In Friday's South Asia papers

22 August 2008 05:30  [Source: ICIS news]

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Front page

Srinagar simmers; Hurriyat to hold Idgah rally
The Centre is keeping its fingers crossed over Friday's Idgah protest in Srinagar organised by the Hurriyat as it looks to engage Valley groups in a bid to kick start talks aimed at restoring normalcy in the wake of separatist demonstrations and strikes.

Ask mother to step in, court tells Ambanis
Seek your mother's advice, suggested the Bombay high court on Thursday to the Ambani brothers, who have been squabbling since 2005 over an agreement for supply of natural gas from the Krishna Godavari basin.

Business

Inflation fears pull down Sensex
Fears of higher inflation made investors jittery and pulled the Sensex down by 435 points on Thursday, which closed at 14,244.

High price of iPhone could be a spoiler
Are customers in India going to be queuing up from midnight on Thursday to be the first to buy the Apple iPhone when stores open in the morning? Not likely, if early signals are to be believed.

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Front page

Stocks seen sharply lower as crude rebounds
Stocks are set to slide on Friday mirroring trailing global markets as crude oil reared its ugly head yet again.

Vodafone seeks hefty damages from Ruias
Vodafone Essar (VEL, earlier Hutchison Essar) has sought damages, which could be upwards of Rs11bn, from the Ruias of the Essar group for not transferring the shares of Mumbai-based BPL Mobile to the company.

THE BANGLADESH TODAY

Front page

Police foil BNP’s road march towards CA Office
Police on Thursday foiled BNP's road march towards the Chief Adviser's Office from in front of the BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain's NAM flat residence at Shere-e-Bangla Nagar.

Abdullah Al Mamun no more
Abdullah Al Mamun, the legendary cultural icon of the country, passed away on Thursday. The 65 year-old playwright and versatile actor died of heart attack at 11:25 am at the intensive care unit of BIRDEM Hospital in the capital.

Business

NBR plans to be more flexible in income tax paying system
The government's revenue board that has set target of a record Tk545bn revenue income in the FY-2008-09 from internal sources will show more flexibility in assessment of income statements of self-motivated tax payers, said Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Md Abdul Mazid.

Finance Adviser still in dark about stock market slump
Finance Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam Thursday said he was still in the dark about the recent stock market slump.

DAILY MIRROR

Front page

Eastern University student shot dead.
A 22 year old student of the Eastern University in Wantharamulla Batticaloa, Pasan Samarasinghe was shot dead last night at the university hostel by an unidentified gunman.

Blood bank Director transferred
Director, National Blood Transfusion Service, Dr R.M.Bindusara has been transferred to the Family Health Bureau with immediate effect by Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry Secretary Dr. Athula Kahndaliyanage on the instructions of Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to facilitate the ongoing investigation into the activities of the blood bank, Ministry spokesman said.

Business

Foreign investors convinced of SL?
German Ambassador Jorgen Weerth asked which foreign investor would be interested in investing in Sri Lanka, when Sri Lankans themselves have lost faith in their own country."Many Sri Lankan business people are investing in Bangladesh so how can you convince us to invest here?" he questioned.

SA needs to be independent - Cabraal
Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal yesterday asserted that South Asia needs to work independent of the consultancy services extended by the international community. He pointed out that time was ripe to work on new models without simply following expert advise from outside.

DAWN

Front page

Coalition giving time to president
The ruling coalition appears to be dallying with the impeachment process to provide time to President Pervez Musharraf to make up his mind about resigning, instead of facing a humiliating exit.

Asylum for Musharraf not on the table: Rice
The United States made it known on Sunday that it was not considering any proposal to grant political asylum to President Pervez Musharraf.

Business

Stock market woes, uncertainties
Why has the value of the Pakistani stock market dropped precipitously over the last several months? Why has so much capital flown out of the market and why has some of it gone out of the country? There is flight of capital emanating not only from foreign investors.

Managing the forex reserves
The rupee remains under pressure although the State Bank now provides foreign exchange for Pakistan’s oil imports. Bankers give many explanations for the rupee’s weakening, the oddest being the drying up of foreign investment inflows.

BUSINESS RECORDER

Front page

Judges restoration: Resolution to be presented in NA today
Pakistan people party sources said early on Friday that resolution regarding restoration of judges is to be presented in National Assembly today Aaj TV reported.

Exports come to grinding halt: imported cargo piling up at ports
Whereas, the exports come to grinding halt, imported cargo is piling up at ports due to the non-availability of transport in the wake of continued wheel-jam strike by the cargo carriers.

Business

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves decline by $352m
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves decreased by $352m during the last week due to slow foreign inflows and huge payments. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday said that the country's foreign reserves plunged by 4% or $351.9m to $9.56bn during the week ended August 16, 2008, as against $9.92bn a week earlier.

Pakistan and Indonesia negotiating to sign FTA
Indonesia and Pakistan are actively engaged in negotiations to sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which would help in raising the volume of bilateral trade up to one bn dollars mark.

By: Staff Reporter
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