Circular debt, looming defaults
 The fiscal crunch is taking a heavy toll on the corporate sector. The private sector energy companies are touching their borrowing limits, the public sector is defaulting in its payment commitments...
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Steep fall in growth of consumer financing
 Growth in consumer financing — personal loans, mortgage, credit cards, car leasing, etc — decelerated sharply to just above three per cent in FY08 after expanding by 17 per cent the previous fiscal....
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The cyclic sugar crisis
 The cane production suffers from cyclic lows every 2-3 years, mainly because of the unending disputes between growers and millers....
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Competitive advantage in growing organic tea
 PAKISTAN is among the top ten countries in tea consumption. Tea is cultivated here, but the bulk of the consumption is met through imports. In 2007, four million kg of tea was produced locally....
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How to enhance small farmers’ income?
 THE income of small farmers comprises earnings from land and livestock. Unfor-tunately this is not enough to meet the bare necessities of life. The main reason of their poverty is low yield and poor animal output....
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Towards viable farming
 PAKISTAN and other developing countries were lured into the green revolution in the early sixties. At that time, the HYV varieties were projected to raise hopes that the world’s poor were...
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Infected housing loans
 Real estate along with stock exchange, currency markets and commodities are sectors where investors like to invest for short-term gains. While several phases of increase in real estate prices have been witnessed, the surge in the recent past was extraordinary....
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Boosting gems export
 FOR Jamshed Khan, a commercial exporter with 40 years of experience, value addition of precious stones is no more a snag in boosting the country’s gems export; it is the militancy in the NWFP that is the key hurdle....
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Hydropower initiatives
 The mountainous Northern Areas have also been struck by the regular load-shedding, adversely affecting normal life and trade in its main towns....
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The rising rural-urban migration
 Trapped in the vicious poverty cycle along with rapid population growth, rural natives seek opportunities in developed urban cities. Settlers from smaller cities and villages migrate to cities in the hope for better employment....
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World commodities
Oil..Oil prices had fallen in the week ended August 10, to a three month low, in line with almost all commodities, on mounting concern that slower economic.....
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Restructuring tax administration
 The economic indicators are worsening, and the government is eyeing debts from international donors and financial markets to overcome its fiscal difficulties. This strategy is unlikely to work effectively....
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Land disputes threaten investment plans
 While India ranks as the seventh largest country in terms of size — with over 3.25 million sq km of area — land has emerged as one of the most contentious issues today....
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Corporate governance and the stakeholders
 The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has outperformed all exchanges in developing countries till very recently. Yet, the total number of companies listed at the KSE has actually gone down, from 701 in 2002 to 654 at the end of 2007....
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Preventing a severe economic slowdown
 The week-long strike by goods transporters shook the confidence of counter-parties in Pakis-tan’s trading-partner countries because it froze trade activities at the Karachi seaport....
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Time to cut bank rates
 For the first time in 15 years the British economy has ground to a halt, according to the latest official statistics. The Office for the National Statistics (ONS) says the zero...
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‘Business connections’ and efficiency
 WITHOUT any visible indication of remorse Adil, 40, a jeweler in Karachi, candidly admitted paying much less than his dues to the public exchequer and utility companies....
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How free is the economy for sustainable growth?
 Pakistan’s economy is 56.8 per cent free, according to 2008 Index of Economic Freedom compiled by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. The index covers 162 countries across ten specific factors of economic freedom....
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Price freeze stops further market erosion
 THE mid-week official price freeze at the Aug 27, level seems to have taken steam out of the market last week as was reflected by the fractional either-way changes and falling volumes....
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Rupee still under pressure
 In the local currency market, the rupee continued to remain under pressure versus the American and European currencies due to political instability and weak economic fundamentals....
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Bids for PIB bonds lower than expected
 In the first auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds of the current fiscal year, the State Bank of Pakistan received bids worth Rs6.19 billion against the target of Rs20 billion for the...
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Sharp increase in prices of pulses
 PRICES of some essential items on the Karachi wholesale commodity markets were quoted higher under the lead of pulses, followed by reports of holding back of stocks of the commodity by some stockists, market sources said....
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