DAWN - Business; April 23, 2006

Low Graphics Site


April 23, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1427

Sindh’s financial picture Financial discipline, transparency in transactions and prudent expenditure management are all areas that have remained alien to budget-makers in Sindh for the last few years. All this as the World Bank...		Sindh: bridging the gap Call it pessimism, but if one were to describe the situation in the province of Sindh, it has to go this way: 6,000 ghost schools, complicated legal structures, a plethora of...
‘Government is doing its best’ Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim is confident of putting his province “back on the path of industrialisation, agricultural development and economic progress”....		Location a priceless asset Like all port cities, Karachi has its own dynamics to sustain its economic growth. Besides generating its own internal economic activity the city keeps getting boost from every dollar activity that...

Private sector can manage industrial zones better Karachi is the heart of Sindh that energises the economy of the province. It has been facing some serious problems that hinder the industrial growth. The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and...		Share in nation’s cotton economy WHILE Sindh’s annual share in the country’s cotton economy fluctuates between 20 and 25 per cent depending on the size of crop, its contribution to value-addition in exports and employment opportunities is enormous....

Transport sector turning less lucrative The rising diesel price over the last few years was partially responsible for making investors reluctant to invest in Sindh’s public road transport sector....		Inconsistent policies hit industrial growth Despite a liberal industrial policy and lucrative incentives provided by successive governments, industrial development in Sindh, barring Karachi, has not kept pace with that in other provinces....

Jobless rate still high Despite massive spending on development projects during the last five years, Sindh failed to register a dent in high unemployment. Unemploment has actually gone up and the province stands next to...		Sindh leads in building Sindh and its nerve centre, Karachi, hold a lot of interest among investors in construction activities and buying of property despite the fact that Punjab has a much larger population and offers more friendly policies to builders....

30pc share in cellphone market Mobile phone subscribers in Sindh are estimated at 30 per cent out of a total 24 million of cellphone users in the country. Punjab holds a 45 per cent market share...		Industrial activities yet to pick up In Karachi, there are half a dozen industrial estates housing over 12,000 units of varying sizes and categories. But that is Karachi where employment opportunities creep up, and people are less poor....

TCP buys sugar KARACHI, April 22: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan has purchased 50,000 tons of white sugar at $504 per ton C&F Karachi, it said on Saturday....		Next budget to see tariff cut, removal of anomalies ISLAMABAD, April 22: There will be a significant tariff rationalisation and removal of various anomalies in the next budget, says a senior government official....

Listless trading on cotton market KARACHI, April 22: Trading activity on the cotton market on Saturday was slack as spinners and mills kept to the sidelines apparently eyeing the next TCP tender of the sale of lint....		IEA fears petrol shortage in US DOHA, April 22: The International Energy Agency is concerned about a looming gasoline (petrol) shortage in the United States, but would only order the release of strategic stocks if a major supply disruption occurs, a senior IEA official said....

SBP injects Rs14bn to meet money crunch KARACHI, April 22: The State Bank again injected liquidity to saturate the thirst of the market but the demand remained high. The total discounting made during April proved to be the highest in any month during 2005-06....		Global stability needs help from China, others WASHINGTON, April 22: Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Friday that ensuring global economic stability and balanced growth patterns was becoming more dependent on China and other countries besides the United States....

Big oil firms, producers meet to tackle prices DOHA, April 22: Chief executives of the world’s top oil firms met ministers from the biggest producers and consumers on Saturday as record crude prices of above $75 a barrel added urgency to consumers’ calls for more supply investment....		Trichet on high alert for inflation WASHINGTON, April 22: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday he was on high alert for risks to inflation and declined to counter market expectations that interest rates would rise again in June....

CFS rates remain high on KSE KARACHI, April 22: The weighted average stock future spread on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week suffered a sharp decline to 9.8 per cent from the previous peak level of 21.2...		$1 trillion projects under way in Arab Gulf DUBAI, April 22: Construction and other projects planned or under way in the Gulf Arab region, Iran and Iraq have surpassed $1 trillion, a business tracking firm said on Saturday....

Pay deal DUESSELDORF, Germany, April 22: German industrial union IG Metall and employers reached a new pay deal in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday, averting the threat of widespread strikes across Germany, the two sides said....		Why care for industry, speculation pays Mr X, an industrialist, surprised his friends when for over a week he was noticed smoking away the cigar in abundant luxury at an elitist club....