March 23, 2006	Thursday	Safar 22, 1427

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US, UK top portfolio investors in Pakistan KARACHI, March 22: The United States and United Kingdom have absolute domination on foreign portfolio investment at the equity market of the country as their contribution is over 80 per cent of the total investment....		Loan resumption to help complete projects: Tanaka ISLAMABAD, March 22: Japan has restored its $400 million annual assistance to Pakistan and a high-level Japanese political mission will arrive here next month to ascertain the development needs of the country, says outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Nobuaki Tanaka....
EDF okays Rs19.9m for workers’ training ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Board of Administrators of Export Development Fund (EDF) on Wednesday approved Rs19.9 million for providing training to workers of garment industry. Presiding over the board meeting Commerce...		Refund issue to be resolved LAHORE, March 22: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) will shortly issue an SRO to resolve the issue of the sales tax refund to all the five zero-rated sectors which are...
Delay in SRO hits wheat export contracts KARACHI, March 22: Export contracts worth millions of dollars for wheat products could not be materialized as exporters are waiting for relevant SRO giving an exemption from 15 per cent export duty as decided by the government early this year....		Customs duty collection on 15 items up ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Central Board of Revenue raised 78 per cent of the total customs collection from 15 major commodities during the first half (July-Dec) of the current fiscal year, over the same period last year....
Oil prices ease on US stocks report LONDON, March 22: World oil prices weakened on Wednesday as traders anticipated a healthy market update on crude stockpiles in the United States, the world’s biggest energy consumer....		Transport corridors for India-BD trade DHAKA, Mar 22: Bangladesh has primarily identified nearly 20 strategic transport corridors -– road, rail and river -– to facilitate trade with India, although a political decision on whether or not...
Stocks gain 149 points as buying-spree continues KARACHI, March 22: Stocks on Wednesday maintained their upward drive on steady inflow of both speculative and investment buying in leading oil shares under the lead of some foreign funds and a good bit of local bargain-hunting....		Trade talks BEIJING, March 22: China has agreed to develop more balanced trade with Spain, the Spanish embassy said after Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos met here on Wednesday with the Chinese premier and foreign minister....
Sales tax exemption ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Central Board of Revenue has exempted sales tax from local supply to international organizations for the earthquake rehabilitation in NWFP and Azad Kashmir....		ABL’s record profit LAHORE, March 22: The board of directors of Allied Bank Limited (ABL) has approved the accounts for the year 2005 in their meeting. The bank has posted historic profit after tax...
Russian inflation LONDON, March 22: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said on Wednesday he expects inflation in March under one per cent and for the rouble to strengthen slightly versus the dollar by year-end....		Oil pipeline BEIJING March 22: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he expects a pipeline to deliver Siberian oil to China to be built, sharply increasing Russian energy exports to China....
Trading gets slow on cotton market KARACHI, March 22: Trading on the cotton market on Wednesday remained light as spinners and mills kept to the sidelines owing perhaps to delivery problems because of Pakistan Day holiday....		‘US undermining trade rules’ GENEVA, March 22: China accused Washington on Wednesday of undermining the world trading system by using national security concerns “in an excessive way” to get around the rules....
Industrial parks to generate jobs ISLAMABAD, March 22: Federal Minister for Industries, Production and Special Initiatives Jahangir Khan Tareen said on Wednesday that the government was establishing national industrial parks (NIPs)in the country to increase...		Sovereign bond Oversubscribed HONG KONG, March 22: A bond issue of up to $1.25 billion from Pakistan has attracted $1.3 billion of subscriptions so far, a market source said on Wednesday....
SECP seminar on CSR KARACHI, March 22: The SECP held its second consultative seminar on “National Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy” (CSR) here on Wednesday. The purpose of the seminar was to discuss the findings of a study on CSR in Pakistan....		Karachi Port operations KARACHI, March 22: Seven ships carrying steel billets, palm oil and to load rice and fresh fruits are expected to arrive at the outer anchorage on Thursday, according to KPT sources....
Port Qasim KARACHI, March 22: Three ships carrying containers, diesel oil and chemicals were allotted berths during the last 24 hours, said a PQA press release on Wednesday....		POL’s shares coverage SINGAPORE, March 22: Merrill Lynch said on Wednesday it was initiating its coverage of shares of Pakistan Oilfields Limited with a “Buy” rating, and set a 12-month target of Rs694 ($11.55)...
Women workshop KARACHI, March 22: The women entrepreneurs from Islamic countries have lauded the role of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) in organizing the first training programme for development of business...		Warid to invest $1bn KARACHI, March 22: Warid Telecom will invest $1 billion in Pakistan by mid of 2007. The company has already invested $450 million during the current phase of operation....
Silver hits 22-year high LONDON, March 22: Silver surged to its highest in more than 22 years on Wednesday on strong speculative buying after US regulators took a big step towards finally approving the market’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF)....		Asian stocks close lower HONG KONG, March 22: Asian stocks continued their retreat on Wednesday after a tumble on Wall Street amid inflation concerns and possible higher interest rate hikes again haunted the markets....
Brown unveils tenth budget LONDON, March 22: British finance minister Gordon Brown stood by his forecast of 2.0-2.5 per cent economic growth this year in his tenth and possibly last annual budget on Wednesday....		Palm oil ends up KUALA LUMPUR, March 22: Malaysian crude palm oil futures ended higher as they trailed a rebound in soyaoil, but a clear trend is likely to emerge after export estimates due later for March 1-25, dealers said....