December 24, 2005	Saturday	Ziqa’ad 21, 1426

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PC invites EoIs for OGDC shares: Disinvestment via GDR ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: The Privatization Commission (PC) has invited Expressions of Interest (EoIs) from Financial Advisory Consortia (FAC) for appointment of a financial consortium for the divestment of 10 per cent...		CNG prices may rise by Re1 to Rs3 KARACHI, Dec 23: Weary consumers may be asked to pay more after a long wait at CNG stations all over the country. Expectations are that each customer may be charged Re1 to Rs3 more to fill gas in their vehicles....
Pakistan proposes EHP with Turkey ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Pakistan has proposed to sign an Early Harvest Programme (EHP) with Turkey by slashing customs duties to zero per cent on agricultural products as part of preferential trade agreement (PTA)....		Auto prices to fall after ’07: minister LAHORE, Dec 23: Minister of State for Privatization and Investment, Umar Ahmed Ghuman, has said that prices of automobiles in Pakistan will show a substantial decline after the year 2007....
Stocks finish weekend session with 20 points recovery KARACHI, Dec 23: Stocks finished the weekend session on Friday on a firm note as leading shares came in for active support under the lead of OGDC and some other leading shares and posted good gains amid light trading....		Prices stay firm on cotton market KARACHI, Dec 23: Cotton prices on Friday remained stable around the previous levels as ginners held on to their long unsold positions anticipating a big push during the next year based on a short crop....
Oil dips as trading gets slow LONDON, Dec 23: World oil prices dipped on Friday as trading wound down before Christmas and as a pipeline fire was brought under control in major energy producer Nigeria....		Ministers vow to privatize PS on fast track ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Federal Minister for Privatization and Investment, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, Jahangir Khan Tareen reaffirmed, in an inter-ministerial Steering Committee...
Offshore oil exploration licence granted ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Pakistan granted an offshore oil and gas exploration licence on Friday to a consortium led by the state-run Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL)....		Pending appeals ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: The Supreme Court has constituted a special bench for hearing 1,192 pending appeals which involved billions of rupees stuck up for the last many years....
Market rates decline on surplus liquidity KARACHI, Dec 23: Overnight market rates fell sharply on Friday from 8 per cent to just 2 per cent as the surplus liquidity flooded the market sinking returns on borrowing to the lowest level in the interbank....		17pc gas price hike to hit exports KARACHI, Dec 23: The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea) flaying the 17 per cent increase in gas tariffs has said that it will adversely hit the export oriented-industries....
Kinno export target raised ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: The government has revised the kinno export target to 200,000 tons this season as against 125,000 tons export of last year, indicating an increase of 60 per cent....		Gas row KIEV, Dec 23: Ukraine said on Friday it had begun preparing for a possible appeal to an international arbitration court in Stockholm to resolve an escalating row with Russia over natural gas supplies....
Joint venture SANTIAGO, Dec 23: Chilean copper company Antofagasta Minerals said on Friday it agreed to a $133 million joint venture with an Australian company to explore and exploit Pakistan copper and gold properties....		Hutchison, Orascom in strategic alignment LAHORE, Dec 23: Orascom Telecom Holding and Hutchison Whampoa Limited have announced the global strategic alignment of their mobile business....
US new home sales dive WASHINGTON, Dec 23: Sales of new US homes slumped 11.3 per cent in November to signal a long-awaited property market slowdown, the Commerce Department estimated on Friday....		Gold steady in thin European trade LONDON, Dec 23: Gold firmed in European dealings on Friday and stayed above $500 an ounce in a thin market ahead of the Christmas holiday, but the metal is prone to...
Palm oil ends up KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23: Malaysian crude palm oil futures rose on Friday on mounting fears that production in December may be lower than earlier expected following heavy rains in the northern and eastern regions of the country....		Asian stocks close higher HONG KONG, Dec 23: Asian stocks provided a final dose of Christmas cheer and closed mostly higher on Friday in low volumes with many investors sidelined ahead of the holiday period, dealers said....
Karachi Port operations KARACHI, Dec 23: Three ships carrying urea, steel scarp and containers are expected to arrive at the outer anchorage on Saturday, according to KPT sources....		Port Qasim KARACHI, Dec 23: Three vessels carrying containers and chemicals were allotted berths during the last 24 hours....