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Biz breeze
Buyers swing to Bangladesh
European and North American buyers are shifting
to Bangladesh from China due to US restriction
on Chinese textile exports. According to
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters'
Association, in last couple of months a number
of orders from some EU and US buyers who earlier
contacted Chinese exporters showed interest to
Bangladeshi manufacturers. A recent
International Labour Organisation report
revealed that Bangladesh was among the countries
that were doing better after phase-out of
multifibre arrangement and remained on the list
of top suppliers of textile and clothing for
European and North American buyers. The US
movement has cost China's textile sector dearly.
The export volume of Chinese textile products to
the United States has reduced at least 2 to 3
billion US dollars since January. The latest
round of Sino-US textile talks failed to make
any headway in Beijing.
Exports to US fall sharply
Exports of the bed sheets and covers from
Bangladesh to America saw a drastic decline,
while market of these products boosted there
this year, benefiting many other textile
exporting countries, US commerce department
statistics said. Businessmen of the sector said
Bangladesh lost its share in the US cotton
sheets market as competitors cut down their
prices significantly. The latest data of US
commerce department shows that during
January-July 2005, Bangladesh saw more than 48
per cent decline in volume of cotton sheets
export to USA from 384,269 units of a year-ago
period to 198,550. Earning declined even at a
larger ratio, as during the period Bangladesh
earned only $0.4 million against more than $1
million of the previous year's corresponding
period. Export revenue from bed sheets dropped
by 62 per cent as Bangladeshi exporters could
not sustain the price war with other countries
boosted their market share offering much lower
rates. In January- July 2005, Bangladeshi
exporters reduced prices by 26 per cent,
offering per unit of cotton sheet at $2.04
against $2.77 of a year back. According to
Bangladeshi exporters face stiff price
competition from Pakistan and Indian bed sheets
and more acutely from cheaper Chinese products.
Despite the odds faced by Bangladeshi exporters,
other regional big players made good business as
the US imports of cotton bed sheets surged in
the first seven months of the post-quota period.
Pakistan benefited from higher shipments than
China, thanks to sharp cut in its export prices.
The US import of cotton sheets doubled in the
first seven months this year to $537 million.
The import growth was 17.50 per cent to $324
million in January-July period of 2004.
ENTERTAINMENT
Casinos in East Asia
Some 50 new casinos will be built in East Asia
by 2012, with casino gambling revenue in the
region set to more than triple from $13.4
billion to $44.8 billion, according to a press
report. The boom, fuelled by regional
governments lifting bans on casinos, will also
spark a tussle among gambling operators for high
rollers -- analysts from the US investment bank
Merrill Lynch, said. The majority of these new
casinos will be housed in five-star
establishments. The analysts say gambling has
enormous economic potential in Asia, with
millions of dollars wagered daily across the
region on everything from slot machines and
cards to cock fighting. Singapore's government
announced in April amid fierce domestic
opposition that two Las Vegas-style casino
resorts would be built by 2009 to spice up its
staid image and attract more tourists.
TRADE & COMMERCE
G20 for better WTO offer
A farm trade proposal put forward by Brazil,
India and other developing countries does not
offer sufficient new export opportunities for
the United States, a trade official of the
United States stressed. Brazil and India are
leaders of the G20 group of developing
countries, which is pressing for deep cuts in
United States and European Union farm subsidies
as part of a new world trade deal.
$1.5b currency swap
The central banks of South Korea and Malaysia
have signed a three-year deal allowing either
country to swap its currency for up to $1.5
billion from the other when necessary, the Bank
of Korea announced recently. Earlier $1 billion
swap deal with Malaysia expired in July. Korea's
central bank, which held the world's
fourth-biggest foreign reserves at $206.73
billion as of end-September, said it had similar
deals with five other countries, including Japan
and China, for a combined $12 billion.
Farm credit
Disbursement of agricultural credit in the first
month of the current fiscal year, July, stood
higher at Tk 211.18 crore compared with Tk
203.42 crore in July 2004. Statistics available
with Bangladesh Bank revealed that recovery of
agricultural loans in July also increased to Tk
170.67 crore from Tk 142.37 crore in July 2004.
The position of overdue agricultural loans as
percentage of total outstanding improved,
decreasing from 51.24 per cent at the end of
July, 2004 to 43.43 at the end of July, 2005.The
total disbursement target on fiscal 2005-06 is
Tk 5524 crore.
Savings certificates
Both sales and repayment of the national savings
directorate (NSD) certificates in July 2005
increased to Tk 1043.75 crore and Tk 779.88
crore respectively from Tk 795.58 crore and Tk
664.63 crore of a year ago. Statistics revealed
that outstanding borrowing of the government
through NSD certificates at the end of July
stood at Tk 36761.55 crore, recording an
increase of Tk 263.87 crore or 0.72 per cent
over June 2005.
Reserve money
Reserve money recorded an increase of Tk 1038
crore or 3.51 per cent in July 2005 compared
with the increase of Tk 452.30 crore or 1.72 per
cent in July 2004. The central bank figures show
that the increase in reserve money growth
comprised 4.68 per cent increase in net domestic
assets and 2.40 per cent increase in net foreign
assets of the Bangladesh Bank. Reserve money
multiplier, however, decreased to 4.95 at the
end of July, 2005 from 5.13 of June,2005.
SEC fines officials of two cos
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined
eight officials of two listed companies Tk 1
lakh each, for non compliance of regulations.
Nadera Alam, the chairperson of Karim Pipe
Mills, and five of its directors, Fazlul Karim,
Joynul Karim, Joglul Karim, Dilara Hossain and
Kamrul Karim were fined Tk 1 lakh each twice
under two different cases. Morshed A Chowdhury,
the executive director of Dynamic Textile
Industries, and its company secretary, MA Kashem
were also fined Tk 1 lakh each for not
distributing five per cent dividend for 2002
declared on May 16, 2004. Officials of Karim
Pipe were fined once for not holding the annual
general meeting of 2003 and 2004, and for not
submitting the half yearly accounts ended June
30, 2004. The defaulters must pay the fines
within 15 days of issuance of the order. In
default, they would have to pay extra fines of
Tk 10,000 each for each day of delay.
SET wants info on Picnic
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) recently
asked the Picnic Corp. PCL to submit more
information about its recent investment in
Bangladesh based Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd.
The SET in a statement said it required to know
how did Picnic come up with an estimate that
Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd., a liquefied
petroleum gas distributor in Bangladesh, will
generate a total revenue of THB 1.3 billion over
the next three years, sources said. The SET's
statement came following Picnic's submission of
figures on Summit Surma's financial performance
to the SET. The Picnic, earlier, said that it
had bought 90% stake in Summit Surma for US$ 1.0
million. The company was asked to submit its
business plan to know how the announced amount
of revenue will be raised by the next three
years.
BB drafts policy
Bangladesh Bank has drafted a policy guideline
to facilitate the merger and acquisition among
the country's commercial banks. This policy is
aimed at promoting the commercial banks having
capital shortfall, inefficient management and
lack of proper manpower to merge with each other
to make their banks' financial health better. As
per the draft guideline, the policy will
facilitate both bank-to-bank and
branch-to-branch mergers. The contracting banks,
intending mergers and acquisitions, will have to
consider financial performances, including their
respective asset value, risk weighted assets and
provisioning thereof, loan status, classified
loans, deposits and investment portfolios. The
guideline, if approved, will also facilitate
implementation of a central bank plan to merge
branches of NCBs across the country to make them
efficient and profitable.
QAPCO plans
Qatar Petrochemicals Company is planning to open
commercial offices in Taiwan and Bangladesh as
part of the strategy to expand its global
operations, its marketing manager Abdul Rahman
al-Abdullah has said.
US trade deficit
The US trade deficit widened 1.8 per cent in
August to its third-highest level on record as
oil import prices hit a new high and imports of
textiles and other goods from China also set a
record. The August trade gap totaled $59.0
billion, slightly below a median $59.5 billion
estimated by economists before the report.
Record imports of $167.2 billion easily
overwhelmed record exports of $108.2 billion.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Aktel launched own backbone
Aktel, one of the leading cellular service
providers launched a fully independent Dhaka-Sylhet
microwave backbone recently. The managing
director of Aktel, Ahmad Bin lsmail, inaugurated
the transmission network at Aktel's Ghorashal
Transmission Centre. Through this transmission
network, Aktel subscribers of Sylhet region will
get improved service and reliable network
facility, including continuous coverage along
the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The backbone has the
capacity to function with its own energy source
for five days in case of emergency. The chief
operating officer, Vijay Watson, and the
director of co-ordination, Fazlur Rahman were
also present at the occasion along with other
senior functionaries.
AVIATION
Dubai airport
Dubai International Airport recently announced
that passenger traffic for the first nine months
of 2005 increased 14 per cent to 18.5 million
people from 16.2 million a year ago. Cargo
traffic increased 19.4 per cent in the first
nine months of 2005 to 967,806 tonnes at one of
the world's fastest growing airports. Dubai
hopes 25 million passengers would use the
airport in 2005, up from 21.7 million last year.
It hopes 60 million passengers will use the
airport by 2010.
Emirates voted best by TTG Asia
Emirates Airline is set to close the year with
an impressive trophy collection, following its
recent recognition as the Best Middle
East/African Airline from TTG Asia for the third
year running. The awards were based on readers'
polls in both TTG Asia and TTG China. TTG Asia
is the premier travel trade newspaper in the
region, and along with TTG China enjoys the
widest circulation of over 29,000 readers every
week.
Jetstar Asia flies to Phuket
Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia
started flying to Phuket in Thailand four-times
weekly from end of October. Jetstar Asia, which
is backed by Australian flag-carrier Qantas, is
offering a one-way fare without taxes of at
least 30 Singapore dollars (17.75 US) for travel
up to December 15, the statement said. Tiger
Airways, a rival budget carrier backed by
Singapore Airlines, is already flying to Phuket.
NEW LAUNCHES
Rahimafrooz in Ctg
Rahimafrooz CNG Ltd has recently opened a CNG
(compressed natural gas) refuelling station and
a conversion centre in Chittagong. Feroz Rahim,
group chief executive officer of Rahimafrooz
Bangladesh Ltd, inaugurated the CNG station --
CTG 1, and the conversion centre on Airport Road
in the port city. Afroz Rahim, group chairman,
and Shahzad Akhtar, director of Rahimafrooz CNG
Ltd, among others, were present at the
inauguration.
World's first biogas train
The world's first train to run on biogas, a
renewable energy source made up of organic waste
recently made its maiden voyage in Sweden, a
country that has high hopes for biofuels. The
train which links the city of Linkoeping, just
south of Stockholm, to the east coast town of
Vaestervik some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away,
is scheduled to make one trip a day to begin
with, 'but our ambition is that it will
eventually make two or more. Consisting of a
single carriage that seats about 60 passengers,
the vehicle consists of a converted old Fiat
train whose diesel engines have been replaced by
two Volvo gas engines. Replacing the engine has
made the train more environmentally friendly,
since the combustion of biogas, like other
biofuels, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Singer plans new plant
The board of directors of Singer Bangladesh Ltd
has approved the plan to set up a new electric
cable manufacturing undertaking at its own
premises at Savar, which is expected to go into
commercial production from January 2006. The
company also reported that the new project would
contribute significantly to the company's
business growth and profitability.
Lenovo enters
Hong Kong-listed Chinese computer giant Lenovo
Group (HK: 0992) is venturing into the
Philippine market through a five-year
partnership with IBM Corp., leveraging mostly on
the latter's local assets. Lenovo earlier
acquired IBM's personal computing division and
is in the process of combining its own brand
operations with those it purchased in a bid to
boost efficiency, cut costs and boost
innovation. Lenovo launched in the Philippines
its 14-inch ThinkPad Z60t and 15.4-inch ThinkPad
Z60m note computers and desktop ThinkCentre E50.
ThinkPad and ThinkCentre were once proprietary
brands of IBM for its notebook and desktop lines
before the acquisition.
ECOMMERCE
eBay completes acquisition
Internet auction giant eBay on announced the
completion of its acquisition of online telecom
company Skype for about $2.5 billion in cash and
stock. The San Jose, California-based eBay said
the final consideration consisted of about $1.3
billion in cash and 32.8 million shares of its
common stock. It noted that the maximum amount
payable under the performance-based earn-out
aspect of the deal is about $1.4 billion in cash
or stock, with the payment expected to occur in
2008 or 2009. About 42 per cent of the Skype
shareholders elected to receive a single payment
of cash and stock at the deal's close, while the
remaining 58 per cent chose to receive a reduced
up-front payment plus potential future earn-out
payments.
Google eyes stake in AOL
America Online, the world's largest Internet
provider and second largest Website operator, is
reportedly in talks with Google about spinning
off its online publishing business. A report in
the Wall Street Journal said the companies are
intended to create a joint venture, in which AOL
would be a majority hareholder while Google and
cable operator Comcast would make a combined
investment of up to $5 billion. A Google stake
in AOL would give the search engine a foothold
in the original content business. The deal also
would preserve the chunk of Google revenues
attributable to AOLwhich currently uses Google's
search technology.
M&A
Occidental acquires
Occidental Petroleum, the fourth-largest oil
concern in the United States, has agreed to
acquire rival Vintage Petroleum for $3.5 billion
in cash and stocks.
WPP to buy Aegis'
The British advertising giant, WPP Group, said
it was in talks with a private equity partner
over a possible cash bid for the British media
agency Aegis. WPP recently added that its main
interest lay with Aegis' market research
business Synovate. Last month, French
advertising company Publicis said it had
approached Aegis about a possible offer but
Aegis declined to comment, saying only that it
had received an approach at 140 pence per share.
ECONOMY
Chinese economy
The Chinese economy is forecast to continue
booming this year with 9.4 per cent growth
before a slide in exports cools things down more
significantly in 2006. In the latest report by
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS),
gross domestic product growth this year was
expected to fall only marginally from last
year's 9.5 per cent. Next year, however, slowing
exports would take this down further to 8.9 per
cent. According to forecasts made by central
bank researchers last month China's booming
economy is expected to grow 9.2 per cent this
year and 8.7 per cent in the first half next
year.
INVESTMENT
Manila expects $2.5b
The Philippines expects at least $2.5 billion in
investment in its newly opened mining sector
over the next two years. The investments would
be in 10 large-scale mining projects scheduled
to commence next year through 2007.
Investment in Adamjee EPZ
Kwun Tong Apparels Limited, a sister concern of
Hong Kong based Must Garment Group of Companies,
will set up a high fashion garments
manufacturing industry in the Adamjee Export
Processing Zone. It would be the second
investment in the Adamjee EPZ. The 100 per cent
foreign owned company is to invest $38.85
million, which will manufacture annually 17
million pieces of high valued garments. Kwun
Tong Apparels Limited will create employment
opportunity for 12000 Bangladeshi nationals.
EVENTS
Single country display
Iran will hold a single-country exhibition
showcasing a wide range of commodities in Dhaka
from November 22. The International Exhibitions
Company of Mashhad and Iran Trade and
Development Organisation will jointly sponsor
the exclusive four-day exhibition. The
exhibition a wide range of Iranian food and oil
products, home appliances, machinery, medical
instruments, chemical raw materials, hand-woven
carpets, dried and fresh fruits, nuts, canned
goods, light and heavy vehicles, construction
materials and soft drinks will be displayed.
DEVELOPMENT
UK provides Tk 157cr
UK Department for International Development
(DFID) recently signed a MOU with the Bangladesh
government for Bangladesh public service
capacity building programme of 13.655 million
pound (Tk 157 crore) over 7 years. The Managing
at the Top (Matt 2) programme is expected to
start in early 2006 and will be managed through
consultancy services. The purpose of the MATT 2
programme is to generate performance improvement
at the highest levels of the civil service and
across all ministries. The purpose will be
achieved through a combination of appropriate
training (around 2,000 civil servants at the
level of senior Assistant Secretary and above),
support to reform of human resource management
systems, and demand-generation activities aimed
both within the BCS and at public service users
in civil society.
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT
New MD of BNICL
SM Abdul Mannan has recently joined Bangladesh
National Insurance Co. Ltd. as Managing
Director. Prior to joining his new post he was
the Additional Managing Director of Standard
Insurance Company. He also worked there as
Managing Director in-charge. He began his
insurance career in 1981 by joining the
state-owned Sadharan Bima Corporation. He joined
the private sector Purabi General Insurance as
Assistant General Manager in 1989. He worked
there as Deputy Manager till 1997. Then he
joined Provati General Insurance as Senior
General Manager.
TELECOM
Foreign investment in phone companies
India's cabinet recently gave formal approval to
raise the limit on foreign company ownership of
telecoms companies to 74 percent from 49
percent. India has emerged as the world's second
fastest growing mobile phone market after China
and it has an ambitious target of adding some
200-250 million users by 2007, compared with
about 55 million now. This breakneck expansion
would require investment of nearly 1.5 trillion
rupees (34 billion dollars), according to the
telecommunications ministry. US-based investment
bank Morgan Stanley says India's mobile market
is expected to grow at 40 percent a year until
2007.
Siemens for BTTB mobile project
Siemens Bangladesh has recently implemented GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service) solution for BTTB
(Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board) GSM
Mobile Project. The features of sophisticated
Siemens GPRS solution include photo talk,
animated instant voice messaging,
person-to-person gaming, audio-video streaming,
video download, internet access and video calls.
The integration of the most advanced technology
makes it possible to adopt the Assisted Global
Positioning System (A-GPS) in Siemens GPRS
solution. A-GPS offers location-based features
such as position of a restaurant or a patrol
station. A-GPS can also be used for tracking any
person or vehicle.
Singapore tightens rules on mobile phones
The Singapore government recently announced
restrictions on pre-paid mobile phone cards to
prevent them from being used by terrorists to
set off bombs and carry out illicit activities.
From November 1, all three mobile phone
companies in the city-state will be required to
electronically record genuine personal details
of all customers who buy pre-paid Subscriber
Identification Module (SIM) cards. SIM cards are
tiny removable circuit boards fitted into
cellular phones containing data including a
directory of phone numbers used by the owner.
Registration requirements for pre-paid SIM cards
have been less stringent than those for
post-paid cards, whose monthly bills are sent to
home or office addresses and are thus quickly
traceable to their true owners.
The new requirements are "part of an ongoing and
holistic security review by the government to
boost Singapores security," the Ministry of Home
Affairs, which looks after internal security,
said in a statement. Singapore, a staunch US
ally, fears it is on the list of targets of
attack by regional and international terrorist
groups. It has stepped up security at key entry
points, the subway system, sensitive
installations and public places frequented by
foreigners. Criminals exploit the anonymity of
pre-paid SIM cards to avoid detection.
Singapore will not be the first country
strengthening controls to deal with the
anonymity of pre-paid SIM cards, the statement
said. Switzerland and Australia are also
enforcing registration requirements, it added.
The changes replace the existing practice by
mobile service providers of manually recording
customer details, which are sometimes
fictitious.
"For example, some retailers had recorded names
like Santa Claus, while other retailers simply
record their own names as having purchased the
pre-paid SIM card," the statement said.
Purchasers of pre-paid SIM cards will be
required to show official identity cards in the
case of local residents and passports in the
case of visitors. In addition, customers must be
at least 15 years old before being eligible to
purchase a pre-paid SIM card and each customer
is limited to a maximum of 10 pre-paid SIM
cards. No explanation was given for the age
requirement.
Owners of existing pre-paid cards are required
to re-register them over a six-month period
ending May 1, 2006, after which SIM cards that
are not re-registered will be deactivated.
RETAIL OUTLETS
Beximco in Karachi
Beximco Textiles Ltd, a fully export-oriented
company of Beximco Group, has set up 'Yellow'
outlet, an exclusive fashion shop of the
company, in Pakistan last month. Pakistan Senate
Chairman Mohammad Mian Soomro inaugurated the
outlet at Zam Zama area in Karachi, Pakistan.
Bangladesh's Deputy High Commissioner to
Pakistan Mohammad Abdul Hannan, Beximco Group
Chairman ASF Rahman and Beximco Textiles Chief
Executive Officer and Group Director Syed Naved
Husain were present at the inaugural ceremony.
With the inauguration, export of clothing items
of Beximco Textiles to Pakistan will get big
boost. Apart from clothing, products of
Shinepukur Ceramics will be available in Yellow
outlets. The company will also open Yellow
outlet in Seoul, South Korea, Dubai and other
cities of the world.
Mr. Soomro in his speech welcomed Beximco's
initiative in Pakistan. He said Beximco being
one of the world's most dynamic textile
companies with strong creative abilities and a
massive manufacturing base would help propel
Pakistan into the forefront of the international
fashion industry.
Mantra - Tech Track accord
The Mantra Mega Shop has appointed Tech Track
Limited as its technical consultant for
supplying supermarket equipment of Oscartielle
Brands from Arneg Group, Italy. The superstore
will open its first outlet with an area of
14,000 square feet at Musafir Tower, Kakrail at
the end of this year and plans more outlets in
the capital's Dhanmondi, Banani, Gulshan and
Uttara next year. The contract was signed
recently at the Ittefaq Bhaban between the
chairman of Mantra Mega Shop, Arshad Hosein, and
the managing director of Tech Track, MA Mamun.
The area manager of Arneg Group of Italy, Giulio
Grosoli, also witnessed the signing.
ICT
Cisco plans $50m facility
US computer networking firm Cisco will spend 50
million dollars to build a new business campus
in the southern Indian technology hub of
Bangalore. When completed the new facility will
have the capacity to accommodate approximately
3,000 staff. The campus is expected to be
completed by June 2007. "India has been and
continues to be a strategic market for Cisco
both in terms of business opportunities and as a
base for outstanding engineering talent.
Software for City Bank
Millennium Information Solution Ltd through its
banking software 'Ababil' will manage all the
operations of online Islamic banking of the City
Bank Ltd. An agreement to this effect was signed
between the two companies recently. Mahmud
Hossain, chief executive officer of Millennium,
Abbas Uddin Ahmed, managing director of the
bank, and other senior officials from both the
sides were present at the agreement signing
ceremony.
ENERGY
World leader in wind power
China had the potential to become the world's
top producer of wind-generated electricity, and
urged it to take the lead on renewable energy in
Asia. Wind energy in the industrialised southern
province of Guangdong alone could surpass that
generated in Germany, the current leading
country in wind power, the environmental group
said. Wind-generated electricity in Guangdong,
China's richest and most populace province but
one of its biggest producers of carbon dioxide
emissions, could reach 20 gigawatts by 2020,
enough for the whole of neighbouring Hong Kong,
Greenpeace said. That would reach the national
target for the same period and cut carbon
emissions by 29 million tonnes.
BP seeking partnership
British oil major BP is seeking to enter into a
partnership with Sinopec, China's biggest
refiner, in an attempt to gain a foothold in the
massive Chinese market. The deal with Sinopec,
officially known as China Petroleum Chemical
Corp, would be as ambitious as BP's
7.7-billion-dollar purchase in 2003 of a 50-per
cent stake in Russia's TNK to create the
country's third-largest oil producer.
ONGC eyes Bangladesh
State-run Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp.
(ONGC) has expressed interest in exploring for
natural gas in Bangladesh. ONGC is one of
several overseas companies proposing to explore
gas in Bangladesh, especially in the offshore
blocks. ONGC has proposed exploring Block 11
together with state-run Bangladesh Petroleum
Exploration and Production Company Limited
(BAPEX).
AUTOMOBILES
Indian automakers' sales
Indian automakers are expected to post better
quarterly profits on robust sales, but the high
cost of fuel and inputs such as steel will weigh
on margins, though their impact may ease in the
next quarters. Top carmaker Maruti Udyog Ltd and
number-two motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd are
forecast to report the best earnings growth
among their peers on new launches and sales of
higher-value products. But profits at TVS Motor
Co, the third-biggest motorcycle maker, could
dip amid tougher competition.
Yamaha sues Chinese copy cats
The Japanese motorcycle-maker Yamaha Motor Corp
has sued a rival Chinese manufacturer, accusing
it of flooding the US market with copycat
quad-bikes and off-road motorcycles. The
50-year-old firm and its US unit recently sued
Yamoto Motor Corp and its US distributor in a
Los Angeles federal court, accusing them of
trademark infringement, false advertising and
unfair competition. Yamaha claims that Yamoto
and its California-based distributor Patriot
Motorcycles Corp made inferior knock-off
versions of Yamaha's Raptor line of quad bikes,
or all terrain vehicles, and of its TT-R125 dirt
bikes. In addition, Yamoto, which entered the US
market in 2003, attempted to imitate the logo,
website and colours of Yamaha which is the
world's second largest maker of motorbikes and
quadbikes.
Nissan venture in China sees strong sales
Dongfeng Motor, a 50-50 joint venture between
Japan's Nissan Motor and Dongfeng Automotive, is
likely to beat its car sales target of 140,000
vehicles for 2005. In the nine months to
September, Dongfeng Motor sold 117,000
Nissan-marque cars produced by the venture, 168
percent more than in the corresponding period of
last year. Dongfeng Motor will not change its
mid-term car sales target for China of 300,000
vehicles for 2007, which was set in November
2003. The car market in China continued to show
steady growth, there was emerging downside risk
for sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks.
ENTERTAINMENT
Casinos in East Asia
Some 50 new casinos will be built in East Asia
by 2012, with casino gambling revenue in the
region set to more than triple from $13.4
billion to $44.8 billion, according to a press
report. The boom, fuelled by regional
governments lifting bans on casinos, will also
spark a tussle among gambling operators for high
rollers -- analysts from the US investment bank
Merrill Lynch, said. The majority of these new
casinos will be housed in five-star
establishments. The analysts say gambling has
enormous economic potential in Asia, with
millions of dollars wagered daily across the
region on everything from slot machines and
cards to cock fighting. Singapore's government
announced in April amid fierce domestic
opposition that two Las Vegas-style casino
resorts would be built by 2009 to spice up its
staid image and attract more tourists.
TRADE & COMMERCE
G20 for better WTO offer
A farm trade proposal put forward by Brazil,
India and other developing countries does not
offer sufficient new export opportunities for
the United States, a trade official of the
United States stressed. Brazil and India are
leaders of the G20 group of developing
countries, which is pressing for deep cuts in
United States and European Union farm subsidies
as part of a new world trade deal.
$1.5b currency swap
The central banks of South Korea and Malaysia
have signed a three-year deal allowing either
country to swap its currency for up to $1.5
billion from the other when necessary, the Bank
of Korea announced recently. Earlier $1 billion
swap deal with Malaysia expired in July. Korea's
central bank, which held the world's
fourth-biggest foreign reserves at $206.73
billion as of end-September, said it had similar
deals with five other countries, including Japan
and China, for a combined $12 billion.
Farm credit
Disbursement of agricultural credit in the first
month of the current fiscal year, July, stood
higher at Tk 211.18 crore compared with Tk
203.42 crore in July 2004. Statistics available
with Bangladesh Bank revealed that recovery of
agricultural loans in July also increased to Tk
170.67 crore from Tk 142.37 crore in July 2004.
The position of overdue agricultural loans as
percentage of total outstanding improved,
decreasing from 51.24 per cent at the end of
July, 2004 to 43.43 at the end of July, 2005.The
total disbursement target on fiscal 2005-06 is
Tk 5524 crore.
Savings certificates
Both sales and repayment of the national savings
directorate (NSD) certificates in July 2005
increased to Tk 1043.75 crore and Tk 779.88
crore respectively from Tk 795.58 crore and Tk
664.63 crore of a year ago. Statistics revealed
that outstanding borrowing of the government
through NSD certificates at the end of July
stood at Tk 36761.55 crore, recording an
increase of Tk 263.87 crore or 0.72 per cent
over June 2005.
Reserve money
Reserve money recorded an increase of Tk 1038
crore or 3.51 per cent in July 2005 compared
with the increase of Tk 452.30 crore or 1.72 per
cent in July 2004. The central bank figures show
that the increase in reserve money growth
comprised 4.68 per cent increase in net domestic
assets and 2.40 per cent increase in net foreign
assets of the Bangladesh Bank. Reserve money
multiplier, however, decreased to 4.95 at the
end of July, 2005 from 5.13 of June,2005.
SEC fines officials of two cos
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined
eight officials of two listed companies Tk 1
lakh each, for non compliance of regulations.
Nadera Alam, the chairperson of Karim Pipe
Mills, and five of its directors, Fazlul Karim,
Joynul Karim, Joglul Karim, Dilara Hossain and
Kamrul Karim were fined Tk 1 lakh each twice
under two different cases. Morshed A Chowdhury,
the executive director of Dynamic Textile
Industries, and its company secretary, MA Kashem
were also fined Tk 1 lakh each for not
distributing five per cent dividend for 2002
declared on May 16, 2004. Officials of Karim
Pipe were fined once for not holding the annual
general meeting of 2003 and 2004, and for not
submitting the half yearly accounts ended June
30, 2004. The defaulters must pay the fines
within 15 days of issuance of the order. In
default, they would have to pay extra fines of
Tk 10,000 each for each day of delay.
SET wants info on Picnic
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) recently
asked the Picnic Corp. PCL to submit more
information about its recent investment in
Bangladesh based Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd.
The SET in a statement said it required to know
how did Picnic come up with an estimate that
Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd., a liquefied
petroleum gas distributor in Bangladesh, will
generate a total revenue of THB 1.3 billion over
the next three years, sources said. The SET's
statement came following Picnic's submission of
figures on Summit Surma's financial performance
to the SET. The Picnic, earlier, said that it
had bought 90% stake in Summit Surma for US$ 1.0
million. The company was asked to submit its
business plan to know how the announced amount
of revenue will be raised by the next three
years.
BB drafts policy
Bangladesh Bank has drafted a policy guideline
to facilitate the merger and acquisition among
the country's commercial banks. This policy is
aimed at promoting the commercial banks having
capital shortfall, inefficient management and
lack of proper manpower to merge with each other
to make their banks' financial health better. As
per the draft guideline, the policy will
facilitate both bank-to-bank and
branch-to-branch mergers. The contracting banks,
intending mergers and acquisitions, will have to
consider financial performances, including their
respective asset value, risk weighted assets and
provisioning thereof, loan status, classified
loans, deposits and investment portfolios. The
guideline, if approved, will also facilitate
implementation of a central bank plan to merge
branches of NCBs across the country to make them
efficient and profitable.
QAPCO plans
Qatar Petrochemicals Company is planning to open
commercial offices in Taiwan and Bangladesh as
part of the strategy to expand its global
operations, its marketing manager Abdul Rahman
al-Abdullah has said.
US trade deficit
The US trade deficit widened 1.8 per cent in
August to its third-highest level on record as
oil import prices hit a new high and imports of
textiles and other goods from China also set a
record. The August trade gap totaled $59.0
billion, slightly below a median $59.5 billion
estimated by economists before the report.
Record imports of $167.2 billion easily
overwhelmed record exports of $108.2 billion.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Aktel launched own backbone
Aktel, one of the leading cellular service
providers launched a fully independent
Dhaka-Sylhet microwave backbone recently. The
managing director of Aktel, Ahmad Bin lsmail,
inaugurated the transmission network at Aktel's
Ghorashal Transmission Centre. Through this
transmission network, Aktel subscribers of
Sylhet region will get improved service and
reliable network facility, including continuous
coverage along the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The
backbone has the capacity to function with its
own energy source for five days in case of
emergency. The chief operating officer, Vijay
Watson, and the director of co-ordination,
Fazlur Rahman were also present at the occasion
along with other senior functionaries.
AVIATION
Dubai airport
Dubai International Airport recently announced
that passenger traffic for the first nine months
of 2005 increased 14 per cent to 18.5 million
people from 16.2 million a year ago. Cargo
traffic increased 19.4 per cent in the first
nine months of 2005 to 967,806 tonnes at one of
the world's fastest growing airports. Dubai
hopes 25 million passengers would use the
airport in 2005, up from 21.7 million last year.
It hopes 60 million passengers will use the
airport by 2010.
Emirates voted best by TTG Asia
Emirates Airline is set to close the year with
an impressive trophy collection, following its
recent recognition as the Best Middle
East/African Airline from TTG Asia for the third
year running. The awards were based on readers'
polls in both TTG Asia and TTG China. TTG Asia
is the premier travel trade newspaper in the
region, and along with TTG China enjoys the
widest circulation of over 29,000 readers every
week.
Jetstar Asia flies to Phuket
Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia
started flying to Phuket in Thailand four-times
weekly from end of October. Jetstar Asia, which
is backed by Australian flag-carrier Qantas, is
offering a one-way fare without taxes of at
least 30 Singapore dollars (17.75 US) for travel
up to December 15, the statement said. Tiger
Airways, a rival budget carrier backed by
Singapore Airlines, is already flying to Phuket.
NEW LAUNCHES
Rahimafrooz in Ctg
Rahimafrooz CNG Ltd has recently opened a CNG
(compressed natural gas) refuelling station and
a conversion centre in Chittagong. Feroz Rahim,
group chief executive officer of Rahimafrooz
Bangladesh Ltd, inaugurated the CNG station --
CTG 1, and the conversion centre on Airport Road
in the port city. Afroz Rahim, group chairman,
and Shahzad Akhtar, director of Rahimafrooz CNG
Ltd, among others, were present at the
inauguration.
World's first biogas train
The world's first train to run on biogas, a
renewable energy source made up of organic waste
recently made its maiden voyage in Sweden, a
country that has high hopes for biofuels. The
train which links the city of Linkoeping, just
south of Stockholm, to the east coast town of
Vaestervik some 80 kilometers (50 miles) away,
is scheduled to make one trip a day to begin
with, 'but our ambition is that it will
eventually make two or more. Consisting of a
single carriage that seats about 60 passengers,
the vehicle consists of a converted old Fiat
train whose diesel engines have been replaced by
two Volvo gas engines. Replacing the engine has
made the train more environmentally friendly,
since the combustion of biogas, like other
biofuels, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Singer plans new plant
The board of directors of Singer Bangladesh Ltd
has approved the plan to set up a new electric
cable manufacturing undertaking at its own
premises at Savar, which is expected to go into
commercial production from January 2006. The
company also reported that the new project would
contribute significantly to the company's
business growth and profitability.
Lenovo enters
Hong Kong-listed Chinese computer giant Lenovo
Group (HK: 0992) is venturing into the
Philippine market through a five-year
partnership with IBM Corp., leveraging mostly on
the latter's local assets. Lenovo earlier
acquired IBM's personal computing division and
is in the process of combining its own brand
operations with those it purchased in a bid to
boost efficiency, cut costs and boost
innovation. Lenovo launched in the Philippines
its 14-inch ThinkPad Z60t and 15.4-inch ThinkPad
Z60m note computers and desktop ThinkCentre E50.
ThinkPad and ThinkCentre were once proprietary
brands of IBM for its notebook and desktop lines
before the acquisition.
ECOMMERCE
eBay completes acquisition
Internet auction giant eBay on announced the
completion of its acquisition of online telecom
company Skype for about $2.5 billion in cash and
stock. The San Jose, California-based eBay said
the final consideration consisted of about $1.3
billion in cash and 32.8 million shares of its
common stock. It noted that the maximum amount
payable under the performance-based earn-out
aspect of the deal is about $1.4 billion in cash
or stock, with the payment expected to occur in
2008 or 2009. About 42 per cent of the Skype
shareholders elected to receive a single payment
of cash and stock at the deal's close, while the
remaining 58 per cent chose to receive a reduced
up-front payment plus potential future earn-out
payments.
Google eyes stake in AOL
America Online, the world's largest Internet
provider and second largest Website operator, is
reportedly in talks with Google about spinning
off its online publishing business. A report in
the Wall Street Journal said the companies are
intended to create a joint venture, in which AOL
would be a majority hareholder while Google and
cable operator Comcast would make a combined
investment of up to $5 billion. A Google stake
in AOL would give the search engine a foothold
in the original content business. The deal also
would preserve the chunk of Google revenues
attributable to AOLwhich currently uses Google's
search technology.
M&A
Occidental acquires
Occidental Petroleum, the fourth-largest oil
concern in the United States, has agreed to
acquire rival Vintage Petroleum for $3.5 billion
in cash and stocks.
WPP to buy Aegis'
The British advertising giant, WPP Group, said
it was in talks with a private equity partner
over a possible cash bid for the British media
agency Aegis. WPP recently added that its main
interest lay with Aegis' market research
business Synovate. Last month, French
advertising company Publicis said it had
approached Aegis about a possible offer but
Aegis declined to comment, saying only that it
had received an approach at 140 pence per share.
ECONOMY
Chinese economy
The Chinese economy is forecast to continue
booming this year with 9.4 per cent growth
before a slide in exports cools things down more
significantly in 2006. In the latest report by
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS),
gross domestic product growth this year was
expected to fall only marginally from last
year's 9.5 per cent. Next year, however, slowing
exports would take this down further to 8.9 per
cent. According to forecasts made by central
bank researchers last month China's booming
economy is expected to grow 9.2 per cent this
year and 8.7 per cent in the first half next
year.
INVESTMENT
Manila expects $2.5b
The Philippines expects at least $2.5 billion in
investment in its newly opened mining sector
over the next two years. The investments would
be in 10 large-scale mining projects scheduled
to commence next year through 2007.
Investment in Adamjee EPZ
Kwun Tong Apparels Limited, a sister concern of
Hong Kong based Must Garment Group of Companies,
will set up a high fashion garments
manufacturing industry in the Adamjee Export
Processing Zone. It would be the second
investment in the Adamjee EPZ. The 100 per cent
foreign owned company is to invest $38.85
million, which will manufacture annually 17
million pieces of high valued garments. Kwun
Tong Apparels Limited will create employment
opportunity for 12000 Bangladeshi nationals.
EVENTS
Single country display
Iran will hold a single-country exhibition
showcasing a wide range of commodities in Dhaka
from November 22. The International Exhibitions
Company of Mashhad and Iran Trade and
Development Organisation will jointly sponsor
the exclusive four-day exhibition. The
exhibition a wide range of Iranian food and oil
products, home appliances, machinery, medical
instruments, chemical raw materials, hand-woven
carpets, dried and fresh fruits, nuts, canned
goods, light and heavy vehicles, construction
materials and soft drinks will be displayed.
DEVELOPMENT
UK provides Tk 157cr
UK Department for International Development
(DFID) recently signed a MOU with the Bangladesh
government for Bangladesh public service
capacity building programme of 13.655 million
pound (Tk 157 crore) over 7 years. The Managing
at the Top (Matt 2) programme is expected to
start in early 2006 and will be managed through
consultancy services. The purpose of the MATT 2
programme is to generate performance improvement
at the highest levels of the civil service and
across all ministries. The purpose will be
achieved through a combination of appropriate
training (around 2,000 civil servants at the
level of senior Assistant Secretary and above),
support to reform of human resource management
systems, and demand-generation activities aimed
both within the BCS and at public service users
in civil society.
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT
New MD of BNICL
SM Abdul Mannan has recently joined Bangladesh
National Insurance Co. Ltd. as Managing
Director. Prior to joining his new post he was
the Additional Managing Director of Standard
Insurance Company. He also worked there as
Managing Director in-charge. He began his
insurance career in 1981 by joining the
state-owned Sadharan Bima Corporation. He joined
the private sector Purabi General Insurance as
Assistant General Manager in 1989. He worked
there as Deputy Manager till 1997. Then he
joined Provati General Insurance as Senior
General Manager.
TELECOM
Foreign investment in phone companies
India's cabinet recently gave formal approval to
raise the limit on foreign company ownership of
telecoms companies to 74 percent from 49
percent. India has emerged as the world's second
fastest growing mobile phone market after China
and it has an ambitious target of adding some
200-250 million users by 2007, compared with
about 55 million now. This breakneck expansion
would require investment of nearly 1.5 trillion
rupees (34 billion dollars), according to the
telecommunications ministry. US-based investment
bank Morgan Stanley says India's mobile market
is expected to grow at 40 percent a year until
2007.
Siemens for BTTB mobile project
Siemens Bangladesh has recently implemented GPRS
(General Packet Radio Service) solution for BTTB
(Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board) GSM
Mobile Project. The features of sophisticated
Siemens GPRS solution include photo talk,
animated instant voice messaging,
person-to-person gaming, audio-video streaming,
video download, internet access and video calls.
The integration of the most advanced technology
makes it possible to adopt the Assisted Global
Positioning System (A-GPS) in Siemens GPRS
solution. A-GPS offers location-based features
such as position of a restaurant or a patrol
station. A-GPS can also be used for tracking any
person or vehicle.
Singapore tightens rules on mobile phones
The Singapore government recently announced
restrictions on pre-paid mobile phone cards to
prevent them from being used by terrorists to
set off bombs and carry out illicit activities.
From November 1, all three mobile phone
companies in the city-state will be required to
electronically record genuine personal details
of all customers who buy pre-paid Subscriber
Identification Module (SIM) cards. SIM cards are
tiny removable circuit boards fitted into
cellular phones containing data including a
directory of phone numbers used by the owner.
Registration requirements for pre-paid SIM cards
have been less stringent than those for
post-paid cards, whose monthly bills are sent to
home or office addresses and are thus quickly
traceable to their true owners.
The new requirements are "part of an ongoing and
holistic security review by the government to
boost Singapores security," the Ministry of Home
Affairs, which looks after internal security,
said in a statement. Singapore, a staunch US
ally, fears it is on the list of targets of
attack by regional and international terrorist
groups. It has stepped up security at key entry
points, the subway system, sensitive
installations and public places frequented by
foreigners. Criminals exploit the anonymity of
pre-paid SIM cards to avoid detection.
Singapore will not be the first country
strengthening controls to deal with the
anonymity of pre-paid SIM cards, the statement
said. Switzerland and Australia are also
enforcing registration requirements, it added.
The changes replace the existing practice by
mobile service providers of manually recording
customer details, which are sometimes
fictitious.
"For example, some retailers had recorded names
like Santa Claus, while other retailers simply
record their own names as having purchased the
pre-paid SIM card," the statement said.
Purchasers of pre-paid SIM cards will be
required to show official identity cards in the
case of local residents and passports in the
case of visitors. In addition, customers must be
at least 15 years old before being eligible to
purchase a pre-paid SIM card and each customer
is limited to a maximum of 10 pre-paid SIM
cards. No explanation was given for the age
requirement.
Owners of existing pre-paid cards are required
to re-register them over a six-month period
ending May 1, 2006, after which SIM cards that
are not re-registered will be deactivated.
RETAIL OUTLETS
Beximco in Karachi
Beximco Textiles Ltd, a fully export-oriented
company of Beximco Group, has set up 'Yellow'
outlet, an exclusive fashion shop of the
company, in Pakistan last month. Pakistan Senate
Chairman Mohammad Mian Soomro inaugurated the
outlet at Zam Zama area in Karachi, Pakistan.
Bangladesh's Deputy High Commissioner to
Pakistan Mohammad Abdul Hannan, Beximco Group
Chairman ASF Rahman and Beximco Textiles Chief
Executive Officer and Group Director Syed Naved
Husain were present at the inaugural ceremony.
With the inauguration, export of clothing items
of Beximco Textiles to Pakistan will get big
boost. Apart from clothing, products of
Shinepukur Ceramics will be available in Yellow
outlets. The company will also open Yellow
outlet in Seoul, South Korea, Dubai and other
cities of the world.
Mr. Soomro in his speech welcomed Beximco's
initiative in Pakistan. He said Beximco being
one of the world's most dynamic textile
companies with strong creative abilities and a
massive manufacturing base would help propel
Pakistan into the forefront of the international
fashion industry.
Mantra - Tech Track accord
The Mantra Mega Shop has appointed Tech Track
Limited as its technical consultant for
supplying supermarket equipment of Oscartielle
Brands from Arneg Group, Italy. The superstore
will open its first outlet with an area of
14,000 square feet at Musafir Tower, Kakrail at
the end of this year and plans more outlets in
the capital's Dhanmondi, Banani, Gulshan and
Uttara next year. The contract was signed
recently at the Ittefaq Bhaban between the
chairman of Mantra Mega Shop, Arshad Hosein, and
the managing director of Tech Track, MA Mamun.
The area manager of Arneg Group of Italy, Giulio
Grosoli, also witnessed the signing.
ICT
Cisco plans $50m facility
US computer networking firm Cisco will spend 50
million dollars to build a new business campus
in the southern Indian technology hub of
Bangalore. When completed the new facility will
have the capacity to accommodate approximately
3,000 staff. The campus is expected to be
completed by June 2007. "India has been and
continues to be a strategic market for Cisco
both in terms of business opportunities and as a
base for outstanding engineering talent.
Software for City Bank
Millennium Information Solution Ltd through its
banking software 'Ababil' will manage all the
operations of online Islamic banking of the City
Bank Ltd. An agreement to this effect was signed
between the two companies recently. Mahmud
Hossain, chief executive officer of Millennium,
Abbas Uddin Ahmed, managing director of the
bank, and other senior officials from both the
sides were present at the agreement signing
ceremony.
ENERGY
World leader in wind power
China had the potential to become the world's
top producer of wind-generated electricity, and
urged it to take the lead on renewable energy in
Asia. Wind energy in the industrialised southern
province of Guangdong alone could surpass that
generated in Germany, the current leading
country in wind power, the environmental group
said. Wind-generated electricity in Guangdong,
China's richest and most populace province but
one of its biggest producers of carbon dioxide
emissions, could reach 20 gigawatts by 2020,
enough for the whole of neighbouring Hong Kong,
Greenpeace said. That would reach the national
target for the same period and cut carbon
emissions by 29 million tonnes.
BP seeking partnership
British oil major BP is seeking to enter into a
partnership with Sinopec, China's biggest
refiner, in an attempt to gain a foothold in the
massive Chinese market. The deal with Sinopec,
officially known as China Petroleum Chemical
Corp, would be as ambitious as BP's
7.7-billion-dollar purchase in 2003 of a 50-per
cent stake in Russia's TNK to create the
country's third-largest oil producer.
ONGC eyes Bangladesh
State-run Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corp.
(ONGC) has expressed interest in exploring for
natural gas in Bangladesh. ONGC is one of
several overseas companies proposing to explore
gas in Bangladesh, especially in the offshore
blocks. ONGC has proposed exploring Block 11
together with state-run Bangladesh Petroleum
Exploration and Production Company Limited
(BAPEX).
AUTOMOBILES
Indian automakers' sales
Indian automakers are expected to post better
quarterly profits on robust sales, but the high
cost of fuel and inputs such as steel will weigh
on margins, though their impact may ease in the
next quarters. Top carmaker Maruti Udyog Ltd and
number-two motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd are
forecast to report the best earnings growth
among their peers on new launches and sales of
higher-value products. But profits at TVS Motor
Co, the third-biggest motorcycle maker, could
dip amid tougher competition.
Yamaha sues Chinese copy cats
The Japanese motorcycle-maker Yamaha Motor Corp
has sued a rival Chinese manufacturer, accusing
it of flooding the US market with copycat
quad-bikes and off-road motorcycles. The
50-year-old firm and its US unit recently sued
Yamoto Motor Corp and its US distributor in a
Los Angeles federal court, accusing them of
trademark infringement, false advertising and
unfair competition. Yamaha claims that Yamoto
and its California-based distributor Patriot
Motorcycles Corp made inferior knock-off
versions of Yamaha's Raptor line of quad bikes,
or all terrain vehicles, and of its TT-R125 dirt
bikes. In addition, Yamoto, which entered the US
market in 2003, attempted to imitate the logo,
website and colours of Yamaha which is the
world's second largest maker of motorbikes and
quadbikes.
Nissan venture in China sees strong sales
Dongfeng Motor, a 50-50 joint venture between
Japan's Nissan Motor and Dongfeng Automotive, is
likely to beat its car sales target of 140,000
vehicles for 2005. In the nine months to
September, Dongfeng Motor sold 117,000
Nissan-marque cars produced by the venture, 168
percent more than in the corresponding period of
last year. Dongfeng Motor will not change its
mid-term car sales target for China of 300,000
vehicles for 2007, which was set in November
2003. The car market in China continued to show
steady growth, there was emerging downside risk
for sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks.
ENTERTAINMENT
Casinos in East Asia
Some 50 new casinos will be built in East Asia
by 2012, with casino gambling revenue in the
region set to more than triple from $13.4
billion to $44.8 billion, according to a press
report. The boom, fuelled by regional
governments lifting bans on casinos, will also
spark a tussle among gambling operators for high
rollers -- analysts from the US investment bank
Merrill Lynch, said. The majority of these new
casinos will be housed in five-star
establishments. The analysts say gambling has
enormous economic potential in Asia, with
millions of dollars wagered daily across the
region on everything from slot machines and
cards to cock fighting. Singapore's government
announced in April amid fierce domestic
opposition that two Las Vegas-style casino
resorts would be built by 2009 to spice up its
staid image and attract more tourists.
TRADE & COMMERCE
G20 for better WTO offer
A farm trade proposal put forward by Brazil,
India and other developing countries does not
offer sufficient new export opportunities for
the United States, a trade official of the
United States stressed. Brazil and India are
leaders of the G20 group of developing
countries, which is pressing for deep cuts in
United States and European Union farm subsidies
as part of a new world trade deal.
$1.5b currency swap
The central banks of South Korea and Malaysia
have signed a three-year deal allowing either
country to swap its currency for up to $1.5
billion from the other when necessary, the Bank
of Korea announced recently. Earlier $1 billion
swap deal with Malaysia expired in July. Korea's
central bank, which held the world's
fourth-biggest foreign reserves at $206.73
billion as of end-September, said it had similar
deals with five other countries, including Japan
and China, for a combined $12 billion.
Farm credit
Disbursement of agricultural credit in the first
month of the current fiscal year, July, stood
higher at Tk 211.18 crore compared with Tk
203.42 crore in July 2004. Statistics available
with Bangladesh Bank revealed that recovery of
agricultural loans in July also increased to Tk
170.67 crore from Tk 142.37 crore in July 2004.
The position of overdue agricultural loans as
percentage of total outstanding improved,
decreasing from 51.24 per cent at the end of
July, 2004 to 43.43 at the end of July, 2005.The
total disbursement target on fiscal 2005-06 is
Tk 5524 crore.
Savings certificates
Both sales and repayment of the national savings
directorate (NSD) certificates in July 2005
increased to Tk 1043.75 crore and Tk 779.88
crore respectively from Tk 795.58 crore and Tk
664.63 crore of a year ago. Statistics revealed
that outstanding borrowing of the government
through NSD certificates at the end of July
stood at Tk 36761.55 crore, recording an
increase of Tk 263.87 crore or 0.72 per cent
over June 2005.
Reserve money
Reserve money recorded an increase of Tk 1038
crore or 3.51 per cent in July 2005 compared
with the increase of Tk 452.30 crore or 1.72 per
cent in July 2004. The central bank figures show
that the increase in reserve money growth
comprised 4.68 per cent increase in net domestic
assets and 2.40 per cent increase in net foreign
assets of the Bangladesh Bank. Reserve money
multiplier, however, decreased to 4.95 at the
end of July, 2005 from 5.13 of June,2005.
SEC fines officials of two cos
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined
eight officials of two listed companies Tk 1
lakh each, for non compliance of regulations.
Nadera Alam, the chairperson of Karim Pipe
Mills, and five of its directors, Fazlul Karim,
Joynul Karim, Joglul Karim, Dilara Hossain and
Kamrul Karim were fined Tk 1 lakh each twice
under two different cases. Morshed A Chowdhury,
the executive director of Dynamic Textile
Industries, and its company secretary, MA Kashem
were also fined Tk 1 lakh each for not
distributing five per cent dividend for 2002
declared on May 16, 2004. Officials of Karim
Pipe were fined once for not holding the annual
general meeting of 2003 and 2004, and for not
submitting the half yearly accounts ended June
30, 2004. The defaulters must pay the fines
within 15 days of issuance of the order. In
default, they would have to pay extra fines of
Tk 10,000 each for each day of delay.
SET wants info on Picnic
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) recently
asked the Picnic Corp. PCL to submit more
information about its recent investment in
Bangladesh based Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd.
The SET in a statement said it required to know
how did Picnic come up with an estimate that
Summit Surma Petroleum Co. Ltd., a liquefied
petroleum gas distributor in Bangladesh, will
generate a total revenue of THB 1.3 billion over
the next three years, sources said. The SET's
statement came following Picnic's submission of
figures on Summit Surma's financial performance
to the SET. The Picnic, earlier, said that it
had bought 90% stake in Summit Surma for US$ 1.0
million. The company was asked to submit its
business plan to know how the announced amount
of revenue will be raised by the next three
years.
BB drafts policy
Bangladesh Bank has drafted a policy guideline
to facilitate the merger and acquisition among
the country's commercial banks. This policy is
aimed at promoting the commercial banks having
capital shortfall, inefficient management and
lack of proper manpower to merge with each other
to make their banks' financial health better. As
per the draft guideline, the policy will
facilitate both bank-to-bank and
branch-to-branch mergers. The contracting banks,
intending mergers and acquisitions, will have to
consider financial performances, including their
respective asset value, risk weighted assets and
provisioning thereof, loan status, classified
loans, deposits and investment portfolios. The
guideline, if approved, will also facilitate
implementation of a central bank plan to merge
branches of NCBs across the country to make them
efficient and profitable.
QAPCO plans
Qatar Petrochemicals Company is planning to open
commercial offices in Taiwan and Bangladesh as
part of the strategy to expand its global
operations, its marketing manager Abdul Rahman
al-Abdullah has said.
US trade deficit
The US trade deficit widened 1.8 per cent in
August to its third-highest level on record as
oil import prices hit a new high and imports of
textiles and other goods from China also set a
record. The August trade ga | | | | | |
