June 13, 2005	Monday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 5, 1426

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Growth without equity It is a rich man’s budget. To paraphrase a great quote, it is a budget for the rich, of the rich and by the rich. To be sure, the main author of the 2005-06 budget, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz,...		Hopes and worries The federal budget for 2005-06 announced in Parliament last Monday is likely to significantly boost export-led industries, especially the textile sector, which received a slew of incentives....
Managing quality of economic growth A GDP growth rate of 8.4 per cent, higher than that targeted at 6.6 per cent during 2004-05 is indeed impressive, and should bring a sense of achievement to those who focused all energies on increasing the rate of economic growth....		New fiscal policies yet to impact share business volume After moving either-way under a cross-current of negative and positive news, the stocks in Karachi managed to finish higher last week The post-budget rally is yet to manifest.
Rupee gains against dollar Rupee gains against dollar The Pakistani rupee gained against the US dollar in the inter-bank market during the outgoing week. On the opening day of the week, the rupee stood at Rs59.66...		Time and demand liabilities on the increase On June 8, the State Bank of Pakistan sold Rs108.6 billion worth of the Treasury bills of three-month, six-month and one year, against the target of Rs77 billion. The weighted average...
Commodities trading remains dull The post-budget week on Karachi wholesale commodity markets remained insipid as both brokerage and commercial houses remained busy in analysing the impact of fiscal measures on the trade....		State of agriculture The federal government’s exercises for the year 2005-06 have been completed with the release of the Economic Survey and budget for the next year. All documents and statements emphasize the importance...
Sunflower farming needs a boost The edible oil requirements have increased from 0.3 million tons to 1.95 million tons. Per capita consumption of edible oil is around 14-15kg as against an average of 8-9kg for developing...		Horticulture in the mountains Horticulture occupies an important position in the farming system of hilly areas. Each agro-climatic zone has its own potential to grow specific fruits, vegetables and floricultural crops....
Rose’s medicinal value Pakistan is home to wild roses where these can be found growing even at 14,000 ft high foothills of Siachen glacier. The area has derived its name from the flower...		Progress in transgenic crops During half a century world food production has more than doubled from 700 million tons to about two billion as of now However, to meet the increasing needs of the growing population....
Developing coal resources Out of the total population of 152.53 million, only 40 per cent has access to electricity. The demand/ supply projection as shown in figure No: 01, indicates that power shortages...		Tracing roots of China-Japan rivalry A Tokyo-based Chinese columnist and writer, Mo Bangfu has pointed out, “Until now Asia has traditionally been led by a single power. A long time ago, it was China. More recently,...
Russian market for home textiles With its population of 1451 million people and its annual purchasing power of $700 billion, the Russian Federation is a major market This massive population, together with the neighbouring countries,....		World commodity report In the recent days oil prices sagged, as the buying frenzy for heating oil eased, but remained above the US $54 mark. Much of the upward kick of the past few days has been attributed ...
Existing taxpayers to carry more load The Budget 2005-06 framed against the back-drop of a very impressive growth rate of 8.4 per cent, emanating mainly from agricultural, industrial and service sectors, does not envisage adequate measures...		An archaic theory A cursory glance on the positive macroeconomic indicators may reinforce the optimism displayed by the young minister of state in his budget speech. Real GDP grew by 8.4 per cent...
On the path of high economic growth The finance minister in his budget speech last year had announced that following achievement of macro- economic stability “we now have to adopt a mare radical approach to make a quantum...		Expanding the informal economy Corrupt practices like manipulated funds allocated for development expenditure, hoarding of essential items of consumption, speculative trading in stock exchange securities and properties, tax evasion,...