falling versus dollar and euro. It lost sizably as dollar demand by banks to meet corporate clients requirements ahead of the end of first quarter remained high. ... Demand deposits rise by Rs5,230 million According to the weekly statement of position of scheduled banks for the week ended August 28, 2004, the sum of demand and time liabilities rose in the week under review. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004