January 31, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 1, 1427

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KIBOR made benchmark for import operations KARACHI, Jan 30: The State Bank on Monday abolished the fixed mark-up rate for commodity operations and set KIBOR as benchmark for the new rate. The move reflects that the SBP...		Growers to pay cost for free wheat import MULTAN, Jan 30: Wheat growers are foreseeing a gloomy scenario in the harvest season this year when they expect to find it difficult to sell their product owing to the ‘liberalized’ import of the commodity and unsold official stocks....
No let-up in sugar price despite regular imports KARACHI, Jan 30: There has been no sentimental impact on the price of sugar in the market after the government’s decision to allow regular import of the commodity from India and...		PM okays trade authority ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday approved the establishment of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), replacing the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), with a claim to bring a quantum jump in exports....
Insurance schemes for railway passengers ignored KARACHI, Jan 30: The Pakistan Railways carries an average load of 200,000 passengers everyday in about 230 daily operations but it does not provide any insurance cover to its commuters, luggage or to its own equipment and machinery....		50 units sell-off realized Rs148.2bn ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Monday told the upper house that the government sold out 50 units during the last four years....
Pact signed with US firm for LNG import KARACHI, Jan 30: Pakistan’s Associated Group has signed an agreement with Excelerate Energy of the US to jointly develop an LNG import option for Pakistan. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Associated Group chairman Iqbal Z....		Boards of 19 firms discuss accounts KARACHI, Jan 30: A total of 19 companies held meetings of their board of directors (BoDs) on Monday to discuss accounts for varying periods: year ended December 31, 2005; first quarter...
KSE keeps upward trend with 80 points gain KARACHI, Jan 30: The KSE 100-share index on Monday maintained its upward thrust and added another 80 points to the weekend tally and settled above the level of 10,528 despite the weakness of PTCL....		Wait for phutti arrival figures mar trading on cotton market KARACHI, Jan 30: Cotton prices on Monday remained stable around the weekend levels but spinners and mills were conspicuous by their absence despite the fact that they still have to go a long way to cover their annual consumption needs....
SBP to sell Rs13bn T-bills KARACHI, Jan 30: The State Bank on Monday set Rs13 billion as auction target for treasury bills but a little hope regarding the increase in cut-off yield was found in the market....		Efforts on to increase share of engg sector LAHORE, Jan 30: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) is striving to increase the share of the engineering sector in the overall manufacturing of Pakistan from the current 18 per cent to...
22,622 refund cases pending with IT dept ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: As many as 22,622 cases of refund are pending with the income tax department in the current fiscal year, involving an amount of Rs26.952 billion....		Domestic electronic industry in trouble KARACHI, Jan 30: More than 75 per cent sales of electrical and electronic items are Chinese and only 25 per cent are locally-assembled products. This was revealed by Karachi Electronic Dealers...
KCCI for early FTA with Indonesia KARACHI, Jan 30: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Haroon Faruki has called for early signing of the free trade agreement between Pakistan and Indonesia....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, Jan 30: Three ships carrying containers are expected to arrive at the outer anchorage on Tuesday, according to the KPT sources. Berthing activity at the wharves was maintained on the...
Mass transit project to be ready by 2007 KARACHI, Jan 30: Sindh Home Minister, Rauf Siddiqui has said that the Karachi Mass Transit Project (KMTP) will be completed by 2007. He said there was a dire need to improve...		Investment climate friendly: PM ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday said government’s philosophy of deregulation, liberalization and privatization had made Pakistan an investment-friendly country....
European stocks LONDON, Jan 30: European shares hovered just shy of 4-1/2 year highs on Monday, with a shake-up in the steel sector dominating for a second straight session, and as investors digested the latest batch of corporate earnings....		Arcelor comes out against hostile bid PARIS, Jan 30: Steelmaker Arcelor came out fighting on Monday against a hostile takeover bid by global giant Mittal Steel as European governments voiced deep concern about future of the continent’s steel industry....
Asian stocks higher after Wall Street rally HONG KONG, Jan 30: Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Monday with Sydney continuing its latest run into record territory and Tokyo striking a fresh five year high on improved economic signals....		Gold, silver prices higher LONDON, Jan 30: Gold traded in a narrow range below recent 25-year highs on Monday, possibly destined higher on the back of firm energy prices and dollar instability....
Sri Lanka tea exports hit record high COLOMBO, Jan 30: Sri Lanka, one of the world’s top exporters of tea, sold a record 308 million kilos (677 million pounds) of the commodity to overseas buyers last year, a brokering house said Monday....		Karachi market rates KARACHI, Jan 30: The following were Monday’s commodity market rates in rupees....